Yamaha Europe Celebrates Our Legends at Goodwood Festival of Speed
If you're passionate about motorsport, Goodwood Festival of Speed is about as close to heaven as it gets. For four days each summer, historic machines, cutting-edge technology, legendary champions and future stars come together in the Sussex countryside for one of the world's most celebrated motorsport gatherings.
Set against the backdrop of the Duke of Richmond's estate, Goodwood is a living celebration of speed, where racing history is brought back to life and iconic machines are driven exactly as they were meant to be: fast.
This year, we joined some of the sport's biggest names on the famous Goodwood Hill. Alongside four-wheel legends and champions such as Formula 1 World Champion Lando Norris, our nine-time Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi delighted motorcycle fans on his 2020 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1.
For us, Goodwood was the perfect opportunity to showcase how more than 70 years of racing success continues to influence today's motorcycles. Rather than simply looking back, we demonstrated how lessons learned on the world's toughest race circuits continue to shape our modern designs, technology and performance.
In the paddock, our racing heritage was represented by some of our most iconic machines, including Wayne Rainey's championship-winning 1992 YZR500. It stood as a reminder that our competitive spirit and pursuit of performance remain as strong as ever.
Just a few steps away, the future met the past in the Festival's First Glance area, where we displayed the first Kenny Roberts-inspired XSR900 GP to arrive in the UK. Combining unmistakable Grand Prix styling with modern CP3 performance, it perfectly reflected our philosophy of honouring heritage while embracing innovation.
Who better to showcase it than "King" Kenny Roberts himself? After treating fans to a trademark burnout, the three-time 500cc World Champion powered the XSR900 GP up the hill, greeted by enthusiastic spectators.
Completing the display were the Wayne Rainey-inspired XSR900 GP and the YZF-R7 in striking 70th Anniversary colours.
The overarching theme of our Goodwood outing was how we transform racing experience into motorcycles that excite and inspire riders around the world.
Thanks to our legacy and upcoming racers, we were able to successfully tell this story.
Giuseppe Rusconi Rizzi, Yamaha Motor Europe（YME）