The dream is finally becoming reality. Toprak Razgatlioglu is making the long-awaited jump from WorldSBK to MotoGP in 2026, and if you have not been paying attention to his rise, now is the time to start. He is a multiple World Champion, an all-time great of the category, and a rider who treats a motorcycle like a toy with his signature stoppies and outrageous braking zones.
His first title in 2021 was an absolute classic. It was a relentless war against six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea, featuring last-lap brawls, track limits drama, and a legendary showdown at Portimao that even caught Valentino Rossi's attention. Razgatlioglu secured the crown in a delayed Race 1 at Mandalika, breaking a championship drought for Yamaha and knocking Rea off his throne. Behind the scenes, crew chief Phil Marron and team boss Paul Denning were there to witness a kid with a dream rewrite the sport.
Then came the boldest switch in WorldSBK history. Just over two years ago, Razgatlioglu walked away from a proven winning package at Yamaha and took a massive gamble on BMW. The doubters crawled out of the woodwork to claim his career was finished. Instead, 'El Turco' used the noise as fuel, delivering an insane 18 wins in a season—including a record-shattering 13 victories in a row—to become the first rider to take a WorldSBK crown with BMW. In doing so, he joined an exclusive club of only three riders to win the title on two different manufacturers, alongside Corser and Toseland.
It was not an easy march to glory. Those 13 consecutive wins were immediately followed by a terrifying crash at Magny-Cours that sidelined him for two race weekends. Team principal Shaun Muir and BMW's then-Sporting Director Marc Bongers—the man who signed him to the German brand—had to weather the storm before finishing the campaign in history-making fashion at Jerez. Figures like Phil Marron recount the intensity of it all, proving just how much work went into silencing the skeptics.
Beyond the numbers, the man is simply electric to watch. From his very first win against Jonathan Rea back in 2019 at Magny-Cours to an agonizingly close podium on his Yamaha debut in 2020 at Phillip Island, Razgatlioglu lives on the absolute limit. We saw it in 2021 against Scott Redding at Most, in his fierce 2023 battles for P2 against Ducati's Alvaro Bautista, and right through to his 2024 heroics starting with his first win with BMW in Barcelona.
Now, MotoGP awaits the stoppie King. And honestly? We cannot wait to see what he does next.
