You are here

SBK, Toprak: "I couldn't ride, my Yamaha didn’t turn"

“The choice of a hard tyre penalized me in race 2, I had no grip. If this is Ducati's level it will be very difficult. Lowes? Only bad luck, nothing more "

SBK: Toprak: "I couldn't ride, my Yamaha didn’t turn"

Share


Race 2 at Phillip Island was one to forget for Toprak Razgatlioglu. After third place in the morning sprint race, Yamaha’s Turkish rider ended up on the ground in the final race of the weekend after being unfortunately hit by Alex Lowes. Moral of the fairy tale: both hit the deck and their race finished with an early shower.

In the post-race debrief Toprak didn’t have much to say if not to explain what happened. Certainly, his expectations were very different on the eve of a weekend where he found himself playing catch-up.

“To tell the truth, I thought it was going to be different today - he said - Race 2 was very complicated because I made a mistake in the choice of tyre. This morning, in the Superpole Race, I could have passed Michael if there had been one more lap. Unfortunately, in race 2, with the hard, the Yamaha changed a lot. I had no grip and the R1 didn’t turn. I tried to follow Rea, but Lowes came against me, and we ended up on the ground. "

The #54 explained the incident.

“It wasn't his fault because he crashed on his own. I followed a different line than usual at that moment and unfortunately Alex hit me, ending up with both of us on the ground. It was just bad luck, nothing more”.

Meanwhile, Bautista and Ducati are already running away...

“Alvaro and Ducati were very strong here in Phillip Island and Locatelli showed great potential, making the most of the new fork and finding confidence. As mentioned, the problem was the tyre, because with the hard I had zero grip, and the bike was completely different. However, we are only at the beginning of the season and we have to recover starting from Mandalika, since there are a lot of races left. Certainly, if this is the level of the Ducati it will be very difficult ".

Finally, a consideration about Locatelli's weekend.

"Loca was really competitive this weekend. In the tests he was very fast finding great confidence immediately. The new fork made him very competitive, he also worked well, finding that set-up he wanted. Now we just have to start again in Indonesia”.

 

Related articles