Toprak Razgatlioglu finised as the runner-up in Race 1 of WSBK Australia at Phillip Island on Saturday. He was behind Nicolo Bulega. The BMW rider is hoping to make some improvements to his bike’s setup for the two races on Sunday.
Although Razgatlioglu was able to keep up with Bulega’s pace in the second part of Race 1, the Italian rider managed to open up a gap of approximately six seconds in the first half. Meanwhile, Toprak was caught up in a fierce battle for the second position.
“I need adjustments for the Superpole Race because everyone is pushing harder today,” Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com after Race 1 at Phillip Island. “Hopefully, we can find something and fight with someone else.”
But could that be Bulega?
“Bulega is very strong on this track, he is racing alone,” he continued. “But maybe at the start of the race, maybe two or three laps, I can try to follow him, but then I am sure he will go alone.”
Despite lagging behind Bulega in the first race, the Turkish rider said that he experienced a significant improvement in his bike compared to Friday. He had fewer problems with handling and turning.
“I feel very happy because finally I started to smile and I did not expect this race to be like this, but we did a very good job,” Razgatlioglu said. “I want to thank my team because we have improved the bike, especially at the start of the race I was not so strong, but on the second lap I felt the grip was much better and the bike turned a little better, maybe because of less fuel.”
The pit stop proved to be a turning point that changed the course of the race. Toprak stayed on the track one lap longer than his competitors and managed to secure a one-second lead over Alvaro Bautista after the pit stop.
Starting the race from second position, losing the lead to Bulega by a time difference of 0.094 seconds, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s plan to trail the Aruba.it Ducati rider failed. Ducati no longer had to deal with the reduction of maximum engine speed to balance performance thanks to the introduction of new maximum fuel flow rate regulations, successfully overtaking him on the straight.
“I tried to follow Bulega, but when the race started all Ducati overtaking me on the straight,” he revealed. “I do not understand how Ducati still very strong on the straight, the new rules do not restrict engine speed. Ducati is still very fast on the straight.
“But after the tire change, I found my rhythm and the bike became more comfortable. Every session we improve the bike in small steps. We have two more races tomorrow and we’ll see what happens.”
