TOPRAK RAZGATLIOGLU PINPOINTS A 10% CORNER-EXIT GAP TO FABIO QUARTARARO AT AUSTRIAN GP

At the Red Bull Ring, Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Friday started with a tough rhythm but ended with clear progress as he closed the gap to the front. The Prima Pramac Yamaha rider found himself at the bottom of the timesheets in both practice sessions, yet he still managed to significantly improve his pace over the day. His best lap dropped from 1m 32.363s to 1m 29.982s across the two sessions, moving him to within 1.6 seconds of KTM leader Pedro Acosta and 1.1 seconds of Fabio Quartararo, the leading Yamaha that had already put itself in the top ten on Friday.

Razgatlioglu described the turnaround as a “big step” and explained that the morning felt wrong for him. “I‘m happy because we made a big step during the day,” he said. “This morning was difficult because I didn‘t have a good feeling with the bike, but in the afternoon I improved a lot and I feel much better now, especially under braking.”

With the day’s work done, the focus shifted to what he believes is holding him back compared with Quartararo. Razgatlioglu said he is still comparing data with the Frenchman and pinpointed a specific difference in how Quartararo gets the bike up and accelerates out of corners. “We are still comparing the data with Fabio, and I can see some areas where I can improve, especially with the way I pick up the bike and accelerate out of the corners,” he said.

He then put a number on the gap he sees in corner-exit execution. “Fabio is riding very well, especially when he picks up the bike. In some corners he picks up the bike ten percent more than me. This makes a big difference.” Razgatlioglu added that adapting to that style is not straightforward. “I'm trying to adapt to this, but it’s very difficult.”

The Austrian circuit’s demands make that exit performance especially relevant, and Razgatlioglu linked the challenge to tyre behaviour. He noted that the rear tyre construction is harder at the Red Bull Ring, and he said he is still learning where the grip window is. “We will see tomorrow. I feel much better now, but I need to improve corner exit. Especially in the last sector,” he said. “We did a good step. Especially on the brakes, I feel much better at stopping the bike. But now we are focused more on acceleration and need to pick up more.”

He also explained that while he has adapted to the front tyre, the rear remains unclear. “Now I adapt to the front [tyre]. That's perfect. But the rear, I still don’t really understand the grip area,” he explained. “I feel just spin. The others know the tyre character more and how to find the grip.”

Razgatlioglu said he expects to search for more pace on Saturday, pointing out that Quartararo’s performance suggests he can still ride effectively even when the tyre is used. “This morning until now I made a big step, but tomorrow I hope we find something because I need a little more pace. When I see Fabio’s lap times, he is riding very well with the used tyre.”

Despite Razgatlioglu’s struggles in the morning, his teammate Jack Miller was close by in the standings, finishing just 0.033s ahead of him in 20th place. With the gap to the front already identified—particularly in acceleration and corner exit—Razgatlioglu’s message for the next day was clear: improve the rear grip and find more speed, especially in the final sector.