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Not one, but probably two V4 engines, or rather two complete bikes, are on the track in the private test Yamaha is doing in Valencia today.
"Yamaha went ALL IN, as they say in Poker lingo," said an insider who prefers not to be quoted.
Anticipating the news was motorsport.com, and it is confirmed that Augusto Fernandez, who participated in the last two Grands Prix in Austin and Qatar as a replacement for Miguel Oliveira and Cal Crutchlow, is riding on the track.
The news is that the Iwata-based manufacturer will be on the track not only with the 850-displacement prototype destined for the 2027 MotoGP, but with a 1000 cc version, likely to be able to be used certainly in 2026, but probably even earlier should the test results be positive.
A huge, cyclopean effort, adding to the doubling of teams, with the arrival of Pramac also present with a team in Moto2, which testifies to the tuning fork manufacturer's iron will to return to the top of the premier class, possibly with Fabio Quartararo.
The new boss, Paolo Pavesio had already hinted at something on the night in Qatar: "When the bike with the V4 engine is better than the one that we currently have, we will introduce it. Maybe not in 2025. When we give that bike to the factory riders, we have to make sure it is of a good standard."
These rumors also reveal that Yamaha is already in the market to renew its lineup and has begun negotiations with a couple of MotoGP 'hot properties'. Easy to mention the name of Pedro Acosta, who is also in Honda's sights, but recently from Superbike because Toprak Razgatlioglu's manager, Kenan Sofuoglu, has hinted at a rapprochement between the Japanese manufacturer and the Turk.
Recall that Yamaha benefits from the concessions, which means that at any time it could decide to race-test the new powertrain, the result of the collaboration between Yamaha and Marmomotors, the company of engineer Luca Marmorini.
(Cover photo shows Yamaha with Andrea Dovizioso's number 04 in Sepang testing)
