{"id":499195,"date":"2026-02-23T16:55:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:55:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/499195\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:55:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:55:52","slug":"toprak-razgatlioglu-always-sad-over-lack-of-pace-amid-steep-motogp-learning-curve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/499195\/","title":{"rendered":"Toprak Razgatlioglu \u201calways sad\u201d over lack of pace amid steep MotoGP learning curve"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toprak Razgatlioglu<\/a> has admitted he is \u201calways getting sad\u201d due to his lack of early speed on a MotoGP bike following a challenging end to pre-season testing in Buriram.<\/p>\n

Razgatlioglu moved to MotoGP with Pramac Yamaha this year as a three-time World Superbike champion, becoming the first rider to make such a switch between the two categories since Cal Crutchlow<\/a> in 2011.<\/p>\n

His adaptation to MotoGP has proven to be tough so far, with the Turkish rider finishing 21st among 22 riders on the final day of the Buriram test, more than two seconds off the outright pace.<\/p>\n

MotoGP prototypes are fundamentally different to road-based WSBK machinery, while the switch from Pirelli to Michelin rubber has added another layer of complexity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yamaha\u2019s all-new V4-powered M1, which was slow, unreliable and difficult to ride in testing, has only compounded the challenge.<\/p>\n

\"Toprak <\/p>\n

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pramac Racing<\/p>\n

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography \/ LAT Images \/ via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Even the Japanese marque\u2019s star rider Fabio Quartararo<\/a> paid a special visit to the Pramac garage on Sunday, having sensed that the transition had been mentally taxing for the 29-year-old.<\/p>\n

Speaking about Quartararo\u2019s visit, Razgatlioglu explained the key areas in which he has been struggling while admitting that the lack of speed had begun to weigh on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were talking about this year,\u201d the 29-year-old told the media at Buriram. \u201cI’m still learning, and he said, \u2018Don’t rush, Yamaha are improving, and also you are trying to adapt [to] the tyres\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said it was also very difficult with the new bike.\u00a0I’m trying to adapt. He just said, \u2018Stay calm, you don’t need to rush, you don’t need to destroy your…\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m always thinking corner by corner, trying to do my best, but lap time is not coming, and I’m always getting sad.\u00a0But I know this, because when I moved to the MotoGP, I understood that tyres and bikes are completely different, and I need to adapt to this.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut still, I’m not really adapting, especially the front tyre. Maybe I can do hard braking, but when I am leaning, I’m not really able to trust [the bike] like the other riders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other riders are leaning completely. When the bike starts turning, I’m leaning, but I’m already waiting to lose the front tyre. Still, I’ve not crashed and the bike is in one piece. But maybe I need to crash to understand the limit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Razgatlioglu revealed that he aborted a race simulation on Sunday due to a lack of speed, but admitted that longer runs helped him find his rhythm and gain a better understanding of his 2026 package.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tried a race simulation, but I didn’t like the set-up,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe had two bikes. One bike is a different set-up and the second bike is a different set-up. I don’t like it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOn lap 10, I came back to the box because I was doing slow lap times. I said, \u2018It’s better to come back to the box, because not everything is going fine\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter lunch, we start running on used tyres to understand the bike. But also we did a good lap time, because the tyres [had done] like 14 laps. We [normally] do six, seven laps with this tyre, so we did a really good lap time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Toprak <\/p>\n

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pramac Racing<\/p>\n

Photo by: Steve Wobser \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m also surprised, because when I’m riding many laps, I start adapting to how the bike has to be ridden, and also try to manage the tyres.\u201d<\/p>\n

Razgatlioglu followed his Pramac team-mate Jack Miller<\/a> on the final day of testing, and was surprised to see how the Australian was able to lean on the bike and maintain trust in his front tyre.<\/p>\n

Miller was the fastest Yamaha rider in Buriram testing, finishing a tenth clear of Quartararo and four tenths up on Alex Rins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I followed Jack for the time attack, I was very surprised, because I lost a lot at the first corner\u00a0\u2013 and the first sector in general,\u201d Razgatlioglu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand him, I’m always riding a little bit calm, because I don’t have a lot of trust in the front tyre. On the brakes, it’s OK, but when I’m leaning, I don’t know the limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I see Jack in the first corner, he’s leaning a lot directly. First, I’m waiting for him to crash! When I see his turning, I’m also surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOK, I’m pushing my best, I did a 1m30.7s, but I’m still surprised. Normally, I’m riding more calmly in that corner, and also the others in some corners are doing similar things. Anyway, this is good, because he’s a team-mate. It\u2019s easy to look at his data.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos from Buriram test – Day 2<\/p>\n

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\"Toprak<\/p>\n


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\"Marc<\/p>\n


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\"Pedro<\/p>\n


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\"Joan<\/p>\n


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– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Toprak Razgatlioglu has admitted he is \u201calways getting sad\u201d due to his lack of early speed on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":499196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,249637,249638,5745,806,805,803,804,3560,85,23899,251126],"class_list":{"0":"post-499195","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-buriram-official-testing","11":"tag-chang-international-circuit","12":"tag-motogp","13":"tag-motor","14":"tag-motor-sports","15":"tag-motosport","16":"tag-motosports","17":"tag-pramac-racing","18":"tag-sports","19":"tag-toprak-razgatlioglu","20":"tag-toprak-razgatlioglu-u201calways-sadu201d-over-lack-of-pace-amid-steep-motogp-learning-curve"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=499195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/499195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/499196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=499195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=499195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=499195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}