Razgatlioglu aiming to win in Estoril, ‘we know we can fight here’
Toprak Razgatlioglu heads into this weekend’s round two of the 2021 WorldSBK championship fourth in the standings after a first Aragon podium.
Razgatlioglu achieved his best results in Aragon since joining the premier class in 2018. The 24 year-old’s rostrum finish came in race one, while he also took two sixth places during Sunday’s Superpole and race two.
At the 2020 season finale in Estoril, Razgatlioglu took two wins and a third place which was just enough to pip team-mate at the time Michael Van Der Mar to fourth in the championship.
Given his recent results at the Portuguese venue and the R1’s improvements, it’s no surprise Razgatlioglu is aiming to win, but concedes ‘I am not relaxed’ because of the level in WorldSBK.
"In Estoril last year I was very strong, so we know we can fight here but I am not coming to the weekend relaxed because this is the WorldSBK Championship and the competition is very high," added Razgatlioglu.
"We will try for the best position and also I aim to be fighting for the win, but we will see.
"Now the new R1 is much better, also a big improvement like we saw in the Aragón races, but now it’s not possible for me to say if we can continue like this in Estoril until I ride at this circuit on Friday.
"My feeling is very strong but I will say again, we’re not coming here relaxed and we stay focused for the weekend."
Rookie team-mate Andrea Locatelli enjoyed a strong debut weekend in the class, and is buoyed by Estoril being up next due to Yamaha’s success there 8 months ago.
Along with Razgatlioglu, Garrett Gerloff was another Yamaha rider who went well around the Circuito Estoril, as he took a second and third place finish in race one and the Superpole race.
Locatelli added: "I’m excited for Estoril this week, because last year the Yamaha was very fast! The team had some podiums and wins, but my idea with Andrew and the guys is to continue to work and improve as it is only the second weekend of WorldSBK racing for me.
"For sure I think we can do really well like the last weekend in Aragón, my goal is to stay in the top 10 and qualifying well – and maybe for the races we can fight more in front, we will see but for sure I think we can take another step forward."
