Alex Rins: Yamaha and Honda V4s “difficult to compare”

Alex Rins rode a V4 MotoGP engine for the first time since Valencia 2023 during outings on the new Yamaha prototype at Barcelona and Misano.

While Monster Yamaha team-mate Fabio Quartararo got a full day on the bike at the post San Marino Grand Prix test, Rins shared the second machine with Pramac’s Jack Miller.

That also gave the Spaniard the chance for back-to-back comparisons between the current Inline bike and the present V4.

“I'm quite happy about how the bike works. It really has a lot of positive things," Alex Rins said.

“Compared to the Inline4, there is still a lot of room to improve. But I felt quite good on braking.

“With the V4 I was able to reduce the speed in a better way, be more sideways, going into the corner faster.

“We can use the rear more in a better way. Like more constant, more predictable,” Rins added.

Not being able to use the rear tyre more to decelerate the bike has been a common compliant among the M1 riders.

Perhaps surprisingly, Rins also liked the front, traditionally the Inline M1's strong point.

“I felt quite comfortable with the front. Braking on Turn 1, 4, 8, I was braking better than with my [current] bike,” he said.

Traction on corner exit is another key area targeted by Yamaha for its V4.

“I felt better grip, the way that you receive the power is really different. I would like to have more, but we are on a good way,” Rins said.

Rins set a 1m 31.571s on his current machine, then a 1m 32.101s on the V4.

“We were quite far in terms of lap time, but there were many positive things on the V4,” Rins said.

Unlike Quartararo, who has only ever raced the Inline Yamaha in MotoGP, Rins has experience of Suzuki (Inline) and Honda (V4) machinery.

He’s won on both those bikes, five times at Suzuki and then the 2023 US round for LCR Honda.

Does the Yamaha V4 have similar traits?

“As a rider, it's very difficult to compare bikes - because of the tyres, the weather, a lot of things. 

"I can say that the way that the [Yamaha] engine is accelerating is very similar from the bike I rode [before].”

While Rins agreed with Miller about feeling ‘Yamaha DNA’, the V4 “forces you to ride in a different way, more stop and go.”

“Improving top speed will be a big step forward”

The V4 will next be seen in public during further wild-cards by test rider Augusto Fernandez at Sepang and then the Valencia finale.

Rins expects substantial modifications by the time he tries the bike again in the post-season test.

“For sure it's too early to have a final bike [now]. I'm sure next time we jump on the bike, maybe after the Valencia Test, many parts will change,” he said.

The obvious area for improvement is top speed, with Fernandez slowest throughout the San Marino race weekend and bottom of the speed charts at the Misano test.

Rins’ V4 top speed was 8.9km/h slower than the Gresini Ducati of Alex Marquez.

“Right now, it was missing a bit of power. As you can see on the TV, it was like 3-4 km/h slower than our actual bike. So we need to improve in that area,” he said.

“Improving the top speed, we will do a big step forward. Because the acceleration of the bike was not bad, I was quite impressed also.

“But as soon as we were picking up the bike and upshifting gears, it was not powerful enough.”

Officially, Yamaha hasn’t decided on whether the V4 will replace the Inline bike for 2026, but all the signs are pointing in that direction.

“Maybe they didn't confirm yet that it will be the next year's bike, but it was quite great today,” Rins said after Misano.

Rins took the last MotoGP win by an Inline engine on his Suzuki farewell at Valencia 2022.

Yamaha, now the only manufacturer not powered by a V4, hasn’t won since mid-2022, although Fabio Quartararo was on course to win this year’s British MotoGP until a late ride-height failure.