Federico Caricasulo (Pata Honda Junior Team) could hardly contain his delight at taking victory in today’s 13 lap FIM Europe Superstock 600cc race in front of his home fans at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli after timing his move for the lead almost perfectly on the penultimate lap.
As ever the STK600 race was epic with in the early stages a group of ten swapping places at almost every turn. With 5 laps to go the leading group was now only 5 and headed by Michael Ruben Rinaldi (San Carlo Team Italia) who had to settle for 4th at the flag after being overtaken on the final two laps firstly by Caricasulo before Niki Tuuli (Kallio Racing) and Toprak Razgatliogliu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who gave everything on the final lap to take the win, found their way past, taking 2nd and 3rd respectively after some incredible racing. For Toprak his 3rd position today gives him the 2015 FIM Europe Superstock 600cc Championship crown with two races remaining, the Turkish youngster making it 5 wins and a 3rd in what has been an impressive first full season.
Behind the top 4, Andrea Tucci (San Carlo Team Italia) finished 5th ahead of Luca Vitali (GAS Racing Team).
In the post-race interview it was announced that Toprak will now switch his attention for the remainder of 2015 to the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup where he will continue to race with his current team on a Kawasaki.
With two rounds of the series remaining, Jerez and Magny- Cours the question is now who will finish 2nd overall?
Who is the new European Champion
At 18 years, eight months and four days of age, Toprak Razgatlioglu has become the 2015 FIM European Superstock 600 Champion. The young star from Alanya, a beach resort city on the southern coast of Turkey, crossed the line in third place at the end of the sixth race of the season at Misano, and that result proved to be enough for him to clinch a well deserved title with two races still to go in the season.
Son of famous Turkish motorcycle stuntman Arif “One-wheel Arif” Razgatlioglu (Tek Teker Arif), Toprak started racing at the age of eight. After considerable success in many two-wheeled racing disciplines at national level, in 2011 Toprak was encouraged to race abroad by friend and mentor Kenan Sofuoglu – who started managing his career – in order to compete in the German Yamaha R6 Cup. It was the same move Kenan himself had made in 2002…
Two years later, it was time for Razgatlioglu to take it to the next level by joining the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup. Despite his size disadvantage – Toprak was too tall for the 250cc KTM machinery – he managed to score a sensational win in race 1 at the Sachsenring in 2014.
By the end of the same year, Sofuoglu secured him a ride for the season finale of the FIM Europe Superstock 600 Championship in Magny-Cours, claiming Toprak would ‘surprise everybody’. Indeed he did, as Razgatlioglu won the race in great fashion on a privateer ZX-6R Kawasaki machine.
Carrying the momentum into the 2015 season, and now with Puccetti Racing Kawasaki (the same team as Kenan’s), Razgatlioglu proved to be simply unstoppable. Not only he did he win both races in the season-opening double-header at MotorLand Aragón, but he was also victorious in Assen, Imola and Portimao: five wins out of five encounters in the season and six victories in a row, a new record for the series. This successful string of results put Razgatlioglu in prime position to clinch the ultimate prize at Misano.
Never before had a rider shown this type of dominance in the series. What more has Razgatlioglu in store for Turkish fans and many others across the globe? Is this the beginning of a new legacy? Only time will tell. The talent is there and so is the fierce determination to succeed.
Biography
Date of birth: 16th October 1996
Place of birth: Sakarya, Turkey
First STK600 Race: Magny-Cours, 2014
First STK600 pole position: Assen, 2015
First STK600 podium finish: Magny-Cours, 2014
First STK600 victory: Magny-Cours, 2014
STK600 race starts: 7
STK600 race wins: 6
STK600 Podium finishes: 7
International motorcycle racing career
2013: Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – 10th position, 99 points, 2 podium finishes
2014: Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup – 6th position, 123 points, 1 win, 2 podium finishes
2014: FIM Europe Superstock 600 Championship – 1 race, 1 win on Kawasaki
2015: FIM Europe Superstock 600 Championship – Champion on Kawasaki, 5 wins out of the first 6 races
