Toprak Scores Just 18 Points in MotoGP. Bradl: “In an Instant, You’re in a Very Unpleasant Spiral”

Eighteen points over an entire season. That is Toprak Razgatlioglu's meager haul in his first year in MotoGP, a debut the Turk will not even get the chance to turn around: following his crash in Indonesia on October 10 and shoulder surgery, his 2026 season is over early.

Stefan Bradl explains why the three-time Superbike world champion has fallen so far behind. In an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com, he describes a downward spiral that is hard to escape.

The German does not blame the bike alone. In his view, even a slight mismatch between rider and machine can set off a chain reaction, amplified by outside pressure.

The move up a class came in a season of transition: 2026 is the final year of 1000cc bikes, Michelin tires and features such as ride-height devices. On top of that, Yamaha has not provided a competitive package. The Iwata manufacturer sits last in the constructors' standings, well behind the rest, with just over half as many points as Honda in penultimate place.

"If the combination of rider and machinery is off by even a few percentage points, you're out of the running," Bradl explains. "At that point, you can't put anything together, and everything around you becomes counterproductive. The scrutiny is intense, the media start asking questions, and the negative influences are significant. Before you know it, you're caught in a very unpleasant spiral, not to mention that your performance on the bike isn't up to par either."

Many of his MotoGP rivals had predicted that Toprak's spectacular riding style, with a stoppie at every corner entry, would not work on the prototypes. Phil Marron, his crew chief for years at Kawasaki, Yamaha and BMW, argued instead that his greatest strength was his ability to adapt. Razgatlioglu himself has admitted that he has struggled to adapt to the Michelins, which is why he is pinning his hopes on 2027, when Pirelli will become the sole supplier.

For Bradl, the key issue is the complexity of the machine. "A MotoGP bike is far more complex. He has a style of his own, and it's quite extreme. That no longer works in MotoGP, because the bikes are designed and set up to get you to reasonably competitive lap times fairly quickly, but that alone won't bring you results. We have just seen the same thing with Jake Dixon in Qatar. Many factors matter, such as tire management and race strategy—issues that are more decisive than the rider's raw speed. You can't even make the most of that speed with what you have at your disposal."

For the German, there is just one model to follow: "Marc Marquez is a master of this art. Through his skill and talent, he has continually adapted and reinvented himself with a level of perfection never seen before."

Toprak's season is already over. The real test will come in 2027, with new bikes and tires: that is when we will find out whether the problem was the package or an adaptation to MotoGP that never came.

-> Follow us on Instagram too: @Corsedimoto