Toprak Razgatlioglu fought fiercely with Scott Redding to be the best in Race 2 World Superbike (WSBK) Spain at the Jerez Circuit, Sunday (26/9/2021).
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) managed to wipe out two races that were contested at the Spanish WSBK.
As is known, after the accident in Race 1 World Supersport 300 (WSSP300) which killed Dean Berta Vinales, Saturday (25/9/2021), all races were stopped. In the new schedule change for Sunday, Superpole Race was abolished and replaced by Race 1
After winning Race 1, Razgatlioglu returned to the main podium in Race 2. If in Race 1 he fought fiercely with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), in Race 2 the young Turkish racer faced fierce resistance from Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducatis).
After bulldozing 20 race laps, Razgatlioglu was 0.113 seconds ahead of the 2020 WSBK runner-up. The third position is occupied by Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) who is 4.247 seconds adrift.
The fourth and fifth places were occupied by Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and Rea, respectively.
For Toprak Razgatlioglu, the main podium of the Spanish WSBK Race 2 was the 10th win this season or the 15th in his career in WSBK since his debut in 2018.
But the most important thing for Razgatlioglu is that his position at the top of the WSBK standings is getting stronger. If before WSBK Spain he was only 1 point ahead of Rea, two wins at Jerez make him now 20 points ahead.
With three rounds remaining (nine races), Razgatliogl is believed to be more confident in being able to shift Rea, who has won the WSBK championship for the last six years in a row (2015-2020).
Alex Lowes, who finished P9 in Race 1, decided not to participate in Race 2. Crew chief Marcel Duinker and Kawasaki Racing WorldSBK Manager explained that the Briton had a wrist problem.
The British racer, who has been on the podium twice at WSBK 2021, will have a complete rest. Most likely, he can only return at the next race in Portimao, Portugal, 2-3 October.
As soon as the start, Toprak Razgatlioglu immediately sped away from Jonathan Rea. A fierce duel immediately occurred on lap 2 when Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) competed side-by-side and managed to pass Rea for P2.
Rea's position continued to decline after on lap 4 Scott Redding bulldozed him for P3. Next, it was Locatelli and Bautista's turn who passed Rea so that they slumped to P6 until lap 8.
Up front, Redding managed to beat Rinaldi for P2. A fierce duel occurred between the two Ducati factory team racers in the fight for the second position.
The racing action of the two Ducati Panigale V4 R users made the Redding gap with Razgatlioglu remain stable in the range of 0.4 seconds.
In the middle of the race, lap 10, Rea was still stuck in sixth position with a gap of almost 4 seconds from Razgatlioglu. Rea's time difference with Razgatlioglu then widened to almost 5 seconds (4.706 seconds to be exact) on lap 12.
Ironically, Rea also looks difficult to withstand pressure from rookie Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing – Ducati) who continues to stick to him in P7.
Up front, Rinaldi made a big mistake so that his position slipped from P3 to P5. Until five laps before the finish, the duel in front of practically only involves Razgatlioglu and Redding. The reason is, Redding's gap with P3 occupied by Locatelli is almost 4 seconds.
Moments later, Rea managed to beat Rinaldi for P5 but the gap with Razgatlioglu was almost 6 seconds. On lap 16, Redding managed to snatch P1 from Razgatlioglu but was only ahead by about 0.2 seconds.
Two laps remaining, Razgatlioglu again won P1 from Redding. Meanwhile, Bautista managed to shift Locatelli for P3. The top three positions did not change until the finish.
Spanish WSBK Race 2 Results:
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