WorldSBK Report Round 8 2025 | Hungarian hat-trick for Razgatlioglu

WorldSBK Report Round 8 2025 | Hungarian hat-trick for Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team #1) rider claimed a third consecutive hat-trick as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visited Hungary for the first time in 35 years. Report: WorldSBK/Ed Stratmann

Friday practice
WorldSBK

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team #14) was the fastest rider on Friday at Balaton Park as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s first day at the new circuit concluded. The British star was one of only two riders to lap in the 1’39 bracket as he beat Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) by more than two tenths in the combined classification on the opening day of the Hungarian Round.

Read our previous WorldSBK reports here…

Fresh from inking a new two-year deal with Yamaha, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team #87) finished as the fastest rider in blue as he took fifth overall with a 1’40.484s behind Andrea Iannone (#29) and Iker Lecuona (#7).

WorldSSP

For the first time in the Championship’s history, the FIM Supersport World Championship grid took to the Hungarian Round’s new Balaton Park Circuit for their Tissot Superpole session. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse #11) earned a much-needed pole position, as he was followed on the front row by Riders’ Championship second-place rider Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team #61) and Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing #32).

Saturday
WorldSBK

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed his 22nd WorldSBK pole position and the first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship pole at the Balaton Park Circuit by almost half a second during the Tissot Superpole session. ‘El Turco’ had been quick all weekend and logged an eye-catching 0.477s margin over Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) at the Hungarian Round, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha #55) on the front row for the first time in 664 days.

WorldSBK Race 1

MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s 999th race got off to a bumpy start with an early red flag restart. Once the race restarted, the defending Champion was off like a shot for his 13th win of the season. His victory marked his 31st win with BMW, tying Colin Edwards’ career win tally with Honda.

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11) stemmed the #1’s point gain with his sixth-consecutive P2 to clinch his 43rd WorldSBK podium. In P3, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19) earned his 119th career rostrum finish.

As the pack funnelled into Turn 2 on the opening lap, seven riders took a spill in a chain reaction of crashes that took place, involving Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven), Petrucci (#9), Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team #5), Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing #17), Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC), Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team #31).

Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) was handed a double Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards for the restarted race. While he was seen back in his box, Vickers did not take part in the restarted race. Gardner and Lecuona were taken to the medical centre following the crash and declared unfit. Lecuona was diagnosed with a left wrist fracture, and Gardner was transported to hospital for further assessment with a back contusion and suspected concussion.

At the second lights out, Razgatlioglu took the holeshot into Turn 1 ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Pulling away lap after lap, ‘El Turco’ was already 3.166s ahead of the rest of the grid by Lap 6, steaming ahead for his 70th career win. After Sam Lowes crashed from second place on Lap 7, Bulega inherited P2 to mitigate Toprak’s point gain. After a clinical overtake on Locatelli on Lap 9 at Turn 9, passing the Yamaha rider under braking, Bautista earned his second consecutive podium after tasting the Prosecco in Race 2 at Donington.

Locatelli started the race well, but to his misfortune, Bulega and later Bautista shuffled him aside to relegate the #55 to P4. Petrucci was forced to start at the back of the grid for the restarted race. ‘Petrux’ was unable to exit the pit lane in the one-minute window when it opened ahead of the sighting lap, meaning he joined the rest of the field for the Warm Up lap but started from last. Undeterred, Petrucci cut his way up the timesheet, finishing the contest in P5 – his original starting position.

“For me, the race started out easy, but when I was trying to manage the race in the last laps, I could feel the tyre starting to drop. I could manage it because I had a big gap, and it was overall a good start before the two races tomorrow,”explained Razgatlioglu.

WorldSBK Race 1 Results

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.738s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +6.002s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +13.993s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +16.174s

WorldSSP Race 1

Closing out the opening day of racing action at Balaton Park Circuit’s Hungarian Round, the FIM Supersport World Championship grid took to the lakeside circuit for their first race of the weekend. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing #62) beat out Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) as the pair featured in P1 or P2 for the sixth race in a row. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) finished on the podium in P3 for his sixth podium of the year as he enjoyed a return to form.

Can Oncu was quick as usual at lights out, claiming the holeshot to start the race. Early on, he led the encounter ahead of Bo Bendsneyder, Filippo Farioli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse #77) and Stefano Manzi, who started back in P5. Manzi slowly reeled in the Turkish rider, until striking on Lap 10 to push Oncu down from P1, and quickly carved out a margin of more than a second between him and the #61. The Championship leader would go on to lock down the race win from there.

Oncu finished in P2, complicating his comeback hopes in the Championship picture. Fellow Yamaha and WorldSSP rookie Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA #37) looked like he would earn his first WorldSSP podium for most of the encounter, battling well with factory MV Agusta teammates Bo Bendsneyder and Filippo Farioli. However, nearing the end of the race, Bendsneyder got out in front and didn’t let go of the podium position to finish P3.

Garcia was relegated off the podium for P4 by Bendsneyder and was later further demoted to P5 after being given an Irresponsible Riding penalty by FIM WorldSBK Stewards. Farioli finished in P5; however, after Garcia’s penalty, he was bumped up to P4. Simon Jespersen (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team #43) in P6 earned the best result of his 39-race WorldSSP career.

WorldSSP Race 1 Results

1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) +3.834s
3. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +5.775s
4. Filippo Farioli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 8.680s
5. Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA) 9.000s

Sunday
Superpole Race

The 1000th MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship race is in the books, closing out the first millennium of WorldSBK racing action.

The weather threw a spanner in the works, though, as morning rain left damp patches on the track. But Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) rode undeterred, winning his 14th race this season and eighth straight, leading Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) onto the podium. Bautista and Razgatlioglu have now shared the podium 83 times, just two rostrum finishes shy of Rea and Razgatlioglu, who hold the record. Sam Lowes’ P3 finish earned him his third podium for his second in two rounds.

Toprak landed the holeshot from pole position, looking poised to sail away from the rest of the grid, until Sam Lowes and Danilo Petrucci overtook him on Lap 3. As the race dragged into the latter laps, Petrucci sank down the order, falling out of the podium places to P7 with three laps to go.

Razgatlioglu laid down two 1’40s laps late in the contest to seal his second race win of the weekend, the defending Champion claiming the glory of having won Race 800, Race 900 and now Race 1000. Each milestone with a different manufacturer: first Kawasaki, then Yamaha and now BMW for Race 1000.

Sam Lowes’ (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) thunderous pace to start the race held on long enough to land him P2, but his first WorldSBK win continues to elude him. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) found a way through to P3 early in the running, earning him a solitary third-place rostrum finish as he was five seconds behind Lowes and three seconds ahead of Locatelli, who placed P4. Notably, tyre strategy seemed to play an important role in the mixed conditions, with the podium finishers all opting for slick tyres.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) followed ‘El Turco’ into the first corner in P2, but strong rides from Sam Lowes and Alvaro Bautista pushed him down to fourth for the 38th time in his career. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) took home P5, tying his best result of the season.

Superpole Race Results

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’40.649s
2. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +2.810s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +7.251s
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +10.216s
5. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) +10.509s

WorldSBK Race 2

The final curtain was pulled on a historic return to Hungary for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. And Razgatlioglu came out on top, winning his ninth straight race. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took P2, landing Italy’s 499th WorldSBK podium. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) took home the last rostrum spot for his fourth podium in the Championship.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took the holeshot, leading the race momentarily before Razgatlioglu wrestled the position from him by cutting down the inside of the Spaniard. By the start of the race’s fifth lap, ‘El Turco’ had already accrued a gap of 4.127s, cruising with tranquillity for his second-consecutive hat trick.

Behind him, Lowes and Bautista battled for P2 in the early running, until Bulega, who had worked his way up the grid from his P10 start, slipped past the pair to claim P2 for his own. Lowes and Bautista continued their duel – now fighting for P3 – until Bautista suffered a costly Turn 8 lowside to end his race early.

Finishing in P4, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) pushed hard to try to close the gap with the podium fight in front of him, having to make up time all by his lonesome as with nine laps to go, he had a three-second gap ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) in P5.

“It was an amazing weekend. We started very strong because this is a new track for everyone. I adapted quickly. We did a good job with the team. I’m happy with this,” Razgatlioglu reflected.

WorldSBK Race 2 Results

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +10.317s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +13.154s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +18.297s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 18.752s

Championship Points

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 407 points
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 386
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 233
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 218
5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 217

WorldSSP Race 2

For the final race of the inaugural round at Balaton Park Circuit, the FIM Supersport World Championship riders took to the grid for their Race 2.

Oncu took the holeshot ahead of contact between teammates Roberto Garcia (GMT94-YAMAHA) and Lucas Mahias (#94), sending several riders wide. Simon Jespersen (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) overtook him a lap later, leading a race for the first time this season. While he was overtaken later by Oncu and Manzi, the Dane fought back to P2, riding with Manzi with a second behind the pair with six laps to go. Manzi increased his gap slightly lap after lap, finishing the race in first place by nearly two seconds.

Jespersen has much to be proud of, as the Danish rider will leave Hungary with not only his first results within the top 10 but his first WorldSSP podium in P2. Behind that pair, Oncu and Bayliss clashed for P3, with Oncu coming out on top, riding defensively to keep Bayliss off the podium and into P4.

FUN FACT: Jespersen landed Denmark’s first podium since Robbin Harms in 2008 at Philip Island. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse #53) rode with a sizeable gap both in front and behind him, riding a meditative Race 2 to finish in a strong P5.

WorldSSP Race 2 Results

1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Simon Jespersen (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) +1.953s
3. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) +4.064s
4. Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +4.481s
5. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +6.335s

Championship Points

1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 294 points
2. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) 235
3. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 191
4. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) 188
5. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 172

WorldWCR
WorldWCR Race 1

The FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship kicked off its fourth round with race action in Hungary. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team #6) found her way around the brand-new Balaton Park Circuit the fastest for her fourth win of the season. Chloe Jones (GR Motorsport #15) landed her second podium in a row after her maiden rostrum finish at her home round last time out at Donington. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha #36) finished in third place for her seventh podium of the season after starting the contest from pole position.

Maria Herrera jumped ahead with the holeshot, leading Neila and Jones, who had a similarly rapid leap off the line from P6. That trio threw caution to the wind and traded overtakes to lead the race for stretches. Sarah Sanchez (#64) had caught up to the lead group by Lap 5, throwing her hat in the ring to make it a four-rider battle. Sanchez made an incisive move through the pack to P1, leading the group until the #6 reasserted herself at the front.

Herrera would go on to run away from the pack, though, winning her 10th race in the category. Chloe Jones benefitted from a final lap error from Neila, cutting past her in the final chicane for her first-ever WorldWCR P2. Neila shuffled down to the last spot on the podium, dropping a total of nine points to Herrera to increase the deficit to 18 points.

WorldWCR Race 1 Results

1. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team)
2. Chloe Jones (GR Motosport) +1.395s
3. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) +1.536s
4. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) +3.575s
5. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) +4.275s

WorldWCR Race 2

The Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship took to the track for their final race of the Hungarian Round at Balaton Park Circuit.

Herrera leapt forward from P3 for the holeshot, as Pakita Ruiz (PR46+1 Racing Team #46) and Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno #52) also gained positions. As the race continued, Jones and Neila floated back to the podium battle with Herrera, separated by a margin of around a second from the rest of the group for most of the race. Neila rounded the outside of Herrera to pass her, leaving a window behind her just big enough for Jones to sneak by to shuffle Herrera to P3.

Neila led the race into the final lap, the pair having separated themselves from Herrera, who was behind them. Jones pushed hard, but she lacked the track position to make a move on Neila, landing the #36 her third career WorldWCR Race win. Jones finished in P2, for her third podium in four races. Championship leader Herrera earned her eighth consecutive podium, but her P3 means her title lead was cut down to nine points.

WorldWCR Race 2 Results

1. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha)
2. Chloe Jones (GR Motosport) +0.220s
3. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) +0.862s
4. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) +4.615s
5. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) +4.997s

Championship Points

1. Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Racing Team) 172 points
2. Beatriz Neila (Ampito Crescent Yamaha) 163
3. Roberta Ponziani (Klint Forward Racing Team) 112
4. Sara Sanchez (Terra & Vita GRT Yamaha WorldWCR Team) 111
5. Chloe Jones (GR Motosport) 93

How did the Aussies Do?

Despite qualifying in a solid 11th, Remy Gardner’s weekend sadly came to a premature end after he was caught in a multi-rider incident at Turn 2 in Race 1. The Australian was taken to the medical centre before being transferred to hospital with a back contusion and suspected concussion. While initial scans came back clear, Gardner remained under observation overnight on Saturday and was declared unfit for Sunday’s races.

The #87 was subsequently released from hospital on Sunday and has now flown back to Barcelona to begin his recovery. After qualifying fourth before getting bumped onto his first front-row start due to a penalty for Jaume Masia, Oli Bayliss rode a solid Race 1 to claim eighth.

Then in Race 2, the Aussie really kicked into gear, rapidly moving into P4 in the opening laps. Bayliss held his position until lap eleven before making a decisive move on Can Oncu to launch his pursuit of a maiden podium finish.

What followed was a gripping scrap, as Bayliss and Oncu traded places in a thrilling back-and-forth battle. In the end, though, the young Australian crossed the line in fourth, which was his best-ever result in the World Supersport category.