Alex Rins: Yamaha V4? ‘Maybe the middle of the 2025 MotoGP season’
“If everything goes well, maybe we can have it [for the] middle of the season next year”
Alex Rins has poured cold water on speculation that Yamaha’s new V4 engine might be ready for the start of the 2025 MotoGP season.
Yamaha has raced an Inline4 cylinder engine since the four-stroke era began in 2002 but recently confirmed it is developing a parallel V4 project to try and accelerate its recovery.
All of Yamaha’s MotoGP rivals use V4 engines. However the Japanese factory has made clear it will only introduce the V4 when, or if, it performs better than the Inline powerplant.
“For sure we are not going to have the V4 for the last races [of 2024],” Rins said after a disappointing 16th place at Motegi on Sunday.
“Luckily, if everything goes well, maybe we can have it [for the] middle of the season next year.
“But that is a [different] project, we need to at least find something before then.”
The Spaniard’s immediate concern is a chronic lack of rear grip with the current bike, something all M1 riders - Rins, team-mate Fabio Quartararo and wild-card Remy Gardner - struggled badly with at Motegi.
“All three riders are struggling with the same thing. No grip, rear lift [under braking],” Rins said.
“Maybe Fabio had more contact with the rear in the braking areas here. Maybe he had a better setup than us. I mean, [he has] many years with the same bike.
“But I don't want to find excuses. He was just faster than Remy and myself. So we need to find something.”
Quartararo ran out of fuel in the final corners of Sunday's race, costing him eleventh place to LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco.
The Frenchman finished over 30 seconds from race winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati). Rins was +40.839s and Gardner +59.547s after the 24 laps.
