ANDREA DOVIZIOSO SAYS TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU’S BRAKING STYLE IS “THE WORST THING” FOR MOTO GP TYRES

Andrea Dovizioso says Toprak Razgatlioglu’s current braking approach is holding him back in MotoGP, arguing that the Turkish rider’s instinct from WorldSBK is working against the way Michelin tyres and Yamaha’s MotoGP package want to be ridden.

Razgatlioglu joined Pramac-Yamaha for 2026 and, according to Dovizioso, has struggled to make the transition to Grand Prix prototypes. Since pre-season, Pramac have been pushing him to brake earlier, but Dovizioso believes the bigger issue is how Razgatlioglu applies the brakes once he reaches the braking zone.

Speaking on his MotoGP podcast, the former Ducati rider described Razgatlioglu’s style as “the worst thing you can do on the Michelin tyres,” explaining that telemetry shows a sharp peak followed by a dip during braking entry. In Dovizioso’s view, that “stagnate” method—where a rider pulls the lever extremely hard—creates an abrupt change in brake pressure that the tyres do not respond to optimally.

Dovizioso contrasted that with a smoother technique he referred to as “panettone,” a term he said comes from the shape of the braking trace on telemetry, likened to an Italian holiday cake. “You mustn’t do it because you need to do the so-called ‘panettone’, which is the mistake Toprak makes,” Dovizioso said. He added that Razgatlioglu’s temptation is understandable: “Coming from braking so hard in Superbike and, with the Pirellis, being so strong under braking, he’s tempted to do that.”

However, Dovizioso stressed that once a rider has built a method around that kind of abrupt braking, it is extremely difficult to change. “It’s just that once you’ve got this method, you can’t change it; it’s really hard,” he said.

While Dovizioso criticised the approach as non-ideal on MotoGP machinery, he also pointed out why it can still appear attractive in certain conditions. He said that when he himself wasn’t riding smoothly, he was tempted to use the “stagnate” style, and that Austria can demand it even more. “When I wasn’t riding smoothly, I was tempted to do the ‘stagnate’, and Austria demands this approach even more,” he explained.

Dovizioso linked that to the Red Bull Ring’s characteristics, describing how a setup can compress the tyre to generate grip. With that kind of configuration, a rider can slow down significantly from the middle of the braking manoeuvre through to the centre of the corner. “Having a set-up that, in a certain way, compresses the tyre to create grip – then you could slow down a great deal from the middle of the braking manoeuvre right through to the centre of the corner,” he said. “This is where we’ve made the difference over the years in Austria.”

Overall, Dovizioso’s message is that Razgatlioglu’s adaptation problem is not simply about when he brakes, but about the braking pressure profile he creates—one he believes must evolve if he is to match MotoGP’s tyre behaviour and the demands of circuits like Austria.