Jack Miller: Yamaha V4 news “exciting, it means they're hungry”
“It means they're hungry… They don't want to just wait around for two years and see what happens.”
Jack Miller insists he has no inside news on the status of Yamaha’s V4 engine project.
The 2025 Pramac rider also feels there’s no ‘black and white’ when it comes to picking an engine configuration in MotoGP.
But the fact that Yamaha has started the new V4 engine project, alongside development of its current Inline4, without waiting for the 2027 engine rules shows they are “super focused and super motivated to get the project back to where it belongs.”
“I haven't been able to discuss with anybody from Yamaha in terms of how far along they are with the [V4] project,” said Miller, who starts the first of his final six rounds as a Red Bull KTM rider at Mandalika this weekend.
“As we know in MotoGP to develop a completely different engine is no easy undertaking, as we've seen for example with Suzuki, KTM, Aprilia - companies that have come back into the championship.
“So if they're going that way I think it's because they have a clear understanding of what they need to do. And if not, you know, I think the inline4 as well is not bad. I mean, an Inline4 was champion in 2020 and 2021. So we'll see what they bring to us for next year.”
Miller will be the Yamaha rider with the most V4 experience next season, having spent his entire MotoGP career on such engines at Honda, Ducati and now KTM.
“Obviously, Miguel [Oliveira, KTM and Aprilia] as well has had a lot of experience on the V4 and Rins [Honda] had one year on the V4, so I think they've got a good blend of riders with experience on both [types of engine],” Miller said.
“And if we're talking about the V4, I feel like I've had good experience with the Screamer [firing order], the Big Bang and then obviously with the Ducati and then what we've had now with KTM for the last two years.
“So I feel like I've got some knowledge there that I can help to bring, especially in terms of rideability. I feel like I'm pretty sensitive to my wrist in terms of understanding what's going on with that connection between the throttle and the rear tyre, and how I want the bike to perform in that area. I hope so anyway.
“But as I said, I've got no idea where they're going and what they're doing. I trust 100% whatever direction they choose to go in, but I'm definitely not saying you need to be on this or need to be on that.
"Because as we’ve seen in MotoGP there's no black or white. Ten years ago, Ducati were adamant that they needed to develop an Inline4. And vice versa. So it goes in waves in, this sport.”
If Yamaha is developing a 1000cc V4 engine, it will become ‘extinct’ at the end of 2026, with MotoGP switching to 850cc engine rules from 2027.
“Obviously you're going to have to redesign a whole new engine again [for 2027],” Miller acknowledged. “But it means that they're hungry. They're willing to develop an engine that's only going to be here for two years at the most.
“It means that they don't want to just wait around for two years and see what happens. They want to make forward steps.
“So it's exciting as a future prospect for me, because it means that they're super focused and super motivated to get the project back to where it belongs.”
Miller has signed a one-year deal to partner Oliveira at the new Pramac Yamaha project next season, with former world champion Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins continuing at the Monster Yamaha team.
