English
Italiano
A stoppie for the top of the world championship. On the track that gave him his first career win two years ago, Toprak Razgatlioglu dominated race-1 this weekend, taking home his 10th victory with Yamaha and the championship lead with 5 points over Jonathan Rea. He won the race thanks to a hard, but correct overtaking move, coming out of Adelaide on lap 4 and at a pace that allowed him to comfortably manage the situation and make his wish come true under the chequered flag. “In the first laps Jonathan tried to get away and Alex tried to catch up with us,” said Toprak. "I then took Jonathan, but as I had pushed too hard I caused overheating on the tires. The tires then had a big drop but it wasn't a problem, my pace was consistent. I know I used the same tire as Jonathan on the rear ”.
What were the conditions like today, especially after the rain of recent days?
"The conditions were good today, then this year I had this desire to cross the finish line with a stoppie and I couldn't wait to come here because the finish line here is close to the exit of the last corner. I just needed a 4-5 second lead to do it. When I saw I had a 4" advantage, I tried it and I'm very happy I did it."
You chose the right track as De Seynes, the president of Yamaha Motor Europe, is also here today. Did you talk to him?
"This is a bit like a home race".
Can you explain how it is possible to be so dominant against Rea? You had such a big gap that you could even allow yourself a stoppie on the finish line and against Jonathan it's not easy.
“It wasn't easy and in the early laps I thought this was going to be a tough race. As the laps went by, I raced a little more relaxed and I saw that the gap was increasing. I also focused on my times by staying consistent. I saw that I had 3-4 seconds lead and I told myself that I had to cross the finish line with a stoppie. For me it was a great race, I like this track, I was fast in 2019, as well as these days. In race-1 in 2019 I was not so fast, while in the Superpole Race I also did a 37.0, today I did a 36.9. I'll try again tomorrow, even if it won't be easy and I know that ”.
There will also be the Superpole Race tomorrow…
“And it won't be easy because Jonathan is also very fast, in race-2 he will come back very strong, I know him”.
Did you see that Redding was far behind and also crashed? What do you think of that?
“Yes, I saw on the big screen coming out of turn 5. I was surprised by his qualifying, his times were not good, and by his starting position. Yes, I saw his crash".
Today with one race Scott lost the points he had recovered in Most and Navarra…
“This season is very strange because everything changes in one weekend. It won't be easy for him ”.
This year you have improved the bike a lot, do you think there is still room for improvement?
“We improve in every race, but sometimes it's not easy. On Friday morning it was not easy for me to ride, the last time we came here I rode the Kawasaki, while in FP2 I was able to ride much better because I was able to adapt the bike I know now. The team also knows me, we work very well together. But for tomorrow I need something more, Jonathan will be very strong and fast ”.
It is important for you to know how the Kawasaki is doing, can it be a point in your favour that you know it since you raced on it?
“Even here the Kawasaki is an excellent bike, but the problem is that I think we were fast today, also in terms of lap times, not like in 2019. I remember that in the Superpole Race in 2019 I was lapping in 37.0, in this race I did a 36.9. This year the circuit also offers better grip ".
We also saw a lot of fans from Turkey, did you offer them the trip?
"They come to every race, with Covid it happens to see them at some races, it makes me happy".
