Gino Borsoi Says Yamaha’s 1.2s MotoGP 2026 Deficit Is Still Incredible

Gino Borsoi believes Yamaha being around 1.2 seconds away from MotoGP’s leading bikes in 2026 is still an incredible result within the context of its new V4 M1 project.

Yamaha is using the 2026 season as a major rebuilding phase after abandoning its long-standing inline-four engine philosophy and switching to a V4 configuration. The Japanese manufacturer has yet to score a podium across the opening 10 rounds and currently sits 42 points behind Honda in fifth in the constructors’ standings.

At the Dutch Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo was just 0.504s from pole position, though the French rider’s qualifying form again underlined how he has continued to extract more from the M1 than the broader picture of Yamaha’s package suggests. In the race, Yamaha was 0.7s away from the fastest race lap.

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Borsoi believes those numbers need to be viewed through a wider technical context. According to the Pramac boss, Yamaha is entering a completely new era, meaning its performance should not be judged only by the absolute gap to its rivals but also by how quickly the new bike is beginning to show a platform that can be developed.

“A one-second or 1.2-second disadvantage is already an incredible result for Yamaha,” Borsoi told Motorsport-Total.

“We need to completely rebuild our way of thinking; it’s a completely new era for us. In my opinion, we are better than I expected after last year,” he said.

Yamaha’s main limitation remains its lack of engine power. Borsoi argued that being only around 1.2 seconds off the lead still indicates that other areas, including aerodynamics, electronics, and chassis performance, are currently working reasonably well.

At Assen, Jack Miller also noted that the front end of the new bike remains strong, but the riders have had to push extremely hard to compensate for the lack of power. Alex Rins revealed that updates to Yamaha’s current 1000cc engine are being prepared for later in the season, while Borsoi said the M1 could still receive one or two further engine upgrades before the end of the campaign despite development focus beginning to shift towards the 850cc rules.