Toprak Razgatlioglu made his mark in the Hungarian WorldSBK round at Balaton Park, taking a hat-trick that marked the 1,000th race in the championship’s history. The reigning BMW champion also dominated Race 2, starting from pole but temporarily losing the lead to Bautista at the first corner. He then reclaimed it under braking at Turn 5 and built a lead of over ten seconds over the rest of the field, finishing ahead of Nicolò Bulega and Sam Lowes. This was the Turk’s ninth consecutive victory and third hat-trick of the season, a result that allows him to consolidate his championship lead with a 26-point advantage over the Ducati rider.
The race was marked by treacherous conditions following overnight rain. Bautista, after a good start, crashed, seeing any chance of a podium finish vanish. Bulega, starting from tenth on the grid, aggressively fought his way up to second place, while Lowes held off the comeback of Petrucci and Locatelli to take home his fourth career podium. Locatelli was again in the top five, followed by Alex Lowes, Vierge, and a group plagued by mistakes and penalties.
The morning’s Superpole Race, on a drying track, had already seen Razgatlioglu win thanks to his choice of slicks, ahead of Lowes and Bautista, while Bulega, penalized by his choice of intermediates, finished only 13th.
In Supersport, Stefano Manzi closed the Hungarian weekend with a one-two: after a hard-fought race, he prevailed over Dane Jespersen and Can Oncu in the finale, extending his championship lead to +59 points before the summer break.
The Balaton Park weekend not only marks a historic moment for the world championship, but also a clear indication: BMW and Razgatlioglu are now the absolute benchmark. Ducati and Bulega remain in the slipstream, while Bautista pays for serious errors and slips to fifth place in the overall standings.