Toprak Razgatlioglu once again the best Yamaha rider, but “14th place means nothing”

Toprak Razgatlioglu finished the Czech Grand Prix in 14th place, picking up two more World Championship points as the highest-placed Yamaha rider. However, the Pramac rider was not entirely satisfied with the result. The Turkish rider was frustrated by the time lost in the early stages and still sees significant shortcomings with his Yamaha M1.

Whilst Razgatlioglu crossed the finish line in 14th place, his team-mate Jack Miller could only manage 16th. Works rider Fabio Quartararo retired following a crash, whilst Alex Rins pulled his Yamaha over four laps before the end of the race. This meant Razgatlioglu was once again the strongest rider for the Iwata-based manufacturer and the only Yamaha rider to score points.

Rins held Razgatlioglu up at the start of the race

The opening laps of the race were particularly frustrating from his point of view. He was stuck behind his team-mate Alex Rins for quite some time and lost valuable seconds to the group of riders ahead of him. “That was right at the start of the race. I tried to catch up with the others because I had more speed than him,” explained Razgatlioglu. “He was really strong in some corners. That’s why I’m a bit annoyed. But I’m not saying anything against him, because that’s racing. I understand him. He’s a rider too and is trying to fight.”

Nevertheless, the Turkish rider believes the situation cost him a better result. “I lost about two or three seconds. Without that time loss, I might have caught Morbidelli. Perhaps I would then have finished in 12th or 13th place.”

A moment of triumph towards the end of the race: Toprak overtakes Viñales

At least he managed to enjoy a moment of triumph in the closing stages. On the final lap, he overtook KTM rider Maverick Viñales with a late braking manoeuvre at the uphill chicane. “That was my last chance. If I hadn’t overtaken him there, he would have pulled away uphill and I wouldn’t have had any chance after that,” explained Razgatlioglu. “I braked later and overtook him cleanly. I’m very happy about that.”

Topic of the week

The 2027 Formula 1 grid: Will the transfer bombshell only drop in the autumn?

Summertime, holiday season, the silly season: these are the weeks when the most outrageous driver changes are usually discussed. The big news for the 2027 season is yet to materialise.

Read more

TV program

Today

Silverstone: International Livestream

MotoGP World Championship

07.08.2026 - 10:55

However, the fact that this battle was for 14th place left him with mixed feelings. Coming from the Superbike World Championship, where he regularly contended for victories, he is finding the new reality in MotoGP difficult at times. “In the Superbike World Championship, you’re fighting for wins. Here, I’m fighting for 14th place. That’s the big difference,” said the Turkish rider. “14th place doesn’t really mean anything to me. The points are better than nothing, but 14th place isn’t for me.”

Nevertheless, Razgatlioglu was proud of his effort right up to the chequered flag. When asked whether it bothered him that hardly anyone had seen his overtaking manoeuvre on Viñales, he replied with a remarkable statement. “Whether anyone saw it or not doesn’t matter. Nobody pays attention to 14th place,” he said. “I’m fighting for myself. I never give up. It was the same in the Superbike World Championship too.”

What Razgatlioglu is particularly proud of

The Pramac rider even revealed that he motivated himself during the race. “In the last eight laps, I kept telling myself: I’ll never give up. It’s incredibly difficult to catch up with the others. They always open up a gap on the straights and coming out of corners. That’s very frustrating. But I keep fighting. I’m proud of that.”

Razgatlioglu was pleased that his feel for the bike improved as the race went on. “I wasn’t enjoying myself at the start. But after about ten laps, I started to ride the bike better. My lap times improved and I began to enjoy the race.”

However, the fundamental problems with the V4 Yamaha remain. Above all, the poor corner exits are costing the MotoGP rookie a lot of time. “We’re losing a great deal coming out of corners and in terms of grip. I hope we can improve that,” he explained.

For Razgatlioglu, the work begins as early as qualifying. That’s where he sees the key to better results. At Brno, he could only manage second-last on the grid and, due to a grid penalty, had to start the Grand Prix from last place.

“Our biggest problem is that we never start the weekend strongly. We always improve during the race,” said the Yamaha rider. “If I qualify in the top eight or ten, everything becomes much easier. Then I can keep up with the front-runners. If I start further back, it’s almost impossible to move up the field on tracks with long straights.”