Carlo Pernat cannot understand the ‘risk’ Yamaha have dealt Toprak Razgatlioglu for rookie season

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Toprak Razgatlioglu may now be a three-time World Superbike champion, but he will be a rookie in MotoGP with Pramac in 2026 after securing a factory Yamaha contract.

The 29-year-old reached an agreement with Yamaha to race for their satellite team, Pramac, from the 2026 MotoGP season back in July. Razgatlioglu has replaced Miguel Oliveira and he will partner with Jack Miller, who signed a fresh one-year factory Yamaha deal in September.

Yamaha were the worst constructor in the 2025 championship, having finished the year with just 247 points, compared to the 768 with which Ducati won the title. Pramac were even the worst outfit in the 2025 teams’ standings with 125 points, while Yamaha sealed P6 with 269.

Razgatlioglu will now help Yamaha try to improve as they develop a V4 engine, having opted to move on from their inline four in the final year of the current regulations. The Turkish ace arrives in MotoGP after securing 21 of his 78 career wins in WSBK en route to the 2025 title.

Carlo Pernat cannot understand why Toprak Razgatlioglu will debut in the final year of the current MotoGP regulations

Razgatlioglu also faces a vast learning curve as he moves from World Superbikes to MotoGP. Pramac team manager Gino Borsoi feels Razgatlioglu realised his braking style will not work on a MotoGP bike during the Valencia test, despite it being one of his big strengths in WSBK.

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

MotoGP has carbon brake discs, whereas Razgatlioglu shone with steel brake discs in World Superbikes which also uses Pirelli tyres instead of Michelin rubber. So, Razgatlioglu admits it “won’t be easy” to accept finishing outside the top 10 in MotoGP through his rookie season.

Given the size of Razgatlioglu’s challenge next season, Carlo Pernat also cannot understand why Yamaha are bringing the Alanya native over in 2026 when MotoGP will introduce a vast regulations change in 2027 with 850cc bikes and, potentially more significantly, Pirelli tyres.

Pernat told MOW: “For now, I see the only real drama at Yamaha. The same applies to them as Honda, given that they’re an industrial giant with practically unlimited resources, but there’s a completely new and revolutionary project there, so it will inevitably take time.

“At Yamaha, they’ve also made decisions I don’t understand, like Toprak. Are you letting him debut in a year when everything will change the following year?

“He risks acquiring automatic skills that he’ll then carry over when they’re no longer needed, and the ones he acquired during his Superbike years might be useful instead.”

Fabio Quartararo is a ‘prisoner’ at Yamaha as he has no alternative team for 2027

Razgatlioglu is not the only puzzle that Pernat cannot solve in the Yamaha stable, as he fears Fabio Quartararo is almost a “prisoner” at the Japanese manufacturer. Quartararo continues to wait for his 12th career Grand Prix win having now endured a 72-race drought since 2022.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats

Quartararo, who also sealed Yamaha’s most recent riders’ title in 2021, last won a Grand Prix at the 2022 German GP. So, Quartararo admits that he has “no time” to wait for Yamaha to get their act together with their V4 engine next year ahead of his contract expiring in 2026.

It is said that Ducati see Quartararo as one of their top targets for 2027, with Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia also currently set to be out of contract in 2026. Honda are interested in Quartararo, too, but Pernat questions where the Frenchman can go if he leaves Yamaha.

Pernat added: “If Honda have half a chance to knock on Marc’s door, they will do so, and will look elsewhere if and only if Marc’s door doesn’t open.

“As for Fabio Quartararo, unfortunately, I see him as somewhat of a prisoner of Yamaha. It’s true that he says he’ll look elsewhere if the bike isn’t immediately competitive, but where?

“I’m absolutely certain that MotoGP managers’ phones are already ringing for 2027, and certainly not just now. I can already see Pedro Acosta, for example, on a Ducati, probably the all-yellow one.”