Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed his third Superbike World Championship title on Sunday, solidifying his stature before a significant career move to MotoGP that will see him switch places with Portugal’s Miguel Oliveira.
Razgatlioglu, 28, secured the championship by finishing third in the final race of the season at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. He maintained a 13-point lead over rival Nicolo Bulega.
His forthcoming move in 2026 will see him join Prima Pramac in the MotoGP World Championship.
In a rare direct exchange, Miguel Oliveira is set to transition from MotoGP to the Superbikes World Championship. He will fill the spot Razgatlioglu will vacate.
This marks Razgatlioglu’s third career championship win, adding to his previous title in 2021.
The championship-deciding Sunday race followed a dramatic qualifying “superpole race.” In that earlier race, Razgatlioglu, then running second, was involved in an incident. Italy’s Nicolo Bulega (Ducati) made contact at turn five, sending the championship leader off track.
Bulega received a ‘long lap’ penalty for the maneuver but still went on to win the superpole race.
In the main Sunday race, Bulega again took a comfortable victory. Razgatlioglu, riding for BMW, strategically secured the third position behind two factory Ducatis. This result was sufficient to clinch the overall title.
The race weekend also marked the final appearance for six-time Superbike champion Jonathan Rea of Great Britain. Rea, riding for Yamaha, holds the record for most titles, won consecutively from 2015 to 2020. He missed the event due to injury.