Toprak Razgatlioglu’s aim for his maiden season in MotoGP is to problem Fabio Quartararo as the highest rider throughout the Yamaha contingent, in response to his supervisor Kenan Sofuoglu.
Three-time World Superbike champion Razgatlioglu will make a long-anticipated transfer to MotoGP in 2026, partnering Jack Miller at Pramac on a factory-spec Yamaha M1.
The Turkish rider made his first official look as a Yamaha rider in final week’s Valencia check, just below a month after successful the 2025 WSBK title with BMW.
Finishing 53 laps of Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Razgatloglu set a greatest time of 1m30.667s, 1.2s slower than pacesetter Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia. This put him 18th on the timesheets in Valencia, forward of two different Yamaha riders, Alex Rins and Miller.
Nevertheless, he was no match for the Japanese producer’s benchmark Quartararo, who completed three spots forward and 7 tenths faster with a greatest time of 1m29.927s.
Razgatlioglu’s contractual commitments stop him from speaking publicly about his new job at Yamaha till 1 January 2026. Nevertheless, that media silence doesn’t affect his supervisor Sofuoglu, who was part of the grand prix paddock as a Moto2 rider between 2010 and ‘11.
Sofuoglu has excessive expectations for Razgatlioglu and hopes he can compete on the identical degree as 2021 champion Quartararo.
“After all, in MotoGP, it is tough to say one thing, however there are nonetheless 4 Yamaha bikes and we wish to be prime of the checklist,” he stated throughout MotoGP’s official broadcast.
“It’s a exhausting problem as a result of Fabio is likely one of the greatest riders within the paddock, and if we are able to battle with him, [that would be a big achievement]. That is our goal for the primary season.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pramac Racing and crew chief Alberto Giribuola
Photograph by: Gold and Goose Pictures / LAT Pictures / by way of Getty Pictures
In final Tuesday’s Valencia check, Razgatlioglu had only one V4-spec M1 at his disposal, forcing him to be additional cautious on the bike.
Over the course of the day, he accomplished eight runs, setting 37 flying laps out of a complete of 53. On his fourth run, he completed a six-lap sequence, with all laps firmly within the mid-30s. On the sixth run, he hit three laps within the 1m31s.4 vary. On his seventh outing, he reeled off 5 flying laps, two within the 1m30s bracket and one every in 1m31.0s and 1m31.3s, marking a stable begin for the rookie.
This was solely the second MotoGP check outing for Razgatlioglu in 2025 following a brief personal session at Aragon earlier within the month.
“Once you take a look at lap time, he is round 1.5 seconds gradual,” stated Sofuoglu. “However after I watch him, I am not watching ‘our’ Toprak. He’s a bit scared as a result of there should not many bikes [available to him]. In the mean time there is only one V4 for Toprak.
“He’s cautious in the meanwhile, he is very scared in the meanwhile to make errors. However nonetheless he is there.
“In all probability after a few assessments, we are going to see the true Toprak, stopping on the brakes, sliding and pushing more durable. In the mean time, with out pushing, I can see how he rides the bike, he is doing nice.
“There’s a lot to go, I am very constructive about what he is doing in the meanwhile.”
The consensus about Razgatlioglu is that whereas he might take a while to adapt to MotoGP, he’ll finally succeed within the class due to his distinctive expertise and unmatched feeling for the entrance finish of the bike.
Requested if he’ll be capable to carry over his braking superiority from WSBK to MotoGP, Sofuoglu stated: “Lots of people suppose in MotoGP he cannot, however all people will see he’ll do the identical issues [as in WSBK].
“Earlier than he got here to Superbike, no person was using like him. For positive, he’ll shock all people with what he can do on the bike as a result of he is all the time shocking us.
“Now, folks will see within the MotoGP paddock that he’ll shock lots of people as a result of he has this talent and he understands very a lot.”
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