{"id":136555,"date":"2025-09-12T01:35:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T01:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/136555\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T01:35:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T01:35:06","slug":"augusto-fernandez-extends-yamaha-motogp-deal-pivotal-to-plan-v","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/136555\/","title":{"rendered":"Augusto Fernandez extends Yamaha MotoGP deal: \u201cPivotal to &#8216;Plan V&#8217;\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Augusto Fernandez, who will give Yamaha\u2019s V4 prototype it\u2019s MotoGP debut at Misano this weekend, has signed a contract extension to remain as the factory\u2019s test and wild-card rider until the end of 2027.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m super happy to continue with Yamaha for two more years,\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/1018388\/augusto-fernandez\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Fernandez <\/a>said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s been an incredible journey so far this year. I&#8217;ve been feeling so good since the beginning: with the people, with the test team, with everyone involved in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/monster-energy-yamaha-motogp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yamaha<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith all the projects we have in mind, it is an important time to be part of the Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team, and I feel proud and happy to be here and to continue my work. I will give my best to bring the brand to the top again.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Spaniard, Moto2 champion in 2022, joined Yamaha this season after spending two seasons in MotoGP with Tech3 KTM.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Although his initial goal was to secure a full-time MotoGP return as soon as possible, the 27-year-old has been at the forefront of development duties for the Inline and V4 machines, plus some wild-card and replacement race appearances.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are pleased to confirm that Augusto will continue his collaboration with the Yamaha Factory Racing Test Team,\u201d said Yamaha Racing managing director Paolo Pavesio.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince joining us earlier this year, he has made a remarkable impact, bringing both competitive sharpness and technical insight to our development programme. His synergy with Andrea Dovizioso has proven especially valuable, both during testing sessions and wild-card entries.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;As a recent full-time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MotoGP <\/a>rider, Augusto remains in peak physical and competitive condition, making him an ideal asset for stress-testing our new V4-powered prototype. His feedback is instrumental in evaluating performance indicators and refining our understanding of Yamaha&#8217;s competitive positioning.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In addition to his role as Test Rider, Augusto will also serve as a standby replacement rider for both Yamaha Teams if the need arises during the MotoGP season, effectively becoming our &#8216;fifth Factory Rider&#8217;.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>While Yamaha is expected to focus fully on the V4 in 2026, Fernandez will also be called upon to develop the new 850cc\/Pirelli machine for the following year.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are confident that Augusto&#8217;s continued involvement will be pivotal to the success of our &#8216;Plan V&#8217; and the development of the new 850cc machine for 2027: two parallel projects that are some of the most significant technical challenges in Yamaha&#8217;s racing history,\u201d Pavesio added.<\/p>\n<p>Yamaha thanks Cal Crutchlow<\/p>\n<p>Pavesio also confirmed that Cal Crutchlow, a Yamaha test rider since retiring as a full-time rider at the end of 2020, will not be part of the factory&#8217;s future development program:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Cal Crutchlow for his work as a Test Rider over the past years. Although he has not been involved in the V4 project, we remain deeply grateful for his longstanding contributions to Yamaha\u2018s bike development.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Looking ahead, we&#8217;re thrilled that both Andrea and Augusto have chosen to continue their journey with us into 2026 and 2027, remaining key figures in the evolution of the V4 project.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This weekend&#8217;s wild-card entry marks an exciting new chapter, one we believe will capture the attention of MotoGP fans.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Augusto Fernandez, who will give Yamaha\u2019s V4 prototype it\u2019s MotoGP debut at Misano this weekend, has signed a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,39401,63,806,805,803,804,85,3561],"class_list":{"0":"post-136555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-augusto-fernandez","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-motor","12":"tag-motor-sports","13":"tag-motosport","14":"tag-motosports","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-yamaha"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}