Toprak Razgatlioğlu, the 2021 WorldSBK champion, was recently handed another golden opportunity to ride Yamaha’s MotoGP™ factory M1 over two days of private testing at Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto. Favourable riding conditions meant the Turk could make the most of the situation too.
Razgatlioğlu was in good company, with a host of other Test Riders from Aprilia, Honda, and KTM, including Lorenzo Savadori, Stefan Bradl, Dani Pedrosa, and Jonas Folger, all at the track. Yamaha Managing Director Lin Jarvis was also present in Jerez. Reports suggest he completed some 116 laps in Jerez, and managed to clock a 1:38.860, getting within seven-tenths of the quickest time set by a Yamaha, which was MotoGP™ Test Rider Cal Crutchlow. The quickest time of the test was set by Dani Pedrosa, who was 1.4s quicker than Razgatlioğlu.
In a tweet, Razgatlioğlu expressed his satisfaction with the testing session, stating that his primary focus was to understand the behaviour of the bike better rather than setting a new record. Nevertheless, he had a great time on the track and seemed to have enjoyed himself immensely.
Thanks for everything ???? #YZRM1 #jereztest https://t.co/wf232B15f4
— Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (@toprak_tr54) April 11, 2023
"These two days went very well. My priority was to cover as many laps as possible in order to better understand the behaviour of this bike, rather than pushing hard to set a time. But it was still very enjoyable."
The question on everyone's mind is whether we will see Razgatlioğlu move up to the MotoGP™ in the near future. Only time will tell, but given his impressive performances in the WorldSBK, it is a possibility that cannot be ruled out.