SBK - Superbike World Championship

09/27/2021 | News release | Distributed by Public on 09/27/2021 03:13

Denied at the line: Redding reflects on epic Race 2 battle with Razgatlioglu

Redding and Razgatlioglu went head-to-head during WorldSBK's second race in Jerez with Redding missing out by just a tenth of a second

Race 2 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship's visit to the Circuito de Jerez -Angel Nieto proved to be an action-packed affair for Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) as he looked to deny Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) a Jerez double during the Motul Spanish Round with the pair separated by just 0.113s at the end of the 20-lap encounter.

Razgatlioglu would prevail at the end of the race with Redding not making it easy for the Turkish star and Championship leader with Redding making a move on Razgatlioglu at Turn 9 but his lead last just a lap when Razgatlioglu responded at Turn 13 on Lap 18 to re-take the lead and, despite intense pressure from Redding, would go on to claim his second victory of the day.

Looking back on the battle with Razgatlioglu, Redding said: "The main thing was the battle at the end. I was waiting, waiting, waiting. Time was ticking. It's not easy to overtake Toprak because he's so late on the brakes and if you cannot be alongside him, you don't have a chance to pass him. You have to wait for a mistake but he's riding very well with a lot of confidence, so the mistakes become minimal. There was a small one and I was there. It was good. I believe I was the faster rider but, around this circuit with the Yamaha working well, it's difficult to set up and overtake and execute one. One corner leads to the next and they turn very well. I had a good try. I just went a little bit late into the last corner because you know he's going to try. When you have a guy behind you who you know is going to try, you need to try to pull them into a mistake with you. Again, he brakes better than me, so it didn't work this time and he came back."

Following the results from Jerez, Redding is now 74 points back from Razgatlioglu as he did not gain ground across the whole weekend, losing nine points in Race 1 after finishing third and five in Race 2 after finishing directly behind Razgatlioglu. With three rounds of the season remaining, and 186 points available, Redding is still in mathematical contention but has more than a round's worth of points to make up.

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