Toprak Razgatlioglu has found himself back on the top of the podium after having fallen back as a result of an injury hiatus and recovery getting back up to full race pace. Despite mix conditions throughout the race Razgatlioglu navigated the changing track conditions to take home the win. While Razgatlioglu was not available for comment post race the story of the day was the ascension of Iker Lecuona who secured the first podium of the season for Team HRC.
After multiple struggles plagued the Honda side they’ve finally captured a glimpse of what the future could hold. Lecuona’s P3 finish in race one was the result of a calculated run to the top 3 after mixed conditions prevent him from logging as many laps as he had hoped in qualifying and practice. Lecuona said, “A crazy race! I made a good start and was able to pass some riders through the first turns to move in behind Xavi. I almost crashed coming into contact with Rinaldi which caused me to lose ground, but I recovered and was able to pass many riders.
I felt very strong and knew I had a good level of performance today, but I still didn’t expect a podium as we didn’t have much dry track time to be able to understand the tire life. So I tried to save the tires in some places but also keep the pace. At the end, I thought let’s see if I can catch Locatelli and Bulega and then Andrea made a mistake and I was into P3.”
Lecuona Continued
I couldn’t relax because I knew Alex (Lowes) was close behind me, but I worked hard to maintain my pace as I really wanted the podium. I’m so happy to have done it; when I got onto pit lane, I started to cry. It’s been a very hard year for me, with many injuries, and at times, I’ve even questioned whether I’m good enough to be here, to be honest. But I’ve worked hard, listened to all the people around me who are important to me, and race by race, we’ve been improving and building on our results. I knew the podium was within reach and we’ve finally done it today. I’m so happy and want to thank everyone on HRC and on the Team, my family, my girlfriend, my friends, including my manager, and all those who support me. I’m very happy.”
Nicolo Bulega finished P2. While his title race is not over he certainly needs to find his early season form if he wants to bring the fight back to Razgatlioglu who seemingly is showing no signs of slowing down this weekend.
Race 1 Results from Esotril