Toprak Razgatlioglu admits he lacks the ‘status’ in MotoGP to block what Pramac have just rejected

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Toprak Razgatlioglu may be a two-time World Superbike champion and potentially in line for his third title in 2025, but he will be a rookie in MotoGP with Pramac in 2026.

The 28-year-old will finally make the switch from the production bike series to the prototype championship next year. Razgatlioglu agreed to a two-year contract for Yamaha in June that will see him quit the BMW World Superbike crew for Pramac from the 2026 MotoGP season.

It will be a big shock to the system for the Turkish rider, who has never raced in MotoGP and will debut in the last year of the current regulations. Razgatlioglu will go to many new tracks, use Michelin tyres instead of Pirellis, and Yamaha are expected to race their V4 bike in 2026.

Given the expected challenges of his move from World Superbikes next season, Razgatlioglu notes it “won’t be easy” to accept finishing outside the top 10 in MotoGP. The Alanya native knows he needs to focus on learning in 2026, with the aim of then fighting for more in 2027.

Toprak Razgatlioglu could not stop Pramac from blocking his crew chief, Phil Marron, joining him in MotoGP

Razgatlioglu will also have to build a rapport with a new crew chief when he joins Pramac in 2026. Pramac have blocked Razgatlioglu’s request for his BMW World Superbike crew chief, Phil Marron, to join him in MotoGP, which the Turkish star suggests Yamaha had agreed to.

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

Pramac have signed Alberto Giribuola after he quit KTM Tech3, despite Razgatlioglu’s desire to work with Marron in MotoGP. Marron is staying at BMW in World Superbikes and he will work with Miguel Oliveira, who Yamaha dropped from Pramac’s line-up to sign Razgatlioglu.

Razgatlioglu admits he could not stop Pramac from blocking his request for Marron to be his crew chief as the two-time World Superbikes champion lacks the “status” in MotoGP. But he does not rule out revisiting the topic in the future, having worked with Marron since 2019.

“I’ll see him once in the garage,” Razgatlioglu said, via Motosprint. “Yamaha initially agreed, but then Pramac opted for a different plan. As much as I push, I’m a rookie, after all. I don’t have the status I have here, but maybe in the future I’ll reunite with Phil.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu will work with Enea Bastianini’s former crew chief, Alberto Giribuola

Razgatlioglu has worked with Marron since the 2019 World Superbikes season when he rode for Kawasaki. The Turkish star took his crew chief with him to Yamaha’s WSBK team in 2020, and also to BMW when he later switched the Japanese brand for the German outfit in 2024.

But Pramac did not want Razgatlioglu working with a crew chief who last worked in MotoGP with Eugene Laverty in 2015 and 2016. So, the Tuscany natives convinced Giribuola to leave Tech3, whom he had only joined ahead of the 2025 season to reunite with Enea Bastianini.

An unnamed executive at the Iwata outfit also claims Yamaha questioned Razgatlioglu’s wish for Marron to join Pramac. The Japanese crew did not believe it would be productive for him to have a crew chief as a rookie next year who has not worked in MotoGP in the last decade.

Bastianini told Giribuola to leave Tech3 immediately if he planned on joining Pramac to work with Razgatlioglu next year. Otherwise, the Italian wanted his long-time crew chief to stay at Tech3 through next season, which Giribuola refused to accept so that he could join Pramac.