MotoGP rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu says his crash during his maiden race outing in the Thai Grand Prix sprint was caused by an engine braking issue he battled from lap one.

The three-time World Superbike champion made his highly anticipated MotoGP race debut on Saturday in the Buriram sprint.

Going from row seven on the grid, Toprak Razgatlioglu wasn’t on for any points in the 13-lap contest, but was running strongly behind Pramac team-mate Jack Miller, who finished 15th.

However, at the end of lap 11, the Turkish rider crashed his Yamaha at the final corner. He rejoined to finish 20th ahead of Gresini stand-in Michele Pirro.

‘I almost crashed on the first lap’

He later explained that he battled an engine braking issue from the start, which ultimately caught him out.

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“The beginning was not bad, especially when we are starting,” he said.

“When we came to the first corner, I saw Jack brake a little bit early, and after I used the brake directly, because I don’t know if the carbon brake is warmed up or not.

“I’m really scared in the first corner. But after I was just trying to adapt because everyone tries their best in that corner.

“When I started to follow Jack, I’m riding very well, many laps I’m just following him.

“I understand which sector he’s fast, which sector I’m strong.

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“But I had from the beginning a problem with the engine brake in the last corner.

“Normally, we used the same map, but I felt a difference on the last corner.

“And on the first lap, I almost crashed there on the brakes. I felt the front lock two times and I went wide.

“After, I just said I had to adapt this set-up, especially in the last corner. I’m just riding like this, but in the end I was just trying to catch Jack.

“But last three laps I needed to get closer to him to try to attack, I tried to brake a little bit late.

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“Everything was perfect until I started to lean, because I felt the first locking.

“But the problem was when I leaned more, the rear came back quickly, and I lost the front.”

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