Razgatlioglu ‘learning from the pack’ in advance to second

The fallout - literally - between Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista after their final WorldSBK race impact at Magny Cours had several results. The main one for the other rider in the championship fight, Pata Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, was that he is now second overall, not third.

Rea ended Sunday not just 47 points behind Bautista’s lead but 17 points behind Razgatlioglu as the Turkish rider won two races and recovered from his own race one crash to score points for 11th place.

As ever, Razgatlioglu had an element of understatement in his summation of his overall trip to France. “This weekend is a strange weekend,” the Yamaha rider admitted.

“The three championship riders in the front - everybody crash. I don’t understand this weekend.

“But I’m very happy, first, because today, two races I won. I didn’t see Alvaro crash, and also my team didn’t show me the pit board. But I think this is better because maybe I see the board and maybe I’m would be not pushing for the win. I don’t know. But, I’m not again looking the championship. I’m just focused race by race. Today I watched Michael [Ruben Rinaldi] and also he’s very strong today. He’s improving. I’m just watching. I see he start sliding last eight laps and I said, ‘I need to pass him and after try a good pace for the race’. After I pass him, I ride much better because there was just big problem for me first sector. The Ducati is very fast the back straight. Anyway, I’m happy.”

There was no repetition of the brake problems that Razgatlioglu experienced on Saturday when he won both races on Sunday. His success at Magny Cours now placing him inside the all-time top ten race winners list, ahead of Carlos Checa. Toprak now has 26 wins and Checa, 24.

After his two wins,