Yamaha will be able to count on the experience of 15-time MotoGP race winner Andrea Dovizioso in this week’s shakedown test at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia.
Concession manufacturers Yamaha and Honda, plus MotoGP rookies Ai Ogura, Somkiat Chantra and Fermin Aldeguer, will take to the Malaysian track on 31 Jan - 2 Feb for the first pre-season test of the year.
Yamaha had already announced that its race riders Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins will be present in Sepang for the test, along with new test rider Augusto Fernandez.
The latter has been recruited to the test team following his departure from Tech3 KTM in 2024 and fills an important void at Yamaha, with Cal Crutchlow having been out of action since suffering a hand injury. Few believe the Briton will be able to return aboard a MotoGP bike again.
But the big news is that the trio will be joined by former grand prix star Dovizioso, as Yamaha tries every trick in the book to return to winning ways.
On Tuesday, Dovizioso uploaded a video on Instagram, showing how he was training to return to the M1 at the demanding and the physically-exhausting Sepang circuit.
Although the Italian is best known for his time at Ducati during which he challenged then Honda rider Marc Marquez for the championship, he did complete 19 races with Yamaha’s Petronas SRT team in 2021-22 before calling time on his career.
Since his retirement from active competition, Dovizioso has already been working behind the scenes with Yamaha, playing a leading role in the development of its new V4 engine.
Factory rider Rins revealed on Motorsport Network’s 'Por Orejas' podcast in December that Yamaha was due to run the new engine for the first time in December, but it couldn’t get it built and assembled in time for the test.
With Dovizioso now being included in Yamaha’s Sepang line-up, there is a serious possibility that the new V4 motor will finally hit the track this week.
The Japanese manufacturer has maintained much secrecy about its V4 project and it was only last year that it admitted about its existence. With the Sepang shakedown running behind closed doors, a few days prior to the first full-fledged test at the same track next week, Yamaha will be able to run the engine without attracting much attention.
However, Yamaha doesn’t expect to race with the new V4 engine until at least the second half of the 2025 season. At present, it is the only manufacturer in MotoGP that uses an in-line four-cylinder motor, with all its rivals building engines to the ‘V’ configuration.
