Toprak’s BMW
Sure, 200bhp sportsbikes are all well and good – but what happens when you push things as far as they can go? Bike rides Toprak’s title-winning BMW M1000RR to find out
By Carl Stevens Photography Alex Photo
If you’re lucky enough to have strapped yourself onboard a 1000cc superbike in full flow, you’ll know the incredible experience they offer. The braking power that feels like hitting a brick wall, the brutal acceleration from the slightest twist of the throttle, and a level of cornering agility and poise that it feels like cheating.
Yet a road-going superbike only scratches the surface of what is truly possible on two wheels; lose 30kg, give it an extra 50bhp and throw on some of the finest electronics and components that money can’t buy, and you’ll be at the sharp end of what a superbike can really do. To find out how that feels, we managed to bag some laps on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s World Superbike Championship-winning BMW M1000RR around the Cremona circuit in Italy – and it made the road-going RR feel like a damp squib in comparison.
‘Lose 30kg, give it an extra 50bhp and throw on some of the finest components that money can’t buy’
Toprak’s BMW is a thing of sheer beauty from every angle. Everything looks purpose-built and doused in carbon, and from the shape of the tank to the sizeable wings and air intake, it does have a different stance to the already aggressivelooking road bike. It oozes speed, even while it’s just sitting on tyre warmers in a pit garage.
But it’s not just about its intent from afar. Unlike many racing machines, the seat is deep and low, which means you sit in the bike rather than on it – very different to pretty much every other race bike I’ve ridden. In fact, Toprak has his seat cut so low that you’re essentially sitting on the fuel tank, which is housed under the seat and in the subframe. Toprak has an ‘individual’ riding style and this translates to his set-up, which is part of his superhuman abilities on the brakes to push the front so far without it biting back.
Then there’s the cockpit, and the sheer number of buttons. Maps, engine braking strategy, traction control, launch control, pit limiter, thumb brake… the list goes on – and all fed through a relatively small and concise dash. You might think modern road bikes have a lot going on, but these race bikes take electronics to a whole new level, in a layout that needs to be accessed and altered multiple times in a race.
Hitting the lever to click into first (it’s a race gearbox, so neutral is at the bottom), everything feels incredibly visceral. The riding position is roomy to accommodate Toprak’s tall stature, but the growl from that motor, even on tickover, is intoxicating. I’ve never had anything so brutal between my legs…
I trundle out of the pit lane, roll into the tight turn two lefthander, grab the brake and aim at the apex. But the front end has other ideas; with a bit of load, it turns with such sharp ferocity and aggression that I almost end up over the inside kerb. Am I on a superbike, or a 125cc GP machine?
A small straight and into the next flip-flop of corners, it starts to become natural and faster with more load on the (softened) front end. The RR doesn’t just go where you want on demand; it’s pushing the boundaries of everything I thought was possible.
With a few corners under my belt, I’m starting to get a feel for how the RR turns, and rounding the hairpin it was time for the long back straight. With the electronics strategy set conservatively, a sharp twist of the throttle mid-corner puts a reserved amount of power through the rear Pirelli. The superbike-spec BMW drops to two cylinders for a controllable corner exit, and with a gorgeous low purr it feels almost uncrashable, the quickaction throttle fighting against the ECU to be fed more power. It almost feels restricted at full lean, and every degree back to straight releases more punch from that 999cc inline four.
Upright and powering forward, it’s almost a struggle to hold on to, feeling like a cruise missile as its potential is unleashed. I’m pretty sure my stomach is still at the start of the straight, and the gearbox is so crisp and fast that there is no drama or unsettling with each upshift.
But it’s not just the acceleration that takes my breath away, as the first, big braking point at the end of the straight reveals another of the WSB-spec RR’s gems – the sheer amount of braking power available on tap. The lever is so gentle that one-finger braking is easily possible, and the bite isn’t too harsh. Yet the sheer power with a few more bar of pressure is utterly sensational; it feels like I’m hitting that brick wall. But thanks to the magic of that superbike front end – the geometry and chassis tweaks, and the huge amount of downforce generated from the aero package – there isn’t a huge pitch or any real drama. The gearbox will go from sixth to second in a blink of an eye, and second to first feels as natural as any other gear – there’s no gap where neutral sits, so it’s a doddle to engage. I fear this thing has ruined every bike that I’ll ever ride from now on.
In all honesty, I was worried that Toprak’s WSB-spec M1000RR would be an untameable brute, and with his settings it probably is. But with the electronics dialled up, I had the chance to sample some of the finest components that money can (or can’t, in this case) buy. In my 15 years of riding road and race bikes, nothing comes close to this RR.
Hand on heart, it makes a standard M1000RR road bike feel like a 600. Braking, turning, acceleration, even riding position – everything is sublime. I just hope I’ve conveyed in words how amazing it is, and wish everyone could have the chance to sample something so awesome.
How on earth does Toprak ride?
Not only did we get to ride Toprak’s bike, but we did so shortly after the WSB Cremona round – so we were able to compare my data against Toprak’s best lap from the race weekend, with ROKiT BMW Motorrad data engineer, Peter Lauche. So, how does a mere mortal compare to a three-time world champion?
Corner entry
Here is where Toprak makes so much of his time, due to not only his entry speed but also the amount of brake carried into the corner at such a high lean angle. To put it into perspective, at turn six, a tight right-hander where you have to brake while leaning, Toprak is pulling six bar of brake pressure at 50° of lean angle; I’m pulling six bar in a straight line and am almost off the brake at the same lean angle. It’s almost unfathomable.
Mid-corner
The new-school way of riding is to rush in and rush out of a corner, creating a ‘V’ shape. It means Toprak’s mid-corner speed is actually quite slow – at the final corner, he was 3kmh slower than I was at the apex. But this is all because he was setting up for the exit, for the ultimate drive.
Corner exit
Toprak’s throttle trace is incredible. It looks almost like an on/off switch, and there’s little electronic intervention – he uses the thumb brake to regulate the wheelie as much as possible. Even though Toprak was slightly slower than me mid-corner, because he was so well set up for the exit he pulled a whole second on me along a relatively short straight, and was 30kmh (almost 20mph) faster through the speed trap.
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