Toprak Razgatlioglu 'Believes' in Yamaha MotoGP 850cc Project

Toprak Razgatlioglu has expressed his belief in Yamaha's MotoGP project heading into the 850cc era, despite admitting the Japanese factory was “not really 100 per cent ready” for the first test. The maiden 850cc test took place at Brno in the middle of the 2026 season, which marks Razgatlioglu's rookie year in the premier class after switching from BMW's WorldSBK squad to Pramac Yamaha over the winter.

For Yamaha, the test was a crucial step as they fitted the new 850cc V4 engine into the chassis used for their 1000cc bike this year. This marks Yamaha's first-ever four-stroke V4 machine in MotoGP. Despite that seemingly negative point, Razgatlioglu was pleased with the outcome.

“For me, 850cc is a positive test because we just try the engine and just this,” he told Crash.net ahead of the British Grand Prix. “I did a good job, I think. Okay, of course, the other brands also keep improving, but also Yamaha doesn’t stop, they’re also improving.”

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The Turkish rider acknowledged that the team wasn't fully prepared for the test. “Also, when we did the test we were not really 100 per cent ready for this test, just try the engine. I think we did a really good job, this is why I say ‘positive test’. I believe in this project,” he stated.

Razgatlioglu is optimistic that Yamaha can start fighting for special results next season. “Next year, okay, we are coming slowly, but if we are improving something I think next year we are starting to fight for some special results. [This is] why I’m saying this is a positive test,” he added.

The next 850cc test is scheduled for the day after the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in September. Razgatlioglu hopes for significant progress then. “But we will see in Austria because they are improving; if we improve something, maybe we are doing more special lap times. We are always focused on the lap times, because the feeling is different, but also lap times are very important. We will see in Austria,” he concluded.