Jorge Lorenzo reveals the ‘very promising’ thing Andrea Dovizioso told him about Yamaha’s V4 engine

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Yamaha’s V4 engine made its Grand Prix debut at Misano last weekend. It’s due to appear again in Malaysia and at the season finale in Valencia.

Test rider Augusto Fernandez rode the new machine as a wildcard. Yamaha face a disqualification if a full-time rider uses a V4 due to MotoGP’s homologation rules.

Fernandez wasn’t the slowest rider in qualifying, and he scored points in the race. That should be seen as an achievement given that Yamaha’s V4 was a ‘donkey’, by their own admission, as recently as July.

Fabio Quartararo was negative about the V4 after Monday’s test, where he was permitted to use it. He’s questioned whether it has brought the desired improvement.

But Pramac’s Jack Miller has welcomed the braking improvements delivered by the new engine. And Andrea Dovizioso says the team are, generally, happier than Quartararo.

Andrea Dovizioso told Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha are ‘super happy’ with V4

Dovizioso won’t be making any wildcard appearances but, as a test rider, he’s played an important role in the development process. In a conversation with former MotoGP rival Jorge Lorenzo at Misano, he identified the main areas of progress.

15-time premier-class winner Dovizioso said ‘from the very first moment’ that the traction was much better. Yamaha are the slowest team in a straight line right now, and their sluggish exits are contributing to the problem.

Crucially, while the inline-four has its merits, Yamaha feel they’ve gained much more than they’ve lost. Like Miller, Dovizioso also pointed to stronger performance in braking zones.

“The truth is that this was a very promising debut,” Lorenzo said on the Duralavita YouTube channel. “On Sunday morning at breakfast, I shared five minutes with Dovizioso. We weren’t friends in the past – there was a lot of tension – but now we’ve stopped racing.

“He told me that they are very happy, very hopeful. From the very first moment, Yamaha has gained a lot of traction. That was the weak point they had with the inline four. They haven’t lost much in the other points. The bike also stops better.

“Considering it’s a totally new bike and new concept for the Iwata factory, they are super happy.”

The ‘massive’ hurdle Yamaha still must clear with V4 engine for 2026

Yamaha forced Dovizioso to be secretive, along with their other riders, before the Misano weekend. But now that the new bike has been unveiled, they’re much more open about the project.

Sylvain Guintoli says Yamaha still need ‘massive investment’ to unlock the final half-second of performance. Should it arrive, that could persuade Quartararo to stay.

Indeed, this is unofficially one of Yamaha’s main objectives. They need to prove that they are still worthy of a superstar rider.

Yamaha accelerated V4 development in response to Quartararo’s defeated body language, hoping to offer him some renewed optimism. That clearly hasn’t worked yet, but they still have time to win him over.