'I have started very fast... it was a positive test' - Razgatlioglu reviews his first test of the 2025 WorldSBK season
Yesterday at 03:49 AM
The reigning World Superbike Champions 2025 preseason is officially underway after dealing with a broken finger.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has had a terrible preseason ahead of the 2025 World Superbike season. The reigning World Champion had the majority of his offseason tests cancelled due to poor weather, and then he broke his finger before the first test of the year.
After missing the Jerez Test last week the Turkish rider was back on track yesterday in Portimao. Razgatlioglu participated in the opening day of the Portimao Test and ended Day One as the fastest rider on the track.
"I did not expect my fingers to be like this because I have started very fast," Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com after day one in Portimao.
"I am lucky on the track with the feeling, there is a little bit of pain but not a lot. I used hard braking and everything was good, not like before but it is getting better.
"I am focused on my bike because we are trying new parts and setups, this is my last chance, after this test we head to Phillip Island. It was not a bad day for me, I did 60 laps and we tried many things. In general, it was a positive test today."
Razgatlioglu discussed his fastest lap and revealed that he did not touch a qualifying tyre during the day. Instead, he opted to stay with race tyres and set his fastest lap of the day whilst using a race setup.
"In my last run, I used the race tyre, I did not use the Q tyre, which is good," Razgatlioglu stated.
"I believed in myself before I rode the bike, but there were some guys who did not believe me before. I believed in this tyre, which is perfect because I did this lap time.
"I think the other riders used the Q tyre, but in general, I am very happy because not only on one lap but the laps after we were very strong. We did very good lap times after, and I am just focused on this.
"It was a very positive day for me, we have one more day and I hope the weather stays like this. It looks like after 12 o'clock there will be very strong rain, but we will see tomorrow."
After dominating the 2024 season on last year's BMW M1000RR fans had been eagerly waiting to see how the 2025 version would fare. After his first test on the new machine, Razgatlioglu explained that there are only minor differences between the 2024 and 2025 BMW.
"Between the old one and the new one there is not really a big difference, there are just some small steps," Razgatlioglu explained.
"But it is not bad, the bike is still working especially with a race tyre and over race distance. For me, the pace when I am riding the bike is very important for me, not only one lap.
"We will see, it is cold conditions and the track conditions are not good today. Everyone is riding on the same track, but normally we are faster. Everything is going well, I hope my finger continues to get better before the race."
The post 'I have started very fast... it was a positive test' - Razgatlioglu reviews his first test of the 2025 WorldSBK season appeared first on BikeSport News.
