Toprak Razgatlioglu labelled his WorldSBK Estoril Superpole race as a “disaster” after narrowly missing out on victory by 0.003s.
Razgatlioglu had led most of the race comfortably before losing his lead to Nicolo Bulega at the start-finish line on the final lap.
The Turkish rider went on to win Race 2 later in the day, which nearly capped off the perfect race weekend with another treble.
“I’m really happy today, especially Race 2,” Razgatlioglu said.
“But the Superpole Race for me is a disaster because I did an incredible pace with the race tyre, but at the end of the race when I see the chequered flag… I lost.
“Still I’m very angry for the Superpole Race, because I use the race tyre.
“I didn’t take the SCQ tyre because I thought at the end of the race the SCQ tyre would start to drop, but I’m surprised the SCQ tyre didn’t drop.
“My tyre started to spin a lot, but he [Nicolo Bulega] had a big advantage especially in the final corner.
“I just kept fighting, but it was very close and I lost.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu feels “very relaxed” going into the championship-deciding round
The 2021 WorldSBK champion heads to the season finale in Jerez with a 46-point advantage over Bulega at the top of the standings.
The Turkish rider is on course to becoming BMW’s first-ever two-wheeled champion in his debut season with the team, adding to a long list of motorsport accolades the Bavarian manufacturer has achieved.
The 27-year-old stated that he had to maximise his position in the longer races to extend his lead in the championship classification.
His points advantage has eased his nerves heading into Jerez, but he knows the championship isn’t over yet.
“I focused on Race 2 because I need to win again, especially Race 2 is a long race and we take more points, and finally we take good points for the championship.”
“But, anyway, I did two wins, especially in the long races because the long races are always difficult — you need to manage the tyre and you need to do a good pace in the race.
“I did a very good job, and now everyone is waiting, it’s very stressful the Jerez race, but I’m very relaxed because I have a big gap in the points. I’ll just try to enjoy it at Jerez.
“In 2021, I remember the Championship finished at the final round. This year’s the same. Before I crashed, I was thinking it looks like the Championship finished three rounds before.
“After the crash, everything changed. I’m trying to manage it but sometimes it’s not easy. It was a very difficult race at Aragon, but I did a good job there.
“Here, I needed three wins, but I lost the Superpole Race. I’m not feeling stressed for Jerez, because I have a very good gap. I just need a good position; I don’t need to win again.”
