Toprak Razgatlioglu refused to be too downbeat after seeing his burgeoning 2023 WorldSBK title hopes literally burst when he suffered a rear tyre failure while leading Race 2 at Most.

The Turk was on the hunt for a fourth win from six races that would have further cut the margin to Alvaro Bautista when he lost the rear of his Pata Yamaha coming out of Turn 2 with just under six laps remaining.

Flung from his Pata Yamaha R1 and out of the race, the accident handed the lead and a full 25 points back to his rival having only just broken clear of the Ducati rider.

>>> 2023 WorldSBK Championship Standings <<<

It means the margin between the two riders now stands at 71 points, having been reduced from 99 to 46 points across the most recent Imola and Most events. As such, Razgatlioglu faces an uphill task to reel Bautista in over the final four events.

“It was a very strange race. My rear tyre burst. I am surprised because I looked back after the crash at the chain, and after I saw my tyre. It’s very strange for me, it’s the first time it’s happened in my life. I am okay. In the last six laps, I started to ride calmer, and I saw the gap getting bigger. 

Despite the incident, Razgatlioglu was remaining upbeat and is happy to be showing more competitiveness against Bautista, whose 18 wins this season have saw him dominate the first half of the season.

“It was a good race for me and I enjoyed it; I think all fans enjoyed it! My plan in the race, especially the exit from the last corner, was to exit alone. If he was right in front of me, it wouldn’t have been easy to pass him in the first corner. 

“I’m always keeping him behind me. We get to the first corner and I’m passing him again because I’m braking harder, but sometimes he tried hard braking. I needed to pass him. In general, it was a very good fight with Alvaro.”