Grip issue hinders Toprak Razgatlioglu at Italian WorldSBK: “The bike doesn’t accelerate well”
Toprak Razgatlioglu says that a lack of rear grip stopped him from challenging for victory at the Italian WorldSBK.
Reigning World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatliogu has bemoaned a lack of rear grip for his inability to challenge for victory at the Italian WorldSBK.
Razgatlioglu finished second in all three races at Cremona, each time between 1.5 seconds and 2.8 seconds behind Ducati’s victorious points leader: Nicolo Bulega.
Arriving in Cremona after struggling for tyre life in Assen, Razgatliogu and BMW already had rear grip at the top of their priorities in practice, but, despite taking steps forward in this regard on Friday, Razgatlioglu was ultimately unable to match the pace of Bulega, who increased his points lead from 21 to 34 over the course of the weekend.
“For me it’s a very hard weekend also because last year I didn’t race here, but we did a very good job,” Razgatlioglu summarised when speaking to WorldSBK.com following Race 2 at Cremona.
“I’m only searching for P1 but this is so hard because Ducati has an advantage here – especially on corner exit the Ducati is working very well. We are still trying to improve the grip because my biggest problem is rear grip, the bike doesn’t accelerate well.
“But, anyway, we did a very good job, we fought every lap for the win.
“We finished P2, better than nothing, this is good. Also, we take good points for the championship and we will see [what happens in Most].”
Razgatlioglu added that his efforts to keep within range of Bulega meant taking risks with the front end, as well as the rear tyre.
“All the races, we are in the first laps very close to Nicolo [Bulega], but after [some] laps, when the rear tyre starts to drop, there the Ducati starts to have an advantage,” he explained.
“But I keep fighting for the good positions, but also it’s very difficult because when I’m pushing so hard I also start to lose the front tyre and also the rear is sliding a lot, in some sectors I’m coming, in some sectors he’s strong.
“In the race, we are always doing this, when I come a little bit he makes a gap. But we finished three races on the podium – this is positive for me.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
