Razgatlioglu emerges victorious in intense battle with Rinaldi

September 9, 2023

Razgatlioglu emerges victorious in intense battle with Rinaldi, reducing Championship gap.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) won Race 1 in Magny-Cours with a remarkable performance characterized by his fierce duel with Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who secured second place.

Razgatlioglu, who notched his 38th career win in WorldSBK, secured a crucial victory that trimmed the Championship gap between him and Bautista to 55 points.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed third place on the podium.

Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) ultimately finished fourth in the race after starting from pole position, and the American rider achieved his best result since joining BMW.

Danilo Petrucci ( Barni Spark Racing Team) took fifth place in a late-race battle with his compatriot, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK), who came in sixth.

Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) suffered technical problems in the early stages of the race before fighting back to the top ten.

WorldSBK Race 1 Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.656s
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +4.773s
4. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +6.266s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +8.987s
6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +9.740s

WorldSBK Championship standings
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 433 points
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 378 points
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 267 points

P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK
“Reflecting on his win and the title fight, Razgatlioglu said: “I’m happy to win again at Magny-Cours as it is one of my favourite tracks! We won like last year and, in the same way by fighting with Michael! Anyway, a big thanks to the team as they were working really well this weekend and we made a step. It’s not enough to just be good when braking, we need more power on the exit of the corner, especially from the slow ones. Everyone knows the Ducati is so good on the straights, but we’ll keep fighting! I saw Alvaro had some technical problems; I’m not thinking about the Championship, I’m focused race by race as I need to win. I forget about the Championship. We have two more races on Sunday. I’m more relaxed than Alvaro because I’m not thinking in the Championship. If we win every race, we’re World Champions. In 2021, that was how I thought and it’s how I still think. We’ll just try to enjoy every race.”

P10 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“It’s been a strange afternoon. In the morning, I had a good feeling, and we made a really good lap time in Superpole, and the bike was fantastic. In the end, we chose the softer compound on the rear at the minute because, in the morning, I felt good, so I thought it was a good choice for the race. I had a good start, but I suddenly felt the engine had some problems because I felt like the power was too low. In the first two laps, the engine wasn’t pushing like normal. When I got to Turn 5 on Lap 3, I re-opened the gas and the engine stopped. I thought maybe the power was not good in the first two laps because there was a problem. When I stopped the bike, I read a message on the display that it was on, only the engine stopped. I read a message that said I could start. It was the message that mechanics see when they switch on the bike. I tried to restart the bike and go, the engine started again, and I thought I’d go to the box with the bike. But the bike started to work like normal. The power was normal. I just did the race and I’m happy with the performance and because I had a lot of fun catching the riders and passing all of them! Without that problem, maybe we could fight for the win.”