Toprak Razgatlioğlu, the Superbike champion can now arrive in MotoGP

The world championship Superbike 2024 it was decided last weekend at the last round on the Jerez track and he triumphed Toprak Razgatlioğluwho already on Saturday after the first heat, won the championship by graduating with him BMWfor the first time on the roof of the world in this category.

The first season at BMW

His move to the Bavarian brand had sparked many doubts in the environment and among the fans, who counted more on the value of the Turkish rider than on the competitiveness of the bike. The start of the season had been uncertain and it could be hypothesized that, behind only third place in the Superpole race on his debut in Australia, there was the talented Toprak who was keeping the honor and technical rate high. But it was enough to return to Europe for the German team and its top driver to adjust their aim, scoring two victories in Barcelona (one in the Superpole race) and one in Assen in Race2.

With the Ducati everything was in balance, but from Misano to Portimão, the BMW-Razgatlioğlu duo scored four monstrous hat-tricks. A sporting cannibalism that had not been seen for some time and which allowed the same driver to miss the rounds in France and Cremona due to injury, without losing the top of the rankings. Returning to Aragon, a track not suited to him, he recovered points by always finishing second and winning another race in Estoril and making second place in Race 1 in Jerez enough.

The shadow over Ducati and Bulega

All this happened in parallel with a memorable debut season of Nicolò Bulegawho after winning the Supersport world championship in 2023, was promoted to the official team owner in Superbike. The youngest rookie in the history of production derivatives had opened the season with a victory at Phillip Island, bidding for the title from the first corners of the championship. Unfortunately, the margin for improvement would still have affected him and his performances, although exceptional given his lack of experience with the thousandth displacement, were tarnished by the progress report of his opponent, who in just a few weeks became the man to beat for the entire paddock. Bulega did everything he could to beat Razgatlioğlu, but the six victories and fifteen second places were not enough to reach the title.

The Bavarian bet

The initial skepticism that veiled Razgatlioğlu’s move to BMW stemmed from the poor results obtained in previous editions by the official team which had also sourced top-level drivers such as Scott Redding (12 wins in WSBK) e Michael van der Mark (6 victories in WSBK), never capable of taking that winning step to make the definitive leap in quality. Precisely the arrival of the Turk at the German court changed the perspective of the team and riders who, by their admission, attributed themselves the responsibility of not having understood the M 1000 RR as much as their new brand partner.

Why Razgatlioğlu arrived at BMW

I tear it with Yamaha it was created when Toprak Razgatlioğlu was offered to try the prototype MotoGP in 2022 first in Aragon, where due to bad weather he did not turn and the test was found to be irrelevant, then in Jerez in April 2023. The second was to be decisive in evaluating his move to the premier class of the world championship instead of Franco Morbidellialready destined for the team Ducati Pramac.

The bike made available to him by the Iwata team had not been suited to the characteristics of the tall Turk who had asked for a saddle for his build and other technical features relating to his riding style. Unfulfilled requests for which the champion would have ended the commitment early if his mentor had not intervened Kenan Sofuoglu forcing him to finish the two days in form out of respect for Yamaha. What happened definitively pushed Razgatlioğlu to accept an important contract with the prop company in order to bring the title to Germany. Mission accomplished on the first try.

When will he go to MotoGP

Many are wondering whether, given the overwhelming superiority shown on the track, the time has come for the move to MotoGP. History teaches that any talented rider with high hopes who has fulfilled his expectations in Superbike, to change paddock and move to the world championship, requires a project and extreme trust on the part of those who take him to the track. If Razgatlioğlu were to accept any free seat, just to be part of the top class, he would be making a gross mistake and all his talent would be lost in the face of more palpable and results-related problems.

If instead he faced this experience within a team built around his move to MotoGP, it would probably be a great adventure, regardless of the successes and points. This is because both major categories, of series derivatives and GPs, have one grid made up of champions in each half and good drivers in the other. This does not mean that the impact with the world championship is the first real test to overcome. With an official base and the technical-economic possibilities of a great team, too Toprak Razgatlioğlu he would compete with the best after a period, not necessarily long, of adapting to the bike and tires.

We need a project

If BMW already had a good project in hand to break into MotoGP, the saddle of the new superbike world champion would be guaranteed, at the same time, it would still take more time to see him get on another team’s bike, now that the title is title arrived with the official German team, the partnership is destined to last for at least another season, excluding what they will conquer together next year.