Source: Supplied.

Toprak Razgatlioglu will graduate to the FIM Motul World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) in 2018 with the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing squad as its sole Superbike rider.

After ending a brilliant 2017 season in European SKT1000 Championship that saw him battle for the title despite missing a round due to injury, the former STK600 champion has been granted a one-year deal in the premier class.

“The 2017 season has been a very positive year for me,” said Razgatlioglu. “We missed the STK1000 title after my injury in France for just a few points. If I had been in Magny Cours, probably it would have been easier to fight for the championship.

“Anyway I am happy to step up in WorldSBK next year! I have been riding with the team Puccetti for a couple of season now and so I know the professionalism of the people working here. I am confident that I will have all what I need to learn the new bike and be able to fight for good results soon.

“I would like to thank Manuel and Kawasaki for this opportunity and I cannot wait to be in Jerez at the end of November for the first winter test.”

The Kawasaki Puccetti Racing team will continue to line-up with two bikes in the FIM WorldSSP Championship, with Kenan Sofuoglu and Hikari Okubo both piloting the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.