Toprak: ‘When Bautista was with Honda no one remembered him’

Razgatlioglu was part of BMW’s team presentation ahead of the new season, where he spoke about challenging for the WorldSBK title as early as possible.

Alvaro Bautista and Ducati will be extremely difficult to beat again in 2024, but Razgatlioglu has shown that he’s got the potential to beat the Spaniard if his machine is good enough.

• Van Der Mark: “Toprak is the rider with the most talent in the whole field” 
• Redding and Gerloff ready to make a statement with BMW in 2024

With the first of two January tests coming up next week, Razgatlioglu has already delivered fighting talk.

Quoted by Motosprint, Razgatlioglu said: “I need 2-3 races to best adapt to this new bike, we don't have many days of testing before the race. 

“Yamaha denied me the opportunity to start immediately, I started very late but the weather wasn't the best. I haven't forgotten what they did to me, for them I won the 2021 title but when I signed for BMW they prevented me from getting on the motorbike. 

“I had to wait for the end of the contract with Yamaha, not very nice.”

Speaking about his main rivals since becoming a race winner and world champion in 2021, Razgatlioglu was keen to point out that Bautista starts as the favourite.

“Bautista has an advantage over me and [Jonathan] Rea because he continues on the same bike,” began Razgatlioglu. “When he was with Honda, however, no one remembered him. 

“When he returned to Ducati he became stronger. He stayed in Ducati to win the title again, he doesn't have many years left in his career. 

“I follow a different philosophy, I like the BMW brand and I have never seen BMW win the World Championship. This is my dream.”