Fabio Quartararo pinpoints where V4 engine can help Yamaha

After another MotoGP weekend where race results failed to match a front row qualifying, Fabio Quartararo highlighted where he hopes Yamaha’s future V4 engine could deliver critical gains.

Quartararo, who started from third at Brno, crossed the line fifth in the Sprint and sixth in the Grand Prix.

On both occasions, he was just one second behind the bike in front.

Afterwards, the 2021 MotoGP champion made clear that braking remains a key weakness.

“When I'm behind someone, they brake with both wheels; we brake only by the front,” he explained.

“So as soon as I'm behind someone, I have to brake 20 metres before them. 

"But they can brake more or less similar [to me, when they are behind] because they have the rear that is also stopping, and this is why I get overtaken.

“This is what we are really struggling with during the race. The first 5 laps especially. Because then my pace was not super bad, especially in the last 5 laps.”

Fabio Quartararo highlights a problem with Yamaha M1

Pressed on why he can’t use the rear as effectively as rival machines, Quartararo pinpointed the M1’s Inline engine configuration:

“I think it's more related to our engine because it looks like with the V4 it’s something that is much better, to brake with both wheels.

“With this bike have a really strong front end, but we have always struggled with [the rear].”

The Frenchman, currently ninth in the world championship, said the M1’s limitations become much more pronounced in group battles.

“When I'm alone, I can do my pace, my riding style, more on the limit. But when I'm in a group, we are losing a lot - it’s the rear grip, then the power, then the aero… But we are working hard to improve in many areas.”

Quartararo’s belief that the inline-four engine is at the heart of the issue was reinforced by racing against a range of V4-powered machines at Brno, including Ducati, KTM and Aprilia.

“They have one thing similar and that’s the [V4] engine,” Quartararo said.

“I'm not sure because I'm not an engineer and I never tried a V4, but Ducati have one chassis, KTM another one and Aprilia another one. And what I see today we are missing the same with every bike.

“So I think it’s related to the engine.”

Quartararo previously revealed that he expects to get his first ride on Yamaha’s V4 machine during testing at Misano in September.

The bike is currently being developed by test riders Augusto Fernandez, Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow.

If all goes well, Yamaha hopes to give Fernandez a wild-card entry on the V4 later this season.

Providing it outperforms the current machine, the V4 will then be raced during 2026, the final year of the 1000cc engine format.