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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is one quarter down in 2025 and it’s been an incredible start to the season, with a title fight emerging between reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and sophomore rider Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), but the field very close behind them and ready to take advantage of any mishaps that may befall the #1 and #11. With nine races done, three different winners already, plus eight riders standing on the rostrum, what have we learnt from the first three rounds of 2025?

BULEGA VS RAZGATLIOGLU SHAPING UP TO BE A TITLE FIGHT: little to separate the pair

Bulega claimed a hat-trick in Australia, and then Razgatlioglu responded with one of his own at Portimao to make it 3-3 heading to Assen. After the Dutch Round, it’s 4-4 – although perhaps not very reflective of their performances in Round 3. Bulega had the edge all weekend in terms of pace but two retirements on Sunday meant ‘El Turco’ was able to close the gap in the standings despite finishing off the podium in the long races; while Bulega won Race 1 and Razgatlioglu the Tissot Superpole Race. Portimao was close with three last-lap fights, showing both that Bulega has made a step and Razgatlioglu and BMW aren’t as clear at the front they were last year – so what will the rest of 2025 bring?

BAUTISTA CLOSER TO THE TOP: results perhaps not showing true performance

After a season of struggle in 2024, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) looks closer to his best in 2025 – even if his points tally is almost 50 points down on 2024 after three rounds. In Tissot Superpole, the #19 was ninth, 11^th and seventh in the first three rounds last year, compared to fourth, ninth and fifth this year, with his one-lap pace often holding him back in 2024. With the Spaniard closer to the front on the grid, he’s making his life easier and not having to pull off fight backs every weekend – now, it’s just a case of putting it together for a whole weekend. He’s got six podiums in nine races, but the three he’s not gotten rostrums in, he’s not scored at all thanks to various crashes. He’s stated himself that he’s not quite with Bulega and Razgatlioglu, but he’s on the right path.

LOCATELLI REVELS AS YAMAHA LEADER: race winner at last, only rider to score in all nine races

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) may have waited 154 races before tasting glory in WorldSBK, but his path to that point – particularly in the last two years – has been evident to all. Since Razgatlioglu’s departure and Jonathan Rea's arrival, the #55 has often been the lead Yamaha rider and it’s a role he appears to be revelling in. He’s the only rider to have scored points in all nine races this season and his worst result is a pair of P7s in Australia. In fact, since Portimao, he’s been in the top five in all races, which culminated in victory at Assen. Of course, it seems to be improvements across the board at Yamaha, which leaves one question unanswered: how will Rea fare on his return? It wouldn’t be a surprise if it took him a while to get back ‘bike fit’, but the Yamaha package looks good especially after the introduction of the superconcession chassis.

BIMOTA’S CONSISTENCY: a strong but unspectacular return

Bimota’s return has been marked by consistency so far in 2025 as they continue refining the KB998 Rimini machine. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) has the team’s best result so far with P5, in Race 2 at Assen, with him and teammate Alex Lowes often in the top eight – with the exception of Portimao, when Lowes lost his best Tissot Superpole time and had to start from the back in all three races. The wet Race 1 at Assen, the first time the bike was raced in the rain, also proved challenging but there’s been plenty of upsides for Bimota upon their return; not least, Bassani’s P4 on the timesheets in Superpole at Assen and their consistency with both riders. Expect more improvements as the season progresses.

INDEPENDENT RIDERS IN THE MIX: incredibly tight midfield

A plethora of Independent riders have shown their prowess in the first three rounds, with three riders – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) – claiming podiums (it’s worth noting that GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team are a ‘referent’ team so Remy Gardner's podium doesn’t count for Independent riders), while the #14 also took pole at Assen. Rookies have been strong up and down the field, with Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) able to score points in four of his nine races so far, and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) scoring in five races so far. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) had his best WorldSBK weekend at Assen as he finished P9 in the Tissot Superpole Race but was also able to score points in the two long races as he edges closer to a consistent run of points.

HONDA AND KAWASAKI: contrasting starts for the two brands

Honda have seemingly started 2025 how they ended 2024, which will give the Japanese manufacturer hope that they can end the year even stronger. Despite a tricky Australia, Honda have had representation in the top ten in every race since the season-opener, with a best of P5 in Race 1 at the TT Circuit Assen courtesy of Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC). At Kawasaki, Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) showed good pace in testing but that’s yet to convert into results for the #31 with 14 points from nine races. The good news for the Texan is his race times have not been far away from Alex Lowes' 2024 efforts when races are comparable, so perhaps regular points and top tens aren’t far away for Gerloff and Kawasaki.

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