The Yamaha V4 MotoGP bike debut took place on Friday during practice sessions for the San Marino Grand Prix, marking a significant step for the manufacturer as it unveiled its new V4-powered prototype. Test rider Augusto Fernandez, representing Yamaha Factory Racing, was the first to take the bike out on track, delivering a performance that, despite challenges, showed promising potential.
Fernandez completed the day 19th on the leaderboard, but his lap times indicated a competitive pace close to established riders, gathering early data vital for the machine’s development ahead of the full factory team’s future involvement.
Performance and Challenges During First Practice Sessions
As the opening FP1 session commenced, cameras focused on Fernandez as he piloted the new Yamaha M1 equipped with the V4 engine, a major departure from the inline-four layout that the current factory machines run. On his initial laps, Fernandez quickly closed in on top times, posting laps within a second of the fastest riders.
However, technical difficulties arose midway when a faulty sensor forced an automatic shutdown, causing Fernandez’s bike to stall and temporarily interrupt testing. Undeterred, Fernandez switched to a second bike and resumed the session, ending FP1 ranked 21st with a fastest lap of 1m32.537s.
This time was within a second of factory rider Fabio Quartararo—who was second fastest behind Franco Morbidelli—and closely matched other established competitors such as Alex Rins and the Pramac duo, Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira. This proximity suggested that the Yamaha V4’s pace had immediate promise despite limited running time.
Afternoon Session and Fernandez’s Crash
Fernandez returned for the main practice later in the day and completed another 20 laps, gradually closing the gap to Quartararo. On the softer rear tyre, Fernandez improved his pace to only six-tenths of a second behind the factory benchmark.
Unfortunately, his session was cut short due to a low-speed crash at Turn 2, ending his track time prematurely. Despite this, the Spaniard maintained a positive outlook, noting the progress made in a very short period.
Notably, even Quartararo expressed admiration for Fernandez’s speed aboard the new V4 machine, highlighting the rapid development relative to Yamaha’s established inline-four M1.
“I mainly follow the lap times,”
said Fabio Quartararo.
He was very fast, less than a tenth of a second behind the second Yamaha.
“We know that Augusto is a fast rider. What’s more, with a new bike, I know there’s a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of margin with this bike, especially in terms of settings. That’s where I think it could be pretty good.”
—Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing Rider
Improvements and Remaining Work: Fernandez’s Perspective on the V4 Bike
Augusto Fernandez was encouraged by the strides Yamaha had made with the V4 bike, detailing key areas where it had addressed the weaknesses present in the standard M1 model. He pointed out that the rear grip and management—long-time concerns for Yamaha—had notably improved with the new setup.
“On the standard bike, we have some very positive things there. They are still a little bit better than the V4 right now,”
Fernandez explained.
“But we improved the rear part a lot. The main issue on the standard bike was the rear part, grip and management of the grip.”
“This is much better already, since the beginning, and now we are trying to find the balance of the bike to make the front work as [well as] the standard [bike], to get everything together and make the best of it.”
—Augusto Fernandez, Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider
Fernandez admitted that while the current M1 still holds advantages in certain aspects, the progress in rear grip gave the V4 model a solid foundation to build upon. This positive development contrasted with prior difficulties the team faced during testing sessions at Misano.
Key Changes Made Ahead of San Marino GP Proved Successful
The Yamaha team implemented several modifications in the weeks leading up to the San Marino Grand Prix. These changes were tested and refined during Friday’s practice, leading to a smoother ride and improved handling on the V4 prototype.
“Today was a positive day because all the changes that we did, they worked,”
Fernandez reported.
“This is nice because normally in testing, you make steps but [by] discarding things, ‘this is not good’ so you try to find a way like this. Today was the first day that I said, ‘wow, this is good’. So it’s a nice feeling as a rider.”
He further added that unlike previous test days where balancing the bike and setup caused significant struggles, the new configuration allowed them to implement planned adjustments smoothly throughout the day.
“It was the first time that every change and every change of set-up and what we were trying, that we had in mind from the test, [they worked]. Honestly, we’ve been struggling the last time we were here testing. It was the first time that we were struggling with the bike; setup-wise, the balance and everything.”
“So we had some big things in mind. We made [the changes] in the morning and in the afternoon. It was like a test day, like big changes and it worked.”
—Augusto Fernandez, Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider
Testing Limitations and Importance of Race Weekends for Development
Despite the positive initial pace, Fernandez emphasized the difficulty of conducting proper time attacks during private testing due to track conditions and tyre availability. The restricted ability to simulate low-fuel, soft-tyre runs limits the data Yamaha can gather outside of race events.
“I made a small mistake on the second time-attack because today was the first real time attack that we did with this bike; with a soft tyre and not a lot of fuel,”
he said.
“It’s not easy [to do time attacks in testing] because the track is not always safe to do a proper time attack, unlike here in the GPs because you don’t find the same grip, the conditions and the kerbs.”
“When I was here [for testing], I couldn’t use the kerbs because they were super slippery. So to go out and do a time attack, it’s too risky.”
“So sometimes, I understand that we don’t do a proper time attack. It’s nice to do some to understand where we are, but in the end, we more or less understand where we are without doing it.”
“Also, it’s not that we can’t play with the tyres. We use very used tyres in testing. It’s not that we can’t throw away one soft tyre.”
—Augusto Fernandez, Yamaha Factory Racing Test Rider
Next Steps: Race Weekend and Future Testing Plans
Yamaha aims to gather more comprehensive data during Sunday’s sprint and main race, focusing on how the V4 bike copes with dirty air and the intense conditions of competition. Sunday’s outings will provide clearer insights into the machine’s performance in real race scenarios, an area where testing alone cannot replicate all challenges.
Looking beyond San Marino, Yamaha has scheduled another run for this new V4 machine at the Malaysian Grand Prix in October. This event will offer the team an opportunity to evaluate the bike under hotter track conditions, further contributing to the development required to return Yamaha to the front of the MotoGP field.
