Yamaha’s announcement, made throughout the summer time of 2024, that it’s growing a V4 engine for its MotoGP bike was a sign of the lengths to which it’s going with a view to attempt to get well efficiency within the championship.
Though Yamaha gained the title solely three years in the past with Fabio Quartararo, the Japanese model is with out a win for the reason that 2022 German Grand Prix, and went by way of the entire of 2024 with out scoring a podium end.
For the reason that starting of the four-stroke period, Yamaha has run inline-four-cylinder engines, largely — and more and more so — towards the V4 grain.
With it being the clear factor which divides Yamaha from the remainder of the MotoGP grid, it is sensible that swapping out its I4 for a brand new V4 would put Yamaha on extra of an equal footing with its rivals.
Nevertheless, with the engine nonetheless within the comparatively early levels of growth — early sufficient, at the least, that the race riders haven’t but tried it — Quartararo isn’t sure that it will likely be the last word remedy for the Iwata marque’s current efficiency struggles.
“I feel it is a section, particularly that we’ve got to do as a result of we actually know that the potential is the place the V4 is,” Quartararo stated in an interview printed on the Spanish web site Motosan.
“We see Ducati, Aprilia, KTM, additionally Honda, as a result of there are actually issues which can be worse than us however different issues which can be a lot better.
“We’ll should see lots of issues however I have never actually wager the whole lot on a brand new engine.”
The V4 engine Yamaha is growing will transfer it in conformity with the remainder of the grid, as Quartararo talked about, however to meet up with the European manufacturers there’s extra to be performed than merely following their lead on engine configuration.
It is going to additionally require enhancements in different areas, and to do this Quartararo has been sure since 2023 that Yamaha needed to revolutionise its working strategies. His re-signing for 2025 and 2026 was achieved by Yamaha because of its potential to present proof to the Frenchman that the corporate is attempting to make these adjustments, a serious a part of which was bringing within the engineer Max Bartolini from Ducati.
“In September 2023 I used to be actually contemplating altering manufacturers,” Quartararo admitted.
“I requested many issues: I would like this, I would like engineers of this high quality, I would like […] to actually consider within the mission and for the reason that finish of November 2023 they’ve introduced individuals, they’ve introduced a really massive finances for aerodynamics, engine, new individuals.
“I used to be in a position to have a reasonably lengthy assembly with Max Bartolini.
“Actually within the group and in Yamaha there’s a lack of personnel like Max, however I stayed above all as a result of the mission was large, they’ve invested so much, and likewise the loyalty that Yamaha has made me transfer as much as MotoGP on the time after I was no person.
“With the whole lot I’ve requested and the whole lot they’ve performed, it has additionally weighed on the
