And to think that that long-cherished title seemed to be practically a done deal. Instead, from the world championship dream, it all went in the space of not even ten days to a real sort of nightmare. Yes, because the crash at Magny-Cours is likely to cost Toprak Razgatlioglu dearly.
The images of the Turkish rider's terrible crash in FP2 went around the web and social media networks as well as being broadcast on TV: the only thing we can say is that for Toprak it was a miracle, because all it took was a few centimeters further and it could have ended up much worse.
After getting back up on his own legs, however, the adrenaline of the moment had masked what was the real damage, which emerged a few hours later at Moulins Hospital: no fracture, but a mild pneumothorax injury. Images of the Turk in the BMW pit box in the aftermath of the accident show a Toprak affected by the crash.
Although his manager Sofuoglu had reassured us regarding the presence of the Turkish phenomenon for the Cremona round, today came the news of his absence through a declaration issued by BMW. As far as we have known Toprak during these years in the paddock, we are of the opinion that the #54 feels like a lion in a cage. He, himself, who over the years has always shown that he knows how to grit his teeth by going beyond the pain threshold.
Then again, Toprak needs little introduction: mastery of his body is to all intents and purposes his strong point, which has made him famous for his stunts, among other things. Now, however, Toprak has to stop, and in addition to Cremona there is a strong risk of having to remain idle at Aragon as well. "My goal is to return at Aragon," he said, "but we have to wait because we have to take it one step at a time."
The possible triple absence (Magny-Cours, Cremona and eventually Aragon) is likely to be no small setback, because Nicolò Bulega has only 55 points to make up in a round where as many as 62 points are up for grabs. Aruba therefore has a golden opportunity to exploit, trying to play team games in order not to hinder its protégé.
At the same time Nicolò will not have to get caught up in that frenzy of having to win at all costs, if anything, he will have to use the head and intelligence shown on Sunday at Magny-Cours, where he picked up a full haul with a double win. It may be true that Ducati had set out to win this World Championship with Bautista, but now the script has been turned upside down and the horse to bet on is only one, namely Nicolò, who inevitably found himself with all the spotlights on him after the Turkish rider's forfeit.
For the young rookie it will be yet another maturity test of a 2024 in which he has shown that he is going beyond all expectations, making consistency his workhorse and limiting any mistakes to a minimum. At the same time we look forward to a speedy recovery by Toprak for a Championship finale all the way to Jerez.