Only one rider was slower than Toprak Razgatlioglu: Insurmountable Brno problems?

It was already clear before the weekend that Toprak Razgatlioglu would find it difficult at the flowing Brno Autodrom, with its fast corners and significant changes in elevation. Firstly, because he prefers stop-and-go circuits. And secondly, because his Yamaha’s engine is the weakest in the field. Added to this is the fact that the Turkish rider last raced at the Moravian circuit in 2018, during his first year in the Superbike World Championship.

Whilst Japan’s Ai Ogura, riding the Trackhouse Aprilia, beat the lap record by over half a second to set the fastest time, Fabio Quartararo was the best of the Yamaha quartet, finishing 14th in the 22-rider field, 0.8 seconds off the pace. Toprak was a further 0.8 seconds off the pace and finished second from last – only Zarco’s replacement, Cal Crutchlow, on the LCR Honda, was slower.

Toprak does not know how to solve the problems

“It wasn’t bad this morning, but as it got hotter, we didn’t make any progress,” analysed Razgatlioglu. “I’m very happy with the braking, even though the tyres offer little grip at these high temperatures. But in the roll-out phase, I find it difficult to set a line. I haven’t been able to adapt so far. When I set off on new tyres, like everyone else, I couldn’t improve my time by much.”

On Saturday, all the Yamaha riders will have to go through Qualifying 1; they are all underdogs when it comes to making it through to Q2. For Toprak, it’s no consolation even if he’s close to his brand-mates. “That’s not enough,” emphasised the three-time Superbike World Champion from the Prima Pramac team. “We need to improve the bike, and I need to understand the tyres better and adapt my riding style. My race pace isn’t bad, but I always run into trouble when chasing lap times. I don’t know how to solve this problem. More turning and lateral grip would help.”

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