Toprak Razgatlioglu reveals Alvaro Bautista “big advantage” in Aragon WorldSBK Race 2
“I was pushing hard, but I could see that the gap was growing.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu took three podium finishes on his return to WorldSBK after a month away, but was denied victory by Alvaro Bautista in both Sunday races.
The Superpole Race came down to a last lap battle between Razgatlioglu and Bautista which the Spaniard won with a block pass at turn 15, but in Race 2 the BMW rider was simply out-paced in the last few laps of the race.
"I did my best at the start of the race,” Razgatlioglu said. “I followed Alvaro [Bautista] and had a plan to stay with him and then maybe to start fighting with him in the last five laps.
“However, in those final laps my pace started to drop. Alvaro had more grip than the other bikes in the last laps.
“I was pushing hard, but I could see that the gap was growing. At that point, I settled for second because it wasn’t possible to catch him.
“In the long corners Alvaro had a big advantage and he did an incredible job. It feels like he’s made a real comeback.
“I’m happy for him but I’m focused now on Estoril. I need to win there because finishing second is tough for me."
Razgatlioglu now takes a 39-point lead over Bautista’s factory Ducati teammate, Nicolo Bulega, to the next and penultimate round at Estoril, after the Italian didn’t start Race 1, and finished third in both Sunday races at Aragon.
Razgatlioglu’s gap means he can win his second WorldSBK crown at Estoril, if he outscores Bulega by 23 points or more across the weekend’s three races.
