What a struggle
14 points earned in 12 rounds, an 11th place as the best result and second to last in the World Championship standings, ahead of only Maverick Vinales who, however, missed half of the races held so far; this is, in the cold summary of the numbers, the balance of the first half of the MotoGP season for Toprak Razgatlioglu.
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The Turkish champion, three-time WSBK world champion, was the most anticipated name among the rookies in the top class this year, but adapting to prototype bikes and Michelin tires, for him who throughout his career has dominated among production-based bikes with Pirelli tires, has been more difficult than expected. Certainly, then finding himself on what is by far the slowest and least performing bike on the grid did not help. The only solution is to hold on and resist, hoping that the new technical regulations and the arrival of Pirelli as the sole tire supplier can help him emerge.
Special? Yes, but not enough
In a long and interesting interview given to the Spanish site AS, Razgatlioglu took stock of this first half of the season. The feeling that seems to prevail from his words is bitterness: the Turk, adored like a deity in his homeland for his many successes in Superbike, has in fact experienced firsthand how difficult life in MotoGP can be if you do not have the most performing machine in the field: “In the Superbike championship, I felt special – commented the Pramac team rider – because there I think the bike represents maybe 40% or 50% of the result. In WSBK the riders can make a huge difference: I think everyone knows and sees that. In MotoGP instead, if you don’t have a good bike, it is very difficult for the rider to make a big difference. It is similar to Formula 1: last year McLaren was always the best and this year it is Mercedes. Also here, if you have a good bike and a good package, you are always competitive“.
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To make his reflection even more concrete, Razgatlioglu drew a comparison with his move from Yamaha to BMW in Superbike. According to many that was a reckless move, but the Turk won two World Championships in two years with the German manufacturer: “When I went to BMW, everyone told me: ‘your career is over’. But I believed in that project because I knew that bike was not bad. It just needed a good setup, belief and knowing how to ride it. And that’s what I did. And everyone could see that the rider can make a huge difference. Here it is much more difficult – concluded the Yamaha rider – if we are all at the same level on track, then the rider can make the difference: in braking, in corner exit… But if the bikes are not at the same level, it is impossible for the rider to make that difference“.
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