Marco Bezzecchi
Pramac are now just six races away from introducing their latest addition to MotoGP as Toprak Razgatlioglu makes the switch from the World Superbike Championship.
The Turkish rider had been linked with a switch for years, and even conducted a few tests with Yamaha. He impressed, but made sure to bide his time before deciding on a move. At the age of 29 at the start of the campaign, he’s going to be slightly older than your average rookie.
Razgatlioglu has been tipped to deliver almost straight away, but there will need to be an adjustment period after he transitions to his new machinery. The characteristics of a superbike are very different to those of MotoGP’s 1000cc bikes. It’s Pramac who are tasked with making him comfortable as soon as possible.
Even though he hasn’t climbed onto his new bike yet, Razgatlioglu has already suffered one ‘big loss’ as he doesn’t get to keep one of his closest allies. Away from the track, Razgatlioglu is pushing Yamaha ‘very hard’ and doesn’t want to give up on him.
Paolo Pavesio prepares ‘personal gamble’ with Toprak Razgatlioglu and Yamaha ahead of MotoGP debut
With the Superbike season ending in October, there’s a whole month before the post-season MotoGP test in November. Razgatlioglu is expected to provide ‘answers’ to a burning question, but they might have to wait until 2026 to find out about it.
Many of the MotoGP grid ‘think’ Razgatlioglu will win, but Yamaha’s current bike has proven that a lot of work is required. The arrival of the V4 engine provides some hope, but there’s a lot of development work to be done yet.
According to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com, Yamaha boss Paolo Pavesio is now preparing a ‘personal gamble’ ahead of his new riders’ debut.
He plans to conduct a private test, which would be his third with them since 2022, giving him a chance to get behind the handlebars of a bike with the new V4 engine.
READ MORE: Toprak Razgatlioglu has received a boost in 2026 MotoGP preparation as BMW waive ‘restrictions’
What is the most likely date for Toprak Razgatlioglu’s private Yamaha test?
Motorsport.com also reports that the test will take place at the Aragon circuit, sometime between November 9 and 10.
That’s just over one week before the start of MotoGP’s post-season testing at Barcelona, and means that the bike will be fresh in Razgatlioglu’s mind for the important running.
He won’t be expected to find pace straight away, but more to familiarise himself with the technology at his disposal, as well as the different behaviour of the machine.
Razgatlioglu has spoken to Marc Marquez in private phone calls, informing him that he’s looking forward to battling with him. To get there, Yamaha have a lot of work to do first.
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