Yamaha rider Alex Rins revealed that the manufacturer’s V4 engine for its MotoGP project is two seconds slower than the current M1. 

The Japanese manufacturer remains the only factory on the grid running with an inline-four engine, but has been working on creating a V4 ahead of the 2027 regulation changes. 

The engine has already been introduced to on-track action, as test rider Augusto Fernandez tried out the V4 ahead of the SpanishGP in April. 

While both Yamaha riders have expressed the engine is not yet race-ready, Rins gave more insight and suggested the bike is two seconds slower than the current M1. 

“It’s inevitable – and you can’t even imagine how hard I tried to get them to let me test the bike. And they told me, ‘No way’,” Rins said ahead of the German GP. 

“I don’t know if I can say it, but what I saw is that [the V4] is very good. As is normal, in such a new project there are always things to test. 

“They [told me off] because I uploaded a video of Augusto going out on track, and they made me delete it.

“What I can tell you is that I was riding behind Augusto in the practice starts we did, and I was surprised,” admitted Rins.

“I did 1m52.7s with my bike and I think they – Augusto – managed to lap in 1m54.8s or 1m54.7s.”

Rins, however, does not believe that is the true gap, given the lack of laps and new-tyre runs.

“It’s not really two seconds, it’s less. I did 70 laps the first day and 40 the second. 

“I think they did 30 laps between the two riders over the two days because they had to spend a lot of time stopped, assembling and disassembling things.”

Fabio Quartararo was also questioned about the V4 in Germany, but said he would not comment until he tests the machine, which is likely to be at the Misano test. 

“I will test it around September, I think at Misano,” said the Frenchman. 

“The comments are positive, but until I test the bike, it’s just the engineers telling me things. I can’t really feel the potential until I test it.”

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Fabio Quartararo admits his Yamaha currently has “zero potential” despite finishing in the top five in both races at the German MotoGP round. 

Quartararo finished fourth in the German GP after taking a podium in the wet Sprint race on Saturday to record his best overall weekend of the season so far.  

However, the Frenchman suggested his position in the main race on Sunday was not representative, as he finished 10 seconds behind Francesco Bagnaia who took the final place on the podium. 

“I am not happy because we are super slow,” Quartararo told TNT Sports.

“The feeling of the bike is not great. We finished more than 18 seconds from victory, which is not our goal, but we [also] finished 10 seconds from Pecco [Bagnaia].

“We are slow, and we have to understand why we are struggling that much in the races.”

Quartararo also admitted the lack of race pace makes him reluctant to accept pole position, as it gives a sense of false hope about the results. 

The 26-year-old also revealed that grip remained a problem on the M1.

“It is good to make pole position because it helps for the race,” the Yamaha rider said.

“But I prefer not to start from this position because, in the end, we have zero potential in the races. The grip is super low.

“It gives you hope. But, in the end, you know that you aren’t going to be at the front.

“It is great to make pole position, there is happiness in the team. But we are happy for something knowing that we will really struggle to maintain the position.

“[It’s been a] tough first part of the season.”

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Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea unveiled a tribute helmet in honour of fellow countryman Joey Dunlop at the Donington WorldSBK round.

2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the road racer’s passing, prompting Rea to design a tribute helmet to honour his legacy.

Rea told reporters at Donington that his visit to a tribute day in May, held in Dunlop’s hometown Ballymoney, County Antrim, influenced the creation of the tribute helmet.

“He’s a sporting icon, but especially in my country, Northern Ireland, he’s an amazing ambassador for the country, but an absololute legend,” Rea stated to media including Motorsport Week.

“And last month, there was a tribute day in his local town, tens of thousands of of people came and I went and rode there and one of his bikes was actually my grandfather’s bike. 

“And I had this idea, you know, at the beginning of the year, I wanted to I knew it was 25 years since he passed. 

“We came up with a nice design to incorporate his design with my sponsors and it looked amazing.”

The Ballymena-born rider secured his best result of the 2025 season for Yamaha in fifth after battles with injury in the first quarter of the season.

“When I sat in the grid today and just looking at it on my fuel tank, I felt pretty proud and lucky it didn’t jinx me because every time I’ve used a one off special helmet in the past, I’ve crashed. 

“So I also had that in my brain. So it for sure, Joey [Dunlop] brought me some luck. And his wife, Linda’s here as well today, so it meant a lot,” he added.

Rea wore the same helmet for Sunday’s action, finishing sixth and 15th in the Superpole and Race 2, respectively.

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Yamaha has announced the signing of Andrea Dovizioso, who will join its MotoGP test rider line-up on a three-year deal until 2027.

The MotoGP Hall of Famer makes an official return to the paddock after retiring at the end of the 2022 season, inking a deal that sees him as the Japanese marque’s rider performance advisor too.

Dovizioso has already played a key role in Yamaha’s V4 development alongside its other test rider Augusto Fernandez.

“I’m really happy to officially announce this new connection with Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd,” Dovizioso stated.

“I know it represents an important step in a relationship built on mutual trust and respect. I feel completely comfortable in the role we’ve defined together with Yamaha, aimed at maximising my contribution to this important project.

“In both capacities, as test rider and rider performance advisor, I see myself as a key link between the various players involved in the development process.

“My goal will be to create strong synergy between riders, team, and crew, drawing on my experience both on track and inside the garage.

“We’re well aware that this journey will be shaped by many small details that need attention, but we also have a clear vision of the result we want to achieve, and we know the level of dedication required to get there.”

Yamaha Team Manager Paolo Pavesio expressed how “instrumental” Dovizioso is to the project, emphasising that his technical insight will be advantageous heading into the new regulation era.

“Andrea and Yamaha have shared a strong partnership for many years now, and we are delighted to announce that he is staying with Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP for three more,” Pavesio said.

“Dovi is not only a MotoGP legend with superb riding skills, but he also possesses technical knowledge and can effectively give feedback to the engineers.

“This makes him an ideal test rider, for sure, but we saw the opportunity to make further use of his talents within Yamaha’s MotoGP Project.

“Besides him signing on as Test Rider, which we believe is instrumental to our MotoGP bike development programme, we’re also excited to see him take on the new role of Rider Performance Advisor.

“This will allow Yamaha to successfully gather crucial data and efficiently share insights between all four Yamaha MotoGP riders and the Yamaha engineers.”

Yamaha states that the 15-time race winner will “participate in private testing sessions outside of the Grand Prix calendar, directly contributing to Yamaha’s prototype development.”

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Pramac Racing has responded to the persistent rumours regarding the potential signature of WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu for the 2026 MotoGP season.

Multiple sources reported that the Turkish rider has agreed on a deal with the satellite Yamaha team from next year.

Sources indicated that Razgatlioglu’s pre-existing relationship with Yamaha’s new Managing Director, Paolo Pavesio, played a key role in finalising the deal.

The same reports stated that an announcement will be made at Pramac’s home base at Mugello for the ninth round of the MotoGP championship.

“Rumours are rumours. Of course, Yamaha have had some contact with Toprak, they are discussing, we are talking about next season, but we also need to think about our riders,” Pramac Team Manager Gino Borosi stated to MotoGP.

“Our riders have shown great potential, and at the moment, we have to understand if we want to keep the same lineup as this season. But as always, we’re in discussion.”

Incumbent Pramac riders Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller are on separate contracts after joining the team earlier this year, with the latter inking only a one-year deal.

However, Borsoi insisted that it must evaluate its current line-up, but admitted there has been contact with the two-time WorldSBK champion.

“It depends on the agreement, we have two different agreements with our riders. We need to study deeper and talk with the managers about the future.

“We are still thinking about the line-up of next year. I don’t want to add anything more.

“As I said before, rumours are rumours, no contract has been signed already with Toprak, we have just opened a window for discussions.

“Between here and summer, we need to understand where our riders are and we need to take a decision, that’s it.”

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Fabio Quartararo revealed that his number one priority is to “get back to the top” of MotoGP with Yamaha.

The 2021 champion has remained loyal to the Japanese marque despite a significant decline in MotoGP competitiveness since his title-winning season.

Quartararo signed a two-year extension in 2024, which lasts until the end of the 2026 season, earning €12m per year.

Despite becoming the highest-paid rider on the grid, Quartararo’s dedication to the Yamaha project ultimately outweighed the financial incentive.

“For me, the most important thing has always been the project,” Quartararo admitted on Pol Position on DAZN.

“I won’t lie, my decision was also influenced by the economic aspect.”

“There are many things that pushed me to stay with Yamaha. It’s the brand that I always dreamed of when watching Valentino [Rossi].

“It’s the brand that gave me the opportunity to go to MotoGP, and especially to see the internal project that is there now, which is huge.

“Personally, I want to get back to the top with Yamaha.”

Fabio Quartararo describes the ‘brutal change’ Yamaha made

Yamaha has made a massive jump in competitiveness in one-lap performances, with the Nice-born star securing three pole positions in a row at Jerez, Le Mans, and Silverstone.

Despite only one podium finish at Jerez, Quartararo and Yamaha can see the progress made following a disastrous 2024 campaign.

The 26-year-old highlighted the “brutal change” Yamaha has made to improve overall performance.

“The relationship with the Japanese has always been good,” he said. “Although sometimes progress was too slow, but then a lot of Europeans arrived and even the Japanese who were already here became a bit European.

“In the sense that if something works, it’s better. We won’t wait two months to see if an improvement passes the test of so many kilometers.

“If the changes work, we put them in right away, and this is a brutal change that the Japanese engineers have made.”

He added: “We can see that little by little we are coming back.

“In the end, doing many laps at a very good pace is what it takes. You can do one lap, four or five laps, but then you overheat the tyre and you lose.

“That’s what we are working on: finding a rhythm without going too much to the limit and being able to stay with the Ducati.”

Quartararo ‘running out of time’ on Yamaha project

Despite his loyalty to the manufacturer for his whole MotoGP career, Quartararo has admitted he’s “running out of time” if Yamaha fail to offer a competitive bike.

His contract ends at the end of 2026 ahead of the new regulation era, with the Frenchman revealing he would leave for a marque that’s already competitive.

“I believe a lot in this project, but I know that if it doesn’t work out, I will move on to a ready-made project.

“That’s for sure, I’m running out of time, I want to go to a project where the bike is competitive from the beginning.

“If I had to move to another project, I’d go there.”

READ MORE – Fabio Quartararo opens up on ‘heartbreaking’ Silverstone MotoGP race

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Andrea Locatelli has reaffirmed his loyalty to the Yamaha WorldSBK project by signing a two-year contract extension through 2027.

After winning the Supersport World Championship on debut in 2020, he joined the Pata Maxus Yamaha WorldSBK outfit in 2021 and has remained loyal to the Japanese marque since.

Earlier in the season, he won his first WorldSBK race at Assen and ended a two-year-long winless drought for Yamaha in the process.

The 28-year-old is one of the biggest names to decide their future for the next two years as the rider market begins to take shape.

“I am really happy to sign with Yamaha for another two years,” Locatelli stated to WorldSBK.

“I have been with Yamaha for many years now, and I believe in the team, I believe in the people at Yamaha and want to continue to work, because I feel that we can achieve a lot more together.

“The people at Yamaha believe in me and this is important. Our approach will be to continue to push and try and make progress, just like we have seen this season.

“And of course, before 2026, our focus is on securing the best result possible in 2025!”

Nicolo Canepa, Road Racing Sporting Manager, Motorsport Division at Yamaha Motor Europe, added: “Having been with us for six years now, Andrea has become a true part of the Yamaha Racing family.

“His performances have been impressive since his rookie season and it has always felt like he has been on an upward trajectory in WorldSBK, as evidenced this season where he’s taken a real step forward to become not just the established leading Yamaha rider in the Championship, but also a regular front-runner and podium contender.

“Keeping hold of him for the future was a priority for us as we look to take the next step with the R1 in WorldSBK.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement that will see him become one of the longest-serving Yamaha riders in WorldSBK history.”

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A dejected Fabio Quartararo opened up on his “heartbreaking” Silverstone MotoGP race following his retirement from the lead of the race.

The Frenchman looked extremely comfortable as he cruised to a four-second lead over the rest of the field, having led every lap since the second restart.

But on Lap 12, his rear height device on his Yamaha was stuck in its engaged position, resulting in retirement for the 2021 champion.

A teary-eyed Quartararo described the events as “heartbreaking” considering the choice of strategy and the chaos that ensued.

“I knew the medium [front tyre] for us was clearly not an option because yesterday [in the Sprint] we finished quite well with the front but really bad with the rear,” he told media including Motorsport Week.

“I knew that to go fast today, I had to brake like hell and this is what I did from the first lap – braking super-late, don’t use so much the rear tyre.

“I managed in a really good way because one lap Bezzecchi took me four tenths or three tenths and the next lap, I just responded and could ride really well.

“But we had an issue with the device that remained blocked on the rear and it’s a big shame because I never felt that good since a long time ago and everything was under control.”

Fabio Quartararo unsure when Yamaha will be this competitive again

Quartararo’s last victory in the premier class arrived at the Sachsenring in 2022, but he can take confidence from the Yamahas performance for the future races.

“Of course it gives me hope,” he said.

“But f*ck it’s so sh*t what happened to day because we improved the bike and when everything is going in a good way we know we are fast.

“We are coming back, I don’t know when will be the next time, but there will be tracks where we will struggle more, there will be tracks like here when we went fast. So, we are on a good way.”

He revealed what his friend Thomas Maubant had said to him, as footage showed Maubant comforting him in the paddock upon his return.

“He’s my best friend and he’s the one that knows me the best,” Quartararo revealed.

“He was just telling me that today I was clearly the fastest and it was a long time [since this happened].

“It was a little bit [of] our life in reverse: I made the first pole in Jerez and I broke the [gear shifter], then this happens now.”

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Yamaha rider Alex Rins revealed that he’s “not feeling pain” from the horrific injuries he sustained during the 2023 Italian MotoGP Sprint race.

Rins’ crash left him with a broken right tibia and fibula, resulting in a long spell out on the sidelines.

Almost two years later, the Spaniard is still being asked about the injuries that once forced him to use a leg brace and crutches to walk.

“Honestly, I’m feeling good,” Rins stated to the media, including Motorsport Week, on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix.

“I’m not wearing any more the carbon [leg brace].
I’m feeling better than than some months ago.

“Day by day, I’m feeling good. I mean, I’m happy because in the bike or in the press, nobody asks about the leg because from long time ago in the bike. I’m not feeling pain.

“It’s true that I cannot run, but you know, in the gym, every day looks better and better.

“I’m doing extra gym, extra leg days, to have like more muscle in the quads and in the glutes and everything.

“So I don’t know if you did leg day in the gym, but you can, you know, after some legs days, how you work.”

Alex Rins hails ‘amazing’ Silverstone track

The 29-year-old embarks on his first full weekend at Silverstone for the first time since 2022, having missed the 2023 and 2024 editions due to separate injuries.

Rins didn’t shy away from his affection for the Northamptonshire circuit, having previously won in 2014 in Moto3 and an all-time classic in 2019.

“I’m really excited to be riding in Silverstone. It is a really nice track,” he expressed.

“Every time I rode here, I enjoy it. Last year, I couldn’t ride on Saturday and Sunday because I was coming from Assen with an injury in the hand.

“But yeah, really excited. 
This track is amazing. Yesterday, I was a bit more than I did a walk in the circuit [for the first time since] three years ago. So yeah, it’s really really excited.

“Let’s check the weather because it looks like another weekend with such a difficult condition. But here let’s try and enjoy from day one.”

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Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea apologised for compromising Alvaro Bautista and Xavi Vierge in Most Race 2.

Starting 14th on the grid, the Pata Maxus Yamaha rider made a strong getaway, but the cramped Turn 1 triggered a collision with Bautista and Vierge.

The domino effect continued as Bimota rider Alex Lowes was forced off track and into the gravel, but he managed to continue.

The Northern Irishman deemed the Lap 1 melee as a “racing accident,” but was later handed a double-long-lap penalty by race control.

“For me, it was a racing accident, we both committed to the same piece of tarmac and of course, there was impact and I was the culprit,” Rea admitted to WorldSBK.

“It ended his [Alvaro Bautista] race, and I’m sorry for that. I went to see Alvaro directly after the race, and also Xavi Vierge, who came off worse physically and offered my apologies.

“For me, it’s racing, it’s really unfortunate and I’m gutted for guys who were compromised, and also Alex Lowes as well had to take avoiding action.”

Rea proposed a modification to the Turn 1 approach to reduce the risk of first-lap accidents.

“This is Most, so for some suggestions, maybe starting closer to Turn 1 could be an idea for the future, because almost all races this weekend have some sort of drama at Turn 1.”

Jonathan Rea: ‘If we look at the big picture…’

Despite the opening-lap incident, the 38-year-old took plenty of positives from his second race weekend back after his pre-season injury.

Rea completed the race weekend with two 10th places in addition to finishing 13th in the final race, acquiring his first points of the season.

“Unfortunately, in the long race it didn’t work out. But honestly, if we look at the big picture, where I’ve come from in Cremona, coming back from injury, to making a step forward with the feeling physically, making a step in that direction.”

“You have to look at my team-mate [Andrea Locatelli] across the way. He won incredibly in Assen two races ago, in Cremona, he was much more competitive than I was, but here in Most, he’s just in front.

“That gives me some confidence I’m closing the gap in the right way, we are taking steps forward, and we look to take another step in Misano.”

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