Toprak Razgatlioglu left 'needing more' after struggling to match Jonathan Rea

While reigning WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu finished second on day-one at Donington Park, the Yamaha rider was left unhappy at the lack of performance relative to that of Jonathan Rea.

Robert Jones

15 Jul 2022

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha World Superbike Donington Park

Razgatlioglu, who topped FP1 before going on to claim second on combined times, was no match for Rea as the six-time WorldSBK champion led the entirety of FP2.

At two different stages Rea had a lead of over half a second, one of which proved to be the final margin between the two title rivals from last season.

For Razgatlioglu, Donington Park provided a big spark to his title chase last season as he won twice, while Rea crashed out of race two.

But for the Yamaha rider to do the same this weekend, improvements will need to be made especially with regards to rear grip.

Razgatlioglu said: "I’m not happy because we tried a good set-up for the race, because after a long break I rode again my R1 and I was feeling some problems. Especially with the grip.

"Now we have improved a little bit but we need more. We were just trying some set-up and trying the bike. I had a little bit too much stoppie and tomorrow we will try and change this.

"Also I was feeling too much stoppie in the last corner. We are just working for the race. Every race we have improved my bike after a not so strong start.

"Today I’m not really happy because I’m just working with the set-up and not enjoying it. But anyway, today is important and we need a good bike for the race."

What left the WorldSBK champion ‘angry’ with Oettl

Not the first rider to show frustration with the German, Razgatlioglu was unimpressed by Philipp Oettl after the Ducati rider slowed on the exit of turn one without looking behind him.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Donington WorldSBK, 15 July

In FP1 it was Iker Lecuona who got blocked by his fellow WorldSBK rookie, while Razgatlioglu, who then completed an overtake on Oettl heading into turn four, showed his anger by tapping his head.

"After the straight; the first corner exit he just closed the gas and was going slowly and not looking back," added Razgatlioglu. "FP2 was not finished so why are you not looking back.

"I’m angry about this and after I followed him and after he went slowly I passed him at turn three and [hits head] why are you not thinking."