Toprak Razgatlioglu: Incredible Attack, Reminds Me of Valentino Rossi

RiderTua.com – The way Toprak Razgatlioglu fought to beat rookie Nicolo Bulega in the last lap of the first race in Catalunya was very exciting and extraordinary. The sprint race on Sunday morning was also no less exciting. Alvaro Bautista led until the final corner and was on his way to his first win of the season. Then Toprak passed the Aruba.it Ducati team rider from the inside, who was slightly off the ideal racing line and once again Andrea Iannone (Go Eleven Ducati) slipped past him.

Toprak’s maneuver reminded us of the 2009 MotoGP race in Barcelona, when Valentino Rossi won a spectacular battle against Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo at the final corner and won.

Toprak Razgatlioglu: Incredible Attack, Reminds Me of Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi -Jorge Lorenzo – MotoGP Barcelona 2009

Regarding his battle on the last lap, Toprak Razgatlioglu explained, “Alvaro overtook me at turn 1. At turn 5 I wasn’t close enough to attack. The same thing happened at turn 10, I only had the last corner left. I was very close to him, braved myself then attacked. When braking, I downshifted to second gear, which gave me good acceleration afterward.”

“It was an incredible attack, it was like Valentino Rossi. It’s not exactly the same, but the attack itself is similar. On this track it’s not easy to attack in the last corner on a 1000cc bike. I rate this maneuver in the top 3 of my career. I “It hasn’t stopped yet, I hope there will be more duels to come,” added the BMW rider from Turkey.

“Three podiums for BMW and that’s at this track. It’s good. Before we came here, I was worried. I was hoping for a podium. Now I’ve won twice and finished third once and that’s amazing for me. We’re not there yet in 100 percent condition, but we are making progress every race weekend, every day,” continued Van Der Mark’s teammate.

In the second main race on Sunday afternoon, Toprak could not fight the two factory Ducati riders, namely Bautista and Bulega, and crossed the finish line in 3rd place, losing 7 seconds. Toprak revealed that he had been having problems since Friday where the bike could not be slowed down properly. He had to brake earlier than usual and therefore could not get ahead.

The protégé of manager Kenan Sofuoglu said, “My losses when exiting corners I can easily make up for with slow braking. This time it wasn’t the case. If we improve the bike in the braking phase, the cornering speed becomes worse. We tried several things, but they didn’t can control both. We have improved the bike significantly, but we still don’t have enough grip when the bike leans all the way in. The impact won’t be as big in the rest of the year as it was here, but from Assen onwards we will be stronger. ”

With 53 of 62 possible points scored in Catalunya, Toprak Razgatlioglu moved up from 8th to 4th in the standings to 16 points behind Bulega who is now leading.