News

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) was a jubilant figure after Day 1 of testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya after testing some new electronic settings on his Yamaha YZF R1 machine for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The settings came from teammate Andrea Locatelli’s side of the garage but Razgatlioglu was able to use them and described the changes “as positive”, although his day was disrupted by a crash in the morning.

Razgatlioglu was sixth at the end of the day’s running after setting a 1’41.433s but he had a crash in the morning which cost him some valuable running time. He had a lowside on the exit of Turn 2 a few hours into the running but, despite this, he was happy with his day after getting to try some new components on his bike. After his day had concluded, Razgatlioglu spoke about the positive impact of the new electronics and how it could help him during the 2023 campaign.

Razgatlioglu said: “For me, the first day was not bad because we tried new setups on my bike, and we tried to improve. This morning, I was very happy, I was enjoying riding the bike. After the crash, a very small crash, but very strange for me because I used a new front tyre and I don’t understand the lowside because it was very fast. I’m okay. The bike was a little bit destroyed but, in the afternoon, we tried a different swingarm again. In the afternoon, I am not really happy because we are a little bit lost. This is a test; we just tried some new parts to see whether they look good or not. Tomorrow is a new day. We try again the new parts to improve the bike because the Championship is very long, we need a good bike to fight. Maybe tomorrow I will try a time attack.”

Razgatlioglu has one victory to his name in 2023 so far, the Tissot Superpole Race at Mandalika, although he does have five podiums out of six races this season. The only race he did not score a podium in was Race 2 at Phillip Island, when he was collected by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in a crash when Lowes crashed initially on his own. Now, with the break in the calendar, Razgatlioglu has been able to test some new items to try and add more wins to his name.

Discussing the new electronics, Razgatlioglu said: “Now, I am feeling good because the new electronics, the level is much better. The bike is getting better and I hope tomorrow we can improve again. It’s a good feeling, the engine brake is working a lot especially. This is good for me because I can be happy when entering the corner. Now I am enjoying riding the bike more. Before, I tried hard braking, but the bike is not easy to stop. Now it helps me a lot when entering the corner. This is positive for the Championship because I need a lot of engine brake. The traction is feeling much better. It’s working smoother. This is a good step for the R1.”

Watch more incredible action throughout 2023 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!