Marco Bezzecchi
Pramac star Jack Miller will play a key role in Yamaha’s plans during the 2026 MotoGP season, as the Japanese constructor drop their inline four engine to develop a V4 unit.
Yamaha have confirmed that all four of their factory-contracted riders will use a V4-engined YZR-M1 during the 2026 campaign. The decision to scrap their inline four project came after several months of testing a V4 unit, before it made its track debut at Misano last September.
The Iwata outfit are the final manufacturer on the grid to use a V4 engine, having stuck with an inline four unit due to its benefits in cornering speed. But the inline four engine regularly left the Yamaha riders with a huge disadvantage against their V4-engined rivals on straights.
Yamaha also gave Miller a new one-year factory contract last September, to continue riding for Pramac in 2026, to use his knowledge of V4 engines. The 30-year-old used V4 engines while riding Honda, Ducati and KTM bikes, before he first rode a Yamaha at Pramac in 2025.
Will Yamaha return to winning ways with a V4 engine in 2026?
Jack Miller is convinced Yamaha are up to the challenge of developing a V4 engine
Test rider Augusto Fernandez has largely led the development of Yamaha’s new 1,000cc V4 engine, which will only be raced in the 2026 MotoGP season. MotoGP will switch to 850cc engines in 2027, which is also another reason why Yamaha have dropped their inline four.
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Yamaha’s riders have provided mixed feedback about the brand’s V4 engine after trialling it in private tests and official tests in Misano and Valencia. While Yamaha’s V4 gives Miller the same feeling as Ducati’s flywheel, factory rider Fabio Quartararo has often voiced concerns.
Quartararo claimed Yamaha’s V4 engine is “worse” than its inline four predecessor in some areas after his first tests with the unit. But Miller is “absolutely” convinced that Yamaha are up to the challenge of improving their V4 engine, which will then pay off for them in 2027.
“Absolutely,” he told Crash. “And I mean, they’ve gone all-in on this new project. Obviously, the bikes are changing in 2027, but they had to do something. This is [Yamaha] proactively doing something to stay competitive.
“And then, come ‘27, they will have a whole heap more information. The Yamaha engineers have been busting their [butts] for the last 18 months. And they’ll continue probably for the next 24!
“But that’s the way it goes in this game. It’s all a learning process for what’s to come in the not-so-distant future.”
Yamaha had to develop a 1,000cc V4 engine for 2026 ahead of 2027’s 850cc regulations
Miller believes Yamaha had to develop a V4 engine, as ditching their inline four unit was the only way that the Iwata natives could improve the M1’s traction. He often felt it was difficult to utilise the horsepower of their inline four unit under acceleration with the Michelin tyres.
Also, Yamaha realised that they had to build a V4 engine after reading the 2027 rules, as the 850cc regulations immediately showed them there was “no way” they could continue to use an inline four. Yamaha are already working on their 850cc V4 engine for the 2027 campaign.
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