Superbike races on a driver’s track like the Autodrom Most with its 21 corners are almost guaranteed to be a spectacle and excitement. If someone like BMW newcomer Razgatlioglu dominates on July 20, 2024, however, only the battle for the podium is really exciting. In the background of our photo from Saturday on the hill in the middle is the landmark of the small Czech town.

First WorldSBK race from Most with continuation of Toprak dominance

As we announced in the preliminary report for the Czech round, the Turkish world championship leader had no opponent on the first day of racing who could have challenged him for victory. With Sunday as the final point of the first half of the season, provided Razgatlioglu makes no mistakes and is spared from defects, his lead over the closest pursuers in the interim classification should increase significantly. Because the factory Ducati riders Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista’s top speed advantages were not enough on the most winding track on the calendar, despite the 792-meter-long straight, they were badly beaten this time by BMW ace Toprak and also the Ducati private riders “Petrux” and “The Maniac”. Of course, it should come as no surprise that two men, Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Iannone, who regularly saw the checkered flag ahead of Bautista in MotoGP a few years ago, finished well ahead of him. But his Italian Aruba.it factory team colleague Bulega was also no match for his two renowned compatriots and ultimately had to bow to the little Spaniard. The result below shows a real Ducati Dominan, which was only disturbed by Toprak and Gardner in the top six on Saturday afternoon.

In addition to the two Ducati private pilots from Italy, Yamaha hopeful Remy Gardner and Bonovo Action BMW spearhead Garrett Gerloff were once again the most convincing this time. But Michael van der Mark (BMW) and veteran Johnny Rea (Yamaha) also showed a strong race on Saturday, as did Andrea Locatelli, while Scottie Redding was unable to repeat his top results from Donington.
Our photo from the start of the first race of the 2024 Superbike World Championship in Most with Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW M-1000RR) in the front left of the picture, who made short work of everything from the start and was already driving his own race after just a few corners. A huge disappointment this time were the Turk’s two pursuers in the World Championship, who will have to improve enormously on Sunday in order to keep the title fight somewhat open at the halfway point of the season.

Jonathan Rea must hope for the sprint race

Although he initially lost four positions from 15th place on the grid, the record world champion fought his way up into the top ten. Due to his crash in the Superpole on Saturday morning, the main aim of the Tissot Sprint Race the next day is to finish at least in the top nine in order to improve his starting position for the final race. This of course also applies to van der Mark and his BMW brand colleague Redding, for whom the Superpole was a disappointment. The Englishman is doing much better with P11 than the Dutchman, who, like Rea, crashed in qualifying. But they are not the only problem cases. The Swiss fans of number 77, who have travelled quite a long way, will also have to worry about their idol over time. 13th place is all the more bitter for Remy Gardner’s team-mate because the Australian recovered from his brief dip at Donington Park with P5. Kawasaki ace Alex Lowes also had to accept a setback this time. The fast man from Lincoln crashed primarily because shortly after his overtaking maneuver against Bulega in turn 20 was successful, he was promptly caught up by Bulega on the straight due to the latter’s top speed advantage. Turn 2 meant the end of Alex’s race and his crash unfortunately also cost him his connection to the top three.

Scott Redding looks sceptical after the first race on Saturday afternoon. With just one point for 15th place, the Englishman fell well short of his own and the team’s expectations, not least because he had really blossomed in Donington a week ago and was hopeful at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps we have a more positive picture of the BMW driver from the following day. Left in our picture Esteve “Tito” Rabat (Kawasaki).
The race track with the most corners on the WorldSBK calendar, a total of 12 on the right and 9 on the left. At turn 10 there is the area for the so-called long-lap penalty, the nonsense introduced in 2019, with which the autocratic FIM commissioners have another means of demonstrating their power. With their far too often arbitrary and sometimes one-sided decisions, even in MotoGP, these officials naturally made no new friends, especially in the paddock.

The situation before the last day in Brüx

While Toprak was able to extend his lead over his closest rival Bulega to a massive 56 points, defending champion Bautista is already 67 points behind the Turk. If Razgatlioglu is as dominant on Sunday as he was on the first day of racing, he will return to his homeland with a comfortable cushion in the interim classification before the three-week break until the Portugal round. This is a huge challenge for the two Aruba.it Ducati spearheads Bulega and Bautisa, also because their competition from their own camp could cost them important points, as was the case on Saturday. With two former MotoGP aces competing as private pilots on the Panigale V4R, the brand from Borgo Panigale near Bologna now seems to be getting in its own way when it comes to the fight for this year’s title. Even without the now completely hopeless Yamaha newcomer Jonathan Rea, the Italians, spoiled by success, now have several problems. In any case, relying on Bautista for the coming season would probably be a mistake, which is why the people around “mastermind” Gigi dall Igna are probably hoping that the Spanish pipsqueak will hang up his helmet at the end of 2024. Without an absolute top driver in their factory team, they will probably have no chance against BMW with Razgatlioglu next year either.

From outsider before the start of the season to dominator of the year 2024 – exceptional phenomenon Toprak (BMW M-1000RR) for once not on the front wheel when crossing the checkered flag. Defending champion Bautista lost over 9 seconds to the Turkish superstar and has to hope for a small miracle to even have a say in victories or even the lead in the World Championship.

The Superbike World Championship program for Sunday (local time)

9.00 – 9.10 – SBK Warm-up
11.00 – Superpole race
14.00 – SBK Race 2

A disappointed Jonathan Rea (Yamaha R1) despite his strong performance, photographed by us after his first race in Most, behind him is his crew chief Andrew Pitt. His goal for Sunday morning is clear and if he rides as well as he did the day before, he should make it into the top 9.

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© WorldSBK).