Toprak Razgatlioglu has decided to embark on a new chapter in his World Superbike Championship career in 2024 by joining BMW. Earlier this year, he had the opportunity to move to MotoGP with Yamaha, but even after testing the bike, it became clear that this transition wouldn’t be possible for the upcoming season.
Andrea Dosoli, the Yamaha WSBK team manager, explained that the Turkish rider was already looking for a new professional challenge, and MotoGP could have been just that. However, when he realized that the transition wouldn’t be possible now, he looked for something else: ‘Even before the Jerez test with MotoGP, Toprak was looking for a new challenge, and MotoGP could have represented exactly that. But when he realized that the transition wouldn’t be possible right away, he looked for something else. All great athletes are always looking for new challenges’.
Quoted in GPOne.com, Dosoli expressed understanding for Razgatlioglu, who, in his words, displayed good potential during the MotoGP bike test: ‘In my opinion, he showed all his talent during the test, and I have no doubt he could have performed well there too. But when he realized he wouldn’t have a seat in MotoGP immediately, he looked for other challenges, and that’s normal in the lives of all athletes. I would say we have one here, and that’s [Jonathan] Rea’.