Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu is at ‘rock bottom’ with Yamaha’s MotoGP bike, according to Paolo Pavesio, but he is confident that the Pramac rider will find his feet in the premier class.
It has been a difficult start to life in MotoGP for the three-time WSBK champion. He is currently outperforming his experienced teammate, Jack Miller, with four points to his two, but Razgatlioglu is having trouble adapting to the YZR-M1.
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He has had difficulty with his riding style, as well as getting comfortable with the machine, due to his height and his usual procedures in WSBK. Gino Borsoi feels Razgatlioglu’s mindset is ‘not on par’ with his rivals, and the Catalan Grand Prix saw his biggest struggle yet.
Razgatlioglu qualified last for the race, finishing three seconds behind Yamaha’s wildcard rider, Augusto Fernandez. He was denied points on Sunday after being hit with a tyre pressure penalty after the Grand Prix.
Paolo Pavesio admits Toprak Razgatlioglu is at ‘rock bottom’
Razgatlioglu has been following Fabio Quartararo constantly during race weekends, trying to find extra speed and performance. He is working tirelessly to improve and get off the back of the grid.
Yamaha managing director Pavesio says that the Pramac rider is at ‘rock bottom’ in MotoGP, and that he needs to make his findings from Quartararo ‘second nature’ to improve his results.
Pavesio told Moto.It: “Well, he’s smart; he’s got that sorted. He’s not under the illusion that tyres will come along that’ll let him do the things he used to do on those other Superbike bikes, because he’s smart.
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“Well, in my opinion, we’re at rock bottom. A day like Friday is interesting. From morning to afternoon, thanks to Fabio, who did a couple of laps with him, he shaved off a second, so the speed and ability are there.
“He needs to turn them into second nature because, you see, when you don’t have that instinct, as soon as you want to go a bit faster, you brake harder and wear out the tyre. Well, but it’s difficult, it’s difficult.
“He needs to stay strong; he feels that we’re all right behind him, in my opinion, but he’s a winner, so he’s suffering. Of course, I mean, quite simply, he’s suffering because of this situation.”
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Paolo Pavesio says Yamaha have ‘no doubts’ that Toprak Razgatlioglu will improve
Pramac expect Razgatlioglu to ‘take off’ in 2027 when the bikes change to 850cc engines and Pirelli tyres are introduced. Pavesio has ‘no doubts’ about his ability and potential in MotoGP.
He added: “You know, with Toprak there’s also, well, a bond that’s been there for a long time, but beyond the personal aspect, I reckon he’s following the path you might have imagined—perhaps not hoped for, but imagined.
“He arrived with 10 years’ experience in which he developed an extraordinary riding style on a certain type of motorbike with a certain type of tyre.
“He naturally sought that out; remember at Sepang, there was no rear wing because he wanted to be low, so we couldn’t fit the wide handlebars, and bit by bit we’ve returned to having a bike in MotoGP configuration.
“Now he has to take the second step, which is his riding style. Toprak has a very stop-and-go riding style; with these tyres, you can’t do any more than that on these bikes.
“So he’s, well, together with his technical director, together with his team, together with everyone here to give him a hand in finding a reset where his talent—and on this, in my opinion, we have no doubts—so we think it will come, will help him become a rider who rides a MotoGP bike the way you need to ride a MotoGP bike.”
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