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TOPRAK’s INJURY: Severity and timeline

Toprak suffered a broken bone in his right index finger earlier this offseason, and while it appears not to be serious, his BMW team are making no rush for his return to the track.

“Toprak will not attend Jerez, and at the moment it’s 50/50 whether or not he will come to Portimao because of how short the time is between the two,” said Shaun Muir, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal. “It’s such a critical part of his right index finger which is his primary braking hand, so we don’t want to rush this, worst case is Monday in Australia, best case is limited testing in Portimao.”

VAN DER MARK’S YEAR?: BMW’s faith in the Dutchman

Fully healthy, a new and improved bike and an outpouring of support from his team president Sven Blusch at the launch event may spell a breakout year for Michael van der Mark.

“I’m so proud of Mickey, what he did last year, especially at Magny-Cours and his momentum he built up over the last races, with having both him and Toprak on the podium at the last race, he did an amazing job,” said Blusch. “I expect Mickey will come strong into the first race and he will push strongly with Toprak for the manufacturer’s title. For sure I think Mickey is ready to go for race wins as well.”

TOPRAK 2026?: What is next for the Turkish superstar?

Already speculation is building surrounding the future of Razgatlioglu’s career and where he will race. Prior to making the change to BMW, Toprak and his mentor Kenan Sofuoglu considered a move to MotoGP™, however the BMW Motorrad director was tight lipped on the issue.

“It’s early in the season, but for sure we want to keep Toprak for as long as he wants to stay with us.” Said Blusch “I’m sure there will be lots of talks in the future, but right now, we’re focusing on the season’s start and keeping our minds on the next race.”

THE PRICE OF SUCCESS: BMW’s plans to deal with revoked superconcessions

While the 2025 M1000 RR will be getting an upgrade, concessions made to the 2024 package will be being revoked for this season, something that does not seem to bother BMW team principal Shaun Muir very much.

“We started a plan for this as late as September last year, we knew this was going to disappear.” Said Muir “The chassis was our only concession, and we had already been testing the bike in its full, complete 2025 package in December in Jerez, so I’d say we’re confident.”

See how BMW fares in this highly-anticipated 2025 season with full race uploads and inside-the-paddock content with the WorldSBK VideoPass!