Toprak Razgatlioglu on how tough MotoGP is: "It's my mind that has to adapt"

Toprak Razgatlioglu continues his difficult adaptation to MotoGP, and to a still unripe Yamaha V4 for everyone.

Moving from Superbike to MotoGP is no walk in the park. Toprak Razgatlioglu knew that, but he’s probably only now realizing how high this mountain is that he has to climb. After the initial excitement comes a harsh return to earth: a bike very different from the one he’s long been used to, and the same goes for the tires—switching from Pirelli to Michelin is not to be underestimated. And let’s not forget that Yamaha has gone all-in on a very young V4 project, so it’s still very, very raw... Time will tell whether it was a smart gamble or not. The season already looks tough for Quartararo, Rins, and Miller, so imagine what it’ll be like for Pramac Yamaha’s rookie.

Race simulations were very short in the latest tests at Buriram, with an average pace of mid-1:32, the highest among the factory MotoGP riders. The comparison with fellow rookie Diogo Moreira favors the latter, since in his long run he consistently stayed well below that mark, with a personal slowest lap of 1:31.6. Two different challenges for the two 2026 MotoGP debutants, but the one faced by the three-time Superbike world champion is certainly tougher. "Even if many expect a big result right away, we know he needs time to adapt and learn, and we also need to better understand his needs" team manager Gino Borsoi pointed out at the end of testing.

"I still have to work a lot to improve, also mentally" said Toprak Razgatlioglu after the two days of official testing at the Thai track. He then highlighted a particular detail after studying his garage mate more closely: "When I was behind Jack and saw how much he was leaning on the front tire, I was sure he was going to crash. But then I saw how smoothly he went through the corner and I realized that it’s my head that needs to adapt and trust these tires more", he admitted. "I then managed to do six or seven laps on the same set of tires with consistent lap times, which is positive". There will be suffering, and we’ll see over time how the situation evolves.