Toprak Razgatlioglu reveals Yamaha MotoGP test… but in a really bizarre way

There’s just no privacy these days, as Toprak Razgatlioglu has discovered after inadvertantly revealing he will be getting a MotoGP test outing with Yamaha.

However, this rather juicy bit of gossip didn’t come directly from the man himself, or via an official communication from Yamaha… but instead courtesy of his WorldSBK title rival Jonathan Rea.

Rea has been stepping up his vlogging game this year with a dedicated approach to his fledgling YouTube channel, where he bypasses pesky journalists asking questions by delivering a candid behind-the-scenes look into his season on and off track, plus a glimpse into home life. 

Already a six-time WorldSBK Champion, Rea is under threat of having his grip prised off the prize for a seventh time this season as he comes up against a formidable foe in Razgatlioglu, who extended his lead at the head of the standings in Jerez with a double win.

Despite some increasingly physical altercations on track between the two evenly-matched yet very different style racers, the pair are good friends off track having forged a mentor-mentee relationship while they represented Kawasaki until the end of 2019.

However, one wonders whether Yamaha - or even Razgatlioglu himself - will have appreciated what looks to be a private conversation about his MotoGP test being left in the video. 

In the chat, Razgatlioglu wonders whether he will take to the faster machinery, as Rea responds by saying he should take the opportunities when they come because he regrets being unable to.

“Yes, this year. It’s a winter test. This is good. Maybe I won’t even like it. Everyone says you’ll like it, but maybe I won’t even like it,’ Razgatlioglu said in Jonathan Rea’s behind-the-scenes video of the Barcelona WSBK.

“I wanted to go and I didn’t get the chance,” Rea responds. “If you have the chance, you have to go. Believe me. You’ll be 30 soon and nobody wants you."

Despite the good nature between riders, it is a different story between their employers with Yamaha and Kawasaki ending up in a war of words the successful attempt to overturn Razgatlioglu’s Superpole Race win at Magny-Cours.

Razgatlioglu’s test comes after he turned down the opportunity to switch to MotoGP in 2022 with RNF Racing (née Petronas SRT), instead opting for two more seasons in WorldSBK with Yamaha.

He justified the decision on his desire to win the WorldSBK title before stepping up, though an upturn in form since then has put him on track to achieve this feat already this year.