Toprak Razgatlioglu
Toprak Razgatlioglu Biography
Toprak Razgatlioglu began his racing career on 600 machinery as he finished second in the 2011 Turkey Road Race Championship.
Razgatlioglu then went one step better by taking the title in his second season (2012) before making his debut on the world scene with the Red Bull Rookie Cup.
The 25 year-old finished tenth and sixth in his two Red Bull Rookies Cup campaigns before making a switch to the European Superstock 600 Championship with Kawasaki in 2015 which he won.
Still on Kawasaki machinery, Razgatlioglu moved up to the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup where he finished fifth. Razgatlioglu then joined the European Superstock 1000 Championship in 2017 as he finished second to fellow WorldSBK rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi.
Razgatlioglu then made his WorldSBK debut in 2018 with Puccetti Kawasaki, the team he spent his first two seasons with.
The Turkish star took just 12 races to claim a maiden podium which came at Donington Park. Razgatlioglu would go on to take one more podium in his rookie season before his first ever wins arrived in 2019.
Razgatlioglu completed a stunning double at Magny-Cours which involved coming from 16th on the grid on both occasions. 2019 proved to be his final year with Kawasaki as he took another 11 podiums.
In 2020 Razgatlioglu switched to the Pata Yamaha team as he recorded a single-season best for wins, while finishing fourth in the championship, again a personal best.
However, 2021 was Razgatlioglu’s best year as he produced one of the best WorldSBK seasons ever en route to a maiden world championship.
Razgatlioglu became just the second Turkish rider to ever win a world title after mentor Kenan Sofuoglu achieved it five times in WorldSSP. But unlike Sofuoglu, Razgatlioglu is the first to do it in the premier class.
Razgatlioglu set a stunning total of 13 wins, 29 podiums, 1 pole positions and 34 points finishes in 37 races, while also becoming the first rider to beat Jonathan Rea to the title since 2015.
After winning his first WorldSBk title in 2021, Razgatlioglu was unable to defend his crown after losing out to Ducati's Alvaro Bautista, despite winning more races than his title-winning season.
Razgatlioglu will remain with Pata Yamaha for the 2023 campaign ahead of a potential MotoGP move in 2024.