Max Bartolini is the man behind the development of the V4 engine that will power the Yamaha, but it won’t be happening any time soon and the engineer explained that a lot of work has to be done beyond the heart of the bike, as the whole thing has to be redesigned. The new bike isn’t likely to hit the track any time soon and the man in charge admitted that he wants to be a little closer to the final product… by the end of 2025, even though it may not be fully ready by 2026.
It was the Yamaha engineer himself who spoke about the bike that the manufacturer is working on, which is seen by many as the team’s salvation in MotoGP, after having entered a negative spiral in terms of competitiveness after Fabio Quartararo won the title in 2021, but above all with the difficulties being felt more during the year 2022, where the Frenchman came to lead with 91 points ahead of Pecco Bagnaia.
Bartolini explained what Yamaha’s targets are for the new bike, speaking to MotoGP: ‘Our goal is to be as competitive as possible. I have in mind to see something better at the end of next year and to be a bit closer in 2026 – that would be wonderful, the best option I can imagine’.
He also didn’t forget the competition and how it isn’t standing still either, and is growing all the time, stressing the need to work even harder than the opposition: ‘But you have to bear in mind that the others don’t stop working, they work hard and continue to put in a lot of effort. So you don’t just have to catch up, you have to accelerate more than them, which makes it a long process’.
Starting next year, Yamaha will once again have a satellite team that will be crucial to the development of the M1, Pramac Racing, with Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller as riders.
By: AM