Marco Bezzecchi
Neil Hodgson feels Toprak Razgatlioglu endured a disastrous qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix as he is struggling with how the front Michelin tyre behaves on a cold track.
Razgatlioglu delivered the worst qualifying performance of his fledgling MotoGP career thus far in Barcelona on Saturday, as the Pramac star recorded the slowest lap time during Q1 on his Yamaha YZR-M1. The 29-year-old also had a late crash, which confined him to last place.
Three-time World Superbike champion Razgatlioglu only registered a personal-best lap time of 1:42.945 during Q1. He was 4.395 seconds off the fastest lap time in Q1 by VR46’s Franco Morbidelli aboard a year-old Ducati GP25 and 4.193s adrift of Aprilia ace Jorge Martin in P2.
Even Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez registered a faster lap time than Razgatlioglu did during Q1, as the Spaniard set a 1:39.876 as the only other rider more than a second off the pace. Factory Yamaha rider Alex Rins with the other YZR-M1 in Q1 registered a 1:39.280 lap.
Can Aprilia still win the 2026 Catalan Grand Prix after Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi’s disappointing qualifying results?
Neil Hodgson blames Toprak Razgatlioglu’s qualifying crash in Barcelona on learning the Michelin tyres
Hodgson feels Razgatlioglu’s woe during qualifying for the Catalan GP, as Pedro Acosta took pole with KTM, was simply down to his lack of knowledge about how the front Michelin tyre behaves on a cold track. He certainly believes the tyre was the cause of Razgatlioglu’s crash.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Toprak Razgatlioglu from net worth to nickname
Razgatlioglu was one of three riders to crash at Turn 5 in a similar way during Q1, as Aprilia’s Jorge Martin and Gresini gem Fermin Aldeguer also fell early under braking for the downhill left-hand turn. After his crash, Hodgson quickly noted: “Toprak is having a session to forget.”
“Here’s Toprak’s crash,” Hodgson noted on TNT Sports 2 (16/05, 10:09) after seeing a replay of Razgatlioglu’s fall at Turn 5 during qualifying. “This will be a locked front. There you go.
“Think of this, you’re looking at Toprak, right? [He is] one of the most skilful riders I’ve ever watched, a rider who could ride completely over the limit in World Superbikes and not crash. [He could always] feel his front tyre.
“But when you get a cold track with a Michelin tyre, that’s what happens. It locks under braking and down you go. It’s like you’re riding in the wet.”
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He already has three World Superbike crowns
Pramac ace Razgatlioglu locked his front as he braked for Turn 5 during a late flying lap in Q1 at the Catalan GP on Saturday. The incident caused him to fold his front tyre, and even face-plant into the circuit to his left before rolling through the gravel trap to end his session early.
It marks the first time in his fledgling MotoGP career, after moving from World Superbikes this year, that Razgatlioglu has qualified last for a premier class Grand Prix. He has also still so far only made Q2 in Brazil, when the Alanya native was quick in the rain during practice.
Pramac team principal Paolo Campinoti is sure that Razgatlioglu’s “qualities” will “come to the fore” in MotoGP soon, as he is not an ordinary rider. But learning the Michelin tyres is proving to be a challenge after racing on Pirelli tyres during his career in World Superbikes.
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