Toprak Razgatlioglu: Nicolo Bulega ‘immediately fast, happy to fight more riders’
Toprak Razgatlioglu says the 2024 WorldSBK season could see him fighting against more riders, following the Portimao test.
Like in Jerez, several WorldSBK riders impressed including rookie Nicolo Bulega who was the star of Pre-season testing.
The Italian topped three out of the four days, however, it was Toprak Razgatlioglu who took hom the bragging rights at Portimao.
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Following his switch from Yamaha to BMW, Razgatlioglu has wasted no time in adapting to the M 1000 RR and looks ready to contend for big results from round one.
But with Phillip Island traditionally very hard on tyres, making the right choices could make or break Razgatliolu and BMW’s weekend.
Speaking about the opening round, Razgatlioglu admits getting tyre choices right will be important.
“We will see when we’re there,” Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com. “Everyone says it is a new surface so we will see what the grip is like and how the bike is working.
“It’s a completely different track and I don’t know which tyres we will use. Normally we would use SC1 but maybe with the new surface we will use the SC0, I don’t know.
“The hard tyre is completely different and so is the grip. It’s not possible to say before the test.”
While tyres will play a vital role, so will the level of performances from Razgatlioglu’s rivals.
Two riders expected to be strong are Bulega and Jonathan Rea, with the latter also adapting well to life at Yamaha.
“First, I would say Jonny has done more testing than me so it’s normal for him to adapt a bit more before me,” began Razgatlioglu when discussing his rivals. “But we are quick to adapt and are getting stronger.
“Nicolo, he is a Supersport world champion and it seems like he is riding a similar bike but with more power. But he is really fast.
“I’m very happy for him because he is very young but learning and immediately fast.
“I’m happy for this because in the season we can be fighting against more riders. Generally, I’m happy for Johnny and Nicolo.”
