Marco Bezzecchi
Jonathan Rea says Toprak Razgatlioglu’s challenge in MotoGP this year is ‘mental’ as much as mechanical. Rea and Razgatlioglu used to be competitors in the World Superbikes championship.
While Rea only competed in two MotoGP events, Razgatlioglu has made a fully-fledged switch to Grand Prix racing. He scored his first point in the United States last weekend.
Razgatlioglu impressed Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha’s traditional lead rider, by beating him on merit. He is also beating experienced Pramac teammate Jack Miller in both the qualifying and race head-to-heads.
What do you rate Toprak Razgatlioglu’s first three MotoGP races out of 10?
Jonathan Rea says ‘mental management’ is crucial for Toprak Razgatlioglu
Speaking to GPOne, Rea emphasised that Razgatlioglu is an ‘extraordinary’ rider who can be ‘one of the best’ at Yamaha.
Razgatlioglu struggled to look at the timing screens when he first started riding the M1, currently the slowest bike on the grid. Accustomed to fighting for race wins, he’s now in a situation where P15 is a good result.
Rea says that recalibration will be difficult, and also pointed out that Razgatlioglu is facing huge ‘expectations’ after winning three WSBK titles. He was linked with MotoGP for years before finally taking the step.
“He’s an extraordinary talent,” said Rea. “I hope he can find the right confidence, because it’s crucial for him. He’s not used to being outside the top, so mental management will be important.
“I hope Yamaha finds the right path, because even Fabio, one of the most talented, is struggling. When you’re a rookie and have to learn new circuits, with all the expectations on your shoulders, it’s very difficult.
“The most important thing is to grow step by step without too much pressure. As I said, Toprak isn’t used to being outside the podium places and will have to cope mentally.
“Miller said that there are two different styles at Yamaha: Fabio and Toprak. Razgatlioglu, after testing the bike, realised that it’s not that simple.
“It takes time, but the most important thing is for the rider to feel comfortable and have confidence in the bike. If he can tailor it to his needs, he can become one of the best at Yamaha.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s eye-opening crash stat after first MotoGP races
At the second race of 2026, Razgatlioglu equalled his entire 2025 crash tally. While that stat appears damning on paper, it is a testament to his consistency in WSBK (he only fell twice last year).
Razgatlioglu blamed technical problems for his race-ending crash in the Thailand Sprint, so it’s not solely down to rider error. He also remains near the bottom of the leaderboard, and he didn’t hit the tarmac at all in testing.
There’s every reason to be confident, then, that Razgatlioglu will not be crash-prone in MotoGP despite a couple of early mishaps.
The 29-year-old has consistently said that 2027 is his priority. After a year of adaptation, he will switch to more familiar Pirelli rubber on what he hopes will be a truly competitive Yamaha bike.
Receive racing news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
