Yamaha technical director Max Bartolini has confirmed the MotoGP factory team has officially begun testing its V4 engine.

According to Autosport, the Japanese manufacturer reportedly tested the V4 engine at a private test in Valencia on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

This marks the first time the V4 engine has been tested on a European circuit after making its debut in a private session at Sepang earlier this year. 

The Sepang test featured a very early version of the engine, with engineers claiming a lot of work was still needed to make it a viable option.

Yamaha is the only manufacturer on the current grid whose bikes compete with an inline four-cylinder engine, but requests from its riders have led Yamaha’s engineers to look for alternatives, including changing its engine layout.

While the Japanese manufacturer is making steps to introduce the V4, Bartolini emphasised that a switch from the current Inline4 engine will only happen if the V4 package delivers a clear performance advantage.

“Next year’s bike is going to have the V4 engine if the V4 engine with the V4 bike is faster than the actual [Inline] bike,” Bartolini said in a video interview with MotoGP.com.

“We have started to test the V4 engine, then testing it with the official riders depends on how the development goes. If the bike is ready, as soon as possible.

“Developing an engine and bike requires time. Still we are in the early, early development.

“At the moment, we still don’t have the possibility to compare correctly the performance.

“But as soon as possible, we will make a comparison and we will keep going on the fastest of the two bikes.”