Toprak Razgatlioglu surprises with the Yamaha V4: Augusto Fernandez's revelation

The Yamaha test rider spoke about Razgatlioglu’s run at Aragon: positive impressions.

On Monday, Toprak Razgatlioglu completed his first test with the Yamaha M1 equipped with a V4 engine. He had already ridden the Iwata prototype in 2022 and 2023, but fitted with an inline-four. At Aragon he did around thirty laps to get acquainted and prepare for next Tuesday’s test in Valencia, where he will measure himself against the rest of the MotoGP grid.

Augusto Fernandez was also present at the Aragon test, the Yamaha test rider who this weekend will race in Valencia as a wild card with the M1 V4. Asked about Razgatlioglu’s performance, the Spanish rider replied: "I think it was a very positive test for him. I was able to see his data - reports Motosan - his riding style, and I was surprised, but we all know he has a lot of talent. Obviously, riding a MotoGP bike is very different from a Superbike, especially because of the tires, but he knows that."

Toprak is the king of braking in World Superbike—will he be strong in the premier class too? Fernandez shared the following view on the matter: "Braking is his strong point. He won’t be able to brake the way he did in Superbike, because MotoGP is very different, but he definitely has that ability to manage braking and I’m convinced he’ll be strong on the brakes in MotoGP as well. He was happy with the test. More than the bike itself, he was trying to understand the behavior of the tires: he was impressed, since the Michelins are very different from the Pirellis." Understanding the tires isn’t easy; Nicolò Bulega is dealing with it too in his first steps in MotoGP with Ducati.

The Valencia GP is an opportunity to further improve the Yamaha M1 V4, and Fernandez will also have a new frame to test: "This weekend I’ll focus on the development of the bike and on defining the path to follow for Sepang and next year. I hope Valencia will give us the answers we need. The priority is to be faster and more consistent. In testing we had positive feelings and we also felt good with the tires. The frame could be an additional advantage; we’ll see how it behaves over the course of the weekend."

So far, no particularly positive feedback has surfaced about Iwata’s V4. When asked about it, Fabio Quartararo makes it clear that the project is quite behind and needs time. Undoubtedly, Yamaha is working extremely hard to become competitive again in MotoGP: we’ll see whether the chosen path yields appreciable results.