MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Toprak Razgatlioglu has admitted he still does not fully “trust” the Michelin front tyre in MotoGP and suggested that he may need “to crash to understand the limit” as he prepares for his race debut at the 2026 Thai Grand Prix.
The three-time World Superbike champion enters the season opener still facing a steep learning curve with the Yamaha MotoGP machinery. His pre-season campaign concluded at Buriram with a second-to-last finish on the timesheets, more than two seconds adrift of the outright pace.
During the test, Razgatlioglu followed Pramac team-mate Jack Miller in an effort to identify where he is losing performance. The exercise quickly exposed what he considers his primary limitation: front-end confidence.
“When I was following Jack, I was surprised because I was losing a lot in the first corner and the first sector in general,” he explained.
Razgatlioglu acknowledged that his riding approach remains conservative compared to established MotoGP riders, particularly in high-lean scenarios.
“I’m always riding a little bit more calmly because I don’t trust the front tyre. On braking it’s okay, but when I lean, I don’t know the limit.”
He described watching Miller commit aggressively into Turn 1, initially expecting a crash due to the extreme lean angle, only to see the bike maintain grip and direction.
“First, I was waiting for his crash, and then when I saw he was turning, I was surprised.”
Although he managed a personal best of 1m30.7s, Razgatlioglu feels that lap time does not yet reflect his full potential. Crucially, he has not experienced a crash during pre-season testing—something he now questions in terms of understanding the true performance ceiling.
“Still, I haven’t crashed, but maybe I need to crash to understand the limit,” he admitted.
Razgatlioglu emphasised that the challenge is not purely mechanical but rooted in adaptation. The transition from World Superbike to MotoGP demands a fundamentally different relationship with the tyres and the bike’s front-end feedback.
“On the brakes, I can brake very hard, but when I’m leaning, I don’t really trust the front tyre. Other riders lean completely and the bike turns, while I’m leaning and just waiting because I expect to lose the front.”
As the 2026 season begins in Thailand, Razgatlioglu’s immediate objective is to build front-end confidence without compromising stability. Mastering that balance will be decisive in closing the performance gap and accelerating his adaptation to MotoGP competition.
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Toprak Razgatlioglu admits lack of front-end confidence with Yamaha M1 as he continues adapting to MotoGP in 2026.
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