‘He’s not trying to touch Bautista, just to pass him’ - Razgatlioglu defends Rea

While the reigning WorldSBK champion might have come to the defence of his title rival, Ducati’s criticism of Rea has been loud and clear following the incident that resulted in Alvaro Bautista crashing out. 

In case you missed it, Rea and Bautista came to blows in race two when the Kawasaki rider made an aggressive lunge to the inside of the Ducati rider at turn 14. 

Bautista, who remained on the racing line, was then hit by Rea who clattered into the Spaniard’s right leg.

Labelling the blame at Rea for what they perceived to be an ‘intentional manoeuvre’, while also calling on Kawasaki to provide their rider with a batter machine to avoid such moves, Ducati Corse WorldSBK Technical Director, Marco Zambenedetti told WorldSBK.com: "We want to say our opinion; we think the manoeuvre of Jonathan Rea was intentional and not a good example, and not in line with the spirit of this championship. 

"In the end, the rider gets some points in the championship by putting out, with a very dangerous manoeuvre, one of our riders. 

"It’s something that I really didn’t expect from a six-time World Champion. 

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"I think it’s better if they [Kawasaki] concentrate to work inside and to give their rider a better package, so there’s no need to arrive to this manoeuvre."

Despite Ducati, Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi all laying blame at Rea for the incident, Razgatlioglu has come to the defence of the six-time world champion, saying it was not an intentional manoeuvre, just one that was ‘maybe a mistake’. 

Like when Razgatlioglu crashed in race one which gave Bautista a much easier afternoon, the clash between Rea and Bautista allowed Razgatlioglu to take a comfortable race two win, despite needing to overcome early battles with Axel Bassani and Rinaldi. 

Speaking about the incident, Razgatlioglu added: "Now I’ve watched the video. It’s difficult because this is racing, everybody is trying their best. 

"Jonny [Rea] tried passing at turn 13. In the Superpole Race, I passed Alvaro at the same corner. The other corners, Ducati is very strong, and the acceleration is unbelievable. 

"It’s not possible to pass Alvaro again, just turn 13. Jonny tried at this corner. Maybe he made a mistake, maybe not; I don’t know. 

"He’s not trying to touch Bautista, just to pass him, but he crashed. I think he’s not happy about this."