WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu seals French treble

The final WorldSBK race of the French round, round eight of the season, in Magny-Cours saw Toprak Razgatlioglu start from pole position as he sought to defend his eight-point championship lead. 

Jonathan Rea made a good launch on the #1 Kawasaki, but it was Razgatlioglu who made the holeshot on the #54 Yamaha. Rea made his presence immediately known to his turkish rival, passing on the inside at turn three on the opening lap. That move slowed Rea and Razgatlioglu up on the exit of turn three, and allowed Alex Lowes to enter contention for the lead. But Razgatlioglu was superior on the brakes to the two Kawasakis into turn five, and he led on the exit from Lowes and Rea. 

Knowing the pace Toprak had, Rea knew he had to pass his teammate as soon as possible, and he made his move on the entry to the Imola chicane on lap one. 

Lowes crashed into the Nurburgring chicane on lap two, and that promoted Scott Redding to third place. While Razgatlioglu and Rea were battling in the opening laps, and thanks to some improvements with the #45 Ducati, Redding was able to stay with the two leaders. 

However, as the race drew on it became increasingly difficult for Redding to stay with the two out front, who settled into their rhythm and prepared to settle the final race between themselves. 

Razgatlioglu took control of the race with 11 laps to go, with a tough move at turn five. Over the next five or six laps, both he and Rea pushed visibly on and over the limit, particularly with the front tyre, where their choices were split: Razgatlioglu with the softer option, Rea with the harder. 

Mistakes began to creep in, particularly for Rea, with five laps to go, when he started to really suffer with the front tyre. The reigning champion had been over the limit for the whole race in the faster parts of the track, and the changes of direction, because the limit with the Kawasaki was a lot closer in the hard braking points, where Razgatlioglu was so strong. The degree to which Rea was pushing came back to bite in the closing stages, though, as the front tyre simply could no longer take the punishment. He dropped a few seconds back by the flag, as he watched Razgatlioglu take his third win of the weekend. 

For the Turkish rider, it was his first triple win in WorldSBK, and the #54 has now won four races in succession. The advantage the Yamaha has in the engine RPM limit, set by the regulations, means it can make ground in acceleration. Combine that with Razgatlioglu’s superiority in the hard braking points and the #54 bike is a truly formidable opponent in head-to-head combat. 

The answer, then, would seem to be to copy the solution used by Fabio Quartararo in MotoGP, where his bike is the slowest, but the best in the middle of the corner. Quartararo knows he cannot win in a battle, so works hard to be able to find the pace to get away at the front. Beating Razgatlioglu in a battle seems currently to be an impossibility for Rea, who misses in acceleration and braking, and seems only to be able to make time with his Kawasaki through commitment in medium-to-high-speed corners and direction changes. Since it is unlikely that the engine RPM limits will be adjusted between now and the end of the season, and considering that in most circuits this year Razgatlioglu has had similar if not clearly superior pace to Rea, it seems that in order for the #1 to be able to come out on top against Razgatlioglu, the requirement will be for his Kawasaki team to find more improvements in front end stability, so that Rea can find more margin in corner entry, and thus be able to better preserve the life in his front tyre. 

Razgatlioglu is by far the toughest opponent Rea has faced since moving to Kawasaki. His aggression in a battle, combined with his speed, consistency and pace, as well as his calm presence and ability to withstand immense pressure makes the #54 difficult to beat. Whether Rea can find what he needs to close the 13-point gap he now faces in the championship, and get back on level terms with regards to performance with Razgatlioglu, remains to be seen, but with no more than five rounds left, the momentum is with the #54 at almost the perfect moment. 

Scott Redding was able to be relatively comfortable in third place. He was far clear of those behind, but the effort demanded of him to do so was clear afterwards in parc ferme. Overall, though, it can be said that Redding’s weekend showed good improvement, even if the ground lost in the championship might prove impossible to recover. 

Andrea Locatelli took a second fourth place of the day, and it is continuing to be a theme for Locatelli to win the wooden spoon. Chaz Davies completed the top five and was once again the top Independent rider, ahead of Alvaro Bautista in sixth; while Michael Ruben Rinaldi was seventh, Michael van der Mark eighth, Garrett Gerloff ninth and Tom Sykes completed the top 10. 

Axel Bassani was 11th for the second time on Sunday, ahead of Christophe Ponsson who beat compatriot Lucas Mashias to 12th. Kohta Nozane was 14th, ahead of Tito Rabat who secured the final point in 15th. 

Jonas Folger missed the points again in 16th, finishing ahead of Leandro Mercado and Loris Cresson, who was last of the 18 finishers. There were only two retirements: Alex Lowes and Leon Haslam, who both walked away from their respective crashes.