SBK, Razgatlioglu convinced his 2021 Yamaha has excellent championship potential

Toprak Razgatlioglu couldn’t have got his 2021 World Superbike campaign off to a better start as he wrapped up the first day of testing on his Yamaha at Misano at the top of the timesheets. In the final hour he put in the fastest time of the day ahead of Scott Redding in 1’34.265.

It was an excellent performance by the Turkish rider, especially because the expectations were very different after four months idle. His last test was in fact in November on the Jerez track, then nothing else since then.

"I haven’t been on the R1 for four months, but above all this was my first time in Misano with this bike – declared the Turk - in fact, last year we didn't race on this track, so there were some things to understand and also to test. Today I worked in particular on the race tyres, finding the ideal sensations and I'm thrilled about this. Tomorrow I will instead concentrate on the qualifying tyre ”.

Toprak then went into further detail about what had been done…

“The bike is different from the 2020 one, there are in fact big differences. Under braking I can be more aggressive and the R1 is smooth and easy in cornering. Furthermore, the grip has also improved and I think I have never felt so good with the Yamaha since I started riding it in 2019. I'm really happy, because the sensations are very good ”.

Certainly in this 2021 season the bar has been raised and he is fully aware of it…

"I don't know if I will be able to be competitive on all tracks, although that is certainly the goal. Last year I struggled on some tracks, like Aragon, but from what we saw today I think we have an excellent starting point to focus on. "

One final comment was about Rea, who was absent from the Misano tests…

"Johnny is a champion, there is very little to say. When I was in Kawasaki he helped me a lot and I am grateful to him. For sure I am here to win and realize my dream, which is to become world champion. In these years I have changed my mentality, I am working hard on and off the track and I think we have all the necessary means to achieve something important ”.