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Physically struggling: Toprak Razgatlioglu (17th) explains sprint disaster

Toprak Razgatlioglu battled with massive tyre wear in the Sachsenring Sprint. The Yamaha rider is therefore concerned about the 30-lap Grand Prix. His physical condition is also a cause for concern.

MotoGP

11.07.2026 - 18:45

This article is an automatically generated English version. The original article was published in German.

Grippesymptome: Toprak Razgatlioglu fühlt sich nicht gut
© Gold & Goose

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Toprak Razgatlioglu endured another difficult day at the Sachsenring in what has so far been a sobering debut MotoGP season. The Pramac Yamaha rider finished a mere 17th in the Sprint and was a full 22.6 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez after 15 laps. This made the Turkish rider the slowest of the four Yamaha riders. Fabio Quartararo at least picked up a World Championship point by finishing ninth, whilst Jack Miller came 13th and Alex Rins finished 16th.

After the sprint, Razgatlioglu decided not to take part in his planned media session. The three-time Superbike World Champion complained of flu-like symptoms and had his team share his thoughts on his behalf.

Return to the Sachsenring a disappointment so far

For the 29-year-old, the race weekend in Hohenstein-Ernstthal is something special, as it was here in 2014 that he celebrated his first victory in the Red Bull Rookies Cup. Back then, he prevailed over Joan Mir and Stefano Manzi. However, the experience so far has left the Superbike World Champion anything but happy, as Razgatlioglu is still struggling to get to grips with the Yamaha M1 and the Michelin tyres. As early as Friday, Razgatlioglu complained of major problems, which he was evidently unable to resolve on Saturday. “I was really looking forward to returning to the Sachsenring twelve years on. But this time it’s a different experience because I’m riding the MotoGP bike and have to use different tyres.”

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In the sprint race, Razgatlioglu was hampered by unexpectedly severe tyre degradation. “I was very surprised during the race because I hadn’t expected such severe tyre wear. The tyres deteriorated significantly after eight or ten laps. I found it difficult to control the tyres. I got slower and slower with every lap, and that frustrates me.”

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Concerns rather than hopes ahead of the Grand Prix

That is precisely why the Yamaha rider is looking ahead to Sunday’s Grand Prix with concern. Whilst he led during the 15-lap sprint, the main race features twice as many laps. “I need to improve on that for tomorrow, because we’re doing over 30 laps here. We’ll obviously be using different tyre compounds tomorrow, but we need to manage the tyres better.”

Following yet another sobering sprint, Razgatlioglu and Pramac-Yamaha therefore have a lot of work ahead of them. If they fail to get tyre wear under control, the Turkish rider is likely to struggle to keep up with the midfield in the Grand Prix as well. The fact that the exceptional rider from Antalya is heading into the final day of the race weekend in a weakened state is a further problem for the No. 7 crew.

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