Toprak Razgatlioglu remains convinced by Yamaha’s 850cc MotoGP project despite being “not 100 per cent ready” for the first test.
Toprak Razgatlioglu says he has belief in Yamaha’s MotoGP project going into the 850cc era, despite the Iwata factory being “not really 100 per cent ready” for the first test.
The first 850cc test came at Brno, in the middle of the 2026 MotoGP season that is Razgatlioglu’s first in the championship, having moved to Pramac Yamaha from BMW's WorldSBK team over the winter.
For Yamaha, the test was a case of putting its 850cc V4 engine into the chassis it has used this year for the 1,000cc bike, which is the first four-stroke V4 bike Yamaha has raced.
Despite that seemingly negative point, Toprak Razgatlioglu was pleased about the test.
“For me, 850cc is a positive test because we just try the engine and just this,” he told Crash.net in an interview ahead of the British Grand Prix.
“Okay, of course, the other brands also keep improving, but also Yamaha doesn’t stop, they’re also improving.
“Also, when we did the test we were not really 100 per cent ready for this test, just try the engine. I think we did a really good job, this is why I say ‘positive test’.
“Next year, okay, we are coming slowly, but if we are improving something I think next year we are starting to fight for some special results. [This is] why I’m saying this is a positive test.
“But we will see in Austria [the next 850cc test takes place the day after the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring in September] because they are improving; if we improve something, maybe we are doing more special lap times.
“We are always focused on the lap times, because the feeling is different, but also lap times are very important. We will see in Austria.”
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Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
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