Cycle News In The Paddock
COLUMN
Toprak Again. This Time It’s For Real
Just a few weeks ago, we were once again contemplating a familiar story. Will Toprak Razgatlioglu move to MotoGP? Now we have to revisit it, again, the third time this year.
I’m sorry, I’m not going to apologize. (Apart from saying, “I’m sorry.”) But we are hostage to circumstances here. We have to respond to events. And just now, Toprak is the event.
Previously, I had my doubts about his prospects. Mainly because at 29 in October, he’s left this major career shift a bit late. But clearly Yamaha has been able to overcome those same doubts and has taken the plunge.
The Turkish giant of World Superbikes is coming to MotoGP in 2026. At last.
It seems he also had some doubts to overcome. About Yamaha. And about joining a full factory team, which he previously insisted was essential. He’s signed for Pramac Yamaha instead, which, while it nominally has exactly the same status as the Yamaha Motor team, well, it is only nominal.
Actually, the enterprise has a sort of slightly desperate “last chance” feeling. Toprak first tested a Yamaha MotoGP bike back in 2022. The previous year, he’d won the Iwata factory’s second Superbike Championship, 12 years after Ben Spies gave them their first. Beaten to second by Alvaro Bautista’s Ducati the following two years, he then switched to BMW to win the German marque’s first title. He has a good chance of repeating the feat this year.
In that time, he has provided much of the excitement and most of the glamour in that paddock, with his penchant for spectacular front-wheel-stand “stoppies” the highlight of a flamboyant riding style that leans heavily on hard braking and corner entry.
Back in 2022, he wasn’t impressed (or more likely didn’t impress) enough for an immediate slot in the factory team.
Back then, Yamaha was still riding high. Fabio Quartararo had won the title in 2021, and he was a prime contender for a repeat until the latter part of the year, when Pecco Bagnaia found his Ducati mojo.
Things are different now, both for the rider and the bike. Yamaha (along with Honda) is struggling to adapt not only their motorcycle but their whole racing approach to match the European surge led by Ducati. Some recent results by Quartararo suggest some progress. The 2021 champion’s three pole positions (at Jerez, Le Mans and Silverstone) and, more importantly, his near victory at the British track, sadly self-cancelled by mechanical failure, bear witness. However, make no mistake, these were superhuman efforts by a hugely talented rider with a depth of Grand Prix experience. Other tracks and the struggles of other riders (Alex Rins, Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira are all past GP winners) show that there is still a hill to climb.
Thus, the Turk has signed up for quite a task. Not only does he have to adapt his style to a new type of motorcycle on completely unfamiliar Michelin tires, but he also finds himself in the middle of a development program. One advantage of this is that Yamaha’s position as a down-table “concession” team allows for plentiful testing.
Riders with experience on both types of bikes warn that though lap times are sometimes not that dissimilar, there are significant differences between a MotoGP prototype and a production-based superbike, both in the possibilities they offer to a rider and in the demands made on them.
The major technical difference, apart from more horsepower, lies in a significantly stiffer chassis. A superbike (riders say) is relatively loose and amenable, tolerating and even benefiting from forceful handling. You can chuck them around more, and they let you get away with it.
Not so a MotoGP bike. Riding technique is much more nuanced and refined, and the bikes are much more exacting. Getting the very best out of them requires more sensitivity and subtlety.
Being good at jamming the brakes on hard is not enough.
Not that this describes the limit of Toprak’s abilities. Far from it, and it’s not intended to belittle him at all. However, he faces a severe test, and (not to labor the point), he has left it late. Riders typically find it easier to learn new techniques at the beginning of their careers rather than near the end.
The change from Pirelli to Michelin tires is the other big hurdle. No less a talent than Marc Marquez has talked of his apprehension at making the reverse change in 2027, when Pirelli replaces the French company as control-tire suppliers.
Toprak, by contrast, alone on the grid, has Pirelli experience. It could come in handy.
He’ll need all the help he can get. But he has the chance, if it all goes well, to prove that he is not just a good production-bike racer, but one of the true greats. CN
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