Toprak Razgatlioglu stood out at the end of the World Superbike Championship 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 the second-placed rider, 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 cannot sustain the rear tire for the required duration: ‘I was scared a lot because normally, I’m not really strong at this track. I started very strong, and the race pace is very, very strong. However, the problem is the rear tyre. After ten laps, it’s done. There is a new surface with too much grip’.
Despite the encouraging performance in the test, Razgatlioglu downplayed it, emphasizing that the focus is on the Phillip Island round next weekend: ‘I did a very good lap with the new lap record but for me, the race weekend is more important. I am only focused on this. The feeling is very good but in general, I’m very happy’.