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Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) secured the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto on Saturday when he finished second in Race 1 behind Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati). After the crown was secured, the #54’s rivals spoke about Razgatlioglu’s title success with everyone full of praise for the two-time World Superbike Champion.

BULEGA: “It’s already an honour for me to fight with Toprak”

Razgatlioglu beat Bulega to this year’s crown, but the rookie was full of praise for his rival: “I have to be fair, Toprak did an amazing job this year. He changed manufacturers and he won the title in his first year after changing. We know Toprak is always very strong. I knew before the season that he was one of the best guys. It’s already an honour for me to fight with Toprak until the penultimate race of the season because I’m in my first year, and it wasn’t expected for me to do this. I’m really happy about what we did and congratulations to them. I hope my time will come.”

REA: “No words… doing it with a different manufacturer, not many people are in that club”

Six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) battled ‘El Turco’ for the 2021 title, while he also helped him when he first joined WorldSBK in 2018. He said: “I’ve got no words for Toprak. When he came to Kawasaki in 2018 from STK1000, we always ate together anyway in the Puccetti hospitality and I had a real bond with him, because I felt like in the first days in WorldSBK, I was able to speed up his learning transition. I helped him as much as I could. Now he’s a two-time World Champion. It’s incredible and he deserves it a lot. He’s had an incredible year. Changing manufacturers and doing it with a different manufacturer, not many people are in that club. I hope he enjoys the moment. This year’s been about him, his dominance has been incredible. He’s definitely the man of 2024. Everyone asks me about my titles, and it’s the first one that means the most. It’s always the most special. To change manufacturers and win in the first year is also special. His growth as a rider and popularity as a rider has increased ten-fold.”

BAUTISTA: “He adapted very well to the bike and the combination has been very strong”

Two-time Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) fought with Razgatlioglu in 2022 and 2023 as the Spaniard won the title and, while he’s relinquished it to Razgatlioglu, was full of praise for the Turkish superstar: “He and BMW had an incredible season. I don’t know if anybody expected him to fight for the title, but honestly, I did. Maybe not the level he showed because, especially in mid-season, he was really strong, and it was very difficult to beat him. He had a bit of luck with the crash at Magny-Cours because he came back to ride again. They deserve it. He adapted very well to the bike and the combination has been very strong. Congratulations to all of them. I hope to fight in the future with them! He’s a really talented rider and he works really hard. He always tries to improve to be better and faster. This kind of rider, with this character, always deserves victories and titles.”

LOCATELLI: “He was really fast this year, it was difficult to beat him…”

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was teammates to Razgatlioglu at Yamaha between 2021 and 2023, with the double Champion helping Locatelli when he first arrived in WorldSBK. ‘Loka’ said: “I want to say a big congratulations to Toprak because I think he did an amazing job, also with the BMW. I think he showed his real potential. He was really fast this year, it was difficult to beat him! We did it at Phillip Island so it’s not impossible but it’s not easy in every race. I know he was my teammate, and maybe I would like, in the future, to be teammates again. He’s a good guy. I’d like to fight with him on track!”

Congratulate Razgatlioglu on social media using #BackOnTOPrak and relive his best 2024 moments using the WorldSBK VideoPass!