Toprak Razgatlioglu: “I’m a fighter, I love fighting, I never give up”

Three wins from three races marked a return to form for Toprak Razgatlioglu at the WorldSBK Portuguese Round, but the Turkish rider was made to work for his success by championship leader Nicolo Bulega.

Razgatlioglu cut his points deficit to Bulega by 13 points over the course of the three races, and his biggest winning margin over the Italian was 0.195 seconds in Race 2.

He was forced to fight for the points and wins, but the reigning World Superbike Champion was content enough with that.

“I’m a fighter, I love fighting, I never give up,” Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com after Race 2 in Portugal.

“Okay, the bike is not at 100 per cent but I’m only pushing for the win. Yesterday for me is a harder race because I lost the front many times, I was just trying to follow him and also win the race.

“This is good, but these two races [on Sunday] also the pace was incredible, and also I’m pushing really hard in these two races but I feel a little bit better because we improved the bike a little bit and I feel a bit more grip.

“But the turning is the same after the new rules.

“I’m just fighting for the win, everyone was enjoying, this is good, but I need the bike the same as last year.

“Anyway, I’m fighting, because after Phillip Island it looks like we came back very strong and we show everyone we are still here and I will just keep fighting for the next races.”

Razgatlioglu added that his target coming into this weekend was pole position and three wins, so he was satisfied to achieve that.

“This weekend we are pushing very hard in every corner,” he said.

“Also, thanks to the team. Everyone is working really hard to improve the bike, every session we have improved the bike.

“Also, congratulations to Nicolo [Bulega] because he did an incredible job this weekend, he’s really strong and his pace is very strong, and also he improved the bike every session. I’m really happy that we’re fighting with him here, and I think everyone is enjoying to watch the race.

“But, in general this weekend, I had a big target: three wins and Superpole – I did everything, for me it’s an incredible weekend.”