RoKiT BMW rider Toprak Razgatlioglu says he is “seriously focused” on getting back on track at the Portimao WorldSBK round this weekend.
The reigning world champion struggled in the opening round of the season at Phillip Island and sits eighth in the championship after earning points in just one of the three races.
Immediately after the races in Australia, Razgatlioglu hit out at the dominance of the Ducatis, suggesting he could leave the championship if the Italian manufacturer continued to dominate WorldSBK.
However, the Turkish rider was fastest in testing ahead of the second round in Portimao, and highlighted that the circuit plays to his strengths more than Phillip Island.
“After Phillip Island, I feel much better because finally this is my style of track,” Razgatlioglu said to WorldSBK.com.
“Phillip Island there’s a lot of long corners this for me is too hard and also the bike is not easy to work at this kind of track. But here [in Portimao] I am more strong, especially in the slow corners. I make more hard-braking and I am feeling really good.
“We also did the test here and we did a very good lap time. It’s not easy to say it’s a new record because this is a test, we will see this weekend.
“I will try again to do the new record but the general feeling is good, it looks like we are ready to race. We are very happy with the test but the race weekend is also different.
“I am not flying, I am just focused on doing my job and tomorrow we will start finally because after Phillip Island we did a very long break. Now, I’m here and ready to race and I’m just going to try and fight for the win.”
‘The rider makes the difference at Portimao’ – Toprak Razgatlioglu
BMW looked strong ahead of the weekend at the Algarve International Circuit, with Razgatlioglu demolishing the previous lap record during two days of testing last week.
The double world champion admitted the team had focused on the setup ahead of the weekend, but stressed adverse weather could impact his chances.
“In general, we are improving just the setup, because we know this track and we just focused on the setup, especially the race setup, not only the one lap,” Razgatlioglu continued.
“We are doing many laps to understand the bike but the rhythm and the pace is very good.
“Like I say again, if the weather is a little bit challenging then all of the setup is changing, now I’m not flying, I’m just waiting for the race weekend. In general it looks like we are ready and I’m always trying to do my best so we will see.”
The Turkish rider was also asked if he expected to close the gap to Ducati, to which he quickly suggested that the rider makes the biggest difference at the Portimao circuit.
“It’s not easy to say whether we have the advantage [over Ducati] or not because everyone knows the BMW, okay last year was not bad because we did many wins, but the Ducati is also a very strong bike, strong brand.
“I think Ducati’s race weekend will improve but here I think the rider makes a really big difference. This track is a little bit of a rollercoaster and not only the bike helps a lot, but also pushing so hard for 20 laps is hard because of the up and down, you feel the tyre on the bike.”
Portimao ‘almost’ Razgatlioglu’s favourite WorldSBK track
Razgatlioglu also admitted he is relieved to be back at the European circuits and at a track which suits his riding style.
However, he once again highlighted that his times in testing were not representative and it can all change over the course of the race weekend.
“Generally, I like this track, it’s almost my favourite track, I’m always strong here but the race is always different. We were really working, we are ready to race but we will see again tomorrow.
“I said I’m not flying because I’m trying to explain that after the test, we did a very good lap time with the test tyre.”
The reigning world champion dismissed that “not flying” meant he wouldn’t try his usual tricks at Turn 9, saying: “I’m not flying like with the test time because this is the race weekend, I’m focused on my job seriously and I’m just trying to win the race.
“Of course, I’m jumping again, I will fly. This doesn’t change, but we will see tomorrow at the end of the session.”
