Fastest on Friday and with a rampant pace, Toprak Razgatlioglu (PATA YAMAHA WorldSBK Official Team) was on a mission at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The Turkish star, who sits fourth in the 2020 title race, put his Yamaha on top by a huge four tenths of a second and was by some distance, the man to beat on Friday.

Razgatlioglu’s lap time was set in the morning, when temperatures were cooler, allowing both himself and the bike to work more efficiently. In the afternoon however, things were very different and he was second, but just 0.014s behind Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Razgatlioglu was on the podium at Jerez in Race 2 and looks like he could be repeating his efforts from 2019 at Portimao, when he was third in Race 2.

A radiant Razgatlioglu gave a quick round-up from day one, saying: “First, Friday was a good start because I remember in Jerez, I had a very bad start. Today I am feeling very happy because my feeling with the bike was incredible. I am feeling good, we tried different setups. I am happy, today I am really happy. Now, we are ready for the race. Tyres will be important because, again, there are hot conditions and tyres are sliding. In the afternoon we tried a race simulation and second in the afternoon is a good finish.”

The phenomenal pace in which he displayed will be a promising sign for Yamaha, who have gone without a win at Portimao since their 1-2 finish in Race 2, 2011. The 23-year-old is 32 points behind British rookie Scott Redding (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) at the head of the WorldSBK standings, but is just eight points behind Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who is clinging on to second after a tricky Jerez meeting.

Find out if Toprak can continue to dazzle in Portugal with the WorldSBK VideoPass!