The factory Yamaha MotoGP team is going through a bad phase, without any of its riders, Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi, being able to get the much needed wins to the Japanese team. The problems with the M1 prototype are well known to the riders and technicians, and the lack of grip and acceleration are the biggest problems to solve.
Before the start of the Aragon GP, which will happen next weekend at Motorland Aragon circuit, it was Valentino Rossi who answered the journalist’s questions without trying to evade the hard questions, and the Italian is the first to let us know what will happen at Yamaha, or better yet, what won’t happen.
Many believe that Yamaha should change the configuration of the M1 engine, from an inline-four cylinder to a V4. Honda, Ducati, Aprilia and KTM use a V4 engine, while Suzuki is the only other team, or manufacturer, that uses the inline-four engine.
But Rossi made it clear that Yamaha, at least until he retires, will continue to use the current type of engine, even though the nine-times World Champion asks Yamaha to make improvements to the bike in order to get the wins
“As I see it, the engine is part of the problem, not the problem. It’s true that, with the current regulations, we can’t make changes to the engine, but we still can work the electronic. Of course we can improve our engine, but that won’t solve everything. I don’t believe that Yamaha has any intention to change from the inline-four engine, at least until I retire. They will keep the inline-four, and hope that it goes well!”.
Will we see any improvement to the factory Yamaha team results? Or will they continue to be far away from the likes of Honda and Ducati?