Anyone who thought that switching from Yamaha to BMW would be a mistake soon had to think again. The first races of the 2024 World Superbike Championship made it clear that Toprak Razgatlioglu can win with the M 1000 RR. He wasn’t sure he could fight for the title since his first year, but today there seems to be no doubts. The German company made the right move by signing the 2021 world champion, the Iwata company responded by snatching Jonathan Rea from Kawasaki and so far they are not getting what they hoped for.
Superbike, Razgatlioglu and the rift with Yamaha
The Turkish driver is experiencing a particular taste, achieving great results with BMW. He is making the critics think again and it is also a slap in the face to Yamaha itself, from which he would have expected better treatment. The serious problem arose when he tested the MotoGP prototype. He carried out two tests: one in June 2022 in Aragon, with bad weather that forced him to ride very little, and the other in April 2023 in Jerez. The latter was important in order to evaluate a possible leap into the top class, given that Franco Morbidelli’s saddle would have become free.
Razgatlioglu expected to be put in the best possible conditions and that was not the case: “Before the test we had already discussed the riding position – reports Motorsport-Total.com – and there are usually three different saddles in Yamaha. But when I got to the test, the bike was the same as before. I just did some laps, I didn’t even have many tires available“.
Toprak, from disappointment to revenge
Toprak hoped that the M1 would be adapted to his needs and that there would be a greater desire to ride it to understand its potential. Instead, he found himself in a situation in which he didn’t feel well supported and had even thought about finishing everything after the first of the two days of testing scheduled in Jerez: “In fact, I had no intention of continuing to ride after the first day. I spoke to Sofuoglu and he told me that I should show respect to Yamaha“.
The current rider of the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team was very saddened by what happened and inevitably this pushed him to consider leaving: “Yamaha didn’t have a plan to take me to MotoGP. They didn’t want a new contract and that’s why we started talks with BMW. I signed and I’m very happy, it’s a new challenge and I’m more motivated than before“. He dreamed of MotoGP, but Razgatlioglu still found a stimulating alternative by remaining in Superbike. After leading Yamaha to win the title again after 12 years, he now wants to give BMW their first world championship.
Photo: Instagram
