Yamaha kept its word and arranged a full day of private tests with the MotoGP M1 for the Turkish rider Toprak Razgatlıoglu , current SBK champion with the official team of the Iwata brand who, despite this test, has no plans to give the jump, in the short or medium term, to the queen category.
After getting his first victory of the season in Misano, the Turk has been able to enjoy driving the Yamaha R1 on the YZR-M1, completing 40 laps at the MotorLand Aragón circuit, where the conditions were suffocating.
The characteristics of the layout and the long straights have allowed Toprak to maximize the power of the M1, although Yamaha has not reported what model it was, if the latest 2022 version, in the hands of Fabio Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli and Andrea Dovizioso, or the 2021 prototype, which is used by Darryn Binder.
Razgatlıoglu, who called the day “very positive”, started the day with a 12-lap session to get to know the bike and the Michelin tyres, later completing shorter sessions, while the Yamaha MotoGP test team made set-up adjustments. of the bike based on rider feedback and data analysis.
To help the Turk gain confidence and speed on the bike, he was joined in testing by Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow, whose lap times the 2021 WorldSBK champion used as a benchmark.
Unfortunately, the test was interrupted by heavy rain before the afternoon session, which did not improve the Turkish’s promising initial pace.
“The MotoGP Yamaha M1 seemed completely different to my R1,” referring to the SBK bike, Razgatlıoglu explained in a Yamaha statement.
“More power, different electronics, a seamless gearbox, all completely new to me. With every lap I learned more, because after the Superbike World Championship it is not so easy to adapt to the MotoGP machine”, he added.
“Fortunately, I had Cal (Crutchlow) on hand to offer me advice and he was able to help me a lot. The bike feels good, especially on the straight where it is very fast, and it has been interesting to experience the carbon brakes”, valued the rider.
“The conditions were very hot, so we just did five or six lap runs after the initial twelve lap run to get a first feel for the bike.”
Although the rider’s lap times have not been released, Razgatlıoglu did assess the changes at MotorLand from the SBK bike.
“When I watch the MotoGP on television here in Aragón you can see that it is a bit bumpy, and I could feel it today. It’s not that bad, you have to keep the gas open to go through the bumps, because if you close then it becomes more unstable,” he said.
“In general, it has been a very positive test, although the rain this afternoon has shortened it and I haven’t been able to do as many laps as I would have liked. I have really enjoyed MotoGP, so thank you very much to Yamaha for giving me this opportunity”, settled the Turk who has not, at the moment, scheduled to get back on the M1.
