Toprak Razgatlioglu makes history with remarkable treble at Portimao WorldSBK

In a stunning display of skill and dominance Toprak Razgatliolu achieved an unprecedented feat by winning all three races at Portimao WorldSBK.

Toprak Razgatlioglu delivered an extraordinary performance at the 2024 Portimao WorldSBK round, achieving a historic clean sweep by winning all three races over the weekend.

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider secured his 13th consecutive race win and also marked his fourth weekend of triple wins.

However, the final race did not come easy for Razgatlioglu as he was run closer in Race Two by the Ducati riders but ultimately the Championship leader extended his lead to 92 points after Alvaro Bautista crashed with four laps remaining as he was battling for the lead with the BMW rider.

Meanwhile, Nicolo Bulega finally claimed a podium in the final race after finishing second, only 0.035 seconds behind Razgatlioglu as he crossed the line.

Race 2 had a highly positive start for Danilo Petrucci, who led in the initial stages, but it didn’t take long for Razgatlioglu to claim the lead and follow up with a rare mistake, allowing Alex Lowes to take the lead.

A minute later it was Michael Van Der Mark’s turn to also pass to the front while further back Alvaro Bautista took fourth position after edging Nicolo Bulega. Lap four, Lowes took the lead from van der Mark into turn one as Razgatlioglu took third back from Bulega.

On lap five, Razgatlioglu took second place from his teammate as Lowes set a 1’41.051 fastest lap in the lead. Four Ducatis lined up behind the podium runners, with Bautista leading Bulega, Iannone and Petrucci, but Bautista split the group by taking ti=hird place from Van der Mark win lap five.

Razgatlioglu would later lose a wing as he tagged Lowes down the straight, taking the lead after setting a 1’40.782 fastest lap. The Turk carried on as the fastest man on track in spite of his missing left wing pushing him wide in some corners.

Bautista passed Lowes while matching Razgatlioglu’s lap pace with under a second between them. Van der Mark slid his rear into turn five, slowing both himself and Bulega behind him, and Bulega made a move after they recovered to tale fourth place behind Lowes.

Razgatlioglu stretched out a one second lead over Bautista in spite of the two being the fastest men on track. Bautista set a personal best one lap nine, but it was over a tenth slower than Razgatlioglu’s lap. Bautista finally started escaping from Lowes who had Bulega behind him to deal with.

At half race distance, Toprak Razgatlioglu led Alvaro Bautista by over a second with Nicolo Bulega passing Alex Lowes to be within a second of Bautista. Andrea Iannone was a second behind Lowes with Michael van der Mark fighting with Danilo Petrucci behind him.

By lap 12 Bautista had closed to half a second off Razgatlioglu by setting a 1’40.753 fastest lap as he closed in. Bautista closed further to start lap fourteen under half a second off the lead. A lap later, Bautista used his superior pace in the last sector to close up on Razgatlioglu.

Sector two, the place where the BMW’s missing wing hurt Razgatlioglu the most, Bautista kept on Razgatlioglu and they started lap sixteen of twenty with Bautista taking the lead down the straight but losing it to Razgatlioglu into turn one.

Bautista took the lead into turn three but Razgatlioglu dove under him into turn five. Bautista tried to keep up with Razgatlioglu in turn five, but he lost the front and slid off track trying to cut under the BMW. Nicolo Bulega replaced Bautista and closed up on Razgatlioglu to start lap seventeen under three tenths of a second behind him.

Lap eighteen, Razgatlioglu led Bulega by just three hundredths of a second with Alex Lowes four lonely seconds behind as Andrea Iannone was almost two seconds off the podium with Danilo Petrucci and Michael Van der Mark three seconds further back.

Razgatlioglu upped his pace to a tenth quicker than Bulega but a lap later, Bulega was back on him in no time. They started the last lap together with under a tenth between them over the line but Razgatlioglu defended into turn one and escaped a few tenths in the early sectors and a few more later.

Toprak Razgatlioglu won by three and a half hundredths of a second as Nicolo Bulega made a run out of the last corner down the straight, with the BMW holding off the Ducati onto the straight. Alex Lowes crossed the line six seconds after to finish third ahead of Andrea Iannone.

The Italian was ahead of compatriot Petrucci, who was unable to find late-race pace, crossing the line to round out a competitive top five. Meanwhile, Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) took sixth, ending the weekend with a strong result after beating van der Mark late in the race.

Garett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was eighth ahead of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) who finished his best weekend of the season so far. While Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crossed the line behind Vierge, rounding out the top 10.

2024 Portimao WorldSBK Race Two Results