For thirty-seven long years, the pages of history have remained stubbornly blank. Out of nineteen World Champions in the history of the World Superbike Championship, only two have never taken part in a MotoGP Grand Prix: reigning champion and current title leader Toprak Razgatlioglu, and the 2013 champion Tom Sykes. That changes next season when Razgatlioglu leaves to begin his MotoGP journey on the Prima Pramac Yamaha. Plenty of legends have tried this exact path before, only to be stopped by injuries, bad luck, or machinery that simply wasn't up to the task.
Only two World Champions switching directly to MotoGP managed to win a grand prix. American Ben Spies took a single victory two years later in Assen during a 2005-started era, finishing fifth in the championship that same year before injuries ended his career after 55 starts. Five years earlier, Australian Troy Bayliss grabbed an emotional win at the 2006 season finale in Valencia for Ducati, replacing an injured Sete Gibernau after a career spanning 43 Grand Prix appearances for Ducati and Honda. Bayliss brilliantly led Loris Capirossi across the line for Ducati's first-ever premier class one-two finish.
Others faced heartbreak and uphill battles. Scott Russell stepped into the factory Suzuki team halfway through the 1995 season to replace a wrist-injured Kevin Schwanz, managing two podiums across 19 Grands Prix on a beastly 500cc two-stroke. Colin Edwards made 196 starts and came agonisingly close to a win, famously crashing while leading the Dutch TT in Assen at the final chicane on the last lap of 2006, finishing his career with 12 podiums including five second places. Fellow Briton James Toseland qualified on the front row in Qatar for his 2008 debut but saw his promise derailed by a painful wrist injury, making 35 appearances with nine sixth places as his ceiling. Neil Hodgson answered Edwards' call to leave the sofa after winning the 2003 title, enduring a brutal stint on an uncompetitive private Yamaha and later an uncompetitive Ducati where an eighth place in Japan was his best across 15 starts.
Some elite champions chose to stay put rather than gamble on uncompetitive rides. Carl Fogarty dominated World Superbikes with four titles in 1994, 1995, 1998, and 1999, showing serious pace in six Grand Prix appearances—including a fourth place in Britain—before injuries halted him. Similarly, Ulsterman Jonathan Rea claimed a record six consecutive titles for Kawasaki between 2015 and 2020. Impressing with seventh and eighth place finishes when replacing an injured Casey Stoner for the Repsol Honda team at Aragon and Misano in 2012, Rea ultimately never found the right factory offer to justify leaving his dominant Superbike life.
Meanwhile, riders making the reverse trip from grands prix found smooth sailing. Max Biaggi claimed 13 premier class wins before adding two World Superbike titles in 2010 and 2012. Alvaro Bautista secured two World Superbike titles in 2022 and 2023 after a 159-race MotoGP career that included three podiums. John Kocinski took four wins in 71 starts before claiming the 1997 Superbike crown, Carlos Checa won two premier class races before his 2011 Superbike title, and Raymond Roche grabbed nine podiums in 80 MotoGP starts before taking the 1990 World Superbike title.
So can the 28-year-old Turkish star unlock the secret formula? Cal Crutchlow proved that timing is everything, taking three MotoGP wins after jumping from World Supersport and a single World Superbike season. Razgatlioglu appears to have timed his move to perfection. With two world titles and potentially a third under his belt, he steps onto a works Yamaha MotoGP machine just as the factory works on their V-4 M1 machine. Next year gives him a transitional season to adapt before MotoGP switches from Michelin to Pirelli tyres—the exact Italian rubber he has mastered throughout his Superbike career. The stage is set for Razgatlioglu versus Marquez.
