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The consummate revenge of the ‘Sultan’, the new king of Superbikes

Javier Asprón

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Toprak Razgatlioglu (Alanya, 1996) last weekend became the first Turkish champion of the World Superbikes, a historic milestone for a country with a long motorcycle tradition, but little used to hits like this.

Razgatrioglu thus becomes the greatest exponent of the Turkish quarry and the best relay of Kenan Sofuoglu, who was a five-time champion in Supersport, the second category in SBK, and now serves as the manager of the new champion.

Razgatlioglu conquered his precious crown at the Mandalika International Street Circuit in Indonesia, the scene of the last round of a magical year for him, which ends with a total of 13 partial victories and 29 podiums.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, proclaimed SBK champion
Toprak Razgatlioglu, proclaimed SBK champion – AFP

The victory also represents the second title in Superbikes for Yamaha, which until now had only been able to be crowned once in this championship as motorcycles derived from the series.

It was in a distant 2009 from the hand of Ben Spies. Since then, and except for Carlos Checa’s win in 2011 with Ducati, Aprilia and Kawasaki, they had shared all the titles.

The Japanese brand, with Jonathan Rea as the driver, had six consecutive windings. And precisely because of this, the title of Razgatlioglu is even more special. The Turk experienced first-hand the sweet taste of revenge after overthrowing Kawasaki, as he left the Japanese factory in a rage two years ago after an incident at the Suzuka 8 Hours. Razgatlioglu he was recruited to be part of the winning team, along with Rea and Haslam. Kawasaki had not won that legendary endurance test since 1993, and entrusted its best representatives with the task of regaining dominance. The problem is that at the moment of truth the Japanese team did not put Razgatlioglu on the bike for a single minute of the 8 hours of competition. By then the Turk already had an offer from Yamaha, and that disdain was the trigger for his signing for the brand of tuning forks.

Now, two years later, Razgatlioglu, nicknamed the ‘Sultan’, consummates his revenge. He has already announced that next year he will defend his crown in Superbikes, but the echoes of a future move to MotoGP resonate more and more. The Turk, who is as cheeky as he is fast, has already warned that he will only make the jump if it is on an official motorcycle. His long-awaited debut with the M1 could take place this winter in Jerez, with one of the Monster Energy Yamaha bikes from 2021.

In the meantime, he will continue to entertain the staff at the SBK, where he stands out for his spectacular aggressive style.

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