News

The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s fifth round is done and it was another memorable weekend which saw an incredible display of racing and battling. Right throughout the grid, stories were made and they continued when the riders spoke to the international media at the end of each day, leading to some rather spicy headlines. Check them all out below!

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We’re coming step-by-step for the world title”

A second consecutive hat-trick, seven wins on the spin, nine wins in 2024 from 15 races, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s on fire, leaving the rest to just admire: “Last year, it wasn’t easy to breathe on the bike; every lap and corner, I was pushing more than 100%. Now, the BMW is fast on the straight, the engine braking is incredible and the bike is working. It’s stop and turns easily and now I’m riding like in my style but with a different bike. This weekend, everything was under control, I’m just lucky that we didn’t have a technical problem. I did three wins; we’re coming step-by-step for the world title; every weekend, we improve the bike. The feeling is very good but maybe at Most, everything changes. I hope I win there with three wins too but we’ll see there.”

Of course, there was a special seat celebration on Sunday: “The seat is perfect; I think everyone saw that we checked it and it’s really good! It’s helping too; I asked my guys at Misano but now thanks to the other guys, pushing for the new seat, I’m enjoying it more. On corner exit, I’m not sliding or going back. In general I am happy as we did three wins. There were some complaints by another team and we chanegd the seat; normally we use a lower one and instead we used a higher one but it didn’t change.”

Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “There’s certain people where you see a special talent…”

Talking about the level of Toprak, old sparring partner Jonathan Rea reflected on the #54’s weekend: “There’s certain people where you see a special talent. You see it all around the paddock, there’s lots of talented people and they have opportunities, but they fall or don’t make the most of them. Toprak’s now made the best of all the opportunities. A super talented guy and it’s nice to see a rider riding like that, as much as it sucks to race against him. It looks almost effortless. People can think it looks easy but it’s far from easy, I can assure you. Toprak’s now the benchmark in WorldSBK. I can’t take any credit for Toprak’s success at all, but when he first joined the Championship and the Kawasaki family with Puccetti in Superstock, I was a massive fan. He was like a teammate. We’d eat a lot together, even when we had rival times. He’s a good guy, a hard rider; I always enjoyed my battles with Toprak. It’s nice to see him get the success he deserves. I didn’t expect him to be so dominant this year. In a class full of fast guys, he’s definitely a standout.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “The feeling I have with the bike isn’t the best and it doesn’t help to keep racing”

Reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista is yet to announce a decision about 2025 and after a tricky Donington Park, the decision is no clearer: “The feeling I have with the bike isn’t the best and it doesn’t help to keep racing. Let’s see. At the moment, we need to find something that makes me ride the bike as I want. After Most, I think we have more time, and let’s try to make a decision. It’s not clear yet. For me, it’s important to have fun with the bike. Right now, I don’t. I know if have fun and I can ride as I want, I’m sure we can fight for good things like the Championship. Until we have that feeling, it’s impossible.”

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team): “It’d be a dream to have been in the factory Ducati MotoGP™ and factory Ducati WorldSBK teams.”

One rider who’d enjoy replacing Bautista if necessary is Danilo Petrucci, with the Italian speaking on Friday, saying: “I’d be happy if I can continue with Barni and I don’t know, at the moment, what situations are open. I’m not looking at the market. I can’t move in the chess game if someone doesn’t move. First of all, I’m feeling very good with Barni but I think these two rounds are the key for next year. I’d like to go on Alvaro’s bike! It’s a target but it doesn’t depend on me. Even if I can be faster than Alvaro, he will be racing in the same team. If he stops, I’d very happy to go on his bike. It would be a dream to have been in the factory Ducati MotoGP™ and factory Ducati WorldSBK. It’s something that maybe Bayliss and Melandri did, also Checa; big names.”

Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven): “I prefer racing here”

Andrea Iannone’s future was once again a key story throughout the Prosecco DOC UK Round, starting on Friday: “Lots of news but I follow my priority like before. If people are waiting, I’m waiting, no problem. I don’t have stress, I have my target. I know for trying to win the Championship, I know what I want and I want to fight for this. At the end, the reality is at Assen we finished the race really close to victory. In case I struggle here, maybe I prefer to struggle in different championships. It doesn’t only depend on me. There’s a lot of passion in the garage, it’s like a family but I don’t see many families winning the Championship. I’m here because I want to try to achieve the best result possible. In MotoGP™ now, it’s another story. Independent teams are at a good level, supported by the manufacturers. I remember when I started with Pramac in 2013, they started with me with a good relationship with Ducati. It was a factory supported satellite team. The story and the target is to get young riders ready for the factory team. Here’s a little bit different. It’s another Championship, another story. This Championship is really good, I love it and the passion inside this paddock. I prefer racing here. We will see. My opinion is don’t stress. It’s important to have a factory bike in WorldSBK, with factory support.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Pere is 15% bike and then he's 85% about me and my confidence”

On Saturday, Alex Lowes spoke of the improvements made within Kawasaki and his new crew chief as well as the change of dynamic within the KRT box: “I’m riding in a lot of a better way and a lot of it is what I’m doing myself but also with my team in the garage. Taking the most of the bike and getting everything out of it. The bike has won six world titles and it’s very good. We have a lot of experience with the bike. When I joined Kawasaki, Marcel Duinker was perfect as he had so much knowledge about the bike but with Pere, he’s 15% about the bike and then he's 85% about me and my confidence. For my character, it’s working better. In the end, you have to take the most from the bike and yourself with as little mistakes as possible and as close to the limit as possible and that’s what Pere is about.

“When I first jumped on the Kawasaki – I don’t even want to say it because I don’t want to talk about Jonny; Jonny’s fantastic – but I won my first race with Kawasaki. Away from the track, I had so many injuries and problems. Last year, I had two operations in August and September. I came back and I qualified in front of Jonny twice. Didn’t beat him in the race because I wasn’t as consistent. I have never been slower than him. I would prefer if he was still there, but it cannot be because he’d be with Pere and this has also helped me. I would like to be riding at my best and see how I compare with him. I didn’t want to say that because he’s someone I miss having in the garage. I have a lot of respect for him and everything he’s achieved. He’s one of my best friends in the paddock. I wish he was still there and me riding better to see how I compare because I don’t think I was at my best in the last couple of years.”

2024 IS UNMISSABLE: watch the battles unfold with the WorldSBK VideoPass!