Toprak Razgatlioglu’s commitment to ROKiT BMW in the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) may be short-lived. Despite having a contract until the end of 2025 and the team announcing earlier this week that he will be part of the duo alongside Michael van der Mark for the next season, Razgatlioglu wishes to move to MotoGP as early as next year and has reportedly informed the Bavarian manufacturer.
At least that’s what his manager, Kenan Sofuoglu, said in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. The former rider mentioned significant interest in Razgatlioglu within the MotoGP paddock, and BMW is already aware of the Turkish rider’s intentions:
– It’s going very, very, very well with BMW, this chapter is taking us to another level. There’s a lot of interest in Toprak in the MotoGP paddock, already for next year. We have a two-year contract with BMW, but I have already informed BMW that we want to leave the World Superbike Championship at the end of this year and move to MotoGP. I explained to them that this is Toprak’s wish.
When Razgatlioglu accepted the BMW challenge, his goal was to win the title. However, neither he nor the team expected podiums and victories to come so quickly. Currently, after four rounds, he leads the championship, making the possibility of becoming a champion very realistic.
Considering this progress, the 2021 champion sees next year as the ideal moment to transition to MotoGP, as Sofuoglu explained: ‘Our goal with BMW was to win the World Championship over these two years. But things are already going very well, Toprak’s performances are remarkable. He wants to use this moment in his life to make the change. That’s what I told BMW’.
That said, the manager does not yet guarantee that Razgatlioglu can realize this ambition: ‘We still don’t know exactly how it will play out; we need to reach an agreement with BMW. It’s also about the future; everyone knows that BMW wants to enter the MotoGP World Championship. If everyone agrees with Toprak’s wishes, I will try to make this dream a reality’.
According to the GPOne.com website, Honda has already made an offer to Razgatlioglu to bring him to MotoGP next year. If confirmed, it remains to be seen which current rider would have to leave: Luca Marini has a contract until the end of 2025, but it is speculated that Joan Mir has already renewed, although his manager denies that the contract is signed.