Ben Spies has a lot of respect for Toprak Razgatlioglu and compares him to Marc Marquez. He also revealed what he said to him after the test with the Yamaha MotoGP.
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For at least the next two years, Toprak Razgatlioglu will participate in the World Superbike Championship with BMW, but we know that his dream was to get to MotoGP. In recent weeks he has said he hasn't completely put it aside, but in 2026 he will have 30 years and it could be too late to make the jump to the premier category. He will likely continue to put on a show in the series' spin-off championship.
Ben Spies was Yamaha's first SBK champion and after his triumph in 2009 he moved to MotoGP. Interviewed by Sam Zink on the Gypsy Tales podcast, the former driver explained why he hasn't had much success in the premier class and why Razgatlioglu was right to stay where he is: “ Everything is more rigid, the bike and the tires. Instead, in Superbike you feel everything; you have less grip, but more feedback.
Ben Spies: “ I spoke to him after the test with the M1 and I told him it would be hard for him »
He adds : " my riding style was not suited to MotoGP. A bit like what happened with Razgatlioglu, who I put almost on par with Marc Marquez in terms of talent. I spoke to him after the test with the M1 and told him it would be hard for him ».
The American admits his riding style wasn't ideal for the prototypes and believes the same goes for Toprak, even though the bikes have changed a lot from his time. It was even considered almost appropriate to advise him against a possible move to MotoGP, which in any case did not happen given that Yamaha decided not to focus on him after the tests carried out.
Ben Spies also made a similar argument with respect to Jonathan Rhea, who ran two races in the premier class in 2012 replacing Casey Stoner in Honda : " Rea is another rider with enough talent to race in MotoGP, but he should change his style. He probably thought it was better to stay in SBK and win rather than go to MotoGP ". The Texan of 39 years old had to end his career in 2013 due to injuries which affected him.
