Toprak Razgatlioglu stuns everyone: the Superbike champion's incredible Friday in Goiania

First Q2 for Razgatlioglu in MotoGP, he’s the surprise of pre-qualifying in Goiania: tricky conditions, but an applaud-worthy performance.

Who would have thought that Toprak Razgatlioglu would be the best Yamaha rider at the end of Friday’s practice for the 2026 Brazilian Grand Prix? Some might have taken a bold punt on it, but no one would have imagined that the three-time Superbike World Champion would even manage the third-fastest time in pre-qualifying and go straight through to Saturday’s Q2. Not bad for a rookie coming from a completely different championship with so much to learn in MotoGP.

In FP1 on a wet track he was sixteenth, but conditions improved in the afternoon and there was a chance to run slicks in the first part of the session before rain arrived to spoil the plans of many riders. With the asphalt not fully dry, the Turk thrived and did well to slot into third place, 308 thousandths behind leader Johann Zarco (LCR Honda).

The somewhat unusual conditions certainly helped Razgatlioglu, who had already proven in Superbike to be highly skilled at adapting to different situations, but it’s still worth highlighting what he managed to do with a Yamaha M1 that is currently the worst bike on the MotoGP grid. No one expects to see him in the top 5 for the rest of the MotoGP weekend in Goiania, but Toprak will keep giving his all to be as far up as possible and to seize any favorable opportunity. In the meantime, he was fast today and that will give him a lot of confidence heading into Saturday and Sunday. If conditions are peculiar again, he could surprise once more.

The Prima Pramac Yamaha rider spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP at the end of Friday’s practice in Brazil: "It’s a new track for everyone and the conditions are difficult for all of us. In Superbike I liked these kinds of conditions and adapted quickly, today I tried to have fun riding the bike. The track wasn’t completely dry and we didn’t make a different setup for the bike. We’ll see on Saturday. It was an incredible Friday, considering it’s only my second race weekend in MotoGP, but I’m focused on qualifying and the races. The race is more important than Friday."

Razgatlioglu is keeping his feet on the ground, even if he’s satisfied with the work done. He doesn’t want to get carried away by today’s result; he knows he must keep working hard to be a competitive MotoGP rider: "I don’t know what my level is right now, it’s too early to say; I’ll be able to at the end of the year. I’m still trying to adapt to the bike and the tires. I’m starting to understand the traction control and the engine brake better, where we’ve improved a lot. I know today’s were different conditions and I’m always strong in them, but we’ll see how it goes if the track is completely wet or completely dry. It’s a new track and we need a good setup for the race, which will be very long with 31 laps."

Toprak reiterates that he’s trying to adapt his riding style after many WorldSBK seasons on bikes very different from prototypes: "I need to change my riding style a bit on a MotoGP bike because it requires a different approach. With MotoGP you need more corner speed, whereas in Superbike my riding was more stop-and-go. I’m learning; it’s not easy to change after so many years. I’m trying to do a mix; it’s not simple."