Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s former World Superbikes rival, Alex Lowes, believes the 29-year-old’s difficult start to MotoGP has exposed the ‘sad’ reality of competing in the premier class.
Now six races into his MotoGP career, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s results have been a shade of what he was achieving during his highly successful years in the World Superbikes category.
Toprak Razgatlioglu has already crashed more in 2026 than he did in the whole of last season!
It was to be expected, considering he had made his debut with the Yamaha-backed Pramac outfit.
The Japanese constructor’s bikes have been on the back foot for several years now, and the 29-year-old has seemingly been hamstrung by the poor performance of the M1 this year.
Toprak Razgatlioglu can’t show ‘what he’s truly capable of’ due to Yamaha’s issues
In an interview with Speedweek, World Superbikes rider Alex Lowes highlighted the ‘sad’ reality of MotoGP in an assessment of Toprak Razgatlioglu’s rookie season in the premier class.
As a former rival of the Turkish rider in the production motorcycle racing category, the British rider is well aware of Razgatlioglu’s prowess on two wheels. However, since making the switch to prototypes, he thinks it is clear that the Pramac rider is no longer the same.
“I don’t think it can be the same,” he began. “Look at Fabio Quartararo: Is that the same Fabio as when he was world champion? No. The sad thing these days is that technology has an enormous influence, and the motorcycle can make a huge difference.
Has Toprak Razgatlioglu made a mistake moving to MotoGP in 2026?
“If you put Marc Marquez on a Yamaha, he obviously won’t win either. If you put Bulega on my bike, he still wouldn’t become world champion. Nevertheless, some would say he’s much better than everyone else.
“But on my bike, he still wouldn’t beat the Ducati riders – that’s the reality. He came into a new championship with new tyres and new technical regulations – everything was new. Under these circumstances, you basically don’t stand a chance.”
Alex Lowes says it is ‘perfectly normal’ for Toprak Razgatlioglu’s motivation to drop
Ahead of the new season, it was predicted that Razgatlioglu would start to lose motivation due to the fact that he would not be competing at the front during his first term in the sport.
Following the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Turkish rider spoke those exact words. Speaking via GPOne, Razgatlioglu revealed that his motivation dropped following a difficult Sprint race that saw him finish P18, the penultimate spot of the finishing riders.
Lowes believes the drop in motivation is entirely normal, given the transition from class-leader to struggler. He added, “If he can’t fight right at the front, then he’s not the same rider.
“But I think that’s perfectly normal. If you’ve won 13 races in a row and suddenly have to be happy to score a point in 15th place, that’s something completely different.
“If you drive a perfect race and end up maybe eleventh, you can’t have the same motivation as someone who’s fighting for wins.
“Even now, we still see in some training sessions or races how good he is. He simply doesn’t have the means to show what he’s truly capable of. That’s a shame.”
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