MotoGP Gossip: Toprak has 'already had interest from MotoGP'
- A race winner for both Kawasaki and now Yamaha, Toprak Razgatlioglu is making waves in the World Superbike champion. But the 23-year-old Turkish star has also caught the eye of MotoGP, with mentor and manager Kenan Sofuoglu revealing to Worldsbk.com:
"Toprak has already had interest from MotoGP and immediately I told him that it was a good offer from a good team, but our first goal was to be in Superbike with Toprak in the 2020 season."
- A race winner for both Kawasaki and now Yamaha, Toprak Razgatlioglu is making waves in the World Superbike champion. But the 23-year-old Turkish star has also caught the eye of MotoGP, with mentor and manager Kenan Sofuoglu revealing to Worldsbk.com:
"Toprak has already had interest from MotoGP and immediately I told him that it was a good offer from a good team, but our first goal was to be in Superbike with Toprak in the 2020 season."
Sofuoglu, a five-time WSS title winner, added that the plan is for Toprak to become "one of the legends in WorldSBK" but that he would consider changing path if Razgatlioglu "is winning everything" in SBK in 2021 and "there is an official factory [MotoGP] team offer." (WorldSBK.com)
- Continuing the WorldSBK-MotoGP theme, current production bike champion Jonathan Rea has turned the tables on the usual speculation about whether he should be in MotoGP by saying he'd like to go up against reigning grand prix champion Marc Marquez in SBK:
“I consider Marc Marquez one of the greatest riders in the world, if not the greatest. It would be interesting to see him on the track against us with the new Honda [Fireblade], maybe on a track like Barcelona." (WorldSBK.com)
- Maverick Vinales has described plans for a shortened 2020 MotoGP season as akin to a "World Cup sprint. Each race is unique and you have to get the most out of each one, without reserving anything. You have to try to fight for victory in each one."
The Monster Yamaha rider also picked out reigning champion Marc Marquez, future team-mate Fabio Quartararo and the Suzukis of Alex Rins and Joan Mir as looking strong: "It is clear that Fabio has the same bike as me, so always with an eye on him, but Marc is the rival. He is always first or second and you have to be fighting against him. "
"I followed [the Suzukis] in the Qatar test and those bikes were going well. They surprised me… They will be there for sure. And between Mir and Rins, it is difficult because they are both at a great level." (AS.com)
- Asked to compare the two most successful riders on the current MotoGP grid, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez, LCR Honda boss Lucio Cecchinello told BT Sport:
"It is not a difficult question. I choose Marc Márquez because in every sport there is evolution. There is an evolution in the riding style, a natural evolution. We should put a statue in honour of Valentino Rossi in each circuit because he has taken motorcycle racing to another level, he has made the sport extremely popular. It is fantastic, but if you look at how the sport works, I would choose Marc Marquez because he has raised the level. "
