YAMAHA SAYS ITS 2027 BIKE HAS REGAINED THE M1’S CORNERING EDGE

Yamaha believes its 2027 MotoGP bike is beginning to recover a quality that has long defined the M1: its ability to corner and drive out of turns. Paolo Pavesio, the manufacturer’s managing director, says lessons from a difficult first season with a V4 engine are helping the team shape its 850cc machine for the next rules era.

The switch to a V4 came as Yamaha’s established inline-four approach was judged unsuitable for the 2027 regulations. But adopting the new engine late, while rivals had more time to develop their packages, has contributed to a miserable 2026 campaign. After 15 rounds, Yamaha had scored 85 points and satellite team Pramac 46, the lowest totals in the championship. Jack Miller, Alex Rins and Toprak Razgatlioglu sat 19th, 20th and 21st in the riders’ standings.

Pavesio acknowledged that the move to the V4 had cost the current M1 some of its familiar strengths. “The 2026 M1, as the riders say, seems to have lost that characteristic which has always set it apart, namely its ease in exiting corners,” he told the Italian edition of Motorsport.com. However, he sees signs of progress in the 850cc project: “It seems that with the 2027 bike, we’ve rediscovered that edge when it comes to cornering.”

The new machine is still under development. Pavesio said Yamaha was addressing several remaining issues and that the bike was taking shape with much of what the team had learned from its 2026 model incorporated into the design. He also cautioned that the new tyres will be an important unknown for every manufacturer, with Pirelli replacing Michelin as MotoGP’s supplier in 2027. “We’ll see who manages to handle them best and who gets the most mileage out of them,” he said, adding that the season would be interesting.

Yamaha has been increasing its testing effort, running the 850cc bike at a private Barcelona test and at the official Pirelli tyre test at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. The reported times from the Austrian session were unofficial, as the test was private. Diogo Moreira on an LCR Honda was said to have set the quickest lap overall, while Razgatlioglu reportedly led Yamaha’s riders but was 1.6 seconds slower. The figures suggest the project still has ground to make up, despite Pavesio’s confidence in its cornering progress.

Further testing is planned in Italy, with Razgatlioglu and his future Pramac teammate Izan Guevara expected to get another chance to ride the bike at the Valencia test in November. Razgatlioglu is the only rider from Yamaha’s 2026 line-up staying with the manufacturer: Fabio Quartararo is moving to Honda, while Miller and Rins are leaving. Yamaha’s challenge is to turn the early signs of recovered cornering performance into a competitive package for the start of the 850cc era.