Toprak Razgatlioglu has been ruled out of the French WorldSBK round at Magny-Cours following a serious second practice crash.
Razgatlioglu was participating in the French WorldSBK Free Practice 2 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours when the incident happened after the Turkish rider lost control of his bike on his first flying lap while approaching Turn 15.
It was the Turkish rider’s first timed lap of the session after a disrupted first few minutes on Friday afternoon, which saw Razgatlioglu’s BMW M1000 RR have its fuel tank changed.
The ROKiT BMW Motorrad rider later lost the front in the left-hand sweeper that leads into the tight right-handed penultimate turn and slid torwards the inside of the right-hander, hitting the inside wall.
Eyewitnesses reported that bike slid off the track and collided with a barrier, resulting in a heavy impact that brought the session to a halt.
Fortunately, medical personnel were quick to respond, and Razgatlioglu was attended to on-site. Although he managed to walk away from the crash, he was immediately taken to the circuit’s medical center for evaluation and later transported to Moulins Hospital for further checks.
Initial assessments indicated that he had suffered a back contusion, but further examinations revealed more serious injuries, including a mild traumatic pneumothorax, which happens when air leaks into the space between the lung and chest wall.
The diagnosis of a pneumothorax raised alarms about his ability to participate for the remainder of the weekend and the WorldSBK medical team subsequently declared him unfit to race, confirming that his injuries would require time for recovery.
“The entire BMW Motorrad Motorsport family wishes Toprak Razgatlioglu a very speedy recovery,” said BMW Motorrad Motorsport boss Sven Blusch. “After his great success this is obviously a setback, but health is the most important thing.
“We are looking forward to having him back at the racetrack as soon as possible. An update on his recovery will follow at the given time.”
