Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu has had a difficult start to life as a Grand Prix motorcycle racer, with one World Superbikes team boss, who saw him at the height of his success in the category, highlighting how he just ‘isn’t riding the way he’s used to’.
The three-time World Superbikes title-winner was a force to be reckoned with during his time in the production motorcycle racing championship, but has endured a tough beginning to his MotoGP career with the Yamaha-backed Pramac outfit.
Rate Toprak Razgatlioglu’s chances of securing a top 10 finish in the Hungarian GP out of 10!
The Pramac rider finished FP1 at Balaton Park with the 10th fastest lap 👀
Razgatlioglu was always going to have a tough time adapting to prototype machinery due to the differences in DNA from what he was used to in WSBK, but the sub-par performance of Yamaha’s 2026-spec M1 has only compounded his issues.
During his championship-winning campaign last year, the Turkish rider failed to score a top 10 finish on just one occasion across the 36-race calendar. Since making the move to MotoGP over the winter, he has yet to secure a similar result.
Ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Razgatlioglu outlined his hopes of doing exactly that at Balaton Park, given his previous success at the circuit last year. He dominated the proceedings atop WSBK machinery, but is unlikely to replicate the feat in 2026.
Denis Sacchetti has seen a change in Toprak Razgatlioglu since leaving World Superbikes
During an interview with GPOne inside the Hungarian Grand Prix paddock, WSBK team boss Denis Sacchetti revealed the differences he has seen in Razgatlioglu after getting a close-up view of his dominance last year.
Which bike would Toprak be fastest on at Balaton Park, his 2025 BMW Superbike or Yamaha’s 2026 MotoGP V4?
“Well, that’s him. In Superbike, he’s shown he’s got something extra,” the Team Go Eleven manager began. “Here, I went to watch him ride this morning, and he’s not riding the way he’s used to, the way his riding style is.
“The difficulty for him right now is precisely this: he needs to, so to speak, rebuild himself, and try to be competitive by adapting his riding style. His riding and his strengths.
“This is certainly a track where he was very fast in Superbike; he knows it well, and it brings out his strengths. He did well today, but as we said, he’s changing his riding style, so he’s trying to adapt to this bike and these tyres.”
In line with the common sentiment inside the MotoGP paddock, Sacchetti is confident that fans will see a more competitive Razgatlioglu during the premier class’s new era of regulations in 2027. Pirelli tyres are inbound, and the Turkish rider has a plethora of experience with them.
“Then I believe we’ll see the truth next year, especially with Toprak, because when the regulations, tyres and everything else change,” he added. “The bike will be a bit more human and a bit closer, too.
“For example, the tyres he knows well; he already knows all the circuits, so it will be next year, in my opinion, that we’ll see the truth.”
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