Detail

Introducing Yamaha’s Factory and Supported Teams and Riders for 2022

February 8, 2022

February 8, 2022 –Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. engages in racing efforts around the world in road racing, motocross, trials and more, including the MotoGP World Championship, World Superbike Championship and the All Japan Road Race, Motocross and Trials championships. These efforts have three main goals: enhancing the value of the Yamaha brand, developing advanced technologies for our production machines, and promoting the healthy growth of motorcycle racing.

2021 marked Yamaha’s 60th year of participating in international racing, a year in which factory Yamaha MotoGP rider Fabio Quartararo won Yamaha’s first MotoGP title since 2015 and our 18th in the premier class. This was made possible thanks to the support of our teams, sponsors, suppliers and fans around the world.

In addition, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu won Yamaha’s second ever World Superbike Championship title and our first since 2009, while Yamaha also took title wins in international championships like the Supersport World Championship and in national championships in Japan, the United States, Great Britain, France, and other countries. We also triumphed in various off-road championships around the world, including winning the Motocross World Championship MX2 title, AMA Motocross 450cc title, and both the AMA Supercross 250cc East and West titles.

In 2022, our aim is unchanged: to defend our titles in MotoGP and World Superbikes, and to win every other title we contest. We will once again devote all our efforts toward delivering Kando* as we challenge for the wins and titles that lie ahead in 2022.

With the goals of developing young riders and promoting the spread of racing, this year we will work to further strengthen our young rider development activities through the bLU cRU. Since 2016, Yamaha has partnered with the Valentino Rossi-led VR46 Riders Academy in holding the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp to train promising young riders in Italy.

To date the Master Camp has produced riders who have achieved excellent results in the Supersport 300 World Championship, R3 Cup, and Asia Road Racing Championship. In 2017 the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team was established to compete in the FIM CEV Moto3 and Moto2 championships with the aim of further improving the level of Master Camp graduates.

In 2022, the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team will switch from the FIM CEV Moto2 Championship to the Moto2 World Championship, positioning itself as a team for young riders poised to step up to the world's top categories like MotoGP and World Superbikes. Riding for the team will be young up-and-comers who have developed their skills through bLU cRU activities. As they race in Moto2, which can be considered the pinnacle of the sport for young riders, they will gain further experience and promote their growth toward competing at the highest levels.

As part of our effort to work with our locations in each country to develop strong personnel on a broad scale, this year two Master Camps are scheduled. The goals are to motivate young riders aiming for the world stage, and to discover and develop potential riders to compete for the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team in Moto2 in the future.

In terms of technology development through racing, we plan to focus on the All Japan Championships to carry out a wide range of development activities with the aim of achieving our three main principles while also acquiring advanced technologies that can contribute to achieving carbon neutrality. We will work toward feeding advanced technologies gained through racing back into production vehicles, and to develop technologies that contribute to the spread of racing.

Road Racing

In the MotoGP World Championship, the pinnacle of road racing, four Yamaha riders from two teams will compete on YZR-M1 machinery aiming to defend the 2021 Rider’s title and win the MotoGP Triple Crown of Rider, Team and Constructor titles in 2022.

The factory Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team will feature Fabio Quartararo, who won the title with five victories, and teammate Franco Morbidelli who placed 17th in an injury-hampered season.

The WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team, a satellite team with a new organization and new sponsor, will feature Andrea Dovizioso, who joined Yamaha in the middle of last season, and Darryn Binder, who makes the step up from Moto3.

The Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team, which had previously competed in the FIM CEV Moto2 Championship, will switch to the Moto2 World Championship for 2022. Riding for the team are Keminth Kubo, who participated in the fifth "Yamaha VR46 Master Camp" in 2018 and has experience in the Asia Road Racing Championship and in the FIM CEV Moto2 Championship, alongside Manuel Gonzalez, who became the youngest ever World Supersport 300 champion in 2019 and finished 3rd in the World Supersport Championship in 2021.

In the World Superbike Championship, the Pata Yamaha with Brixx Official WorldSBK Team will feature defending champion Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who won Yamaha’s first title since 2009 with 13 victories and 29 podium finishes, and Andrea Locatelli, who finished 4th with four podium finishes in his rookie season.

Lining up for the GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team are Garrett Gerloff, who finished a personal best of 7th overall last season, and Kohta Nozane, who finished 14th overall in his first full season of competition. All four YZF-R1 riders will be aiming to bring Yamaha the title for the second year in a row.

In the Supersport World Championship, held in conjunction with the Superbike World Championship, six riders from three teams, including last year's champion Dominique Aegerter, will compete on YZF-R6s. Just as in the Superbike class, the teams are aiming for two titles for Yamaha in two years.

The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team will compete once again in the Endurance World Championship on the YZF-R1 after having finished 6th in 2021. The rider lineup remains unchanged with Niccolò Canepa, Karel Hanika, and Marvin Fritz riding for the team.

In the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, the Fresh N' Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team will contest the Superbike class on YZF-R1 machinery. The new lineup of riders includes Jake Gagne, who won his first title last year with 17 victories to make it four consecutive Yamaha titles in the class, and teammate Cameron Petersen, who finished third overall last season, both of whom will be aiming for a fifth consecutive Yamaha MotoAmerica Superbike title.

Only one race was held in the Asia Road Racing Championship in 2020 and all races were cancelled for 2021 due to COVID-19, but in 2022 the Yamaha Racing Team ASEAN will compete in the pinnacle ASB1000 class on the YZF-R1M. The team’s riders include Yuki Ito, who finished 5th overall in ASB1000 in 2019 and Kasma Daniel Bin Kasmayudin, who finished 2nd in SS600 in the same year. The team’s goal is to win Yamaha’s first ever title in ASB1000.

In addition, teams managed by our locations in each country will participate in the ASB1000, SS600, and AP250 classes. We will continue to support them on various fronts as they aim to win each class, while also working to develop candidates for the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp and Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team.

Motocross/Supercross

In the Motocross World Championship, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team will compete in the pinnacle MXGP class with 2021 4th-place finisher Jeremy Seewer, 7th-place finisher Glenn Coldenhoff and class rookie Maxime Renaux, who won the MX2 title with 8 victories. These three riders will be riding the YZ450FM with the goal of taking Yamaha’s first title since 2015.

In the MX2 class, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team will contest on YZ250FM machinery ridden by Jago Geerts, who finished 2nd in last season’s title race after a battle with Maxime Renaux for the title, and Thibault Benistant, who finished 8th in the championship, and both will be aiming for back-to-back Yamaha titles.

The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing Team is competing in the AMA Supercross Championship that kicked off on January 8 of this year. Riding the YZ450F for the team are Dylan Ferrandis, who stepped up to the 450SX class last year and finished 7th overall before going on to win the outdoor 450MX title with podium finishes in every round, and his teammate Eli Tomac, who won the Supercross 450SX title in 2020 and three AMA Motocross 450SX titles between 2017 and 2019. The team’s goal is nothing less than lifting the trophy for Yamaha’s first Supercross title since 2009.

In the 250SX classes, last year's 250SX West champion Justin Cooper, 250SX East champion Colt Nichols, along with two-time 250MX champion Jeremy Martin, Christian Craig, Nate Thrasher, and Levi Kitchen will compete. The riders will be riding the YZ250F and will be divided into East and West to compete in their respective championships.

In the AMA Motocross Championships’ 450MX class, Ferrandis, Tomac and Craig will attempt to win titles for the second consecutive year aboard the YZ450F, while in the 250MX class, Cooper, Nichols, Martin, Thrasher and Kitchen will be riding the YZ250F.