In the aftermath of the recent race, Toprak Razgatlioglu expressed his frustrations and observations about the performance disparities between his Yamaha and the Ducati. Despite his evident discontent after finishing Race 2, Razgatlioglu still has the opportunity to win the championship title in Jerez.
The Yamaha rider had a direct confrontation with Ducati’s Álvaro Bautista throughout Sunday’s race and was often ahead of his opponent: ‘I was faster in the corners, but also on the exit because his acceleration was amazing. When I had him in front during the first laps, I noticed that his bike accelerates even when it slides after a turn, while mine doesn’t accelerate if it slides even slightly’.
Looking at the power between the two bikes, Razgatlioglu said: ‘I think it depends on the power, but also on the sliding. Alvaro doesn’t accelerate before me. He goes forward with all the power, slides, but his bike remains fast. During the Superpole, the issue was the track line, because he had more grip than me’.
Razgatlioglu was full of adrenaline during the race, pushing his bike to the limit, especially in the last four laps: ‘I felt like I was at 200%, especially in the last four laps. I was there with Alvaro and I kept pushing because I told myself that my place was first, not second. I focused on winning the race and tried to overtake him again’.
Then the Turkish rider talked about his strategy: ‘My plan was to attack him immediately if he hadn’t opened up in the last two laps. But he opened up in turn 5 and I overtook him. However, I opened up a bit in turn 7, and he overtook me again in the last turn’.
Facing the clear superior performance of the Ducati that Razga couldn’t match, #54 was very honest: ‘Everyone knows that Ducati has the best bike. I ride a Yamaha and we are fighting against the best bike… It’s better not to speak. It seems that BMW is faster on the straights, so we should have more chances to win here and in other circuits if I can adapt immediately to the bike’.
