WSBK: Razgatlioglu signs new two-year Yamaha deal

Toprak Razgatlioglu will race in WorldSBK with Yamaha until at least 2023 after penning a two-year contract extension.

The 24-year-old joined the squad for the 2020 campaign and has since scored four wins plus another 12 podiums and never finished a race outside the top 10. He currently sits only 20 points behind six-time champion Jonathan Rea in the title fight.

The renewed WorldSBK partnership has ruled out a possible move to MotoGP for Razgatlioglu. Speculation arose last weekend when Maverick Viñales’ imminent departure from Yamaha left at least one ride vacant and the highly-rated Turk was tipped a hot favourite to fill the spot.

Razgatlioglu asserted that he is happy in the WorldSBK paddock and with the Yamaha crew that has “become like family” to him. His focus, he says, is on “getting the job done” there while MotoGP is a consideration for the future.

“I think we’ve improved the bike a lot since I joined, so it was an easy decision for me to make. We are fighting for the championship this year, we’re very close to the top and I have the best people around me in the pit box to help me achieve my goals.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu

Andrea Dosoli, Racing Manager at Yamaha Motor Europe, admitted that the decision to extend the collaboration came earlier than expected but expressed the strong belief that “there is more to come” and that the partnership will be able to challenge for the world title.

Razgatlioglu’s manager and mentor Kenan Sofuoglu confirmed that there was interest from various other WorldSBK and indeed MotoGP teams, including Petronas Yamaha SRT and Aprilia Factory Racing. However, the five-time WorldSSP champion too underlined that the first choice is success in the production racing championship and that Yamaha is the perfect fit.

“Our plan since I put him into the European Superstock 1000 Cup was to make him the first Turkish WorldSBK champion and we want to reach this goal. I think Toprak’s style is fitting very well on a WorldSBK machine and for that reason, our main goal is to remain in WorldSBK. There’s more to come from him, to become even faster, and it is important he does this first with a good momentum and with a good team.”

Kenan Sofuoglu