Yamaha: Finishing Portimao WorldSBK test quickest with Razgatlioglu 'was great'

Pata Yamaha Team Principal, Paul Denning, concludes the two day Portimao WorldSBK test as ‘very positive’ after Toprak Razgatlioglu and Andrea Locatelli completed their full programs. 

Current WorldSBK champion Razgatlioglu was mightily impressive as he finished the test two tenths faster than Jonathan Rea, which also included setting a new unofficial lap record. 

For team-mate Andrea Locatelli, the Italian was fourth quickest during the first day, however, the margin to Razgatlioglu was significantly larger come the end of day two - finished the test in P5. 

Yamaha joined Kawasaki and Ducati for the Portimao outing, and while the Japanese manufacturer had the least amount of new parts to try, new electronics and rider positioning upgrades were introduced according to Denning. 

Razgatlioglu, who was taking part in his first on track action since winning the WorldSBK title in Mandalika - expected 2022 title rivals Rea and Alvaro Bautista had both been on their respective machines during private tests before Portimao - worked on the new electronics during both days, while completing representative race and time attack simulations came during the final afternoon.

"It’s great to be back at work, especially in beautiful weather in early February at the Algarve International Circuit," said the Pata Yamaha Team Principal. "It’s been a long time off the bikes for Toprak and Loka, neither have turned a wheel since our fantastic last day of the 2021 season. 

"Yesterday was a case of getting them up to speed as much as it was about the technical details. 

"We didn’t have a big test program here, but the modified riding position parts that Yamaha brought were immediately very positive for both riders, improving the feeling on corner entry and their general feeling to control the bike. 

"We’ve also worked on some electronic updates, which required patience for both riders, but in the end we were able to get through that full program as well with competitive lap times. 

"To end the test quickest was great, particularly considering this is our first running of the year. We’ll just keep working away and we look forward to the next stages of development in Aragón in a few weeks’ time."

Razgatlioglu and Locatelli will next be in action during next month’s Catalunya test (March 25-26), before moving on to the official Dorna supported test at Aragon (April 4-5), which is just days before the season gets underway (8-10).