Toprak Razgatlioglu's new life has officially begun at Aragon. On the Spanish track the three-time SBK world champion tried out the Yamaha V4 that will see him permanently in action next year, focusing mostly on finding his pace and getting to know his new bike.
No hunting for a fast time, there, but only 30 regular laps and the clocks stopped on 1'49.176 as his best time.
Followed closely by MotoEtkinlik who did not miss a second of his first experience as a rider in the top class of MotoGP, the Turk, for the first time in red Dainese leathers, also granted them a brief account of his Tuesday "training session" on the track.
"In the morning it was very cold, then the situation improved. Fortunately there wasn't much wind. Obviously MotoGP gives a completely different feeling than SBK. It's much more sensitive: just a little slide and you feel it right away. However, the beginning is always difficult, then slowly you get used to it. It's clear that there's a long way to go because I don't know the limits of the front end yet. Maybe I will also have to crash a couple of times... I don't know," were his first words.
In the face of his limited experience, caution was in order. "Everyone says the Michelin front doesn't have grip in cold temperatures and shouldn't be used aggressively. That's why I tried to be a little more gentle, but toward the end of the test I got good times. I had two new tyres available because the purpose was to get on the bike and get to know it," he pointed out.
The work also involved the set-up. "I adjusted the handlebars and set up the way I like it. The details are important and we had to make some adjustments. The footpegs, the rear brake, the gears, the controls: we sorted them all even though in the end you always want more. If I had another tyre I could have easily lapped in 1'48," he continued, revealing another detail about the tyres.
"In the morning for safety I went out with new ones to get an idea, but I also had two used ones. I didn't get off to a bad start, having set a 1'50.400 as my best time. However, first I did 9 laps on new tyres, then switched to used ones for 3 more laps, but the times were very high and I noticed a big drop. Especially in the right turns the approach is different, but also because it was cold. It has nothing to do with Pirelli, it's a matter of understanding. We have to learn. With the used tyres the bike was shaking a lot on the right side because of the different tyre structure, so I waited a bit and went out with the new ones," he continued his analysis.
"In the last run I lapped in 1'49. I did nine laps, always around 49, including the last one. Let's say I kept a good pace. If we had another tyre, I think I could have easily gone down to 1'48. I asked for it, but they couldn't give me another one. I even said I would pay for it, but there were no tyres available, because there is a rule: you can't use more than 260. Being on the limit, they risked a penalty. The test rider used more, but that's another story," he pointed out.
Despite it being his first outing, Toprak did not hide his ambitions. "I always have expectations.That's why I looked for more new tyres, I even thought about asking Honda or someone else, just to have another one available. But all in all it went well. The important thing is that I didn't crash and I was able to get to know the bike a little bit. Now we will go to Valencia with more awareness although, honestly, I still would not be identifying the limit of the front. We will find out with time, after a thousand laps. For now I can say that it is very fast on the straight! On the straights it really flies."
The fourth sector is the one that most rewarded him in terms of speed. "Well, I'm not usually fast in that section, so I don't know the reason for my competitiveness, but MotoGP is different, so it must be different here in Aragón as well," he said before remarking on the differences with SBK.
"The brakes are the most different thing, the one you get used to the hardest. The V4 structure itself is different. The front end of the inline-four bikes has more grip, so that is something Yamaha will have to work on. We'll see in the next tests," he concluded, postponing everything until next November 18.