Toprak Razgatlioglu cut a disappointed figure at the end of what he describes as a ‘50/50’ debut with the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team during the 2024 WorldSBK Championship opener at Phillip Island.

The Turkish rider made his high-profile first race appearance with the German marque following his switch from Yamaha over the winter, but never quite hit his stride despite at least achieving his first objective of claiming a podium with third in the Superpole Race.

However, it was a ragged weekend both for Razgatlioglu on track and for the Shaun Muir Racing-run team off it with the 2021 WorldSBK Champion subject to a penalty in race one for not meeting the minimum pit intervention time before a major engine blow in Race 2 eliminated him and dredged up pre-existing concerns about reliability.

Discussing his penalty in race one, Razgatlioglu - who opted to leave his box early before touring slowly to the end in an attempt to hit his marker - said he was surprised to be punished.

“It was strange, I see on my dashboard a zero and exit, plus also Alex has passed me in the pit-lane so I am not taking advantage.”

While a podium in the Superpole Race was certainly a boost for a BMW team that has not celebrated a trip to the rostrum since 2022, Razgatlioglu was nonetheless frustrated to see his Race 2 aspirations ruined by a technical issue.

“It’s not easy to say; I’m really sad because I didn’t expect the engine problem,” said Razgatlioglu, who at times looked out-of-shape as he battled to stay with the pace

“In Race 2, I said, ‘this is the first time that I’m riding the bike’ because I’m always trying to save the rear tyre. I started and passed Lowes and started going forwards but then the engine problem came. 

“This is racing and for the first weekend of the season, in general, I’m not really happy, 50/50. I had the podium but in Race 2, I was ready to fight for the win. I was just watching it instead but in Barcelona, we need to comeback stronger.”

Somewhat disappointed not to have harnessed the rapid pace he saw in pre-season during Superpole or the races, Razgatlioglu nonetheless feels the unique nature of the Phillip Island Circuit played its part in distorting his and BMW’s true pace.

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“Testing and race weekends are totally different and the grip changes. In the races, we learnt a lot as we got race data and it’s good for work. Phillip Island is different to the ones in Europe. It’s not possible to say if we’re learning 100% but we’ll see in Barcelona but it’s a hard track like here. 

“We’ll start at Assen and other circuits but we’re not bad. Every race weekend, we’re coming step-by-step. I am focussed on the second round, working a lot and I am sure the team are too. I am focused on race pace and rear tyres get worn like here. 

“We need a good setup for the long-distance race but it’s not possible to say before we ride. We’ll see in Catalunya.”