Yamaha is facing an anxious race against time to have its new V4 MotoGP up to speed before preseason testing for the 2026 season begins after an underwhelming appearance in the Malaysian GP.
Test rider Augusto Fernandez made his second wild-card appearance with the bike and could only finish 18th, 47 seconds off race winner Alex Marquez. More concerning was the Spaniard’s comments on how they are still some ways off from finding a working base setting, with certain components in need of a redesign.
“Difficult, difficult weekend for us,” he said after the feature race. “The only positive thing that with all the work we’ve done, we are now at the same point as how we finished the race in Misano [where the machine made its racing debut].”
Lead rider Fabio Quartararo made his stance clear in Malaysia. Unless Yamaha can prove across preseason that its V4 is capable of fighting for the top five at every race next year, he will seek a move elsewhere.
Asked whether Yamaha is on course to do that, Fernandez said, “Not really. But I will tell you in Valencia, honestly. Because now we are far, but if we go in the right direction, that after all the data that we analyzed, if we think the direction we are going to take is the one to take, in Valencia we will confirm. After that I will say if we will be ready or not.”CN
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