We know Morbidelli's contract is up. Toprak can only be considering a factory ride. He is getting beaten by Ducati in WSB, but Yamaha have been behind the game in MGP for years now so he will get kicked in MGP too if he sticks with Yamaha. Yamaha need new management not a new rider.
Totally agree that it’s new management, better investment in development ,and a new enthusiasm to be the best that Yamaha need. I know he’s new to the bike but Topraks times are not even close to be near the front of the grid.
Interesting interview with Lin Jarvis about the future seat for Yamaha. He says Yamaha would like to stick with Morbidelli ,if he can continue to show the speed he found in Argentina. If not then he will be out at end of 23 season by looks of it ( no surprise there ). Toprak will need to significantly change riding style for Moto GP bike to be competitive so not a cert to take Frankies seat if it comes to that.
Most comms Ive heard seem to agree the power output’s pretty similar now, just a big difference in how the likes of duc and apr put it to the ground so not a complete disaster with regards having to build a new engine etc... More focus needed on aero (and chassis design perhaps?).
I sometimes wonder how long Yamaha and Honda will stay in MotoGP if their fortunes don’t pick up irrespective of who they can get to ride for them.
And now at Aragon although I’m not sure why they’re comparing him to 93 on the best bike.. https://m.gpone.com/en/2025/11/11/m...re-on-monday-at-aragon-laps-in-149-1-with-the Surely this would be a more appropriate comparison if we’re looking at fp1 from aragaon this year where hes already ahead of oliveira and just behind his new team mate for next year…
Surely the only “comparison” should be with the times the M1 V4 has been achieving in the 2 or 3 outings it’s had so far ? What people should be taking note of however, is, after only 30 laps, TR on a development bike, is currently only 2 seconds off the pace of the current best rider on the current best bike on the grid. That is astonishing both for him and Yamaha and should be making a good few riders and teams sit up and take notice. Andy
Agree he’s done well especially as the v4 is reportedly the slower of the two bikes, but no tracks comparable yet is there. FYI the whole Valencia test is live on TNT next Tuesday.
I saw something that was saying Yamaha are releasing the power restriction on the V4 next week and so will be running pretty much full power. I hope they do but obviously the v4 is still under development and they have their reasons for progressing in incremental stages. not really getting why so many people in the home pundit world are giving the V4 so much negative reactions. How many years have a Honda and the others been developing a V4 MotoGP bike. Even Aprilia have been working on theirs in some iteration for the best part of 15 years. Looking forward to the post season test.
Yes it’s strange isn’t it. I thought the Aragon test was a two day thing over the Sunday and Monday, then it transpired they only gave him half day!!
I imagine that the test rider would follow explicit instructions on the bike, each time doing the same exact things to gain valuable comparison to other runs. I doubt that TR would be able to replicate that as he is not that guy. Sounds to me more like a BS testing & tyres rule that is there for a reason but in odd situations is a drag. If Yamaha did not want TR to do well. he would not be part of the team.
It’s a shame they didn’t wildcard him in the Jerez race. I wonder what the test rider times were at Aragon?
"According to Motorsport.com, Razgatlioglu’s fastest lap time around the home of the Aragon Grand Prix with Yamaha’s V4 bike was a 1:49.176. He completed a total of 33 laps, with track conditions around 14 degrees also considerably cooler than the 47-50° seen at June’s race. While the conditions mean his lap times are not that comparable to what the Yamaha riders achieved over the 2025 Aragon GP, Razgatlioglu’s best effort was half a second slower than the 1:48.631 effort that Honda test rider Aleix Espargaro set during Monday’s private event.
