SBK | Toprak never satisfied with records: “I’m aiming for the 12th consecutive victory”

When Toprak Razgatlioglu announced his move to BMW for 2024 last year, no one would have bet on his competitiveness, on the contrary. Yet, the Turk has not only amazed from the start with significant performances, but is also at the top of the championship, becoming the man to beat for the Superbike title.

The production-derived bikes returned to action this weekend at Portimao, where Razgatlioglu was coming in strong of three consecutive hat-tricks (Misano, Donington and Most). However, before dominating the races unchallenged, he had already won Race 2 at Assen. So, he came into Race 1 at Portimao with a record in hand: if he had won, he would have reached 11 wins in a row and would have equalled the number of consecutive victories owned by Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista.

And so it was, after an initial phase of the race in which it seemed he could be beaten, Toprak made his move, taking his 11th triumph. “The race was not easy because of the heat, everyone was very strong and trying to pass. At the beginning I wasn’t pushing, but after half the race I started to push,” explains the Turk, describing the race, which was not dominated from the traffic light to the checkered flag, on the contrary.

It looked like the winning streak was about to be broken, as Danilo Petrucci, who started from third on the grid, managed to take the lead. However, the BMW rider took back the lead, dictating the pace until the checkered flag: “Danilo was also pushing hard and we had some battles. After I passed him, I was just trying to continue riding alone, but he was pushing hard. In the end, we managed to win, which is a very important win for me because it’s 11 wins in total.”

Razgatlioglu himself realizes the milestone he has reached, but now he has another record in his sights: he wants to overtake his two rivals and take his 12th consecutive win. He will have the chance to do so in the Superpole Race, which will start today in the early afternoon: “11 consecutive wins is a new record for me, but I am focused on the twelfth win, I hope to win the Superpole Race and beat the record. We will see, we will have a great party if I win the twelfth race”.