Denning: Razgatlioglu was simply incredible, a true racing animal

Pata Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu heads to this weekend’s final round of the current World Superbike triple header at Portimao with a significant 20 point lead over Jonathan Rea. 

Following his stunning Jerez double on Sunday, Razgatlioglu has created his biggest lead, but also the biggest gap between the two title contenders since Assen when Rea led by 37. 

The battle, which has really heated up in recent rounds, took centre stage again during race one as Razgatlioglu eventually got the better of Rea. 

However, it was race two that drastically enhanced the 24 year-old’s advantage in the standings as Rea could only manage fifth place. 

After starting the year with four wins from six, Rea only has five from the last 22 races, while Razgatlioglu has 10 from that same number, along with more podiums. 

What made Razgatlioglu’s performances at Jerez even more impressive was that Rea seemed to have the better pace leading into the races.

Paul Denning, Pata Yamaha Team Manager called Razgatlioglu ‘a true racing animal’ for his showing, which came after he and Andrea Locatelli ‘were quite emotional’ following the sad passing of SSP300 rider Dean Berta Vinales on Saturday.

Denning added: "Our success today is completely overshadowed by the tragic events of yesterday and I’d like to take this opportunity on behalf of the whole team to extend our deepest sympathies to the family, friends and team of Dean Berta Viñales. 

"Understandably, both Toprak and Loka were quite emotional yesterday evening and I was a little worried about their approach to the races today, but when the visors went down it was clear that they both were able to focus on their jobs. “Toprak was simply incredible today, a true “racing animal”. 

"Loka was metres away from a double podium and considering where we were Friday - with both riders struggling a little bit for outright pace and feel – I have to thank our engineers and the whole team for a stunning job in turning things around, to allow us to achieve pole position and this double victory. 

"As always our feet are on the ground, we’ll simply focus on the next race and we will do our best again in Portimão."