BMW World Superbike boss praises Toprak Razgatlioglu: “The most consistent we’ve seen”

Last weekend’s Portimao WorldSBK test was the first time Toprak Razgatlioglu had ridden his race bike since threatening to quit the series if Ducati’s dominance wasn’t addressed by the championship, and he ended the two-day outing in Portugal as the fastest rider.

Razgatlioglu was over 0.4 seconds clear of Nicolo Bulega , who will enter the second round of the 2025 World Superbike season 26 points clear of his factory Ducati teammate Alvaro Bautista at the top of the championship after winning all three races in Australia.

Razgatlioglu’s own deficit to Bulega - whose Portimao test did not go as positively as Razgatlioglu's - in the riders’ standings is 42 points after not scoring in either the Superpole Race or Race 2 at the opening round, but his performance in Portimao was cause for optimism – at least, it generated a mood of progress among BMW’s WorldSBK management due to the reigning champion’s consistency.

“We’re back in Portimao, which has always been a strong reference for us,” ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal Shaun Muir told WorldSBK.com.

“Despite some lost track time due to the weather, both riders managed an average of 50 laps per day, so we can’t be too disappointed.

“Michael [van der Mark] had a solid test, working through a list of setup items and making steady progress.

“On the other side of the garage, Toprak focused on re-establishing his base setting, quickly finding a strong race pace while fine-tuning his setup. His 10-lap race runs have been some of the most consistent we've seen with this package.

“With only three fully productive pre-season test days before Australia, these two days have been an important extension of that work.

“The team has made clear progress, and we’re seeing growing confidence in both riders.

“Now, with two weeks until the race, we feel we have a solid base to build on and are in a much stronger position heading into FP1.”

BMW Motorrad Technical Director Chris Gonschor added that the two days – which, although rain-affected, both contained spells of dry running – of testing in Portimao were important after a preseason that was heavily impacted by adverse weather.

“We are happy to be back in Europe, back in Portimao after a successful race last year,” said Gonschor.

“It's a beautiful track, and luckily, we had some sun. It was a bit more complicated again, but we got some dry laps in, and we could prepare the race bikes for the weekend. We are looking forward to the race.

“Both riders in the top four with consistent lap times was a big step forward.

“Coming back to Portimao is always great, and this rollercoaster racetrack is very demanding – for the riders, for the engineers – but fascinating for the fans.

“So, it's perfect to be here, and it was good to have [...] a few hours in dry conditions to prepare the race setup and application.”