Marco Bezzecchi
Andrea Dovizioso admits “no one” expected Pramac rider Toprak Razgatlioglu to rival Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo within his first three MotoGP races like he did in America.
Dovizioso still believes Razgatlioglu is not riding the V4 Yamaha YZR-M1 “perfectly”, given he is still adapting to Michelin’s tyres along with this year being the start of Yamaha’s V4 engine project. But the 29-year-old is surprising everyone with how strong he already is on the M1.
Razgatlioglu scored the first point of his MotoGP career last weekend with P15 in the United States Grand Prix at COTA. He held off Pramac teammate Jack Miller by 0.760s to clinch the last point-paying position, after also overtaking Yamaha rider Quartararo amid the final laps.
Quartararo was “really impressed” by Razgatlioglu at COTA, as he felt the Turkish racer used the riding style he refined to win three World Superbike titles to protect his tyres more than the 2021 MotoGP champion did. Michelin’s tyres have been Razgatlioglu’s biggest challenge.
What do you rate Toprak Razgatlioglu’s first three MotoGP races out of 10?
Toprak Razgatlioglu beating Fabio Quartararo in the United States Grand Prix stunned Andrea Dovizioso
Razgatlioglu can only compare his early MotoGP results to those of the other Yamaha riders due to the deficiencies of the Japanese brand’s first V4 engine since abandoning their inline four project. But what the Alanya native showed in Texas left a big impression on Dovizioso.
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Yamaha test rider Dovizioso has been a key source of help for Razgatlioglu, but “no one” at the Iwata outfit expected to see him compete with the likes of Quartararo so soon after his MotoGP move. Razgatlioglu was also the second-fastest Yamaha rider in qualifying at COTA.
Dovizioso told Moto.it: “Yamaha are going through a somewhat unusual situation, but as we expected. Anyone who’s worked on new projects, with new bikes, knows full well what the difficulties are, and it’s not really a surprise to us.
“Toprak is not riding the bike perfectly because he hasn’t yet adapted to the tyres. He’s not riding the way the tyres ask you to.
“And yet, he’s competing with other winning and very strong Yamaha riders. That’s the surprise. No one expected it in Austin, and he even managed to do better than Fabio, an outrageous talent.”
Quartararo was the fastest Yamaha rider in qualifying for the United States GP, as the factory star secured P16 on the grid ahead of Razgatlioglu in P17, Miller in P19 and Alex Rins in P21. Razgatlioglu was 0.192s slower than Quartararo, but 0.148s faster than Miller around COTA.
Razgatlioglu has thanked Miller for his help so far this year, with the Australian playing a key role in him adapting to the Yamaha M1 and move to MotoGP. Miller and Dovizioso’s support paid off in Texas, as Razgatlioglu joined Quartararo (6) and Rins (3) in taking a point in 2026.
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