I actually thought I had the latest driver, since I updated via Steinberg updater.
It shows that steinberg provided 1.9.6. as their latest version.
Further digging in other posts I found a link to a yamaha usb driver version 1.10 (on a yamaha website)
Installing this version 1.10 has fixed the problem. I’ve been recording today without the usual dropouts and distorted sound.
It’s just a little bit wierd that the steinberg updater gave me 1.9.6…