Toprak Razgatlioglu: ‘I worked for the race as I need to see who I’ll be fighting’

Only tenth fastest on combined times, Toprak Razgatlioglu used day-one of the Phillip Island WorldSBK round to check out his rivals.

During Friday practice Razgatlioglu followed Alvaro Bautista and Andrea Iannone in a bid to see who he will be ‘fighting with’.

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Both Ducati riders are likely to be contenders for the podium, a result Razgatlioglu believes is achievable for BMW too.

“I wasn’t pushing, just following them to understand some corners,” said Razgatlioglu. “The Ducati sometimes uses a different line and I was looking at that; I’m working for the race as I need to see who I’ll be fighting with.

“I forgot this morning to do a good lap time but it’s only FP1 and FP2; on Saturday, I think we’ll start strong.”

Despite being upbeat about his chances, Razgatlioglu did admit that the wet conditions made it difficult, although Saturday looks clearer which will please the Turkish rider.

Razgatlioglu added: “We started not very strong as today’s conditions were completely different and everyone pushed for a lap time.

“The wind was very strong and the bike wasn’t working or turning. I tried to adapt to the situation. 

“In P10, I’m not thinking about this because Saturday is a different day and I’ll try my best to improve the bike a little bit.

“Tomorrow morning, I think we can start strong to do a different setup. We’ll need to do a good Superpole and then in the race, I think we can fight for the podium. 

“It looks like we’re strong but it was my first time riding the BMW with the strong wind today and I was fighting a little bit, it felt a bit heavy. Tomorrow, the weather looks a bit better.”