HODGSON BAFFLED AS RAZGATLIOGLU STRUGGLES AT MISANO IN MOTOGP PRACTICE

Misano has long been a happy hunting ground for Toprak Razgatlioglu, but Friday’s MotoGP action at the San Marino Grand Prix turned the venue into something closer to a puzzle for the three-time World Superbike champion. During the timed pre-qualifying session, Razgatlioglu struggled to find pace and ended the day as the slowest rider among the 21 who set laps, posting a 1:32.071. That left him 1.927 seconds behind Marco Bezzecchi, who topped the session for Aprilia with a 1:30.144.

The gap was stark even within the Pramac garage. Razgatlioglu’s teammate Jack Miller went quicker, recording a 1:31.567 for P20—0.504 seconds faster than the Turkish rider. Elsewhere, the Yamaha works riders were closer to the front than Razgatlioglu, with Fabio Quartararo finishing P16 on a 1:31.178 and Alex Rins P18 on a 1:31.281. Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia split the Yamaha pair, setting a 1:31.459.

The contrast with Razgatlioglu’s Superbike history is what caught Neil Hodgson’s attention. Speaking on TNT Sports 2, Hodgson reacted to the Pramac rider’s position and time by questioning how such a performance could be possible at Misano. “What’s incredible, looking at Toprak; he’s last [and] is 1.9 seconds off,” Hodgson said. “It’s almost like he could have done the lap time he’s done there on a Superbike. “He could do so much on it. And that’s his fastest lap, his last lap. It’s not like he’s not trying. Toprak’s so good around here, as well. I remember watching him, obviously, on the Superbike. [It’s a] strange one.”

Hodgson’s surprise deepened when he learned Razgatlioglu’s best Misano lap came on a World Superbike machine rather than his MotoGP bike. “How is that possible? Quicker on a Superbike when you think, it genuinely is a road bike,” he added.

Razgatlioglu’s MotoGP difficulties at Misano have been framed as part of a wider adaptation challenge. The report points to his ongoing work to adjust to a 1,000cc MotoGP platform and Michelin tyres, as well as Yamaha’s power situation with its V4 engine. Those factors, combined with the day’s results, have helped shift Misano from a familiar stage for Razgatlioglu into one where he has struggled to reproduce the form he once showed on Pirelli tyres in WorldSBK.

The comparison is even more striking given Razgatlioglu’s past success at the circuit. In World Superbike, he won at Misano in 2021 and 2022, and he also achieved a treble at the 2024 meeting. He previously secured pole at Misano after joining BMW in 2024, and in earlier editions he qualified extremely close to the front—P2 behind Jonathan Rea by just 0.099 seconds in 2021, and by 0.137 seconds and 0.165 seconds behind Alvaro Bautista in 2022 and 2023.

Even in MotoGP, Hodgson noted that Razgatlioglu had shown he could be quick at Misano before. Razgatlioglu qualified P2 in 2025 for BMW with a 1:31.856, with Nicolo Bulega taking pole on a 1:31.618. Yet on Friday in 2026, the Pramac rider’s 1:32.071 left him at the bottom of the timesheets—an outcome that, for Hodgson, simply didn’t match what he believes Razgatlioglu is capable of around Misano.