Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins will have the latest development stage of the four-cylinder in-line engine for the Yamaha M1 available from Friday in Malaysia
Yamaha is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to catch up with the leaders in the MotoGP field. The V4 project is no longer a secret. However, the in-line engine that has been in use for years has also been continuously developed for months because, unlike Ducati, KTM and Aprilia, Yamaha is allowed to do so under the concessions.
During the 2024 MotoGP season, which is about to come to an end, Yamaha riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins have already tested several different engine specifications. And this weekend in Sepang (Malaysia), they will once again have a new engine specification in their luggage.
Both Quartararo and Rins will have the latest development stage of the four-cylinder in-line engine installed in one of their two Yamaha M1s on Friday. “We have a new engine,” confirms Quartararo, “and on paper it should have more power.”
When asked how many different specifications he has personally tested this year, Quartararo replies, “I have no idea. I just know that there have been many, many engines and many chassis. As far as the engines are concerned, I should now be at four or five different ones.”
Quartararo’s teammate Alex Rins, who has been racing for Yamaha since the beginning of the year, revealed in mid-September at Misano that he had already tested seven engine specifications by then.
The last Yamaha podium finish so far was more than a year ago. It was in mid-October 2023 when Quartararo took third place in the then Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika. Although the Frenchman also finished third in the 2024 Jerez sprint, he was subsequently handed a tire pressure penalty and therefore lost third place to KTM’s wildcard starter Dani Pedrosa.
