Toprak Razgatlioglu stood out at the end of the World Superbike preseason, being the fastest on the testing day at Phillip Island. In his best lap, the ROKiT BMW rider clocked a time of 1m28.511s – well below the circuit record, but only 74 milliseconds ahead of second-place Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Ducati).
These are encouraging signs for the Turkish rider, who admitted to the championship’s official website that the pace scared him… but he confessed that he can’t sustain the rear tire for the necessary time: ‘I was very scared because I’m not usually strong on this track. I started very strong, and the race pace is very, very strong. However, the problem is the rear tire. After ten laps, it’s done. There’s a new surface with too much grip‘.
Despite the encouraging performance in testing, Razgatlioglu downplayed it, emphasizing that the focus is on the Phillip Island round next weekend: ‘I did a very good lap with a new record, but for me, the race weekend is more important. I’m only focused on that. The feeling is very good, but overall I’m very happy‘.
