Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha’s new V4 engine will get its race debut this weekend in the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, as the Iwata outfit look to build on Monday’s private test in Barcelona.
The Japanese brand are the only MotoGP team still fielding an inline-four engine in the 2025 season. But Yamaha are investing heavily in developing a V4 engine in their hopes to see the M1 return to the front, with their riders frequently fighting a losing battle on many straights.
KTM and Ducati riders, in particular, will often fly past their Yamaha rivals thanks to the extra punch from their machines. So, Yamaha brought forward their plans for a V4 engine and test rider Augusto Fernandez will now give it its race debut this weekend, instead of next season.
But before the V4 engine gets its race debut with Fernandez in the San Marino GP at Misano this week, Yamaha hung around in Barcelona following last Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix for a private test. A damp start and on-and-off showers hindered Yamaha’s test of the V4, though.
Johann Zarco relished seeing MotoGP ‘history’ with Yamaha’s V4 engine in Barcelona
Works Yamaha riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins, tester Andrea Dovizioso and Pramac’s Jack Miller all took to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during Monday’s test. They shared the track with Honda, as Joan Mir and Luca Marini tested their team’s chassis and swingarm.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Yamaha from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy
Quartararo set the fastest lap during Yamaha’s test in Barcelona, with a lap time of 1:39.3. It also gave LCR rider Johann Zarco the chance to witness “history”, as the 35-year-old caught a glimpse of Yamaha’s new V4 engine as the Iwata crew fired it up before taking to the track.
Zarco said ahead of the San Marino GP at Misano, via quotes by Simon Patterson: “I didn’t ride with them. I just saw them warming it up in the pit lane, got to hear it. It’s nice to be there for that, for something special, to see history.”
Pedro Acosta pinpoints what will be ‘interesting to see’ with Yamaha’s V4 MotoGP engine at Misano
But while Yamaha are making progress with a V4 engine ahead of its likely full race debut in the 2026 MotoGP season, KTM rival Pedro Acosta warns the Japanese squad that they have a much bigger “project” to develop to move the M1 on from its current inline-four package.
Acosta said, via Motorsport.com: “It will be interesting to see what Yamaha do with the V4, because it’s not just an engine but the entire project.”
Yamaha are pleased with the development of their V4 engine, but it will likely force them to make further changes to the M1 next season for Quartararo et al to race it. The new engine will likely require a new fairing and possibly also a new chassis to house the different design.
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