Before arriving at Estoril there could be doubts about what performance we could find not only in Razgatlioglu and Bulega but in the rest of the leading drivers. But now, once the Portuguese round has passed, it is objectively clear that there is no one right now who can keep up with these two giants.
And one more weekend we have once again attended a new performance without a possible but from both the Turkish and the Italian. The battle continued in Estoril and will continue next weekend in Jerez, where the championship will end, and it will do so with the doubt of what would have happened if Bulega had not been beaten in Misano. Surely the battle would be even closer between the two.
SBK Estoril – Race 1: Toprak adds, Bulega resists and Bautista returns
The first race in Estoril started with Toprak in the lead after scoring a stratospheric pole, but everything changed during the start and a multiple fall with Bassani remaining in the middle of the track caused Sofuoglu, Nagashima and van der Mark to fall to the ground in addition to Tarran Mackenzie who was also involved, but avoided the fall. This situation forced a red flag to be raised although, fortunately, no drivers suffered serious injuries and everyone continued competing during the weekend.
So at the start Álvaro Bautista, who started from the front row, managed to take the lead with Bulega behind, while Razgatlioglu dropped to fifth place to begin a comeback that began at that very moment. And in just one lap he surpassed Rea and Locatelli as well as Bulega himself. At the beginning of the third lap, Toprak overtook Bautista and began to break away from the group.
Only Bulega, after also overtaking the Spaniard, was able to keep up with the Turk, even cutting back in the final laps to put pressure on, although he did not have the option of overtaking. Bautista completed the podium, cutting points from Petrucci who could not compete due to injury.
Locatelli, Bautista’s rival for third place overall, finished fourth, with Alex Lowes fifth, Jonathan Rea sixth, Xavi Vierge seventh and Andrea Iannone eighth but all in the same group. The top 10, but already alone, was completed by Gardner and Gerloff.
SBK Estoril – Superpole Race: Another one for Toprak
Once again Toprak did not take advantage of starting on pole, although this time it was Bulega who took the lead to begin a mini comeback that took him to first position at the beginning of the second lap. Of course, you could see a Toprak more on the limit, so much so that he even went wide in turn six of the same lap, although shortly after he returned to the front.
For a short time there was some more fighting, but then Razgatlioglu imposed his pace and thousandth by thousandth he achieved an advantage that was reduced again in the second part of the race and is a sign of the equality of strength between the two.
Finally, Razgatlioglu managed to beat Bulega by five tenths with Bautista fighting for the copper with Locatelli and Rea whom he finally left behind, the Northern Irishman ended up on the ground, but Locatelli was fourth, with Iannone fifth, Gardner sixth, Vierge seventh, Bassani eighth and van der Mark ninth and last driver in the points.
SBK Estoril – Race 2: Bulega counterattacks and brings the title to Jerez alive
Before starting the second race, Toprak already had a mathematical chance of winning the title, although remote. He had to lead Nicolo by 18 more points, so although it was technically possible it was unlikely. Even so, Razgatlioglu came out with the intention of sentencing the title and Bulega with the intention of continuing fighting.
Once again, a bad start from Razgatlioglu added to the good one from Bulega and Bautista made things difficult for the Turk as much as Andrea Iannone, who despite being sanctioned with a double long lap for overtaking the start in the initial stages, before receiving the sanction, gave battle to the Turk. On this occasion, Toprak’s lost distance from Bulega and the time it took for the BMW rider to have a clear path to go after the Ducati rider led to Nicolo opening a gap that the Turk could not close in the rest of the race.
It depends on the moment of the race, Razgatlioglu got closer, but at other times Bulega opened a gap and thus, with a tough fight in the distance, Bulega won, reduced the five points lost in race 1 and remains with a chance of winning the title although it does not depend solely on him. Bautista completed the podium in his most complete weekend of the year, although 15 seconds behind his teammate.
And the incredibly high level of Razgatlioglu and Bulega this season means that the Turk has led 323 laps and the Italian 216. Third in that ranking is Bautista only with nine to the five of Locatelli, the four of Sam Lowes, three of Alex Lowes and one of Ryan Vickers.
Returning to the overall race, Alex Lowes was fourth, with Locatelli fifth, Vierge sixth, Gardner seventh, Bassani eighth, Rea ninth and van der Mark tenth, closing the top 10 of the penultimate weekend of WSBK 2025. The good thing is that next weekend we will have the outcome in Jerez.
