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Yamaha's MotoGP team principal, Massimo Meregalli, admits the Iwata manufacturer endured a "challenging" first half of the 2026 season but believes this year's struggles will ultimately benefit them in 2027.
Yamaha's best MotoGP result of the season so far, unsurprisingly, came from Fabio Quartararo, who finished fifth in the twice-restarted Catalan Grand Prix in May.
Despite this, the 2021 champion currently sits a distant 14th in the riders' standings after 11 rounds. Yamaha's other three riders – Alex Rins, Jack Miller, and Toprak Razgatlioglu – are 19th, 20th, and 21st respectively, collectively managing only two top-10 finishes this year.
Yamaha's difficult season was anticipated with their new YZR-M1 motorcycle, powered by a V4 engine. According to Meregalli, transitioning to the new concept this year will prove advantageous next year when the new 850cc engine regulations are introduced.
"Certainly, the first part of the season hasn't been easy. We were aware it would be tough. We've always said this would be a real learning season for us because, starting with a completely new project, especially under race conditions, we knew we'd encounter many difficulties along the way. Nevertheless, we are learning, and this will definitely help us next year when we introduce the new motorcycle, and there will be only one engine configuration, which can guarantee better performance. We are now in the middle of this season, and we know that from the very beginning, everyone's goal was to try and improve performance and coordinate results in the second half of the campaign," Meregalli explained to the official MotoGP website.
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