Toprak Razgatlioglu fuels talk of ‘dream’ MotoGP switch for 2023

2021 WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu has done little to squash rumours linking him with a potential move to MotoGP in 2023.

In fact, Razgatlioglu has added more fuel to the fire by calling it his ‘dream’ to join MotoGP in a cryptic social media post. 

I always had a motogp dream 2023 Why not pic.twitter.com/tJvXBflDjr

— Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (@toprak_tr54) January 22, 2022

Razgatlioglu, who also referred to winning the WorldSBK title as his childhood dream last year, put together a fantastic 2021 season as he got the better of six-time Superbike champion Jonathan Rea - first time a rider has beaten Rea to a title since the Kawasaki rider joined the Japanese manufacturer in 2015. 

But with his impressive success comes the inevitable rumours of a switch to MotoGP. Not only is Razgatlioglu thought of as good enough from a talent perspective, the Pata Yamaha rider also has favourability when it comes to sponsors and his nationality. 

MotoGP is currently dominated by Spanish and Italian riders - between the two countries they occupy 16 of the 24 riders - whereas the addition of Razgatlioglu would see him become the first Turkish rider ever to compete in MotoGP. 

If Razgatlioglu was to join MotoGP, a move that himself, mentor Kenan Sofuoglu and Pata Yamaha Team Principal, Paul Denning, have all said could happen, then Yamaha would without doubt be in pole position to sign him. 

The 25 year-old has enjoyed a huge amount of success with Yamaha since joining them in 2020, while he also has a deal that goes through to the end of 2023. 

Add to that the newly-named WithU RNF Yamaha team tried to recruit Razgatlioglu for this upcoming season, it therefore means another manufacturer hoping to pry him away from Yamaha would have their hands full. 

That’s not to say it couldn’t happen as Honda and KTM immediately come to mind based on their partnership with Red Bull which is a huge sponsor of Razgatlioglu. 

KTM are perhaps the least likely to show significant interest due to their current line-ups which include Brad Binder (contracted until 2024), Miguel Oliveira and rookies Raul Fernandez and Remy Gardner. The Austrian manufacturer also has Moto3 champion Pedro Acosta waiting in its wings.

Honda on the other hand could have seats available in both their Repsol Honda and LCR teams although Razgatlioglu’s manager Sofuoglu has made it no secret that any move to MotoGP will need to take place in a full factory team. 

That would seemingly rule out LCR Honda even though most ‘satellite’ teams in MotoGP provide at least one of their riders with a full factory bike, if not both.

The first step in understanding what Razgatlioglu is capable of on MotoGP machinery and whether a move could take place, is how he gets on during testing as he’s already confirmed that he will test an M1 alongside Cal Crutchlow this year. Razgatlioglu could also take part in an official pre-season MotoGP test, however, that remains unconfirmed at present.