Marco Bezzecchi
Jorge Lorenzo feels sorry for Toprak Razgatlioglu ahead of his rookie MotoGP season at Pramac in 2026, as he has finally joined the field amid Yamaha’s “worst moment”.
Razgatlioglu has finally made the move to MotoGP this term after signing a two-year factory Yamaha contract to ride for their satellite squad, Pramac. His arrival in the premier class has been a long time coming, having previously rejected joining anyone except for a works crew.
The 29-year-old relented on his previous stance and agreed to race for Pramac as Yamaha have run the Tuscan team as their second factory entry since 2025. Razgatlioglu also viewed 2026 likely being his final chance to move to MotoGP ahead of the 2027 regulation changes.
Razgatlioglu considers 2026 to be his chance to learn in MotoGP, with many of the tracks on the calendar new to him, as well as the Michelin tyres and ride height devices (which will be banned in 2027). But he has also joined at a time when Yamaha are moving to a V4 engine.
Has Toprak Razgatlioglu made a mistake moving to MotoGP in 2026?
Jorge Lorenzo thinks Toprak Razgatlioglu has moved to MotoGP at Yamaha’s ‘worst moment’
Lorenzo, who won his three MotoGP titles with the factory Yamaha team, fears how 2026 is likely to develop for Razgatlioglu given the learning curve he faces and the Iwata crew’s new engine. So much so, in fact, Lorenzo feels Diogo Moreira could be the top rookie this season.
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Three-time World Superbike champion Razgatlioglu and Moreira are the only rookies in the 2026 MotoGP season, as the latter steps up with LCR as the reigning Moto2 champion on a multi-year factory Honda contract. And Lorenzo saw more potential from Honda in testing.
Lorenzo told Duralavita: “Poor, poor Toprak, who has come at Yamaha’s worst moment with Michelins, with a lot of electronics and a lot of aerodynamic wings that he doesn’t know. So, it all came together to make it even harder for him to adapt.
“Moreira is doing well. He hasn’t been in front, obviously, he’s still a bit far away. But it’s great because today, unlike when I arrived in MotoGP, there were no aerodynamics.
“So, Moreira has great talent, he’s excellent on a Supermoto, on dirt tracks, and he’s at the same level as the markers in those disciplines. But that’s normal, because it’s a whole other world. It’s very difficult in MotoGP, it always has been but even more so today.
“And Toprak, too. Toprak has been riding road bikes all his life. They are not prototypes. They’re much softer, with other tyres. He rode much harder on braking, cornering and exits, and now he has to make his way through the corners.
“So, it’s going to be tough for them both. I don’t know who’s going to have a harder time, to be honest. If Honda are much better than Yamaha, Moreira could even be ahead of Toprak.”
Yamaha engineers played down the concerns about their V4 engine to Jorge Lorenzo
Lorenzo fears Yamaha’s new V4 engine is especially a cause for concern for Razgatlioglu’s rookie season, as the Japanese brand switches from their inline four during the final year of the 1,000cc regulations. MotoGP is due to switch to 850cc engines during the 2027 season.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Toprak Razgatlioglu from net worth to nickname
What does Toprak need to achieve in 2026 to join Yamaha’s 2027 factory line-up?
Yamaha knew they had to use a V4 engine in 2026 after reading the 2027 regulations, as the switch offers them a chance to learn the different configuration while developing next year’s unit. But Yamaha had a raft of problems with their V4 during pre-season testing in Malaysia.
Works rider Alex Rins revealed that teammate Fabio Quartararo and Razgatlioglu broke two of Yamaha’s V4 engines in Sepang, which ultimately led the Iwata crew to sit out the second day. But Lorenzo spoke with Yamaha’s engineers in Sepang, who played down the concerns.
Lorenzo added: “I think it was dramatised more in the press with headlines about Yamaha [being] in crisis, etc. I met three or four people from Yamaha that I knew and worked with, and they were calm.
“They said, ‘It’s normal. It’s like it’s a new project, a new engine that we’ve never had’, and other teams have been using that type of engine configuration their whole lives, 20 years, 25 years.
“It’s normal for problems to arise. The project is very young, so I didn’t see them as worried.”
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