During a two-day private test in Barcelona attended by the best WorldSBK competitors, the official Yamaha team “Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team with Rizla” obtained the best time from the Iwata troops thanks to Toprak Razgatlıoğlu who makes the best use of this important track time before the second round of the category in Jerez, from July 31 to August 2.
During the two days of testing at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit, which is set to host a first round of WorldSBK from September 18-20, the winner of Race 1 at Phillip Island, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, completed 154 laps with a best time of 1'41.217 on his Yamaha R1, as Yamaha engineers focused on new development parts and collecting valuable data.
In the mid-summer heat of Barcelona, testing began on Wednesday, and Razgatlıoğlu quickly got to work, rewarded with the sixth fastest time of the morning, just ahead of his teammate. During the afternoon, the Turkish driver continued to familiarize himself with his R1s after four months of break, and to test different parts. Razgatlıoğlu improved his time to finish the day in ninth position, although the grip level had dropped.
In the cooler morning conditions of the second day, the Pata Yamaha rider took a big step forward and set his best time in the last hour of the test before the lunch break. The Turkish rider placed fifth with a time of 1'41.217, despite a huge fall destroying his bike, but fortunately without bodily injury, at the exit of turn 7.
In the afternoon, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu continued to rack up an impressive number of laps, before setting the second fastest time on his final practice lap.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu : 154 laps – 1'41.217
“I'm happy because I was able to ride the Yamaha R1 again! We tried many new parts and sometimes they didn't work, but we found new things that allowed us to make improvements. It wasn't a bad test at all: it was very important because it's a new track for me and we are now ready for the Jerez race. I only knew this track from video games, so it was good to get a few laps in before coming back here later this year. The first day was quite difficult after so much time away from the bike, and I had a huge crash on the second day, but I'm lucky not to be injured. But even with that, we were quite fast and we improved the R1, so we can be happy. »
Paul Denning : Team Director, Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Official Team
“It’s a pleasure to be back on the circuit with the Yamaha team, riders and engineers, before the season restarts. The Barcelona Grand Prix circuit is new for our team and for our two riders, so after four months away from the bikes, it was a bit difficult to get back to full speed on the first day. Nonetheless, we still managed to accomplish a reasonable amount of work, perhaps getting more questions than answers, but after a good night's sleep the pilots were ready to go again this morning. The team managers and engineers had also made a clear plan for today and we were much more competitive. Testing here in these conditions is almost like racing on two different circuits, as the temperature increases and the grip level drops significantly. We were fast in cooler conditions and we improved the bike to be much closer than yesterday
in warmer temperatures. A few problems, a few challenges, and an extremely busy two days, but all in all great work from Michael, Toprak and the whole team, and now we can't wait to get to Jerez. »
After the Phillip Island races, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu currently occupies third position in the championship behind alex lowes et Scott Redding, with 34 points against 51 and 39 respectively.
Combined results of the 2 days:
| 1 | 1 | Jonathan Rhea | Kawasaki | 1'41.910 | 1'40.450 |
| 2 | 45 | Scott Redding | Ducati | 1'41.727 | 1'40.606 |
| 3 | 66 | Tom Sykes | BMW | 1'42.455 | 1'40.956 |
| 4 | 22 | alex lowes | Kawasaki | 1'42.318 | 1'41.137 |
| 5 | 54 | Toprak Razgatlıoğlu |
Yamaha | 1'42.771 | 1'41.218 |
| 6 | 50 | Eugene Laverty | BMW | 1'42.832 | 1'41.494 |
| 7 | 60 | Michael van der Mark | Yamaha | 1'42.975 | 1'41.679 |
| 8 | 76 | Loris Baz | Yamaha | 1'41.980 | 1'41.881 |
| 9 | 7 | Chaz Davies | Ducati | 1'42.641 |
1'41.903 |
| 10 | 36 | Leander Market | Ducati | 1'42.997 |
1'42.024 |
| 11 | 31 | Garrett gerloff | Yamaha | 1'43.119 | 1'42.121 |
| 12 | 91 | Leon Haslam | Honda | 1'42.996 |
1'42.126 |
| 13 | 11 | Sandra Cortese | Kawasaki | 1'42.573 |
1'42.187 |
| 14 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Honda | 1'42.320 | 1'43.261 |
| 15 | 64 | Federico Caricasulo | Yamaha | 1'43.535 | 1'42.333 |
| 16 | 77 | Maximilian Scheib | Kawasaki | 1'43.568 |
1'42.436 |
| 17 | 20 | Sylvain Barrier | Ducati | 1'44.430 | 1'44.323 |
