Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (born 16 October 1996) is a Turkish motorcycle road racer. Toprak currently races for ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team in the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...

. Toprak currently has 2 Superbike World Championship titles, one in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

for the Factory Yamaha Superbike team, in which ending

Jonathan Rea Jonathan Rea (born 2 February 1987) is a People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish professional Motorcycle sport, motorcycle racer. He competes in the Superbike World Championship and is a six-time champion in the series. He is the first to ha ...

's six-year reign and is the first Turkish Superbike World Champion and has the most wins for Yamaha in the championship. and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

for BMW, becoming the first BMW rider to win the title. Toprak is well known for his famous "Stoppie" Celebration, balancing on the front wheel on the bike, then being adopted by riders across multiple racing series. He is also known for his dominating record, being called a Superbike equivalent to

Marc Marquez Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system ...

and has always been touted for a

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

Seat. He will get that opportunity in MotoGP in the

2026 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 – Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. * January 6 – The 2025 Jubilee will end on this day. * February 5 – The New START Treat ...

season, as he is set to race for the Prima Pramac Racing team on board a

Yamaha YZR-M1 The Yamaha YZR-M1 is an Inline-four engine, inline-four motorcycle specifically developed by Yamaha Motor Company to race in the current MotoGP series. It succeeded the Yamaha YZR500, YZR500 by the 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2002 ...

, a year before the 2027 new regulations and in doing so becoming the first MotoGP Premier class rider hailing from Turkey. He will become the First WSBK Champion to join the MotoGP grid since

Ben Spies Ben Spies (; born July 11, 1984), is an American team principal for a MotoAmerica Supersport (600cc) professional motorcycle road racing team who previously was a racer himself. He was sometimes nicknamed "Elbows" due to his riding style, in whi ...

, and also the First WSBK Rider since

Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and 2 ...

to switch to MotoGP.

Early life

Born in

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort town, resort city, a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. It is on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean R ...

, Razgatlıoğlu is the second son of famous Turkish stunt motorcyclist Arif Razgatlıoğlu who was known as "Tek Teker Arif" ("Wheelie Arif"). His father died, together with his girlfriend who was riding on the

pillion A pillion is a secondary pad, cushion, or seat behind the main seat or saddle on a motorcycle or moped. A passenger in this seat is said to "ride pillion". The word is derived from the Scottish Gaelic for "little rug", ''pillean'', from the Latin ...

seat, following a

motorcycle accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. Tra ...

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

on 17 November 2017.

Career

Early career

He competed in the

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup is a motorcycle racing series contested by young, up-and-coming motorcycle riders, who have not had experience in a Motorcycle Grand Prix, motorcycle grand prix previously. The class was founded in 2007, and since t ...

in 2013 and 2014, finishing 10th and 6th overall respectively. He finished first in the 7th race of the 2014 season in

Sachsenring The Sachsenring () is a motorsport race track, racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyc ...

, Germany. He won his debut race in the

European Superstock 600 Championship The European Superstock 600 Championship was a support class to the Superbike World Championship at the European rounds. The championship used 600 cc production motorcycles and was reserved for riders between 15 and 24 years of age. Same rules as ...

on 5 October 2014 at

Magny Cours Magny-Cours () is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous motor racing circuit (whose name is often abbreviated to 'Magny-Cours'). It formerly hosted the Formula ...

aboard a

Kawasaki ZX-6R The Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R is a Sport bike#Super sport, ''600 cc'' class motorcycle in the Kawasaki Ninja, Ninja sport bike series from the Japanese manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine, Kawasaki. It was introduced in 19 ...

. He won the 2015

aboard a

Superbike World Championship

Razgatlıoğlu was an upcoming performer with Turkish Puccetti Kawasaki racing team from 2018 and was partnered with factory Kawasaki riders

and

Leon Haslam Leon Lloyd Haslam (born 31 May 1983, in the London Borough of Ealing) is a motorcycle road racing, road racer based in Derbyshire, England. In February 2022, Haslam confirmed he would be racing in 2022 British Superbike Championship, British ...

for the 2019

Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively, and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...

, a track endurance race. Due to not being allowed to ride with the other two taking turns throughout the race, Razgatlıoğlu soon left the Kawasaki marque to become a factory Yamaha rider from 2020. He became World Champion in

after finishing 2nd in Race 1 at the

Mandalika International Street Circuit Mandalika International Street Circuit (known as Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit for commercial purposes) is a motorsports race track located in the Mandalika (resort area), Mandalika resort area on Lombok island, part of the W ...

. Under contract to Yamaha in the Superbike class from 2020 until 30 November 2023, Razgatlıoğlu was prevented by Yamaha from testing his 2024 BMW machine at an official test held immediately after the 2023 season-end race at

Jerez Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Located in southwestern Iberia, it lies on the Campi� ...

in late October/early November, when Jonathan Rea, previously with

Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki Motors Racing was the European subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine, located in the Netherlands. It was responsible for managing the racing activities of the MotoGP team. The subsidiary was established in 2007 as ...

and Razgatlıoğlu's direct replacement, was allowed to participate on his new Yamaha. Razgatlıoğlu was offered a test on 22/23 November with gagging conditions attached, but chose to wait until 4 December when out of contract to Yamaha. He rode the BMW over two days at Portimão, followed by another test at Jerez.

2024

BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...

signed Razgatlıoğlu in 2024 on a two-year deal. Razgatlıoğlu won his first race at race 1 in

Catalunya Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, the first win for BMW since 2013 and his 40th overall. He would then proceed to win the Superpole race by overtaking

Álvaro Bautista Álvaro Bautista Arce (born 21 November 1984) is a Spanish people, Spanish motorcycle road racing, road racer. He won the 2022 Superbike World Championship, 2022 and 2023 Superbike World Championship, 2023 Superbike World Championship with the Du ...

at the last corner of the final lap. Razgatlıoğlu scored his first

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mechan ...

in Misano; this was followed by further consecutive hat tricks at Donington,

Most Most or Möst may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** Autodrom Most, moto ...

and

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro (district), Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2022 was 63,079 in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão. In ...

. Razgatlıoğlu crashed heavily during free practice at

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is o ...

and was ultimately diagnosed with

pneumothorax A pneumothorax is collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and dyspnea, shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is ...

; the session was red-flagged as a result. Razgatlioğlu would ultimately be declared unfit to race. Razgatlıoğlu broke the record for most consecutive wins in a season with 13 following his hat trick in Portimão; he celebrated breaking the record by imitating a viral pose struck by Olympic silver medalist shooter

Yusuf Dikeç Yusuf Dikeç (born 1 January 1973) is a Turkish shooting sport, sport shooter who competes in the shooting sport#Pistol, pistol events and won the world and European champions multiple times. He is a retired non-commissioned officer of the Genda ...

MotoGP World Championship

2022

In June, Razgatlıoğlu got an opportunity to test a

during a one-day MotoGP private test at the

Motorland Aragón MotorLand Aragón (alternative Spanish name: Circuito de Alcañiz) is a race track used for motorsports located in Alcañiz, Spain. The circuit was designed by German architect Hermann Tilke in conjunction with the British architectural busin ...

circuit. Razgatlıoğlu completed forty laps during this test. No empirical data was made available from the test likely owing to the test's confidentiality and press being locked out of the event. He was accompanied by Yamaha test rider

during the test.

2023

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

officially announced that Razgatlıoğlu would ride the

during the development tests held at the

circuit in

Andalucía Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

, Spain, when he joined Yamaha MotoGP test rider

for two days on April 10 and 11. This was the second test on the YZR-M1, following his first ride at Motorland Aragon in June 2022.

2026: Prima Pramac Racing

On June 10, 2025, Yamaha announced that Toprak will move from World Superbikes to MotoGP in

, riding for the Prima Pramac Racing Team. Toprak became the first Turkish MotoGP rider in history.

Personal life

Nicknamed El Turco, Razgatlıoğlu is managed by former multiple time WSSP champion

Kenan Sofuoğlu Kenan Sofuoğlu (born 25 August 1984 in Kuzuluk, Akyazı) is a Turkish parliamentarian and former professional motorcycle racer. He holds a record five Supersport World Championship titles (2007, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016). Sofuoğlu also compet ...

. He resides in

Sakarya Sakarya may refer to: Places * Sakarya (continent), a small continent 90 million years ago * Sakarya, Ardanuç, a village in Artvin Province, Turkey * Sakarya, Polatlı, a village in Ankara Province, Turkey * Sakarya gas field, in the Black Sea * ...

Career statistics

Career summary

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

FIM European Superstock 600

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

FIM Superstock 1000 Cup

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Superbike World Championship

By season

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.

Suzuka 8 Hours results

References

External links

*
Page at the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Razgatlioglu, Toprak 1996 births People from Alanya Turkish motorcycle racers Living people FIM Superstock 1000 Cup riders Superbike World Championship riders Turkish Muslims

Early life

Career

Early career

Superbike World Championship

2024

MotoGP World Championship

2022

2023

2026: Prima Pramac Racing

Personal life

Career statistics

Career summary

Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup

Races by year

FIM European Superstock 600

Races by year

FIM Superstock 1000 Cup

Races by year

Superbike World Championship

By season

Races by year

Suzuka 8 Hours results

See also

References

External links