“Superbike wasn’t enough for me anymore”: Toprak Razgatlioglu and the gamble in a much tougher MotoGP

Toprak Razgatlioglu from Superbike to MotoGP: the desire to relaunch himself collides with a very complex reality.

After his Superbike titles, the category had become too tight for him and he needed a new challenge, and that is called MotoGP. This was admitted by Toprak Razgatlioglu himself, who is taking on an extremely difficult commitment that could turn out to be a great success or a catastrophe. What’s certain, we’re sorry to say, is that the Pramac Racing rookie has chosen to make the leap with the worst bike in today’s premier class, a Yamaha M1 already riddled with problems, made even more complex by the decision to switch to the revolutionary V4. We’ve seen some interesting flashes already, but it seems difficult to stand out in the current situation...

"In recent years I’ve won titles and races, but I needed another challenge. Sometimes Superbike wasn’t enough for me anymore." With these words, Toprak Razgatlioglu admits his choice to change goals and horizons, taking a historic and very difficult step into a world—MotoGP—vastly different from the production-derived series he’s long been used to. It also requires an inevitable change of mindset, since he was particularly accustomed to being at the front... But always with a clear objective. "I want to be close to the other Yamahas in the race," he told TNT Sports.

There have already been a few surprise sparks, such as the stunning top 3 in the Brazil GP Practice, and race paces similar to or even better than his brand-mates. The single point scored in the last United States GP is a small satisfaction, although there’s clearly a lot of work to do, and Yamaha’s current situation is frustrating everyone: not just Quartararo—complaints are now also coming from Rins and Miller. For now, the multi-time Superbike champion is doing his part, focusing solely on the steps needed to adapt more and more to a MotoGP bike. But for how long?