Yamaha deep in the red, Meregalli: "It hasn't been easy"

Yamaha is experiencing the most difficult season in its MotoGP history. The switch from the inline four-cylinder engine to the V4 has not been painless. All foreseen by the Iwata engineers, but they need to get out of the mire as soon as possible. Will the new regulations planned for 2027 help the Japanese brand?

The MotoGP overall standings at mid-season speak all too clearly. Yamaha’s best rider is Fabio Quartararo, currently 14th with 55 points. Just to get an idea, the gap to the championship leader, Jorge Martin, amounts to 153 points. The situation is even more complicated for Alex Rins, 19th with just 21 points. No rider on the M1 has stepped onto the podium this season, and Yamaha is inevitably bringing up the rear in the Constructors’ Championship.

Team Director Massimo Meregalli offers an initial assessment of this 2026 annus horribilis. "Without a doubt, it hasn’t been an easy season. I mean, in the first part of the season we already knew it would be difficult. We always said it would be a season of great learning for us, because it was a completely new project." The switch to the V4 engine required a complete redesign of the MotoGP prototype, and putting all the pieces of the puzzle together is not easy.

It’s not easy to do well in the first year of a new project. "We were aware that many difficulties lay ahead. However, we are learning, and this will undoubtedly help us next year, when we will introduce a new bike and there will be only one engine configuration that might ensure better performance," Meregalli commented to the official MotoGP website.

In the second half of the Championship, Yamaha will try to notch some good results. "We will certainly use this summer break to try to get the most out of what we already have and what we will introduce in the second part of the season." But much of the focus is already on next MotoGP season, when Jorge Martin and the talented Ai Ogura will join the factory team’s M1. Will that be enough to revive the fortunes of the Japanese manufacturer? "Next year will be a new year, and we will also have two new riders... With the arrival of new riders and regulations, there will be new developments, and this will undoubtedly bring a breath of fresh air and new motivation. We are all eager to start a completely new season. There will be many positive innovations for everyone."

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