Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu admits the deficit to lead Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo at the French Grand Prix was ‘huge’.
Quartararo finished sixth at Le Mans, Yamaha’s best Sunday performance of the season. Razgatlioglu also posted his highest finish, but wasn’t satisfied with 13th.
He finished 32.5 seconds behind race winner Jorge Martin and around 25 seconds behind Quartararo, the equivalent of over one second per lap.
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Toprak Razgatlioglu scratches his head at ‘incredible’ Fabio Quartararo
Razgatlioglu thinks he lost five to six seconds with an error during the race, but even that would only have gained him one position.
As a three-time World Superbikes champion, Razgatlioglu hoped to challenge Quartararo, who has recently been in a league of his own at Yamaha.
But while he beat the Frenchman at the United States GP, he acknowledges that he hasn’t been on the level of the 2021 title winner for the most part.
Quartararo set a 1:29.8 during qualifying on Saturday as he secured a second-row starting position, while Razgatlioglu only managed a 1:30.4 in P17.
If Toprak Razgatlioglu wins a MotoGP title, where he would rank among the motorcycle racing greats?
He already has three World Superbike crowns
“Fabio did an incredible job this weekend,” the Turkish rider said, via Speedweek. “We don’t have his race pace. I’m constantly trying to understand why. I’m always looking at the data. We need to understand how we can get the bike up to that level.”
“32 seconds is huge for me. I’m always looking at Fabio because he rides the same bike. Even without my mistake in turn nine, it might have been 26 or 27 seconds. That’s still a huge gap.
“It looks like Fabio is simply riding the bike very well. He was extremely strong, especially here at his home race. But we need to keep improving.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu reveals new set-up plan for Catalan Grand Prix
Razgatlioglu has now decided to align himself with Quartararo’s setup at the Catalan GP next weekend. He has explored his own direction up to this point.
“I’m running a different setup than the other riders,” he said. “In Barcelona, we’ll try something that’s closer to Fabio’s setup. You need a bike that turns in very well there. Plus, the track has very little grip.”
Razgatlioglu has held himself to a high standard in the early months of the season despite his inexperience in Grand Prix racing. He added in the same media briefing that he still isn’t entirely comfortable with his riding position on the M1.
He also said that he struggles with a full tank of fuel and fresh tyres at the start of a race, but tends to come alive when the bike gets lighter and starts to slide.
Razgatlioglu heads to Barcelona 20th in the championship, sandwiched between Quartararo’s factory teammate Alex Rins and Pramac partner Jack Miller.
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