The Yamaha that holds “unforgettable memories” for Toprak Razgatlioglu

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s journey to MotoGP through WorldSBK has been done partly with and partly without the presence of his late father.

Razgatlioglu’s father, Arif, was a well-known stunt rider in Turkiye, going by Tek Teker Arif. Both Toprak and Arif even appeared on a Turkish talent show together, displaying their stunt riding abilities.

But before Arif Razgatlioglu could see his son reach the pinnacle of motorcycle racing by becoming world champion, he died in the autumn of 2017, when Toprak narrowly missed out on the FIM Superstock 1000 title to Michael Ruben Rinaldi.

Now in MotoGP with Pramac Yamaha, Razgatlioglu has taken the time in the summer break to reunite with the bike that his father rode, and which played a major role in the now-three-time world champion’s journey to his own motorcycling legacy.

“My childhood was spent with this motorcycle it holds very precious unforgettable memories and it will always be kept as a keepsake in memory of my father,” Toprak Razgatlioglu wrote in an Instagram post.

Razgatlioglu made his first step into the WorldSBK class in 2018, only a few months after his father died.

In 2019, the Turkish rider began working with Phil Marron (now Brad Binder’s crew chief at KTM) and won his first WorldSBK race at Magny-Cours with the Puccetti Kawasaki team.

A move to Yamaha came in 2020, and the first of three world titles in 2021. The second and third titles came with BMW, where he moved in 2024, before the switch to MotoGP in 2026.

En route to title number three in 2025, Razgatlioglu won all three races at Misano, where a few days earlier his move to MotoGP for 2026 had been confirmed. He held a board after the Race 2 win which read “Arif, your son is in MotoGP”.