SBK | Toprak: “Bautista will come back strong, I enjoy fighting with him”

It’s a magical moment, the one Toprak Razgatlioglu is experiencing. Riding the BMW, the Turk took his 54th career win in Race 2, the 13th consecutive after beating the record of consecutive wins in the Superpole Race that until Sunday morning belonged to Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea. Another explosive weekend for the world championship leader, who with his fourth consecutive hat-trick has consolidated his championship lead.

Toprak’s dominance with BMW is certainly unexpected, when the partnership was announced a year ago, no one expected it to become the duo to beat. Yet, at the end of the Portimao round, Razgatlioglu sums up a brilliant weekend: “It was an incredible weekend; we broke the record and now we have 13 wins in a row. In total I have 54 wins and I am really happy. In the last race I fought with Nicolò and Alvaro, but overall I am very happy. It is very special because every day that passes we become more and more of a legend! I feel like we are a family in World Superbike and with BMW we are at the right level to win every weekend. I don’t know when this streak will end, but the feeling is good and I am trying to push to win.”

Even though it seems like everything is easy for Toprak, victories don’t always come as easily as they appear from the outside. In Race 2, in fact, he passed Alex Lowes on the straight to take the lead, but he hit the British rider’s Kawasaki, losing his wing. The lack of this appendage affected his riding throughout the race, also aided by the wind that complicated the situation.

Despite the setback, he emerged victorious: “On the straight, I don’t understand how I hit Alex, but the wing broke on the left. After that, the bike didn’t turn, especially in the last sector and in the last corner, I was losing almost half a second. The Ducati is very strong and in the last four or five laps I fought with Alvaro and then with Nicolò. On the last lap I had to give more than 100% before the last sector, so I made a plan and it worked. It was an incredible job this weekend and the feeling is incredible. I’m not focused on the championship, just on the win. It seems like we’re flying, but now I’m looking forward to Magny-Cours. It’s one of my favorite circuits, but I don’t know if I’ll feel comfortable with the BMW.”

Razgatlioglu has not left the top of the standings for four rounds in a row and his rivals are fighting from second place down. However, in Portimao some rivals tried to get their wheels in front of those of the #54 BMW. Among them was Alvaro Bautista, who in Race 2 also seemed capable of interrupting his streak of consecutive victories, only to then throw away the opportunity to triumph in the gravel. Toprak does not understand the reason for his Ducati rival’s difficulties, but he is sure that he will come back much stronger. He is also happy about this, because he prefers to battle than to win by racing alone.

“I don’t know why Alvaro’s season has been so difficult so far,” Toprak says. “But he’s coming, slowly. Last year he was very strong, but this year he didn’t start well. I’m waiting for him because I enjoy battling with Alvaro, if I race alone I get bored. This is not good for the championship or for those who watch the races. Last year we fought in every race, and I think everyone had fun this weekend, especially in Race 2.”