Detail

In 2008, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. was the proud winner of the MotoGP triple crown of rider, manufacturer and team championship titles as well as winning MX1 class of the World Motocross Championships and the AMA Supercross title. In Japan, Yamaha won the championship titles in the premier classes of road racing, motocross and trial competition. Here again, Yamaha succeeded in winning triple crowns to cap off a great season of international and domestic race activities.
In 2009, Yamaha Motor will continue race activities in the MotoGP and other international and domestic racing events as arenas for 鉄haring Kando* with People Around the World.・Here we introduce the 2009 race program for international road racing and motocross.

*Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feeling of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that people experience when they encounter something of exceptional value.

International Racing

In road racing痴 premier MotoGP class, where Yamaha won the triple crown of rider, manufacturer and team championship titles in 2008, there will again be four riders competing for the title from two Yamaha teams. The machine they will use is the YZR-M1. Racing for Yamaha痴 factory team, the FIAT YAMAHA TEAM, will be Valentino Rossi, who won his third rider title with Yamaha in 2008 and his first in three years, and his teammate Jorge Lorenzo, who won one GP in six podium finishes to rank 4th and be named MotoGP Rookie of the Year in 2008.
Yamaha will also be supporting the Tech3 Yamaha Team, whose riders will be last year痴 7th ranked Colin Edwards and James Toseland, who ranked 11th in his rookie MotoGP year in 2008.

In the World Superbike Championship (WSB), the pinnacle class of production machine racing, Yamaha will be competing with a new machine and new team. Riding for the new Yamaha World Superbike Team will be Ben Spies, winner of three consecutive Superbike class championship titles in the AMA Road Race Championships from 2006 to 2008. His teammate in the competition for the title will be Tom Sykes, who competed until last year in the British Superbike Championship.
Riding again this year for the Yamaha GMT94 team will be David Checa. The machine used by both of these teams will be the new 2009 model YZF-R1 with an all-new engine adopting the same type of 田rossplane crankshaft・as the YZR-M1 MotoGP racer.

In the Supersport World Championship (WSS), the Yamaha World Supersport Team will field last year痴 6th ranked Fabien Foret and Cal Crutchlow, who ranked 3rd in 2008 in the British Superbike Championship. Also Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni team will enter Michele Pirro, who moves up from the Superstock class. Their machine is the YZF-R6.

In the World Motocross Championships, Yamaha teams will be competing again in the MX1 and MX2 classes. In the pinnacle MX1 class where Yamaha won the 2008 title, four riders will compete from two teams. The factory Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team will enter David Philippaerts, who won last season痴 title in his first year with Yamaha, and 5th ranked Josh Coppins. Their machine is the YZ450FM.
Also competing in MX1 from the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli Team will be the 2-time former MX2 champion Antonio Cairoli and last year痴 MX1 7th ranker, Tanel Leok. They will race on the YZ450F.
Competing in the MX2 class from the Yamaha Ricci Racing Team will be Nicolas Aubin, who ranked 3rd in this class last year, along with teammates Davide Guarneri and Loic Larrieu, all competing on the YZ250F.

In the AMA Supercross series that began on January 3, the Yamaha Supercross/Motocross Team enters Broc Hepler, Josh Hill and Grant Langston. Also competing in the pinnacle Supercross category from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/L&M Team are last sason痴 AMA Motocross champion James Stewart and Kyle Chisholm, both riding the YZ450F.