Kawasaki rider Rea was aiming for a hat-trick of wins in the Dutch round of WSBK last weekend, having triumphed in both the opening race and the shortened nine-lap Superpole contest.
When early Race 2 leader Razgatlioglu went wide at Turn 1, Rea sensed an opportunity and drew alongside him on the short burst into the next right-hander. However, just as it appeared that Rea would be able to complete the move, with his Kawasaki partially in front, the two riders came to blows – sending their bikes skating across the track and into the gravel trap.
A video of the crash from moving cameras wasn’t immediately available, with the on-board footage released by WSBK leaving much ambiguity about how the event unfolded between the series’ two biggest stars.
While Rea conceded that it was a racing incident, he felt the crash could have been avoided if Razgatlioglu had given him more space after running wide at Turn 1.
“It’s hard to get really angry about it or point fingers, but from my point of view I drew alongside Toprak on the start/finish straight,” said the six-time champion.
“He braked 50 metres later than normal, he stopped the bike on the kerb before going off and he sacrificed so much speed.
“I was committed to my line going into Turn 2 and we came together. I was in front when we came together because he hit me on the rear side.
“The facts are he made a mistake. He ran wide. He completely slowed the bike down to avoid going off the track and instead of giving room to me, who he knows is right beside him because I almost overtook him into Turn 1, he committed to coming straight back on the track.
“I was on the racing line carrying normal speed. I checked my data, it’s normal, probably slower because I anticipated maybe something [was going to happen]. I expected in this position some space but there wasn’t.
“In this situation at Assen, normally the guy at front gives way because someone is coming on the inside. Like I did in Turn 1 in the…
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