BMW spearhead Toprak Razgatlioglu sets Friday’s best time at the Superbike World Championship in Misano, but does not experience a smooth start to the weekend
BMW factory rider Toprak Razgatlioglu lived up to his role as favorite at the Superbike World Championship practice opener in Misano (Italy). Razgatlioglu had already set the fastest time in the test, confirming his strong form from previous race weekends. With his FT1 best time, Razgatlioglu was the fastest rider of the day. However, the start to the fourth WSBK event of the 2024 season did not go smoothly
At the start of FP1 (see practice report), Razgatlioglu had to return to the BMW pits. The M1000RR with start number 54 was being worked on. “The automatic gearshift wasn’t working. I drove back to the pits and we changed the lever. After that, everything worked normally again.”
After the forced stop, Razgatlioglu stormed to the front and was the only driver under 1:34 minutes in FT1. In the final attempt, Razgatlioglu pushed the best time to 1:33.448 minutes. This time was not to be matched by any rider during the course of the day
Error in FT2 costs valuable practice time
Razgatlioglu also drove slower than his own FT1 best time in FT2 (to the practice report). The BMW rider was completing a long run when he made a rare mistake. His bike became unsteady in turn 16, but Razgatlioglu steered in anyway and slid over the front wheel into the gravel.
“It was a stupid crash,” said Razgatlioglu. “After the rear became unsettled, I came off the line. I still tried to turn in. I wanted to continue setting good lap times. It was a race simulation over twelve laps. But then I crashed and returned to the pits to watch the rest of FT2.”
“Sometimes it’s good to crash. I can come back stronger tomorrow,” said Razgatlioglu. “It was a harmless crash. The front wheel slipped immediately. I tried to stop it, but when I felt that I was coming off the track, I let go of the bike. “
Significantly better conditions than last year with the Yamaha R1
For the rest of the weekend, Razgatlioglu is one of the big favorites alongside the two factory Ducatis of Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista. No comparison to last year, when Razgatlioglu had no chance with the Yamaha R1.
“Now I can feel the power. The bike is stronger on the two straights,” said Razgatlioglu, praising the performance of the BMW M1000RR, which is on a par with the Ducati Panigale V4R. “The bike has already been well adapted to me. We are constantly improving the electronics. It’s going well, we’re going step by step.”
“Our package is not bad for the high temperatures. It looks like we are ready for the races,” said Razgatlioglu, looking forward to the rest of the weekend. “We can fight for victory. My goal is to celebrate three wins this weekend. “
