Augusto Fernandez is set to make his long-awaited return to MotoGP action this weekend at the Malaysian Grand Prix, riding Yamaha’s new V4 prototype for the second time.
This marks Fernandez’s seventh MotoGP outing of the year — three as a Pramac stand-in for Miguel Oliveira and three as a factory Yamaha wild-card — with his last appearance at Misano producing a points finish in 14th despite some technical challenges.
The Misano debut generated mixed reactions from Yamaha’s main riders. Fabio Quartararo was critical, saying, “I don’t see any progress in the areas we need,” while Alex Rins and Jack Miller were more optimistic, lapping less than a second slower than their usual Inline4 pace.
All eyes now turn to Sepang to see how far the V4 has come, especially in terms of top speed — its biggest weakness at Misano.
“I’m happy to be back racing,” said Fernandez. “After the GP in Misano, it’s been a long time, but I’m very excited for the upcoming weekend. We’ll keep improving the V4 prototype. I missed riding it so much, and I can’t wait to see what’s possible. But the main goal is to keep developing the bike for next season.”
Fernandez, who finished fourth in Moto2 at Sepang and earned a best MotoGP result of tenth last year with Tech3 KTM, will also race the V4 at the Valencia finale before Yamaha’s factory riders test the next version post-race.
Despite the heavy investment, Yamaha has yet to confirm that the V4 will replace the Inline4 next year, maintaining that it must first prove its competitiveness. Quartararo recently secured pole at Phillip Island with the current bike but faded to eleventh in the race, underscoring the need for stronger rear grip — something Yamaha hopes the V4 can finally deliver.
