Yamaha is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and they are bringing some legendary riders and some classic machinery to the Isle of Man. The Yamaha Classic Race Team will partake in the parade this year at the Isle of Man, which is also celebrating a big anniversary. The Isle of Man will be celebrating 100 years of racing at this years' event.
"We are delighted that Yamaha's 50th anniversary is coinciding with the centenary celebrations of the Mountain Course," said Ferry Brouwer, Team Owner of the Yamaha Classic Racing Team. "We are sure that the TT fans will enjoy the sights and sounds of these spectacular machines and the chance to see these legendary riders close up."
The Yamaha Classic Race team includes a number of TT winners and World Champions. Phil Read MBE, who is Yamaha's most successful rider in history, will be riding the parade lap this year. Read is an 8-time world champion, has won 8 races at the Isle of Man, and was named a GP "Legend" in 2002. Read will be a big draw to this year's parade, but so will his motorcycle. Read will be riding his Yamaha RD05A 250cc, the bike that he rode to the World Championship in 1968. Read is one of the biggest names in TT history, and will be making his first trip to the island in nearly four decades.
Reed will be joined by Germany's Dieter Braun. Braun won the world championship in 1970 and 1973, he also won a TT race in 1970. Braun will be joined by Chas Mortimer, who won 7 TT races. The two will be riding a YZ634 350cc, which raced at the Isle of man in 1972, and a Yamaha TZ750. Australian Kel Carruthers, who won the 1970 Lightweight 250cc TT, will be riding alongside Rob Gould, who finished second behind Carruthers in 1970.
The Yamaha Classic Race Team will also have Ulsterman Tommy Robb, who will be riding the same bike, the YZ623, on which he won the 1973 125cc Ultra-Lightweight TT. As well as Finland's Pentti Korhonen, who will be riding a 350 4 cylinder RR08A and Jos Schurgers who will be on the four cylinder RA31A 125.
Steve Baker will also be joining the Yamaha Classic team at the Isle of Man this year. Baker was the first American to win the 750cc World Championship, which he did in 1977. Baker was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1989.
The Yamaha team is bringing several World Champions and TT winners to the Isle of Man this year, but the team is also bringing some classic bikes, including Phil Read's RD56 from 1964 and Bill Ivy's 1960 TT winning RA97, that will be put on display.
"We are very much looking forward to sharing this special year in the history of the IOM TT Races with the Yamaha Classic Racing Team and celebrating their 50th anniversary year with us," said Allan Bell, MHK, Minister, Department of Economic Development.
