Monster Energy Yamaha have returned the engines Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi used during the Spanish GP last week amid reliability concerns.

The Iwata manufacture sent their engines back to Japan for inspection following Valentino Rossi’s retirement in the opening round of the delayed 2020 MotoGP season.

Alarm bells were ringing in the Yamaha camp when speed traps showed they were 12km/h down, relative to Andrea Dovizioso’s Ducati.
Rumours suggest that due to the concerns at Yamaha, all four Yamaha riders could be forced to run lower revs as a precaution.

This would be a massive blow for Yamaha, who currently sit 1-2 in the riders’ championship thanks to Petronas’ Fabio Quartararo and works Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales.

Top speed at Jerez isn’t overly critical, however, with Brno and Austria coming up, Yamaha could be looking at fatal damage following their engine-related troubles.

Due to the shortened calendar, engine allocations were reduced to five for non-concessioned teams (Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda) while KTM and Aprilia are allowed seven.

Should Yamaha find the problem, rectifying the issue could prove complicated as all engines are sealed, however, during the lockdown, Aprilia was able to replace their pistons due to a safety issue. Should Yamaha’s engines be deemed unsafe, there may be a special dispensation awarded to the Iwata team to make the changes necessary.