MotoGP | Yamaha: There was a new engine in Portimao, but it wasn't tested

Like Honda, the tuning fork brand also benefits this season from the operational and technical concessions approved at the end of last year, in an attempt to lend a hand to the manufacturers most in need in terms of results.

A very advantageous aspect of these concessions is the possibility for the owner drivers to carry out private test days, limited only by the quantity of tires available, which has obviously been increased. Another aspect, no less important, is the possibility of developing the engine which, unlike manufacturers without concessions, is not frozen.

Since the beginning of the year, Honda has followed an extensive testing program, with 22 private events planned, which however are unlikely to be completed. In essence, because the subsidies for the two Japanese companies will be recalculated during the summer break, depending on the results obtained up to that point.

So far, Luca Marini has made the most of these concessions and before the Portuguese Grand Prix he rode at Jerez to try to accelerate his adaptation to the RC213V. Yamaha, on the other hand, hasn't been as aggressive in this sense.

The Iwata company has established a roadmap that has the European calendar as a reference. Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins remained in Portimao on the Monday following the last race, with the aim of improving the performance of the prototype which, so far, has allowed neither the Frenchman nor the Spaniard to finish in the top five in any of the two appointments played so far.

One of Yamaha's biggest problems in recent years has been the lack of power in its bikes. In fact, the Japanese have secured the services of Marmotors, the consultancy company of Luca Marmorini, a famous motor engineer known for his past in Ferrari and Toyota in Formula 1, but also in Aprilia.

In Portimao, after crossing the finish line in seventh place, Quartararo was asked if he could give any clues about the elements he would test the following day. “I hope we will be able to test a lot of things. I think we have a lot of pieces. Let's hope the weather respects us. I don't know if I can say exactly what we will test, so I prefer not to say anything,” agreed “El Diablo”.

Alex Rins, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo de: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

According to what Motorsport.com has learned, one of the most important components that the Nice driver was supposed to test is a new engine specification. This is a different specification to that used so far, but with Yamaha's signature inline-four configuration. In no case a V4, which does not seem to be part of the Japanese company's plans, at least in the short term.

However, the bad weather that hit the Algarve area that Monday, in particular the strong wind, prevented Quartararo and Rins from completing the planned program. The 2021 world champion managed to complete just six laps, the same as his new teammate. In these conditions, Yamaha technicians chose not to mount the new engine on Quartararo's bike, postponing its evaluation to a later date. It remains to be seen, however, whether the powerplant will be fitted to bikes number 20 and 42 this weekend in Austin.