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It was a bad day for Toprak Razgatlioglu at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. After one of his worst qualifications of the season (in eighth position), he really struggled in the first race of the Catalan weekend.
At first, in second place alone for long stretches of the race, the reigning Yamaha Champion had to then deal with an early wear on his rear Pirelli tire, just like last year, ending up back with the rest of the group. His fifth final place leaves a bitter taste in his mouth, while instead Alvaro Bautista reaches +44 points in the championship.
“I tried to ride relaxed. I started off great and, when I was behind Bautista, I pushed in braking slightly. Not that much,” Toprak specified. “But, at that moment, the rear tire started to drop, and I wasn’t able to do anything more than close the throttle in advance. It wasn’t enough, and the last laps were a real ordeal. The bike was slipping everywhere. Tomorrow I’ll try to be more careful in the beginning.”
Was the Superpole strategy correct with your teammate Locatelli?
“Usually, in qualifying, I first follow Andrea in the beginning, and vice versa in the second. Today, however, something didn’t work. I had no grip with the SCQ, and I made some slight mistakes. Strange because, during the race, I felt more grip, using the same specs,” he concluded.
