Toprak Razgatlioglu has already suffered one ‘big loss’ even before making his MotoGP debut for Pramac

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Toprak Razgatlioglu is set to make his MotoGP debut with Pramac Yamaha next season, but has already suffered a ‘big loss’ in his maiden season due to one decision made by the team.

Razgatlioglu has been tipped to cause trouble when he joins the MotoGP grid, with the two-time World SuperBikes champion just three rounds away from adding a third to his list of accolades in the category.

Dorna’s decision to replace Michelin with Pirelli as the premier class’ tyre supplier can also be considered as a positive for the Turkish rider. Pirelli have supplied tyres for the WSBK since 2004.

Razgatlioglu was ‘pushing’ for his BMW crew chief, Phil Marron, to make the move over to MotoGP with him in hopes of maximising efficiency in his maiden season in Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

Marron has previous experience in the category, which would have been crucial for Razgatlioglu to enter the series with the existing synergy between the rider and crew chief.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Toprak Razgatlioglu from net worth to nickname

Toprak Razgatlioglu won’t have his World SuperBikes crew chief in the Pramac garage

However, the Turkish rider’s demands were not met, with it looking like Alberto Giribuola will make the switch from Tech3 to join the Italian satellite team as Razgatlioglu’s crew chief. Enea Bastianini confirmed Giribuola’s exit from the team in his Thursday afternoon media duties.

Speaking on the Paddock Pass Podcast, journalists David Emmett and Neil Morrison discussed the move from Pramac, highlighting the ‘lost opportunity’ that the team have provided their new rider.

“The things that I read and heard were that Giribuola was just unhappy with the KTM set-up and everything inside that,” Emmett started.

“It looks like he’s gonna be Toprak Razgatlioglu’s crew chief, which seems like a lost opportunity, because Phil Marron has worked with Toprak in a BMW, a Yamaha, a Kawasaki.

“He’s been superb; he’s given Toprak exactly what Toprak needs to actually perform. So it seems like a loss.”

“And it was against Toprak’s wishes,” Morrison added. “I think, Steve, our colleague, has let us know that Toprak really wanted Phil to come over with him from the World Superbike paddock.

“It’s a big ask for him to be coming across to a new series, new team, new manufacturer, new bike, new tyres and not have that familiarity of that one person that knows exactly what he means when he says certain things in the box; you have to imagine that it’s a big loss.”

READ MORE: Everything to know about Pramac from the MotoGP team’s riders to bike

Toprak Razgatlioglu will be on equal footing with the rest of the Yamaha riders in his debut MotoGP season

Yamaha unveiled their V4-powered M1 on Thursday afternoon ahead of the San Marino Grand Prix. Yamaha wildcard rider Augusto Fernandez will race the bike for the very first time at Misano to collect crucial data for the team under racing conditions.

The earliest opportunity for the rest of the Yamaha riders to enter it in a MotoGP race weekend will be the 2026 season, due to the fact that all four riders have used up the two aero homologations that they are allocated for each season.

Yamaha risks a disqualification if it enters the new M1 with an existing rider. The rule could be seen as good news for Razgatlioglu’s debut season, as his stablemates at the Japanese constructor will be entering the season with the same amount of race experience as himself on the new bike.

Fabio Quartararo tested the new Yamaha at Barcelona following the conclusion of the Catalan Grand Prix last weekend.

The lap times were rumoured to be around a second and a half slower than Quartararo’s time in qualifying for the race, which can be considered very solid when taking into account the damp conditions he experienced during the test.