Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu is already beating Fabio Quartararo at Yamaha in his debut MotoGP season, which does not come as a surprise to Marco Melandri.
The Turkish rider beat the 2021 MotoGP champion for the first time at COTA, marking his first point since moving from World Superbikes. Quartararo is still Yamaha’s top rider, having scored six points thus far in 2026, but Razgatlioglu is closing the gap.
What do you rate Toprak Razgatlioglu’s first three MotoGP races out of 10?
Kenan Sufuoglu wanted Razgatlioglu to be Yamaha’s top rider by the end of the 2026 season, and the Pramac star is already showing that he can get the better of Quartararo.
The Frenchman and his fellow Yamaha riders are desperately struggling with the V4 engine as the Iwata outfit look far off the pace. Quartararo has not been consistently competitive with the team for years, and Melandri thinks his motivation is starting to dwindle.
Marco Melandri says Fabio Quartararo is ‘helpless’ at Yamaha in 2026
Chaz Davies bet on Razgatlioglu surpassing Quartararo in 2026, and Melandri is not surprised to see the Turkish rider get the better of El Diablo.
Speaking to Fanpage, he thinks Quartararo is ‘helpless’ at Yamaha, and his motivation is waning as he continues to struggle at the back of the grid.
How much responsibility does Fabio Quartararo need to take for Yamaha’s problems?
He said: “Toprak is a champion, I’m not surprised. Quartararo, on the other hand, is paying the price: when you’re always behind, motivation wanes. It’s inevitable.
“On the one hand, we have a rider who’s just arrived in the category, a mature rider, who wants to prove he can compete with anyone; on the other, we have a rider who’s been pushing the cart for years and probably feels helpless.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats
Marco Melandri says Yamaha is in a ‘deeper crisis’
Melandri assessed the Yamaha project’s struggles in 2026, saying that the team are in a ‘deeper crisis’ and that he cannot see a way that things can improve at the moment.
He added: “Honda is improving, but it’s still far away. Mir is doing his best, but the bike is still complicated.”
“Yamaha, on the other hand, is in a deeper crisis: it’s no longer just a question of engine or grip, but of the entire project. They’re truly in a tunnel, and there seems to be no light in sight.”
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