Oliveira's MotoGP Replacement Unsparing: "The Second Worst Race of My Life!"

Toprak Razgatlioglu, the Pramac rider who stepped in for Miguel Oliveira in MotoGP, has branded the Austrian Grand Prix as the "second-worst race of his life." He revealed that he only completed the race out of "respect" for Yamaha, despite seriously considering retiring early.

The weekend at the Red Bull Ring was a nightmare for Yamaha, with all their riders finishing outside the points. Fabio Quartararo, who had impressed with a ninth-place qualifying, was the brand's best representative in 17th. Razgatlioglu, meanwhile, finished second to last, 46.7 seconds behind the winner and 12 seconds adrift of Alex Rins, who was ahead of him. His teammate, Jack Miller, was nearly 70 seconds off the lead.

The Turkish rider stated he suffered from a complete lack of traction from the start of the 28-lap race, a problem that left him shocked and frustrated.

"I'm also very shocked because at the beginning, in the first five laps, I already felt no grip," he confessed. "I just felt the wheel spinning. I was very angry on the bike because I was asking myself: 'It's a new tire, but how is it possible there's no grip at the start?'"

Razgatlioglu compared his experience to Quartararo's, noting that while tire degradation at the end was expected, the immediate lack of grip was an unpleasant surprise, especially after a better performance the previous day.

"I saw Fabio was riding very well, but in the end, the tires gave up. But that we expected. What we didn't expect was this at the beginning," he explained. "Yesterday, we rode very well... OK, when we battled with Pol [Espargaró] we lost the group, but in the end, we did a good job. But today we had more difficulties: if the bike has no grip, we have no acceleration."

The situation worsened to such an extent that, in the final laps, the rider questioned whether he would even make it to the finish. "In the last six laps, I asked myself: 'How is it possible to finish the race?' because on the straight the wheel was always spinning. Everywhere, I just felt the wheel spinning," he described.

The Pramac rider likened this race to another equally disastrous event in Thailand earlier this year, where he experienced the same grip issues. "This was the second-worst race of my life. The other was also this year, in Thailand. I felt exactly the same, no grip," he stated, adding that he seriously considered pulling into the pits.

"Sometimes I thought about going into the box. But I respect Yamaha enough to keep riding, because the pace was a disaster. I just tried to finish the race, but I had no enjoyment at all. I think all the Yamahas were in the same situation."