Toprak Razgatlioglu, a lion caged by Yamaha: "Bulega in MotoGP? Here's what I think

The difficulties continue for the three-time Superbike world champion, who once again didn’t have an easy weekend at Misano: for him, it’s now a matter of waiting until 2027, when his “old” rival Bulega will also be on the grid.

Yamaha once again proved uncompetitive at the recent Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera. Despite the huge amount of work carried out by the Iwata manufacturer, the M1 with the new V4 engine still doesn’t allow its riders to achieve significant results. At Misano Adriatico, the best was Fabio Quartararo, tenth at the flag on Sunday, 23.229s behind race winner Marc Marquez. Among the fourteen “surviving” riders who finished the race was also Toprak Razgatlioglu, twelfth at 28.031s off the lead and 4.126s behind Brad Binder in eleventh. Jack Miller and Alex Rins retired with the other Yamahas on the grid.

The three-time Superbike world champion stresses that the engine is the biggest limitation of his M1, as it prevents him from being able to fight with his opponents: “I had more fun at Misano in Superbike - reports Speedweek - because I was always at the front; now I can’t enjoy myself, because the bike isn’t fast. I push to the limit every lap, but everything I gain in the corners I immediately lose on the straights. It’s like this every lap, and I destroy the front tire. That’s how my races go, it’s tough. I never overtake anyone. I have an advantage on the brakes, but I can’t keep up on the straights.”

Razgatlioglu was a master of braking in SBK and is trying to exploit that skill in MotoGP as well, but not having a strong engine penalizes him heavily. Another aspect that continues to be a weakness is qualifying: “My pace was very similar to Fabio’s, which is a big step forward. If I had started 12th or 13th, it would have been easy to get into the top 10, but I started from last position and I couldn’t overtake anyone. I struggle in qualifying because I can’t improve my lap time with the soft rear tires.”

In Austria he will focus on trying to be faster on a single lap, something he still lacks in this first MotoGP season. Even though 2027 will be a whole different story and he should have more chances to show his potential, for now Toprak is focused on 2026 and intends to grow before the end of the championship.

In recent days came the news of Nicolò Bulega’s move from the Superbike World Championship to MotoGP in 2027. No surprise, it had long been known, but the official announcement also served to gather some opinions at the Misano World Circuit over the weekend.

Naturally, Razgatlioglu was among the riders asked about the topic, and he said he was happy to meet again the rider who was his rival in the 2024 and 2025 SBK seasons: “I’ve always said he deserves MotoGP, because he has the right style. He almost won the Superbike title, he learned a lot there and now the step to MotoGP is happening at the perfect time. There will be the 850 bikes and Pirelli tires, he has already done a lot of testing and it looks like he’s already ready to race. I’m happy for him and I hope we’ll keep battling in MotoGP.”

Toprak pointed out that Bulega has done tests with the Ducati 850 and Pirelli tires as a tester for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, so he should have an initial advantage. We’ll see whether this will allow the future Pertamina VR46 rider to assert himself at a high level in MotoGP or if he will still struggle. And we’ll also see whether El Turco will finally be able to show his worth with a completely new Yamaha and the new tires.

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