Last week, Yamaha took to Spain to test its secretive V4 MotoGP motor and, finally, we've heard what Team Blue's new engine sounds like. My takeaway? It ain't that glorious crossplane. But time and tide wait for no man, and Yamaha had to respond to everyone else.
The test day comes as the Japanese manufacturer remained the lone holdout on the Grand Prix grid utilizing an inline configuration. Every other team and manufacturer had already switched to chase Ducati, hoping to bite at the Borgo Panigale team's heels. But late last season, Yamaha took to conceding a V4 was likely its future powerplant, telling the world it had an engine in development.
And then things went mum, as you'd expect from a race team looking for any edge it could muster. But given how MotoGP's concessions work for lower-placed teams, i.e., more private test days, tire setups, etc, Yamaha's in a good place to develop a new engine this year. That's why they took to Valencia's MotoGP track last week for a private test of the new engine, which you can hear below.
Yamaha used Augusto Fernandez as the test rider for the session, who is currently 20th in the rankings on this season's grid. Little outside of Fernandez taking part, as well as what's in the video above, is known about the test. We don't know if it went well or poorly. We don't know if Yamaha tried any different parts throughout the day. We don't really know anything except for what you can hear in the spy clip.
To my ears, however, the Yamaha V4 does sound...different compared to the rest of the grid.
Now, maybe that's the not-so-great audio from the clip. It could be the compression that occurs on YouTube, changing the tone. Or because it was shot at distance instead of right up against the barriers. But, again, having been to a MotoGP race in person, there's a sort of Yamaha crossplane guttural quality to its V4 noise that's lacking in the other makes on the grid.
Likewise, more than Formula 1 or any other racing series, MotoGP tends to show the path forward for road bikes. And with stricter Euro 5+ rules coming for Yamaha's aging 1,000cc crossplane four-cylinder, this V4 could be its way forward. We've already seen this with Ducati adapting its V4 to the new rules and somehow making more power than the year prior.
But what do you all think? Are you going to welcome the new Yamaha V4 onto the grid, and potentially into your garage?
