Kenan Sofuoglu saw promising signs from Toprak Razgatlioglu's first public MotoGP Test at Valencia.
After eight years in the World Superbike Championship, Toprak Razgatlioglu is making his highly anticipated debut in the MotoGP World Championship.
On Tuesday, the 18th of November, Razgatlioglu made his first public appearance on the Yamaha M1 for the Valencia MotoGP Test as his 2026 MotoGP pre-season began.
During the Valencia Test, the Turkish rider's mentor, five-time World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu, discussed what he was thinking during Razgatlioglu's Valencia Test.
"I think we have to be happy with this," Sofuoglu told the MotoGP World Feed during the Valencia MotoGP Test.
"There was a race this weekend, and everyone is warmed up at this track, and Toprak is on a new bike at a new track, with new challenges. But he is doing well at the moment."
A week before the Valencia Test, the three-time World Superbike Champion tested with Yamaha's V4 engine at MotorLand Aragon. But Sofuoglu explained that this test was not to figure out Razgatlioglu's performance.
"I think Aragon was about meeting with the team, meeting the bike, and understanding how to sit on the bike," he said.
"This is more realistic testing. Yamaha is in a new chapter, they are changing the bike, and have moved to V4. For Toprak, he is learning, and when I watch, I see he is managing well at the moment."
'After a couple of tests, we will see the real Toprak..."
For the Valencia Test, Yamaha provided their four riders with an M1 that had the new V4 engine. Because of the limited amount of resources, Razgatlioglu was 'being careful' as he did not want to ruin the Valencia Test.
"Honestly, when you look at the lap time, he is 1.5 seconds slower, but when I watch him, I am not watching our Toprak," he explained.
"He is a bit scared at the moment; there are not many bikes at the moment, there is only one V4 for Toprak. He is being careful and is scared at the moment, but he is there.
"After a couple of tests, we will see the real Toprak, stoppie on the brakes, sliding and pushing harder. But at the moment, without pushing, I can see how he is riding the bike; he is doing great. I am very positive about what he is doing."
When asked if Razgatlioglu will be able to replicate his Superbike style on a MotoGP machine, Sofuoglu explained that he believes the 29-year-old will 'surprise many people in the MotoGP paddock'.
"A lot of people think that on a MotoGP bike he can’t, but everyone will see that he will do the same thing," Sofuoglu stated.
"Before he came to Superbikes, nobody was riding like him. He will surprise everyone with what he can do on the bike, because he always surprises us, and he will surprise many people in the MotoGP paddock. He has this skill to understand.
"At the moment, you can understand he is not pushing at the moment, and is riding the bike, trying to understand. This is the way to start; we are not pushing him to crash and top the list. We are pushing him to learn, slow down, and not crash the bike."
