Toprak Razgatlioglu: ‘Motivation was really down, I needed to win’

Despite winning the Superpole WorldSBK race in San Juan, Razgatlioglu saw his championship hopes dented in a big way after falling in Race One, while Alvaro Bautista went on to win. 

The reigning world champion kept alive his streak of winning at least one race since Misano after holding off Bautista in spectacular fashion, however, it was Race One where the Yamaha rider made a mistake that is likely to cost him any chance of claiming back-to-back Superbike titles.

• Bautista: ‘I gave everything’ with Razgatlioglu behind, easy to ‘make mistakes’

Now 82 points back in the WorldSBK standings, Razgatlioglu stated after the weekend that his spirits were low before bouncing back with a victory and second place in the second feature race.

“The team always believed in me," said Razgatlioglu. "On Saturday night, my motivation was really down. Thanks to the team because they’re really key for my motivation. They also improved the bikes for Sunday. I’m very happy about this.

"I never see a team after I crash talking strong. It wasn’t easy for me, a mistake for the first time in two years. The team really helped for my motivation.”

Like Jonathan Rea, Razgatlioglu was powerless to defend against Bautista as race two went on, with the Ducati rider again showing exceptional late race pace. 

Bautista, who has won at least one race at every round except Donington Park when Razgatlioglu completed a hat-trick of wins, could seal his first WorldSBK title at the next round in Indonesia.

For Razgatlioglu to have a chance of taking the title fight down to the season-finale in Phillip Island, the Yamaha rider will likely need to finish ahead of the Spaniard in all three races at Mandalika, while avoiding another rare mistake.

Razgatlioglu’s crash in San Juan was the Turkish star’s first mistake in two years, something that angered the Yamaha man.

"I was pissed off after my first racing crash this season, but we gave a strong answer together on Sunday," Razgatlioglu said. 

"The team did an excellent job and I made a reset. Sunday morning all I thought about was that I needed a win."