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SBK, "Toprak slides and locks the front tyre, but it's under control."

BMW chief engineer Phil Maron: "He's very particular, and tuning the bike to his needs is no picnic. In the beginning on the BMW he had trouble braking, but now he can do incredible things."  

SBK:

Fast, smart and theatrical, Toprak Razgatlioglu contains within him all the characteristics of the champion capable of winning over a cross-section of audiences. Literally blossoming in 2024, the BMW rider was able to win the World SBK championship despite an injury that forced him to miss two race weekends, and in 2025 he will certainly sell his skin dearly.

Meticulous and precise like all those who are devoted to victory, the Turk is quite difficult to please as his crew chief Phil Marron explained in an exclusive interview with Crashnet.

"I wouldn't say it's more difficult to set the bike up, but he's very particular in what he wants the bike to do and how he wants it to feel, especially on corner entry we can see how amazing and spectacular that looks," he told Crash, "His feeling for the front tyre is all sliding and locking, but it's under control. It's on another level. He's modulating the front brake - okay, the first brake is really aggressive, but everything after that is super-controlled. When the rear is in the air, he sets it down and plays with the front brake to control everything, along with the electronics."

"The first time he rode the BMW it didn't let him do that, normally it snaps sideways and they go through the gravel, but we are fortunate because Toprak can ride to that limit and that gave us a chance to see on the electronics how it needs to be refined. The guys worked really hard to try to improve it, and he rides to the maximum again," he continued in his reasoning.

His indispensable sidekick from 2019, the engineer knows how crucial the braking phase is for him. "It's not his Achilles heel for sure, but it's one of his hot topics," he pointed out. Helping him in this regard is a more adaptable engine brake than that of the old Yamaha R1 ridden from 2020 to 2023. "With the BMW we have more adjustability, but compared to the Kawasaki we are in a similar range. We use Motec data analysis software and a Bosch ECU with BMW software for the engine management."

Although the 28-year-old is vocal when things don't go as expected, his approach to racing remains calm. "Generally speaking he's calm and relaxed but if we do have issues that we didn't manage to iron out, he accepts that when it's time to go racing. So we've got the best of both worlds: a rider that can do incredible things and someone who can ride around the shortcomings of the package," he concluded.

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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