“IT’S A BRANDED FRAUD” Ducati boss Gigi Dall’igna made the accusation after Yamaha announced the V4 engine and asked the FIM president to organize an urgent investigation. Just 10 minutes later, the results surprised everyone 👇👇
When Yamaha officially unveiled its new V4 engine design for MotoGP earlier this week, the MotoGP paddock was abuzz. But nothing prepared everyone for the immediate torrent of accusations that followed from Ducati’s general manager, Gigi Dall’Igna. “That’s a blatant cheat,” Dall’Igna declared in no uncertain terms during a press conference, accusing Yamaha of violating technical regulations. He further called for the FIM president to initiate an emergency investigation. What transpired just ten minutes later stunned even the most hardened insiders of the sport.
Yamaha’s announcement detailed what the manufacturer claimed was a fully compliant V4 power unit, built within the framework of existing MotoGP engine homologation rules. Rumours had circulated for months that Yamaha was developing a radical new internal arrangement, possibly bending—or worse—to push component interpretations to the limit. When the blueprint was finally released, Ducati saw red lines crossed.
Dall’Igna, known for his blunt assessments and fierce loyalty to Ducati’s technological leadership, charged that Yamaha’s V4 design utilized secret internal parts and cooling systems that had been neither homologated nor publicly disclosed in official documents. He alleged that Yamaha had modified internal combustion chamber geometry in ways that gave horsepower and torque beyond what similar displacement rules should allow. The Ducati boss demanded immediate intervention from the highest levels of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, insisting that the FIM president must call an emergency meeting of the technical commission.
Sources say that less than ten minutes after Dall’Igna’s outburst, the FIM technical delegates assembled an impromptu review. They convened in a technical room adjacent to Yamaha’s paddock display, studied the engine’s specifications, the homologation documents submitted, and compared them against Yamaha’s newly released design. Suspense rippled through the paddock.
The result: Yamaha was cleared of wrongdoing. The technical review concluded that although some internal parts and aerodynamic elements were tight to the limits of what is allowed, they did not break any written rule. All modifications were within tolerances set by the 2025 technical homologation regulations. The cooling channels, combustion chamber measurements, and other key pump parameters were found to match the homologation documents. Yamaha had also submitted all required blueprints and test data in compliance with the regulatory timeline.
Many were shocked — not because they believed Yamaha had clearly cheated, but because the speed and decisiveness of the FIM’s response was unprecedented. Often, technical protests drag on for days or weeks; here, the process had been completed in ten minutes.
In the aftermath, Dall’Igna accepted the decision, though with visible reluctance. “We respect the process,” he said, “but we will continue to monitor closely. If there’s evidence later of undisclosed changes or of parts behaving differently under race conditions, Ducati will pursue them.” Ducati engineers reportedly returned to their workshops to conduct independent measurements of Yamaha’s parts made public, while the team’s riders were briefed to observe differences in performance in upcoming testing sessions.
Yamaha, for its part, welcomed the FIM’s verdict, stating that the design had been submitted well in advance, that all critical dimensions were within spec, and that they had been transparent in every step. “We are pleased that the technical commission validated our design,” said one senior Yamaha engineer. “We believe in pushing the boundaries of innovation, but always within the rules.”
The paddock reaction has been mixed. Some rival teams expressed relief that the regulatory body acted swiftly, believing that clarity benefits the entire championship. Others remain uneasy. Suspicion lingers among some engineers and riders that there may be performance gains not obvious on paper, or that certain materials, processes, or treatments are hard to verify without in-depth lab tests under stress.
Fans of Ducati have rallied behind Dall’Igna, applauding his readiness to challenge perceived unfair play. Meanwhile, Yamaha’s supporters argue this episode may even enhance Yamaha’s reputation, showing that their new V4 is not only bold but legitimate. The FIM has announced it will release the full technical report later this month, to reassure all stakeholders of the fairness and transparency of its ruling.
In a sport where mechanical margins are razor thin and the stakes immense, this ten-minute investigation and clearance will be remembered. It underlines how critical precise technical regulations are — and how passionate and immediate controversies around them can become. Whether lasting peace has been achieved or merely a temporary truce will show itself in the coming races.
