Yamaha intends to conduct tests of the V4 engine it has been working on for its M1 MotoGP bike during a private session scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Valencia, as reported by ecosundiaries.com.
Even though the testing privileges granted to the brand would permit
Fabio Quartararo
and
Alex Rins
, the factory squad’s duo of riders, to undertake this testing, the efforts in Valencia will likely be handled by them.
Augusto Fernandez
and
Cal Crutchlow
.
Yamaha originally signed
Andrea Dovizioso
To concentrate on the testing of its V4 engine experiment, which has been ongoing for several months now. Nevertheless, the Italian rider is unable to participate due to a home accident where he fractured his collarbone.
Ecosundiaries.com recognizes that this will mark the initial testing of the V4 engine on a European track. This engine previously had its premiere during a private session held at Sepang in Malaysia earlier this year. Nonetheless, that trial involved an extremely preliminary iteration, as significant development was still required for the electronics system specifically.
Yamaha remains the sole brand on today’s racing lineup featuring motorcycles equipped with inline-four engines. However, persistent feedback from their racers about insufficient top speeds has pushed Yamaha’s engineering team to explore different options—this includes considering significant alterations to the engine configuration.
Augusto Fernandez, Pramac Racing
Photograph by: Noushad Thekkayil – NurPhoto -Getty Images
If and when the motorcycle equipped with the V4 engine outperforms what we currently use, only then will we implement it,” said Yamaha’s chief Paolo Pavesio to ecosundiaries.com in February. “However, it isn’t practical to consider such a transition happening in 2025. By the time we hand over this new bike to our team riders, we must ensure it has reached an appropriate standard.
Read Also:
Yamaha: It’s “unrealistic” to consider switching to a V4 engine in 2025.
Even though the Motorcycle Sports Manufacturers Association (MSMA) decided to keep MotoGP power units constant from the start of this season through the end of 2026, Yamaha has received approval to continue developing their V4 project using the present 1000cc engine. According to the updated rules, the series will transition to an 850cc engine starting in 2027.
For this undertaking, the Japanese corporation receives backing from Marmotors, an engineering outfit led by Luca Marmorini, a distinguished engineer possessing extensive knowledge in Formula 1.
Jerez was intended to be the location for this week’s test; however, flooding around the Andalusian site led to the temporary shutdown of the circuit scheduled to host the Spanish Grand Prix next weekend.
Due to the regulation prohibiting tests at a track 14 days prior to a Grand Prix, Valencia will now be hosting MotoGP prototype races for the first time since severe flooding led to the cancellation of its traditional season-ending event in 2024.