How Yamaha's engine debacle may cost it the 2020 MotoGP title
Little was learned on track due to the conditions on Friday at the MotoGP European Grand Prix. But events off it have put Yamaha firmly into the spotlight, and it appears its championship challenge is risking coming off the rails
Oxford Languages defines a disaster as "an event or a fact that has unfortunate consequences". That moment for Yamaha occurred back in July, when the MotoGP manufacturer used illegal engines for its four riders fitted with different valves to the ones homologated pre-season.
The Spanish Grand Prix weekend was one plagued by engine issues for Yamaha. Valentino Rossi was forced out of the season-opener when his motor expired, while Maverick Vinales lost engine two of his allotted five for the campaign in practice. Still, Fabio Quartararo won on the Petronas SRT M1 and Vinales trailed him home in second, making it appear as if all was rosy in the garden.
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