Toprak Razgatlioglu and the harsh reality of MotoGP: here are the problems with the Yamaha M1

Razgatlioglu is still far from having the feeling and speed with his Yamaha: the adaptation process will be long, as is normal.

Switching from Superbike to MotoGP is no walk in the park, not even for a highly talented rider like Toprak Razgatlioglu. He has to adapt to many new things, and the working days in Sepang are very important. After the three shakedown days, today was the first of the three days of collective testing and he finished it in twentieth place on the timesheets. The gap to leader Marc Marquez was 1.869 seconds, just ahead of Aprilia tester Lorenzo Savadori and two tenths behind the other rookie, Diogo Moreira of the LCR Honda team.

Test times only tell part of the story; it’s crucial to work so the rider feels comfortable on the bike and has good feedback at the controls. In the Prima Pramac Yamaha team they are still trying to put Razgatlioglu in a comfortable position on the M1 V4. The Turk is 1.85 meters tall and, in ergonomic terms, has different needs compared to his brand mates. Yamaha is trying to do its best and developed a lower seat to accommodate his needs, but with it they couldn’t use the tail fins without violating the regulations. With that setup he isn’t fast enough, because the appendages on the rear of the bike offer undeniable advantages.

Toprak summed up the situation at the end of the day: "In the end, I used the higher seat," reports Speedweek, "the old version with the aerodynamics. I felt better. It was easier to slow the bike. I could control the rear better. It was also better under load in some corners. Tomorrow I’ll probably start with the old rear right from the beginning. The wings are very important. For me, a seat as low as possible is very important, but we can’t lower it further because of the tank."

The seat isn’t the only element on the Yamaha M1 being tweaked to make the triple Superbike world champion’s ride more comfortable: "I’m still not convinced about the clip-ons. Overall I’m satisfied with the new clip-ons, but in some corners it’s hard to lean because they’re too high."

Razgatlioglu is in a full learning phase and is also trying to set aside some of his Superbike riding habits to adapt to the MotoGP prototype: "I learned a few small things today. I still find it difficult to maintain high corner speed. I’m trying to change my riding style: it’s not easy, but I have to do it. In some corners, you have to ride like in Moto2. For me, that’s very difficult."

It would certainly be nice to see him further up the order and with fewer difficulties, but we have to be realistic and understand that after so many years in SBK a rider needs time. Adaptation cannot be quick; there are too many differences between production-derived bikes and MotoGP prototypes. The key is to be patient and find the path to progress step by step.