2023-06-29 21:42:15
Ducati star Alvaro Bautista has triumphed in 14 of the 15 races this season so far. If the Spaniard hadn’t got a few centimeters off the ideal line, which was only one meter wide, in the sprint race in Mandalika, where it was incredibly dirty and slippery, he might still have been unbeaten.
Toprak Razgatlioglu, the 2021 champion, is the only driver besides Bautista to have a win to his credit.
Mandalika is a track that suits Toprak well, as underscored by his three wins there in 2022. And yet Bautista has won both main races this year on the island of Lombok.
Last year, Razgatlioglu also took first place three times at Donington Park – where Ducati has been waiting for a win since 2011!
The hopes at Yamaha are correspondingly high that Razgatlioglu will end Bautista’s winning streak next weekend in England.
“One of my favorite routes, but this year everything will be different,” says Toprak. “I hope I can win again. Although I won three times last year, Alvaro was second once and also very strong. The track will be faster due to the new asphalt. Last year I drove the fastest race lap, I intend to do that again. In the BSB they were a second quicker than before. I finally want to win my first main race this year.”
Razgatlioglu is already 86 points behind Bautista. But with Donington Park, Imola and Most there are three events before the summer break where Yamaha should be much closer to Ducati than so far this season.
“Donington and Imola are good routes for me, but also for Johnny Rea,” said the 26-year-old. «We will give everything. Johnny is very strong at Donington, even more so at Imola. Most won’t be that easy, Alvaro is quick there too. Ducati has a big advantage on the long straight.”
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