While Yamaha’s V4 prototype may have recently grabbed headlines, the factory highlighted its current commitment to Inline4 by debuting an updated engine in Monday’s Jerez MotoGP test.
After beating Yamaha pole and podium drought over Spanish Grand Prix weekend, Fabio Cartalaro continued his factory momentum by finishing third in a post-race test held in high-end but gasty conditions.
Quartarraro’s best time of 1m 36.353 was KTM’s Maverick Vinales lagging behind test leader Marc Marquez (Ducati) by 0.477 during that time. However, the main focus was not on the lap time, but on the engine.
“We tested the new engine and it appears to be positive,” Quartarraro confirmed. “We will probably use it in Le Mans, but before that, engineers need to analyze the data well.
“The straights here are very short, but most importantly, we were going to check if there was the same level of agility as a standard engine. The emotions were good.
“But it takes a little more time to understand the real benefits of this engine. But there are some positives. I think it’s great. Le Mans is ready.”
“It’s just an advantage.”
Yamaha team director Masimo Meregari confirmed that the manufacturer’s plans confirm the same name with the updated engine of the French GP, and described comments from both Quartararro and teammate Alex Rins as “positive.”
“We had a really good weekend and then the test was successful,” Melegali said. “Today we were able to gather some good information. The main topic is the updated engine, not the V4.
“We are ready to seal this updated engine spec as the third engine in Le Mans. The rider’s comments are positive and we are pleased.
“The updated engine has a little more power, but that’s just an advantage as we know that the bike characters are still the same.
“I’m sure this engine is better.”
Alex Rins, Jerez MotoGP Test
“New engine – a lovely engine! More powerful”
In addition to the new engine, Yamaha also evaluated minor aerodynamic updates, but the final conclusion will be made after further analysis.
Having stepped up his fourth overall timesheet, Lyns was equally encouraged by the performance of his upgraded engine as he continues to recover from injuries over Spanish Grand Prix weekend.
“We tried a new engine – a lovely engine! It’s even more powerful,” Rins smiled. “We’re working on top speeds. It was a bit lacking for us, so it was clearly improved at 2km/h. This is a great result. We’ll use this engine at Le Mans.”
Lyns added:
Despite physical limitations after Saturday’s crash, Lyns completed around 50 laps, focusing on engine and setup work, improving the best lap time in 0.5 seconds.