2023-06-01 18:51:27
Toprak Razgatlioglu has offered this Thursday his first press conference after announcing his agreement with BMW a few days ago to contest the next two seasons of the Superbike World Championship on the back of an official M 1000 RR. The Turkish rider has assured that his decision to abandon the security offered by the Yamaha project responds tothe “boredom” that he was beginning to feel within the ranks of the Iwata team, convinced that tackling a project as challenging as being a champion with BMW is what he needs at this time to keep his ambition intact.
The Alanya rider spoke to the press today in advance of the WorldSBK round in Misano that will start tomorrow, Friday, a talk in which the Turkish rider acknowledged that his years at Yamaha have been wonderful, but that everything has an end : “It’s been a very long four seasons and I have very good memories with Yamaha. It is not easy to leave, I enjoy working with this teameither. Sometimes you need a new challenge and a new motivation.”
A rider with Toprak’s ambition needs to keep his motivation sky high, just what Yamaha couldn’t offer him starting next year: “I said that if I stayed in WorldSBK, I needed a new challenge., and that’s why I’m going to a new team. I’m happy to stay in the WorldSBK paddock.” clarifies Toprak, who had a hard time making the decision to go to BMW and not be tempted by the MotoGP World Championship, where he had the odd offer on the table.
“It was not easy. I was thinking about the MotoGP paddock and there weren’t many places next year. The problem after four years is that it is not easy to leave Yamaha. Maybe in the future we will get together again“, drops the one who was WorldSBK champion in 2021 along with Iwata’s.
The test that Toprak completed in Jerez on the MotoGP Yamaha M1 clarified his expectations about his potential winner with this bike: “After the test I did in Jerez, I spoke with Kenan (Sofuoglu) and together we made this decision. I didn’t find the necessary confidence with MotoGP, and I talked about it with Kenan. Now I just want to think about ending this season with Yamaha in the best possible way. When I signed with BMW I stopped thinking about MotoGP, I am focused exclusively on WorldSBK. I’m looking forward to starting this weekend and playing my best cards in Misano.”
Anyone would say it, but Razgatlioglu admits that having continued with Yamaha next year “he was bored”, and so “I needed a new challenge. I’m happy to sign with my new team. I feel more motivated because I hear some people say that ‘it’s not a winning bike, it’s not easy and there are no good results, etc.’. Hearing these things motivates me more. This bike has the potential to win. This is a new dream for me, it won’t be easy.”
Read also: The new BMW M 1000 XR hunted on the Isle of Man
“Before signing I talked a lot with Kenan. I told him that to continue in Superbikes I wanted to go to a different team. He always motivates me 100%. It’s a big dream for Kenan and me. Maybe in 2024 we will already be fighting for the title. I hope we win it. It’s the big dream“the Turk finishes off.
#didnt #find #confidence #MotoGP #BMW #motivates