Toprak Razgatlioglu decided to take a new direction in his World Superbike career in 2024, moving to BMW. During this year, he had the possibility of moving to MotoGP with Yamaha, but even after testing the bike, it became clear that this step would not be possible next season.
The Yamaha team director in WSBK, Andrea Dosoli, explained that the Turkish rider was already looking for a new professional challenge and MotoGP could be what he was looking for, but he chose to leave the manufacturer when he found out he wouldn’t have a place: ‘Even before the Jerez test with MotoGP, Toprak was looking for a new challenge and MotoGP could represent exactly that. But when he realized that the transition would not be possible immediately, he looked for something else. All great athletes are always looking for a new challenge‘.
The manager showed understanding towards Razgatlioglu, who in his words showed good potential in the MotoGP bike test: ‘For me, in the test he showed all his talent, I have no doubt that he could have performed well there too. But when he realized that he wouldn’t have a place in MotoGP immediately, he looked for other challenges and that is normal in the life of all athletes. I would say we have one here, and that is [Jonathan] Rea‘.
