BMW M 1000 RR Triumphs in Barcelona: Razgatlioglu’s Stellar Weekend Leads Team to Victory

The Barcelona weekend marked a significant triumph for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the 2024 FIM Superbike World Championship’s second event. The team celebrated a notable victory and pole position on Saturday, and Sunday brought more reasons to celebrate. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) with his BMW M 1000 RR secured another win in the thrilling Superpole Race in the morning before taking third in the second main race of the day. Michael van der Mark (NED) made a commendable comeback to finish fourth, while the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team achieved a top ten finish with Garrett Gerloff (USA).

The Superpole Race was a nail-biter from the start. Razgatlioglu, beginning from pole, found himself in fifth but climbed to fourth by lap four. A lap later, he executed a stunning move to retake the lead. The race saw him exchange the lead with Ducati’s Andrea Iannone (ITA) and Alvaro Bautista (ESP), culminating in a breathtaking last-corner maneuver to secure his second victory of the weekend.

In the afternoon’s second main race, Razgatlioglu again started from pole. He quickly moved into the podium spots after initially dropping to fourth. He closely followed Ducati riders Bautista and Nicolò Bulega (ITA) for much of the race, but a final sprint to the lead eluded him, rounding off his weekend with a podium third place. He was joined in celebration by teammate van der Mark, who solidified the team’s strong performance with a fourth-place finish. Van der Mark also came sixth in the Superpole Race.

Sunday also saw success for the Bonovo action BMW Racing Team, returning to the top ten. Riders Gerloff and Scott Redding (GBR) battled fiercely, swapping positions multiple times. Gerloff eventually clinched tenth place, with Redding a close eleventh, just 0.4 seconds behind.

The WorldSBK season continues with its third round at Assen (NED) from April 19th to 21st.