Razgatlioglu prepared for tough Magny-Cours battle with Rea and Redding

Toprak Razgatlioglu heads to Magny-Cours, France, as the WorldSBK championship leader thanks to having more wins than Jonathan Rea in the longer format races.

Both riders are currently level on 311 points, and although Rea has eight wins compared to Razgatlioglu’ six, the sprint races don't affect the standings when two riders are level. Razgatlioglu holds one extra win in the feature race events.

While the battle between Razgatlioglu and Rea has been fierce all season long, it’s a two-way battle that has now become three as Scott Redding has cut an 80 point deficit to under 40 in just the last two rounds. 

Leading the championship this deep into a season is completely new for Razgatlioglu, however, it’s not weighing the Yamaha rider down as he’s instead focused on taking it one race at a time - a mindset that’s consistently been his throughout 2021.

Speaking ahead of this weekend, Razgatlioglu added: "For me, France is a special place because of my first wins in 2019, but like I have said before: we focus only on the next races ahead. 

"I am not thinking about the championship! I like the Magny-Cours circuit a lot, it has fast sections and areas for hard braking which I enjoy. 

"My team has been working hard at every round to give me the best R1 for the races, and we have been ready to fight everywhere. 

"It will not be easy, Jonny and Scott [Redding] are very strong, but we will see."