Toprak Razgatlioglu, the current 2021 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion, has officially signed on with the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team for the 2024 season and beyond. Joining Yamaha for the 2020 season, Toprak got off to a winning start with a victory at Phillip Island in Race 1, and followed that up with two more wins to close out the season at Estoril. In 2021, he was in a neck and neck battle with Jonathan Rea of the Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, ultimately coming out on top to claim his first ever world title. And while a stunning performance in 2022 saw Toprak win even more races than in his championship winning campaign, he lost his title to Alvaro Bautista of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati.
After four seasons with Yamaha, Toprak will now switch to BMW’s M1000RR machine from the 2024 season onwards, becoming the third manufacturer he has raced with in WorldSBK after Kawasaki and Yamaha respectively. While his teammate for the 2024 season is still unknown at this time, he will follow in the footsteps of his former Yamaha teammate, Michael van der Mark, who made the switch to BMW for the 2021 season and won the Tissot Superpole Race at Portimao that year in mixed conditions.
This move marks an exciting step forward for both Toprak and BMW Motorrad Motorsport, with Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, saying “Toprak is undoubtedly one of the best riders in the field at the moment, which he not only proved by winning the 2021 World Championship title. But 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.” Similarly, Dr. Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad, added: “Welcome to the BMW Motorrad Motorsport family, Toprak Razgatlioglu. 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.”
While Toprak’s move to BMW is certainly a significant one, he is not the first to do so, as Marco Melandri, who had an impressive rookie campaign with Yamaha in 2011, ultimately switched to BMW for the 2012 season and led the manufacturer to its first ever 1-2 finish. In the years since, he remains BMW’s most successful rider, and Toprak will undoubtedly be looking to surpass his accomplishments in the years ahead.
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