Yamaha star Jonathan Rea had described Toprak Razgatlioglu as a future world champion. In the 2024 World Superbike Championship, the Turk achieved something historic by winning BMW’s first title.
With six world championships and 119 victories, Jonathan Rea is the most successful cyclist and will be for many years to come. One of the few current pilots who can achieve the same amount at his age is Toprak Razgatlioglu. Even when the Turk was still racing in the Superstock 1000 category in 2016, Rea saw him as a big talent and backed him – at the time they both rode Kawasakis.
“Honestly, he’s the most talented rider I’ve seen on the bike circuit in a long time. There was no doubt he was going to win the World Cup,” said the Northern Irishman. “Having ridden a Kawasaki myself, I could understand how he rode that motorcycle well. Toprak was able to learn without having too many bad falls. He was able to stay healthy in his rookie years.
Razgatlioglu delivered Rea’s first win as a Kawasaki privateer when he relegated the 37-year-old to second place in the first race and Superpole race at Magny-Cours 2019 – from 16th on the grid, however! “Because of his level in the Superstock class, I expected him to win even earlier,” said the world record champion. “It was already how high his level was.”
When Razgatlioglu moved to Yamaha in 2020, he was a similar rival to Rea. In an exciting 2021 season, the 28-year-old was crowned world champion. They all had 13 wins and nine second places. Rea even took third place on the podium, but was still 13 points down.
Since then, Razgatlioglu has always been more successful than Rea, especially in the 2024 World Superbike Championship. . victory and only one podium place in 13th place.
