Toprak Razgatlioglu, who finished second in WorldSBK Race 2, complained that “some riders don’t respect” his title fight with Nicolo Brega.
Razgatlioglu dropped from pole position to fifth place at the first corner of race two, but it took until the end of the second lap to pass Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Iannone and Andrea Locatelli to move into second place.
The BMW rider admitted after the race that he wasn’t necessarily angry, saying, “This is racing,” but he seemed irritated by the battle with riders other than Brega early in race two.
“In the beginning, in the first two laps, some riders don’t respect the championship. I understand this,” Toprak Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com after race two in Estoril.
“And I was passing some riders and they were trying to pass me again in the corner, so I was very surprised, but I had no respect. Anyway, I just said, ‘This is a race,’ and I also just focused on my job and tried to catch Nicolo (Bulega).”
Razgatlioglu lost about a second to Brega in the early battle before moving up to second place. It was a gap that he could not close despite his efforts, much like the Italian felt when the tables were reversed in Race 1.
“When you’re in second place, you’re pushing as hard as you can every lap, but then your rear tire completely broke and in the last seven or six laps you started to slow down,” he said.
“At first I started to manage (the front tire started falling off), but when the rear tire fell off, I lost control again, because the bike wasn’t accelerating, it was just spinning and not turning.”
“I just said, ‘Okay, it’s impossible to win this time.’ Second place was good enough for me because I needed good points for the championship.
“Right now I’m focusing on Jerez, because there’s still room, but we’ll see in Jerez.”
Razgatlioglu added on the issue of Race 2: “I was very surprised because the rear tire fell off and the bike started to lock up, the engine braking wasn’t working well and there was some chatter.
“It’s not easy to ride the bike in Race 2. My lap times are good but I’m at my limit.
“But when the tires fell off, the condition of the bike got worse, with more chatter, more locking, and the bike didn’t stop easily and couldn’t accelerate. I had a lot of problems, and that was also the reason why I was shaking my head.”
“At first I was also a little angry when trying to pass other riders. But I’m trying to forget about it. I’m just focused on Jerez.”