Quartararo a ‘big fan of Torpak, I hope he wins’, Rossi expects ‘hard fight’

New MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and Valentino Rossi have given their thoughts ahead of this weekend’s WorldSBK title decider between Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea.

Yamaha’s Razgatlioglu leads Rea by 30 points in what’s been an incredible year for the Turkish rider thus far.

To this point Razgatlioglu has been mistake-free even though he’s suffered three race retirements - two came because of mechanical issues (Catalunya and Portimao) and the other was at Assen when he was taken out by Garrett Gerloff. 

For Rea, it’s the first time in his seven-year Kawasaki career that he is second going into the final round and therefore in serious threat of losing his grip on the world title. 

Razgatlioglu and Rea have the same amount of podium finishes (28), however, Razgatlioglu has more wins - 13 compared to 11, while also winning most of them in the feature races where more points are awarded. 

Watching the final three races intently will be some of MotoGP’s biggest stars, including title contenders throughout this season, Fabio Quartararo (world champion) and Francesco Bagnaia (runner-up). 

Both riders have their allegiance leaning towards different riders, while it’s a weekend that could see Razgatlioglu join Quartararo in celebrating a world title for Yamaha.

"It’s been a long time since we’ve seen someone really fight Rea. But Toprak [Razgatlioglu] and there was also Redding do so, so it’s been a good fight," said Quartararo. 

"Of course, I’m a big fan of Toprak so I hope he wins. First of all for him because I really like him, but also for Yamaha because it’s been a good year for them."

On the other hand, Bagnaia is hoping Rea can make it seven from seven for Kawasaki. 

Bagnaia told the official World Superbike website: "I’m a great fan of Rea! I would like him to win this title again because he deserves it. He’s the top one. 

"I would like to see him win again but I think it’s more difficult this year because Toprak has a great advantage. But in any case, I’m sure Jonny will try everything to win this championship again." 

One rider who has seen Rea race throughout his entire career is MotoGP legend Rossi, despite not getting the chance to compete against him - a battle that would surely have been great to watch.

The nine-time world champion, who bid his farewell to Motorcycle racing at last weekend’s Valencia MotoGP, believes it will be another ‘hard fight’ and that assessing the conditions of the all-new Mandalika International Circuit will be ‘important’. 

Rossi said: "The two best riders are always in front to fight and to fight hard! This is good for the fans. 

"This time it’s also more interesting because it’s a new track. It’s a new track for WorldSBK, but it’s also a new track for everyone. 

"So, we will need to understand what the condition is. It’s still open but the advantage of Toprak is quite important."