The 26-year-old Superbike World Champion and Yamaha works rider Toprak Razgatlioglu contested his second MotoGP test on Monday and Tuesday of this week at the Circuito de Jerez, like last year in Aragón, Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow was at his side. Yamaha Motor Racing brought two technical crews to Andalusia, one under crew chief Silvano Galbusera for Crutchlow, a second (made up of Japanese and Europeans) for Razgatlioglu.
The Turk made full use of both days and did his laps from 10.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sometimes Crutchlow would take him in tow, sometimes the Brit would follow him and then give him advice on driving style, route choice and so on.
While Toprak Razgatlioglu was only able to do 20 laps on wet roads during his first M1 test in Aragón in 2022, this time he experienced two sunny days and summer temperatures of up to 29 degrees in Jerez. In the best external conditions, he was able to get used to the standard Michelin tires (Pirelli are used in the Superbike World Championship) and the carbon brakes (the SBK only has steel brakes).
While Crutchlow focused on his usual testing schedule and trying out new parts over the two days, he was also tasked with providing the best possible support and mentoring for Turkish MotoGP rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu. The superbike star reeled off around 50 laps every day.
Managing Director Lin Jarvis and Team Director Massimo “Maio” Meregalli came to Jerez from the Yamaha MotoGP Factory Team, they only fly to the Texas GP on Wednesday. Yamaha Superbike manager Andrea Dosoli, who gained years of MotoGP experience as a technician in the Kawasaki factory team and who managed the Hayate team with Marco Melandri in 2009, did not miss the appearance of his popular protégé in Jerez.
«The cooperation between Cal and Toprak worked very well. I think Toprak enjoyed the time with us, it was two interesting and good days for him,” said Lin Jarvis. “He was able to get used to the bike much better in Jerez and get a better idea of what MotoGP demands of the riding style. Toprak is usually very strong on the brakes, he brakes very late and then fires the bike out of corners. MotoGP demands more corner speed so he had to change his riding style to get the most out of the bike. Toprak can now process these impressions for a few days before he will compete in the superbike event in Assen the weekend following next.”
Yamaha officials handed the rookie a 2023-spec Yamaha YZR-M1 and were pleased to see Toprak Razgatlioglu making significant progress on day two, although of course there wasn’t enough time to unravel all the MotoGP secrets.
The lanky Toprak Razgatlioglu is significantly taller than, for example, Cal Crutchlow and Franco Morbidelli, so the M1 had to be adjusted to his needs first. “Toprak is 185 cm tall and has a similar build to Valentino,” Lin Jarvis noted. “He’s maybe 1 or 2 kg heavier than Vale and 2 cm taller than Fabio. Therefore the ‘riding position’ for Toprak had to be adjusted. At first he had the feeling that he was sitting too high on the bike. That took some time on the first day.”
While Cal Crutchlow is already testing once more next week in Aragón, no further M1 test drive is planned for Toprak Razgatlioglu for the time being. He should now calmly prepare for the Superbike World Championship in Assen and not constantly jump from the M1 to the R1. In the SBK he is currently 75 to 112 points well behind Ducati star Álvaro Bautista.
The Yamaha managers did not address the topic of “MotoGP 2024” in this test. But it’s no secret that a spot might open up in the factory squad, with Franco Morbidelli (he finished fourth in both races in Argentina) out of contract at the end of the year.
