Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was instantly on the pace at the Pirelli Portuguese Round, with the #54 finishing third in the combined standings at the end of Friday. However, it was not smooth sailing for the 2021 WorldSBK Champion, as he suffered a technical issue during the final 10 minutes of Free Practice 2, with smoke coming out of his BMW – finishing the day 0.102s adrift from the top spot.

Razgatlioglu started the weekend strong, topping Free Practice 1 and setting a strong early 1’40.777 benchmark. The Turkish rider was 0.391s clear of the field and Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), capping off a strong start for the German manufacturer.  While Razgatlioglu completed 16 laps in FP1, before setting a further 15 laps in FP2 as technical issues stopped Razgatlioglu from improving further – finishing Friday behind Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

Discussing the technical issue and looking towards Saturday, Razgatlioglu said: “FP2, I felt a technical problem and after I came to box. But after it was not possible for me to ride the bike in the final 10 minutes. In general, the feeling was not bad but before the technical problem, I also ran the used tyre and I was very happy, the bike was working well with the used tyre. This is good, it is a positive for me because I had a good pace with the used tyre, I did a 40.9 with the 18 lap tyre – this is really good for the hot conditions. After three/four laps I felt the problem and after I understood it was a technical problem and I came back to the box very slowly. We will see tomorrow, the first day is done but I am very happy now because not every session, not every race weekend we are the winner. Now we are starting a little different and for me this is positive.”

It was strong pace throughout the day from Razgatlioglu, setting consistent times inside the 1’41 bracket before dipping into the 1’40 bracket to claim P3 at the end of the opening day. ‘El Turco’ will aim to convert this pace into race wins this weekend and if the #54 took victory on Saturday he would equal the all-time winning streak of 11 wins a row, currently held by Bautista and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) – with a chance to set a new record on Sunday.

Razgatlioglu spoke about his mindset on matching the all-time winning streak: “I am thinking, but I am focused on 12 race wins not 11, but tomorrow is the first race, I will try and do my best again like before and I hope I win. Then Sunday also in the Superpole Race if I win, then we will win 12 races but we will see in tomorrow’s race because everyone is strong and very fast so I will try and do my best tomorrow.”

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