Redding: Toprak braking ‘a skill I’d like to have’, takes swipe at Van Der Mark

Scott Redding says no rider in WorldSBK ‘can do what Toprak Razgatlioglu is doing’, whilst joking that team-mate Michael Van Der Mark is the dirtiest rider on the grid.

Robert Jones

04 Jan 2023

Scott Redding BMW, Toprak Razgatlioglu Yamaha WorldSBK Donington Park 2022

Although Razgatlioglu lost the WorldSBK title to Alvaro Bautista in 2022, the Turkish star’s immense skill was once again on show and didn’t go unoticed amongst his peers.

Quick to highlight how impressive he was and in particular what makes Razgatlioglu so strong was Redding, who switched from Ducati to BMW ahead of last season.

"The braking from Toprak is a skill I’d like to have," Redding told WorldSBK.com. "It’s something I say to people, it’s honestly amazing. I class myself as a good rider and I class most of the riders on the grid in Superbike as a good rider, but no one else can do what Toprak is doing."

Redding was also asked about his views on other WorldSBK riders and which ones he considers to be the cleanest when making an overtake.

The former MotoGP rider didn’t hesitate as he picked the man that replaced him at Ducati, Bautista.

Alvaro Bautista Race 2, Australian WorldSBK, 20 November

Redding said: "I mean, the cleanest rider for overtakes is Alvaro because he doesn’t really need to do anything aggressive to make a move stick.

"Toprak is quite clean but sometimes a bit on the limit. Sometimes it’s nice to watch them battle from behind."

Redding and Razgatlioglu have had their fair share of hard-fought battles since the former came into WorldSBK in 2020, whereas Redding and Bautista are yet to engage in consistent wheel-to-wheel racing for victories.

In terms of riders that he thinks are not the cleanest when attempting overtakes, Redding was quick to joke that his team-mate sits right atop that list.

"Maybe my team-mate [laughs]. There’s no one in Superbike that is really dirty but there are riders that I think make an overtake when the overtake is not really there but they force the overtake,” continued Redding.

"That’s racing and I’m okay with it and I do the same thing. I’m not crying about it.

"But I know that there’s some guys who think that if there's enough room for the front wheel then they think the whole bike can go through. You gotta make a move when you gotta make a move."