This year marks the decade since the beginning of Jonathan Rare’s World Superbike Championship dominance, and Toprak Razgatlioglu, the series’ current standout rider, faces the possibility of leaving the same unanswered questions as the dominant forces of the past decade.
That’s about Motogp, of course. When REA was winning a record 119 victory at WorldSBK in the mid- to late 2010s, he was a major contender for the MotoGP Switch in the Production Derivatives Series.
He would have followed the loose footsteps of Ben Spy and Cal Crutchlow recently in his move from production to prototype racing, but somehow it never happened.
Due to the age combination (he was 30 when he won the third title) and the absence of Kawasaki from his superbike maker Grand Prix Scene, the Northern Ireland rider couldn’t find a way to the MotoGP grid where he could compete head-on.
Razgatlioglu, who now turned 29 in October, is facing a similar situation. He’s approaching 30, and like Kawasaki, BMW doesn’t compete in MotoGP.
Toprak Razgatlioglu is set to do what Jonathan Rea didn’t do
Momentum appears to be gathering behind Razgatrioguru’s Pramak Yamaha Move, but Razgatrioguru’s career will certainly end with a question mark on the performance and outcomes he has achieved in the motorcycle racing premier class.
“It’s a bit like Jonathan Leah,” said Hodgson, a TNT Sports MotoGP expert, with the prospect that Razgatlioglu had finished not moved to MotoGP when he spoke to Crash.net on British Grand Prix on Friday.
“Jonathan was a very special talent in his prime, and in his absolute prime. Obviously, he won six world titles.
“If Jonathan had come here on the way, I think he would have been around Cal Crutchlow’s speed.
“Then the argument is, what did he do rather?
“It’s hard to know what the correct answer is. He clearly has a lot of money in the bank. There are six world titles.
If Razgatlioglu goes to MotoGP, Hodgson is sure at least his talent is enough to bring him to a competitive edge.
“I want to see him (Razgatlioglu) coming, I’m a fan like that,” Hodgson said.
“I see (at best) all the superbike races, I see the victory of the Top Rack (Razgatriogle) and see where Michael Van der Mark is. People who I am a big fan are not completely dedicated. Van der Mark is not lazy, he’s just riding.
“Whatever that is, I just want to see him in the paddock.”
Razgatlioglu is currently tracking Ducati’s Nicolo Brega in the 2025 WorldSBK rankings, but Hodgson’s fellow TNT Sports MotoGP expert Michael Leyvati agreed with Hodgson that Rea is, like he did a decade ago, the world’s outstanding rider Razgatlioglu.
“I’m a Brega fan, but I’m not frustrated (to go to MotoGP) if he doesn’t get the opportunity,” Laverty said.
“Ducati will give him the opportunity, so he will give it a try.
“I think Bulega is an impressive talent for that bike in its packaging.
“Now we can’t really compare him to Toprak (Razgatlioglu). Toprak is a standout rider of the world’s superbikes.”