Toprak Razgatlioglu’s difficult rookie season in MotoGP has unexpectedly raised questions about whether the championship is now too generous when awarding points.
The three-time World Superbike champion has struggled for pace since making the move to the premier class with Prima Pramac Yamaha, but his recent results have still allowed him to regularly add to his championship tally. After scoring points only twice in his opening seven Grands Prix, Razgatlioglu has picked up points in four of his last five races.
On paper, that looks like clear progress. However, a closer look at his results suggests the points do not always reflect genuine competitiveness.
Razgatlioglu’s best Sunday finish so far came at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he finished 11th. The result was helped by a chaotic race at Balaton Park that saw several riders fail to finish, while the Yamaha rider was able to take advantage of the attrition and beat established names including Alex Rins, Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Viñales.
He then finished 14th at Brno and 15th at the Sachsenring, collecting another three points across the two races. At the German Grand Prix, Razgatlioglu admitted that his result was largely the result of other riders crashing ahead of him.
That is where the current scoring system comes under scrutiny.
MotoGP awards championship points to the top 15 finishers in the main Grand Prix, with 25 points for victory and one point for 15th. Sprint races also award points to the top nine riders.
Source: Daily Sabah
The system is designed to reward consistency and finishing races, but Razgatlioglu’s season demonstrates how a rider can continue collecting points without necessarily being close to the competitive midfield.
The Yamaha rider has often found himself near the back of the field, with several of his points finishes coming after crashes or retirements removed riders ahead of him. At the Sachsenring, for example, he finished 15th after starting deep in the field, while several competitors failed to reach the chequered flag.
That does not take anything away from Razgatlioglu’s ability to finish races. In a championship where crashes and mechanical failures are part of the sport, staying on the bike is an important skill. However, the current system means simply surviving can sometimes be enough to earn a championship point.
The argument is therefore not necessarily that MotoGP should copy Formula 1, where points are currently awarded only to the top 10 finishers. Instead, there is a case for reducing MotoGP's scoring window from the top 15 to perhaps the top 12, ensuring that championship points remain a stronger indicator of genuine performance.
Under such a system, Razgatlioglu’s current tally would be significantly lower. That could provide a more accurate reflection of where the Yamaha rookie currently stands against the rest of the field rather than allowing attrition to inflate his championship position.
Razgatlioglu's situation also needs to be viewed in context. He is adapting to MotoGP machinery, Michelin tyres and a Yamaha V4 project that has struggled to match its rivals. The Turkish rider has shown flashes of strong pace, including his 11th-place finish in Hungary, and MotoGP itself has highlighted his steady progress towards the top 10.
For now, his points haul is less a reflection of a breakthrough and more an illustration of how the current system rewards every small gain. Razgatlioglu’s rookie campaign has therefore unintentionally exposed a debate MotoGP may eventually have to address: should championship points reward simply finishing near the back, or should the bar be raised so that scoring reflects a more meaningful level of competitiveness?
