about his prospects. Mainly
because at 29 in October, he's
left this major career shift a bit
late. But clearly Yamaha has
been able to overcome those
same doubts and has taken the
plunge.
The Turkish giant of World Su
-
perbikes is coming to MotoGP
in 2026.
At last.
It seems he also had some
doubts to overcome. About
Yamaha. And about joining a full
factory team, which he previous-
ly insisted was essential. He's
signed for
Pramac Yamaha in-
stead, which, while it nominally
has exactly
the same status as
the Yamaha Motor team, well, it
is only nominal.
Actually, the enterprise has a
sort of slightly desperate "last
chance" feeling. Toprak first
tested a Yamaha MotoGP bike
back in 2022. The previous year,
he'd won the Iwata factory's sec
-
J
ust a few weeks ago, we
were once again contem-
plating a familiar story. Will
Toprak
Razgatlioglu move to
MotoGP? Now we have to revisit
it, again, the third time this year.
I'm sorry, I'm not going to
apologize. (Apart from saying,
"I'm sorry.") But we are hostage
to circumstances here. We have
to respond to events. And just
now, Toprak is the event.
Previously, I had my doubts
P138
CN II IN THE PADDOCK
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
Committing to a move to MotoGP,
Toprak Razgatlioglu has signed up for
quite a task.
PHOTOS: GOLD & GOOSE
TOPRAK AGAIN.
THIS TIME IT'S FOR REAL
