Fabio Quartararo sets lap time target for Yamaha V4

Fabio Quartararo believes Yamaha’s all-new V4 prototype will be ready to replace the current M1 if he can lap within half a second of his existing bike during next month’s Misano test.

No official times have been released from Yamaha’s private V4 outings, with the factory insisting the bike must be “at least as good” as the Inline4 to secure a 2026 debut.

But while the present M1 is the latest evolution of a multi-title winning machine first introduced in 2002, the V4 is at the very beginning of its development cycle.

As such, Quartararo feels being close to the current bike at this stage would be enough to trigger the green light.

“I think that if I try it and I'm less than half a second off my lap time, I think it's a good step,” the Frenchman said during the Hungarian MotoGP weekend. “Because it will be the first time that I will use it.”

The Misano test takes place directly after the San Marino MotoGP, when it has been confirmed that Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernandez will give the V4 its public race debut as a wild-card.

Speaking before that news was announced, Quartararo didn’t rule out the possibility of riding the V4 in competition himself later this year - possible due to Yamaha’s D concession status.

“It depends how good our [V4] bike is, but for me we need a change and also it would be an idea for us to see where the bike is,” he said.

The 2021 world champion admitted he was surprised not to have already been asked to try the V4.

Hinting that there may have been an earlier delay, he said: “My feeling was we had to test it before, but I'm not the one who chooses.”

Although Yamaha hopes the V4 can allow them to improve in areas such as braking, Quartararo emphasised he also needs engine performance.

“To be honest, for me it's one of the most important,” he said. “You see how tough it is to overtake now in MotoGP, if you don't have the engine to prepare an overtake, you are not able to do it.

“Even if the bike is fast, I need a bike that is able to fight during a race.

“If I don't have the top power, it will not be a fighting bike.”

The outright power of the V4 is still unknown, with Fernandez previously explaining that Yamaha engineers were restricting its output.

“The engine is not at its full potential. They don't give us all the power yet,” Fernandez had said of the V4 during his previous MotoGP wild-card appearance, on the current bike, at Brno.

Quartararo has taken what looks like the final version of the Inline M1 to four pole positions and a podium so far this season and holds tenth in the world championship.

Assuming Yamaha races its 1000cc V4 next year, the bike will only be seen for a single season before a revised 850cc version is needed for 2027.