Australia’s Jack Miller was among the contingent to test the new YZR-M1 V4 prototype at Misano alongside factory riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.
“It has been very interesting for us to have the chance to do the shakedown of the new Yamaha V4 bike,” Miller said.
“It‘s been a good test to understand both the strong points of the machine and the weak ones, trying to maximize the strong areas and improve the weak ones.
“We are on the right path: the bike is working well, and in some areas we‘ve already made progress compared to this year’s YZR-M1, so we are going in a good direction.
“Coming from the old M1, whose strongest point was corner speed, we are now trying to find a new balance in terms of geometry, weight distribution, and all those aspects.
“The bike is doing all the right things, now we just need time, as these are still the very early days of the project.”
The trio shared the bike across two sessions.
Quartararo was first up on the V4 prototype, completing 35 laps on the bike with the express intent of understanding the progress from the Barcelona test to Misano.
The Frenchman set a 1:31.781s in the morning before setting a 1:31.598s in the afternoon. In total, Quartararo completed 72 laps.
Rins rode the current model YZR-M1 in the morning, completing 46 laps before boarding the V4 prototype for 34 more laps.
Rins posted a 1:31.571s in the morning before setting a 1:32.101s in the afternoon.
The test followed in-race running for test rider Augusto Fernandez, who finished 14th at Misano.
Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli downplayed the importance of lap times achieved at the test.
“Over the last four days, this has been the first evaluation of the V4-powered prototype amidst all the other competitors and under race conditions, as well as the second opportunity for Fabio and Alex to make some kilometres on the new bike,” Meregalli said.
“We’re at the early stages of this bike’s development journey and we can’t use lap times as an objective indication of the progress of this project.
“Looking at this GP and test from an objective point of view, it’s established that the base has potential. We now naturally have to adjust and further develop the prototype according to our findings.”
In comments made to the media, Quartararo offered a terse view of the prototype.
“At the moment, it’s worse,” Quartararo said of the V4 relative to the inline-four.
“In Barcelona, we felt some difference, that for me was in a better way. Here, we haven’t found it yet.
“At the moment, I don’t see any improvement in the area we really need to make [to make an improvement]. But, like the team said, there is still a margin, theoretically.”
The V4 has been long-awaited by Yamaha. The manufacturer believes the new engine will be what it needs to progress. Quartararo, however, isn’t convinced.
“I don’t think that the V4 engine will resolve all our problems because we still find the same problems in Barcelona and here,” he said.
The Misano test represented the last all-in MotoGP test. The season continues on September 28 at Motegi for the Grand Prix of Japan.
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