Yamaha increases its presence in Europe to return to the top

Besides the title gleaned by fabio quartararo In 2021, it has now been ten years since Yamaha last achieved success in MotoGPIn 2015, Jorge Lorenzo won his third World Championship with the Japanese manufacturer, succeeding in a certain way to the hegemony of Valentino Rossi built between 2004 and 2009. Since then, Honda has won numerous titles thanks to a record-breaking Marc Marquez, while Ducati has become, since 2022, the team to beat in the paddock.

In light of this success, which has become an extreme domination this season, Yamaha seems keen to draw inspiration from the work done by the Reds. Italy remains an El Dorado for many reasons, notably explained by Paolo Pavesio, Yamaha's director since 2024, and a symbol in himself of the brand's attraction to Europe.

“I joined Yamaha Europe in 2014, he recalls to TotalEnergies. At the time, the board had seven members, two of whom were not Japanese. Today, it has eight members: the chairman is not Japanese, and seven of the eight members are European.

Yamaha draws some of its strength from Italy

Apart from the very structure of the global firm, the sporting aspect also seems to be geared towards European methods.. "We have working groups in Japan and Italy, but we are careful to avoid duplication. Some groups work together on different topics, and most of the topics are still handled in Japan, specifies the team director. However, there are always people who bring their European expertise and there are areas where Europe is clearly ahead, such as in aerodynamics for example."

In the midst of working on the introduction of the new V4 engine for the 2026 season, Yamaha seems to be focusing its attention on this component in order not to miss the technical shift that is beginning. Fabio Quartararo has already expressed his high hopes for the introduction of this new engine, the manufacturer is working with specialist entities to close the gap with Ducati in the coming months. That said, in light of recent results, the French rider's two pole positions suggest that this gap is tending to narrow.

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