Yamaha puts the V4's Sepang MotoGP Test “temporarily on hold"
Yamaha sits out the start of day two at the Sepang MotoGP Test while investigating a technical issue from Tuesday.
Yamaha kept all of its remaining riders in the pits during the opening hours of day two at the official Sepang MotoGP Test as it investigated a technical issue from Tuesday’.
Five Yamaha riders are due to test on the new V4 today, after Fabio Quartararo was ruled out by a finger injury sustained in a fast lowside fall at Turn 5.
However, none had been on track during the opening two hours, and there are even rumours that the rest of the test could be in doubt.
“The team is still investigating the technical issue from yesterday,” Yamaha told Crash.net.
“As a precaution, and until all checks are completed, the test is temporarily on hold.
"We expect to resume as soon as possible.”
The technical problem did not contribute to Quartararo’s crash, which left the Frenchman with a broken finger and forced him to miss days two and three of the test.
Asked directly if he had suffered an engine failure during the opening day, with reports of some smoke being seen, Quartararo replied:
"No, we had an issue with electronics... It was at the end also, this afternoon. So, as far as I know, it was not the engine, but we just did a few laps."
However, it now appears the problem was indeed engine-related.
Despite the injury, Quartararo finished Tuesday as Yamaha’s fastest rider aboard the factory’s new V4 machine.
Explaining the decision to stop riding and return to Europe for medical checks on his finger, Quartararo added: “We already tested everything that we had to test.
“Of course, two days more would have been great for electronics and mapping, but I think we did more than enough.
“With Yamaha, we decided to stop because we tested a lot during the Shakedown already.
"We split a lot of items between the four [race] riders, so we decided to stop and try to be at 100% for Buriram.”
Quartararo's team-mate Alex Rins, Pramac riders Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlioglu, plus test riders Augusto Fernandez and Andrea Dovizioso were scheduled to ride during day two.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.