Toprak Razgatlioglu did what he could at Misano with his Yamaha against Alvaro Bautista, but nothing worked. An admission of helplessness which fuels a corrosive frustration that the fact of no longer even seeing one's rival cross the finish line as a winner makes it even more difficult to stomach. The Turk, however, signed for 2024 for a BMW which was simply nowhere during the three days spent on the shores of the Adriatic. How long will the hot Toprak allow himself to be put under the snuffer?
Starting a race with the certainty of not having the slightest chance of victory is certainly not the kind of scenario that Toprak Razgatlioglu has in mind when taking the handlebars of a Superbike. And yet, at Misano, this weekend, he was confined to the role of asserting himself, his hopes being reduced to the two places on the podium surrounding the first.
On this situation, the Turk explained: “ the pace of the second round was very high, in the end I just followed Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Alvaro Bautista was even stronger. I usually plan the race so I can fight in the final laps. It wasn't easy to follow Michael because his bike is incredibly fast on the straights and he also has excellent traction. He was able to take a tight line in each corner and open the throttle ».
frustration for @toprak_tr54 who felt he could have won that Superpole Race 💥 #WorldSBK | #EmiliaRomagnaWorldSBK 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/CoOfGvAqwI
- WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) June 4, 2023
Toprak Razgatlioglu: “ I understand the fans' boredom seeing Bautista always riding alone. The same thing happens to me »
« Finally, I finished second. Too bad he fell at turn 1. I felt contact and saw him in the gravel. Maybe he made a mistake, I don't know. He started the weekend strong but it didn't end well for him » he adds before coming to his situation: “ basically, I can settle for two second and one third places, but such rankings are not usually on my list. I focus on winning ».
He also makes this observation: “ I was 5-6 seconds faster than in 2022, Bautista even ten. This means that Ducati has improved significantly as a technical package. It is no coincidence that there are several in the upper echelons of the rankings each time.. The Panigale V4 R is complete. In top speed, cornering and in terms of electronics. As far as I am concerned, with Yamaha we will continue to roll up our sleeves between now and the end of the season ».
Then he finishes: “ I understand the fans' boredom seeing Bautista always riding alone. The same thing happens to me if I am not involved in close duels in competition, it's against my nature ». Ducati will undoubtedly still have to apologize for working better than its competitors who are asking for grace and help from the regulations to hide their inferior level in every way, rather than responding with an investment commensurate with the challenge and putting their engineers to work . Sad times. As for Toprak, if he gets bored on one Yamaha , what will happen during the first turns of the wheels in WSBK with the M1000RR?
