Marco Melandri knows MotoGP and WSBK very well, and given Toprak Razgatlioglu’s interest in trying the highest category of motorcycling, he made some considerations in the form of a “tip”.
The Italian, who knows like few others what it’s like to be part of the grid from one category to another [he was in MotoGP from 2003 to 2010], and then in WSBK [from 2011 to 2014], then returning to MotoGP for a year [2015], only to later return to Superbikes again, and when looking at Razgatlioglu’s expressed desire to move to the premier class, he made a suggestion, in words to GPone: ‘If he wants to go to MotoGP he has to do it with a competitive bike because I would lose my mind with a Honda’.
Honda emerged as a possibility for the Turk, with him even expressing his desire to drive with the manufacturer, but with Melandri advising against the Turk.
The Italian, in fact, suggested another change, which could help Razgatlioglu a lot in this transition and adaptation: the tyres.
‘If I were him, I would wait for the switch from Michelin to Pirelli in MotoGP. The difference between a Superbike and a Moto GP is not that big, but the behavior of the tyres changes a lot. Because Michelins are very different from Pirellis’, said Melandri, before concluding:
– Toprak must therefore spend a lot of time learning about tires and adapting them accordingly. In my opinion it would be easier if Pirelli entered MotoGP instead of Michelin. I heard about this possibility linked to changing tyres and for Toprak it would certainly be less complicated.
