MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

“Toprak tries things that seem to be impossible but he makes them possible,” said a smiling Michael van der Mark following the Catalunya Round of WorldSBK. It’s hard to argue with the BMW Motorrad rider because his teammate, Toprak Razgatlioglu, dominated the headlines at the second round of the 2024 WorldSBK season.

Smashing the lap record in Superpole was impressive. Taking two last lap victories was stunning and tallied into a weekend that BMW will never forget. Toprak was the top points scorer in Catalunya and has immediately proved himself as a title contender once again. Winning races on the Kawasaki in 2019 or the Yamaha for the last four years was meeting expectations, but to do so with BMW has left his rivals with furrowed brows.

Scott Redding, a title contender when he was racing with Ducati, has been left scratching his head. When Toprak was signed Redding commented that he didn’t think Toprak was a better rider. After Catalunya he had changed his view. Garrett Gerloff, a podium finished in Catalunya in the past, said that he was in awe of what Razgatlioglu has been able to do.

Rider and bike

It was only Van der Mark who had a strong weekend and it was his performance that really proved that BMW has made progress. Qualifying on the second row and coming away with fourth in Race 2 was a good showing from the Dutchman ahead of his home round.

It is fitting that the world championship motorcycle racing season should open at the greatest racetrack on the face of the earth. Phillip Island never disappoints, and it is a source of eternal envy in the MotoGP paddock that it is World Superbikes that get to visit Phillip Island at the end of summer, when the weather is at its best, while MotoGP is left with the dregs of winter.

As wonderful as it is to see bikes on track at the world's greatest racetrack, Phillip Island is such a unique place that it is unwise to read too much into the results of the opening weekend of the World Superbike championship. Phillip Island is a riders' track, where bravery and talent count for more than having a perfect setup or a superior motorcycle. The rider can make up for a lot.

Throw in a new surface, and you muddy the picture even further. The new track was so much faster than the old surface that Pirelli was forced to introduce compulsory pit stops to change front and rear tires. Both outright and race lap records were demolished, the Superpole record by 1.3 seconds, the race lap record by 1.5 seconds. That is a lot more speed, and a lot more speed means a lot more stress on the tires. Despite pit stops and shortened races, tires at the end were looking very chewed up and right at the edge of endurance.

Jumping to conclusions

Before I even start here, I have to say I struggle with top ten lists. As ever it’s a subjective view of the WorldSBK season. So here’s my top ten list for 2023 anyway. I think that it’s only the top three that I have an ironclad belief in my choices, because beyond that you could make a case for almost any rider on the grid. As I found as I made my list, as I changed people around time and again, putting riders further up or lower down the list.

Everyone in racing has a story to tell of their season and there’s so much that goes unnoticed but this is the list I settled on. Get involved in the comments with your lists and I’ll come back to see what everyone has to say, and by all means throw egg in my face for this list!

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (7 wins, 33 podiums, 34 Top 5, 2 DNF)

Is it possible to argue with Toprak as the leading man in WorldSBK? Over the last three years he has, for me at least, been the most impressive rider in the world. He might be racing a lesser level in WorldSBK but the Turkish rider isn’t a star; he’s a superstar. Other than Valentino Rossi or Marc Marquez I’ve never seen a more “box office” rider. When Toprak is on track you can’t take your eyes off him.