Future of Toprak Razgatlioglu crew chief uncertain as new MotoGP links emerge

It seems certain that Toprak Razgatlioglu’s crew chief, Phil Marron, will not join him at Pramac Yamaha in 2026, but that does not mean he is certain to stay at BMW in WorldSBK.

When Razgatlioglu’s move to MotoGP was announced in May, questions over his crew chief were natural, especially given the successful working relationship that Razgatlioglu has built with Marron across three different teams and manufacturers: first Puccetti Kawasaki, then Pata Yamaha, and now the ROKiT BMW team.

At the Indonesian MotoGP on 3–5 October, Miguel Oliveira indicated that he will work with Razgatlioglu’s entire crew in 2026 - including his crew chief, Marron - when he joins BMW for next season.

That seemed to be supported by Razgatlioglu himself when the Turkish rider spoke to the media on Friday (10 October) at this weekend’s Estoril WorldSBK. Razgatlioglu confirmed that Marron will not go with him to Pramac Yamaha and that the Italian squad has alternative plans for him, as reported by GPOne.

Additionally, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team Principal Shaun Muir spoke to the WorldSBK world feed broadcast during practice on Friday at Estoril confirming that Marron will not go with Razgatlioglu to MotoGP.

“No, he’s [Marron] not following Toprak [Razgatlioglu] to MotoGP,” Muir said.

“We still have to finalise matters on our side, I think there’s going to be an announcement in the next couple of weeks. 

“It’s not our priority right now. 

“Clearly we’ve got a big job to finish off here in the paddock. 

“Our focus right now is with Toprak and Michael [van der Mark] and I think in the next week or two there will be more announcements coming about the various changes we’ll make. 

“The fundamental ones are the riders and that’s all in place, and we’re looking to preseason testing now.”

However, GPOne has reported that Marron could still find a way to MotoGP, where he last worked in 2016 with Eugene Laverty at the Aspar Ducati team.

It would not be a move to grand prix that coincided with a change of mind from Pramac or Yamaha, and Razgatlioglu is still most likely to work with Alberto Giribuola, although this is yet to be made official.

Giribuola worked with Enea Bastianini until the Catalan Grand Prix this year at the Tech3 KTM, having previously had a working relationship with the Italian rider at the Esponsorama and Gresini Ducati squads in 2021 and 2022. Before that, he worked with Andrea Dovizioso at the factory Ducati team.

Giribuola’s mid-season exit from KTM saw Bastianini joined by Xavi Palacin as crew chief, but his results have been poor since Misano: a DNF there and at Mandalika; and an 11th in Japan.

GPOne reports that it is Bastianini that Marron could join for the 2026 MotoGP season.