The future of Toprak Razgatlioglu has been a much-discussed topic in the MotoGP world, and the Turkish rider has recently announced his decision to stay with BMW WorldSBK for the 2024 season. This comes after he tested a Yamaha MotoGP bike earlier this year, leading to speculation that he could be in line for a grand prix move with the Japanese marque. However, Yamaha’s current uncertainty over its satellite team situation may have shut the door on any WorldSBK rider making the move to MotoGP for some time.
Yamaha’s Uncertainty
Yamaha senior management attended Razgatlioglu’s test ride, but Lin Jarvis suggested that Razgatlioglu’s signing would be unlikely due to Yamaha only having two bikes on the grid and the difficulty of getting a satellite team on the grid next year. Jarvis explained that both of the two spots Yamaha has will require someone who is going to be fast straight away, and Razgatlioglu might need more time to get up to speed.
This was before Razgatlioglu announced his BMW switch, and no offer had been made by BMW at the time of the Barcelona round in early May. Razgatlioglu spoke of “a chance” to go to MotoGP in a Yamaha press release but stated that he did not feel the bike suited him as much as a Superbike does, leading him to elect to continue in WSBK with BMW.
No Viable Candidates from WorldSBK
Razgatlioglu’s decision to stay in WSBK was met with widespread disappointment as many wondered just how good he would have been in MotoGP. However, his two-day Jerez test outing with Yamaha did not set the world on fire. While two days is not a massive amount of time to adjust to a bike that is completely different from what he is used to, ending the test almost a second shy of Yamaha’s test rider Cal Crutchlow was not a great job application.
Yamaha probably won’t have a satellite team in 2024 and will need a plug-in-and-play second rider at its factory squad. That’s a seat currently occupied by Franco Morbidelli, who has struggled since stepping up to the factory squad. If it won’t be him, Pramac’s Jorge Martin has been linked.
However, Razgatlioglu’s decision to stay in WSBK, coupled with Yamaha’s current uncertainty over its satellite team situation, may have shut the door on any WSBK rider making the move to MotoGP for some time. The last riders to have come over from WSBK to MotoGP full time were Eugene Laverty and Loris Baz in 2015, with the latter lasting the longest through to the end of 2017. Both Baz and Laverty’s best finishes were fourths. Since then, there have only been sporadic appearances from WSBK riders in MotoGP.
The Groundswell of Talent Coming Up the Grand Prix Ranks
Given the general lack of suitable candidates and the dwindling amount of success WSBK riders have had coming to MotoGP, coupled with the groundswell of talent coming up the grand prix ranks now, it’s hard to picture anyone from WSBK being given the opportunity now for the foreseeable future. Reigning world champion Alvaro Bautista has already had his time in MotoGP, as has Danilo Petrucci. Jonathan Rea was linked to a full-time move to MotoGP for years but turned down several offers.
Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes were both hailed as potential MotoGP riders, but neither of them did much on their respective two-race runs with the Tech3 Yamaha team in 2017 and 2016. Of the current WSBK crop outside of Razgatlioglu, the only viable candidate to have a vague shot at a MotoGP ride is Remy Gardner, who was booted out of his seat after one season with Tech3 KTM. But the much shorter WSBK calendar and general bitterness he has about his dismissal by KTM at the end of 2022 has probably altered his own ambitions.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has decided to continue riding for BMW WorldSBK for the 2024 season, snubbing the chance to make a move to MotoGP. Yamaha’s uncertainty over its satellite team situation may have shut the door on any WorldSBK rider making the move to MotoGP for some time, and the general lack of suitable candidates and the groundswell of talent coming up the grand prix ranks makes it hard to picture anyone from WSBK being given the opportunity now for the foreseeable future.
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