Toprak Razgatlioglu 39.2 seconds behind Marquez: “My best isn’t good enough”

I remember well when Toprak Razgatlioglu spoke of finishing second in the Superbike World Championship as though he’d suffered an unbearable humiliation. How things can change – it’s all a matter of perspective. The 29-year-old from Alanya knows that there’s nothing to be won with the Yamaha M1 at the moment, but he doesn’t hold back on self-criticism either.

Former world champion Fabio Quartararo picked up four World Championship points by finishing twelfth in the Grand Prix in Japan, but crossed the finish line over 30 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez (Ducati). Toprak lost just under 9 seconds more and finished 17th. Behind him came only Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), who was in pain following his crash in Saturday’s sprint race, and Pramac team-mate Jack Miller. And yet Razgatlioglu was in surprisingly good spirits when he spoke to a handful of journalists at Motegi.

Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi

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Pedro Acosta

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Fans

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Jorge Martin

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Start des Rennens

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Jorge Martin

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Ai Ogura

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Fermin Aldeguer

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Pedro Acosta

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Jorge Martin und Marc Márquez

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Raúl Fernández

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Enea Bastianini

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Ogura und Fernández

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Luca Marini

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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Jorge Martin, Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi

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Sieger Marc Márquez

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi

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Toprak’s problems have been the same all year: he cannot get the most out of the Michelin tyres, and the Yamaha does not behave as he would like it to under braking. And adapting his riding style is proving to be much more difficult than he thought.

If I could ride more to my own style and be more relaxed, I’d be much stronger.

Toprak Razgatlioglu

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“I’m better in the races, but I don’t see that as my true potential,” explained the three-time Superbike World Champion. “If I felt more comfortable on the bike and could brake in the right places, I’d be setting much better lap times. And then my races would look a lot better too. I am improving, mind you, but only slightly, because the front wheel is constantly locking up or hopping. But that’s my set-up; I have to ride with it. My best isn’t good enough. If I could ride more in my own style and be more relaxed, I’d be much stronger. I managed to overtake Fabio Di Giannantonio, but I think he was having problems. I couldn’t get past Alex Rins after that either, but that wouldn’t have made any difference anyway. I wouldn’t have scored any points even then, because I’m losing out everywhere.”

22 regular riders: Only Viñales has fewer points than Toprak

After 32 of 44 races, Razgatlioglu has 18 points to his name and is 21st in the World Championship; of the 22 regular riders, only the long-term injured Maverick Viñales (Tech3 KTM) has fewer. Speaking about the new Superbike champion Nicolo Bulega, who will ride for the VR46 Ducati team in MotoGP in 2027, Toprak said: “He’s done a lot of testing on the MotoGP bike and with the Pirelli tyres. He’s more prepared than anyone else and is coming at just the right time. He’s younger than me and his riding style suits MotoGP better; I’m delighted for him. He’ll be a force to be reckoned with in MotoGP too.”