Toprak Razgatlioglu left Friday at Mandalika with his MotoGP top-ten target within sight. The Pramac Yamaha rider placed 15th among 22 riders in FP1 and 16th in the afternoon Practice session, ending just 0.4 seconds outside the top ten. He was 1.4 seconds behind Aprilia’s leading rider, Raul Fernandez.

Razgatlioglu described the day as an improvement on the previous four rounds. His position might have been higher, after a late yellow flag forced him to shut the throttle; he estimated that the interruption cost him about two places and possibly a 1m 29.9s lap.

He has identified Sector 2 as the main area for improvement. The section consists of three long corners and is costing him almost half a second. Razgatlioglu believes that finding time there could bring a lap in the 1m 29s range, while also reducing rear-tyre use over race distance.

A better grid position matters

Saturday’s qualifying session therefore carries particular importance for the Pramac Yamaha rookie. Razgatlioglu needs a highly competitive lap to start further forward, because he believes a stronger grid position could make his first MotoGP top-ten finish realistic. Yamaha’s performance was also reflected by Fabio Quartararo’s seventh place and direct passage into Q2. Alex Rins was 11th, while Razgatlioglu’s Pramac teammate Jack Miller finished 12th.