Razgatlioglu ‘not happy’ about cancelled race despite ‘easier’ route to title
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s chances of winning a first ever WorldSBK title have significantly increased after one less race will take place this weekend.
Due to heavy rain and even thunderstorms hitting the Mandalika circuit shortly before race one was due to begin, the decision to move race one to Sunday was taken, which in turn means an available 12 points for victory in the Superpole race have now gone begging.
Although this outcome favours Razgatlioglu due to having one less race to worry about, the Pata Yamaha rider is disappointed to miss out on the opportunity to race, not just for himself, but also for title rival Jonathan Rea.
"I am not really happy about this because, not just for my side but also for Jonathan’s side. We are fighting in every race," said Razgatlioglu.
"Tomorrow, there will be two long races. It’s probably going to be a little bit easier but also I will try my best in the race because I always fight for the win.
"We don’t know the weather conditions for tomorrow. We will see tomorrow because it’s been a strange season in WorldSBK and tomorrow everybody will see which rider is the champion."
Razgatlioglu has put himself in a perfect position come tomorrow’s double-header after securing a third pole of the year.
The Turkish star was fastest at the initial run in Superpole qualifying, however, Rea then toppled Razgatlioglu’s time by three tenths with a couple of minutes remaining.
But Razgatlioglu, who has dominated this weekend’s running so far, went back to the top with a 1:32.877s - three tenths ahead of Rea and third in the championship Scott Redding.
The championship implications are relatively clear for Razgatlioglu as he leads by 30 points with 50 still to play for.
Should Rea win both races then Razgatlioglu could afford to finish as low as fifth in both, however, victory in race one for the 24 year-old will eliminate any hope Rea has of taking a seventh consecutive championship before race two begins. The first of those races begins at 03:00am UK time.
