WSBK Superbike Donington J3: from Razgatlioglu to Rea via Bautista everyone is delighted!

Toprak Razgatlioglu takes a hat-trick during the Superbike weekend at Donington. A stage of the calendar which relaunches the championship where the gaps between the Turk, Rea and Bautista have narrowed. The public was not mistaken, enjoying the show under the hot sun. There were 51.831 over the three days, which makes this English meeting the second best attendance of the season after that of last June in Misano...

At the end of this Superbike weekend at Donington Park, Toprak Razgatlioglu is coming back to the forefront and getting closer to the top of the rankings. The Yamaha world champion admirably parried the incessant attacks from Jonathan Rhea during race 2, until the Northern Irishman Kawasaki is forced to let go and be forced, after so much effort demanded of his machine, to capitulate at the end of the game in the face of a Álvaro Bautista for once great strategist. It was a perfect meeting for the Turkish driver who seems to have found perfect harmony with his R1. He can consider that his season has truly started in Great Britain.

Leaving aside the arguments that would like him to arrive in MotoGP, the mind and heart of Toprak Razgatlioglu are directed solely towards the Superbike championship, where he intends to open a triumphant era. For the first time since entering World SBK, he achieved this hat-trick which had been denied to him at Magny-Cours last year on the green carpet after a protest from Kawasaki in the sprint race. “ I'm very happy, I finally won three races in one weekend, my team did a great job. It was an incredible weekend, especially the way it unfolded this year. We continue to fight for the title ».

Donington was a big party

For his part, and after a fall on Friday during race 1 then a just decent fourth place during the sprint race, Baptist showed he wasn't giving up. He remains at the head of the championship, while waiting for circuits more favorable to the Ducati Panigale V4R. “ It was an important race especially after yesterday's crash, where I could have finished second, but races are races. I learned from this mistake and from the last corner there are a lot of bumps, it's always risky ».

The official Ducati adds: " I learned a lot from Jonathan because he knows this circuit well. I changed something in my riding style. Yesterday I hurt my left hand and arm a little, and in the long race it was difficult, I had a little pain after halfway. Second position is excellent, we knew this circuit would be difficult for me and Ducati. I apologize to my team for what happened yesterday, but it's racing and this time it happened to me ».

Jonathan Rhea finished still being satisfied with his performance, despite losing points at the end of race 2 where he stressed the tires and brakes, until having to cede 2nd place to his rival Ducati. “In the Superpole race we used the SCQ rear tire for the first time. I was pretty confident this tire would be good. We crossed the finish line not too far from Toprak and it's encouraging because it's a really strong track for him. He's been strong here since he was a rookie on the Kawasaki. I felt good for half of the final race and was able to understand where I was good and where I needed to improve. There were some areas where I was better, but I really overcooked the front brakes, because I was always just behind Toprak, in his wake. So I had to take some time to calm down a little, to find my rhythm.”

“Alvaro had a very high pace at the end of the race. We made some good changes between Saturday and today and I think we are still learning a lot about hot weather motorcycling. It was a weak point for us, but now we can be happy. After Misano last time, I felt much closer here. Coming out of this weekend with a 2-2-3 record is a good thing. Yesterday we were lucky enough to receive a little gift in terms of points, which allowed us to halve our deficit in the championship. The overall picture is good but it's frustrating not to win. I really wanted to win here. But we have to roll with it and look at the bigger picture. See you in Most in a few weeks ». Strongly indeed!