Yamaha is about to begin its 50th year in GP racing, and with Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies racing around the track, it could be a celebratory year. Yamaha, which raced its first Grand Prix race in 1961 at the French GP, has a few special events planned for the 2011 season.
Yamaha will be displaying some of its classic machines during the 2011 season. At the Motegi and Assen events this year, Yamaha will be displaying the 1974 YZR-500, Yamaha's first 500cc factory bike, as well as the1978 YZR-500, which earned Yamaha three championships with the help of Kenny Roberts.
A special Yamaha 50th anniversary livery design will also be sported by Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo throughout the 2011 season. Yamaha will also be launching a new website on February 1st, which will archive Yamaha's racing history. Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo
“These 50 years of continued challenge at the top level of the sport would not have been possible without the support of the fans, our suppliers and sponsors and the race organizers,” said President, CEO and Representative Director of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Mr Hiroyuki Yanagi. “I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks to everyone for this.”
“Yamaha Motor Company began participating in races from the year of our company's founding in 1955. Our history of competition in the World GP began in 1961, when we entered a team with riders Taneharu Noguchi and Fumio Ito in that year's French GP. In these 50 years of competition, Yamaha has tasted sweet victories as well as bitter defeats, but through it all we have never lost the "spirit of challenge" that we started out with.
"We are both grateful and proud that one of the highlights of our history of World GP competition came last season, when Yamaha won the Triple Crown of rider, team and manufacturer titles in the pinnacle MotoGP class for the third consecutive year. This is another achievement that would not have been possible without the support of the fans and everyone involved. At the same time, I believe it stands as proof that our spirit of challenge is as alive today as it was five decades ago.”
