Yamaha has had a difficult and frustrating start to the 2026 MotoGP pre-season test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. The team brought its new V4-powered M1 hoping to make good progress, but things did not go according to plan and the team ended up spending a lot of time in the garage working on problems instead of being out on the track.

On the first day of the official three-day test, Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo had a heavy crash at Turn 5 during the morning session. The French rider went down and was taken to the medical centre for checks. At first he was cleared and even went back out on the bike in the afternoon, but later it became clear that he had broken the middle finger on his right hand. Because of this injury, he decided to stop testing and return home to Barcelona for medical checks and recovery, rather than ride on the second and third days of the test.

Despite the crash and injury, Quartararo was able to ride in the afternoon session and finished the day with a best time that made him Yamaha’s fastest rider on Day 1. That was partly because he and his team-mate Álex Rins had already completed useful laps during last week’s shakedown test, which gave them more time on the new bike than some other teams.

Later in the afternoon on Day 1, Quartararo’s bike stopped on track at Turn 2. At first team members thought this might be an electronics issue, but it later became clear that the problem was linked to the new V4 engine that Yamaha has been developing for 2026. Because they could not immediately find why the bike stopped, the team became concerned about safety and reliability.

On the second day of testing, Yamaha made the unusual decision to sit out the entire session while engineers worked to understand and resolve the issue. Riders including Álex Rins, test riders such as Jack Miller, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Augusto Fernández, and all Yamaha-related entries stayed in the pits rather than going on track. The team said they know what part might be causing the issue, but they do not yet know the exact cause and need more time to check everything properly before running again.

While Yamaha sat out, other teams continued with their test programmes. For example, Honda’s Joan Mir set the quickest time on Day 2, and various riders from Ducati, KTM and other manufacturers were able to run in both wet and dry conditions to collect data.

Missing track time during pre-season testing is not ideal for Yamaha, especially because this new V4 engine is a major change and the team needs as much information as possible to improve performance before the season starts. Tests like this are a rare chance to try new parts, work on electronics and build confidence in the bike’s handling and speed. Yamaha said they will only return to running once they are confident the issue is fully understood and safe for the riders.

Quartararo has said he wants to focus on getting 100% fit for the next test in Buriram, Thailand, later in February, and Yamaha will be working hard to fix the technical problems with the V4 engine.