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BMW and their WorldSBK Champ reflect on bruising P.I. season opener

WorldSBK 2025 - Round One - Phillip Island - BMW

Motorcycle News by Motorcycle News
February 24, 2025
in BMW News, WSBK

WorldSBK 2025 – Round One

BMW reflect on Phillip Island

The Phillip Island WorldSBK season opener turned out to be a rollercoaster of emotions for BMW riders and their crews.

BMW and their World Champ reflect on bruising P.I. season opener

The team arrived in Australia after a demanding final phase of pre-season preparation. Due to a regulation change, the new BMW M 1000 RR, which had been developed for racing over the winter, had to be adapted. Additionally, Razgatlioglu sustained a finger injury in January.

WorldSBK Testing – Phillip Island 2025

BMW took advantage of WorldSBK’s two-day test on Monday and Tuesday before the race weekend to fine-tune the optimal set-up for the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. After a crash on Monday, Razgatlioglu sat out the remainder of the first day but returned to testing on Tuesday.

WorldSBK Testing – Phillip Island 2025

Following Friday’s free practice sessions, the action got serious on Saturday. Razgatlioglu marked his return to the front row with P2 in Superpole qualifying, while van der Mark secured seventh place.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

The two BMW factory riders were the only ones able to challenge a dominant line-up of Ducati riders in Superpole and the races. In the first of the two main races, which both featured a mandatory pit stop for a tyre change, Razgatlioglu remained among the front runners from the start and ultimately finished second, with only Nicolò Bulega (ITA / Ducati) ahead of him. Van der Mark worked his way into the top five but unfortunately crashed out.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

On Saturday, defending World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) finished second in the first race of the year, securing a podium finish. However, Sunday proved to be a challenging day for ‘El Turco’ and his team-mate Michael van der Mark (NED).

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Sunday kicked off with the short Superpole race, which saw a moment of drama in the first lap when Razgatlioglu nearly crashed and ran straight into the gravel. He rejoined at the back of the field and launched a comeback, making his way up to P13. Van der Mark initially surged to third place but later encountered issues, crossing the finish line in 14th. That meant the duo started the final main race from tenth and 12th on the grid. Razgatlioglu gained multiple positions in the opening laps, breaking into the top five before the pit stop. However, after changing tyres, he had to return to the pits again due to a technical issue, forcing him to retire from the race. The cause of the problem is still under investigation. Van der Mark fought hard, but P14 was the most he could achieve.

Michael van der Mark

WorldSBK now returns to Europe, with the second round taking place on the last weekend of March in Portimão, Portugal. BMW Motorrad Motorsport will use the break to analyse the first races, continue working hard, and prepare for the long European leg of the season.

Sven Blusch – Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport

“When we arrived at Phillip Island it was clear that it would not be an easy weekend for us because we just missed testing time with all the obstacles we had over winter. With Toprak’s finger injury, he missed a lot of testing time, we had a lot of rainy days as well and there has been the concession topic so we came to Phillip Island still investigating the best direction for our set-up. I think on Saturday we showed potential but Sunday was definitely a tough day for us. It is something we will focus on now and we will get back stronger together at Portimão. We had a good test there so we are confident that we can have a better weekend. The most important thing is that we now have a couple of weeks at home to really go deep into the analysis, then we test again and I am sure we will come back stronger. We just have to find our sweet spot for the bike. This weekend showed that there is potential. Sometimes we found the right way and sometimes we were struggling. It is part of the game. From being the hunter to be being the hunted it was clear that it will not be easier than last year but we take on the challenge. We finished this first weekend not as we would have liked to, but now we are for sure looking forward to Portimão.”

BMW M 1000 RR WorldSBK
Christian Gonschor – Technical Director BMW Motorrrad Motorsport

“It was a very intense week with many ups and downs, a mix of light and shadow. However, we learned a lot, which means we can now head to Portimão with plenty of valuable information. There, we will first test before the second round of the season takes place. During Monday and Tuesday’s Phillip Island test we gathered a lot of insights for the race weekend, learned a great deal about the bike, and I think Toprak’s Superpole time showed that the performance of the motorcycle is still there. This year, it is a bit more difficult to fully maximise it, but both riders delivered a strong performance in the first main race. Toprak’s podium was, of course, the highlight of the weekend, and Mickey had a very strong race pace until his high-speed crash, which he fortunately walked away from unharmed. That is what we take away from this weekend. The bike has the performance, and the areas where we still need to fine-tune the balance will now be worked on at home and during the test in Portimão.”

BMW M 1000 RR WorldSBK
Shaun Muir – Team Principle of the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

“The first round of the championship at Phillip Island was always going to be a challenge for us. It’s a difficult circuit to adapt to, especially with the limited testing we had coming into the weekend and working with a new package. We knew that Monday and Tuesday tests would be crucial for us to prepare for the races, but realistically, we were always going to be on the back foot. The level of competition is extremely high this year, and we struggled to put ourselves in a position to fight for wins. I think the best we could have hoped for was a podium, and we managed that in the first race, which was fantastic. Unfortunately, Michael had a crash in the feature race on Saturday while running at a really strong pace, which was a real shame. On Sunday, we couldn’t consolidate the podium result. A technical issue forced Toprak to retire from the race, which was disappointing. We need to thoroughly investigate the cause of that problem and get to the root cause of the problem. Michael also found it difficult to adapt to the high temperatures, with track temperatures reaching 50 degrees. Ultimately, we’re still learning a lot about this new package and configuration, which we’ll continue to develop throughout the 2025 season. Onwards and upwards—we’re now focused on the upcoming test on the 14th and 15th at Portimão, where we’ll regroup and come back stronger. We’re looking forward to that.”

BMW M 1000 RR WorldSBK
Toprak Razgatlioglu – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

“I am never very happy after the first races of the season which has been the case in the past years – the season opener is always strange. To get the podium in race one was not easy; thanks to my team as in every session they improved the bike. I felt a bit better on the bike in that race and we did a very good job. At the start of the Superpole race, I had a big problem and was lucky not to hit someone and to avoid a big crash. For race two we said it would be better to ride yesterday’s bike because I felt that we had been really improving and the grip was much better than before but during the race there was a problem and I could not continue. But I now only focus on the next race. Finally we are going to Europe and I’m just starting to fight with all the Ducatis because this is almost like a Ducati Cup. Nicolò Bulega was strong here last year, so I was not surprised that he was fast. Congratulations to him, he did a very good job and deserves it. I think that we will fight more this year. Álvaro Bautista is also strong, but this year, all Ducatis were in front. This is not normal and I hope that it will not continue like this. Now we have a long break of almost one month and we will work hard and try to come back stronger. We have a test at Portimão and these two test days are really important because we try to improve the bike. We are still not at hundred percent but I know that everyone is pushing hard.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu
Michael van der Mark – ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team

“Honestly, this week has been a bit disappointing. We’ve been testing a lot, we tried a lot of things but we never really got a nice feeling with the bike. It has been very strange because we really tried everything. Then on Saturday, when the temperature was very high, I did a good lap in Superpole and managed to qualify in seventh position so that was positive. In race one, when we had very high temperatures, I was doing very well. I was enjoying it and the bike felt very good so I was confident but unfortunately I crashed out and for some reason on Sunday we did not have any good feeling at all. We have to find out why the bike felt so different on Sunday. Now we are going back to Europe, we have a two-day test at Portimão and it’s good that we can do a lot of testing there and make sure that we can do a lot better at Portimão.”

Michael van der Mark

WorldSBK Race One Results

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap Speed
1 N Bulega Duc 31m11.497 321,0
2 T Razgatlioglu BMW +4.811 324,9
3 A Bautista Duc +5.108 325,8
4 D Petrucci Duc +6.813 325,8
5 S Redding Duc +6.986 324,9
6 A Iannone Duc +7.548 324,9
7 A Locatelli Yam +8.892 322,9
8 A Lowes bim +9.588 319,1
9 A Bassani bim +11.035 323,9
10 S Lowes Duc +13.429 322,0
11 X Vierge Hon +15.661 327,8
12 D Aegerter Yam +18.039 320,1
13 R Vickers Duc +29.734 322,9
14 T Nagashima Hon +42.501 322,0
15 B Sofuoglu Yam +42.730 316,3
16 T Mackenzie Hon +55.663 322,0
Not Classified
RET R Gardner Yam 9 Laps 320,1
RET M Van Der Mark BMW 12 Laps 322,0
RET G Gerloff Kaw 14 Laps 322,9
RET T Rabat Yam 15 Laps 316,3
RET Y Montella Duc 19 Laps 323,9

 

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
Speed
1
N. Bulega
Duc
14m58.866
314,5
2
A. Iannone
Duc
+2.324
319,1
3
D. Petrucci
Duc
+4.923
314,5
4
S. Redding
Duc
+5.312
318,2
5
S. Lowes
Duc
+5.452
316,3
6
A. Locatelli
Yam
+6.891
319,1
7
A. Lowes
Bim
+7.267
316,3
8
Y. Montella
Duc
+9.748
327,8
9
A. Bassani
Bim
+10.585
319,1
10
R. Gardner
Yam
+10.924
318,2
11
X. Vierge
Hon
+11.260
319,1
12
D. Aegerter
Yam
+11.260
320,1
13
T. Razgatlioglu
BMW
+14.186
315,4
14
M. Van der Mark
BMW
+14.330
315,4
15
R. Vickers
Duc
+16.968
317,2
16
T. Rabat
Yam
+21.796
316,3
17
B. Sofuoglu
Yam
+27.062
313,6
18
T. Mackenzie
Hon
+42.505
312,7
19
A. Bautista
Duc
+1m06.284
318,2
DNF
T. Nagashima
Hon
5 Laps
303,0
DNF
G. Gerloff
Kaw
/
241,5

 

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WorldSBK Race Two Results

Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
Speed
1
N. Bulega
Duc
30m55.414
314,5
2
A. Bautista
Duc
+2.603
323,9
3
A. Iannone
Duc
+3.980
321,0
4
S. Redding
Duc
+8.043
320,1
5
D. Petrucci
Duc
+10.009
321,0
6
S. Lowes
Duc
+10.097
319,1
7
A. Locatelli
Yam
+11.083
319,1
8
A. Lowes
Bim
+11.180
319,1
9
Y. Montella
Duc
+11.202
325,8
10
A. Bassani
Bim
+11.918
321,0
11
X. Vierge
Hon
+18.472
321,0
12
D. Aegerter
Yam
+18.507
319,1
13
G. Gerloff
Kaw
+25.853
321,0
14
M. Van der Mark
BMW
+25.891
320,1
15
R. Vickers
Duc
+29.402
319,1
16
B. Sofuoglu
Yam
+41.810
312,7
17
T. Rabat
Yam
+43.805
312,7
18
T. Nagashima
Hon
+51.209
312,7
DNF
R. Gardner
Yam
+4 Laps
313,6
DNF
T. Razgatlioglu
BMW
+10 Laps
322,0
DNF
T. Mackenzie
Hon
+14 Laps
313,6

WorldSBK Championship Points

Pos
Rider
Points
1
N. Bulega
62
2
A. Bautista
36
3
A. Iannone
35
4
D. Petrucci
31
5
S. Redding
30
6
A. Locatelli
22
7
S. Lowes
21
8
T. Razgatlioglu
20
9
A. Lowes
19
10
A. Bassani
14
11
X. Vierge
10
12
Y. Montella
9
13
D. Aegerter
8
14
R. Vickers
4
15
T. Nagashima
2
16
B. Sofuoglu
1

 

Tags: BMWWorldSBK
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