Yamaha sinks in MotoGP at Silverstone, but the V4 is the right choice

If it hadn’t been for that holeshot device issue, last year at Silverstone Fabio Quartararo would have been able to bring Yamaha back to a MotoGP victory, something that has been missing since 2025.

Fourteen months later, with the revolutionary V4 era underway, the M1s showed up at the British track languishing at the bottom of the standings. Leaving aside a Sprint clearly affected by a stiffer rear soft that caused issues for many, in the main race Jack Miller (who went straight into Q2) was classified 12th, Toprak Razgatlioglu 14th (and dead last in the Sprint), wildcard Augusto Fernandez (with the “old” aerodynamics) 15th ahead of Fabio Quartararo, demoted to 16th due to a TAPS configuration error. With Alex Rins also taken out by Joan Mir, Yamaha’s plate is decidedly empty.

The choice of the V4, however, is not up for debate. It offers multiple advantages by its very nature and architecture, so for the Three Tuning Forks it represented an inevitable change. The decision, made in the summer of 2023, to bring forward the full-time debut to 2026 during the final year of the 1000cc era, is a forward-looking move. Appropriate countermeasures will be identified for the issues encountered in this troublesome debut to benefit the 850cc engine for 2027, even at the cost of living through a “test season,” which had been factored in well in advance.

Nevertheless, this V4, despite the freedoms afforded by Grade D concessions, remains essentially the same as it was after the setbacks at the Sepang Test. All the riders were being blitzed on Silverstone’s Hangar Straight, to the point that in the Sprint Quartararo and Rins opted for the soft (instead of their original medium choice) “to at least have a shot.” They were still outgunned by all competitors, Honda included.

At this point the YZR-M1V project shows no immediate progress, compounded by clumsy mistakes unworthy of the team in blue. In the main race, Fabio Quartararo was penalized 16 seconds (dropping from 12th to 16th at the flag) because the TAPS (Tyre Air Pressure Sensors, the front tire pressure monitor) was not configured correctly. It’s the second error of this kind after Alex Rins was scrubbed from Friday times at Buriram 2025. In that instance, his M1 was fitted with a non-homologated electronic device, specifically the MYLAPS X2 Race Link, which is allowed for Testing (on an experimental basis) but not for race weekends, as it can be implemented with GPS access. To get back on track in 2027, beyond more horsepower and grip, it will also be essential to remedy these blunders.