Does this victory for Razgatlioglu this Sunday afternoon at Donington mark a turning point in this WSBK season? At the very least, its consequences were amplified with the fall of Jonathan Rea who was fighting with the Turk for victory. Like a symbol... In the meantime, what is certain is that the Yamaha official is now leading a championship whose victory could open the doors to MotoGP for him...
Toprak Razgatlioglu has the wind in its sails. Coveted by the MotoGP, he showed Donington that this exposure improved him more than it disturbed him. It must be said that the terrain was ideal for the Turk since we will remember that he won his first WSBK podium there in 2018. In 2021, the honeymoon continues since after two victories this weekend, he leads the world championship.
To get there, the master had to Jonathan Rea gets his feet caught in the carpet. “ I'm surprised, because Johnny usually doesn't fall » comments Toprak. “ I followed him, he was driving carefully, but then this big mistake happened to him. There are some bumps in this corner, so you have to be very careful. Then I made sure to stay calm because I absolutely needed those points for the championship ».
Razgatlioglu remembers that he was once leader in the general classification
« Now I'm leading the overall standings, but that's not how I see it he adds. " I focus on each race and try to achieve the best possible results. We can count ourselves lucky with two victories this weekend » ends humbly Razgatlioglu which specifies: " I had to put pressure on Johnny because I really needed this victory. It was a big accident for him and I didn't think he would make such a mistake ».
« I'm happy, excited about what we've done, but we're only at the start of the Championship and we have many races ahead of us. In fact, we will have to try to be competitive on every track and always aim for victory ". Toprak remembers that he was already leader of the WSBK rankings in his career. The Turk won his first race with the R1 at Phillip Island, finishing second in the sprint race and briefly led the world championship at the start of the 2020 season. But by the end of the season he was only fourth behind Rea , Redding and Davies…
WSBK Donington J3: Race 2 classification
Credit classification wsbk.com
