One of the most-watched storylines of the upcoming 2026 MotoGP season has to be that of Toprak Razgatlioglu's entrance into the sport. The World Superbike champion has long-sought a grid spot at the top level of motorcycle racing, and was finally given the nod last year, coming into MotoGP with Pramac Yamaha.
An interesting time to join, as the team not only has a new V4 engine, but everyone's getting Michelin tires for the first time in ages.
The man, the myth, the legend that is Toprak, however, is one of those storied names who you always hope is given a shot at MotoGP, and with it now coming to fruition, you expect a lot. I mean, he's a championship-winning motorcycle racer who definitely has the chops to put in some fast as hell lap times. He's got to do well in MotoGP, right?
Well, that might not be the case in reality, according to the man himself, who said he's still coming to grips with the very different bike. In fact, he said his riding style is just not fit for the Yamaha MotoGP racer at present, and that he'll need a few races to come to grips with it fully.
Speaking with our friends at GPOne, the racer threw cold water onto an immediate ascendancy in the sport, as he's still figuring out just how to ride the Yamaha.
"My style is quite aggressive, but in MotoGP I have to ride more smoothly. When you're more fluid, the tyres work better," he told the outlet, adding, "After my experience in Superbike, I feel completely different about MotoGP and I'm still trying to find the right confidence. I have to adapt to the riding position and the controls. Now I feel a little better, but it's still not easy to get the most out of the tyres because they are completely different from those in Superbike."
That's an interesting admission from someone like Toprak, who has so much riding on his shoulders, but it's also refreshing to hear, especially when he later said it would take "3-4 races" for him to get his bearings with the bike. But it also just goes to show you how vastly different the motorcycles are from World Superbike to MotoGP.
And again, he's coming in when Yamaha have finally switched over to the V4 architecture, and with the the new Michelin tires. We've only got a few weeks left before the start of the season, and based on last year's, along with all the storylines going into this year, it's set to be an absolute cracker of a season.
