Yamaha Motor UK will hold a special celebration at the upcoming Oulton Park round of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship to commemorate 60 years of Yamaha competing in Grand Prix racing.
The celebration will feature an array of motorcycles that have shaped Yamaha’s racing heritage on their stand at the Oulton Park round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship next weekend.
Machines on display will include Alan Carter’s 1983 French Grand Prix winning TZ250 K, a stunning 1978 TZ750 E expertly restored by James Whitham, an immaculate TZ350 A owned by McAMS Yamaha team boss Steve Rodgers, and more.
Some of the machines will be fired up at regular intervals for fans to enjoy the sights, sounds and of course, smells!
The exotic array of machines be available to view on Yamaha’s stand opposite the Chequers café, with more on display outside the McAMS Yamaha hospitality suite, and a number of Yamaha icons will take to the track in a specially organised parade lap on both Saturday and Sunday.
Led by three-time British Champion and former Yamaha Grand Prix racer Niall Mackenzie, a selection of former racers will display the bikes on track including James Whitham, John McGuinness, Alan Carter, Ian Simpson and more.
The parades will take place at 15:55 on Saturday and 13:45 on Sunday.
On top of this, the celebration will also include the McAMS Yamaha British Superbike Team, currently sitting first and second in the championship with Jason O’Halloran and Tarran Mackenzie, racing in the iconic red and white speed block colours which have also just been confirmed as a colour option for Yamaha’s Supersport machines, including the R1 and all-new R7, for 2022.
Motorsport has been an essential part of Yamaha Motor’s culture since its founding. The first time a Yamaha motorcycle competed in a race was on July 10, 1955, at the Mount Fuji Ascent race, just 10 days after the company was established. The machine, the YA-1, took a dominating victory in its racing debut, marking the beginning of a colourful racing story for Yamaha.
Yamaha entered their first Grand Prix World Championship event six years later in the Grand Prix of France in May 1961. Two years after that, Fumio Ito sealed their first Grand Prix win at the Belgian Grand Prix in the 250cc class. The following year, Yamaha won their first Rider and Constructor titles with Phil Read’s 250cc class win. Between 1963 and today, Yamaha have taken 516 Grand Prix victories in total.
Yamaha 60 Years of World Grand Prix Display, Full Line Up:
- 1970 TD2 B
- 1973 TZ750 A
- 1978 TZ750 E (x3)
- 1979 TZ350 F
- 1980 TZ250 G
- 1980 TZ350 G
- 1983 TZ250 K (Alan Carter’s 1983 French GP winning bike)
- 1986 TZ250 S
- 1989 TZ250 (Kevin Mitchell’s North West 200 winning bike)
- 1999 TZ250
- 1994 TZ250 4DP
- 2000 TZ250 5KE
- 2006 TZ250 5KE4