Yamaha suspended its running at the 2026 Sepang MotoGP test due to safety concerns surrounding its new engine amid Fabio Quartararo‘s crash.
The incident unfolded during the opening day of pre-season testing where Quartararo also suffered a subsequent engine malfunction, forcing the Japanese manufacturer to halt all on-track activities for its riders, including Alex Rins, Jack Miller, and Toprak Razgatlioglu.
The decision came after engineers in Japan demanded more time to diagnose the root cause, halting what was meant to be a crucial evaluation phase for the new V4-powered Yamaha M1 prototype.
In the morning session, Quartararo lost control of his bike at Turn 5 resulting to a high-speed crash that left him with a fractured middle finger on his right hand.
Despite the visible swelling and bleeding, the 2021 MotoGP world champion returned to the track in the afternoon, eager to maximize limited testing time ahead of the Thailand season opener less than a month away.
However, his comeback was short-lived as the bike stopped at Turn 2 with a critical engine failure linked directly to the innovative V4 power unit Yamaha has been developing since last year.
Quartararo initially downplayed the issue, attributing it to electronics glitches in post-session media interactions: “No, we had an issue with electronics… It was at the end also, this afternoon. So, as far as I know it was not the engine but we just did a few laps.”
Yet, deeper analysis revealed otherwise, pinpointing a problem within the V4 configuration that echoed reliability hiccups observed during Yamaha’s private three-day shakedown test at Sepang last week.
Yamaha Technical Director Max Bartolini confirmed the issue stemmed from an engine-related problem experienced by Quartararo on the afternoon of the first day, unrelated to his subsequent crash
“Yesterday Fabio stopped on the track. We checked what the problem was and didn’t find a clear solution,” Bartolini said.
“We have an idea, but considering the safety of the riders – our riders and also the other riders – we decided before coming back on track to really understand the problem and what we should do to be safer.
“So we decided for today not to run and to keep checking and try to figure out for tomorrow. Hopefully, we find a good solution for this evening, and we can run tomorrow.
“We know what the issue is. What caused it is what we are trying to figure out. We have an idea, but we need confirmation from the factory.
“To be clear, this problem had nothing to do with Fabio Quartararo’s crash, because he crashed in the morning and the problem happened later in the afternoon.”
While Yamaha benefits from concession status allowing extra private testing like the recent shakedown where valuable data was gathered, the loss of official track time at Sepang is nonetheless a blow.
Bartolini noted optimism for a swift resolution, stating: “I would say we have completed 80% of the programme we had planned. We have the base of the V4-powered Yamaha M1. Set-up is what we would have worked on over these two days.”
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