Carlos Checa says: “Toprak joined MotoGP at the worst possible time”

500cc GP winner, Superbike champion, DAZN pundit: even 13 years after retiring from the two biggest motorcycle world championships, Carlos Checa still knows the sport inside out. On SPEEDWEEK.com, he has praised Ducati’s brilliant move to promote Superbike series winner Nicolo Bulega to MotoGP for 2027.

As the first short Superbike summer break approaches, the Italian is already 121 points clear of his nearest rival, Iker Lecuona, and has been unbeaten for 25 races across two seasons! Bulega will ride for Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Ducati team alongside Fermin Aldeguer in 2027 and 2028. And hardly anyone would be surprised if the 26-year-old were to make an immediate and impressive impact in MotoGP too. This is because he has been heavily involved this year in the development of the new 850cc machine from Borgo Panigale, featuring reduced aerodynamics and Pirelli tyres, as well as no height-adjustable suspension, and will arrive at the winter tests perfectly prepared.

11th place is Toprak’s best result

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s situation is quite different. The Turkish rider moved to MotoGP after winning three Superbike World Championship titles, but Yamaha’s gap to the front-runners has widened once again this year, and the Turkish rider has so far not managed to finish higher than 11th. The Japanese team is working hard to improve the package; yet few experts are convinced that a significant step forward will be achieved next year.

“It would have been best for Toprak to carry on in the Superbike World Championship this year and prepare for 2027,” said Carlos Checa. “To do that, though, he would have had to ride a Yamaha in Superbike – I don’t know if that would have been a good option for him.”

Razgatlioglu left Yamaha after the 2023 season and moved to BMW, partly because the R1’s Superbike engine isn’t exactly brimming with power either. The Germans would have been only too happy to keep him on for 2026; for 2027, he could have moved to MotoGP, as there’s bound to be a radical shake-up in the rider market by then anyway.

He should have waited a year longer before making the switch.

Carlos Checa on Toprak in MotoGP

“Toprak has to start working on next year right now, because this season is already over for him,” Checa emphasised. “To reach the highest level, you need the right technology and the right rider, but also a strategy. Ducati has the best plan with Bulega. Toprak is a huge talent; it would be interesting to see him on the Ducati. He has a strong will to win, which I like – I like fighters like that. He came into MotoGP at the worst possible time, because the Yamaha isn’t at the highest level and he wasn’t familiar with the Michelin tyres. He should have waited a year longer before making the switch – as it is, he’s got the worst possible combination.”

Carlos Checa

Foto: Gold & Goose