Toprak Razgatlioglu “more excited than concerned” as he takes on “legendary” MotoGP track

Toprak Razgatlioglu faces a brand-new challenge at this weekend’s French MotoGP.

The reigning WorldSBK champion has never raced at the famous Le Mans circuit but, after a tough weekend on familiar asphalt at Jerez, the Pramac Yamaha rider approaches the event “more excited than concerned”.

“Finally, I get to race in Le Mans, and I‘m really happy about it,” Razgatlioglu said. “It‘s a legendary circuit that I‘ve only watched until now, so it‘s exciting to experience it for the first time.

“I’m more excited than concerned. Of course, it‘s a new track and another thing to learn, but at the same time I see it as an opportunity.”

Razgatlioglu admitted it was tricky to forget his former Superbike technique at Jerez but will be “starting from zero” at Le Mans, as he seeks a repeat of his point scoring performance at COTA.

“On the circuits we‘ve raced at so far, I naturally went back to my Superbike riding style because they were familiar to me - it almost came instinctively,” he explained.

“Here, starting from zero, I‘m hoping to approach the track with the right mindset from the beginning and focus fully on adapting to the MotoGP riding style.

“That‘s something I‘ve been working on a lot, and this could be a good opportunity to make another step in that direction.”

Razgatlioglu completed the Jerez weekend with 20th place in the Monday test, while team-mate Jack Miller appeared to make greater progress on his way to 16th.

The Australian is also a former French MotoGP winner, for the factory Ducati team in 2021.

“I'm really looking forward to Le Mans. It's one of my favourite tracks on the calendar, and I've had some great results here in the past,” said Miller.

“The whole event is always something special - the fans are incredible, they bring so much energy throughout the weekend and really create a unique atmosphere, even if the weather doesn't always match it.

“From a sporting side, it's another important opportunity for us to keep developing the bike and building on the work we've been doing. We'll keep pushing to make another step forward and see what we can achieve this weekend.”

Team director Gino Borsoi is confident Pramac are in a “better position” after the Jerez test.

“We expect to start the weekend in a better position compared to the previous races,” he said. “Jack was able to make a slightly bigger step during the test, but we gathered valuable information for both riders, which should help us move forward.

“Le Mans is always unpredictable, especially because of the weather, but that can also play in our favour. So far we've shown that we can be competitive in wet conditions, and if that scenario presents itself again, we'll be ready to make the most of it."