WorldSBK: Garrett Gerloff will be 'surprised if Toprak Razgatlioglu isn’t doing lap records in second BMW test’

Razgatlioglu made his BMW debut on Sunday as part of a one-day test at Portimao, a circuit that has traditionally been one of his better WorldSBK venues.

And after beaming from ear-to-ear with smiles, Razgatlioglu is now at Jerez for a two-day test alongside team-mate Michael Van Der Mark. 

• Toprak Razgatlioglu after BMW debut: “I was just smiling, unbelievable power” 
• FIRST LOOK: Toprak Razgatlioglu on a BMW

Gerloff, who was the top BMW rider in 2023, will have a very stern challenge on his hands next season as Razgatlioglu will be the clear favourite to take over that position.

Discussing BMW’s ambition to sign someone like Razgatlioglu, Gerloff told WorldSBK.com: “It’s really cool to see BMW’s effort into the whole programme; I know with Toprak coming and all the riders that are already here, we can move the programme forwards quite a bit. I think it’s going to be an exciting year for that.”

Focusing on Razgatlioglu’s potential, Gerloff also admitted he expects the lap record in Jerez to be challenged by Razgatlioglu, despite it being only his second test. 

The official Jerez lap record is held by Jonathan Rea, who set a time of 1:38.247s in 2019, while the race lap record is a 1:39.004s which was set in the same year by Alvaro Bautista. 

“I think he’s going to like it! The steps that we’ve made with braking, I don’t think he’s going to feel too far away from where he was,” added the American rider. 

“Honestly, I don’t see him struggling at all; I see him being exactly the same, going just as fast or more than likely faster. 

“I think he’ll gel with it really good and I’d be surprised if he wasn’t doing lap records in the second test.”