Reigning World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatliogu lamented the lack of rear grip in his inability to challenge his victory at Italian WorldSBK.
Razgatlioglu finished second in all three races at Cremona. He was late for 1.5 to 2.8 seconds each time, to Ducati’s victory point leader, Nicolo Bulega.
After struggling with tire life at Assen, Razgatriog and BMW arrived in Cremona in fact had a rear grip at the top of their priorities, but despite moving forward in this respect on Friday, Razgatriogle was unable to increase the pace of Brega, which ultimately scored his points from 21 to 34 on the weekend.
“It’s a very tough weekend for me as I didn’t race here last year, but we did a very good job,” Razgatlioglu summed up when talking to Worldsbk.com following Race 2 at Cremona.
“I’m just looking for a P1, but this is very difficult because Ducati has advantages here. Especially at the corner exit, the Ducati is working very well. My biggest problem is the rear grip, so I’m trying to improve the grip.
“But anyway, we did a very good job, we fought all the raps for the victory.
“We’ve finished P2. It’s better than nothing. It’s a good thing. We also score good points in the championship and (what happens most of the time).”
Razgatlioglu added that efforts to stay within Brega’s range mean taking risks with the front end and rear tires.
“In all races, we’re on the first laps that are very close to Nicolo (Brega), but after (some) laps, when the rear tires start to fall, Ducati starts to have an advantage,” he explained.
“But I will continue to fight for a good position, but it’s very difficult because when I’m pushing very hard, I’m also starting to slide a lot in some sectors where I come, in some sectors where he’s strong.
“In races, we do this all the time. When I come a little he builds a gap. But we finished three races on the podium, which is positive for me.”