Garrett Gerloff: Toprak Razgatlioglu doing things ‘that are hard to understand’

Garrett Gerloff endured an up-and-down WorldSBK Portimao test as a crash on day two led to issues getting back out on circuit.

While it was a very small tip-off for the American, Gerloff was unable to get in the same level of running as Toprak Razgatlioglu, who went on to top the test ahead of fellow pre-season star Nicolo Bulega.

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Discussing his test with WorldSBK.com, Gerloff said: “Struggled on Monday but today we figured something out at the beginning of the day. I had a really good first half of the day and felt confident with the bike.

“We made some big improvements with chassis set-up. That was going really well but then I had a small crash in turn 13 which was slow, but something happened with the bike.

“From about 2pm until the end of the day we were basically trying to problem solve. I’m not super happy with the end of our test.

“But I know that the package we have is strong which is positive in my eyes.”

One of the big talking point from testing has been the impressive performance from Razgatlioglu.

His adaptation to the M 1000 RR has appeared seamless and as a result appears ready to contend for wins and podiums.

Gerloff, who has not had the same level of pace, says the addition of Razgatlioglu has been great for the German brand.

Asked if the new bike is one that every BMW rider should be able to be competitive with, Gerloff added: “I would like to think so. I mean, the bike was good last year and with some of the things they’ve brought this year there has been a step.

“Toprak is going really, really fast and doing some bikes on the bike that are hard to understand. But that’s just who he is and how talented he is.

“But it’s really nice to have that data to look at. I think that’s going to be one of the biggest things that helps us move forward as a brand. I think we’re lucky to have him onboard.”