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Max Bartolini is the man Yamaha has chosen for its return to the top. After some 20 years with Ducati, the Italian engineer said yes to Iwata's call and is the first European technician to head the racing department of the tuning-fork manufacturer. He will be the one who will have to succeed in bringing the M1 back to the top, and in the coming years, the bike will change a lot. First of all, as already announced, Yamaha will abandon the inline-4 engine and switch to the V4, like all the competition.
Why this choice? It was Bartolini who answered when interviewed by crash.net: "With the V4, everybody thinks about the engine itself, but I think the biggest advantage is from the layout of the bike, more than from the engine," he pointed out. "In terms of pure power, honestly, listening to our engine department, it shouldn't be a big difference. But there are some ways to manage the layout of the bike that will be a little easier with the V4. And also to go more in the direction of the tyres, because it's always a matter of making the tyres work. Michelin is more about using the rear tyres than the front."
The V4 makes it possible to design a bike that has these characteristics.
"First, aerodynamic-wise the bike should be 10-15 centimeters narrower, and this normally will help aerodynamics a lot," he went into detail. "Then weight distribution, bike layout will go a little bit 'more backward'. Easier to manage. In general, those two points are good enough to help. Also, normally a V4 engine is a little bit lighter than an inline 4, so everything goes in the direction that maybe you can have an advantage. But this doesn't mean it will be the best, because we still need to make a bike and prove that it is faster than the actual one."
What is the timeline for seeing it on the track? Alex Rins said it could be ready as early as mid-2025 and perhaps replace the current model in racing. Bartolini was more cautious.
"No, it is not guaranteed - were his words - Right now we cannot tell anything honestly. To build a new bike like that, it's completely new parts compared to the current one. We won't save almost anything, except maybe brakes, suspension and electronics. But to put a performing bike on the ground, first it will be months that you have to check the reliability, that the bike works."
The inline-4 thus seems destined for retirement, because it is unlikely (if not impossible) that Yamaha will be able to pursue two parallel projects.
"We have limited resources," Max said, " Yamaha is really pushing, but they don't have as big a racing department as people think. Sooner or later we will have to decide, but we don't have enough information at the moment."
"We have limited resources, human power," Max said, "Yamaha is really pushing. But so far, in any case, they are not so big on the racing department as some people think. So sooner or later we need to decide. When? Still, we don't have enough information for me to decide yet."
