BMW: Toprak ‘one of the five best riders in the world, across all championships’

Toprak Razgatlioglu pulled off one of the best performances in his WorldSBK career last time out in Barcelona, winning two of the three races in just his second weekend as a BMW rider.

Razgatlioglu was the ‘King’ of tyre conservation in Race 1 as he closed in on Nicolo Bulega before overtaking the Ducati rookie at turn five on the final lap. 

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Razgatlioglu then produced a stunning final corner move on reigning world champion Alvaro Bautista, which allowed him to pick up his second win of the weekend.

And after seeing first hand the talent Razgatlioglu possesses, ROKIT Motorrad BMW team boss Shaun Muir told Speedweek: “I didn't know Toprak as a rider more than what everyone saw on the monitors. Now that he is performing on our motorcycle, with all the strengths and weaknesses of the bike, I have to say that he is one of the five best motorcyclists in the world.

“And I mean that across all series and paddocks, I'm convinced of that.

“He is able to get the best out of a bike while compensating for its weaknesses.

“What he does with a motorcycle, how he balances it, slows it down and accelerates it while controlling the chassis, is simply better than any other pilot can do.

“That is the difference. His driving quality is simply higher than that of the others.”

After suffering a DNF in the final race of the season-opener, Razgatlioglu’s two wins and third place finish in Race 2 in Barcelona has catapulted him back into title contention.

But Razgatlioglu’s performances not only had an impact on the German manufacturer’s rival teams, but even their own riders.

“What Toprak did with the motorcycle from a standstill and what we saw in the data, our three other riders couldn’t imagine that he would be able to do it,” added Muir.

“In my opinion, it was during the tests at Phillip Island that he started to believe that he could win the world championship this year.

“He didn't believe that when he signed with BMW."