Toprak Razgatlıoğlu Gifted His 2021 Title-Winning Yamaha R1 in Misano
The 2021 FIM Superbike World Champion, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, was reunited with the Yamaha R1 on which he won the world title during an emotional ceremony at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” on Saturday afternoon.
With the Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team and an enthusiastic crowd watching on, Razgatlıoğlu was presented with the bike by Eric de Seynes, President and CEO of Yamaha Motor Europe, who was joined on the WorldSBK Paddock Show stage by Olivier Prevost, Vice President of Yamaha Motor Europe, Alessandro Ghezzi, President and Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Research and Development Europe, Andrea Dosoli, Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager and Riccardo Tisci, Yamaha Motor Research and Development Europe Project Leader.
The presentation, compered by WorldSBK Paddock Show host Michael Hill, brought back memories of an epic 2021 season, in which the battle for the World Championship was only decided at the final round in Indonesia.
And it was the bike on which Razgatlıoğlu secured his first World Championship after an incredible Indonesian showdown that the 26-year-old was presented with in Misano. A fitting gift to mark the indelible memories that Razgatlıoğlu’s title win created both for himself and everyone at Yamaha.
The atmosphere was one of gratitude and appreciation when the rider had his winning machine unveiled before being joined on stage by the entire team who took him to the title. Toprak jumped onboard the R1 for a photo before warmly embracing his team and the representatives from Yamaha Motor Europe.
Eric de Seynes, President and CEO, Yamaha Motor Europe
“It’s an emotional moment. First of all, every time we look back at the video from 2021 we can’t help but remember all the things that we have achieved and experienced together. We returned to Superbike in 2016, and we were convinced that the R1 could be a winning machine in the hands of a top rider. It was lucky because I was in Suzuka in 2019, and I saw Toprak doing extremely well but not actually racing there in the end. I think it was a good opportunity to propose a deal with him and give him the possibility to become World Champion with us. And finally, this is what we did; in 2021 the dream became reality, Toprak won the championship and made our R1 a title winning bike. It wouldn’t be possible to achieve this result if the rider wasn’t fully connected with the bike – we wanted the R1 to become Toprak’s bike. It’s also not possible to win if the team is not connected with the bike and knows perfectly how to find the optimum settings to make it perform at the highest level. It was super emotional to achieve all these things and the title, and this is why tonight is also an emotional moment because we always said to Toprak ‘if you win the title one day, you will get your bike’. Honestly, I was hoping we could give him his 2024 and also 2025 World Champion bike, but finally we have to accept that at least for now it’s over. We recognise that today and this is why we would like to offer Toprak his bike in recognition of all his support and his contribution. It’s not our bike, this is his bike, so we feel happy that it will be in his hands.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK
“First of all, when I was watching the video from the 2021 season I was very emotional and I felt tears coming; it brought back so many memories – starting from 2019 when Yamaha showed their belief in me and we signed together. It took us two years to get the world title, but we did it and I will remember that feeling forever. Now, after four years, I’m very sad to leave, but at the same time I’m happy because Yamaha is a true family and we did it together, it wasn’t just me, there was a team of great people by my side. I want to say thanks for this unbelievable gift, I’m very surprised and touched to receive it, and thank you very much for everything Yamaha have done for me.”
