Yamaha had an aborted pre-season test at the Sepang International Circuit as issues with the V4 engine persisted before the start of the season.
Yamaha’s struggles at the Sepang MotoGP test were widely reported earlier this month, but discussions continue over their position ahead of 2026.
The Japanese manufacturer decided to switch from an inline-four engine to a V4 engine, a decision that could not help. Yamaha during the year.
Yamaha were looking for even more top speed in the 2026 season, and they didn’t believe an inline-four was the best way to go in the future and opted to build a narrower V4 engine.
Neil Hodgson ‘never knew’ producer’s stalling attempt
in the Gas out podcast, Neil Hodgson discusses Yamaha’s decision to pause their testing program midway through the 2026 Sepang test.
A clear development deficit for the other manufacturers, Yamaha found themselves in a new engine position, which is still less than what they wanted.
Yamaha had to put their test plans at Sepang on hold due to problems with their new V4 engine, a decision that shocked Hodgson.
“I didn’t know it before and I’ve been involved in this sport for 30-odd years, but they did the right thing, they should have seen that it was a safety issue,” Hodgson said.
They did the three-day test with everybody, and Augusto Fernandez and (Andrea) Dovizioso, everybody was out. But there was a clear issue. You did the right thing by checking twice.
Hodgson continued, “Think of it this way, if you look at where Yamaha are, all the other manufacturers are fine-tuning the last 1%, but Yamaha are in the 10%, they’re a long way off.
“It’s not that they’ve done anything wrong, but it’s the difference of 20 years of development and fine-tuning. The V4 is just as slow as it is now. It’s 10km/h slower. They’re trying to understand this bike and it’s slow.”
“The idea was that they would at least have top speed, but they don’t even get that.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu wants time with the Yamaha MotoGP bike
One of the big news heading into the 2026 season is the arrival of the three-time World Superbike Champion. Toprak Razgatlioglu.
The Turkish rider has long been looking for a ride in the MotoGP paddock, and will compete for the Pramac Racing Team on a Yamaha M1 this season.
However, with the high expectations placed on him, his former team boss from World Superbikes; Manuel Pucketti, Razgatlioglu is scared by all the hype. Around the move to MotoGP.
Pucciti is not alone in his thoughts on the Turkish rider as the former MotoGP team boss Livio Suppo believes that it is ‘impossible’ for Razgatlioglu to compete immediately On the Yamaha M1.
