‘Everything different this year, I feel stronger at every track’ - Razgatlioglu

Toprak Razgatlioglu comes into this weekend’ Catalunya WorldSBK round with his biggest points advantage over Jonathan Rea to date.

A treble of wins at Magny-Cours before having that reduced to two due to exceeding track limits in the Superpole race means a double digit lead is now seven. 

Still, it’s the biggest lead Razgatlioglu has had over six-time world champion Rea this season.

An area that’s particularly helped Razgatlioglu establish the position as championship leader has been improving his consistency at all tracks, especially those that weren’t his strongest last year. 

One of the venues that wasn’t kind to Razgatlioglu and therefore one he will most want to improve upon in his quest for a first Superbike title is last year’s inaugural Catalunya round. 

Razgatlioglu claimed a sixth in race one, before missing the final two races due to a big warm-up crash. 

Speaking ahead of this weekend, Razgatlioglu added: "Barcelona was not easy last year, but for me, everything is different this year. 

"My team, the bike and everything works together very well, and even from the test at the start of this year, I feel stronger at every track. 

"I always say, I am not looking at the championship but I know every race I need good points. 

"I only focus on the next session, the next race and try for the win. 

"We will work and prepare with my team the best we can on Friday, to make a race simulation and find the set-up, then we will see."