Marco Bezzecchi
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s MotoGP crew chief, Alberto Giribuola, has revealed the reason why the Pramac ace’s extraordinary talent on two wheels often leaves him and the rest of the Italian satellite outfit “scared”.
Even though the former World Superbikes title-winner is currently languishing at the back of the premier class grid, Razgatlioglu has still managed to show glimpses of the reasons why he was such a hot commodity in the production motorcycle racing category.
What grade would you give Toprak Razgatlioglu after the first half of his rookie season?
The Turkish rider is yet to claim a top 10 finish in MotoGP as he continues to endure a difficult rookie campaign atop backmarker machinery, but Pramac boss Gino Borsoi has been impressed by Razgatlioglu’s openness to feedback.
While the results clearly aren’t there, that is through no fault of Razgatlioglu. Pramac strongly believe he has all the ingredients to be successful in MotoGP, with Alberto Giribuola now the latest figure from the team to express their awe at his abilities.
Alberto Giribuola on why Pramac get ‘scared’ watching Toprak Razgatlioglu
In a recent interview with GPOne, Giribuola, who has previously crewed for Andrea Dovizioso and Enea Bastianini, was asked to sum up his new project following Razgatlioglu’s switch from production to prototype machinery at the start of 2026.
Giribuola sees some similarities between Dovizioso and Razgatlioglu, with the former actually being an integral part of the latter’s development this year as Yamaha’s test rider. “He’s part of the group of riders who brake late, so like Dovi, he’s a late-braker,” Giribuola said.
“However, Dovi was much more sector-specific—for example, while he’s truly a late-braker, he really struggles at certain high-speed sections, like Phillip Island. Toprak, on the other hand, even on fast sections, sometimes works pure magic.
“He enters certain corners so aggressively that even we get scared, so he’s a hard-braker but with flashes of brilliance in other areas too—perhaps more well-rounded in some respects.”
- READ MORE: Andrea Dovizioso tells Toprak Razgatlioglu exactly what he wants to hear after miserable German GP
Giribuola then pinpointed yet another impressive attribute of the three-time WSBK champion, adding, “Another incredible trait he has is that if he follows someone else, he can immediately keep up and do the same things even if he’s never done them before.
“He has this ability to adapt and observe. Simply by having a reference point, he can make a huge difference, whereas other riders often can’t keep up with someone faster than themselves.”
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