With more luck, Superbike Toprak world champion Razgatlioglu could have won two races on his Yamaha R1 at Estoril. What he had to say after ranks 2, 2 and 3.
In the first race on Saturday, Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) knocked out Toprak Razgatlioglu from the last corner to win by 0.126sec over the Yamaha star.
In the sprint race on Sunday morning, Razgatlioglu looked like a sure winner, but on the last lap it took massive control of the moto to avoid an accident.
In the second main race, Toprak had nothing to oppose to Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) and Bautista and finished third by 4.35sec.
Although he finished second, second and third in Estoril, Turk’s 45 points left him losing another 7 points to tournament leader Bautista and 8 to second-placed Rhea. Razgatlioglu is already 52 points behind after nine races.
“In the sprint I was very lucky that I did not fall,” the world champion told a small group of reporters. “We do such saves at the Kenan Racecourse in Turkey. The front wheel often slides away from us – we don’t usually fall. But sometimes it does. In slow turns you straighten the bike back, it was such a slow corner. It wasn’t easy because the bike is so heavy. I didn’t crash and was able to finish second, which makes me happy. I almost won. Maybe it will work in Misano, where I won my first race of the season last year.”
“My plan for the second race was to follow Johnny and save my rear tyres,” added Razgatlioglu. “But after only ten laps, the rear tire was spinning a lot, and I lost a lot, especially in the last corner. I managed to catch up on the rest of the lap, but then I lost everything again in one corner. I am not happy with that because I was not able to fight for victory but only for third place on the last lap I was just a spectator. I felt more comfortable on the brakes than I did at the start of the season, showed two very good races and was able to fight with Johnny and Alvaro. I wasn’t expecting it to go like that in the second main race. – It might have been the rear tire.”
Although Toprak is still without a win after nine races, he came close to Portugal in the first two races. “Sometimes you need luck,” says the 25-year-old. “This weekend we were very fast, although the pace was much higher than last year.”
World Superbike result: Estoril, race 1 | |||
location | Driver | Motorcycle | the time |
1. | Alvaro Bautista | ducati | |
2. | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | + 0.126 seconds |
3. | Jonathan Ria | Kawasaki | + 4835 |
4. | Andrea Locatelli | Yamaha | +17,079 |
5. | Xavi Verg | Honda | + 19.107 |
6. | Iker Likona | Honda | + 19.215 |
7. | Alex Louise | Kawasaki | + 21956 |
VIII. | Scott Reading | BMW | + 23090 |
9. | Michael Rinaldi | ducati | + 24.104 |
10 | Loris Baz | BMW | + 25212 |
11. | Xavi Force | ducati | +27516 |
12. | Axel Bassani | ducati | + 30686 |
13. | Luca Bernardi | ducati | +39,599 |
14 | Kota Nozan | Yamaha | +39643 |
15th | Eugene Lafferty | BMW | + 41735 |
World Superbike Championship Result: Estoril, Superpole-Race | |||
location | Driver | Motorcycle | the time |
1. | Jonathan Ria | Kawasaki | |
2. | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | + 0.174 seconds |
3. | Alvaro Bautista | ducati | + 4.925 |
4. | Iker Likona | Honda | +7050 |
5. | Andrea Locatelli | Yamaha | + 8240 |
6. | Alex Louise | Kawasaki | + 8684 |
7. | Scott Reading | BMW | +10293 |
VIII. | Michael Rinaldi | ducati | + 29516 |
9. | Xavi Force | ducati | +29541 |
World Superbike result: Estoril, race 2 | |||
location | Driver | Motorcycle | the time |
1. | Jonathan Ria | Kawasaki | |
2. | Alvaro Bautista | ducati | + 0.194 seconds |
3. | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +4,350 |
4. | Alex Louise | Kawasaki | + 7.125 |
5. | Andrea Locatelli | Yamaha | + 8232 |
6. | Iker Likona | Honda | + 8309 |
7. | Axel Bassani | ducati | + 10865 |
VIII. | Michael Rinaldi | ducati | +16.082 |
9. | Xavi Verg | Honda | +18292 |
10 | Xavi Force | ducati | +18412 |
11. | Scott Reading | BMW | +9758 |
12. | Loris Baz | BMW | + 25193 |
13. | Kota Nozan | Yamaha | +27753 |
14 | Eugene Lafferty | BMW | +38391 |
15th | Luca Bernardi | ducati | +38424 |
Place the 2022 World Superbike Championship after 9 races out of 36 | |||
location | Driver | Motorcycle | points |
1. | Alvaro Bautista | ducati | 161 |
2. | Jonathan Ria | Kawasaki | 144 |
3. | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | 109 |
4. | Andrea Locatelli | Yamaha | 84 |
5. | Iker Likona | Honda | 76 |
6. | Michael Rinaldi | ducati | 60 |
7. | Alex Louise | Kawasaki | 54 |
VIII. | Xavi Verg | Honda | 48 |
9. | Axel Bassani | ducati | 43 |
10 | Loris Baz | BMW | 38 |
11. | Scott Reading | BMW | 35 |
12. | Garrett Gerlove | Yamaha | 25 |
13. | Philip Otel | ducati | 15th |
14 | Lucas Mahias | Kawasaki | 14 |
15th | Eugene Lafferty | BMW | 13 |
16 | Xavi Force | ducati | 12 |
17 | Michael van der Mark | BMW | 11 |
18 | Luca Bernardi | ducati | 10 |
19 | Ilya Michalchik | BMW | 9 |
20 | Roberto Tamborini | Yamaha | 9 |
21 | Christopher Bunson | Yamaha | VIII |
22 | Kota Nozan | Yamaha | 5 |
23 | Leon Hassan | Kawasaki | 3 |
24 | Leandro Mercado | Honda | 1 |