Yamaha steps into a new era! It unveils its 2026 MotoGP team along with the M1 V4 race bike, featuring riders Quartararo and Rins ready to compete.
Yamaha officially launched its 2026 MotoGP racing team under the name Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, keeping the same rider lineup led by Frenchman “El Diablo” Fabio Quartararo and his Spanish teammate Alex Rins. They also officially revealed the YZR-M1 race bike powered by a V4 engine, marking a new era filled with challenges and aiming to reclaim glory on the world grand prix stage.
The launch took place on Wednesday, 21 January, in Jakarta, Indonesia, one of the world’s largest motorcycle production bases and markets.
A key highlight for Yamaha in the 2026 season is entering a new era with the development of the YZR-M1 bike powered by a V4 engine, confirmed for full-season competition in MotoGP for the first time, following great success with the Inline-4 engine which secured eight world championships.
In 2025, Yamaha worked intensively on developing the YZR-M1 with the V4 engine while also competing with the Inline-4 engine. The V4 bike was entered as a wildcard three times, gathering valuable data and showing promising progress to build upon for full-season competition this year.
As Yamaha’s factory team, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP will continue with the same two riders: Fabio Quartararo, the one-time premier class world champion wearing number 20, and his Spanish teammate Alex Rins, number 42.
Takahiro Sumi, Yamaha Motor’s General Manager of Motorsports, said,
“The 2026 season marks the start of Yamaha’s V4 era, an exciting new chapter in our history. It requires discipline, data, and dedication from all involved parties—the development base in Japan, the racing team in Italy, and our testing team.”
“The collaboration among these three units last year laid a solid foundation for this season, allowing us to focus on developing the 2026 M1 powered by the new V4 engine while simultaneously progressing prototype development for 2027.”
“We have seen positive signs, including improved braking stability, better acceleration, and more consistent riding feel over longer distances. We won’t measure success only by early-season results; every race will be a vital step pushing us forward.”
Paolo Pavesio, Director of Yamaha Motor Racing and Team Principal of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP, stated,
“The year 2026 is crucial as Yamaha steps up its transformation efforts fully. This is phase two of our Blue Shift plan.”
“The newly unveiled M1 bike opens a much broader development scope. I foresee a season where we progressively enhance our understanding of the bike and its performance at each circuit.”
“I’m eagerly anticipating seeing Fabio and Alex test the new bike at Sepang in a few weeks. The first test is always special because it’s when all winter work is put to the test on track. With this new project, the pre-season testing holds even more significance than before.”
The 2026 MotoGP season will open with the Thailand Grand Prix from 27 February to 1 March at Chang International Circuit in Buriram Province.
Before that, pre-season testing will take place at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia and at Buriram to finalize bike specifications ahead of the official season start.