WorldSBK: Axel Bassani: “The best rider was Toprak Razgatlioglu, expected more from Michael Rinaldi”

The former Motocorsa Ducati rider, now riding for Kawasaki after being signed as Jonathan Rea’s replacement, was quick to choose Razgatlioglu as the best rider in 2023.

Razgatlioglu delivered stunning performances with incredible consistency, however, it wasn’t enough to stop Alvaro Bautista from dominating the championship in terms of race wins.

• Bautista: “Toprak never made mistakes, his performance was unbelievable” 
• Bautista: I’ll struggle more in ‘24, Toprak will fight for title

But the title fight still went down to the final round as Razgatlioglu managed to push Bautista and the Panigale V4 R, a combination which was clearly the best, through sheer grit and determination.

Speaking to WorldSBK.com, Bassani said: “For sure, it was Toprak. He was the best rider.” The Italian also spoke about which rider disappointed the most, to which he picked his biggest rival. 

“I expected more from Michael Rinaldi,” said Bassani. “At the end it started to go good for him but the start was not good.”

Bassani also spoke about his best and worst moments of the season, saying: “The podium at Misano and the podium at Imola. Two podiums at home is really special for a rider. The weekend in Portimao because we did a really s**t job. 

Finally, Bassani touched on which riders are easiest to race against and which are hardest, which led to a very interesting answer about the rider he is replacing at Kawasaki.

“I think Alvaro is very clean but also Scott [Redding] is a really good guy to battle. The dirtiest - Jonny is not easy. 

“He is an old fox and tries to touch you but it’s always inside the limit.”