After a successful first year, the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club has officially announced the four events for 2023: one in France, one in Italy and two in the UK. Yamaha started the events to celebrate the rich racing history, the legendary riders and the classic racers.
Launched at EICMA in 2021, the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club (YRHC) was established to protect and celebrate the manufacturer’s rich racing heritage by offering owners of classic racing motorcycles the opportunity to become members, register their bikes in the official database and advanced technical help.
The YRHC had an impressive inaugural season in 2022, giving fans the chance to relive the two-stroke racing era throughout the year at a number of events featuring legends such as 15-time World Champion Giacomo Agostini, Yamaha’s first-ever World Champion and the most successful rider of all time in terms of of titles Phil Read, two-time 250cc World Champion Carlos Lavado, 1984 250cc World Champion Christian Sarron and 1973 250cc World Champion Dieter Braun, just to name a few.
Alongside these heroes of the past were Yamaha riders from the modern era such as Pata Yamaha WorldSBK factory rider Andrea Locatelli, 2012 Moto3 and 2018 World Supersport World Champion Sandro Cortese, Yamalube YART Yamaha Official EWC Team Marvin Fritz and 2021 BSB Champion Tarran “Taz” Mackenzie , along with their heroes on iconic two-stroke racing bikes on the track.
One of the main highlights of 2022 was three-time 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey emotionally riding his title-winning 1992 YZR500 up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the first time since his career ended at Misano.
It wasn’t just the riders that were the stars of the show, as at each event the YRHC also proudly showcased a range of historic machines spanning Yamaha’s history, from the very first factory race bike, the 1957 250cc YD-A, all the way to Fabio Quartararo’s 2021 MotoGP World Championship winning YZR-M1.
For 2023, the YRHC is expanding its schedule and has a number of events planned to celebrate some important anniversaries in Yamaha racing history.
The YRHC year kicks off this weekend with the Sunday Ride Classic at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, May 6-7, where the YRHC will kick off its 50th anniversary celebrations for the TZ series, and Sarron will be joined by 1975 350cc World Champion Johnny Cecotto and 1977 Formula 750 World Champion Steve Baker.
From July 21 to 22, the YRHC will be at the Yamaha Racing Experience in Mugello, Italy, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the R1 with a stellar crop of past and current racers including Locatelli and his Pata Yamaha Prometeon teammate , the 2021 WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, plus the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team duo of Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner. The list of riders will also grow, with some very special guests, both past and present, likely to make surprise appearances at the event.
Next up is the CRMC Classic Motorcycle Festival in Donington Park, England, from July 30-31, where the stars of British racing will be in droves to celebrate both aforementioned anniversaries.
Then the YRHC will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the YZ series of bikes as it marks Yamaha’s long history of success in off-road racing at the Veterans MX of Nations at Foxhills in England on August 24-28. The event will feature three-time 125cc MX World Champion Alessio Chiodi, former Yamaha factory motocross team manager Michele Rinaldi and several historic YZ machines spanning fifty years of racing.
“It was fantastic to see the impact the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club had in its first year. Bringing together Yamaha’s iconic race bikes, legendary riders who made Yamaha’s name big in the history books and our current professional racers, the project captured the imagination of young and not so young. In 2023 we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the R1 and the 50th anniversary of both the TZ and YZ ranges. To mark all of these milestones, the YRHC will be expanding into off-road events this season, and we have a special surprise ahead of the Veterans MX of Nations, which will be raced by Alessio Chiodi under Michele Rinaldi. It promises to be a great year for the YRHC and I look forward to seeing our racing past reconnected to our racing present.”
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.