It was a rollercoaster weekend for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) as the Turkish rider claimed one win and one second place finish at the Circuito San Juan Villicum, but a Race 1 crash proved costly for his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship ambitions. As the WorldSBK paddock departs Argentina and gets ready for the Indonesian Round, Razgatlioglu finds himself on the brink of relinquishing his crown as he trails Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) by 82 points in the title fight.

Razgatlioglu was able take victory in the Tissot Superpole Race on Sunday as he withstood late charges from Bautista as he responded in style from his Race 1 crash, including making overtakes at the same corner which proved costly in Race 1. In the end, he narrowed the gap to Bautista to 77 points in the Superpole Race, but Bautista was able to extend it back out to 82 following Race 2, where they finished in the same positions but a different order: Bautista first and Razgatlioglu second.

Reflecting on the Superpole Race, Razgatlioglu said: “For me, the Superpole Race was unbelievable! I tried my best, and, after yesterday’s big mistake, my feeling was good. I took more confidence. In Race 2, I knew it wouldn’t be an easy race, because Alvaro is very strong. I just kept fighting for good positions, also for the win but it wasn’t possible. The tyres started to drop, and I just tried to get a good position.”

In Race 2, Razgatlioglu once again looked to fight with Bautista for the race victory as they battled back from losing ground at the start of the race. During the first quarter of the race, Razgatlioglu was able to stay close to Bautista but lost ground down the back straight with Bautista eventually able to pull out a gap of more than three seconds to take his second win of the weekend. The results leave Bautista on the verge of claiming the 2022 title.

Discussing the title fight, Razgatlioglu said: “For me, the Championship isn’t important now. I’m just focussed race by race. I try to win every race. In Race 2, I tried to win again. After ten laps, the rear tyre dropped, and we finished in second position. I’m not really happy about this because I don’t like second position; I try always to win! For Mandalika, I am focussed directly on Mandalika because I have good memories. In 2021, we were World Champions there. Now, I need three races win in Mandalika.”

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