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Razgatlioglu slams Gerloff's "stupid mistake" after clash

Toprak Razgatlioglu has slammed fellow Yamaha World Superbike rider Garrett Gerloff for his "stupid mistake" at Turn 1 that led to the Turkish rider crashing out of the final race of the weekend at Assen.

Watch: WSBK: Razgatlioglu slams Gerloff's "stupid mistake" after clash

Razgatlioglu's title hopes took a big blow on Sunday afternoon as a fast-starting Gerloff misjudged his braking at the first corner, hitting Razgatlioglu and causing him to fall from his works Yamaha.

With Jonathan Rea going on to win the race and complete a hat-trick of wins at Assen, it means Razgatlioglu, who came to the Dutch track with a narrow lead in the championship, now lags his Kawasaki rival by 37 points.

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Gerloff was awarded a ride-through penalty by the stewards for the clash, but this came as little consolation to Razgatlioglu, who was convinced he was in position to fight Rea for the victory.

"I am surprised because it was a big mistake, a stupid mistake," Razgatlioglu told Servus TV. "It’s just the start, not even the second lap, so why would you try such a hard braking [move]?

"Also I am fighting for the championship and I am a Yamaha rider.

"This race, we were in really good [shape], we used the same tyre [as the Superpole race], and we were very strong in the last race. Anyway, the weekend is finished and the championship now won’t be easy for me.

"Now every race I’ll be fighting for the win, and I’m not looking at the championship because the gap is 37 points. We will see what happens in the next races."

Gerloff eventually crashed out himself at Turn 9 while running towards the rear of the field after serving his ride-through penalty.

Amid the confusion of the opening corner, poleman Rea found himself shuffled down to sixth, but he soon picked his way back through the pack before passing Razgatlioglu's teammate Andrea Locatelli for the win.

It marks his eighth victory of the season and the reigning champion's 15th at the TT Circuit in WSBK.

"What a crazy race at the beginning," said Rea. "The first laps were chaos. I didn’t get a great jump off the line and I found myself sixth on the first lap, so I just took it step-by-step, found my rhythm. I could see Andrea had a solid rhythm [in the lead]. Congratulations to him and his team.

"But my team has worked incredibly this weekend, the Ninja ZX-10RR is working amazingly. Now I’m looking forward to celebrating this one and moving on to Most in a few weeks."

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