Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha Exit Could End his MotoGP Switch Attempt

Toprak Razgatlioglu has announced that he would be leaving Yamaha's World Superbikes squad after the conclusion of the 2023 season, therefore ending the 2021 champion's MotoGP goals. After interrupting Jonathan Rea's six-year winning run, Razgatlioglu won the championship in 2021 as a factory Yamaha rider, and he finished second to Alvaro Bautista the following year in 2022. He is also in second place this year, behind Bautista, with four rounds still to play. BMW hopes that by employing Razgatlioglu, it would be able to compete more effectively against Kawasaki, Ducati, and Yamaha in the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) after returning to the series in a factory capacity in 2019. BMW riders have not had much success since Michael van der Mark's wet-weather triumph in Portimao in 2021. In contrast, after making his WSBK debut with Puccetti Kawasaki in 2018, Razgatlioglu has established himself as a top contender, eventually winning his first championship with Yamaha and a total of 13 races in 2021.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu WSBK Career

Since 2020, Razgatlioglu has raced for Yamaha in WSBK. He won the title in his second season with the Japanese manufacturer, breaking Yamaha's championship drought that had lasted since Ben Spies's win in 2009. Yamaha gave Razgatlioglu a test ride on the M1 at Jerez in preparation for a possible transition to MotoGP in 2024, but the prospects of him really making the move were always slim due to the absence of a satellite outfit.

There has been no confirmation that Razgatlioglu would take over for Scott Redding or van der Mark at BMW next season. Since joining BMW in 2022 from Ducati, Redding has been under pressure to elevate the status of the German brand. However, his performance with the team has fallen short of expectations. It is believed that Redding has a 2024 opt-out.

What is the Superbike World Championship?

The Superbike World Championship first took place in 1988. It is a series of races on permanent tracks across the world. From 2019, each racing weekend included a ten-lap sprint event called the Superpole race. Each year, two World Championships—one for riders and one for manufacturers—are determined by averaging the results from all three races.

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In contrast to MotoGP's purpose-built, prototype motorbikes, the bikes used in this series are modified versions of those already for sale to the general public. Superbike racing is more akin to sports car competition, whereas MotoGP is the Formula One of the motorcycle world.

The Superbike World Championship has always had a strong presence and main market in Europe. But the series has already featured rounds in New Zealand, Canada, the United States, Malaysia, Japan, Russia, Argentina, Australia, Qatar, Thailand, and South Africa and it aims to continue to rotate non-European circuits. There was also talk of adding an Indonesian race to the 2008 season, but the FIM ultimately decided against it, nonetheless, the race was eventually included in the 2021 season.