Toprak Razgatlioglu “level is not like” Nicolo Bulega at Spanish WorldSBK

Toprak Razgatlioglu is operating at a “level” below Nicolo Bulega’s at the Spanish WorldSBK, he believes, after the Italian topped both practice sessions on Friday at Jerez.

Razgatlioglu, who finished second on the combined times based on his FP1 benchmark but only fourth-fastest in FP2, felt his bike was behaving worse during Friday at the race weekend than in the test, in hotter conditions, that took place during the summer break.

“Friday for me was starting not really fantastic but I’m trying to do my best because we do the test, one-day, and also in the test I feel is much better than today,” Toprak Razgatlioglu told WorldSBK.com after FP2 in Jerez.

“But it looks like the weather is different now [compared to the test], less hot, but I think this one changed a lot on my bike.”

The Turkish rider is looking to FP3 to improve his feeling ahead of Superpole and the races – the first of which being his second opportunity to be crowned 2025 World Superbike Champion – as he believes his “level” is below that of the aforementioned Nicolo Bulega .

“Now we are trying to find the best setup for the race,” he said.

“Still, especially in FP2 I’m not happy, still we’re trying to find some setup. 

“Okay, now it’s not so bad but the level is not like Bulega. 

“We need just a small better setup, but we will see tomorrow. Tomorrow we will try to have a different bike again.”

Before the weekend, Razgatlioglu said his ambition this weekend is to win the race in which he wins the title, as he hasn’t done this in either of his previous two title seasons. 

But after the two Friday practices the BMW rider was pessimistic about his chances of achieving this target.

“If I’m talking realistic, now it’s not easy,” he said, “because he [Bulega] is very strong now and also his pace is very strong. 

“But we will see, if we are improving tomorrow maybe we are starting to fight in the race with Nicolo.”