EXCLUSIVE: Toprak Razgatlioglu told to take key WorldSBK ally into MotoGP

Former WorldSBK rider Eugene Laverty says Toprak Razgatlioglu would benefit from taking his current crew chief, Phil Marron, with him to MotoGP.

Laverty won all 13 of his World Superbike races with Marron between 2011–2014 and continued to work with his compatriot when he made the move to MotoGP with Aspar in 2015.

After Laverty left the SMR Aprilia team for Go Eleven Ducati at the end of 2018, Marron moved to work with Toprak Razgatlioglu at the Puccetti Kawasaki team and has been alongside the Turkish rider for all 72 of his World Superbike race wins, as well as both of his world titles.

Laverty’s MotoGP career spanned two seasons, but two very different seasons: from Bridgestone to Michelin; from a split category between those with factory electronics and those with controlled electronics to one where everyone had the same ECU; and, for him and the Aspar team, from an under-powered Open Honda to a two-year-old Ducati Desmosedici GP14.

His performance took a step forward in the second year, taking top-10 results including a fourth place at Argentina.

Phil Marron feted as key to Toprak Razgatlioglu

The Northern Irishman said that not only was Marron an important person to have in his corner when he made the move between paddocks because they understood each other, but also because of some of Marron’s specific qualities.

“I’d say you really need to bring someone who’s familiar with how you ride the bike and what you need,” Eugene Laverty said, speaking to Crash.net at the UK WorldSBK.

“Phil [Marron] uses his ears better than any crew chief I’ve ever worked with, he really listens.

“The rider doesn’t say something just for the sake of saying it and Phil really understands that.

“So, he would always stay silent and let the rider say as many words as he’d like and then try and delve through that information.

“He’s done a fantastic job for Toprak [Razgatlioglu]. He was here at Yamaha with him.

“I don’t know if it’s confirmed yet if he’s going to MotoGP next year with him or not, but I really hope he is because, for Toprak to make that transition to a MotoGP bike with a different brand of tyre, he needs to have Phil with him to make that transition quickly.”

Speaking to Crash.net in December last year, Marron confirmed that he would be interested in moving back to MotoGP from World Superbike with Razgatlioglu, whose move was confirmed in June ahead of this year’s Emilia-Romagna WorldSBK.