Yamaha YZR-M1

2002 was the first season that allowed 990 cc 4-strokes to be raced alongside 500 cc 2-strokes. In a change from their V-4 YZR500, Yamaha designed the YZR-M1 (for "Mission One") with an inline-4 engine because it was the format considered to have the best mutual balance with the frame. Yamaha wanted to preserve the superior handling of the YZR500, so the M1's engine was designed to fit in a chassis developed around the basic structure of the YZR500. It was raced in the 2002 season by Biaggi and Carlos Checa on the factory team, and towards the end of the season M1s were also provided to Norifumi Abe, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano. Biaggi achieved two wins and placed second in the final standings as did Yamaha in the manufacturers' championship. In 2003, the engine went from carburetion to fuel injection, and the engine brake control system was replaced with an Idle Control System that automatically adjusted the throttle valve opening on two of the four cylinders to improve stability and handling during deceleration. M1 riders were Checa, Alex Barros, Olivier Jacque, Marco Melandri, Shinya Nakano and Norifumi Abe, and there were no wins and Yamaha came in third in the manufacturers' championship. == 2004–2005 ==

Valentino Rossi joined Yamaha on a two-year contract starting in 2004. At the time, contemporary media and analysts questioned whether the YZR-M1 could be developed quickly enough to compete with the Honda RC211V, which had dominated the previous two seasons. While Honda continued to iterate on the RC211V over the 2003–2004 winter off-season, Yamaha focused on an accelerated development program for the M1 to close the performance gap. In addition to Rossi, several key technical personnel moved from Honda to Yamaha, including crew chief Jeremy Burgess and most of his mechanical team. This transfer of expertise was later identified by Rossi as a primary factor in establishing the development framework for the YZR-M1's 2004 campaign. During the 2003–2004 winter testing period, Yamaha focused on refining the M1’s chassis strengths, particularly its braking and handling, while addressing issues with power delivery. Under project leader Koichi Tsuji, engineers transitioned from a five-valve per cylinder head to a four-valve configuration. They also introduced a revised cylinder firing order, changing the engine from a standard "screamer" (with equal 180° firing intervals) to a "long-bang" configuration (spaced at 270°-180°-90°-180°). This firing order was designed to mimic the constant kinetic energy of a V4 engine while retaining the compact packaging of an inline-four. These mechanical changes, along with adjustments to the engine's position within the chassis, were intended to improve torque characteristics and traction during corner exits. The updated M1's increased competitiveness was noted during the 2004 pre-season IRTA tests at Catalunya, where Rossi recorded the fastest lap of the session. The 2004 season began at Welkom in South Africa following the removal of Suzuka from the calendar due to safety considerations. The YZR-M1 won its debut race under the new technical configuration, making Rossi the first rider to win consecutive Grands Prix with different manufacturers. Over the course of the season, the M1 recorded nine victories and 304 points, securing the Riders' Championship. Honda riders Sete Gibernau and Max Biaggi finished second and third in the standings with 257 and 217 points, respectively. The 2004 season demonstrated the effectiveness of the M1's redesign under Rossi and crew chief Jeremy Burgess. Rossi's championship win that year marked a turnaround for the Yamaha project, as he became the first rider to win back-to-back premier class titles for different manufacturers. The YZR-M1 and Rossi partnership continued to dominate in 2005 when the Championship was won by a massive 147 point margin over Honda rider Marco Melandri in second place. The 2005 M1 was hailed by insiders to be a great race bike: Yamaha with input from Rossi had created a race bike to beat the others quite easily. Rossi later said that the 2005 M1 was the greatest bike he had ever ridden. == 2006 ==

's 2006 Yamaha YZR-M1 The 2006 season proved a little more problematic for Yamaha. The M1 suffered from chatter from the very first race of the year. It was a recurring problem for all Yamaha riders in the first third of the season, and was thought to be a function of three major winter season developments: a significant increase in engine power, a new, stiffer, chassis and a new construction of Michelin tire with an even stickier compound and revised profile. Because the three developments occurred almost simultaneously, the usual meticulous testing of one development at a time was compromised and it took much of the early season to understand and overcome the problems. This setback for Yamaha and the YZR-M1 was largely responsible for Valentino Rossi's mediocre start to the 2006 season, manifest by poor qualifying performances and a brace of bad luck. At midseason he suffered a wrist injury, which added to his woes. In the final third of a memorable season, the M1's problems were virtually eradicated, and Valentino Rossi turned in a string of performances that almost closed a large points gap on Championship leader Nicky Hayden aboard the Honda RC211V. It was only in the final race of the season that the M1 and Valentino Rossi were beaten by just five points and Yamaha relinquished the Championship to Honda. Hayden won only two races that season, and later stated that Rossi deserved to be the champion, but luck and DNFs cost him the championship. Valentino Rossi won 5 races in 2006 to Nicky Hayden's 2, a fact that was well played during the offseason. ==2007==

Regulations again changed for the 2007 season with the capacity of MotoGP machines reduced to 800 cc in an effort by the FIM to reduce the ever-increasing speeds of the 990 cc bikes (capable of well in excess of 210 mph (340 km/h)); therefore the YZR-M1 continued in 800 cc form. In post-2006 and in 2007 pre-season testing, the new 800 cc equipped YZR-M1 (along with other 800 cc MotoGP bikes) was quicker straight out of the box than the 990 cc version of the M1. This was by virtue of later, harder braking, quicker handling, higher corner speeds, and more controllable traction, and as the 2007 season began the 800 cc YZR-M1 was expected to get quicker as its development continued. The chatter that plagued the early 2006 YZR-M1 was eliminated in the switch to 800 cc. The main sponsor for the Official Factory Yamaha Team switched from Camel, with their distinctive yellow and blue livery, to that of the Italian motor manufacturer Fiat. The team ran initially in a blue and white colour scheme and hinted at the unusual intention of running a variety of colour schemes throughout the season. Casey Stoner won the 2007 Championship with the factory Ducati. ==2008==

Rossi won the 2008 Championship, by a record margin and dominated podium finishes all season. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo managed a first-ever Rookie win on the M1 at the Portuguese GP, and had 6 podium finishes. ==2012==

For the 2012 season, the maximum engine capacity was increased to , with a limit of 4 cylinders and a maximum 81 mm cylinder bore. Jorge Lorenzo won the 2012 Championship, closely followed by Dani Pedrosa. == V4 era ==

In 2025, Yamaha launched a MotoGP prototype, the V4-powered YZR-M1. The bike was officially unveiled ahead of the race weekend at the Misano Circuit in Italy. This change marked a major step after more than two decades of Yamaha's reliance on crossplane inline-four engines. The new prototype was immediately scheduled to hit the track. Yamaha test rider Augusto Fernández was ready to compete with the new V4 engine at the San Marino GP as a wild card. He was the first to test the bike's performance in real racing conditions. The main goal of this debut was not to chase a podium finish, but rather to gather important data useful for future development. Beyond the engine, the latest M1 also received new visual and technical touches. The aerodynamics are now quite different. Changes are visible in the design of the tail, side wings, and the upward-curved bellypan at the front. The gill-shaped vents have also been shifted further rearward, likely to maximize airflow to the rear cylinders. The exhaust system has also been redesigned. The M1 now uses two mufflers, one on the right side of the swingarm and the other under the tailpipe. This new exhaust position forced Yamaha to change the tailpipe's shape to meet technical requirements. The decision to introduce a new engine at the end of 2025 was certainly not without reason. Yamaha wanted to ensure its V4-configured bike was ready to compete in the 2026 season. However, a significant challenge loomed. In 2027, MotoGP regulations changed, reducing engine capacity from 1,000 cc to 850 cc. This meant the new V4 engine would only be used for one full season at most. == Specifications ==

's 2024 Yamaha YZR-M1 in Tokyo == Successes ==

These results are accurate up to the 2025 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix. • World Championship titles: • Constructors: 5 (, , , , ) • Riders: 8 • Valentino Rossi 4 times (, , , ) • Jorge Lorenzo 3 times (, , ) • Fabio Quartararo 1 time () • Teams: 7 • Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha () • Gauloises Yamaha Team () • Fiat Yamaha Team (, , ) • Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (, ) • Races won: 125: :2002: Biaggi 2 (2 in total) :2004: Rossi 9 (9 in total) :2005: Rossi 11 (11 in total) :2006: Rossi 5 (5 in total) :2007: Rossi 4 (4 in total) :2008: Rossi 9, Lorenzo 1 (10 in total) :2009: Rossi 6, Lorenzo 4 (10 in total) :2010: Lorenzo 9, Rossi 2 (11 in total) :2011: Lorenzo 3, Spies 1 (4 in total) :2012: Lorenzo 6 (6 in total) :2013: Lorenzo 8, Rossi 1 (9 in total) :2014: Rossi 2, Lorenzo 2 (4 in total) :2015: Lorenzo 7, Rossi 4 (11 in total) :2016: Lorenzo 4, Rossi2 (6 in total) :2017: Viñales 3, Rossi 1 (4 in total) :2018: Viñales 1 (1 in total) :2019: Viñales 2 (2 in total) :2020: Quartararo 3, Morbidelli 3, Viñales 1 (7 in total) :2021: Quartararo 5, Viñales 1 (6 in total) :2022: Quartararo 3 • Poles: 126: :2002: Biaggi 4, Checa 1 (5 in total) :2004: Rossi 5, Checa 1 (6 in total) :2005: Rossi 5 (5 in total) :2006: Rossi 5 (5 in total) :2007: Rossi 4, Edwards 2 (6 in total) :2008: Lorenzo 4, Rossi 2, Edwards 1 (7 in total) :2009: Rossi 7, Lorenzo 5 (12 in total) :2010: Lorenzo 7, Rossi1, Spies 1 (9 in total) :2011: Lorenzo 2 (2 in total) :2012: Lorenzo 7 (7 in total) :2013: Lorenzo 4, Crutchlow 2 (6 in total) :2014: Rossi 1, Lorenzo 1 (2 in total) :2015: Lorenzo 5, Rossi 1 (6 in total) :2016: Lorenzo 4, Rossi 3 (7 in total) :2017: Viñales 5, Zarco 2 (7 in total) :2018: Zarco 2, Rossi 1, Viñales 1 (4 in total) :2019: Quartararo 6, Viñales 3 (9 in total) :2020: Quartararo 4, Viñales 3, Morbidelli 2 (9 in total) :2021: Quartararo 5, Viñales 1 (6 in total) :2022: Quartararo 1 (1 in total) :2025: Quartararo 5 (5 in total) == Complete MotoGP results ==

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) == See also ==