Yamaha hopes the bike will revive its fortunes in MotoGP, where V4s make up for more than three quarters of the grid. V4s rule because they make more power and their chassis dynamics make the bikes work better in battle situations. The inline-four’s only advantage is in corner speed, which it can use in qualifying, with no V4s getting in the way, but not during races.
Yamaha had several V4s of differing specs at the test, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at the newly resurfaced Brno circuit, which next month will host its first MotoGP round since 2020.
Fernandez and newly-contracted Yamaha test rider Andrea Dovizioso rode the bikes on Tuesday, then only Fernandez on Wednesday. Also present on Tuesday were factory Yamaha rider Alex Rins and Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira, who rode current M1s.
Rins was fastest at 1min 53.338sec, almost three seconds inside the current lap record, with the fastest V4 lapping at 1min 56.6sec. Because these are only shakedown tests, before Yamaha number-one Fabio Quartararo gets to ride the bike for the first time, the lap times don’t mean much.
The as-yet-unnamed new model isn’t an M1 with a new engine, it’s an entirely new motorcycle, because V4s are packaged within the chassis very differently, requiring a complete redesign.
