Toprak Razgatlioglu

Steve English Examines Toprak Razgatlioglu's Switch From Yamaha To BMW In WorldSBK

By Steve English | Mon, 22/05/2023 - 15:04

What motivates a rider? Winning championships, winning races, and making money are three big factors that go into the decision-making process. The news that Toprak Razgatlioglu will leave Yamaha at the end of this season has left more questions than answers about what motivates the Turkish star.

The paddock rumour mill in Catalunya centred on a proposed move to BMW. It’s fairly sure that there will be more than a million reasons why he chose the German manufacturer. Toprak is a unique rider in many ways. His motivation has always been to be a Superbike star, and while he has recently flirted with the prospect of a move to the MotoGP class, the chances of that are limited.

His Yamaha MotoGP test didn’t go as well as he had hoped. Arriving to Jerez to find a bike that, rumour has it, didn’t quite fit his frame left him feeling that the chips were falling against a move to the premier class. That test could have proved crucial to Toprak deciding to leave Yamaha. Having seen that the Japanese manufacturer didn’t back him to the hilt he might have felt slighted. That’s the feeling that led him to leave Kawasaki in 2019 to switch to the blue bikes.

The Suzuka decision

Busman's Holiday – What MotoGP Can Learn From WorldSBK

By David Emmett | Wed, 26/04/2023 - 17:54

For a long time, I was unable to visit my home round of the WorldSBK series. (As an immigrant, I have either 0, 1, or 2 home rounds, depending on your particular perspective or prejudice.) That was because Dorna had the irritating habit of putting the Dutch round of WorldSBK at Assen on the same weekend as the Austin round of MotoGP. Assen is 90 minutes from my house, so I can visit any time I like, but I don't get a lot of opportunities to head to Texas. So I would get on a plane to the US, and rue another lost opportunity.

Two Days Of Private MotoGP Testing Ends In Jerez: How Did Toprak Razgatlioglu Fare?

By David Emmett | Wed, 12/04/2023 - 20:17

Two days of private testing have for the MotoGP test riders have come to a close at Jerez, and rarely has a test attracted so much attention. All eyes were of course on Toprak Razgatlioglu, but that was far from the only thing going on there. With four of the five manufacturers in MotoGP testing – only Ducati was missing – there was much to be learned.

Normally, private tests are closed affairs, with only a limited amount of information leaking out from those present. But with four different factories at Jerez and so much media interest in Toprak Razgatlioglu, keeping things a secret proved to be nigh on impossible. The ever well-informed Motorsport.com have obtained and published times and some feedback from the test.

Toprak Razgatlioglu To Get Second Test On Yamaha MotoGP Bike - A Prelude To A Switch?

By David Emmett | Sun, 09/04/2023 - 11:28

Toprak Razgatlioglu is to have a second chance to ride the Yamaha M1 MotoGP machine. The Turkish rider is to join Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow at Jerez on Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th of April to have two days on the bike.

This will be Razgatlioglu's second test aboard a Yamaha MotoGP machine, after an earlier test last year aboard the M1 at Aragon was disrupted by rain. That test gave him a taste of riding a MotoGP bike, but did not give him enough time to fully understand the different riding style a MotoGP machine requires.

It is, however, a sign that Razgatlioglu is serious about a switch to MotoGP. In an interview last week with Speedweek's Ivo Schützbach, Razgatlioglu stated a desire to race in MotoGP in 2024. "I was WorldSBK champion in 2021, now I am looking at MotoGP. Why shouldn't I try it there?" he told Speedweek.

Does WorldSBK Need A Minimum Combined Bike/Rider Weight?

By David Emmett | Sun, 30/10/2022 - 23:38

Last week, the debate over the role of rider weight was reignited by a post on Instagram by BMW WorldSBK rider Scott Redding, comparing his own weight to that of Aruba.it Ducati's Alvaro Bautista, and asking whether there needs to be a minimum combined rider/bike weight in WorldSBK. To back up his claim, he posted some video clips and sector analysis from the San Juan Villicum circuit in Argentina. "I just think it should be as fair as possible for all of the riders," Redding wrote.

Though the sentiment is admirable, the thing about motorcycle racing is it is fundamentally unfair. Somebody else's bike will always be better than yours. Some other rider will be lighter, stronger, have it easier than you in one way or another. That is of little comfort to those racing in a particular class at a specific event, but it remains true nonetheless.

The way this has traditionally been dealt with is through what is usually called "the package". The combination of bike, team, and rider is different for each competitor, and rule makers have attempted to create space in each class to allow riders and teams to find multiple ways to be competitive.

Horses for courses

That does mean that each class requires a different set of specifications, depending on the philosophical starting point for that class. There are combined weight rules in Moto3 (152kg), Moto2 (217kg), and World Supersport (between 239kg and 244kg, depending on the bike). The reason for having a minimum combined weight in those classes comes down to a single, simple factor: in one way or another, the bikes in those classes are restricted from producing enough power to overcome the difference in combined weight.

Toprak Razgatlioglu Has First Test On A MotoGP Bike - But Will He Stay In WorldSBK?

By David Emmett | Wed, 22/06/2022 - 11:37

Toprak Razgatlioglu has completed his first laps on a MotoGP bike. At the Motorland Aragon circuit, the Pata Yamaha rider and reigning WorldSBK champion had 40 laps on the Yamaha M1 MotoGP machine, accompanying Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow at a private test.

When the test was first announced, it seemed like this may be a dress rehearsal for a full-time switch to MotoGP for the Turkish rider. But Razgatlioglu has been equivocal about a move to MotoGP. He has made it clear that he is very happy in WorldSBK, and was only willing to come to MotoGP if the circumstances were right.

Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: That Whizz The Year That Was

By Gordon Ritchie | Mon, 06/12/2021 - 08:20

The greatest WorldSBK championship fight for many years has just gone all the way to the very last day of competitive action. The new best Superbike rider in the world managed to become the most tip-top Top Cat after a season-long fight with the greatest WorldSBK rider of all time. And don’t forget another bloke in red, not blue or green. He also won more than a fistful of races.

Five of the top six riders also won at least one race, on four of the five competing manufacturer’s flagship products. All five manufacturers took multiple podiums.

When you see the final WorldSBK outcome written down like that then obviously 2021 will be regarded as a classic.

The past season will be remembered for many things, but primarily for Razgatlioglu vs Rea. It was, as even the most cursory glance under the roller-shutter pit garage doors proved, much more than just enthralling man-to-man combat.

Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: Rules, Damn Rules And Sparktistics

By Gordon Ritchie | Fri, 24/09/2021 - 10:00

I guess it is a credit to modern motorcycle engineering that so few bikes that get looked after properly in racing break down in actual races any more. With major parts of most WorldSBK machines coming from a production line somewhere, along with the rest of the bikes destined for the street, that’s remarkable in itself. Given that they all have upper rev limits and just a little bit of something in reserve on the computer design screen simply because you have a very limited engine allowance through the racing year, overstraining even your purpose-built racing components is a risky business nowadays.

Especially as in all but a few straights, the electronics spend a lot of the time attenuating the power you already have. Most of these bikes make too much power now, so the way it makes it matters more.

The reason I mention this potential race bike breakdown thing is that as I am clattering the keyboard in a hotel in Murcia, halfway between Barcelona and Jerez, the championship lead is a mere point, with Toprak Razgatlioglu just one ahead of Jonathan Rea. But, without an unfortunate front-running breakdown, due to an electrical charging system and voltage drop problem in Race One in Catalunya, Razgatlioglu would be leading by quite a few more points. He’s running away with this championship, if only he didn’t keep losing points.

Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: Time And Tide (Wait For No Man)

By Gordon Ritchie | Thu, 19/08/2021 - 07:25

I am striking while the iron of competition is hot here. In addition, it is halfway through the season now, so time for a recap. This is a chance to indulge in a bit of fortune telling and then possibly a nightcap when the laptop lid closes on another busy workday.

It’s just a short time since the racing fates piled into the 2021 WorldSBK street fights that took place in the shadow of a heavenly Czech Castle in Bohemia and the reflection of a ‘flame-off’ from whatever satanic mill was blasting away just down the hill from the Motodrom Most.

At a characterful but sporadically outdated new WorldSBK venue, the 2021 WorldSBK championship trendometer swung to full scale deflection once again as those aforementioned racing fates jumped on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s pillion and helped him win two, and nearly three, races on his factory Yamaha. Fairly turbocharged him they did, and a treble was almost achieved.

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