“If I were to travel there, it would be a stressful weekend,” World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu about a possible home race in Istanbul. If this happens, there are high hurdles to overcome beforehand.
Since Toprak Razgatlioglu won the title in 2021, there have been efforts to bring the Superbike World Championship back to Istanbul. At the end of summer 2024 there were several discussions and even a site inspection between promoter Dorna and the new owner of Istanbul Park Circuit.
The slope designed by Hermann Tilke is a beautiful, oriental beauty meets sophistication. But the World Championship has been based there only once, that was in 2013. 50,000 Turkish fans came to see Kenan Sofuoglu win the Supersport race – and they were not disappointed. The atmosphere during the race and at the award ceremony was overwhelming, something you don’t get every day.
There was some hope in Dorna about getting Istanbul back on the calendar thanks to world champion Razgatlioglu. At least for 2025, the project failed for different reasons. The Turkish lira has lost more and more value compared to the euro over the past ten years: in March 2021, 1 euro cost 8.58 lira, and in the last six months it has been more than 35!
The total cost of organizing the SBK event on the Bosphorus is at least three million euros. Without public support, the new owner doesn’t want to take that risk, even though it seems almost guaranteed that Toprak would fill the station with packed fans.
Razgatlioglu, whose contract with BMW for the World Superbike Championship runs until the end of 2025, has not yet given up hope of having a home race one day.
“If I were to drive there, it would be a stressful weekend,” the 28-year-old told SPEEDWEEK.com. “Kenan won there once, I would have to do the same. That would be very important for me – more important than the World Cup title. You just need to win the home race. I would be very happy if the World Superbike Championship came to Istanbul. I have won two titles now, Many Turkish fans watch my race and wait for the race in Istanbul. I would be in a good position with BMW, it has a lot of engine power. And he added with a smile: “It will be difficult with many fans if the team makes a mistake…”
