The opening day of the WorldSBK Portimao test was also the first day of 2025꧅ for Toprak Razgatlioglu, and the first day on an updated BMW ♊M1000 RR.

Razgatli꧙oglu was forced to miss last week’s test in Jerez due to a finger injury, but returned to action෴ this week in Portugal and immediately laid down a benchmark, setting the fastest time on the first day in the Algarve.

“I didn’t💝 expect the finger to be like this, because I immediately started very fast,” Razgatlioglu told𒐪 WorldSBK.com.

“I felt a little bit of🔯 pain but not a lot. I used hard braking and everything was good; not like before, but it’s getting better.

“I was ꦚfocused on my bike becau🦩se we tried new parts and setup. It wasn’t a bad day for me. We tried many things.”

Razgatlioglu the𒁏n revealedౠ that his time-topping fastest lap – which put him 0.029 seconds ahead of Bimota’s Axel Bassani, and 0.098 seconds clear of Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega – was set not on the SCQ tyre but on the harder-compound SCX tyre, which the Turkish rider refers to as the “race tyre”.

“It was better than expected because, on the last run, I used the race ty🎀re♌ and not the SCQ tyre,” he said.

“This is the race tyr🌌e lap time and I think the other riders used the SCQ tyre.

“Not just one lap, but after ten laps, we’re ve📖ry strong.”

Toprak describes 2025 BMW

The Portimao test is Razgatlioglu’s first aboard the 2025 specificatio🐼n M1000 RR, a bike which the Turkish rider says is not so different to the one he won the title on in 2024.

“[Between] the old one and the new 𝓡one there is not really a big difference, but just some small steps,” he said.

“But, not bad. The bik𝓰e is still working, especially w🌼ith the race tyre and the race distance the bike is working well.

“F꧒or ♋me it’s very important the pace – when I’m riding the bike the pace is very important for me, not only one lap.

“But we will see; t𝓡his is a cold condition and also the track condition is not good today, some c💟orners [were wet], and everyone was riding the same track but normally we are more fast.

“Anyway, this is 🤪for everyone, everyone tried their be💖st, and also I’m trying a new bike.

“Everything is going good, it’s going well.”