Marco Bezzecchi
Neil Hodgson says it’s a ‘real shame’ that Toprak Razgatlioglu is starting his MotoGP career on an underperforming Yamaha bike, rather than a class leader like the Ducati.
Razgatlioglu makes his MotoGP debut at the Thailand Grand Prix this weekend, but the excitement has been dulled by Yamaha’s poor showing in testing.
Indeed, Razgatlioglu placed 21st out of 22 riders on the final day of pre-season at Buriram. Every other Yamaha rider placed in the bottom seven too.
Where do you think Toprak Razgatlioglu will finish on his MotoGP debut?
The Japanese manufacturer have switched from an inline four engine to a V4 this year, which should make for the steepest development curve on the grid but has clearly put them at the back by a considerable margin.
Toprak Razgatlioglu makes MotoGP debut on ‘the worst bike imaginable’
Writing in his pre-race column for TNT Sports, Hodgson declared that Razgatlioglu is ‘almost set up to fail’ at Pramac Yamaha.
The pundit has already expressed concern that Razgatlioglu could start to ‘hate’ MotoGP this year as he adjusts from stardom and success in World Superbikes to lower-midfield obscurity.
Hodgson fears it’s not possible for Razgatlioglu to hone his riding style because the Yamaha bike is changing so frequently.
“One unhappy consequence of the problems at Yamaha is that they could even derail Toprak Razgatlioglu’s MotoGP career,” he wrote. “He’s almost set up to fail in the situation.
Has Toprak Razgatlioglu joined the WRONG MotoGP team?
“I’m a huge Toprak fan – so are most motorcycle racers. You can see what an incredible talent he is, and it’s a real shame that his first proper tilt at MotoGP is going to be on the worst bike imaginable.
“If he’d moved to Ducati, say, he could have jumped on the bike, looked at the data, and worked on his own ride, and I think he’d then be right up there. That’s not possible at Yamaha.
“The bike isn’t working, and every time he’s on it, something will have changed as they try to develop it. It keeps changing, so he has no base setting to work with.”
Neil Hodgson not convinced 2027 will be any better for Toprak Razgatlioglu
Razgatlioglu tested Yamaha’s MotoGP bike in 2022 and 2023. He may have found it easier to make the move back then rather than in the midst of a transition.
Neither party was prepared to take the risk after some difficult tests, and the rumours faded as Razgatlioglu moved to BMW in WSBK.
There’s some optimism that Razgatlioglu will thrive on the 2027 bike as MotoGP switches to more familiar Pirelli tyres, but Hodgson is concerned that Yamaha will be pressing reset ‘all over again’.
“It’s not unrealistic to say this could harm his career,” he warned. “Some riders are strong enough to take these blows, others aren’t, and we’ll find out if Toprak can over this long, painful year.
“To make matters worse, next year there are a slate of new changes, and there’s no guarantee Yamaha will be any better then. It’s like he has to go back to the start this year, and do it all over again in 2027.”
Razgatlioglu was also linked with Honda, and given the Golden Wing’s progress over the past year, perhaps that would have been a smarter move.
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