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In the tests at Barcelona Toprak took his BMW 1000 RR to the top of the standings, ending the first day with the second best time behind a very fast Bulega just under five tenths behind the Italian. A positive start to the test which satisfied the Turk not only for his performance on the track, despite a small crash and some grip problems, but also for the amount of men fielded by the German manufacturer. The young Turkish rider also spoke about his engine failure during race 2 at Phillip Island, a setback which compromised his excellent performance after his third place in the Superpole race.
"I'm satisfied - explained Toprak at the end of the day - even though today there was a small crash while I was trying to sort out the engine braking, especially in turn 10, it was closing while I was releasing the engine braking, and at that moment the rear slipped slightly and then regained grip and so I crashed. It was a very slow crash yet the bike was still destroyed a lot! - he joked - I saw parts flying everywhere. For the rest I'm fine, I started lapping again trying to sort out the grip to the rear when exiting corners, even if we are not yet 100%. On entry the problem is not that big, but when you open the throttle on exit it slips a lot. With the Yamaha the grip was better, while here we are trying a solution and maybe we've found it, I hope to work on it again tomorrow. I also tried the new Q tyre, but with the grip problem we have I wasn't able to get a clear idea. Overall, however, the sensations on the bike are improving" .
Is it a problem related to the engine or the electronics?
"I don't think it's either of the two, the electronics are working, I think it's really a grip problem. It could be the frame or the general setup of the bike, I'm also careful when I open the throttle slowly but the grip still isn't there."
What are the critical points in the curves?
"Especially in turns 3, 4 and 9 we have some difficulties. Strangely then in the left corners we have even less grip, like in 5 or 10, it's something I can't understand, but the cornering speed is good and at the first corner I have fun."
How are you finding your new adventure at BMW?
"In terms of the team inside the garage the environment is very similar to that in Yamaha. Here at the tests, however, I saw a lot of BMW men and this is a positive thing, when I was in Yamaha I never saw any Japanese, only Italians and English of the European project, while here I saw many Germans. For example, when I asked for more engine brake they gave it to me immediately, but it was too much and they sorted it immediately."
What sort of rapport do you have with the test team?
"It's nice to have a test team, they test all the new components first, we don't use many of them. They also have good riders who can give us the first indications on what works and what doesn't. I'm very happy, I hope that when they give us the new parts that they think work, the bike will improve. If the new components give me good sensations, I will continue to test them too."
Today you also had two different swingarms at your disposal.
"I lapped with the new one, tomorrow I will go back to using the one I used last season which gives me more grip, to understand which of the two gives me the best sensations in view of the next race. We always have grip problems but we are improving, with the tyres I feel more grip than with the race tyres. On the last lap the sensations on the bike were excellent, because the bike works. In the race, however, with the different tyres you have to ride more calmly and that's not exactly my style."
The Turkish rider then spoke about the inconvenience of the engine failure in Race 2 in the first round of the season at Phillip Island.
"Today I lapped with the old engine just to understand what had gone wrong. The team worked hard and is not to blame and for me it was the first race weekend on the BMW, it was just bad luck. Now it seems that the problem has been solved and it works well. The only strange thing for me now when the race starts is hearing the different sound of the engine."
Have your feelings about the BMW changed compared to the first tests in Portimao?
"If I had raced at Portimao I would have won on my own, because the bike was really fast, and so was the pace. They were incredible tests. Portimao is a very different circuit from Phillip Island where there is more cornering speed. I like racing in Portugal, it's a difficult circuit, Donington Park is also one of my favourites."
