WorldSBK: Toprak Razgatlioglu to leave Yamaha

Toprak Razgatlioglu will leave Yamaha at the end of the 2023 season.

2021 WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu will leave Yamaha at the end of the 2023 WorldSBK season. The Turkish rider has made the decision to leave Yamaha to aim for a “new target”.

The shock announced comes after Razgatlioglu turned down Yamaha’s contract extension at the Catalunya round. After four years, he will leave the Japanese manufacturer with no destination confirmed.

This year Toprak Razgatlioglu has had the opportunity to test Yamaha’s MotoGP bike on multiple occasions. However, he did not feel the “same connection” with the bike compared to a Superbike. 

At the end of his run with Yamaha, Razgatlioglu claimed 31 race wins and a further 47 podiums in his four years. The highlight came in 2021 when he won Yamaha’s first title since Ben Spies in 2009.

In his championship-winning season, Razgatlioglu took 29 podiums and 13 race wins out of the 37 races. This was enough to beat the dominant Jonathan Rea in just his second season with Yamaha.

Razgatlioglu said: “I want to say to the whole Yamaha family a very big thank you for the love and respect they have shown me. To win the World Championship was my dream when I signed with Yamaha, and we reached that goal together. 

“For next season I feel I need a new challenge and while there was an opportunity in MotoGP™, I didn’t feel the same connection with the MotoGP™ bike that I have with the superbike. But if I am to stay in WorldSBK, then I need a new target, a new ambition. 

“I am sorry to leave Yamaha, both the brand and the people, as we have a very good relationship, but change is part of any sport and normal for any professional. So, a big thank you to Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha Motor Europe, Yamaha Motor Turkey, the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK team and especially to my crew, who have all worked so hard for me.”

Road Racing Manager at Yamaha Motor Europe, Andrea Dosoli, said: “We will be sorry to see Toprak leave Yamaha at the end of this season. We wanted to continue what has been an incredibly successful partnership, with the obvious highlight being the triple crown of rider, manufacturer, and team world titles that we won together in 2021. 

“We made what we felt was an offer that properly reflected Toprak’s value as a rider and an ambassador for Yamaha, as well as the competitiveness of our racing package and our racing strategy within the WorldSBK platform.

“However, as the negotiations progressed it became apparent to both parties that Toprak is motivated to embrace a new challenge in 2024 and we respect his decision. Although our paths will diverge at the end of the year, we are now fully focused on the battle for the 2023 WorldSBK title, which resumes shortly at Misano. 

“Finally, I would like to thank Toprak on behalf of Yamaha but also personally, for his invaluable contribution to our WorldSBK project. His first World Championship title in 2021 was a just reward for him but also for all the people who, since we returned to WorldSBK in 2016, have worked so hard to make this project a success. 

“It is a memory that everyone at Yamaha will cherish. We wish Toprak every success for the future but, for now, we have a job to finish.”

Image credit: worldsbk.com