POL ESPARGARO TELLS TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU THEIR SILVERSTONE PACE WAS “EMBARRASSING”

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s British Grand Prix ended in a frustrating result, with the Yamaha rider finishing second to last on the road—only ahead of Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez—after a weekend that saw him lose heavily to the front. While Razgatlioglu did score a point, it came largely because of retirements ahead of him, and his pace suggested the underlying problems were still there. He was elevated to P14 after a penalty for Fabio Quartararo, but the points finish still looked fortuitous given the number of crashes in the race.

Standing in for the injured Maverick Viñales, Tech3’s Pol Espargaro beat Razgatlioglu by a couple of tenths. Espargaro’s reaction to the gap was blunt during his media debrief, telling Razgatlioglu: “Mate, we were so far away it was embarrassing.” The scale of the shortfall was also reflected in the wider field: Razgatlioglu finished over 10 seconds behind the nearest rider, Pramac teammate Jack Miller.

The scale of the performance shortfall was clear in the race. Razgatlioglu finished more than 40 seconds behind the winner, Raul Fernandez, a deficit that translated to roughly two seconds per lap. The Race’s Simon Patterson reported that Razgatlioglu had also flagged abnormal tyre wear after the Sprint, and that issue was described as affecting much of the field in unusually hot conditions at Silverstone. However, the problems were not limited to race tyre degradation: Razgatlioglu struggled in qualifying as well, starting 22nd and still 1.4 seconds off the pace needed to reach Q2.

This was Razgatlioglu’s second consecutive P15 finish and his third return in the last four races, but his lap times did not show the progress he would likely need. The report also noted that during the summer break he said he had “no energy” after spending much of the year fighting at the back, and that he appears to be struggling to adapt to his new reality after success in Superbikes.

In a further admission after the British GP, Razgatlioglu said he is still riding the Yamaha “like a Superbike.” He explained via Speedweek: “It was better than on Saturday. But we have a lot to learn. This track has long, sweeping corners, so I have to find the right moment to straighten the bike up.” He added: “That’s still very difficult for me; I’m riding too much like a superbike. On some tracks, that works; I’m much better there. But I have to learn this style because I’ll be racing on this track again next year.”

Razgatlioglu also linked his learning to tyre behaviour, saying he is still trying to understand the Michelin tyres and how their characteristics change from weekend to weekend. He suggested that with Pirelli tyres next year he may need “a mix of styles,” and he said he has a “slightly positive feeling” about what he learned, hoping it can help at Aragon—another track he described as difficult for his current approach. He concluded by saying that he had “a few good races” at Aragon on the superbike and wanted to see how it goes with the MotoGP machine.

With Yamaha expected to be more competitive in 2027, Razgatlioglu is reportedly among the riders most focused on what comes next.