MotoGP: Toprak Razgatlioglu reveals what he doesn't 'trust' after following Jack Miller in Thailand test - 'I'm getting sad'

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Toprak Razgatlioglu said he does not trust his front tyre and needs to adapt to MotoGP to improve his times ahead of his much-anticipated debut at Grand Prix Thailand. The 29-year-old comes into MotoGP off the back of a stellar reputation in the World SBK, where he won the championship three times. But the Turkish rider found himself two seconds off the pace in testing.

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Toprak Razgatlioglu said he does not trust his front tyre and needs to adapt to MotoGP to improve his times - perhaps even crashing to "understand the limit".

The Pramac Yamaha rider is set to make his much-anticipated MotoGP debut at Grand Prix Thailand this weekend, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

However, while he was a three-time World Superbike champion, he has far from mastered the transition to MotoGP, and in particular the Yamaha bikes.

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After a testing pre-season which suggested it will take Razgatlioglu a while to get to grips with his new equipment, the Turk ended the Thai test event in second-last place.

He decided to follow team-mate Jack Miller to see if he could identify just where he was losing so much time, after finishing two seconds off the pace.

Even when doing that, though, the tyre was the problem for Razgatlioglu.

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He said: "When I was following Jack, I was surprised, because I was losing a lot in the first corner, the first sector in general. I’m always riding a little bit more calm, I don’t trust the front tyre.

"On braking it’s okay, but when I lean, I don’t know the limit. When I saw Jack at the first corner, he’s leaning a lot.

"Firstly, I’m waiting for his crash, and after when I see he’s turning I’m also surprised.

"I’m pushing my best, I did a 1m 30.7s, but I’m still surprised. Normally, I’m riding more calm in that corner, also in other corners I’m doing a similar thing."

Razgatlioglu moved to MotoGP with a huge reputation and pressure on his shoulders to try and change his team’s fortunes, with Miller finishing 17th overall last season as their best performer.

But any Pramac Yamaha fans and those involved with the team who were expecting quick results will need to be patient, it would appear.

The 29-year-old himself admitted as much, with the front tyre just one of several aspects he feels he needs to improve on.

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"I’m always thinking corner by corner, trying to do my best, but the lap time is not coming and always I’m getting sad," he added.

"But I know this because when I moved to MotoGP I understood very clearly that the tyres and the bike will be very different, and I need to adapt to this. But still I’m not really adapted, especially with the front tyre.

"On the brakes, I can do hard braking, but when I am leaning, I don’t really trust the front tyre because the other riders lean completely and the bike turns, while I’m leaning and just waiting because I’m already waiting to lose the front tyre.

"Still, I haven’t crashed, but maybe I need to crash to understand the limit."

Stream every race of the 2026 MotoGP season live on TNT Sports and discovery+

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