Toprak Razgatlioglu Penalized at Mandalika: With a Dislocated Shoulder, He Will Start Last in the Indonesian GP

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Sunday at Mandalika has become even more complicated. The Pramac Yamaha rider, already struggling with a dislocated shoulder, has been handed a three-place grid penalty for an incident during the warm-up.

The stewards sanctioned him for riding slowly on the racing line and hindering Marco Bezzecchi at Turn 16. Under normal circumstances, the infraction might have resulted in a reprimand, but that was not the case for the Turkish rider.

The deciding factor was his previous record: this was Razgatlioglu’s second such infringement of the season, which triggered the grid penalty. Earlier that same morning, Johann Zarco, investigated for the same behavior, escaped with an official warning.

Paradoxically, the practical impact will be limited. Toprak had qualified only 19th and, with Aleix Espargaro’s withdrawal, he will effectively lose just two places, dropping to the last row as the final rider on the grid. We covered the Honda rider’s withdrawal in MotoGP, Aleix Espargaro pulls out: warm-up results and Indonesian GP schedule.

The real obstacle remains physical. On Friday, Razgatlioglu dislocated his right shoulder in a violent highside at the fast Turn 13, as reported in A terrifying highside and gritted teeth: Toprak dislocates his shoulder but returns for qualifying!. Before the crash, after an encouraging Friday, he believed he could achieve his season objective at Mandalika: a top-ten finish.

He finished 19th in the Sprint after relying on painkillers. The rider himself explained that the main issue is not so much the pain as the lack of strength in his arm—a limitation that could become particularly evident over the 27-lap distance of the Grand Prix.

Toprak was not the only rider to attract the attention of race direction. Pecco Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaro and Fermin Aldeguer received official warnings for a first yellow-flag-related infringement of the weekend. For Razgatlioglu, the priority now is simply to make it to the finish: starting from last place, every completed lap will already be a small victory.

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