Toprak Razgatlioglu will therefore join the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team from 2024 to continue his career aboard the M1000RR. BMW will become the third manufacturer Razgatlioglu will race with in WorldSBK, after Kawasaki and Yamaha. An outcome which remains a surprise because economically, there was a conflict between the title investor of the M1000RR project ROKiT and Red Bull. A situation which forced Michael van der and Mark and Scott Redding to abandon Monster… But Kenan Sofuoglu went through it and managed to keep his world champion driver at Red Bull. BMW paid a lot of compensation to get to this point. That shows how much we wanted it in Bavaria…
Under contract Yamaha until the end of this year, Toprak Razgatlioglu cannot comment on this transfer which is already said to be the most marvelous in the history of the discipline. But his manager Kenan Sofuoglu has free speech. And he used it on speedweek : " Toprak is looking for a new challenge » says the former multiple Supersport world champion. Also with this mention: “ after the MotoGP test and all the stories that swirled around it, Toprak wanted something exciting ". On this clarification about “ stories that revolved around » of the test with the M1, we cannot help but think that the rather critical comments of Mayo Meregalli were not to the taste of the Turkish clan.
Then Kenan the terrible continues: “ BMW gives him plenty of motivation. Kawasaki was also interested in Toprak. But when I talked to him about it, I immediately understood that he preferred show your potential at BMW ». And for good reason: Razgatlioglu's greatest strength lies in his brutal braking. The M1000RR is not supposed to have the best behavior in this regard and the brand's current riders regularly complain about this weakness. But Sofuoglu stays straight in your boots: “ when we went to Yamaha in 2020, a lot of people advised me against it and said that it would destroy Toprak's career. Toprak has a high opinion of the BMW ».
Kenan Sofuoglu: “ with Toprak Razgatlioglu we are ready to surprise anyone »
And he ends: “ I know a lot of people have a different view of the situation than us, but we are ready to surprise anyone. We believe in this project and I fully support the move from Toprak to BMW. We will be world champions again ».
The 2021 Champion will have spent four seasons with Yamaha when his contract ends. To date, he has won 33 times and accumulated 93 podiums in WorldSBK, including 31 and 78 respectively with Yamaha , the complement having been recorded when he played with Puccetti Kawasaki in 2018 and 2019. His teammate is still unknown at this stage for 2024, but he is following in the footsteps of Michael van der Mark, who followed the same trajectory in 2021. He is the last BMW winner to date, it was during the Tissot-Superpole Race in Portimao in 2021.
van der mark switched from Yamaha to BMW for the 2021 season, but he wasn't the first to do so. Marco Melandri immediately made an impression during his first campaign with Yamaha , but he joined BMW in 2012 and his transfer proved successful as he led the German brand to their first double in history. The passage of Melandri in BMW means that he remains the German manufacturer's most successful driver, which Razgatlioglu will look to match and beat.
Since the factory return in 2019, only one race has been won, the 2021 Superpole race at Portimao in the rain by Michael van der Mark. BMW also competes in the Superbike World Championship since 15 years and only once has a driver ranked in the top 3 of the general classification – Marco Melandri in third place in 2012.
