It is apparently on the side of Valencia, where the final of the MotoGP championship will be contested, that the Yamaha V4 made its first laps. Always faithful to the four -cylinder online, of which she is the last representative since the withdrawal of Suzuki, Yamaha had to face the facts: if the whole competition has passed to the V4, it becomes complicated or even impossible to compete. The V4 engine has the advantage of being more compact, and offering greater flexibility for aerodynamic and center of gravity choices. At a time when the fins have flourished on the fairings, a trend that the 2027 regulation should limit but not completely abolishing, changing the engine architecture was proved to be a choice that has imposed itself in Yamaha.
Holder pilots later called during development
Massimo Bartolini, technical director of the brand of Iwata, confirmed the start of the track tests of the new prototype. It is first to the Yamaha test pilot, Cal Crutchlow, that the task of performing the first laps with this new engine is coming back. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins, the pilots holding the official stable of Yamaha, will take the handlebars of the machine when its development has reached a more advanced stadium.
“We started the V4 engine tests”he said at the microphone of the official MotoGP website. “Then, as to the time when official pilots will be able to participate in the tests, it will depend on our current development. When the motorcycle is ready, we will give them as quickly as possible. Developing a motorcycle and an engine takes time, we are only at the beginning of development. »»
Unlimited tests thanks to the concessions
Thanks to the concessions available to Yamaha, its tests are somehow unlimited, and can involve official pilots. Ducati, the brand that has dominated MotoGP for several seasons, has, for example, has much stricter restrictions in this area, unable to count on its official pilots Marc Márquez and Francesco Bagnaia. For manufacturers in category D, of which Yamaha is a part, the engine specifications are free, which technically means that we could see the V4 engine in action next year, or even earlier. Bartolini warns, however, if its teams do not consider that the new motorcycle can have better potential than the old one, it will remain in the garage.
“For the moment, we have not yet been able to clearly compare the performance but as soon as we can do, we will analyze all this. We will go ahead with the motorcycle which will be the fastest of both. The motorcycle of next season will have a V4, if the motorcycle with V4 is faster than the current motorcycle. »»
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