Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) had a rollercoaster Sunday at the Acerbis Czech Round. He claimed victory in the Tissot Superpole Race for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship but a Race 2 crash cost him 25 points to Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the Championship standings after he highsided in the second half of the race after he resisted Bautista’s intense pressure.

The Turkish star claimed a Superpole Race victory on Sunday morning as he resisted Jonathan Rea’s (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) challenge. After battling back when Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) surged from fourth to first as the lights went out, the #54 had to fend off six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the middle part of the 10-lap battle with the duo changing positions several times.

Razgatlioglu first moved ahead of Rea on Lap 4 to gain second place before passing Bassani on the same lap, gaining two places on one lap, before Rea followed him through on the #47 Ducati at Turn 1 on Lap 5. On Lap 6, Rea capitalised on a Razgatlioglu error at Turn 13 to pass the Yamaha into Turn 20 but the 2021 Champion responded immediately. He cut back through the Turn 1-2 chicane to get the run on the six-time World Champion through Turn 3 to re-take the lead. From there, he was able to manage the gap to claim victory and close the Championship gap to 49 points.

Race 2 did not go as well for Razgatlioglu after he crashed, which Pirelli have explained, from the lead in the second half of the race. He was having a fierce fight with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) over the first two-thirds of the race but the #54 highsided on the exit of Turn 2 and heading into Turn 3, handing Bautista a 25-point swing in the Championship standings with the gap now up to 74 points in the reigning Champion’s favour.

Explaining the crash and what happened, Razgatlioglu commented: “It was a very strange race. My rear tyre burst. I am surprised because I looked back after the crash at the chain, and after I saw my tyre. It’s very strange for me, it’s the first time it’s happened in my life. I am okay. In the last six laps, I started to ride calmer, and I saw the gap getting bigger. It was a good race for me and I enjoyed it; I think all fans enjoyed it!”

Although Bautista was ahead at Turn 1 on the opening lap, Razgatlioglu came through on Lap 7 at Turn 13 before the duo engaged in a barnstorming battle. Bautista would try to get alongside Razgatlioglu down the start-finish straight with the 2021 Champion responding under braking, before the Spaniard changed his tactics and tried a Turn 20 move on Lap 12; Razgatlioglu covered him off at Turn 21. On Lap 15, the highlight of the battle happened when Razgatlioglu defended P1 on the brakes around the outside of the defending Champion.

The #54 expanded on his battle with Bautista as the pair fought hard for victory. He added: “My plan in the race, especially the exit from the last corner, was to exit alone. If he was right in front of me, it wouldn’t have been easy to pass him in the first corner. I’m always keeping him behind me. We get to the first corner and I’m passing him again because I’m braking harder, but sometimes he tried hard braking. I needed to pass him. In general, it was a very good fight with Alvaro.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com