Scott Redding on Toprak winning with BMW: 'Hard as I feel like I should be the guy’

Toprak Razgatlioglu was the start of the show at round two of the 2024 WorldSBK championship, winning twice for BMW in just his second race weekend aboard the M 1000 RR.

Razgatlioglu took victory in Race 1 before a sensational battle with Alvaro Bautista on the final lap of the Superpole Race. 

• Paul Denning on Toprak Razgatlioglu winning with BMW: “It was painful to watch” 

• Alvaro Bautista: Nicolo Bulega ‘was going to be the next Valentino Rossi’

But while BMW are consistently fighting at the front with Razgatlioglu, Scott Redding’s struggles from 2023 have continued this season.

Redding has just ten points to his name while Razgatlioglu is fourth in the standings on 71.

Redding feels as though he’s making strides in the right direction, despite admitting that Razgatlioglu’s performances since joining BMW have made his situation look worse.

“It’s been a little bit difficult with ups and downs; I see a bit more potential in terms of the bike and myself but it’s just not been shown,” Redding told WorldSBK.com. “Phillip Island and Barcelona are my worst circuits in general, even though I love Phillip Island, I just struggle to get results there since I changed manufacturer.

“I know that so I don’t get too stressed about it anymore, whereas last year, we actually worked on trying to improve the performance of the bike in the long corners which has been my issues.

“Then, moving to Barcelona, those things we worked on improved. My weak points has always been sector two but this year, we were able to be better there for the first time ever in my life.

“The stuff we worked on at Phillip Island worked; I felt like it went OK, in Race 2 especially with the tyre consumption and with me being the heaviest guy out there.

“I felt like I rode really well and that I managed the situation the best that I could. From outside Toprak winning races is making it look worse for me but I feel that I made another step, it’s just not showing as the first two circuits aren’t my style.

“The team has helped me to not stress when it’s not gone well and instead to work on the bike in a calm manner.”

Last of the four BMW riders in the championship, Redding is the rider most under pressure to retain his seat.

Again pointing to what Razgatlioglu is achieving aboard the factory team bike, Redding said: “There’s always pressure in this game. As much as I am happy for him, it’s hard to watch it happen as I feel like I should be the guy winning.

“That’s the sport we’re in: every rider on the grid feels they should win the race.

“I’ve been fighting a lot in the past years to make the package good and then I feel the package is good but I didn’t get my time to shine. I’m not bitter about it.

“I want to beat everyone on the track, those on the same bike and my teammate, all the same.

“That’s why it motivates me, as sometimes, you need to take a loss to find fire and move forwards.

“I work a little bit like that; I need to be hit about a little bit and get p****d off and then I’ll start racing better!

While Razgatlioglu has been BMW’s most impressive rider, Michael Van Der Mark also rose to the fore in Catalunya, securing three top ten results in all three races.

So the potential of the 2024 M 1000 RR is clear for all to see and is perhaps the German manufacturer’s most competitive bike in years.

Speaking about his results and the need to improve, Redding added: “There’s definitely more potential in the bike and you can see that in the results too; the numbers and the papers at the end of the race don’t lie.

“However, for me, the new fairing helps the bike handle better but then I suffer in a straight line on top speed, which is hindering me a bit.

“The times are so close now that you can’t afford to lose anytime. There is some give and take but in general, I feel that the package is better; you can see that Mikey has been consistently a bit better.

“I think there’s more to come in results and BMW have done a good job in growing the package. The people BMW have brought in have helped to get the package moving forward at a faster rate. It’s moving on faster these days so we have to be on the ball.

“When we go to the circuits where we’ve been historically strong, I don’t think it will just be one of them at the front, it will be all of us.

“Then, we’ll build momentum with the team and the whole project and the ball will get really rolling and be competitive at circuits where we’ve been less competitive at in the past.

“We want to be in the top five and fighting for podiums and I think we’ll be seeing more of that; the bike has top speed and the handling is there too.

“It’s just about trying to bring it all together. We worked on the bike to get to stop and turn and we achieved that so I think if we move onto Assen and they work there – which they should – we can start to finish in the top six.

“That’s where the potential of myself and the machine can be and I’m excited to get to these races.”