Toprak Razgatlioglu’s weekend at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was one of highs and lows as he and his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team continue to adapt to their new bike, new regulations, and Toprak continues to recover from his finger injury suffered over the winter. While the #1 was able to register a podium finish during the Australia Round, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was well clear of the entire grid. Race 2 was the low point of the weekend for ‘El Turco’, retiring from the race with a technical issue on his M 1000 RR after a difficult start to his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship title defence.

TESTING CRASH: Monday starts off on the wrong foot

In testing preceding WorldSBK racing action over the weekend, Toprak looked to still be struggling to find his footing atop the new M 1000 RR. Recently homologated for this season, the bike has proven to have a steep learning curve as Razgatlioglu had a big high-side crash in Monday’s testing which he walked away from largely uninjured, but in pain “everywhere”. The crash took place at Turn 6 during the opening Official Test session, from which he was later deemed fit from the medical centre, but he and his team were left scratching their heads as to the cause.

“For me, it was a very strange crash,” said Razgatlioglu. “We checked the data. I’ve got 39% gas and I highsided because the traction wasn’t working there. I spoke with my electronics guy. He checked why it wasn’t working and he didn’t know. I’m lucky nothing is broken but I feel pain everywhere, especially in my hand. In the afternoon, I rode again because I needed to ride to understand the bike and work on setup. At the end of the day, we had good pace. We understood the bike and found some good setup. Tomorrow is another day and I hope we find a good setup because the pace is important here. Now it isn’t bad, but I need a little bit more. I saw the picture when I was flying! I immediately tried to cover my hand. The finger isn’t bad; I feel a little bit of pain. I’m still riding the bike; this is the important thing. I think, for the race weekend, I’ll feel much better because we have three or four days. It looks like everything is going positively, only this morning was a little bit strange.”

ANOTHER FALL: FP1 lowside at Turn 4 as frustration starts to show

During Free Practice 1 on Friday, Razgatlioglu had another crash. This time, he lost the front of his machine at Turn 4 and slid into the run-off at Miller Hairpin. While the damage was limited due to the nature of the crash, he and the team lost around 15 minutes of running when looking to make a step forward with the new bike.

Discussing his Friday crash, Razgatlioglu said: “The engine brake released there. I don’t understand why. I lost the front immediately. We’re still working to try and find some setups for the race but it’s not easy because of the hot conditions; the bike isn’t working. I’m not happy because the bike isn’t working. I’m not fast like last year. After the change I chassis, it’s completely changed: not stopping, not turning, not gripping. Everything’s changed.”

HIGHS ON SATURDAY: front row start, first podium of the year

As the weekend’s events began, it began to look like Toprak’s woes were a thing of the past as he earned a P2 finish in the season-opening Tissot Superpole Session, less than a second slower than polesitter Nicolo Bulega. He complimented his Superpole result with another P2 in Race 1. While he crossed the finish line a considerable 4.811s behind Bulega, he showed glimpses of 2024 when he climbed back up the grid after running wide in Turn 1 of Lap 6. While a P2 finish is certainly nothing to sneer at, the #1 rider was frustrated with his inability to keep up with Bulega and fight for P1.

“I am a racer, I will always fight for P1 and never give up,” said the #1. “But at the start of the race, I didn’t feel fast, I wasn’t finding a rhythm. When we changed the tyre, and started the second run, I felt much better, the rear felt like it had better grip, turning was better after we changed some things with the suspension, and I found the rhythm in the second run. The last laps, though, the rear tyres started to drop off, I felt the bike moving around a lot and it made turning harder. I could see Alvaro getting closer, and in the last lap I did a 1’30.300s lap which is not too bad, but I was riding on the limit. I say the bike is not working because we are not as fast as last year, we are slower, if it felt like last year’s bike maybe it would be easier to follow Bulega, maybe not, but maybe I would have been up fighting with him and not the other riders. Now when I try to rider at the limit, I lose the front, or I lose the rear, I’m trying to ride the bike and find the rhythm, but it is not easy.”

SUNDAY’S FRUSTRATIONS: no points as the round concludes

Toprak’s frustrations would only grow on Sunday. It was clear Razgatlioglu was struggling with his bike, and in a particularly harrowing instance in the Tissot Superpole Race. He ran wide at Turn 4, narrowly missing Bulega and Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) in front. He ended up finishing the race in P13, Toprak’s worst finish since 2022’s Argentinian Round Race 1 when he finished in P15. Race 2 proved no solace for the defending Champion. While he was able to fight his way forward, an aggressive move on Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) saw him forced to give the place back and he lost two as Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) also went through. The stretch of racing preceding his penalty proved to be the only Race 2 highlight for Toprak, as two laps after his Lap 10 pit stop, he returned to the garage to retire due to an issue with the bike.

On his Australian Round struggles, Toprak was clearly frustrated, however his focus was on the rounds to come and his team’s impending work on their setup: “I’m never very happy in the first races of the season. Every year something feels strange on the bike, so in that way this is the same. I am just focusing on the next race because we’re going back to Europe, and I will be having to fight with all the Ducatis. We have a long break of almost a month now, I am going to keep working and try to come back stronger.”

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