Jack Miller’s rookie teammate ‘much faster than expected’

The Turkish rider comes to MotoGP from WorldSBK where he was a three-time champion, first with Yamaha in 2021 and then with BMW in 2024 and 2025.

He joins a rare group of riders to make the switch from the production-based championship to motorcycle racing’s premier prototype category.

The Valencia test saw Yamaha run its V4-powered YZR-M1 fleet across its two teams.

Razgatlioglu wound up 18th fastest with 53 laps of Circuit Ricardo Tormo to his name while teammate Miller was 20th after booking 51 laps.

Pramac described the test as its first chance at “intense development” of the V4 engine.

It was a late start to proceedings, however. Rain and low temperatures confined the MotoGP riders to the pit lane until the afternoon when conditions improved.

Pramac team boss Gino Borsoi said he was impressed by Razgatlioglu’s performance, considering his relative inexperience.

“It was a hugely important day for Yamaha, as we‘ve started a new era with the V4 engine and had all four riders on track with the new YZR-M1 prototype,” said Borsoi.

“And of course, the real debut of Toprak — who, at this stage, can‘t give feedback at the level of Jack and the others because everything is new for him — but he started this new adventure extremely well.

“He was very good and very precise in understanding the bike‘s dynamics; you can tell he feels the bike from the feedback he gives, and in my opinion he was very fast — much faster than I expected, considering how little he knows so far.

“And as a person, I really like him: he‘s very easy to work with.”

Razgatlioglu is something of a Superbike phenom, and Borsoi said he was wowed by the Turkish rider’s transition.

“What impressed me the most is his braking — it‘s incredible — although compared to Superbikes he has to adapt to these tyres and this bike, learning to… brake less,” he explained.

“But from the data you can see he has already understood this and is starting to apply it to be more efficient.

“Between him and the new bike, this is a new challenge for us — we need a new spirit, and Toprak will definitely be important here.

“And now we‘re already preparing for the first stoppie battle between him and Jack; with these two, we might just become world champions in this specialty.”

Testing is set to continue on Wednesday for Yamaha.

The move to the V4 engine marks a significant departure for the Japanese marque, having won eight riders’ championships with the famous inline four motor.

Yamaha said the engine configuration switch will improve acceleration, allow for better handling under braking, and adaptability to the most recent tyre and aerodynamic requirements.

“It was a busy day as we tried to understand the new bike and provide solid feedback,” said Miller after Tuesday’s test.

“There‘s a lot to do, and we‘re working on it. This bike has only a few days of life so far, and it‘s still very much a work in progress, but we‘ll keep pushing.

“We know the strengths and we know the weaknesses — now it‘s our job to give the engineers the most precise feedback possible so they can work over the winter to find the best solutions.”

Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez topped Tuesday’s test on the satellite Aprilia, just 0.027s ahead of factory Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi.

The two Aprilias headed Gresini duo Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer on their Ducatis. Pedro Acosta rounded out the top five for KTM.

Results: MotoGP Collective Test, Circuit Ricardo Tormo