'He should be in the MotoGP paddock' - Rea believes Razgatlioglu deserves an opportunity in MotoGP
Yesterday at 03:44 AM
Toprak Razgatlioglu can't become a 'megastar' in World Superbikes according to Jonathan Rea.
Throughout his career, Jonathan Rea has been stuck in the World Superbike Championship. The six-time World Champion was given a two-race stint in MotoGP as he replaced an injured Casey Stoner in 2012.
But after his impressive two rides in MotoGP, the opportunity never arose again. Rea has been labelled as the greatest Superbike rider of all time, but he never reached 'megastar' status.
Rea is now 37 years old and reaching the end of his World Superbike career. The British rider has since said that he hopes Toprak Razgatlioglu gets the opportunity in MotoGP that he never received.
"In Toprak, Dorna has a charismatic, incredible talent, but he's racing in the Superbike World Championship," Rea told Speedweek.com
"They can't make a megastar out of him, he should be in the MotoGP paddock. With the same owner, there should be progress. After I won a few titles, I felt that Dorna should have supported me in going to MotoGP. Like they do in the Spanish Championship or JuniorGP.
"We have this super-good guy here in Toprak. But with us, the Superbike World Championship riders should stay where they are. I'm very proud of the Superbike World Championship, I've been here from the start. But the fact that they took over the Superbike World Championship was probably a purely business decision."
Rea went on to compare World Superbikes to MotoGP and made no secret that he knows that MotoGP is superior to World Superbikes.
"The Superbike World Championship cannot compete with MotoGP, it is different," Rea added.
"We have to accept that. I have had experience with both, it is not an advantage for the Superbike World Championship to have the same owner. At the same time, however, I believe that Dorna has done some things very well. But you also have to look at the championship as a whole and the places we race. Superbike is Superbike, we will not go to the fantastic race tracks because we do not have enough fans to buy a ticket.
"I do not understand all the business backgrounds, but in terms of practical work, Dorna has done a good job of bringing the manufacturers together and making them competitive. But I was also here in 2010, when BMW, Aprilia, Alstare, Honda, Ducati and Kawasaki were there, that was also a very good time for superbikes. I can count myself lucky to have experienced both eras."
The post 'He should be in the MotoGP paddock' - Rea believes Razgatlioglu deserves an opportunity in MotoGP appeared first on BikeSport News.
