Yeah true. He was a shot in the arm for BSB so I’d like to see him there again but my money is on him going to USA with the Mrs - maybe something AMA-ish?
Yeah he will probably end up at war horse Ducati in AMA, they seem to be the team with the cash, just got to wait for loris Baz to fall out with everyone first
Well it’s the 7th of Jan and he’s already ragging a v4s round Spain. At least the nay sayers who said his hearts not in it anymore can take a backseat for a few more months as this pretty much disproves that theory.
he’s got loads of money and gets 5 months holiday! I’d be ragging a bike around in Spain right now also!!!!! Nothing to do with motivation.
He could be sat on his arse with his family in LA or riding push bikes somewhere as equally far off but he’s getting back up to speed on the v4 6 days into the new year! Poor lad can’t win lol
The fact a professional motorcycle racer is doing track days on a road version of his future race bike is hardly extraordinary or newsworthy. Every other WSBK racer is going to be doing the same or similar, it’s what they are paid to do. Andy
Its not extraordinary or newsworthy but hes still put it ahead of his perceived other life commitments (cycling and life in the States). Not saying hes going to pull up trees as a result but the signs are there that his "hearts still in it". To me at least.
I think he will be top 5 most races if not he is going to be out next year. Jake Dixon will be in WSBK in 26 i think with VDS. Jack Millar Zarco and the likes will be coming over.
Without wanting to sound like some SR45 fanboy (which im honestly not) I think people are judging him by different colours they seem to judge others. First season back on a ducati in 4 years – check No team mate – check Riders like Petrucci and Ianone already up to speed on the latest Ducati - check Ducati not being current world champions - check Toprak – check If he’s beating Vickers after Misano he’ll have done well imo.
Ill have a charitable tenner with anyone that he's above both vickers and slowes after halfway through the season (Misano/R6).
I’m not one to court controversy usually but IMO, if Dorna don’t introduce levelling measures for Toprak and BMW, like they eventually did for Alvaro and Ducati, Toprak’s 3rd championship is a foregone conclusion. Andy
In all seriousness, I’m not sure what. I think they have abandoned the reduction in revs penalty. Sadly there isn’t a talent pill you could give to the also rans Toprak is definitely a generational talent when it comes to the superbike format. If BMW do decide to step up to MotoGP n 2027, hopefully he can be given the opportunity to show that talent can make the step across. Andy
Thing is its not the bike is it ? Its him and if he can ride it like he can then hard luck.# I get it if my bike was way better than others but if it wasnt and basically i was slowed in some way because im too good then bugger me would i get the hump. I would suggest with Alvaro and the bike it was at least both but maybe more the bike ??
As I said, I think Toprak is a generational talent. Given Alvaro’s dismal season with the extra 6kg attached to the bike, I’d say it was his weight that was the advantage for his second title. Subsequent to his first and most dominant title, the Ducati was penalised to (unsuccessfully) curb his advantage, and then penalised again with the minimum rider and bike weight limit. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, don’t treat Toprak and BMW more favourably to Alvaro and Ducati. Or is that naive if me Andy
If you look at the results AB actually started off last season pretty well - 8/10 podiums. Toprak boxed the title off with those 4 triple headers in a row he won (Misano Most Donny and Portimao) while Alvaro was crawling about in the gravel.. No coming back for anyone after that, even with Toraks two missed rounds.
Interesting comments about levelling being needed because of where Toprak is, where were the nearest other BMW’s? How many races did they win, it’s hard to say the bike is the best bike out there unless you are able to justify that multiple people can win on it. this was never more demonstrated by Marquez on the Honda, it wasn’t until the injuries that they had to admit their bike wasn’t the best on the grid, because Marquez made the difference. oh god, I mentioned Marquez… here we go…
Bautista won 27 out of 36 rounds in 2023. Ergo, easy decision to make. Toprak won 18 last year, not even close to such dominance. Cant keep restricting the champion just to avoid a repeat season. edit: should read races not rounds of course ^ ^ ^
But that is exactly what they did to Ducati and Alvaro. If my memory serves, the V4RS was rev capped before it even turned a wheel in competition. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a solution (apart from the Ducati Tri Options Cup) but organisers must be even handed in how they deal with teams. You’d have thought they’d learned their lesson in the Foggy days ……. but let's not go their Andy
There was a perceived weight advantage on the ducati backed up by ridiculous stats. You cant say the same for Toprak surely? Whether you agree on the minimum weight rule its not the same situation by a mile. Assuming were agreed it the weight rule thing where Alvaro struggled and not a rev cap.
