‘Safe mode’ engine stalls Yamaha V4 progress in Malaysian GP

Yamaha’s second wildcard outing with its new V4-powered MotoGP bike offered little fresh insight at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday, as the manufacturer opted to run the bike in a conservative “safe mode”.

Yamaha’s 2026 prototype returned to action for the first time since last month’s Misano test, with Augusto Fernandez completing 26 laps of the Sepang International Circuit across Friday practice.

The Spaniard ended up 22nd out of 23 riders in the opening session of the weekend before dropping to last place in a rain-affected Practice, ending the day 2.1 seconds off the best inline-four Yamaha of Jack Miller in third.

Yamaha has dialed back its still-in-development V4 engine to preserve reliability, which meant Fernandez was never likely to trouble the timesheets in Malaysia.

However, with the circuit featuring two long straights, including a 1km run from the final corner, the decision to limit power made it difficult to properly gauge the true potential of the V4.

“It was [always] going to be difficult in terms of the power we have on the bike, and on this track you need some power here. I was expecting it [to be] difficult but not like that,” Fernandez explained.
 
“It's difficult because I don't feel too bad but then it means a lot after every acceleration [I’m suffering]. It's not only the top speed, [it is also] acceleration [that is affected by the engine being tuned down]

Augusto Fernandez, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Qian Jun / MB Media via Getty Images

“It's not that the engine has no power, but they are taking a lot of care for it, so for me it was a little bit hard to see them going in this race

“I have to focus on the feeling and forget about the lap time a little, which is difficult.

He added: “I think we should have more power, honestly. Even though the engine now feels smooth, we need to see [how it behaves] once you put the full power [down]. 

“We need to keep working and understand that we don't have too much time.”

While initial running with the V4 bike in the summer was encouraging, the Misano test produced mixed results as Fabio Quartararo claimed that the new engine was “worse”, while Alex Rins and Miller offered a more positive assessment.

Fernandez, who also contested the San Marino GP that preceded the Misano test, said the feeling in Malaysia was totally different.

Augusto Fernandez, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Shameem Fahath / Motorsport Network

“I feel completely different from Misano. It was more like the feeling we had in Barcelona and in Brno,” he said.

“It's a completely different track, super grippy. In Misano, there is not even a big drop of the tyre, and you can push all the laps like quali. Here, there is a big drop. Also, the grip was shit. So different layout.”

Yamaha has introduced some new parts on its V4 prototype at Sepang as it continues to develop the bike ahead of its full debut in 2026.

Fernandez highlighted that the rapid changes it has been making have had a drastic effect on the behaviour of the bike.

“The bike is working differently. I don't know why it's so reactive to these kinds of changes,” he said.

“Normally, when you change the set-up a little bit, you move more or less in millimetres once you have [a fixed] base of the bike. 

“But now we are making centimetres changes. So it's quite [a] big [task] for me to find the pace. When you do two centimetres shorter or longer, it's a completely different bike. 

“So [we need to] just have patience and keep working.”