WSBK Jerez Superbike Race 2: Toprak Razgatlioglu beats Alvaro Bautista, but the judges overturn everything!

The Commissioners change le verdict by magnificent confrontation: la prowess du Turkish pilot Toprak Razgatlioglu wasted by un passage delicate on le shiso.

About Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com

The last battle of Superbike '23 showed us all the good and bad of this World Championship. Jonathan Rhea attempting a miracle during the last dance with the Kawasaki with which he won six titles, ending up badly on the ground, the image of a melancholy epilogue. And then the unceremonious battle between the spectacular Toprak Razgatlioglu and the newly crowned double champion Alvaro Bautista. The Turk held on until the end, but as he exited millimetrically on the green at the last turn, he was caught at fault by the usual FIM marshals: he had to give up a position. Overturning the outcome of such a race is truly absurd. Okay, green is there for everyone, but who introduced a rule into motorcycling that is so contrary to the spirit of the sport?

But where has the spirit of Superbike gone?
Spend it in F1, perhaps even in MotoGP, categories accustomed to sophisms. But the “track limit” which decides a Superbike challenge, this championship which flourished thanks to the lion riders who took the fairing at the last meter, is complete rubbish. Imitating other categories is exactly what this series should not do. Instead of that…

A great confrontation
Jonathan Rhea had promised himself a grandiose farewell, a fantastic story, like his legendary career. But the dream faded at turn 2, a minor slip derailed the plans. Orphans of the third Magnifico, Toprak and Bautista show their claws. At first the Spaniard doesn't seem as comfortable as the day before, then he steps forward and the fireworks begin. The duel was not played out very well, because the rhythm was quite dull, so much so that Dominique Aegerter, Remy Gardner and Danilo Petrucci were also hanging on to the leading group. The last lap was flamboyant and the last corner even more so. It's a shame that Toprak's feat was thrown into the trash. A sporting crime that allows Bautista to celebrate the hat-trick and move to 59 victories in total.

From Tuesday we will already be in 2024
A large part of the Superbike paddock will extend its stay in Andalusia for the two days of tests which open the 2024 games. Under the lens there will be several new features, the most anticipated being the arrival of Jonathan Rhea riding a Yamaha in full technical growth. The return by Andrea Iannone, the beginnings of Nicolò Bulega on an official Ducati and the first experience ofAxel Bassani on a Kawasaki will be tasty appetizers.

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Paul Gozzi

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com