Alex Rins confirmed that Yamaha has submitted the scheduled wildcard debut of the new V4 prototype from Motegi to Misano Motog Plows this weekend.
Until now, the V4 has been limited to private testing and no official lap times have been released.
This weekend, the bike will change as it faces full-time Yamaha riders towards the current inline M1 as well as rival V4 machines from Ducati, Aprilia, KTM and Honda.
“I hope he ends up in front of us!” Rins told Motogp.com when he quized about Fernandez’s V4 debut. “This is really positive.
“Everyone will look at him, so let’s see what the weekend will be like.”
Lyns added that Yamaha’s decision to give the bike a “early” debut is a positive sign in itself.
“We’ve had feedback from (August) and he’s very happy with the bike,” Linds said.
“It’s still quite ‘fresh’ (new).
“But they were supposed to equip V4s in Japan in the wild, so they’re expecting it (and pushing it forward).
“And when these kinds of things are expected, that’s always good news.”
Quartarraro: “It’s really important to follow in one direction.”
Rins and teammate Fabio Quartarraro acquired their first taste of the M1 during rain intensification tests in Barcelona on Monday.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back on track, especially with all the other riders,” Quartararo said of his racing debut this weekend.
“It’s important to make sure where it is, especially his feelings are on a different truck than Barcelona.”
Officially, Yamaha has kept both inline and V4 options open in 2026, but Quartarraro admitted:
“I think that’s pretty clear… I mean, it’s really important that they follow in one direction.
Quartarraro, and other race riders, are scheduled to ride the V4 in their official Misano tests on Monday.