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After finishing 4th in the FP2, and 3rd in Friday's combined standings, Toprak Razgatlioglu is already beginning to anticipate the celebration for the 2024 Superbike World Champion title. Something that the BMW rider will be able to easily file away as early as the end of Race 1, thanks to the 46-point margin he has over his direct opponent, Nicolò Bulega, with which he entered this last round in Jerez.
"It wasn't a bad first day. We did the race simulation, and I'm happy because I had a good pace. After the simulation, I tried the SC2 on the front, but the bike didn't seem to work very well. It was really heavy, and I had less grip, so I couldn't set good times," Toprak explained, as he summed up his day. "In general, I have a good set-up, and it seems like we're ready to race, but we're not 100 percent ready, yet. We need to improve in several corners, and all the data collected in the race simulation will help us progress. I think that we'll have improved the bike a bit by tomorrow, and I'll be able to ride easier in the race. These days, I'm not concentrating so much on the times or the flying lap but on the race pace, because we have to do 20 race laps tomorrow, and I know that the Ducatis are very fast here, especially Bulega. I'm trying to have a good package to battle it out with the Ducatis."
So many Turkish fans came to the circuit to support Razgatlioglu in this final act of the championship.
"Yes, but there aren't as many as in Assen. It's incredible, because there are a lot of Turks there! Many will come for the race, and I hope the fight for the title will end tomorrow, because they'll all be here only for Saturday," the 28-year-old emphasized. "They're going to have big screens to watch from in many cities in Turkey. Tomorrow will be a very important day. In Alanya, which is my second home, they set up a big screen to watch the last six rounds. But this is the last race and, if I make the podium in Race 1, I'll be World Champion, so I think many people are waiting for tomorrow. I don't know how many there are, because I'm focused on my work."
Quite a different scenario from the one experienced in Indonesia in 2021, when the BMW rider won his first title.
"For me, it was good that we were in a Muslim country, but there weren't many people, and we only celebrated with the team. If I win tomorrow, I think'll celebrate with a lot of people, and I think there are going to be a lot of people waiting for me, even when I go back to Turkey," he commented. "After the race in Lombok, I went back to Turkey at 5 a.m. and there weren't many people there at that time. But we'll be returning on Monday this time, and I think I'll find more people at the airport waiting for me. That, at least, is Kenan's plan. The most important thing for me is to finish in the top three tomorrow."
So Razgatlioglu won't be participating in the first winter test scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I'm not staying here, because I have to go back to Turkey for the celebrations and the press conference. But I think I'll participate in the tests in Aragon, two weeks later, " he explained. " an der Mark? I don't know if he'll stay here for the tests."
