Marc Bongers after BMW’s latest win: ‘We can smell the very top, Toprak got it perfect’

Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed his third WorldSBK win of the season after another brilliant battle in Race 2.

The BMW rider got to the front of the field with a few laps to spare, opening a gap over Alvaro Bautista in the process.

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With spots of rain falling for much of the race, Razgatlioglu chose to play it safe early on before pulling the pin ahead of Bautista and Remy Gardner.

A win that has put him just six points behind Bautista, Razgatlioglu is very much in the title fight and BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Bongers was elated by the Turkish star’s first Assen victory.

“Being Dutch, it’s even more special but for the entire team, it’s absolutely great! Not just Toprak being fast but also Michael who had a magnificent performance here,” said Bongers. 

“It’s a shame he got a penalty so he was sent back to P9. What a weekend again; yesterday, we were in for a win, I’m pretty sure about that but we struggled in the Superpole Race with the tyre.

“Toprak started from P9 and got it perfect; it was an exciting race to watch in general. To come away from here with a win and to have such a start of the year, I’m absolutely speechless. 

“We bought new stuff here and it was just magnificent. What a feeling, again I’m in tears!

“Most of the guys are travelling tonight so we have to have the celebration when we have the full success but for sure, I’ll have a couple of drinks with this success!

“Tomorrow, I’m taking Toprak to Munich to do work on some more details for the next one.”

Discussing Razgatlioglu as a title contender, Bongers admitted it’s a possibility and something the whole team believes is the case.

Bongers added: “To become successful in a world championship, you have to have all the parts of the puzzle with the team and the bike, building it throughout last year, increasing our effort, creating a test team etc.

“We knew that when we had all these pieces in place, we’d organise the rider allocation, sign Toprak and then it all seems to have come together.

“We pay a lot of attention to detail; no manufacturer comes to this championship and wins, it does take years.

“We’re not at the very top yet but we’re sniffing it, we can smell it, so we need to keep our heads down and move on to the next win.”