Exclusive: Yamaha’s V4 MotoGP bike seen for the first time!
After months of waiting, we’ve managed to get the first photos of Yamaha’s all-new MotoGP bike, designed to revive the factory’s fortunes in MotoGP
Triple world champion Spencer says that Yamaha’s motorcycle isn’t helping, but neither are the riders’ attitudes
Freddie Spencer says that the Yamaha riders’ mindset is detrimental to their MotoGP campaign, although the motorcycle is clearly not performing as well as the Ducati or Honda.
“It’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy that Yamaha is going to struggle,” says the two-time 500cc champion in his latest rider insight. “I’m not saying that the bike doesn’t need to improve – of course it does – but you can see it across the board.”
“It’s not just Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi struggling now but Johann Zarco too, even though he’s on the older bike.
“Some of that is certainly – and most of it is – the motorcycle, but it’s also the riders’ mindset. They don’t feel like they’re going be right up there.”
Rossi qualified 18th at Arágon having run out of time in Q1 to put in a final run for Q2, but Spencer says that Rossi now expects to have a poor weekend compared to his rivals.
More: Could a V4 M1 be Valentino Rossi’s silver bullet?
“It’s not complacency, but it’s certainly that they expect things not to go well. I hope that gets fixed, certainly for Valentino at this stage of his career with the long history he has in MotoGP. To be 18th is not something he wants and not something that his fans want, and you want to see him do better – as does he – but they’re [Yamaha is] going to have to do something about that whether it’s engine configuration or the electronics.”
He cites Aleix Espargaró’s sixth-place finish at Arágon as an example of a rider’s positive mindset contributing to a strong result.
“You can see what a difference it makes,” says Spencer. “Going in and believing that it can be a good weekend, Espargaró did a great job. I was so happy for him and the Aprilia team, and that was going to motivate them and the team that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“In that regard, the Yamahas are struggling.”
Rossi has admitted Yamaha is “in big trouble with the marriage between the bike and the tyres, especially the rear tyre,” but maintains he is still enjoying MotoGP.
After months of waiting, we’ve managed to get the first photos of Yamaha’s all-new MotoGP bike, designed to revive the factory’s fortunes in MotoGP
Alex Márquez has finished runner-up to older brother Marc in 13 of 20 MotoGP race starts this season and after last weekend's Dutch TT Grand Prix it seems some impatience is brewing with the sibling dynamic
Marc Márquez woke up on Sunday morning unsure he could race, following two big crashes in practice for the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix. And yet he continued to steamroll his MotoGP rivals and the record books
Mugello has been the home of Rossi mania and lately a fortress for Ducati… but the Italian circuit is chiefly synonymous for the biggest rush in MotoGP racing