Donington Park WorldSBK: Toprak Razgatlioglu ‘bored’ of Alvaro Bautista, Ducati dominance
Toprak Razgatlioglu believes he’s ready to snap Alvaro Bautista’s winning streak at the circuit which saw him clinch his first WorldSBK hat-trick.
While rain affected Friday practice so much that picking a favourite is difficult to do, Razgatlioglu was one of the fastest riders alongside six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea.
His favourite circuit on the calendar, Donington Park was always viewed as a circuit where Razgatlioglu could be a strong contender throughout, however, it remains to be seen if that can be true when racing begins on Saturday as Bautista has been more dominant than ever in 2023.
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But speaking after FP2, Razgatlioglu was very upbeat about his chances while also claiming that Rea looks at his best.
"Looks like the normal Jonathan Rea. he is really strong at this track and I hope we are fighting like 2021 in the race.
"I’m bored and I think that all the fans are bored watching everyone ride alone in the race.
"I think that everybody is waiting for a very good race and I hope that this weekend we are fighting loads in the race. It looks like we are really strong, Johnny also.
"I don’t think Bautista will take the risk [grinned the Yamaha rider] I think he’s scared of crashing.
"If he breaks something then the championship is gone. This is normal. I think for me, and for Johnny, we are very hungry for the win."
Razgatlioglu and Axel Bassani were the only riders that managed to get clear laps in FP2 before rain fell and disrupted the entire session.
Bassani, who was following the Yamaha rider, was able to gain an advantage according to Razgatlioglu, who also admitted that the new track surface made it difficult to get a good reference when rain fell.
"It’s okay for me because today, I rode without reference," began Razgatlioglu. "The beginning of FP2, Bassani followed me and that’s very good for him because he sees a fast rider and it’s a good reference.
"I just rode alone and with no reference but we don’t understand the asphalt because it’s too dark and we don’t understand."
