Analysis: Toprak closes the gap, but Yamaha V4 a step behind at Thai MotoGP

It was a tough MotoGP debut for reigning WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu in Thailand, but there were moments in both races where he was at least the fastest Yamaha rider.

That occurred twice in the Sprint, where Razgatlioglu fell and rejoined, then two more times in the grand prix, where the Turkish star kept pace with his vastly more experienced M1 team-mates until lap 20 of 26.

At that point, the fortunes of the four Yamaha riders dramatically diverged.

Monster Yamaha duo Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins at least maintained a consistent pace to the end, albeit finishing only 14th (+30.8s) and 15th (+33.0s) respectively.

However, the Pramac duo of Razgatlioglu and Jack Miller suffered a rapid decline due to wheelspin issues from their badly worn rear tyres.

Miller suffered the most and his final two laps were even slower than his opening race lap, with a standing start.

Razgatlioglu took the chequered flag in 17th (+39.2), with Miller 18th (+47.8s). Only Ducati test rider Michele Pirro (Gresini) finished behind them.

“It was my first full race in MotoGP and, of course, I was hoping for a better result,” Toprak Razgatlioglu said. “But it was a long and very demanding race - 26 laps in that kind of heat is physically tough.

“We had some clear issues with rear grip, especially as the race went on, but I’m not looking to put the blame anywhere else. I know I still have a lot to learn, and at the same time we know Yamaha is working hard to improve the package.

“Grip was quite limited throughout the race, and it seemed to be a common situation for all Yamaha riders, as we were running close together. Now we focus on the next race.”

The following charts show the race lap times for the four Yamaha riders during this year’s Thai MotoGP and Sprint races.

Razgatlioglu crashed in the Sprint, then rejoined on his way to 20th. However, he was again a close match for the other Yamahas up to that point, and the quickest M1 rider on laps 2 and 8.

The lap times for the winner of each race - Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi in the Grand Prix, KTM’s Pedro Acosta in the Sprint - are included for comparison.

Yamaha race times: 2026 Thai MotoGP

Yamaha race times: 2026 Thai Sprint

The top Yamaha rider (Miller) lost an average of 1.036s per lap in this year’s Sprint race, when pole qualifier Marco Bezzecchi crashed from the early lead.

The leading M1 (Quartararo) then lost a similar 1.186s per lap to Sunday’s grand prix winner Marco Bezzecchi.

In 2025, when Miller crashed out of sixth place, the best Yamaha (Quartararo) crossed the finish line was a near identical 1.033s per lap down in the Sprint.

However, the Inline4 had a closer average of 0.858s per lap (Miller) in the 2025 grand prix.

Yamaha: 2026 V4 vs 2025 Inline

One of the key targets for Yamaha when deciding to race the new V4 was that the bike should be at least as competitive as the previous Inline4 machine.

There were no Inline Yamahas on track this weekend to directly compare the V4 with.

However, this chart shows the race times for the 2025 Inline Yamahas vs the 2026 V4s. Only Quartararo, Rins and Miller are shown, since they were present in both years.

For comparison, Acosta’s 2026 Sprint winning time (after Bezzecchi’s crash from the early lead and Marc Marquez had a drop one place penalty) was 4.150s slower than Marc Marquez in 2025.

Bezzecchi’s 2026 Grand Prix winning time was then 0.974s faster than Marc Marquez in 2025, when the Ducati rider spent laps following brother Alex due to tyre pressure concerns.

The Yamaha riders used the soft rear tyre for the Sprint in both years, but changed from the soft rear in 2025 to medium rear for the 2026 Grand Prix.

All riders chose the soft rear in this year’s Sprint, and medium rear in the GP.

Top Inline Yamaha race time - 2025 Thai MotoGP: 39m59.559s (Miller)
Top V4 Yamaha race time - 2026 Thai MotoGP: 40m 07.093s (Quartararo)

Top Inline Yamaha race time - 2025 Thai Sprint: 19m48.442s (Quartararo)
Top V4 Yamaha race time - 2026 Thai Sprint: 19m52.622s (Miller)

Thai MotoGP: 2026 Yamaha V4 lap times vs 2025 Yamaha Inline

Thai Sprint: 2026 Yamaha V4 lap times vs 2025 Yamaha Inline

Qualifying comparison

Here’s a comparison table of the Yamaha qualifying times for the 2025 and 2026 Thai MotoGPs.

The gaps suggest this is where Yamaha’s V4 is currently losing out the most, probably due to its rear grip issues and lack of engine performance.

New to the Michelin tyres, Razgatlioglu admitted to difficulties in committing to a full attack on new rubber.

Razgatlioglu finished the final pre-season test at the same Buriram circuit over two-seconds from the top and 0.650s behind the next closest Yamaha but at least closed that gap in the grand prix qualifying.

Best of each brand

Finally, to give an overall picture of where the Yamaha V4 stands, here is a lap time comparison for the fastest rider from each brand during the 2026 Thai MotoGP races.

Marc Marquez and Joan Mir have been used as the fastest Ducati and Honda rider respectively for the Grand Prix, even though they were forced to retire in the closing stages.

The charts underline that Yamaha’s rear grip issues appeared to be magnified over the longer grand prix distance, with the medium rear tyre, although Quartararo avoided the sharp late-race drop suffered by many others.

Fastest Rider for Each Brand: 2026 Thai MotoGP 

Fastest Rider for Each Brand: 2026 Thai Sprint