Marco Bezzecchi
Yamaha unveiled their new V4-powered bike at the San Marino Grand Prix a fortnight ago, and after seeing Augusto Fernandez debut the new machinery at Misano, Neil Hodgson has shared his verdict on whether the Japanese constructor will be able to dethrone Ducati in 2026.
Yamaha sped up their development of their new bike due to the frustrations of star rider Fabio Quartararo atop their current inline-four-powered bike that has seen them slip down the MotoGP pecking order in recent years.
The Frenchman won his maiden MotoGP title with the Japanese constructor in 2021, but the performance of the Yamaha M1 has declined as Ducati emerged as the dominant force in the premier class following his championship feat.
The Borgo Panigale-based constructor has seen all of the last three riders’ championships being won on one of their bikes, with a fourth being imminent, and Yamaha have attempted to put a stop to Ducati’s dominance by building a bike with the same engine layout.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Fabio Quartararo from net worth to career stats
Neil Hodgson thinks Yamaha’s V4 is ‘too big’ a step for the team to be competitive straight away
Despite hurrying his team along in their development, Quartararo still wasn’t happy with his new Yamaha bike following his first test atop the new M1 during MotoGP’s final in-season test of the season at Misano.
Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of FP1 at the Japanese Grand Prix, former MotoGP rider Neil Hodgson shared his doubts regarding Yamaha’s chances of dethroning Ducati, saying, “It’s too big a step for them to get all the pieces of the jigsaw in the right order.
“Honda have got a V4, they’ve had a V4 always, and they still can’t beat the Ducati. The Aprilias are the same. Just because you’ve got a V4 doesn’t mean you’re going to; you’ve got to do the fine-tuning.
“As we know in racing, we’ve done this job long enough, the last 0.3 of a second, the magical, the mystery, the invisible. Where do we find it?”
The full-time Yamaha riders aren’t allowed to enter the new bike in the current campaign, due to the fact that the Japanese constructor has already homologated the exact number of aerodynamic changes they are allowed to make this season, hence the entry of wildcard rider Fernandez at Misano.
This gives the engineers at the Lesmo-based factory ample opportunity to figure out the fine-tuning that Hodgson alluded to, and enter the bike in 2026 as, hopefully, a serious contender.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Yamaha from the MotoGP team’s riders to hierarchy
Fabio Quartararo identifies the ‘problem’ with Yamaha’s current bike in Marco Bezzecchi comparison
Quartararo’s woes were evident in FP1 as he set the 16th fastest time of the session. However, the Frenchman found improvements in the pre-practice qualifying session, as he secured a spot in Q2 with the eighth fastest time.
Despite this, it didn’t change his evaluation of the weekend so far, telling journalists, via Motorsport.com, “I’m happy with qualifying directly for Q2, but I wouldn’t say I’m super happy with the practice in general.
“But yes, it’s better to be in Q2 from Friday onwards because we know how difficult it is to get past Q1 on Saturday morning. The pace isn’t bad for six laps.
“The problem is that I always give 100% on every lap, and the others, as you can see with Marco Bezzecchi, for example, always keep a little bit of margin on that pace.
“So when the speed comes, I’m already at the limit of my pace. And the more laps I do, the worse it gets. I wouldn’t say we’re super good, but it is what it is.”
Quartararo’s silver lining throughout the current campaign has been his performances in qualifying. The 26-year-old has started from pole position four times this season. However, race pace is an entirely different matter.
The Frenchman often finds himself moving backwards down the pecking order at the drop of the lights, securing just the one podium so far this season.
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