David Brivio says Yamaha won’t introduce their ‘true’ V4 MotoGP bike until 2027.

The Japanese manufacturer struggled in pre-season testing with their latest engine in the new Yamaha M1, leaving riders unhappy with their new machines.

However, Yamaha are believed to be using it in the 2026 MotoGP season as a learning period ahead of new rules coming into the sport in 2027.

Former Yamaha boss expects Yamaha to ‘struggle’ in 2026

Former Yamaha boss after the Buriram MotoGP test David BrivioTalked with GPON On his former team’s situation after a difficult pre-season.

The Italian experienced an engine transition during his time with Suzuki in 2015, as they switched from a V engine to an inline engine. Brivio believes their transition was smoother than Yamaha’s.

Brivio now believes that Yamaha will use the 2026 season as a ‘learning’ season before they deliver their ‘real bike’ for the 2027 season.

Brivio said, “I certainly didn’t expect such a situation from Yamaha. They are going through a big epochal change, which is the transition from an inline engine to a V engine.”

“In my experience with Suzuki, when Suzuki came back in 2015, we made a reverse transition from a V engine to an inline engine. But the transition was very painless, because Suzuki was immediately competitive. There were reliability issues that were solved during testing. After that, the bike did not have much power, but after a few years, we realized that it was a transition.

“I don’t know what’s going on at Yamaha, but there’s a good team there, very good engineers, a lot of experience, and a lot of knowledge and a big budget. In short, they have everything they need to get back on track.”

“This is a transition period for them. I could be wrong, but they will probably do it to gain experience with the V4 while waiting for the real bike in 2027. This year could be a transition, learning, difficulties, struggle and then in 2027 to put everything into practice.”

The Yamaha V4 engine did not make a clear future

Buriram’s test made it clear. Yamaha’s latest V4 engine remains unchanged for the 2026 season. Compared to the V4 engine tested in 2025.

Augusto Fernandez raced at the end of the 2025 season on a Yamaha M1 with a V4 engine, finishing the Grand Prix between 40 and 50 seconds behind the race winner.

That stat was repeated during the Buriram test, with Jack Miller’s racer claiming to be between 40 and 50 seconds off the winner at this weekend’s Thai Grand Prix.

Yamaha will probably lose Fabio Quatararo He is set to join Honda at the end of the 2026 season. Alex Rins now hopes that Yamaha will listen to his opinion Above Quatararo.