Italiano
Español
English
Indonesian
Toprak Razgatlioglu's dream of signing a new record of consecutive wins was shattered at Aragon on Sunday. The BMW rider failed to repeat in Superpole Race the magic of Race 1, losing the confrontation with Nicolò Bulega at the last corner. Despite his thirst for revenge, the Turk then had to surrender to the Romagna rider in Race 2 as well, due to a mistake in Turn 7 that distanced him from the race leader, costing him a precious second.
"My plan was not to overtake him, to move to the other side and take the corner together with him. Under braking and downshifting, however, I didn't feel the engine brake right away, I could only feel the rear pushing. I didn't understand why this happened, it surprised me, and I braked in first gear, because apparently, not feeling the engine brake, I didn't engage second gear. I made a mistake, but even if I had fought with him even in the last laps I would have had little chance of winning the race because of the last corner," El Turco said.
"The Ducati has more grip, the electronics work better and the acceleration and torque are great. Everyone says that Aragon is a Ducati track because it handles the long corners with ease, while the BMW slides as soon as I open the throttle a bit and doesn't accelerate," he added, summing up his weekend. "There was a good fight, however, and Race 1 for me was incredible, because I finally won at Aragon. In the Superpole Race we had a good battle but I lost in the last corner. I didn't have any option there - I tried to stay on the inside or on the outside but it didn't change anything because it was easy for the Ducati to pass me at that point. I tried again to do my best in Race 2. I really pushed hard when I saw that there were three laps left and Alvaro was catching up to me and when I saw that I had a second on the last lap I relaxed. The second position was very important for me, also from the view of the championship. We'll see in Estoril. It is a track quite in my style and I will try again to win there."
Toprak went on to explain in more detail why he felt that trying to keep a more inside line at the last corner would not have paid off. "If I had approached the corner that way it would have been too easy for him to pass me on the outside. He was three or four tenths faster than me in the last sector. It's as if the Ducati and my bike were at a different level right now. The wheelie on the exit of the corner ? My bike was wheelieing when I was following him and I was in his slipstream. In some laps he would lose the front, I would lift up the bike before him and taking less air the bike would wheelie and not accelerate the same," he said.
After the intense duels with Bulega, Razgatlioglu had a pretty good idea of what his and his rival's strengths were.
"He is very strong in the long corners, while I am faster than him in the slow ones. This weekend, however, the engine braking of my bike was not great. The bike wouldn't stop and I always had to make it brake on the front wheel. I noticed that the Ducati's engine brake, on the other hand, is incredible. When I was braking together with Bulega, I thought his bike wouldn't stop. Instead, after the last part of the braking, he was able to stop and enter the corner, and that surprised me. Plus the Ducati is on another level in terms of grip and cornering," he noted.
"I was overtaking him in almost every corner, but he didn't need to risk it because he passed me easily on the straight and in the last corner. I was pushing hard every lap to duel with him, while he only needed to push in the last corner. In the others he was driving normally and in a relaxed way - continued the BMW rider - I was fighting every lap, building and then the last corner, where he was pushing, he ruined everything and we had to start all over again. That's not good, but that's part of racing: there are bikes that are better on some tracks and others that are a little bit lower. I like to push and fight with everyone, but this weekend we lost some good points. Although it was better than last year. Now we will go to Estoril, where I am a bit stronger. I hope to continue winning there."
In conclusion, Toprak was asked if he wrote to Marc Marquez after winning his ninth title. "Yes, I sent him a message. I am very happy for him. He deserved it after five years. He has improved every year and this season he showed that he is back after his bad injury. He is a true MotoGP legend and I am really happy for him and his family," he admitted, "Fighting with him in 2026? Maybe not next year, but someday I hope so."
