Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez has urged Toprak Razgatlioglu to ‘wait and see’ rather than rushing into a judgement about the struggling Yamaha team.
The MotoGP and World Superbike champions will share the track competitively for the first time at the Thailand Grand Prix this weekend.
But while Marquez is the Buriram victory favourite, Razgatlioglu will struggle to score points based on pre-season testing.
Has Toprak Razgatlioglu joined the WRONG MotoGP team?
Yamaha remain the slowest manufacturer on the grid, just as they were last year, but the switch from an inline four to a relatively primitive V4 engine has left them detached.
Marc Marquez assesses Fabio Quartararo and Toprak Razgatlioglu futures
During Thursday’s pre-race press conference, Marquez was asked to comment on the problems Razgatlioglu and 2021 world champion Fabio Quartararo were facing at Yamaha.
It’s an open secret within MotoGP that Quartararo is moving to Honda for 2027, having lost faith in the Yamaha project.
That will hardly fill Razgatlioglu, who signed a two-year manufacturer contract, with confidence. But Marquez has told the Pramac rider not to rush into any judgments.
Predict the order of the Yamaha riders in the 2026 MotoGP standings
“Look, there are many times in sports, and especially in motorsports, that it doesn’t all depend on the rider or the machine,” Marquez said, via AS. “It’s a combination, and you need to follow your instincts and find the best project for the moment you’re in.
“In the end, you might think, ‘Yes, you have to wait, work on this project and this bike.’ But ultimately, the years go by, and our careers aren’t very long, so both will have to decide what their priorities are.
“But in Quartararo’s case, it’s different because he has to decide, if he hasn’t already, which future option he wants. And in Toprak’s case, he has to wait a bit to see what happens, since he’s barely been in the championship.”
What did Toprak Razgatlioglu say on Thailand Grand Prix media day?
Razgatlioglu is ‘trying not to look at the timesheets’ for the moment, instead focusing on his adaptation.
While ‘everyone’ is telling him that he will need time, he is naturally impatient. The 29-year-old is used to dominating after his spell in WSBK.
He acknowledges that Yamaha might not be truly competitive until next year and seems willing to bide his time. The switch to Pirelli tyres – he used the Italian rubber in Superbikes – should play into his hands.
But Neil Hodgson is concerned that Razgatlioglu will start to ‘hate’ MotoGP before the year is out. It looks as if he will have to compete in 44 races this year (including Sprints) with a bike that doesn’t allow him to show his talents.
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