After finishing 13th over the weekend at the Le Mans circuit, which was unfamiliar to him, Toprak Razgatlioglu arrived in Barcelona with the clear intention of continuing his learning curve on the Yamaha M1.
Motivated by the progress he’s made in recent championship races, the three-time Superbike World Champion is looking to take another step forward on the Catalan track, where he boasts two victories and numerous other podium finishes in the production-based class. In addition to drawing on his experience, Toprak will try to achieve this by also working on his bike’s set-up to make it more similar to the one used in France by Fabio Quartararo.
“Fabio is really fast at Le Mans, and I congratulate him because he did an excellent job. His riding style is completely different. He’s really strong in terms of cornering speed. We analyzed his set-up and data, and he uses a different set-up than everyone else. The front wings are the same ones I use. Quartararo and I use those, while the others use the new ones. From what the data shows, it also seems we used a very similar gearbox configuration. The only difference is that for me, it worked well to take the last corner in first gear, while he stayed in second,” the Turkish rider explained.
“In any case, I’ll try his set-up here in Catalonia, because his bike is much lower at the front. It’s not usually my style, but maybe I’ll like it, I’ll feel better in the corners, and we’ll make some progress. We’ll try it tomorrow, and it would be good for me if we could find something that lets me handle the corners better, because that’s crucial on this circuit, where you also have to manage the rear tire well. It wears out a lot here,” he continued. “It’s strange, but I usually like this track because I’ve raced here many times in the Superbike. I especially remember 2024, when I had an incredible race here and clinched the win in the Superpole Race at the last corner of the final lap. I have good memories here, but with the MotoGP it’s completely different. I hope we’ll be more competitive tomorrow than we were at Le Mans.”
The Pramac team rider is ready to take on the challenge of riding a low-grip circuit like the one in Catalonia.
“Normally I like it, but in the Superbike. I know the tires used there, whereas, it’s difficult in the MotoGP because the sensations with the Michelins is very different. We’ll see tomorrow, and I think I’ll be able to tell you something if you ask me this question again,” he said.
And if he were asked for his opinion after the test at Brno with the Pirelli tires and the 850? “I’m looking forward to that test,” the 29-year-old rider replied, since he's eager to try out the bike he’ll be racing next year.
Training often with Deniz Oncu, Toprak offered his take on the difficult start to the season for his fellow countryman, who's racing for the Marc VDS team in the Moto2 this year.
“Usually, he’s very fast even at the Kenand circuit where we train. I’m always battling with him, but I think his biggest problem is the chassis. The Boscoscuro chassis is very different than the Kalex he raced on for so many years, and he hasn’t figured out how to ride this chassis yet. He hasn’t done badly in the last few races. He’s made some progress, but he needs to make more because he was very fast on the Kalex, but this chassis is more difficult for him. Anyway, he’s improving. We’ll see how it goes this weekend," he concluded.