With one chapter closed, another opens immediately for Toprak Razgatlioglu, who announced his farewell to Yamaha this morning to immediately reveal his future plans. In fact, starting from 2024, the Turkish rider will wear the BMW colors, diving into a new adventure that sees him still engaged in the Superbike world championship.
Once again, Razgatlioglu’s passage to MotoGP, long awaited by many already in 2022, is thus ruled out. House in Monaco, with which he seeks new stimuli. It was precisely in the Superbike world championship that he landed in 2018 with Puccetti, with whom he achieved his first success in the category the following year.
Switching to Yamaha in 2020, he then conquered the world title in 2021, interrupting the domination of Jonathan Rea and Kawasaki. He is currently trying to fight the unstoppable Alvaro Bautista, who leads the standings on the Ducati and seems to be unapproachable. This year Toprak boasts a victory, in Mandalika, and is the only one to have signed a success with the exception of the Spaniard. At the Misano round, scheduled in two weeks’ time, he finishes in second position in the general standings, albeit 69 points behind the reigning champion.
Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pata Yamaha WorldSBK
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
It is not yet known which driver Razgatlioglu will replace at BMW. Michael van der Mark, currently out with a femur injury and replaced by Tom Sykes, has a contract expiring at the end of 2023, as does Scott Redding, who also expires at the end of this year and has shown signs of discontent inside the box. But not just riders: BMW is trying to renew the team with the aim of developing the BMW M1000RR, which boasts enormous but still untapped potential. The Munich team is in fact looking for top-level technicians.
“A warm welcome to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family, Toprak Razgatlioglu,” says Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad. “We are very pleased to welcome him to our team of WorldSBK factory riders starting next season. I am very proud that Toprak has chosen BMW Motorrad. This is a step forward for our project and a strong commitment for BMW Motorrad Motorsport in the World Championship. Superbikes”.
Marc Bongers, Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, said: “Toprak Razgatlioglu is undoubtedly one of the best riders of the moment. He proved this not only by winning the 2021 World Championship title. But he is not only a fast rider, he also possesses a great personalities off the track. We are convinced that Toprak will integrate very quickly into the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family. We look forward to working together.”
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