Speculation has ended about the future of the 2021 World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu signs for BMW WorldSBK in 2024.
The 26-year-old has been confirmed to join the BMW Motorrad Motorsport WorldSBK factory team, riding a BMW M1000 RR. The other riders and teams are set to be announced at a later date, with the factory team currently fielding Scott Redding and Tom Sykes (as a replacement for the injured Michael van der Mark), plus Garrett Gerloff and Loris Baz at Bonovo Action BMW.
Gerloff is currently the top-placed rider in the 2023 WorldSBK standings after four rounds, sitting in 13th place overall.
“Welcome to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family, Toprak Razgatlioglu,” said Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad. “We are delighted to welcome him to our WorldSBK factory squad from next season on. I am very proud that Toprak has opted to join BMW Motorrad. This is a forward-looking step for our project and a strong commitment of BMW Motorrad Motorsport in World Superbike.”
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “Toprak is undoubtedly one of the best riders in the field at the moment, which he proved by winning the 2021 World Championship title. He’s not just a fast motorcycle racer, he’s also a great personality off the track. We are convinced that Toprak will settle into the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family very quickly. We are looking forward to our collaboration and to our future together.”
Razgatlioglu is 26-years-old, and the son of stunt rider Arif Razgatlioglu began racing in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2013, before switching to the European Superstock 600 Championship in 2014, winning his debut race, and taking the title in 2015. He moved to the Superbike class in 2018 with Pucetti Kawasaki, moving to the factory Yamaha squad in 2020, and becoming world champion in 2021. After testing the Yamaha MotoGP bike on more than one occasion, it seems he’s comitting to World Superbikes for the foreseeable future.
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