Toprak Razgatlioglu: “After 10 laps the bike behaves completely differently”

Toprak Razgatlioglu has explained his BMW woes ahead of the Cremona WorldSBK.

He experienced such trouble with tyre wear at Assen last time out that he considering retiring from the race.

Although Razgatlioglu won Superpole at Assen, he struggles through both of the main races.

He was kept in touching distance of Nicolo Bulega because the Ducati rider had technical issues at Assen.

Now, already trailing Bulega in the WorldSBK standings, the reigning champion heads to Cremona - a circuit which Ducati enjoyed last year.

"I'm really happy to arrive at Cremona after I missed competing here last year,” Razgatlioglu said.

“I did test here last year but only ran maybe 40 laps maximum. I know the track, but we don't have a base setup.

“I don't know if the track particularly benefits BMW or me, but I like the track, I only did 35 laps maximum, but this is not a race simulation, I think I will do OK, but I know Ducati is strong here.

“Assen was tough for Bulega, having two tech issues is hard, but the second one when he was close to winning the race is disappointing.

“It was good for me for the points, but I am never hoping for him to suffer a technical problem.

“He and the rest of the Ducatis are very strong this year, but we will see at this circuit, if we can improve something on out BMW maybe we can get back to winning, but this has been a very difficult season for me, especially at Assen, after just 11 laps, my rear tyre was destroyed.

“I was trying just to finish with a good position. I hope we see a good result here because last year I didn't compete here, I don't know what to expect, because after 10 laps the bike behaves completely differently, we will see tomorrow and hopefully we are near the front.”