The emergence of Toprak Razgatlioglu in the world of competition aroused the interest of many motorcycling figures, especially after being crowned WSBK world champion in 2021.
Disputing the first season with the #1 number on the fairing of his motorcycle, the Turkish rider has not denied being open to listening to offers, despite the fact that his intention, for the moment, is to continue nurturing his sporting experience in the World Championship Superbikes, where he is currently fighting to defend his title against the threat of Jonathan Rea and Álvaro Bautista.
Despite the fact that there are many rumors that have linked the Turk to the Yamaha MotoGP team, due to the situation in the transfer market for the premier class, there really are not many alternatives for Razgatlioglu at the moment.
His factory partner and MotoGP world champion, Fabio Quartararo, ends his contract at the end of the year, and it is not yet clear if he will keep his seat in the tuning fork team. This situation also involves Franco Morbidelli, who accompanies the Frenchman in the Iwata box.
Following the parameters of the contracts in 2022, Yamaha’s satellite team in the championship, the RNF With U team – which took over from Petronas in 2022 – could open the door for it in the future.
However, although Toprak Razgatlioglu has not hesitated to hide his desire to make the jump to MotoGP, the Turkish rider has a clear requirement to move up to the premier class: “I want a factory bike, not a satellite one”.
The reigning WSBK World Champion came clean in an interview with GPOne , admitting that he would not trade his current Yamaha R1 for a satellite Yamaha prototype.
” I prefer my R1 to the satellite bike. I’m honest and I admit it,” Toprak added.
Therefore, if the offer did not transcend the official framework of the Yamaha factory, the Turkish rider would not agree, no matter how attractive the proposal sounded. While waiting for the first contractual movements, Toprak Razgatlioglu will continue his career in the WSBK, where he is currently in third place on the qualifying sheet, behind, respectively, Jonathan Rea and Álvaro Bautista.
