Lombok WorldSBK: Marron finally wins gold
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Gordon ritchie |
GlobalSBK
Image: GeeBee Images
Phil Marron was certainly celebrating in Lombok as his Pata Yamaha rider, Toprak Razgatlioglu, took the WorldSBK crown.
Marron has been a mechanic and team leader for many riders during his long career, from national races to world level – including his brother-in-law Eugene Laverty – but on Sunday he finally made the bike jump for a champion. of the world in the form of Toprak Razgatlioglu.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as Marron explains initially in response to a question about how it all ended up after so many winning performances. “We had three DNFs. Two mechanics and a pilot entry. I was asked about this earlier and it was actually a turning point for us because after that time with Garrett [Gerloff at Assen, when Razgatlioglu got knocked off], Toprak’s approach has changed.
“He just wanted to go and win races after that. So that was one of the turning points. Misano’s second race was another. He needed to win. Double at Donington. In my opinion, the incident with Garrett caused it to reset. Like, ‘OK, the championship is over, I just need to win’ and this win got us here.
Personally for Marron, his usual beaming smile was that much wider, especially after getting closer a few times before. “I was over the moon. I have a few silver medals. I was involved in a few silver medals at the world championships so it was good to finally add a gold to it. can’t put it into words.