Loris Baz compares one WorldSBK rider to Marc Marquez, Casey Stoner, but who is it?

Loris Baz, who is now enjoying his second stint in MotoAmerica with Ducati, was left without a seat at the end of last season when BMW signed Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The 2021 WorldSBK champion joined the factory BMW team which resulted in the German manufacturer moving Scott Redding across to the Bonovo Action BMW team in place of Baz. 

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And it’s BMW’s most recent winning Razgatlioglu who the ex-MotoGP rider has compared to the likes of Marc Marquez and Casey Stoner.

“For me, Toprak is one of those motorbike geniuses like Marquez or Stoner,” Baz told Paddock-GP.

“These guys have something extra, you can see it. I've always said that I would have liked to see Toprak in MotoGP, because he is someone who has a skill, a feeling with the front wheel and braking, that I have rarely seen.

“So when I heard that he was coming, I immediately knew that he would do well."

Baz is not the only person to have said glittering things about Razgatlioglu in the last few weeks following his sensational double race win in Catalunya last month.

Baz, who wanted to remain in WorldSBK especially given the minimum rider/bike weight limit rule that was imposed, admitted Razgatlioglu is making it work, thus validating the decision to implement such a rule change.

“In the middle of last season some important changes were made that we had been asking for for some time and which were then implemented,” added Baz. 

“That's why I wanted to stay there, because I felt there was a new impetus.

“I think it's working, Toprak has proven it. I said I didn't believe in the title in my first year, but maybe I changed my mind, because he is exceptional.

“I have rarely seen something similar to what he did in Barcelona."

Speaking about his own career, Baz was keen to point out that he does not regret leaving WorldSBK despite wanting to stay.

Baz stated: "I don't regret anything, because when I commit I do it fully and I knew it would be complicated.

“It was an opportunity and it's a shame that it ended like this after 2022, but I still have a good relationship with the Bonovo team and it's all in the past now. I look to the future."