Paolo Campinoti (Pramac) on Yamaha: “Objectively speaking, not the best bike”

The figures are unforgiving. Following the switch from Ducati to Yamaha, Pramac finished the 2025 MotoGP season in last place in the team standings. The Casole d’Elsa-based team is also languishing at the bottom of the table as the 2026 summer break approaches.

Jack Miller (19 points) and rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu (12) occupy 20th and 21st places in the riders’ standings. By way of comparison, Fabio Quartararo has racked up 55 points on the factory Yamaha.

Pramac boss believes his team is better positioned than the Yamaha works team

Despite this negative overall picture, Pramac team principal Paolo Campinoti remains calm. “I’m fine, and things are going well,” said the Pramac owner on Andrea Migno’s ‘Mig Babol’ podcast. “We’re now waiting for further developments on the bike, and we’re confident about next year, when we should see a substantial change as far as the bike is concerned.”

Jack Miller, Paolo Campinoti, Gino Borsoi und Toprak Razgatlioglu

Foto: Pramac Racing

This year, Yamaha is competing with a V-engine for the first time, having previously relied on an inline engine. In 2027, MotoGP will introduce new regulations – what is being referred to as a ‘reset’. For Pramac, this fresh start represents a major source of hope.

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Campinoti is confident when comparing his team to the factory team. “I don’t want to sound like I’m showing off, but at the moment we’re always up front, just like in the last few races, where we were the best Yamaha,” he said. As the interview was recorded between the races at Assen and the Sachsenring, we’ll take this statement at face value; between Assen and Brno, Yamaha ace Fabio Quartararo failed to score any points, whilst the Pramac riders also finished ahead of Alex Rins. From Assen onwards, Quartararo restored the usual pecking order.

Campinoti recognises the world champion gene in Razgatlioglu

Campinoti spoke at length about his high-profile new signing, three-time Superbike World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu. “Toprak is getting better with every race.” He attributes his initial difficulties to the tyres. “He struggled to adapt to the Michelin tyres. He came from Pirelli and therefore had a slightly different riding style. He’s adapting, and I hope that next year, when we switch back to Pirelli, he’ll rediscover the feeling he had before.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu kam als dreimaliger Superbike-Weltmeister in die MotoGP

Foto: Pramac

The three-time Superbike World Champion may well benefit twice over from the 2027 reset. Campinoti has no doubts whatsoever about Razgatlioglu’s mentality: “He has the mindset of a champion. After so many years, you can tell who’s a good rider and who really has the eye of a champion.”

The Italian explained what he meant by using this difficult season as an example: “Objectively speaking, the bike isn’t the best on the grid. Toprak could come up with a million excuses.” Instead, he sees a rider who wants to improve in every session. “He pays attention to the details; he gets angry when he’s lagging behind. You can see that he’s struggling physically.”