Why being “1.2s” off the pace “is an incredible result” for Yamaha in MotoGP
Pramac boss Gino Borsoi believes Yamaha is not as far from its rivals as it seems right now
Pramac team boss Gino Borsoi believes Yamaha being “1.2 seconds” from the leading bikes in MotoGP is “an incredible result” amid a tough 2026 campaign.
Yamaha is in the middle of a rebuilding phase, having ditched its long-standing inline-four engine philosophy for a V4 this season.
The Japanese brand has scored no podiums so far across the opening 10 rounds, while it is currently 42 points back from Honda in fifth in the constructors’ rankings.
At the recent Dutch Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo was just 0.504s from pole position, though the 2021 world champion has regularly continued to outshine the M1 in qualifying trim.
In the race, Yamaha was 0.7s from the fastest race lap.
“It’s a completely new era”
Yamaha always anticipated that the first half of 2026 would be a learning phase before it could make a step forward in the second part of the campaign.
But, speaking in an interview with Motorsport-Total, Pramac team boss Gino Borsoi believes all signs are currently trending upwards for the new V4 M1.
“A one-second or 1.2-second disadvantage is already an incredible result for Yamaha,” Borsoi said.
“We need to completely rebuild our way of thinking; it’s a completely new era for us.
“In my opinion, we are better than I expected after last year.”
He added: “We’re suffering a lot [with a lack of power].
“If you’re only about 1.2 seconds off the lead with the Yamaha, it means the aerodynamics, electronics and chassis are working quite well at the moment.”
At Assen, Jack Miller noted that the front-end of the new bike remains strong, but has been getting a kicking from the riders because of how hard they are having to push to counteract the lack of engine power.
Alex Rins revealed that updates to Yamaha’s current 1000cc engine are in the works for later in the season, though it wasn’t clear who would be getting them, given most of its stable is set to leave at the end of the year.
Borsoi confirmed that the M1 could receive up to two additional engine upgrades despite development shifting towards the 850cc rules.
“According to our plan, we could receive one or perhaps even two more updates before the end of the season,” he added.
In this article
