'I was probably the only one who believed' - Sofuoglu reflects on Razgatlioglu's decision to join BMW
12/11/2024 04:23 AM
Kenan Sofuoglu knew that Toprak Razgatlioglu would be competitive with BMW after his shock move for the 2024 season.
After spending four years with the Pata Yamaha World Superbike Team, Toprak Razgatlioglu wanted a new challenge.
The 2021 World Superbike Champion had achieved all he could at Yamaha. So for 2024 Razgatlioglu and his manager, Kenan Sofuoglu, began looking at new opportunities.
The most exciting offer for Razgatlioglu and Sofuoglu was to move to BMW. The German manufacturer had never won a World Superbike Championship and had been in a difficult situation across the last few seasons.
"Toprak and I wanted a new challenge and it should be an even more difficult one than before. BMW was such a challenge because everyone expressed doubts and all the media wrote that it would not be possible to win with BMW and that it would end in disaster for Toprak," said Supersport world champion Sofuoglu.
"But I believed that the bike was pretty good. And I was convinced that it was the bike for Toprak with which he could win the championship. At that point, I was probably the only one who believed it."
Razgatlioglu had been written off ahead of the 2024 season and nobody expected him to fight for the title. However, in the end it seemed easy for the Turkish rider as he won 18 races and stood on 27 total podiums across 30 races.
The 28-year-old won his second World Superbike Championship and his first with BMW in his debut year with the manufacturer.
It seems that the only person who expected Razgatlioglu to be competitive from the get-go with BMW was Sofuoglu.
"When I first worked with Toprak, I immediately saw what he was capable of," recalls the five-time Supersport World Champion.
"That's why I really wanted to see him on a BMW. I'm proud that it worked. Of course, it could have gone the other way around, but I was confident that it would work. When I train someone, I don't just want to turn them into a racing driver. I try to make them into a champion. That's my mentality."
The post 'I was probably the only one who believed' - Sofuoglu reflects on Razgatlioglu's decision to join BMW appeared first on BikeSport News.
