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Toprak Razgatlioglu’s answer when asked if he could return to World Superbikes after MotoGP

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Toprak Razgatlioglu has already completed his first test on a Yamaha bike ahead of his MotoGP debut in 2026.

The Turkish rider and three-time World Superbike champion is one of the marquee signings for next season. At the age of 29, he’s slightly older than the average MotoGP rookie, but Pramac have plenty of reasons to be optimistic about his performance.

Razgatlioglu has been on fire for BMW this season, tearing his Superbike competition apart and showing exactly why he earned a promotion for next season. Moving away from the Pirelli tyres could be difficult for him, but they’ll be back for 2027 when the new regulations arrive.

Yamaha don’t want to ‘confuse’ Razgatlioglu at testing by running an older specification of bike. They want him to start immediately with the V4 engine. Nicolo Bulega has warned Razgatlioglu about tyre feedback, and it’s something that he’ll know he needs to adjust to quickly.

READ MORE: Toprak Razgatlioglu reacts to Yamaha falling to last place in MotoGP standings before his 2026 debut

Toprak Razgatlioglu of BMW Motorrad at the World Superbike Championship Spanish round
Photo by Mirco Lazzari/Getty Images

Toprak Razgatlioglu doesn’t yet ‘know’ if he could return to World Superbikes after MotoGP

MotoGP fans don’t think Razgatlioglu can challenge Marc Marquez. That’s despite him showing a similar vein of form to the seven-time champion, albeit in a different series. At one point this year, he won 16 of 17 races while in devastating form.

Razgatlioglu thinks Marquez’s talents can be appreciated at Ducati, after registering one of the most dominant seasons of all time in 2025. The Turkish rider achieved something similar, and if MotoGP doesn’t go as planned, could there be a chance that he returns to his origins one day?

It’s not often that riders switch from World Superbikes, but Cal Crutchlow is a good example of someone who managed to make a success of it. He went on to enjoy a fruitful premier class career and is still involved with MotoGP to this day. He never bothered returning to Superbikes.

Now, Razgatlioglu has delivered his verdict on whether he could return to the series that he has claimed three of the last four titles in. The outlook is mixed.

“I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see. First, we’ll have to see what MotoGP is like. It’s too early to tell. Maybe I’ll get lots of podiums and win there. So, I’ll stay and maybe one day, I’ll return to superbike. We’ll see.”

READ MORE: Toprak Razgatlioglu predicts when he’ll achieve ‘special things’ in MotoGP amid talk of debut win

Toprak Razgatlioglu shares his ‘realistic goal’ for MotoGP in 2026

Razgatlioglu knows he can’t ride with 54 next year, but picking a number will be the least of his worries. In fact, he has already set himself some small goals.

Obviously, he doesn’t want to be too overambitious, given Yamaha’s current predicament, but he still has hope.

“This one is a hard one. I’m always winning the race, you know, and for me, a bad position is always the podium. Now, the MotoGP is completely different.

“That’s why I say [it’s going to be] so hard the year waiting [for] me. We will see. My realistic goal, I think, the first year I need to learn the bike and learn the track and need to adapt.

“But, if I’m did some podium in the first year, this is amazing for me because I have a big target for 2027, when everything [the rules] is change. I have a big target there, but we will see.”