Toprak wins… then runs out of fuel
Toprak Razgatlioglu silenced critics who said it’d take time to adapt to the Yamaha by being fastest out of the blocks to become the first World Superbike winner of the decade in Race One in Phillip Island.
The Turk reaped the rewards of the R1’s improved aerodynamics and a more powerful engine that some say is boosted by up to 11bhp.
In a test before the race, the 2019 double Magny-Cours winner had pushed too hard and shredded his rear tyre. But in the first race the ex-Puccetti Kawasaki rider retained enough grip to hold on to the win. By doing so he became, amazingly in a championship dating back to 1988, the first rider to claim wins on both Kawasaki and Yamaha machines.
‘The bike had a problem that could and should have been avoided’
But Razgatlioglu’s celebrations were brought to an abrupt end in Race Two when his bike stopped three laps from the end with what MCN has learned was a fuel miscalculation. “Unfortunately, we have to apologise to Toprak and to Yamaha as the bike had a problem that could and should have been avoided, which is extremely disappointing,” Pata Yamaha Team Principal Paul Denning said. Teammate Michael van der Mark was arguably the rider most deserving of a win at Phillip Island thanks to his rigorous race runs across testing and practice. But in each of the three races, the Dutchman lost out on the final lap. Consequently, the Rotterdam man departs Australia in the same overall fifth position he held this time last year.