Summer of Yamaha! Summer of racing! Summer of Suzuka 8 Hours!

In the world of racing, where there is no such thing as time, victory or defeat is clear for all to see. Yamaha has participated in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race (commonly known as the "Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race") held in Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, since the first race in 1978, and has won the title eight times in the race's history. After a six-year absence, Yamaha is back in the Suzuka 8 Hours with its factory racer, the YZF-R1. To be honest, many of you may think that you have never been to a circuit or know much about racing. But the "Suzuka 8 Hours" is just as interesting as a festival, with racing, food, and music. This summer, why don't you make your debut in the world of racing that Yamaha continues to challenge at the Suzuka 8 Hours?

Illustration_Tact Sato
Text_Showgo Komatsu
Edit_Yusuke Suzuki

Yamaha, which has been in business for 70 years, challenges racing for the first time in 6 years!

The Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race (hereinafter referred to as "Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race") is an international competition in which contestants compete to see how many laps they can complete on a motorcycle over an eight-hour period. Teamwork with mechanics, such as tire changes and refueling, also plays a major role in determining the winner. Even if a rider is in first place by a landslide until the halfway point, he or she may crash or break down, so there is a lot of drama and you never know what will happen until the very end.

Among the world's renowned manufacturers competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours, Yamaha has a brilliant record of four consecutive victories from 2015 to 2018, and has won the race a total of eight times. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Yamaha Motor and the 70th anniversary of its racing activities, so a special machine has been prepared for this commemorative year.

The new "YZF-R1" equipped with winglets. The displacement is 1,000 cc. 3 riders will be running this one machine for 8 hours straight, so positions and setups will be thoroughly fine-tuned. starting in 2019, Nakasuga and other JSB1000 champion riders have been involved in the development of the R1 for 6 years.

The white and red coloring of the YZF-R1 is a traditional Yamaha coloring that was first used in the 1964 World Road Race Championship. The design was inspired by the "YZF-R7," which was released in 1999 in a limited edition of 500 units worldwide and competed in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race that same year.