Toprak Razgatlioglu feels he is on the backfoot heading into the season opener

02/18/2025 09:12 AM

"We finally found something, but we're not 100 per cent ready yet..."

The 2024 World Superbike Championship was dominated by Toprak Razgatlioglu and BMW. However, the reigning Champion has had a difficult 2025 pre-season.

The Turkish rider had a difficult final test in Phillip Island after suffering a massive highside on day one. The second day was not as eventful for Razgatlioglu but he is still searching for 'the right setup' for the season opener.

"After the crash, especially on the second day, we started off well because our main target is to find the right setup for the race," Razgatlioglu said at the end of day two.

"We finally found something, but we're not 100 per cent ready yet. After the crash, we lost two hours of riding, and the afternoon brought some rain, so we only got the last eight minutes to ride the bike.

"We found a few things, but we're still not 100 per cent, so we'll see how it goes on Friday. The weekend is really important, and we're doing our best, as always."

Razgatlioglu's European pre-season tests were also disrupted due to injuries after he fractured his finger. He is still recovering from his injury, but luckily he did not worsen his injury during his crash.

"I feel the same as before, but I'm continuing to ride the bike," he said.

"We're racers, and it's crucial to keep riding. This is an important weekend because it's the first race of the 2025 season.

"Even though I'm still not 100%, after a couple of laps, the pain isn't too bad, and I can still ride without problems. We also did some good lap times on race tires, so I'm a bit excited for the first race."

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