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Toprak Leads The Last Euro WSBK Test N icolo Bulega (aruba.it Ducati) was fastest on day one of the final European WorldSBK test at Portimao but he didn't end it there, as 2021 World Champion and new Rokit BMW factory rider Toprak Razgatlioglu set a strong one-lap pace on an SCX rear tire before sourcing a qualifying rear and setting the quickest test lap time of all, with his 1:39.189. When asked if this second good performance, and his first leading one, against almost all his 2024 peers means he and his bike are ready to race at Phillip Is - land in the season opener, Toprak said, "I am not sure, even if we are strong here. I do not know because Phillip Island is a differ - ent track; you need more grip, and people say there is a new surface. We will see there, but we have two days of testing, which is good because I don't know if we will use the SC1 or SC0. We will see there. We are very fast here. If we had one race here at Portimao, immediately now, it looks like we are winning because my pace is very strong." Toprak's fastest lap came from a qualifying rear tire, which his team had told him he did not have at the start of the test but was ap - parently sourced from the Bonovo BMW team near the end. Bulega, the current WorldSSP Champion, promoted to a full factory ride from the semi-official WorldSSP set-up, was second quickest overall time, just 0.086 seconds from Razgatlioglu. His brilliant beginnings in WorldSBK continue apace in all ways. WIND IN THE P32 A new bike and new team haven't slowed Toprak Razgatlioglu down as he ends the Euro tests fastest. Alex Lowes, having spent most of his time in winter testing, in general, getting used to being the de facto team leader inside the Kawasaki Racing Team, was working on making the latest spec of Ninja save its tires for one full race distance. He was finally let off the leash to go for a lap time and he set a 1:39.521 after two days sharing the track with his peers in what were excel - lent and consistent conditions. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Ya- maha) had a lot to do again, as his regular teammate Dominique Ae- gerter was still ill with significant flu-like infection—but not Covid. Michael van der Mark, a race winner at Portimao for BMW in 2021, was in the top five on the final day on his official BMW, ahead of the two factory Pata Prometeon Yamahas of Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea—in that order. At perhaps his favorite circuit of all, Rea was just not able to find the setup he wanted after trying a few ideas out on his new bike but finding them all quite similar. He also lost time in the pitbox on the final morning and could not swap between two different bikes. Rea had been third quickest on the first day of testing. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) placed eighth on the final day at Portimao as he starts his second season in WorldSBK. Scott Redding was ninth in the final test rankings, now riding for Bonovo BMW, with his teammate Garrett Gerloff 10th. That pairing made it four BMWs inside the top 10 at a test where all the main contenders were in place. The Toprak effect, or tech advances? A bit of both, it seems, but we will only really know at the end of this season, not the beginning.