After his three WSBK titles and the way he won them, with less competitive bikes than his rivals, Toprak Razgatlioglu was expected to have a relatively competitive debut season in MotoGP. But reality is being harsh on the Turk, who is now fighting with a mediocre M1 and can’t quite find the point, especially with the tires.
Precisely that was the biggest challenge he could face in 2026, with Michelins that require different driving than what he was used to with Pirelli. Of course, this year’s disadvantage could turn into an advantage next year when it is the Italian manufacturer that starts supplying the premier category. He noticed this especially in the German GP, where he suffered for different reasons:
«I haven’t had fun this weekend, I tried to do my best. I always lost in the same corners and we never managed to improve. At the beginning of the race I tried to follow Rins, but then I made a small mistake and I no longer had my reference. “I started running alone, the only thing that makes me happy is that the weekend is over.”. And the Turk is aware of the work ahead of him; «There are many things to improve, I still don’t ride relaxed and the bike doesn’t help me. I have learned something, when I return to Sachsenring next year I will know what I will need, that is the only positive aspect.”
That is why Toprak has not hesitated to show his disappointment in these moments in which he has gone from fighting for everything to practically fighting not to be last. In fact, at Sachsenring he was fighting with Cal Crutchlow with the Honda and drew some striking conclusions: “I didn’t expect to end up in this position, that’s the problem.”said the Turk. «When Cal passed me, I was surprised. Because his bike was turning, it had more grip than mine. It was difficult to be with him, I had to wait for a tire drop to overtake him.”
Toprak’s great challenge is to adapt to the tires
And that is precisely where the big challenge lies, that the tires you are used to are different and if we add to that that the M1 is the least fast of the motorcycles on the track, things get complicated: “I thank Yamaha because everyone is doing their best every day, although we haven’t managed to improve. I’m starting to understand the tires and the bike, but the biggest problem for me is that there are different tires every weekend.”
In this case Razgatlioglu refers to the fact that, unlike what happens in SBK where there are different compounds but they are always the same, in MotoGP there are tires with different compositions depending on the circuit, and that seems to not quite fit in this first year.
The most complicated thing, however, seems to be managing this situation. He himself recognizes that these changes affect his motivation: «This destroys my motivation. I had adapted to one type of tire and here I found completely different ones, for me it is a disaster. “I didn’t expect something like this.”
For now Toprak has added 12 points, he is the last of the Yamaha riders, 43 behind Fabio Quartararo, who is still by far the best of the Iwata riders. Of course, it has 7 Miller and 9 Rins, much more experienced pilots in the category. Although for a driver used to winning, that is no consolation.
