Every rider has their very own distinctive driving model, though the extent to which one rider’s approach differs from one other’s is often exhausting to identify from trackside or whereas watching on TV; however in terms of two-times WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu there may be little left to the creativeness.
Approaching a nook with one wheel disconnected from the floor for a number of tens of metres would ordinarily see the rider aboard the out-of-shape bike heading for the run-off, however with Razgatlioglu it’s part of his explicit approach of discovering lap time.
Such a mode factors to expertise and bike management, which ordinarily would indicate a level of insignificance in terms of bike setup, however, at the least within the case of Razgatlioglu, and his exceptionally distinctive model, that’s not essentially true, as defined by his crew chief Phil Marron in an unique interview with Crash.web.
“I wouldn’t say it’s extra ‘tough’ to set the bike up, nevertheless it’s extra particular to him,” stated Marron, who has labored with Razgatlioglu since 2019.
“He’s very explicit in what he needs the bike to do and the way he needs it to really feel, particularly on nook entry we will see how wonderful and the way spectacular that appears.”
Razgatlioglu’s model on nook entry appears to be like extraordinarily annoying on the entrance finish of the bike, however Marron defined that it’s additionally the rear of the bike that Razgatlioglu must work within the appropriate approach, notably with engine braking, in an effort to trip as he needs.
“His feeling for the entrance tyre is on one other stage — it’s sliding and locking, nevertheless it’s beneath management,” he stated.
“What he does very well is he’s modulating the entrance brake — okay, the primary brake is de facto aggressive, however all the pieces after that’s super-controlled.
“He’s setting the rear wheel down once more — so the rear is within the air, he units it down after which he’s enjoying with the entrance brake to regulate how a lot he units the rear on the ground, how a lot rear load there may be; and he’s shifting between drag and lock from the rear tyre to assist the bike decelerate, together with the electronics.”
It’s the second when the rear tyre returns to the asphalt that was one of many factors to enhance on when Razgatlioglu first rode the M1000RR again in December 2023, and Marron factors to the Turkish rider’s willingness to trip repeatedly on the restrict as one of many elements that allowed the BMW engineers to get the bike working in a approach that Razgatlioglu favored on this space.
“The primary time he rode the BMW it didn’t let him do this [bring the rear tyre down smoothly],” Marron stated.
“It was fairly lively, fairly aggressive.
“Usually, when a rider units the rear down, it snaps sideways and so they undergo the gravel, they don’t wish to ever do this once more, in order that they don’t go anyplace close to as aggressive as that.
“We’re lucky that Toprak can trip to that restrict. It offers us an opportunity to see on the electronics the way it must be refined; the blokes work actually exhausting to attempt to enhance it, [and] he rides to the utmost once more.
“So, he simply retains pushing the envelope, so the blokes simply maintain following with the setting. So, it’s spectacular what he can do, after which the digital engineers can work to attempt to complement what he’s after.
“However the truth that he can do it repeatedly, extra excessive than anybody else, it offers them a transparent image of what’s going to occur, the best way to attempt to refine it.”
As soon as the rear tyre is again on the ground, Razgatlioglu’s calls for on the electronics and on the engine brake turn into strengthened.
“Then, within the final metres, he needs all the assistance he can get from the electronics to close the bike down and make the apex,” Marrons defined.
“However the truth that he can do all this with unimaginable lean angle and the rear within the air is fairly spectacular. It’s unimaginable.”
Marron added: “On the Yamaha, we labored quite a bit on it. It actually highlighted how essential it was for him. On the BMW, now we have an excellent stage of adjustability there, and it enhances his model.
“Nevertheless it’s excessive on the listing of the important thing factors that now we have to handle and iron out, and get him within the window fairly early within the weekend — it’s one of many vital areas.
“If the bike’s not stopping within the final metres, that’s if you maintain the entrance brake for longer, you would possibly miss the apex, you lean a bit extra, you open the gasoline with extra lean angle, after which they begin to complain in regards to the rear grip.
“So if we will get the bike stopped, all the pieces else is a bit simpler to handle. However, it’s excessive on his listing.
“Even when he’s not pleased with it, he can nonetheless trip to a really excessive stage. It’s one of many issues that he talks about essentially the most, however even when it’s not prepared he can nonetheless trip the bike fairly quick, so it’s not his Achilles’ Heel for certain, nevertheless it’s one in all his scorching subjects.”
Marron added that the BMW M1000RR offers extra potential for changes to be made to the engine brake setting in comparison with the Yamaha R1 Razgatlioglu rode from 2020–2023.
“In comparison with the Yamaha now we have extra adjustability,” Marron stated, however “in comparison with the Kawasaki I wouldn’t say roughly, we’re in an analogous vary.
“We use Motec information evaluation software program, and we use a Bosch ECU with BMW software program for the engine administration.
“The workforce of men engaged on it are very quick to react, very fast to react and reply and that’s most likely the extra vital level than what now we have at our disposal, it’s that the blokes are fast to react and fast to reply, they’re very desirous to try to assist and so they understood fairly quickie Toprak’s requests and had been in a position to ship fairly effectively on that.”
Razgatlioglu’s manner is never animated throughout a weekend when he’s chatting with media, and even whereas on the bike.
However there have been exceptions, most notably the Portuguese Spherical at Portimao in 2023, the place Razgatlioglu was twice crushed to the road by Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista who was in a position to carry extra pace from the exit of the nook.
In Race 2, Razgatlioglu smashed the display screen of his Yamaha R1, such was his frustration at being crushed in such a way; and white Marron admits that Razgatlioglu can turn into animated within the pit field throughout a weekend if issues on the bike want fixing, not often is the Turkish rider within the form of temper he felt within the Algarve final 12 months.
“Through the session he may be fairly animated as nicely, when he has points — for instance, with a tyre he doesn’t like, or an issue that we’ve tried to repair,” Marron stated.
“Typically talking, he’s calm and relaxed, however when he doesn’t have the bike serving to him trip how he needs to trip he may be fairly animated. However, not as animated, or not as deflated, as we noticed him in Portimao in 2023.
“[In] Race 2, he rode the complete race prefer it was 20 qualifying laps, and he bought crushed to the road by Alvaro [Bautista], and that basically detuned him. His feelings got here out, and everyone noticed how a lot he was making an attempt, so it was nothing to be ashamed of there, he rode nicely and had his coronary heart on his sleeve afterwards.
“Within the field, he’s calm. We attempt to work calm, and maintain all the blokes calm. So, it retains all the pieces relaxed and settled, that’s usually how we attempt to maintain it.”
Though the specificity of Razgatlioglu’s model and what that model means he needs from the bike are demanding, Marron stated that his capability to place up with weak factors of a bundle means he’s “one of the best of each worlds”.
“If we do have points with the bike, if we do have issues that we didn’t handle to iron out over the weekend, he accepts that when it’s time to go racing,” he stated.
“He’s like ‘Okay, that is my bike, I simply must trip it’. He will get on and he tries his greatest to trip round no matter different points he could also be having.
“So, we’re lucky that we’ve bought one of the best of each worlds: we’ve bought a rider that may do unimaginable issues on the bike; we attempt to assist him with the setting to do these unimaginable issues; after which he can trip round the remainder, the shortcomings of the bundle. So, it’s spectacular.”