There is fresh speculation in the World Superbike paddock that reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu is close to a move to the MotoGP paddock - albeit through a slightly circuitous route involving him first joining Honda’s struggling superbike team for the 2026 season before making the jump to MotoGP when new regulations come into effect in 2027.
The double WSB champion has been linked many times in the past to a move across to MotoGP but none of those deals have come to fruition, in large part due to his insistence that he would only move from a factory team in WSB to a factory team in the prototype class.
Past rumours have suggested a move to satellite Ducati team Pramac and to his then-employer Yamaha's MotoGP arm, something that failed to materialise after a MotoGP test outing on its M1 machine at Aragon that ultimately left both parties frustrated about the lack of speed on display.
However, according to The Race’s sources in the paddock, it seems that there may now be a fresh route for his MotoGP switch to happen, this time with Honda’s squad - but with a brief spell heading up its production bike project on the way as he awaits the arrival of the new 850cc MotoGP machines in 2027.
That rule change could mean a massive shake-up of the current Ducati-dominated pecking order in MotoGP (and Razgatlioglu has been equally vocal about the equivalent situation in his current series), but it's the simultaneous switch from Michelin to Pirelli tyres that's seen as golden opportunity for Razgatlioglu given his decade of experience on the Pirelli rubber.
There have already been rumours linking him to a switch to MotoGP with Honda as soon as the 2026 season, something that would be possible given his current BMW deal expires at the end of this year.
The original version of the speculation was that Razgatlioglu would take a year out of full-time racing to join Honda’s already very strong MotoGP test team of Aleix Espargaro, Taka Nakagami and Stefan Bradl and make only wildcard starts.
That's something Razgatlioglu was quick to pour cold water on at last weekend’s Portimao round.
"That's not true at all,” he stressed when asked about reports that he had already penned that particular deal.
“I haven't signed with Honda, much less will I do wildcards. Reading all this, I smile, because my brother called me yesterday to ask me about Honda.
“Sincerely, I'd like to know who writes these things and why. It's true that I have an expiring contract with BMW but, for the moment, I haven't spoken to anyone.”
And while his bombastic manager (and multiple Supersport world champion) Kenan Sofuoglu is normally quick to sell any MotoGP opportunity for his rider as a sure thing, the fact that he's downplaying links to Honda (and a second option likely to be a satellite Yamaha at Pramac) may ironically actually hint at there being some substance this time round.
"Nothing is clear about his future," Sofuoglu told German publication Speedweek.
"It looks like there are two options for Toprak in MotoGP. At the moment, however, we're more focused on winning the second title with BMW. We didn't start the season well and need to concentrate on the Superbike title and more victories. Like in Portimao – Toprak is back!
"But of course, my job will soon begin to determine where Toprak's future lies. Currently, I estimate the chances at 50/50 for MotoGP and Superbike."
It’s believed that BMW is in the process of compiling a big-money deal designed to retain the 28-year-old’s services, one that would likely make him the best-paid racer on the WSB grid by some margin.
But it seems that relations with BMW have soured somewhat since their dominant title win together last year, with key management changes and a disappointing opening 2025 weekend at Phillip Island factors that so far aren’t helping their chances of keeping him.
That leaves Honda as the only other manufacturer on the WSB grid both willing and able to spend the same sort of multi-million figure to secure his signature.
There's both technical incentive (with his knowledge of the new Pirelli tyres) and a marketing strategy behind why Honda might be keen to sign up the Turkish rider for MotoGP, with the addition of a Muslim racer to its factory line-up likely to help boost sales in the multi-million motorcycle Indonesian market in particular.
And, with Razgatlioglu prepared to wait until the new tyres and bikes arrive in MotoGP in 2027, he could bring a welcome boost to Honda's superbike project in the meantime, something Honda has needed since it returned to the championship with a full-factory team in 2020.
It would mean a significant challenge for him in 2026, however, given the state of the project. Scoring only six podiums in the 180 races since its return, any chance of replicating his incredible underdog-to-dominant 2024 title success with BMW - or to further cement his legacy as one of the greatest riders in the class’s history ahead of his departure for MotoGP - seems all but impossible at Honda in 2026.
