Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the pacesetter on Friday at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” with the #54 setting rapid lap times. His best came in Free Practice 1 after a crash disrupted his Free Practice 2 running but, despite the tumble, the Turkish superstar was delighted with Friday’s performance which sets him up perfectly for the rest of the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round.
Razgatlioglu set blistering pace in FP1 over one lap and in race pace. His outright best time was a 1’33.448s but it was his long-run pace that caught the eye. He completed an 11-lap run to start the session, with nine laps in the 1’33s bracket – ranging from 1’33.648s to 1’34.237s – with only the final and second-last laps touching the 1’34s bracket. The #54’s best time came in FP1, with Razgatlioglu not improving in FP2. If he can claim victory, it will be the German manufacturer’s first win at Misano while there is also the potential of him being the first BMW rider to lead the Championship standings since Marco Melandri did back in 2012.
With his pace there for all to see, Razgatlioglu said: “My target is to have three wins here but it’s not possible to say before the race. I’m focused day by day; tomorrow we have Superpole, and I’m focused on this and try to do my best, set a new record if possible. After, I’m just focused on the race because I need to win again. We worked really hard. Every weekend, we improve the bike and I’m happy about this. It looks like Ducati’s very strong, but they’re always strong at this circuit and in hot conditions. It looks like we’re fighting for the win.”
His Free Practice 2 session was disrupted by a crash at Turn 16 around halfway through the session, when he had a moment under braking, was slightly off line and lost the front of his M 1000 RR machine. Razgatlioglu was able to walk away from the crash and quickly explained what happened to his crew when he returned to the box, and speaking after, he declared it a ‘stupid’ crash but one that he’s glad happened so he can learn the bike’s limits.
Discussing the crash, the 2021 Champion added: “Everything is okay. It was a small crash at the final corner, not really fast. I’m sliding. I’m very happy that I crashed before the race! I understand things and for tomorrow, I can be stronger. We have a very good package for the race weekend. Everything’s going well. I understand somethings, the bike limit. I made a small mistake and tried to turn the bike on the dirty line. After, I’m happy I crashed, but for me, it’s a bit of a stupid crash. I went wide and why did I try to come back to the track? In general, we have a good package. Especially this morning, we did a very good race simulation, and my feeling is that everything is good. The grip with the new tyres is not bad.”
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Source: WorldSBK.com