Toprak Razgatlioglu “not thinking about” title chances at Jerez World Superbike

The final round of the 2024 World Superbike Championship offers Toprak Razgatlioglu a chance to secure his second world title, but race wins are the primary focus for the championship leader.

Tyre management is a key to any race around the long-cornered Jerez. Razgatlioglu’s long runs in Friday practice left him confident.

“I did 13 laps, it’s not bad, I needed seven laps more [for a full race distance],” he said.

“But I think this tyre is good because on my last lap I did a 1:40.1, this is really a fast lap time because I see everyone pushing hard for the lap time, but no one did the low-1:40s after [some] laps.

“It looks like we are strong, but we need to improve something because we aren’t strong in all the corners. We need to improve some corners for the race.”

Razgatlioglu also took some time to evaluate different tyre options in anticipation of hotter weather.

“After, I used a different tyre to understand for hot conditions, but the second run I don’t like — I used an SC2 front tyre, but I don’t like the front tyre because it feels too ‘heavy’ and the grip is less,” Razgatlioglu explained.

“But, anyway, I have a good setup for the race, and it looks like we are ready to fight with the Ducatis, because the Ducati is very strong in this track, especially.”

Coming into the last round with a points lead of course means Razgatlioglu can be champion this weekend for the second time in WorldSBK. His 46-point lead means it could be wrapped up in Saturday’s Race 1.

“I’m not thinking about this,” Razgatlioglu said. “I’m just focused on my bike and just try to find a good setup for the race because I’m just focused on the race.

“For me, it’s my target this weekend to win the race, so I’m just trying to do my best.”

How does Razgatlioglu stay calm, given the stakes of the weekend?

“I’m just riding my bike,” he said. “This is my job.”