According to race director Lin Jarvis, Yamaha is fully behind the MotoGP project: for 2025 they want to persuade VR46 to switch from Ducati to Yamaha
Yamaha is experiencing difficult times in MotoGP. The world champions of the 2021 MotoGP season lost touch with the top within a very short time and currently find themselves in last position in the manufacturers’ standings
A year ago Fabio Quartararo was still leading the championship and on course for a second title. But a winless second half of the season set Quartararo and Yamaha back. The ex-champions have not recovered from that.
The loss of the MotoGP customer team was another setback. It led to some doubts about Yamaha’s future in MotoGP. Quartararo, who is still under contract with Yamaha until the end of 2024, has already upped the pressure.
Speaking to ‘GPOne’, Yamaha race director Lin Jarvis made it clear that retirement is not an option at all. Yamaha wants to regain its old strength in MotoGP and equip a customer team again from 2025.
Valentino Rossi’s team would be the first choice for Yamaha. But Rossi wants to see progress at Yamaha before he ends the currently very successful cooperation with Ducati.
Yamaha is fully behind the MotoGP project, according to Lin Jarvis
“We need to demonstrate the competitiveness of our machine for 2025 and beyond,” Yamaha racing director Lin Jarvis is aware and makes it clear: “I can guarantee that Yamaha pulling out is absolute nonsense. “
Declining sales of superbikes and other sports bikes are calling into question Yamaha’s commitment to racing. “Of course, supersport bikes are no longer sold. But we are not here to promote the R1,” clarifies Lin Jarvis.
“It’s about technical development, the idea of competition and the training of young engineers. It creates a much bigger picture. Yamaha is not hesitating. There is no lack of conviction either,” explains the Yamaha official. “We, and probably Honda, need to change the approach and become faster, more responsive and more aggressive,” he says, citing the current weakness.
Can Yamaha convince VR46 squad to change?
With eight riders in the MotoGP field, Ducati accumulates four times as much data and experience as Yamaha. This imbalance could be somewhat mitigated if a Ducati customer team switched to Yamaha. The obvious choice would be a VR46 Yamaha team, as Valentino Rossi is a Yamaha brand ambassador and still has a close relationship with Yamaha.
“It’s about technical development, the idea of competition and the training of young engineers. This creates a much bigger picture. Yamaha is not hesitating. There is no lack of conviction either,” explains the Yamaha official. “We, and probably Honda, need to change the approach and become faster, more responsive and more aggressive,” he says, citing the current weakness.
Can Yamaha convince VR46 squad to change?
With eight riders in the MotoGP field, Ducati accumulates four times as much data and experience as Yamaha. This imbalance could be somewhat mitigated if a Ducati customer team switched to Yamaha. The obvious choice would be a VR46 Yamaha team, as Valentino Rossi is a Yamaha brand ambassador and still has a close relationship with Yamaha.
Yamaha race director Lin Jarvis confirms that there is interest in convincing VR46 to switch: “We do a lot together with VR46. We are the technical partner. Then there is the Moto2 project, which is funded by Yamaha-Japan. Vale is also our brand ambassador.”
“It would make sense to partner with Rossi’s team. You also have to point out that they are the best satellite team at the moment. And they have great riders,” Lin Jarvis praised the work of the VR46 team.
Big time pressure: Can Yamaha improve in time?
A switch from Ducati to Yamaha would be a questionable decision for VR46 at the moment. Yamaha know this too. “First of all, we need competitive bikes to convince them. You have to be able to offer them interesting conditions. In an ideal world they would be our first choice, but there are also alternatives,” comments Lin Jarvis.
There are said to have already been talks behind the scenes between Yamaha and Rossi. The interest seems to be there on both sides. “If Yamaha is competitive, then they are open. But it’s still too early for that,” notes Lin Jarvis.
There is not much time left for Yamaha to convince VR46, however. What matters is how long it takes to make the Yamaha M1 competitive again. The contract between VR46 and Ducati expires at the end of 2024. It is expected that the course for 2025 will be set during the coming season. Can Yamaha make significant improvements so quickly?
