Yamaha did as much as possible from its point of view to keep its WSBK leader Toprak Razgatlioglu in its ranks who, however, was more sensitive to BMW's sirens to continue his career beyond 2023. The blow was hard for the men of Iwata who are now returning the favor with this decision not to be a good sport by not allowing their 2021 world champion to get to know his M1000RR before the effective end of his contract…
Legally, it is obviously unassailable, sportingly, that is understandable, but politically and in terms of atmosphere, the impact is felt as the clear message. It was thus coldly issued by Andrea Dosoli, the Yamaha Europe man in the road competitions from Misano this Friday: “ I don't see any way he would test any bike other than a Yamaha. until the end of his contract ».
A firm position echoed by the site wsbk.com which of course made the martial manager react Kenan Sofuoglu : " in the WSBK paddock, normally each team allows drivers after the last race, but Yamaha didn't give us the green light to get on the machine after the last race ».
Yamaha does not grant Razgatlioglu what it allowed for van der Mark
At BMW, we took the message well and decided not to make waves: “ BMW will deal with it and accept it. We will plan our testing program around this date ", Explain Marc Bongers, motorcycle sports director of the Bavarian brand, interviewed by Motorsport-Total.com.
It has rarely been seen that a driver is not allowed to test for another manufacturer before their contract expires. Yamaha had, for example, authorized its former pilot Michael van der Mark to test the BMW after the 2020 season finale at Estoril. But with Toprak Razgatlioglu, things happen differently. Only one pilot Yamaha has won races since 2020: Toprak Razgatlioglu, the 2021 world champion. The Turk won 31 victories so far with the R1, more 47 other podiums. Ahead of this weekend's races at Misano, the driver of 26 years occupies second place in the general ranking, 69 points from the Ducati star, Álvaro Bautista.
