Toprak Razgatlioglu led a tight WorldSBK Free Practice Two (FP2) Friday afternoon at Autodrom Most, in the Czech Republic. The Turkish rider did a lap time of 1:32.367 around the 2.6-mile (4.2 km) course on his Pata Yamaha Prometeon YZF-R1, which topped the field of 24 riders.
American Garrett Gerloff was 12th in the session with a 1:33.058 on his Bonovo Action BMW M 1000 RR, and the top 17 riders were within 1.078 second of Razgatlioglu’s fast time.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Razgatlioglu makes the most of WorldSBK Free Practice
Friday’s practice sessions for the Acerbis Czech Round saw Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) shine at the top of the combined classification, showcasing his pace on a track where he has been successful before. The day was marked by intense competition with 15 riders covered by less than a second, making for tight battles on the circuit. The variable weather conditions, with a wet FP1 and a fully dry FP2, added an extra challenge for the riders, but they adapted swiftly to set competitive lap times.
The Turkish rider showcased his pace and momentum at the Autodrom Most, with his closest competitor being Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in second place, just 0.012 seconds adrift. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) also impressed, securing the third spot, while Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) completed the top five. Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) faced challenges, finishing in sixth place, leaving him with work to do to close the gap on his title rival, Razgatlioglu.
Read the full report from Friday on worldsbk.com
Toprak Razgatlioglu dominates Friday’s practice at Most, setting the fastest time of 1’32.367s.
P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK
“First, I want to say that I’m very happy to come back to Most again as I like this track! The wet conditions weren’t so bad, I felt good with the bike and also confident. After, it was dry and I did one lap, but Scott did a very good job. In FP2, we were still working for a good setup on the bike as everyone uses the hard tyre, especially here. It doesn’t look bad, but we’re still working. In the wet, the feeling is better as I remember in FP3 two years ago, I felt good grip here immediately and today, I went fast straight away. After four years, I’m starting to feel confident! Both conditions are OK, no problem. The problem was in Turn 18 and Turn 19, as I was feeling the bike spinning a lot and the acceleration isn’t good. We’re still working to try and find a good setup. In the first two sectors, the corners are slower and I am strong, but in three and four… three isn’t bad but sector four, I’m very bad. We need to improve there because of the spinning and the acceleration, as the lap time isn’t coming. We’ll see tomorrow and I hope that we improve in the last sector. We did a good job through the rest of the lap, but the pace is going to be very important this weekend. My pace doesn’t look bad but if we improve in the final sector, it can be better than the others. I’m confident, feeling good but if we improve a little bit more, then we can feel much better but in general, right now, I’m happy for the first day.”
A strong debut weekend at Most, Remy Gardner secured second place in the combined standings.
Danilo Petrucci finished just over a tenth away from the top with a time of 1’32.471s.
Facing challenges at Most, Alvaro Bautista secures sixth place in Friday’s practice sessions.
