WSBK Portimao: Toprak Razgatlioglu hails "good points for championship" as Yamaha rider keeps hopes alive

The Pata Yamaha rider faces an uphill task to overcome Bautista’s 56-point lead with three rounds and nine races remaining.

However, Razgatlioglu will hope for a slice of luck as the title race enters its final phase with three upcoming flyaway rounds to finish the season in Argentina, Indonesia and Australia.

The Turkish rider is bidding for back-to-back championships and clinched a double at Portimao in Saturday’s first race and the Superpole race on Sunday, when Bautista twice finished as the runner-up.

He was denied a hat-trick by Bautista in race two, which was the only 20-lap race after Saturday’s opener was shortened to 14 laps.

“In the Superpole race, everybody was pushing the limit because it was ten laps,” Razgatlioglu said.

“You don’t need to keep the rear tyre. I was also pushing on the limit, especially in the first corner. “Because I knew, when Alvaro passed me, I needed to pass him because on all the straights his bike was very fast, and this track isn’t easy to pass on.

“My strategy worked in the Superpole race, but it didn’t work in race two.”

Nonetheless, Razgatlioglu picked up 20 points in race two for second place to limit the damage inflicted by Bautista’s victory.

“In the afternoon, Alvaro improved and came back very strong again,” he said.

“It wasn’t easy to pass him in race two, but I kept fighting for the win. In the last three laps, the front tyre started to lock. I said second place was enough.

“Every lap, I caught him, and, on the exit of the last corner, he got ahead again on the straight. His bike is very fast,” Razgatlioglu added.

“We finished second and we take good points for the championship.”

Bautista is in pole position to land the title after going close with Ducati in 2019, when he blew a 61-point lead following a series of costly crashes in the second half of the season as Rea secured a fifth world crown on the spin.