Toprak Razgatlioglu's journey to MotoGP has been anything but smooth. Now, he has the seat, but that is quite literally is proving to be his biggest problem. The Turkish rider's abnormally tall height for MotoGP, of 185 cm, means he has to go to extremes to make Yamaha's YZR-M1 fit him, but the knock-on effect has put him in a precarious situation regarding the usage of rear areo winglets.
The 6' 1" rider is the tallest on the grid currently, and as a result, his seat base is rather high on the Yamaha relative to the height of the rear tail unit. Due to the height of the tail unit, if Razgatlioglu were to use rear winglets, which provide added downforce to the rear tire, he'd break the bodywork parameters set by the FIM MotoGP rulebook.
Just check the main image of Razgatlioglu versus one of Alex Rins's 176 cm frame riding the same bike below.
The FIM MotoGP rule book, Article 2.4.4.7, states, "The seat unit shall have a maximum height of the (approximately) vertical section behind the rider’s seating position of 150 mm. The measurement will be taken at a 90° angle to the upper surface of the flat base at the rider’s seating position, excluding any seat pad or covering. A line drawn parallel to and 150 mm above the seat base as described, continuing to the extent of the rear of the seat unit, represents the maximum allowed height of the seat unit, including any protrusions or attachments (excluding onboard camera/antenna).”
During the winter test, Razgatlioglu was allowed to ride with rear winglets on the V4, but that was because Yamaha was still working with him to optimise his seating position, and wouldn't have incurred a punishment for operating outside of the height restrictions, unlike now.
Although Razgatlioglu is the tallest on the grid, Luca Marini is just 1 cm shorter and has been able to make the Honda HRC Castrol RC213V fit his frame, while still using rear winglets. I don't see how Razgatlioglu, especially in his rookie season, could be even nearly competitive without rear wings, so it's something Yamaha needs to fix, and quickly.
Unfortunately, Yamaha has suspended MotoGP testing due to a V4 safety concern. Whether Razgatlioglu will be any better off by the first race of the season, on March 26, is anyone's guess.
