Toprak Razgatlioglu will test the V4 Yamaha for the first time on Monday in Aragon – Bulega warns: In MotoGP, you have to brake very differently with Michelin tires
While MotoGP completed its race weekend in Portimao (Portugal), two test teams were in Spain. Yamaha and Honda rented MotorLand Aragon for two days of testing. The test teams were already in action on Sunday and continued their work on Monday.
While Honda brought its regular test rider Aleix Espargaro to MotorLand, Yamaha worked with two test riders on Sunday: Italian Andrea Dovizioso and Spaniard Augusto Fernandez.
In recent months, Dovizioso and Fernandez have focused exclusively on further developing the Yamaha M1 project with a V4 engine. The Japanese manufacturer will most likely compete with this machine in the coming season. Fernandez will contest the third wildcard with the new V4 Yamaha at the season finale in Valencia this coming weekend. On the official test day on Tuesday, regular riders Fabio Quartararo, Alex Rins, Jack Miller, and Toprak Razgatlioglu will take over.
However, Superbike World Champion Razgatlioglu will already begin preparations for his MotoGP debut tomorrow, Monday, at MotorLand Aragon. The Turkish rider will complete his first laps on the new V4 Yamaha there.
One major change concerns the tires in particular. Nicolo Bulega experienced first-hand this weekend in Portimao that Michelin’s MotoGP prototype tires are very different from the production-based Pirellis used in the Superbike World Championship.
“Yes, I rode in Superbike style, and I realized that doesn’t work with the Michelin front tire,” explains the Ducati rider. “In Superbike, if you’re not aggressive in the first braking phase, you won’t get the bike to stop.”
“But here it’s exactly the opposite: if you’re too aggressive, you lose the front wheel. The problem isn’t that the others brake harder. Maybe Toprak is stronger when braking, because we all know that’s his greatest strength.“
”But the problem is that you have to brake differently here,“ explains Bulega. ”As I said, in Superbike you have to be very aggressive in the first phase and brake the bike in the first few meters.”
“Here, it’s exactly the opposite: you have to be gentle in the first phase and only then pull the brake lever harder. That’s the hardest part. And I think Toprak will also have to change this aspect a little bit. I don’t know how it works with the Yamaha, but I think it’s different here with the front tire.”
