Toprak Razgatlioglu shocked the world of motorcycle racing when he announced that he would leave Yamaha and switch to BMW for 2024, the Turkish rider has since opened up on his decision.

Toprak Razgatlioglu has been loyal to Yamaha for the last four years after making the bold switch from Kawasaki to Yamaha. However, the most recent move from Yamaha to BMW left everyone stunned. In a recent interview with WorldSBK.com Razgatlioglu has discussed the motivation behind his switch.

"I need a new challenge," said Toprak Razgatlioglu. "Not everything is about money, Yamaha know this.

"I sign with BMW [for 2024] and everybody not believe that this bike is a winning bike. Now I am just thinking I show all people that this bike is possible of winning.

"Ducati have the best bike in the Superbike paddock. If I go to Ducati I am winning the Championship, this is not special for me, [this is why] I have gone to a different brand for this.

"Yamaha were not Champions for 12 years and we made them World Champion again. Now I jump to a different brand, and this brand have never been World Champion. This is my big dream, to become World Champion with this new brand, for me this is my big goal."

There are still seven rounds left of the 2023 World Superbike Championship, which means Razgatlioglu has 21 races left on a Yamaha in WorldSBK. Currently after five rounds the Turkish rider is second in the standings, but he is 86 points behind the Championship leader, Alvaro Bautista.

This weekend WorldSBK roll up to Donington Park for the British round of the Championship. Last year Razgatlioglu took a hat-trick of wins at the British round and walked away with maximum points from the weekend.

"Now I am thinking UK and Donington Park, as this is my favourite track," said Razgatlioglu ahead of this weekends WorldSBK action. "I hope at Donington Park we win three races, if we start very strong and win the races then we can put the pressure on Alvaro [Bautista]."