Toprak Razgatlioglu “just waiting and watching” before pulling 9-second gap in Estoril Race 1

Toprak Razgatlioglu took his 16th win of the 2024 World Superbike Championship in Race 1 at the Estoril World Superbike round, winning by nine seconds.

Razgatlioglu took an alternative tyre choice compared to the norm on the grid. He chose the SC0 tyre, while the majority went for the softer SCX tyre.

This discrepancy saw Razgatlioglu go backwards at the start, but get stronger after a few laps.

“The race was really difficult,” Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com after his nine-second win. “We didn’t know what the weather would do, it’s been a bit strange and, also, we used a different tyre.

“All riders used the soft [SCX] tyre, I used the standard SC0.

“My pace was very strong. At the beginning of the race, I’m just waiting and watching. I’m not pushing immediately but started to build slowly. I did a good job and I’m very happy.”

Improvements are needed for tomorrow, Razgatlioglu insisted, for some specific corners and also for tyre life.

“At the end of the race, I felt like there was a little bit of tyre drop,” he said.

“I need to improve my bike because I wasn’t happy at some corners. Maybe we’ll use the soft tyre because I tried it for the race, it felt like a Q tyre; after using the SC0, the grip is completely different.

“This would’ve been a gamble for me because I didn’t know the tyre life, I used the SC0 because I know it. Tomorrow, the weather is much better, looks like it’ll be warmer, so I’ll use the soft one.”

With his victory and Nicolo Bulega finishing in second place, Razgatlioglu needs to extend his points lead by 18 in Sunday’s two races in order to be crowned champion.

“I don’t know if, tomorrow, I win the race and Bulega finishes second, I’m not champion. I’m not thinking about this.

“I’m just focused on the championship finishing at Jerez and enjoying the race. My target is three wins this weekend and I’m here for this.”