Yamaha admits it is likely to use its updated inline-four MotoGP engine at the next round in Le Mans following a strong test debut in Jerez.
During the day of testing at Jerez, all four Yamaha riders tested the updated inline-four engine which the Japanese manufacturer had made in a bid to achieve more power.
The feedback given by each of the riders was positive as the manufacturer confirmed it planned to homologate the new engine for the next round at Le Mans.
Fabio Quartararo was the most cautious in his judgement, but admitted there were positive signs from the engine.
“We tested a new engine, and it looks like it’s positive,” Quartararo said via Crash.net.
“We will probably use it in Le Mans, but before then, the engineers will have to analyse the data well.
“The straight here is super short, but the most important thing was to see if we had the same level of agility with the new engine as the standard one. The feeling was good.
“We still need a bit more time to understand the real benefit of this engine, though. But there are some positives, which I think is great. I’m ready for Le Mans.”
Yamaha: New inline-four ‘is better’ but not the V4
Yamaha team director Massimo Meregalli felt it was important to stress that the engine Yamaha had been testing was not the V4.
The Italian also said the team is “convinced this engine is better.”
“We ended up having a really good weekend, followed by a successful test,” Meregalli said.
“Today we were able to collect some good information. The main topic was the updated engine, which is not the V4.
“We are ready to seal this updated engine specification in Le Mans as our third engine. The comments of the riders were positive, and we are satisfied.
“We know that the updated engine has a bit more power while the character of the bike is still the same, so it’s just an advantage.
“We are convinced that this engine is better.”
Alex Rins: New Yamaha engine ‘clearly improved by 2km/h’
Alex Rins was also delighted with Yamaha’s improvement, and suggested the improvements could be monumental.
“We tried a new engine – a nice one! It’s more powerful,” Rins smiled.
“We are working on the top speed because that was missing a little bit for us, and we clearly improved by 2km/h.
“This is a great result. We are going to use this engine in Le Mans.”
Rins added: “Of course there are other points of improvement, but I’m quite happy because what we tried today helps me to go into the corners in a better way.”
READ MORE – Fabio Quartararo reflects on ‘special’ Jerez MotoGP race
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