WSBK: Razgatlioglu Dominates 2021 French Round At Magny-Cours

It was almost a flawless win for Toprak this weekend, if not for the sharp eyes of one Jonathan Rea.

By: Enrico Punsalang

Sep 5, 2021 at 9:11pm ET

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It was an exciting round of racing at the French round of the 2021 World Superbike Championship at Magny-Cours over the weekend. Those of you who were able to tune into the race were definitely treated to a spectacle of exhilarating racing accentuated by bold overtaking maneuvers and nail-biting sprints. For Pata Yamaha with Brixx rider Toprak Razgatlioglu, the weekend was a dream come true, well, almost.

During the first race held on Saturday, September 4, the Turkish rider achieved an outstanding victory, sweeping through the highly technical circuit at a blistering yet graceful pace. In fact, he was doing so well that me managed to beat Kawasaki Racing Team frontman, Jonathan Rea, to the checkered flag by a whopping four seconds—pulling a stoppie across the finish line.

On Sunday morning's 10-lap Superpole race, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea once again hit the track at a dead heat, with some incredible racing between the two riders. It was a strong run for the Kawasaki rider all throughout the race. On the last lap, however, Razgatlioglu took his chances with an overtaking maneuver which saw him exceed track limits. This fact was missed by race direction, but was later brought up in a formal protest by the Kawasaki Racing Team. The result was that Razgatlioglu was to be demoted one position, handing over the victory in the Superpole race to Jonathan Rea.

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Looking into a detailed analysis of the final lap of the Superpole race, it was determined that the Turkish rider exeeded track limits at Turn 10, at part of the kink between the 180-degree left-hander and the Imola Chicane. Just like the MotoGP, WorldSBK adheres to FIM rules which state that a track limits violation at the final lap automatically merits the loss of one position. Meanwhile, the final race of the 2021 French round at Magny-Cours was yet another impressive run from Yamaha and Toprak Razgatlioglu, with the Turkish rider bagging the championship yet again.

All that being said, the current standings of the 2021 WorldSBK season see Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu with 373 points, followed closely by Kawasaki's Jonathan Rea with 360 points. At third, we have Ducati rider Scott Redding trailing at 298 points. With five rounds still to come, it's still difficult to predict who will bag the 2021 World Championship title. However, it's certainly looking like a battle between Blue and Green.