WSBK Superbike Mandalika J3, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (Yamaha/2): “I was stronger than Michael Rinaldi”

Arriving in Indonesia, the mission was simple for the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK riders, and even more obvious for Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: Slow down Álvaro Bautista's progression in the championship, and more broadly, contain the Ducati who seemed in better shape than in 2022. In the end, the Turk did well with a victory in the Superpole Race as well as another second place in Race 2. If he is now 37 points behind the reigning world champion, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu is satisfied at the end of the second meeting of the season.

The day was more than eventful on the side of Mandalika. The Superpole Race was marked by numerous falls, including that ofAlvaro Bautista who remained undefeated until then. For speedweek, Toprak specified that “winning the sprint race was not easy”. This elimination round saw the fall of Jonathan Rea leading to the deployment of a red flag, synonymous with a new start. Solidly, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu assumed his status as a contender for the crown by winning in front of “the Ducati riders who now form a solid whole”.

But the most important thing remained Race 2, in the sights of the 2021 world champion. This time, he cannot contain the Panigale V4 R by Álvaro Bautista but still note some nice improvements compared to the first game of the weekend. Very prominent at the start of the race, he showed all his talent during a skirmish with the driver Motocorsa Racing Ducati Alex Bassani.

 

 

Then comes a new red flag due to the fall of Michael van der Mark et Philipp Öttl. For the second start, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu chose not to change his rear tire, even though he had suffered very significant damage the day before. He explains : “Because of this decision I had grip problems after a few laps. It was enough for second place, which is good for the championship”.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing Ducati), very prominent, made a small error in the final moments, which allowed the official Yamaha rider to climb to the second step of the podium. « I saw Rinaldi having problems. I gave 100% every lap and I think that even if he hadn't had to go wide in turn 10, I would have caught him in the last sector because I was stronger than him." says Toprak Razgatlıoğlu. A statement full of confidence, which completes a decent weekend. « I am satisfied, especially because we improved our bike in each session. We didn't start the weekend particularly well because we were looking for a good setup. In the end, we managed not to destroy the front tire in the second race and I was strong in the race.".

 

Case to follow in April near Assen.

 

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com