– The Yamaha factory team surprised at the MotoGP test on Monday in Jerez with an aerodynamics package that corresponded to that of the 2025 season. The large curved front wing made a comeback – now mounted for the first time on the M1 with a V-engine, after the wing was used on the M1 with an inline engine last year.
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And: Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins were faster on Monday with the old front wing than with the 2026 aero. While this only applies to Rins for the direct comparison of both aero specifications on Monday, it also applies to Quartararo for the comparison with the previous race weekend.
Quartararo set his personal best lap time of 1:36.752 minutes during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in Friday afternoon practice. On Monday, he achieved a personal best of 1:36.439 with the 2025 front wing.
Yamaha stars faster with 2025 aero than with 2026 aero
Quartararo thus ranked P7 in the time sheet of the test day. Rins initially drove 1:37.583 on Monday in the morning session with fresh tires and the current 2026 aero. In the afternoon, he was a touch faster with used tires, but with the 2025 aero: 1:37.541.
The conclusion therefore seems to be that the actually older aerodynamics of the Yamaha M1 work better than the current ones. But do the two factory riders see it that way? “It looks like we’ve found a slightly better feeling for the front,” says Quartararo. “It’s not so much about performance, but about a feeling that will help us.”
Although the 2021 MotoGP world champion doesn’t directly state whether the better feeling for the front is due to the 2025 front wing, he explains: “For me personally, it’s a great help if I can feel the front wheel. Even if the potential is there, I need the right feeling to know where the limit is.”
Because Yamaha still enjoys the concessions in the MotoGP regulations, the long-suffering Japanese manufacturer could retroactively include the 2025 aero in its catalog for 2026.
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Apart from the aerodynamics, which was de facto a step backward, Yamaha also tested different settings for “electronics, engine braking, and traction” on Monday in Jerez, according to Quartararo, “where I believe we found the most at the front. In the area of electronics, in my opinion, there is still a lot of work to be done.”
Rins optimistic for Le Mans, Quartararo not
Quartararo’s teammate Rins adds: “We tested many different things, many different elements. My impression was good. I tried to give good feedback to the engineers and they already have an idea of how to proceed. Now I’m looking forward to Le Mans, a track I really like. We’ll see how the bike works there.”
For Quartararo, Le Mans, where the French Grand Prix is scheduled as the next race on the 2026 MotoGP calendar on May 10, is his home race. However, the Frenchman does not sound as optimistic as teammate Rins in his outlook after the Jerez test.
“I think it will be a bit better, but I won’t say I’m optimistic. Because I don’t think what we found here is something big. It’s a detail that can help me with riding. Honestly, we haven’t found anything truly decisive,” says Quartararo.
Even if it hasn’t been officially announced yet, it has been clear behind the scenes for months that Quartararo will switch from the Yamaha factory team to the Honda factory team for the 2027 MotoGP season. Nevertheless, he will continue to be involved in the further development of the M1 at Yamaha.
“It’s a difficult situation, because of course I want to improve the bike, but for this year,” explains Quartararo. “That’s why I will continue to try to get the best out of this bike, because I want to perform well until the end of the year. 2027 is a different story.”
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