Aegeter to pata yamaha, and Toprak will blow everyones minds on the BMW..a proper stop n go riders bike, fast accelerating out of the corners, just what he needs..
Very interesting! And like I said in the video, remember how so many people said the R1 would never suit Toprak's style...however I do think BMW needs to improve a few things technically and make sure the right people are around him. We know the BMW is a potentially great bike, though!
That makes two of us! I've also heard from a good paddock source today that, with some saying Bautista will continue to be unbeatable next year, Toprak might as well take the money at BMW for a while. Not sure I subscribe to that! Is it a defeatist opinion or just realistic?!
I am hearing a lot of the same thoughts when Marco Milandri went to BMW......and woohoo. Toprak is the best rider BMW has had since Milandri and I hope he can provide the results.
As we revealed here in the video, it has now been announced that Andrea Locatelli has renewed with Yamaha for the 2024 and 2025 World Superbike seasons
Great format Greg, really loved it (all the way from NZ!!). Love your insights and I guess only time will tell if the BMW move is the right one for Toprak or not. Chuffed to read about Locatelli's extension, he's doing really well. Keep up the good work, we love it down here!
Thank you very much indeed for your kind message, Lynda! Really glad you enjoyed the video. It's going to be absolutely fascinating to see what transpires. And who do we think will become Locatelli's team-mate at PATA Yamaha?!
@@GregHainesTV I'd really like it to be Bradley Ray (he will need to get some good results though) OR it may be Remy Gardner, or Alex Lowes perhaps? Just our thoughts...
@@lyndablair1449 I think it's too early for Brad Ray but maybe I'm wrong. Gardner isn't performing as well as he would like at the moment and I know Yamaha aren't considering a Lowes comeback. Makes me think Aegerter. But what about somebody like Bassani?
Why should that destroy his career when a Bautista went to honda for two years and then could go back to ducati and then even win the world championship and bautista is 10 years older than toprak. Bautista wasn't even a world champion, but Toprak was. in addition, the bmw guys are very eager, they really want to win the world championship, if someone can make the difference then toprak. moreover, even if things didn't go well, toprak would still be relatively young for sbk, after two years he's only 29 years old and as a former world champion he certainly still has many opportunities and what shouldn't be forgotten is toprak drove a similar 4 in-line cylinder, so it shouldn't take too long to get used to it with Bmw. What the people also forget the yamaha r1 is at its limit, the bmw isn't. the yamaha has actually been the same bike with the same motor since 2015, only small changes were made, so you can't expect any huge steps and it will be toprak and kenan also saw after 4 years with yamaha. On the other hand, the BMW is only 3 years old, there are still many ways to improve the bike, especially with Toprak together. So the change idea is perhaps not bad at all.
I've read your message in full and I totally agree with you. Some great points there. I think the keys will be getting the right people in place and getting the best out of their parts; it'll also be interesting to see whether they continue with the BMW (Bosch) ECU or go to Magneti Marelli. Nothing wrong with Bosch at all however, like when Honda used to use Cosworth, they're just lacking in the extra data everybody else gets as the Marelli system tends to be used across the board. It's going to be very interesting to see!
@@GregHainesTV Yea it will be not easy for him 100% true and maybe he will end like bautista with honda,but like i said bautista was much older then toprak at that time and a huge difference was bautista was then not a wsbk world champion but toprak has the advantage that he is a wsbk world champion so i don't think that they will write him off so quickly, because he has already proven several times that he is a huge talent. But as you say, it's going to be exciting, I can't wait for it myself.
@@El_turco82 Yeah! And furthermore, as Kenan Sofuoglu said to me himself a few days ago, the BMW-bound Toprak of 2024 is a much more mature and experienced Toprak than the one who joined Yamaha in 2020. Could this be perfect timing for the two parties? IF they pull it off, it'll surely go down as one of the greatest achievements since WorldSBK began in 1988!
And that's the million dollar question. Will Redding stay? If I had to put money on it I'd say it will be Toprak and VDM who have already been team-mates before at Yamaha. It's no secret that the rider-team relationship with BMW and Redding is rather strained.
@@GregHainesTV getting Toprak to join BMW is a good way to ruffle Redding's feathers and make him consider wanting to leave; he will know he's not going to be the No1 BMW rider once Toprak arrives. If Toprak can't make the BMW work I think Sean Muir will be next to go, that team needs some stability and a clear vision of where they want to be in 2 years time, from the outside it looks like there's too much inconsistency and that they don't know why they have a lack of speed - or at least they don't know how to solve it..
Interesting Greg and a bit odd considering the current BMW struggles. If Redding can't fly on a BMW, Toprak won't as he's no quicker than Redding across a full lap. You have to think though that BMW will eventually get it right and when they do, they'll have an advantage with their own electronics. Toprak is a superb rider though and it's clear that his braking skill advantage on steel brakes in WSBK won't translate in such an advantageous way to the stiffer chassis and carbon brake set up on the MotoGP machines. But I would have thought he's go for a manufacturer in WSBK that had a path to MotoGP and I was wondering if he might end up at Ducati alongside Buatista. Thing is though, until there is some kind of weight equalisation in WSBK nobody will beat Bautista on that Ducati. So I think even if the Ducati was available to Toprak he wouldn't take it as losing to bautista would likely kill any move to MotoGP in future.
Hi Nick, I actually thought at the very start of this year that Bautista would retire at the end of 2023 before the weight limits came in for 2024, however from Australia I immediately changed my mind because he let slip, 'I have to wait a whole year before I come back again to Phillip Island!' - and, as we now know, he's staying next season and no weight limits are happening. I spoke earlier today with a very trusted source in the know who really thinks BMW could make it but sometimes they're accused of being very stubborn and only wanting to use their own materials instead of bringing in (perhaps better) parts from elsewhere. History has shown us that BMW promises a lot - and pays massive amounts - but doesn't ever deliver except for the odd flash of brilliance. OR can Toprak get a load of good personnel to go with him - and BMW tidies up the team and structure, plus make sure it's using the right parts - and turn things around. For instance, BMW uses its own ECU which is perfectly fine; however when you're up against a whole field of Magneti Marelli, all able to share data, by being the ones using something different it really makes your life harder...
@@GregHainesTV Yes, interesting that Bautista chose to continue as he ia very anti-weight limit. But for me he has to understand it's not about targeting him, it's about creating an equivalency in weight terms between the riders which will allow fairer use of the rubber compounds available to all riders. .I really really hope we see weight limits in 2024 and if not 2025 latest. You just have to look at Petrucci who originally said when he left MotoGP that he wasn't interested in WSBK as he felt he was too heavy. He has the talent to get on terms with Bautista but he's near 30kg heavier. With BMW, I think they can get there eventually and with Toprak and his team such as Phil Marron, he could make it happen as long as BMW get the electronics up to the same level as Magnetti Marelli. I'd lie to see Scott Redding stay as I think he would match Toprak but I suspect he won't want to stay. He might be better off at Honda or perhaps he needs to leave WSBK until they bring in race limits and go and race the Ducati in MotoAmerica. I think he could win there as he showed in BSB that he can learn quirky tracks very quickly..
@@nickwilliams7490 I agree with you, not least about BMW and electronics; nothing wrong with Bosch system but most use Marelli so there is more data. And in fairness to Bautista, he has agreed it's not fair all Ducati bikes lose RPM because of his success. I've said for ages now that it would be better to do that by team and not by manufacturer - or even by rider.
@@GregHainesTV Yes, let's hope BMW can get on top of things as it's a shame to see BMW struggling to keep up. I still think the revs should be left alone and Ducati deserve to keep the bike spec they homologated. I think the weight equalisation is the way to go as it would be fair across all bikes and riders and not penalise anyone. I don't believe the small guys struggle to turn the bike as they still represent at least 30% of the weight of the bike. They can also duck down lower for better streamlining as well and they can choose where the ballast is put to help with CoG and polar moment of inertia change. If they can do it in F1 and in the lower categories of bike racing why not the 'big' class. Would help the racing equivalency straight away and allowable riders to be an option for any team
@@nickwilliams7490 I'm with you. They have combined weight limits in Moto2, Moto3, World Supersport and World Supersport 300 - and even in F1 where the driver has far less no influence over the vehicle's overall centre of gravity. To be honest I think some more technical changes would have been made to the WorldSSP balancing rules this year had the FIM not been so late with changes on the Technical Director front. Although they've already said seemingly that combined weight limits won't apply for the Superbikes even next year...
Double hatrik.... 😂😂 He the best one
I am writing from the future, Toprak did it Greg! And Spectacularly! 😊
@@Biodyn3758 You can say that again!! 🤣
Aegeter to pata yamaha, and Toprak will blow everyones minds on the BMW..a proper stop n go riders bike, fast accelerating out of the corners, just what he needs..
Very interesting! And like I said in the video, remember how so many people said the R1 would never suit Toprak's style...however I do think BMW needs to improve a few things technically and make sure the right people are around him. We know the BMW is a potentially great bike, though!
TOP ROCK 🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷🇹🇷
I totally didn’t expect this at all. I hope this isn’t a career killer. What a crazy day!
That makes two of us! I've also heard from a good paddock source today that, with some saying Bautista will continue to be unbeatable next year, Toprak might as well take the money at BMW for a while. Not sure I subscribe to that! Is it a defeatist opinion or just realistic?!
@@GregHainesTV 😁
I am hearing a lot of the same thoughts when Marco Milandri went to BMW......and woohoo. Toprak is the best rider BMW has had since Milandri and I hope he can provide the results.
If Toprak did take BMW to championship success it really would be a story, wouldn't it? Like Rossi/Yamaha and Schumacher/Ferrari!
As we revealed here in the video, it has now been announced that Andrea Locatelli has renewed with Yamaha for the 2024 and 2025 World Superbike seasons
I'm loving the variety of feedback and comments/opinions/suggestions from everyone here. Very intriguing stuff!
Great format Greg, really loved it (all the way from NZ!!). Love your insights and I guess only time will tell if the BMW move is the right one for Toprak or not. Chuffed to read about Locatelli's extension, he's doing really well. Keep up the good work, we love it down here!
Thank you very much indeed for your kind message, Lynda! Really glad you enjoyed the video. It's going to be absolutely fascinating to see what transpires. And who do we think will become Locatelli's team-mate at PATA Yamaha?!
@@GregHainesTV I'd really like it to be Bradley Ray (he will need to get some good results though) OR it may be Remy Gardner, or Alex Lowes perhaps? Just our thoughts...
@@lyndablair1449 I think it's too early for Brad Ray but maybe I'm wrong. Gardner isn't performing as well as he would like at the moment and I know Yamaha aren't considering a Lowes comeback. Makes me think Aegerter. But what about somebody like Bassani?
@@GregHainesTV Yes, Bassani is a possibility, definitely.
@@lyndablair1449 It's a great ride for someone so Yamaha will have loads of options! Maybe they should pull a PR masterclass and get VR46 on it! 😛😃
Why should that destroy his career when a Bautista went to honda for two years and then could go back to ducati and then even win the world championship and bautista is 10 years older than toprak.
Bautista wasn't even a world champion, but Toprak was.
in addition, the bmw guys are very eager, they really want to win the world championship, if someone can make the difference then toprak. moreover, even if things didn't go well, toprak would still be relatively young for sbk, after two years he's only 29 years old and as a former world champion he certainly still has many opportunities and what shouldn't be forgotten is toprak drove a similar 4 in-line cylinder, so it shouldn't take too long to get used to it with Bmw.
What the people also forget the yamaha r1 is at its limit, the bmw isn't. the yamaha has actually been the same bike with the same motor since 2015, only small changes were made, so you can't expect any huge steps and it will be toprak and kenan also saw after 4 years with yamaha.
On the other hand, the BMW is only 3 years old, there are still many ways to improve the bike, especially with Toprak together. So the change idea is perhaps not bad at all.
I've read your message in full and I totally agree with you. Some great points there. I think the keys will be getting the right people in place and getting the best out of their parts; it'll also be interesting to see whether they continue with the BMW (Bosch) ECU or go to Magneti Marelli. Nothing wrong with Bosch at all however, like when Honda used to use Cosworth, they're just lacking in the extra data everybody else gets as the Marelli system tends to be used across the board. It's going to be very interesting to see!
@@GregHainesTV Yea it will be not easy for him 100% true and maybe he will end like bautista with honda,but like i said bautista was much older then toprak at that time and a huge difference was bautista was then not a wsbk world champion but toprak has the advantage that he is a wsbk world champion so i don't think that they will write him off so quickly, because he has already proven several times that he is a huge talent.
But as you say, it's going to be exciting, I can't wait for it myself.
@@El_turco82 Yeah! And furthermore, as Kenan Sofuoglu said to me himself a few days ago, the BMW-bound Toprak of 2024 is a much more mature and experienced Toprak than the one who joined Yamaha in 2020. Could this be perfect timing for the two parties? IF they pull it off, it'll surely go down as one of the greatest achievements since WorldSBK began in 1988!
keep up the good work 😉
Thank you very much, I appreciate it. What do you make of the whole scenario?!
Uhhh surprise surprise
Now my two favourites riders on the BMW with redding (if he stays) and toprak
And that's the million dollar question. Will Redding stay? If I had to put money on it I'd say it will be Toprak and VDM who have already been team-mates before at Yamaha. It's no secret that the rider-team relationship with BMW and Redding is rather strained.
@@GregHainesTV getting Toprak to join BMW is a good way to ruffle Redding's feathers and make him consider wanting to leave; he will know he's not going to be the No1 BMW rider once Toprak arrives. If Toprak can't make the BMW work I think Sean Muir will be next to go, that team needs some stability and a clear vision of where they want to be in 2 years time, from the outside it looks like there's too much inconsistency and that they don't know why they have a lack of speed - or at least they don't know how to solve it..
@@JayGee6996 Nice one, Jay. I think it would be pretty difficult to argue against anything you've said. It's crunch time for a lot of people.
~mmm and ,,,what happened???
In what sense?
can I get next years transfers as well please if you don't mind, I'll buy you a hat and crystal 🔮 🎩
Interesting Greg and a bit odd considering the current BMW struggles. If Redding can't fly on a BMW, Toprak won't as he's no quicker than Redding across a full lap. You have to think though that BMW will eventually get it right and when they do, they'll have an advantage with their own electronics. Toprak is a superb rider though and it's clear that his braking skill advantage on steel brakes in WSBK won't translate in such an advantageous way to the stiffer chassis and carbon brake set up on the MotoGP machines. But I would have thought he's go for a manufacturer in WSBK that had a path to MotoGP and I was wondering if he might end up at Ducati alongside Buatista. Thing is though, until there is some kind of weight equalisation in WSBK nobody will beat Bautista on that Ducati. So I think even if the Ducati was available to Toprak he wouldn't take it as losing to bautista would likely kill any move to MotoGP in future.
Hi Nick, I actually thought at the very start of this year that Bautista would retire at the end of 2023 before the weight limits came in for 2024, however from Australia I immediately changed my mind because he let slip, 'I have to wait a whole year before I come back again to Phillip Island!' - and, as we now know, he's staying next season and no weight limits are happening. I spoke earlier today with a very trusted source in the know who really thinks BMW could make it but sometimes they're accused of being very stubborn and only wanting to use their own materials instead of bringing in (perhaps better) parts from elsewhere. History has shown us that BMW promises a lot - and pays massive amounts - but doesn't ever deliver except for the odd flash of brilliance. OR can Toprak get a load of good personnel to go with him - and BMW tidies up the team and structure, plus make sure it's using the right parts - and turn things around. For instance, BMW uses its own ECU which is perfectly fine; however when you're up against a whole field of Magneti Marelli, all able to share data, by being the ones using something different it really makes your life harder...
@@GregHainesTV Yes, interesting that Bautista chose to continue as he ia very anti-weight limit. But for me he has to understand it's not about targeting him, it's about creating an equivalency in weight terms between the riders which will allow fairer use of the rubber compounds available to all riders. .I really really hope we see weight limits in 2024 and if not 2025 latest. You just have to look at Petrucci who originally said when he left MotoGP that he wasn't interested in WSBK as he felt he was too heavy. He has the talent to get on terms with Bautista but he's near 30kg heavier.
With BMW, I think they can get there eventually and with Toprak and his team such as Phil Marron, he could make it happen as long as BMW get the electronics up to the same level as Magnetti Marelli.
I'd lie to see Scott Redding stay as I think he would match Toprak but I suspect he won't want to stay.
He might be better off at Honda or perhaps he needs to leave WSBK until they bring in race limits and go and race the Ducati in MotoAmerica. I think he could win there as he showed in BSB that he can learn quirky tracks very quickly..
@@nickwilliams7490 I agree with you, not least about BMW and electronics; nothing wrong with Bosch system but most use Marelli so there is more data. And in fairness to Bautista, he has agreed it's not fair all Ducati bikes lose RPM because of his success. I've said for ages now that it would be better to do that by team and not by manufacturer - or even by rider.
@@GregHainesTV Yes, let's hope BMW can get on top of things as it's a shame to see BMW struggling to keep up.
I still think the revs should be left alone and Ducati deserve to keep the bike spec they homologated. I think the weight equalisation is the way to go as it would be fair across all bikes and riders and not penalise anyone.
I don't believe the small guys struggle to turn the bike as they still represent at least 30% of the weight of the bike. They can also duck down lower for better streamlining as well and they can choose where the ballast is put to help with CoG and polar moment of inertia change.
If they can do it in F1 and in the lower categories of bike racing why not the 'big' class.
Would help the racing equivalency straight away and allowable riders to be an option for any team
@@nickwilliams7490 I'm with you. They have combined weight limits in Moto2, Moto3, World Supersport and World Supersport 300 - and even in F1 where the driver has far less no influence over the vehicle's overall centre of gravity. To be honest I think some more technical changes would have been made to the WorldSSP balancing rules this year had the FIM not been so late with changes on the Technical Director front. Although they've already said seemingly that combined weight limits won't apply for the Superbikes even next year...
TH-cam just decided to throw this video to me, OMG WOW 😲 greg reading some future 👏👏🫡❤️