A star-studded lineup of legendary British racers, including seven-time Grand Prix World Champion Phil Read, Chas Mortimer, Alan Carter, Niall and Tarran Mackenzie, took part in the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club festivities at the CRMC Classic Motorcycle Festival a week and a half ago. the Donington Park track.
The Yamaha Racing Heritage Club (YRHC) was formed to celebrate and protect the manufacturer’s rich racing heritage, and it did so in style at Donington Park when it made its UK debut.
Having attended the ASI Motoshow in Varano in Italy, the Sunday Ride Classic at Circuit Paul Ricard in France, and the Sachsenring Classic in Germany, the YRHC booth has been one of the main attractions at Donington Park, showcasing some of the biggest names in the British racing that makes an appearance over the weekend.
It wasn’t just the riders who took center stage, though, as the impressive range of machines on display spanned the entire 65 years of Yamaha’s history, from their very first works race bike, the 1957 250cc YD-A and the first Yamaha to race in the UK, the 1960’s Sonny Angel YDS-1R, to the Tarran “Taz” Mackenzie’s 2021 British Superbike winning MCAMS Yamaha R1.
The undisputed star of the show was Yamaha’s first-ever Grand Prix World Champion, eight-time Isle of Man TT winner and the most successful rider ever in terms of manufacturer titles, Phil Read. During his illustrious career, Read won 52 GPs and took 121 podium finishes.
In addition, Read went down in the history books as the first driver to win Grand Prix titles in the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc. Read put Yamaha on the map in 1964 by winning the 250cc Grand Prix world title on an RD56 that year, but that was just the beginning of an epic story.
He would go on to win four more Yamaha world titles, including the 250cc in 1971 when he competed as a private rider on a very special modified TD2-B that he designed himself. Known as the Team Read Castrol Yamaha, this bike differed from the stock bike with a revised frame, dry clutch, front and rear disc brakes, and a radically tuned engine built by former Yamaha Race Technician Ferry Brouwer.
It was an emotional weekend for Read as he was reunited with a lovingly restored version of this machine, along with a replica of his 1971 Team Read Castrol Yamaha 350cc, based on the TR2-B.
“What a great day! It was incredible to be reunited with these two bikes and see old friends from the past. It was wonderful to celebrate racing history in this way, and I couldn’t believe how popular I was. I don’t think I’ve ever signed that many.”
In addition to Read, Yamaha’s first-ever 500cc Grand Prix winner, Chas Mortimer, joined the rest of the YRHC legends for Sunday’s autograph session, 50 years after taking that historic win at the 1972 Spanish GP at the Montjuic street circuit. Barcelona.
Mortimer is the only rider in road racing history to have won world titles in the 125, 250, 350, 500 and 750 racing classes. Like Read, he also took eight TT wins and was delighted to compete in the event. “What a great setup! I had no idea there would be such a massive turnout; it was a great way to spend the day,” said Mortimer.
Alan Carter, who caused a sensation by winning the 250cc French GP of Le Mans in 1983 at the age of 18 in his second World Cup race, becoming the youngest ever Grand Prix winner at the time, was also there and thoroughly enjoyed himself. .
The Scottish rider even got the chance to hit the historic Donington Park circuit on the YZR250 he raced to victory 39 years earlier: “To walk up to the pit box and see my 1983 bike, smell the engine and pit lane Riding out in front of the fans here in Donington was one of the best moments of my life,” said Carter.
Also in attendance were road racing legend, five-time TT winner and two-time Formula 2 World Champion Brian Reid, South African former Grand Prix driver Alan North, two-time 250cc British Champion Donnie McLeod and former 500cc Grand Prix driver Steve Parrish, who signed autographs and told about times gone by. Father and son Niall and Tas MacKenzie completed the lineup.
The YRHC’s first year has been a great success, according to Yamaha, with a full program of activities planned for 2023, with several events to be announced soon.
If you own a classic Yamaha racing bike and are interested in joining the YRHC to receive exclusive benefits such as advanced technical support and the chance to register your machine in the official database, please email yrhc @yamaha-racing.com for more information.
“To be here at Donington Park with such an amazing lineup of riders and bikes has been incredible. It is very special to see the passion of the fans and to celebrate Yamaha’s rich racing history with them. Not only did we have some of the biggest names in British racing to meet the fans, but we also had one of the best collections of racing bikes I’ve ever seen, from 1957 to the present. I would like to thank Yamaha UK and all YRHC members and collectors who contributed to this spectacular event. It has been a very successful first year for the YRHC and we look forward to many more.”
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.