Yamaha is preparing to kick off the beginning of track testing for their V4 engine for the MotoGP bike, despite a delay, as the first test was planned last week at Jerez.

Yamaha is currently the only team running inline-four-cylinder engines and has been developing the new V4 unit in an effort to regain competitiveness after several challenging seasons.

Since mid-2024, Yamaha’s engineers in Iwata have been working on a prototype of the V4 engine as an alternative to the inline-four engine. The inline-four configuration has delivered significant success for Yamaha, especially after Valentino Rossi’s arrival in 2004 and Jorge Lorenzo’s three championship titles in the 2010s.

Fabio Quartararo added another championship to Yamaha in 2021, but in recent years, the bike has struggled to remain competitive, leaving the team unable to challenge the dominant Ducati.

To close the gap, Yamaha has upgraded its engineering team, recruiting specialists from Ducati and consulting with F1 engine expert Luca Marmorini. Marmorini, who previously worked with Aprilia, advised Yamaha to shift to the V4 engine concept. Earlier this year, outgoing team boss Lin Jarvis confirmed that the engine was under development but stated it would not hit the track before mid-2025.

However, development has progressed much faster than expected, with rumors suggesting Yamaha is planning a private test at Sepang this month. Former test rider Andrea Dovizioso was reportedly set to test the new engine. Yet, Alex Rins later revealed on the Por Orejas podcast that the V4 engine had initially been scheduled to debut last week.

“The plan was to test it during the KTM test in Jerez, but it wasn’t ready in time,” Rins said.

Yamaha had intended to use two track days to evaluate the M1 equipped with the V4 engine, but the unit remained unfinished.

Yamaha has since confirmed there will be no further tests this year. The V4 engine is now expected to make its debut at the Sepang shakedown test, scheduled for January 31.

As Yamaha holds its concessions, factory riders Rins and Quartararo, along with the satellite team riders Miguel Oliveira and Jack Miller, will all be eligible to participate in the shakedown test.