Razgatlioglu: “I’ve waited every weekend for this, surprised Bautista crashed”

Razgatlioglu finally ended Alvaro Bautista’s streak of 14 WorldSBK wins in the long race format, which dated back to race two at Phillip Island last season. 

The Yamaha rider, who won his third Superpole Race of the year on Sunday, then profited from Bautista making a rare mistake on lap one of Race 2. 

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"This year, finally! I’ve waited for this moment for many weekends! I am surprised Alvaro crashed at Turn 3, it was a strange crash," said Razgatlioglu who then went on to have a scare of his own. 

"He touched the white line because after two laps, I did the same and the feeling was that I lost the front and rear, but I didn’t crash. 

"I am happy as I’ve waited every weekend for this, I tried to ride alone after Alvaro crashed but Axel was very strong. 

"I kept the rear tyre, started to follow him and then passed him in the last three laps. I didn’t take any risks because for me, it was a very important race."

Razgatlioglu didn’t have things all his own way after Bautista’s crash as another Ducati rider in Axel Bassani proved to be a stiff challenge.

The Italian looked like the favourite for victory after passing Razgatlioglu with eight laps to go, however, the 26-year-old showed better late race pace to deny Bassani a first Superbike win.

Speaking about his Superpole win, and battle with Bautista, Razgatlioglu added: "I had a better win in the Superpole Race because Alvaro is very strong and had very good pace. 

"I caught him and passed him at Turn 9, where he wasn’t as strong. He rode the last lap very well and into the last chicane, I felt him very close and coming out of Turn 19, there’s a big screen and I saw him very close! 

"I tried hard braking into the final chicane and didn’t stop easy! I took the win; it’s very special because after 0.5s gap, I closed to up to him and passed him. 

"70 points is a lot but the Championship is not finished; I’m focused race by race like 2021, just trying to win."