Yamaha to lease MotoGP engines

Expect to see more Yamaha-powered MotoGP race bikes in 2014, after the Japanese manufacturer announced it will become an official engine supplier during the weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix.

As Yamaha locked out first and second spot in the 2013 MotoGP season opener on Sunday in Qatar, the company released an official statement confirming it had “entered into an agreement with the MotoGP World Championship Promoter, Dorna Sports S.L., to supply YZR-M1 engines on an annual lease basis to participating teams in the MotoGP Championship.”

The deal will see Yamaha supplying its high-revving four-cylinder race engines for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 MotoGP seasons initially, which will come on top of the company’s four factory-backed bikes for Yamaha Factory Racing and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teams.

Yamaha, Honda, Ducati and the expected return of Suzuki will see four manufacturers competing in 2014, and by supplying engines to privateer teams each of the four companies will be given special dispensation to continue using their custom-made ECU software.

This is likely to ensure they have an edge over the Claiming Rule Teams (CRTs) that are expected to use their engines.

Currently the CRTs use modified production superbike engines within prototype chassis, but the availability of manufacturer engines is likely to see CRTs close the (significant) gap with the ‘factory’ bikes from Honda and Yamaha.

Honda has already confirmed it will build a privateer version of the RC213V for interested CRTs, though Yamaha appears to have signed a deal that will only lease engines, not chassis.

"The lease agreement facilitates an increase in competitive engines being available for teams competing in the premier class,” says Yamaha. “The teams will then be free to develop their own bikes around the Yamaha engine or contract an independent chassis manufacturer to construct the complete bike.”

The end result is designed to make the racing closer and more competitive, but allowing factory manufacturer teams to retain bespoke ECU programming may do little to address the imbalance between the fastest and the slowest bikes in the premier MotoGP category.