Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu was the slowest full-time rider on day one of MotoGP testing at Sepang. But his best time was only 1.6 seconds off the benchmark set by Marc Marquez.
It’s a respectable effort from the World Superbikes champion, who was also able to ride the bike during last week’s Shakedown. Fabio Quartararo was the lead Yamaha, eight-tenths up the road, but Razgatlioglu was within half a second of both Jack Miller and Alex Rins.
Based on the form of those riders last season, Miller and Rins are far more realistic targets for Razgatlioglu in his rookie season.
Picking up where he left off, is this the start of MotoGP title #8 for Marc Marquez? 🧐
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Razgatlioglu is receiving assistance from Andrea Dovizioso, the Yamaha test rider and MotoGP legend who is also in action in Malaysia.
Jack Miller on Toprak Razgatlioglu’s seating position at Yamaha
In an interview on Monday, Miller remarked on the different riding positions of the Yamaha riders.
As it stands, Razgatlioglu can’t use Yamaha’s seat aero due to MotoGP regulations.
The Turkish rider is over 6ft tall, which means that Yamaha would be breaching the bike height rules without the modifications. Quartararo is just under 5ft 10in.
What does Toprak need to achieve in 2026 to join Yamaha’s 2027 factory line-up?
One suspects that Yamaha will find a workaround before the season begins to avoid compromising Razgatlioglu’s performance, but his riding position may still look extreme.
“I’m in the middle, Fabio’s bike is pretty steep, and Toprak rides the bike like a chopper,” a ‘laughing’ Miller remarked, via Speedweek. “We have the whole spectrum, which is good for us. We can get a lot of information from it.”
Paolo Pavesio loves Toprak Razgatlioglu’s ‘unfiltered’ Yamaha feedback
Speaking to the same publication, Yamaha boss Paolo Pavesio said that Razgatlioglu’s lack of MotoGP experience is actually helpful. It means his feedback isn’t clouded by previous Grand Prix bikes.
Pavesio wants to reach a point where all four M1 riders are on the same page, but for now, Razgatlioglu’s fresh ‘perspective’ is welcome.
“The fact that Toprak has no MotoGP experience is also an advantage,” said Pavesio. “His statements are unfiltered and based on pure feeling, which also provides a valuable perspective when analysing the data.
“When you’re working on a new project, it’s not really possible. But we want to get to the point where the riders at the grassroots level reach a common understanding about further development.”
Yamaha say they are ’15 years’ behind with their V4 engine, having made the switch a generation later than their competitors. That is likely to make them the slowest team on the grid for most of this year.
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