Ducati send “ice in veins, fire in heart” warning to Toprak Razgatlioglu

Ducati have sent a stern warning to Toprak Razgatlioglu before meeting at a race track which they expect will favour them.

The third round of the World Superbike Championship is this weekend at Assen, which Ducati are eyeing up as a battleground on their terms.

Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega dominated the first round at Phillip Island, before BMW’s Razgatlioglu won all three races at Portimao.

Bulega leads Razgatlioglu by 28 points at the top of the WSBK standings before renewing their rivalry this weekend at Assen.

“That’s one of Nicolo’s strongest tracks,” Ducati rider coach Chaz Davies told TNT Sports.

“It’s a flowy track which should suit the bike well.

“But Toprak is such a chameleon that he just adapts to everywhere.

“He might be good in tight corners, but he can go with the best in fast corners, as well.

“He’s frustrating in that way! He’s a tough cookie to crack. It’s tough to find an edge on him.

“On paper, it’s a very strong one for Nicolo and Alvaro Bautista, as well.

“He might be 41 years old but he’s still got it. He’s there to pick up the pieces when he feels comfortable.”

Bulega was forced to watch Razgatlioglu win three times at Portimao, but Ducati insist that was a circuit which favoured the BMW.

Bulega was described by Davies: “I can tell by his body language that he was annoyed after Superpole.

“He has ice in the veins but fire in his heart.

“He has a lot of burning desire this year, I can see it in him.”

He added: “We should look forward to the next races. There will be tracks that work in our favour, and tracks in Toprak’s favour. All in all, we’re in a good place.”

Ducati vow to improve bike to battle Toprak Razgatlioglu

Ducati were nowhere in the pre-season Portimao test, so took encouragement from Bulega’s ability to at least battle Razgatlioglu three times in the racing round.

“We are all Toprak fans,” Davies said. “I might have a red shirt on, but hats off to him.

“We came from far behind in the test. We could have signed over the trophy to Toprak at that point.

“So to race him hard in all three races? I didn’t expect that. The guys did a fantastic job to give him the bike that he wanted. He made huge gains from Friday morning.

“Nicolo is a racer and is disappointed to lose three races. But deep down he should be proud, as we are. It does bode very well for the rest of the season.”

Davies also indicated that Ducati intend to improve their machinery to chip away at Razgatlioglu’s advantages.

“There are areas to improve to go toe-to-toe with Toprak, in his strongest points,” he said.

“That’s what we need to focus on. Get our heads down, and come out swinging for the next one.”