Yamaha V4s back in action for final day of Sepang MotoGP Test
Yamaha will restart V4 testing at Sepang after overnight investigations into the technical issue that halted running on Wednesday.
Yamaha will return for the final day of the official Sepang MotoGP Test after sitting out Wednesday to investigate a technical issue.
Running of the factory’s new V4 was halted after an unspecified technical problem for Fabio Quartararo late on day one, prompting the manufacturer to pause all on-track activity as a precaution.
“Yesterday Fabio stopped on the track. We checked what the problem was and didn’t find a clear solution,” Yamaha technical director Max Bartolini explained on Wednesday.
“We have an idea, but considering the safety of the riders – our riders and also the other riders – we decided before coming back on track to really understand the problem and what we should do to be safer.
“So we decided for today not to run and to keep checking. Hopefully, we find a good solution for this evening, and we can run tomorrow.”
Further investigations were carried out overnight between Yamaha’s bases in Japan and Italy before the factory confirmed its intention to resume testing.
“Following further investigations carried out overnight between Japan and Italy to identify the cause related to the technical issue observed on our bike in the afternoon of day one, and based on the findings gathered so far, Yamaha has decided to resume its on-track activities at the Sepang International Circuit," read a Thursday morning statement.
Quartararo will not take part after breaking a finger in a fast lowside crash at Turn 5 on day one, but the remaining Yamaha riders are expected to be back on track.
Monster Yamaha rider Alex Rins, Pramac Yamaha duo Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlioglu, plus test riders Augusto Fernandez and Andrea Dovizioso are all scheduled to ride on Thursday.
It is not yet clear if the V4's engine output, already behind the other manufacturers, will need to be 'controlled' as a precaution - for example, a lower rev limit.
Meanwhile, Bartolini confirmed the technical issue under investigation was not related to Quartararo’s Turn 5 crash earlier on Tuesday.
The Frenchman is expected to return for the final pre-season MotoGP test at Buriram, scheduled for February 21–22.
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