More rear tyre left compared to Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista, reigning WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu timed his late charge to perfection during race two in Most.
After reducing the championship deficit thanks to victory over Rea in the Superpole race, Razgatlioglu then got the better of Bautista in race two, marking the second consecutive round where the Pata Yamaha rider finished as the highest points scorer.
A constant theme throughout the titanic 2022 title fight, all three riders spent time leading the race, however, it was Razgatlioglu who saved more rear tyre in order to attack late on.
During the middle part of the race it was Bautista who appeared to be fastest, and although overtaking the Ducati rider was proving difficult due to the Spaniard’s unrelenting top speed, Razgatlioglu was able to achieve just that at turn 20, the same corner as last year’s race one when he overtook Scott Redding on the final lap.
Giving his secrets away, Razgatlioglu said this about his second victory of the weekend: “In race two I had a good pace and I didn’t kill the rear tyre because I needed the rear tyre. I followed Jonny [Rea] and Alvaro [Bautista], and I started to feel like Alvaro was a little bit fast.
“I passed Jonny and after that I’m fighting with Alvaro because he’s very fast in the straight. Some corners he was very fast, some he was very slow.
“I passed him and after I ride much better, more relaxed and I did a very good lap time. I am always trying different corners [to overtake] because in some sectors Alvaro is very fast and in others he is very slow.
“I pass him at Turn 20 and after that he passed me again in the straight but the straight is important for me because I need the start. If he’s in front of me, he’s faster. If I’m in front of him, and he just passes me, it’s easier to pass him because hard braking is easier for me.”
Once Razgatlioglu cleared Bautista, the Pata Yamaha rider set a stunning pace which included three consecutive fastest laps.
Usually something that happens early on in races, Razgatlioglu’s trio of fast laps started with just five remaining.
It inevitably broke the leading group up as Rea was the rider struggling most to keep touch.
‘I could not do more’, says six-time WorldSBK champion Rea
Having missed out on victory in the Superpole race, a sprint race Rea arguably should have won, expectation was that the Kawasaki rider could challenge again for a first victory since Estoril.
And while that was the case early on, Rea suffered towards the latter stages which has become a running theme of late.
Discussing the battle, Rea added: “In general I felt quite good until maybe six or seven laps from the end. I was getting everything out of the bag and I was having some front slides, some chatter at lean angle, and the bike was moving quite a lot.
“It was very physical to ride so their pace at the end was just better than mine, I could not do much more.
“But no regrets because the bike set-up was better than yesterday, we definitely made an improvement – especially compared to last year at Most.
“I felt much more in control and I enjoyed the bike and circuit this year, just not enough. Congratulations to both Toprak and Alvaro; it was a very solid race.”