Jack Miller: “Ducati were looking at building an Inline4“, Yamaha V4 "does what it should"

Jack Miller says Yamaha’s new V4 prototype is already doing “what it should” with modern Michelin tyres, even if it is not yet faster than the current Inline4.

The Pramac Yamaha rider, who first sampled the V4 during a private test in Barcelona, completed 37 laps on the machine in Monday’s Misano session.

Although his best lap left him 1.9s adrift of Alex Marquez in the same Session, Miller felt the rear grip advantages of the V4 bike layout were clear.

“This bike does what it should do with the tyres and the package that we have nowadays - what's necessary for these Michelin tyres at this point. You need to use the rear tyre to stop the bike,” he explained.

“With the current M1 we're missing inertia, we're missing being able to keep it in that drive window. And again, back to the tyre, because essentially that's what this is all about, the way that the development has gone on the tyres.

“Because 2015-2016, Ducati were looking at building an Inline4 to chase Yamaha,” revealed Miller, who raced a Desmosedici from 2018-2022.

“So let's say the regulations and the rules have sort of pushed the motorcycles to be like this [V4], to be able to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of this rear tyre.

“And yes, the [new Yamaha V4] does that very well. In terms of engine brake, in terms of the way you could slow down the engine, obviously exhaust valve helping as well. It's all together.”

Michelin has been MotoGP’s exclusive tyre supplier since replacing Bridgestone in 2016, with Pirelli due to take over in 2027. Asked if there was a risk that the future Pirelli rubber might require different attributes, Miller said:

“There's a risk in everything, it's racing,” he said. “But there's also a risk in not doing anything and staying stagnant for another two more years.

“I think we're broadening the horizons of the engineers and the riders, and when it comes time to change the [tyre] manufacturer, we've already made a big step. So it won't be as drastic, I don't think. 

"And we gain more and more information every time.”

Miller and Alex Rins, who rode both machines on the same day at Misano, were around 0.5-0.9s slower on the V4, which will have its next wild-card entry with Augusto Fernandez at Sepang in October.

Yamaha has been the only manufacturer with an Inline engine since Suzuki’s exit at the end of 2022.