I like Yamaha—I grew up watching my then hero, Valentino Rossi, dominate on the M1. So it kills me to see how poorly the brand has performed in MotoGP over the past few years, and unfortunately, it still is. Not even one day into the first day of testing for the whole grid of manufacturers, Yamaha suspended testing for all its riders due to a safety concern with the V4-powered YZF-M1.
The news for Yamaha isn't good, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Yesterday, Yamaha's MotoGP team decided not to participate in any more testing due to safety concerns, before the first day had finished, which is extremely odd in modern MotoGP, especially during the last year of a ruleset. The exact issue isn't known, but it has to do with the engine, and if it's bad enough to necessitate a halt in testing, it's probably down to a leak or the possibility of a seizure—although less likely.
This sounds catastrophic, as the first race of the season takes place on March 26, but I doubt Yamaha is viewing it through such a negative lens.
