Here's the thing about racing: one violent snap can ruin an entire weekend. As Motorsport.com reports, Toprak Razgatlioglu is heading home to Turkey for an MRI scan on his right shoulder to determine if he needs surgery following a nasty accident at the Indonesian Grand Prix.
The Pramac rider was violently thrown from his Yamaha during the final practice session at Mandalika on Saturday, landing hard on the asphalt and dislocating his right shoulder. It takes a certain kind of toughness to pop the bone back in place yourself, get back on the machine, qualify 19th, and fight through the sprint race. But Sunday morning brought a harsh reality check.
While the team gave him the green light to sit out the grand prix, the 29-year-old insisted on trying his best. It did not go to plan. After just eight laps, the lack of strength forced him to pull into the box. As he put it, his biggest problem was the shoulder, not the machine. Pain was manageable with painkillers, but the power vanished, particularly under braking and through the heavy right-hand corners and rapid direction changes between corners 7 to 8 and 13 to 14.
“Today, my biggest problem was the shoulder, not the bike,” Razgatlioglu said. He noted that every lap felt progressively worse as the joint lost its power output, and a strange feeling during the race made him believe the shoulder had slipped out of place once more.
Despite the early exit and the frustration of a weekend that started so brightly—showing top 15 pace on Friday while Yamaha held an edge over Honda—he has zero regrets about giving it a shot. Now, all eyes turn to Monday's medical checks in Turkey. He hopes a simple period of rest will be enough to recover for the next round rather than going under the knife.
