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Quartararo praises Toprak Razgatlioglu’s COTA performance: “Like Superbike”
Toprak Razgatlioglu took his first MotoGP point at COTA, impressing Fabio Quartararo throughout the weekend.
Toprak Razgatlioglu provided a rare highlight for Yamaha during a bleak US MotoGP by finishing as the top M1 rider and scoring his first GP point.
And it wasn’t a one-off performance.
The reigning WorldSBK champion had qualified just 0.192s behind former world champion Fabio Quartararo, then leapt to tenth on the opening lap of the Saturday Sprint.
Razgatlioglu was still ahead of the Frenchman, in 13th, when he suffered a technical issue on lap 5.
Returning on Sunday morning, Razgatlioglu turned heads with fifth place in warm-up.
The start of the grand prix then saw the Turkish rider initially lose ground from 17th on the grid, before settling in behind Quartararo.
The pair remained together for most of the race, with Razgatlioglu setting the best Yamaha lap just after mid-distance.
When Quartararo suffered a “massive” tyre drop in the closing stages, Razgatlioglu overtook to claim 15th place.
“At the beginning, I was trying to pass Fabio, but especially in corner 12 [at the end of the back straight] he’s really strong,” Razgatlioglu said.
“I don’t understand how his bike is stopping! Because my front tyre was always locking on the brake.
“But in the end his tyre started to drop, and after passing him I just tried to get in my rhythm.
“I learned a lot because I could follow Fabio for many laps.”
“Like we see in Superbike”
Although the deficiencies of the Yamaha V4 meant they were over 25-seconds from Aprilia race winner Marco Bezzecchi, Quartararo was quick to praise Razgatlioglu’s performance.
“Not just today but all weekend,” Quartararo said.
“Because in the Sprint he was also fast, and warm-up he was really fast. So I’m impressed, and I think it’s great for him – the way he rides and the way he’s [progressing].”
Reflecting on their late-race duel, the Frenchman explained:
“The issue I had was my tyre dropped massively in the last five laps, and he stayed a bit more consistent.
“He was riding really smoothly, and his style, like we see in Superbike, more sideways.
“I was really impressed by his performance.”
Razgatlioglu’s team-mate Jack Miller also passed Quartararo on the final lap.
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Toprak Razgatlioglu took his first MotoGP point at COTA, impressing Fabio Quartararo throughout the weekend.
Toprak Razgatlioglu provided a rare highlight for Yamaha during a bleak US MotoGP by finishing as the top M1 rider and scoring his first GP point.
And it wasn’t a one-off performance.
The reigning WorldSBK champion had qualified just 0.192s behind former world champion Fabio Quartararo, then leapt to tenth on the opening lap of the Saturday Sprint.
Razgatlioglu was still ahead of the Frenchman, in 13th, when he suffered a technical issue on lap 5.
Returning on Sunday morning, Razgatlioglu turned heads with fifth place in warm-up.
The start of the grand prix then saw the Turkish rider initially lose ground from 17th on the grid, before settling in behind Quartararo.
The pair remained together for most of the race, with Razgatlioglu setting the best Yamaha lap just after mid-distance.
When Quartararo suffered a “massive” tyre drop in the closing stages, Razgatlioglu overtook to claim 15th place.
“At the beginning, I was trying to pass Fabio, but especially in corner 12 [at the end of the back straight] he’s really strong,” Razgatlioglu said.
“I don’t understand how his bike is stopping! Because my front tyre was always locking on the brake.
“But in the end his tyre started to drop, and after passing him I just tried to get in my rhythm.
“I learned a lot because I could follow Fabio for many laps.”
“Like we see in Superbike”
Although the deficiencies of the Yamaha V4 meant they were over 25-seconds from Aprilia race winner Marco Bezzecchi, Quartararo was quick to praise Razgatlioglu’s performance.
“Not just today but all weekend,” Quartararo said.
“Because in the Sprint he was also fast, and warm-up he was really fast. So I’m impressed, and I think it’s great for him – the way he rides and the way he’s [progressing].”
Reflecting on their late-race duel, the Frenchman explained:
“The issue I had was my tyre dropped massively in the last five laps, and he stayed a bit more consistent.
“He was riding really smoothly, and his style, like we see in Superbike, more sideways.
“I was really impressed by his performance.”
Razgatlioglu’s team-mate Jack Miller also passed Quartararo on the final lap.
Toprak Razgatlioglu provided a rare highlight for Yamaha during a bleak US MotoGP by finishing as the top M1 rider and scoring his first GP point.
And it wasn’t a one-off performance.
The reigning WorldSBK champion had qualified just 0.192s behind former world champion Fabio Quartararo, then leapt to tenth on the opening lap of the Saturday Sprint.
Razgatlioglu was still ahead of the Frenchman, in 13th, when he suffered a technical issue on lap 5.
Returning on Sunday morning, Razgatlioglu turned heads with fifth place in warm-up.
The start of the grand prix then saw the Turkish rider initially lose ground from 17th on the grid, before settling in behind Quartararo.
The pair remained together for most of the race, with Razgatlioglu setting the best Yamaha lap just after mid-distance.
When Quartararo suffered a “massive” tyre drop in the closing stages, Razgatlioglu overtook to claim 15th place.
“At the beginning, I was trying to pass Fabio, but especially in corner 12 [at the end of the back straight] he’s really strong,” Razgatlioglu said.
“I don’t understand how his bike is stopping! Because my front tyre was always locking on the brake.
“But in the end his tyre started to drop, and after passing him I just tried to get in my rhythm.
“I learned a lot because I could follow Fabio for many laps.”
“Like we see in Superbike”
Although the deficiencies of the Yamaha V4 meant they were over 25-seconds from Aprilia race winner Marco Bezzecchi, Quartararo was quick to praise Razgatlioglu’s performance.
“Not just today but all weekend,” Quartararo said.
“Because in the Sprint he was also fast, and warm-up he was really fast. So I’m impressed, and I think it’s great for him – the way he rides and the way he’s [progressing].”
Reflecting on their late-race duel, the Frenchman explained:
“The issue I had was my tyre dropped massively in the last five laps, and he stayed a bit more consistent.
“He was riding really smoothly, and his style, like we see in Superbike, more sideways.
“I was really impressed by his performance.”
Razgatlioglu’s team-mate Jack Miller also passed Quartararo on the final lap.
[analyse_source url=”http://crash.net/motogp/news/1092940/1/quartararo-praises-toprak-razgatlioglus-cota-performance-superbike”]