There has been much talk about Toprak Razgatlioglu in the weeks after Misano. The Turk has come under the spotlight for rumors that he was close to MotoGP, following which he was the victim of a motorcycle accident during a training session last week. At a press conference called on Thursday, the BMW rider wanted to take stock of the situation, trying to clear the field of any doubts starting with the transfer market. “First of all, I would like to say that next year I will still race in Superbike with BMW, ” he began , “I know very…

Toprak Razgatlioglu will be staying in WorldSBK next season despite talks with MotoGP teams.The championship leader has a contract with BMW and will honour his current deal with the German manufacturer.“After Misano, I saw many news stories about MotoGP,” began the 2021 Superbike champion. “We are talking to some MotoGP teams, but people don’t understand that if BMW say, ‘Toprak, for next year, it’s possible you go to MotoGP’, we say it’s possible.“I have one more year left with BMW. If they don’t say this, I’m staying with BMW because I’m very happy. I have one year left on my…

In recent years, Ducati has had a policy of promoting riders within MotoGP, moving talents from the satellite team to the factory team, such as current double champion Francesco Bagnaia, as well as Danilo Petrucci, Enea Bastianini, and Jack Miller – all of whom were developed in a satellite team before making the leap to the official team. None of these riders had significant achievements or a distinguished record before, but they all demonstrated their talent and worth. The hiring of Marc Márquez breaks this policy of rider development, with Ducati opting for a six-time premier class champion (and an…

Before the summer break, MotoGP had two consecutive rounds – the Dutch Grand Prix at Assen and the German Grand Prix at Sachsenring. As usual, Repsol Honda appeared on the grid with Joan Mir and Luca Marini. The challenging times continue for the Japanese manufacturer, as they left the Dutch round without points for the main team, with Marini finishing 17th and Mir retiring. The Sachsenring race was slightly more positive – though not by much. There, Marini secured a point with a 15th place finish in the main race, while Mir finished 17th with no points. From the practices…

Ducati’s CEO has admitted signing Marc Marquez is “divisive” in a nod towards his rivalry with Valentino Rossi.Marquez will ride the official Ducati next season, alongside Pecco Bagnaia at the forefront of the Italian manufacturer’s MotoGP project.He is synonymous, of course, for feuding with Italy’s favourite son, Rossi.“Marquez’s choice is divisive,” Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali told Sky Italia.“Much more in Italy than in the rest of the world due to his history, his way of riding and what happened in the past.“What I read is that no one questions his talent, but several people have very specific opinions on his story.”That…

After all the most important pawns on the market have been assigned, a few bikes remain to be sorted out for 2025, and the shortlist of names is getting smaller and smaller. VR46 has chosen Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli, opening the doors of Gresini Racing wide to Fermin Aldeguer. All 6 Ducatis are thus assigned, while there are two Aprilias and two Yamahas that still do not have a rider. Pramac will have to start from scratch and is aiming to hire experienced riders, because Yamaha currently needs this above all to improve. The first name on the…

Andrea Locatelli had a lot of fun in Jerez during the Yamaha Racing Experience. Jonathan Rea’s teammate in SBK climbed on, among others, the Yamaha YZR 500 that was Max Biaggi’s in 2001, one of the most beautiful but also one of the meanest bikes in the history of the world championship. Sharp acceleration, sharp chassis, no traction control and power in spades make up an explosive formula ready to launch you straight into the stratosphere at the slightest mistake. Yet the ‘Loca’ proved to have a great mastery even of means of this type, because in the video posted…

Ducati-Ducati-Ducati. Say it once, for the bikes used by the three riders who finished on the podium at last weekend’s German Grand Prix. Then say it five more times, for the bikes used by the three rostrum finishers in all five races in Spain, France, Catalunya, Italy and the Netherlands that preceded MotoGP’s annual sojourn to the Sachsenring. With eight bikes on the grid compared to four (or, in Yamaha’s case, two) for its rival manufacturers, Ducati has the statistical probability to populate the MotoGP podium. But it’s more than simply being a case of strength in numbers for the…

In recent weeks, rumors have surfaced about Toprak Razgatlioglu potentially moving to MotoGP in 2025 or 2026. For now, the rider is entirely focused on the World Superbike Championship (WSBK) and his seat with ROKiT BMW, not wanting to transition to the premier class at any cost. Before the Donington Park round, the Turk made this clear in an interview with GPOne.com, emphasizing that he needs competitive conditions to make that move: ‘Kenan [Sofuoglu] manages my situation and we’ve talked about it. The question I ask myself, however, is this: if I don’t have a good contract and a factory…

Maverick Vinales has conceded he can’t “comprehend” how Aprilia goes from running at the front in Friday practice to being 10 seconds off the pace over the course of a MotoGP race weekend. Since Vinales’s emphatic victory in the Americas Grand Prix in April, Aprilia is yet to add another podium finish to its tally and is fighting to remain second in the manufacturers’ standings with KTM. In last weekend’s German Grand Prix, the RS-GP looked rapid on Friday as Vinales broke the Sachsenring lap record in FP2, but come race day it was a completely different story for the…