RAZGATLIOGLU DRAWS COMPARISONS TO MORBIDELLI AFTER MANDALIKA INCIDENTS

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s difficult Friday at the Indonesian Grand Prix brought an unwanted comparison with Franco Morbidelli after the Pramac Yamaha rider twice impeded Francesco Bagnaia during FP1 at Mandalika.

The first incident came at Turn 12, where Razgatlioglu was travelling slowly on the racing line. With about 10 minutes remaining, Bagnaia arrived at speed and had to run into the gravel to avoid him. Yamaha rider Alex Rins also took minor avoiding action. The stewards investigated but did not penalise Razgatlioglu.

Fans online were less forgiving, likening the Turkish rider’s mistake to Morbidelli’s history of riding slowly on line during practice. One called the moment “a VERY dangerous brainfart”; others said Razgatlioglu had “pulled a Morbidelli,” developed “a mild case of Morbidellitis” or “caught the Morbidelli syndrome.” Another asked, “What the hell, Morbidelli on a Pramac?” while one fan said Razgatlioglu was “attempting to be the next Morbidelli.”

The comparison came as the riders had contrasting results in timed practice. Morbidelli took ninth with a 1:29.693, earning a direct place in Q2. Razgatlioglu was 16th and the slowest of the four Yamaha riders. Fabio Quartararo was seventh, Rins 11th and Pramac teammate Jack Miller 12th. Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez led the session with a new Mandalika MotoGP lap record.

Morbidelli, a VR46 rider, has received penalties for similar incidents this season: three-place grid drops at the Dutch and German Grands Prix, followed by a long-lap penalty at San Marino after multiple offences. At Mandalika, however, he was the one who felt blocked. He sarcastically applauded Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer after believing the Spaniard had impeded him at Turn 16 while heading towards the pits. Aldeguer finished 15th, while Morbidelli’s incident did not cost him his Q2 place.

Razgatlioglu’s Friday therefore combined a lowly practice result with scrutiny over the Bagnaia incident, though the stewards opted against a sanction. The online comparisons with Morbidelli reflected the nature of the mistake rather than the riders’ results: Morbidelli reached Q2, while Razgatlioglu ended the session outside the top 10.