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Race after race, the crisis facing Yamaha, which has only reached one podium, this start of the Championship, with Fabio Quartararo in the GP of the Americas, becomes increasingly evident. This is a delicate moment for the Iwata constructor, which struggles to remain permanently in the Top 10 both with Franco Morbidelli and with El Diablo himself, who is increasingly disappointed and bitter by the performance of the M1 that, instead of making progress, seems to be gradually losing in performance.
With only two riders to hold its flag high, the Japanese constructor struggles to keep up with its opponents. So much so that it ended up in 5th, and last, place in the Constructors rankings, with a gap of 15 points from Honda (fourth in the rankings) and 116 lengths from the position occupied by Ducati, in a MotoGP that is increasingly in the hands of European constructors, who already fear that Yamaha can follow in the footsteps of Suzuki and decide to leave the MotoGP at the end of 2026, when its contract with Dorna will terminate. A scenario strongly denied by Lin Jarvis, who assured our colleagues at Speedweek of the constructor’s full commitment.
“There is no denying that, right now, Yamaha and Honda are struggling in the MotoGP. There are sixteen motorcycles from European constructors participating, but only six Japanese. Honda and Yamaha are fighting against their European competitors in terms of performance, so it’s understandable that this kind of consideration is now being expressed,” the Managing Director commented. “I can’t speak on behalf of Honda, but I can assure you that I don’t see or perceive any lack of commitment from Yamaha, from the top, down.”
With more than 60 years of racing experience, Yamaha doesn’t seem intent on reviewing its involvement in the MotoGP but rather on changing its in-house policy.
“At the second to last Grand Prix in Jerez, Yoshihiro Hidaka, President of Yamaha Motor Japan, and Eric de Seynes, President of Yamaha Motor Europe were present. Both occupy very important positions and strongly support the races. They also acknowledge what racing has brought to the Yamaha brand in the past and what it’ll still bring to our image in the future,” Jarvis explained. “I’m delighted that they’ve come to Jerez, so they can experiment and see our current level up close. They know what we need in the future. We need investments and changes in the way we work.”
The manager has confidence in Yamaha and hopes that everything will go in the right direction: “We have to be very realistic. If we look back a year, to Suzuki’s situation, they didn’t expect to retire either. But, personally, I have no doubts. I hope things stay that way.”
