Yamaha has formally confirmed its WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu will get the opportunity to test its M1 in 2022 as he evaluates a potential move to MotoGP earlier-than-planned in 2023.
The Turkish rider delivered Yamaha its first WorldSBK title some 12 years after Ben Spies achieved its first-ever championship success in 2009, Razgatlioglu prevailing in a thrilling tussle with Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea to clinch the championship at the Indonesia finale in Mandalika.
As it happens, it was around this time that Yamaha had planned to give Razgatlioglu his much anticipated M1 run out at the post-season MotoGP test, but a change of date for the Indonesian round scuppered those plans.
Regardless, this is the first time Yamaha has officially confirmed it will get Razgatlioglu on the M1 - some time in the summer it predicts - and comes amid talk the manufacturer is considering promoting him to a MotoGP seat in 2023.
“At the end of the season and Jerez test, we planned a test for him and then Indonesia organised the last Superbike race and he had to fly over there,” Yamaha Factory Team Manager Massimo Meregalli told the official MotoGP website.
“But this year, the [MotoGP-WorldSBK] calendars mean we have to find a day that would suit both calendars.”
“We have a schedule already and there are two possibilities; one is in August and the other one maybe in June. As soon as we are ready, then we will decide the right moment together.
Considered one of motorcycling’s most exciting and naturally flamboyant riders competing right now, Razgatlioglu brought Rea’s lengthy six-year reign as WorldSBK Champion to an end thanks to a blend of aggressive yet metronomically error-free performances.
With few riders reaching MotoGP via WorldSBK during the modern era, the test will likely pique interest across the industry to witness whether he is capable of making the transition and achieving something others - including Rea - couldn’t by landing a seat.
“It will be interesting, he deserves to have this opportunity because what he did last year was amazing and I am curious to see him on an M1.”
Razgatlioglu was offered a ride for the 2022 MotoGP World Championship at Petronas SRT Yamaha (now RNF Yamaha) but turned it down in favour of two more years with Yamaha in WorldSBK, citing his desire to become the first Turkish rider to win the production series.
However, after going on to achieve that objective that very year, it is understood Razgatlioglu and his manager/mentor Kenan Sofuoglu are considering pitching for a MotoGP ride a season earlier than planned.
