Nicolò Brega, who picked up his second win against Aragon on Sunday, will aim to further close the gap on Toprak Razgatlioglu in WorldSBK points against Estoril this weekend (October 10-12).
Brega won the two races in Aragon at Motorland on Sunday in completely different styles, beating Razgatlioglu at the final corner in the Super Pole race and winning by a few seconds in Race 2 after being given the chance to seize the pace in the final third of 18 laps.
However, despite their two wins on Sunday, Brega only closed the gap on Aragón’s Razgatlioglu by three points.
Now 36, he must not lose by more than 25 points to Razgatlioglu this weekend to keep the title race alive ahead of next week’s Jerez.
For Brega, three podiums would be enough to win the title battle with Jerez, but it looks achievable for the Italian, whose only non-podium finish this year came in the Hungarian Superpole race, where he finished 13th after opting for intermediate rear tires that were ultimately unsuitable for the wet and dry conditions.
“We’re coming (to Estoril) after Aragon, which was a good weekend for us, so we’re very motivated to stay at the front here in Estoril as well,” Nicolo Brega told WorldSBK.com ahead of the Estoril round.
“Then let’s take a look this weekend.”
Brega won the Super Pole race in Estoril during last year’s World Superbike round, and Razgatlioglu said losing at the final corner of that race was not forgotten, but the Italian expressed his desire to be even stronger in Portugal in 12 months’ time.
“To be honest, last year was good, but not great, because I finished second twice and won the Super Pole race. But this was my first year, so I was still learning a lot,” he said.
“Now I feel more prepared and more comfortable on the bike, so I will try to go faster than last year.”
Brega reflected more specifically on his victory in last year’s Super Pole race, adding that it was a race that gave him more confidence heading into the final race of the season in Jerez.
“I just remember that Toprak (Razgatlioglu) had very strong pace and I was trying to keep up with him,” he said.
“But in just the last two corners I was faster than him, so I kept repeating to myself, ‘I have to try to keep up with him and try to beat him in the last corner, because that’s the only point where I can beat him.’
“So my plan was this: I tried to get out of the last corner and it worked out, so I was very happy.
“It was very important for me because it gave me confidence heading into the round in Jerez last year.”