Toprak Razgatlioglu trails Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea in the World Championship: Yamaha team manager Paul Denning gives his exclusive analysis of the current WSBK season
Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu experienced a bumpy start to the 2022 WSBK season, with the defending champion failing to score a win in the first three weekends at Aragon, Assen and Estoril. A technical defect in Misano followed, and only then did he take his first race win with the number 1. At the events in Donington and Most, Razgatlioglu made up points and came within 38 points of World Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Ducati).
We spoke to Yamaha Team Manager Paul Denning about the current season and the fight for the World Championship title. “The step Jonathan (Rea) has taken this year impresses me. But that also goes for his team and the development of the bike,” Paul Denning marvels at the progress in the Kawasaki camp.
And how does the Yamaha manager assess the performance of Ducati and Alvaro Bautista? “Alvaro has some advantages. But you have to note that he uses the tools at his disposal really well,” Paul Denning alludes to the Ducati Panigale V4R’s top speed advantage.
“He seems more balanced than he has in the past. He rode the Honda very well in my opinion. He made the podium with it at the end of last season. He was pretty easily overlooked, but he gave 100 per cent with that bike. So he doesn’t surprise me, but it still impresses me what they are doing. ”
Yamaha team manager not unhappy with start to season
“It has been said time and time again that Toprak has had a difficult start to the season. Of course, you always want to win all the races. But that doesn’t always work. I wouldn’t say Toprak has had a bad start to the season,” Paul Denning responded to the criticism.
“At the tracks at the beginning of the season – Aragon, Assen and Estoril – we were faster than a year ago and also achieved better results,” compares the Yamaha team manager. “In direct comparison we are clearly stronger than a year ago. But there are two other riders and teams who have done a great job.”
At the past weekends, the three top riders settled the victories among themselves. Paul Denning, however, expects that could change. “At Donington, Alex (Lowes) did better. Scott (Redding) was also much better with the BMW. We’ll see more riders knocking soon. ”
Andrea Locatelli overshadowed by top three riders
Yamaha factory rider Andrea Locatelli is also one of the riders who have been clearly overshadowed by the top three so far. Why didn’t the Italian manage to make a clear step forward compared to his strong rookie season? “I guess it’s a bit of a lack of confidence,” muses Paul Denning.
”But you also have to note that he’s doing a good job again and not making any mistakes. He’s fourth overall. There were some technical problems at the weekend in Donington. His race at Assen was good when he finished second after the collision of Toprak and Jonathan,” notes the Yamaha team manager.
“He needs a result to believe in himself. But this is not only true for Locatelli but for all the riders behind the top three. These riders need to build the confidence you need if you want to keep up with the top three riders for a race. Once you’ve taken that step, it’s easier,” Paul Denning is convinced.
