Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha had the second-worst bike in MotoGP by some margin in 2024, but they’ve stepped up their efforts ahead of the new season.
A team with such a rich history doesn’t expect to be playing at the back of the grid for too long, especially while they have a world champion within their ranks.
Fabio Quartararo placed 13th in the MotoGP riders’ championship last season and coped well with a very tough situation.
This season, they will have some more help after entering a new partnership with Pramac Racing, who should be able to offer extra feedback and expertise in their pursuit of extra performance.
Pramac have signed two completely new riders as Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira replace the experience lost in the departure of reigning champion Jorge Martin and Franco Morbidelli.
The Spaniard is almost irreplaceable, but Fausto Marcieira believes Pramac signed Miller for Dorna Sports as it’s important to have an Australian in the sport. He won’t be expected to deliver the same level of performance as Martin did.
Yamaha has invested ‘so much money’ for the first time ever ahead of 2025 MotoGP season
2025 will mark the first time in over 20 years that Pramac will not be running a Ducati bike in competition and it will take time to return to where they were with the Italian outfit.
Ducati bikes won 90% of the races on offer in 2024, while Yamaha have been sliding down the pecking order for a while and need a bit of a reset.
Yamaha are developing two bikes at once in a pretty crazy move as they prepare for a switch to their new V4 bike.
READ MORE: Yamaha have made 2025 MotoGP wildcard decision after Andrea Dovizioso’s Shakedown appearance
Pramac manager Gino Borsoi is pleased with Yamaha’s commitment to the sport this year, and with the level of investment they have made.
“I think this is the first time Yamaha has invested so much money. They’ve taken a lot of technicians, they’re doing a lot of new things,” he told GPOne.
“So it’s exciting this project, and then if we succeed it will be something again to say we’ve made history, just as we were able to do with Ducati.”
The problems that Yamaha face ahead of the 2025 MotoGP season
Quartararo faces one of Yamaha’s most difficult problems as they struggle for performance and he is forced to override his machine.
It brings mistakes into the equation and makes pre-season running at Sepang even more important for themselves and Pramac.
READ MORE: Alex Rins admits the one thing he ‘cannot’ do to match Yamaha teammate Fabio Quartararo
They don’t want to be in a situation where their riders are having to go beyond the limit at the Thailand Grand Prix in a few weeks.
Miller has already admitted Yamaha were wrong about a Ducati device which they anticipated would be banned, but won’t be until 2027.
It means they have a setup advantage and should find it easier to adjust their ride heights for the next two seasons, possibly handing Ducati an even greater gap to their rivals.
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