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The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s seventh round at Portimao was a firecracker with the Pirelli Portuguese Round delivering the goods once again. The rollercoaster gave everything, from new record win streaks to late race heart ache and of course, everything in between. Our trip to the Algarve left us with muito picante headlines, as you can see below.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “Alvaro is coming step-by-step… I’m waiting for him”

13 in a row for Toprak Razgatlioglu, who demonstrated that whilst you may be able to take a wing from him, you can’t take a win right now: “It’s special for me because with a total of 54 wins in WorldSBK, I’m happy! 13 wins in a row is also incredible. Race 2 was very difficult with the wind being very strong and the bike not turning at the final corner. When the Ducati riders came, I was ready to fight with them! I know that Ducati are very strong in the final corner and I was waiting to start fighting. Alvaro crashed at Turn 5 and after that, Nicolo came.  We won again and it’s a very special weekend. Now, I look to Magny-Cours, one of my favourite circuits and we’ll see how good we are there with BMW. The bike works well and in general, everything is good. We improved the bike on Sunday at Portimao but not enough for an easy win. If we weren’t fighting then maybe I’d forget about the hard braking! The shooter is very famous now in the world and I did the same style. I think it is a good celebration! Alvaro is coming step by step but I don’t know why he’s destroyed this year. Last year, he was very strong but not this year. I am waiting for him because I really enjoy fighting a lot with him.”

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “It was the first time in 2024 that Toprak was very close and I had the possibility to beat him”

A mighty effort from Nicolo Bulega saw the Italian battle illness and miss out on victory in Race 2 by just 0.035s: “I just want to go to sleep. I’m finished; unfortunately, before the weekend, there was too much air conditioning and I had a fever. It was one of the most difficult weekends of all my life. In sector one and two, Toprak was faster than me but in the last sector, I was faster than him but I was destroyed. In the last laps, I was just sitting on the bike and the bike was riding me. I played my card in the last corner because it was the only point where I was faster but it wasn’t enough. I’m happy though; P2 and almost a win is good. I think that I wasn’t at 100% so I think that it was the first time in 2024 that Toprak was very close and I had the possibility to beat him. He was very strong like always.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I smelt the blood and wanted to attack… I’m nearly 40 but I’m 18 inside!”

Another story of what may have been for reigning double World Champion Alvaro Bautista, who remained upbeat and remains determined to win in WorldSBK: “Races can be like this; the important thing is that we led the race, at least for some metres! I’m happy because our performance has been increasing this weekend and I have more confidence. What happened in the race could always happen; when I got to Toprak, in other conditions, I’d have said ‘OK, breathe a bit and attack’ but now, I smelt the blood and wanted to attack straight away. I felt strong and I had a bit of bad luck. When things happen, it’s easy to say but I’m nearly 40 years old. Inside, I am 18! I have the same as a rookie which is good but sometimes, not so good. Fortunately, I still have this feeling and that means that I want to do it. Not like that ‘P2 here is OK’; if I can win, I’ll try. There was no strategy for the last five laps; just full gas, the maximum I could. At the moment, I have nothing to lose. We were close to fighting with Toprak and I hope that at Magny-Cours, we keep making small steps and reduce the gap.”

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “I must be happy but I’m not!”

Two podiums out of three but missing out in Race 2, Danilo Petrucci summed up one of his weekends: “After the good result of the Superpole Race, I thought Toprak was a step ahead and he showed his true potential. I thought I’d be able to fight for the podium in Race 2 but the wind was so strong and a problem for me. I’m quite tall but I keep the rear really sat down and the front quite high, so I was suffering in the long corners. This meant that in the first part of the race I was there but losing time out of the last corner and down the straight. When I caught van der Mark, we were in trouble because in every straight, he put himself in front of me and we lost the connection with the front group and also Iannone. We didn’t have the pace for the podium but the bike was tough to ride; the front was very unstable. I must be happy even if I’m not because I was looking for a podium in Race 2 but two podiums in three races means we gain a lot of points and we’re close to fifth overall in the Championship. We’ve were in the top five all weekend, so we look forward to Magny-Cours where it was positive last year.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “It’s good to see the consistency at so many tracks now”

Two podiums on Sunday for Alex Lowes, who closes right in on the top three overall in the Championship: “The wind changed direction and was strong; the bike was really unstable and dificult to ride. All my braking markers were completely out and the problem was the wind was different each lap, one lap strong and one lap not. In my head, I was thinking that everyone’s going to be struggling, not just me so I ahd to relax and keep focused. On the straight, Toprak hit the back of me; I think he got sucked in with the slipstream. I tried to follow him for a couple of laps and where I’m strong on the Kawasaki is the trail braking because you can carry a lot of speed into the corner but the others don’t ride like that. I nearly hit Toprak at Turn 3, lost time but then I just tried to manage. It’s good to see the consistency at so many tracks now, so I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours. For the top three overall in the standings, I’m not fast enough on speed, so it depends on the consistency of the other riders. Some weekends, we’ll be strong and on those, I’ll need to be on the podium. If I can finish in 6th, 7th and 5th on a bad weekend instead of zero points, maybe I have a chance, especially if Alvaro has a DNF. I feel like I’m riding as good as I have ever ridden; I enjoy each weekend and the result will be what it’ll be.”

Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW): “Toprak’s making the difference”

After a season-best P4, Garrett Gerloff explained his Portimao strength and looked at the BMW performance and how Toprak makes the most of the package: “I had a good weekend in 2024; it’s a track that plays to our strengths, with a lot of braking on the side of the tyre and I feel like I have a good feeling with it and I can finesse it a bit. From FP1, I felt good and I said to the guys not to touch anything. The bike is working really well, I feel like I can predict what it’s going to do and that makes a world of difference in how I can ride. If you look at my race pace from this year to last, I think it’s the same. Toprak’s making the difference; I’d like to say it’s the bike but all my races this year have been slower. I haven’t had the feeling to ride this year how I wanted to ride and then it’s been a scramble to figure it out.”

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