When, more than a year ago, Toprak Razgatlioğlu announced that he was leaving Yamaha to join BMW, everyone thought it was a choice dictated mainly by economic reasons. But the Turkish pilot was able to answer everyone and show why he did it, winning his second title in the Superbike World Cup riding the M 1000 RR, a motorcycle which in 2023 aimed to get on the podium.
However, despite the romance that immediately took place in the box of the German brand, last summer there were also some moments of tension, since The champion's manager, Kenan Sofuoglu, has revealed he is seeking a place on the MotoGP grid for the young Antalya-born talent for 2025.. For his part, BMW reminded him that they had a contract in force for the next WSBK campaign, so the problem was quickly resolved.
This does not mean, yes, that the dream of reaching one day MotoGP disappeared for Toprak. The 28-year-old rider reiterated this in an interview with Italian television 'Sky Sport MotoGP', at EICMA. Although, from a realistic point of view, he also admitted that 2026 could be your last chancebecause he will then be 30 years old and it may be too late, even for someone as good as him.
“I still have the dream of going to MotoGP. Next year I will continue with BMW in WSBK, but in 2026 I will be free. I don't know, maybe next year we will talk to a team of MotoGP. If I see a good opportunity, or a good contract, maybe I could change paddock. I still have this dream, but if I don't go to MotoGP in 2026, I won't think about it anymore, because I'm getting older. 2026 is the last chance for me” Razgatglioglu said.
The two-time champion has some hope in the fact that one of his teammates on the grid, like Andrea Iannonereturned to racing in MotoGP at the age of 34 and has been moderately competitive after not riding a motorcycle in the premier class for five years, suggesting that with some time he might be able to be competitive.
“I am very happy for Andrea, because she was able to ride a MotoGP again after so long. He has a lot of talent, he continues to drive very well because he is a very strong person.. I think he had a lot of fun in MotoGP, also because the Ducati is a very good machine. We are good friends in the WorldSBK paddock. And who knows, I hope one day we can race together in MotoGP,” he concluded.
