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The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is back on European soil and the Netherlands welcomes the paddock with open arms. The TT Circuit Assen has played host to countless duels across the years but this year, attention has been firmly on whether or not this will be Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) final time here on a WorldSBK bike. A two-day test on MotoGP™ machinery – the Yamaha YZR M1 to be precise – at Jerez earlier in the month gave Razgatlioglu an opportunity to adapt to the bike and see if his potential could be high.

HAVING THEIR SAY: unquestioned potential, “but it’s not easy”

With Assen being the first opportunity to catch up with his rivals since the test, we got their thoughts on whether or not his move could work. Six-time WorldSBK Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had two top ten finishes aboard a Repsol Honda in 2012 as a replacement rider for the injured Casey Stoner, and he hailed Toprak as an “incredible talent”, who could make it work: “It’s a hard situation to be in. All I know is that Toprak’s an incredible talent and given the right opportunity to go to MotoGP™, with the right people around him, he could do a great job.”

Reigning WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) spent nine seasons in MotoGP™ with multiple podiums and strong performances, and having made a successful switch in the other direction, gave key insight: “About Toprak, for sure he wants to go to MotoGP™, at least what I heard. It’s a different Championship, different bikes, different tyres… I know he’s doing some tests with the Yamaha, but he has to understand if he has the potential to go there and do well. Otherwise, he has a big name in WorldSBK and he’s an important rider here, so he has to choose, but it’s not an easy decision. Every rider wants to try MotoGP™ at least once, but it’s not easy, now that the category is so close with a gap at almost nothing between first and last. He has to understand if he can also be fast there.”

Teammate Andrea Locatelli came from Moto2™ to WorldSSP before his graduation, and he wasn’t letting the discussion cloud his own view of success within the Yamaha box: “For me, it’s difficult to say about Toprak because I don’t know but maybe for him, it’s interesting to go to MotoGP™ for the future. In my opinion, it doesn’t change anything; we’ll continue to work on my side, together, to be fast and to finish this season in a good way.”

FOR CONTEXT: what we know so far

The test at Jerez was no secret and Toprak commented on the test, saying it was “very enjoyable”, being less than two seconds off the top time of the test, set by Dani Pedrosa and KTM. Speaking at the Circuit of the Americas and the Americas GP, Yamaha Road Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis confirmed that Toprak had “expressed an interest”, and that the Turk was one of the “prime candidates” should the factory MotoGP™ outfit have a space in it. 2021 MotoGP™ World Champion Fabio Quartararo is on a deal that sees him through until 2024, whilst teammate Franco Morbidelli sees his current contract expire at the end of 2023. Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager Andrea Dosoli spoke about Razgatlioglu’s style and how he tried to ‘modify’ it during the test, with ‘results achieved’ already. Finally, Toprak had a test in MotoGP™ in May 2022 but it was hampered by rain; after, Lin Jarvis said that there was “no spot” for Razgatlioglu on the 2023 MotoGP™ grid.

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