It had been a season of ‘so close yet so far’ for Turkish star Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) after the Turkish sensation has claimed six podiums in eight races leading up to Race 2 for the Pirelli Made in Italy Emilia-Romagna Round, including four second places. This changed at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” as Razgatlioglu claimed his first victory of the 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign.

Razgatlioglu looked strong all weekend in Italy, right behind two-time Misano winner Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and came home with two second places from Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race. In Race 2, the duo battled it out again but this time Razgatlioglu was able to get ahead of home hero Rinaldi to claim his first win of the 2021 campaign.

Looking back on the weekend, Razgatlioglu said: “Today I am very happy because this weekend, we were working very hard for the good bike. Two races, second position, I said ‘last race, I need a win because it’s enough second, second, second’, I need a first win and I’m really happy today because I’m just a rider but also the bike is important, my team did a great job this weekend. “

Razgatlioglu finished ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in all three races and that meant the gap in the Championship was cut from 35 points to just 20 points with the Championship heading to Donington Park next time out. Razgatlioglu discussed the closed-up gap, saying: “I’m not looking at the points because this makes me feel very stressed and for me it’s the first time I’m close to Jonny in the points. I’m building step by step but this year there are many races to go, so we will see.”

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