Toprak: “I tried more than 100%, Rea is a WorldSBK legend”

Toprak Razgatlioglu says one of his dreams as a WorldSBK rider was to be fighting against Jonathan Rea, something that took place throughout Race 2 at Magny-Cours.

Robert Jones

12 Sep 2023

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha World Superbike Magny-Cours 2023

The 2021 WorldSBK champion has been part of some of the most thrilling battles over the last two seasons, many of which have come against Rea.

The two world champion’s have shared a lot of the same tarmac since 2021, and although their battle last weekend wasn’t for the win, Razgatlioglu and Rea reminded everyone how great they are.

Rea, who is set to replace Razgatlioglu at Pata Yamaha next season, appeared to be the rider with more speed during Race 2 despite being beaten to second spot by the Turkish star.

"We enjoyed battling with Jonny, but I needed P2," said Razgatlioglu. "I’m waiting for the last lap, and I tried more than 100% here.

"In general, it’s not a bad weekend. Rea’s a WorldSBK legend and we are fighting with him.

"Many years ago, I had a dream that, one day, I’m World Champion like Kenan and fighting with Jonathan Rea.

"My dream came true. I’m very happy. I really enjoy fighting with the legend and I hope we are fighting again at Aragon."

Fighting the likes of Alvaro Bautista and Razgatlioglu has been a big challenge for Rea and Kawasaki this season, but the six-time world champion was back mixing with both riders during Race 1 and Race 2.

A breakthrough in performance allowed Rea to ‘play with my bike again’ as he finished the weekend ‘on a high’.

Rea said: "Sometimes the weekends go the opposite way round for me, I start really well in Race 1 then face some difficulties.

"This weekend, I felt like we had a really positive trend with setup changes we made to the bike and the feeling. I felt we ended the weekend on a high.

"Alvaro was up the road quite a bit, but I was able to fight Toprak until the last lap here at Magny-Cours, a really good track for him.

"I felt like I was playing with my bike again. Riding on the limit, understanding margins and I really enjoyed that. Big kudos to the team for making positive steps throughout the weekend."