Toprak Razgatlioglu insists the 2023 WorldSBK Championship title race isn’t not over yet after successfully taking the fight to Alvaro Bautista at Imola and coming away having taken a sizeable chunk out of his lead.

The Turkish rider produced a fighting display on a circuit better suited to both his aggressive riding style and the nimbleness of the Yamaha R1, scoring a pole position on Saturday morning, pushing Alvaro Bautista all the way in Race 1 and then clinching two very different wins on Sunday.

His efforts in the Superpole Race were a particular treat, Razgatlioglu for the first time getting the better of Bautista from behind after catching and passing him in the closing stages.

A contrast to his previous two wins in the Superpole Race in Indonesia and the United Kingdom - where Bautista crashed out of the former and ran out of laps to challenge his rival in the latter - the race marked the Spaniard’s first head-to-head defeat in an extraordinary 20 races.

“I did a very good job and step-by-step I got to Alvaro. I passed him at Turn 9 because I watched him every lap there and he was a bit slower. I said, ‘OK, now I need to pass’ because for me, it’s better that I ride alone at the front. I think my plan worked well but I was riding more than 100%!”

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It would get even better for Razgatlioglu in Race 2, the 2021 WorldSBK Champion capitalising on Bautista’s turn one tumble to secure his fourth win of the year, via an entertaining scrap with Axel Bassani.

His first full-length race win of the year, it means Razgatlioglu ends the weekend taking a 23 point chunk out of Bautista’s otherwise vast lead.

Though it still leaves the pair split by 70 points, Razgatlioglu feels energised by what he considers to be a breakthrough weekend, so much so that he doesn’t regard the title race to be over with five rounds to go.

“I’m very happy that this year, finally, I’ve won! I waited for this moment, so thanks to my team who did an incredible job this weekend. Every session, we improved the bike but I am also sorry for Alvaro but this is racing, and you try and do your best. It’s the first time he’s crashed. 

“After, I made a plan and didn’t want to risk it. I followed Axel and in the last three laps I passed him and took a good pace. In general, I’m very happy this weekend! It’s the first time that Yamaha have won at Imola this weekend and I love this track too. 

“It was very hot this weekend and congratulations to everyone because of this. I think it’s been a very good weekend as everybody’s watched real racing! 

“The Championship is not over; I am riding like before, I’m focussing just on winning.”