Opinion: Has Toprak Razgatlioglu made the right call?

Toprak Razgatlioglu has recently announced his decision to switch to BMW in 2024, but has he made the right decision?

it was announced on Tuesday morning, Toprak Razgatlioglu announced that he would leave Yamaha at the end of the season. Just hours later, the 2021 WorldSBK Champion announced that he would join the factory BMW squad for 2024.

This decision was a massive shock to many fans, with many people not understanding why he made this move. The second rider at the ROKiT BMW team has yet to be announced, with much speculation.

BMW’s 2023 season hasn’t been the most successful, with riders Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark struggling with the bike. This struggle was made worse at Assen when Michael van der Mark high-sided out the final chicane and injured himself. This injury has allowed Tom Sykes to step in for the upcoming races until van der Mark recovers.

Why did he make this switch?

Many fans have wondered why Razgatlioglu would want to move to BMW and race one of their bikes for the season. Many fans are confused by the decision as Yamaha offered Razgatlioglu a pay rise and a contract extension for 2024. The 26-year-old also added that he did have a MotoGP offer on the table but decided to turn it down.

Razgatlioglu said: “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.” 

From this statement, I think it is unlikely ever to see Razgatlioglu make the step to MotoGP, as this seemed to be his best opportunity. The BMW switch has made this move even slimmer, with BMW not having a MotoGP team. In 10 years, time, we will be wondering, what if he made the step and made the switch to MotoGP?

The salary at the BMW team is likely to pay well too, with Redding reportedly earning around 500k a season. While this would not be a deciding factor, it certainly would have been a factor which would help persuade him.

The biggest reason why he made this decision was to aim for a “new target” and a new challenge. It’s clear that Razgatlioglu felt that he couldn’t continue with Yamaha after this season, as he needed a change of scenery.

Deja vu in the WorldSBK paddock

Currently, BMW is last in the manufacturer’s standings with just 62 points accumulated this season. They are currently 179 points away from Ducati and are eighth in the team standings.

Scott Redding made a very similar switch, moving from the Ducati to the BMW at the start of 2022. Redding instantly struggled on the BMW, from finishing in third in the championship to eighth in the standings. Redding ended 2022 with a 397 points difference between himself and Alvaro Bautista.

It is highly likely that we will see similar results at the start of his BMW career, with the bike looking less competitive. However, I believe that Razgatlioglu will be able to ride around some issues with the motorcycle. 

Recently, Scott Redding has made his opinions clear with BMW, as he told the media that “I miss winning”. This tells us that Redding does not believe that the bike will be capable of fighting for a race win at the moment. For BMW to change this, they will need to spend a lot of time, and money over winter to develop their bike.

As mentioned, I believe the result on track will depend on how good of a package BMW can put underneath him. However, I don’t think that we will see Toprak Razgatlioglu fight for a championship for a couple of years, if ever. The real question now is: Who will be on the other BMW alongside Toprak?

For further news and discussions tune into The Superbike Show every Tuesday night.

Image credit: Yamaha Racing