Razgatlioglu beats Rea to second in championship after ‘very strange race’

Despite lacking pace compared to Jonathan Rea throughout the Phillip Island WorldSBK round, Toprak Razgatlioglu managed to hold on for second in the championship after an impressive performance particularly in the 10-lap sprint.

Robert Jones

20 Nov 2022

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha World Superbike Phillip Island

Razgatlioglu officially secured second thanks to finishing Race 2 in fourth place, but the 2021 WorldSBK champion managed to get the better of Rea in the Superpole Race which was not expected.

Razgatlioglu was on the backfoot compared to both factory Kawasaki riders and world champion Alvaro Bautista after Friday practice, however, a well timed pit stop in Saturday’s flag-to-flag Race 1 and another strong showing during the Superpole Race left Rea needing a miracle in order to claim second in the standings.

While second is not the type of result Razgatlioglu is usually content with, the Superpole Race was a great recovery from the Turkish star after struggling on Friday.

In the final race Razgatlioglu looked set to challenge Alex Lowes for the podium during the final few laps before a red flag ended proceedings.

Speaking about his race, Razgatlioglu said: "We tried in every session to find good grip. We tried our best. In Race 2 it was very strange, after 10 laps, I felt a big drop with the rear tyre.

"I saw Alex pushing a lot, and after two laps I saw him starting to spin a lot. I thought 'ok in the last two laps, I'll pass him' and I saw the red flag.

"But I'm really happy for him. He needed a bonus because he has two babies! [laughed Razgatlioglu].

"He's a very good guy and he was very strong this weekend. We finished the last race of the season in fourth position. Anyway, we're second in the Championship standings."

Razgatlioglu comes within a lap of surprise victory

Toprak Razgatlioglu , Race 1, Australian WorldSBK, 19 November

At the start of the Superpole Race, Bautista was one of two riders to switch from full wets to dry tyres, while Razgatlioglu and Rea were on intermediates.

But even after the Ducati rider dropped out of the points on the first lap, a rapidly drying track allowed Bautista to move back up the order and eventually pass Razgatlioglu, who was the race leader, with just over a lap remaining.

With nothing to lose given the championship has already been won by Bautista, Razgatlioglu admitted it was a good gamble from the Spaniard.

"For Alvaro it was a good gamble. He is world champion and for him the season is finished," added the Yamaha rider.

"He tried to gamble and also we had a little bit of stress because we were fighting for second in the championship. I saw that Jonny [had the] same tyre.

"I saw him really slow in some corners because of the front tyre. Wet tyres [on a dry track] there is no grip."