Razgatlioglu takes first Aragon WorldSBK podium; ‘R1 is better than before’

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu leaves the opening WorldSBK round of 2021 at Aragon with his best points tally and a first podium in Teruel.

Razgatlioglu took third place behind the Kawasaki’s of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes in race one of the weekend, before back-to-back sixth places in Sunday’s tricky conditions. 

The Pata Yamaha rider was one of a few riders to choose a wet front tyre for the Superpole race. 

It was a choice also made by front row starters Scott Redding and Tom Sykes who endured disastrous races. The track dried immediately and therefore intermediates were the tyre to be on. 

However, Razgatlioglu was still able to gain four spots from tenth to sixth and finish as the highest placed wet tyre rider.

"In the Superpole Race, my strategy was to choose the wet tyre because I saw that it was starting to rain again on the grid – my target was to finish well and to start from a better grid position in Race 2," added the 24 year-old. 

"Sixth was good considering the conditions, the riders in front all chose the intermediate tyres so it was a hard fight to get this result. 

"The second race, I tried hard again to fight for the podium and I was strong in the opening laps – taking the lead for some laps and enjoying fighting. 

"The feeling was not good in the middle of the race and I had to manage some problems, but sixth position can still be important points for the championship."

Estoril is up next - a round that saw Razgatlioglu take two wins from three last year. "We will see next weekend in Estoril. I love the track, now my R1 is better than before and I have good memories from last year," added the Turkish rider.