Yamaha MotoGP Racing or Yamaha Factory Racing is the official Italian-Japanese factory team of
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
in
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
.
The team was founded in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
following the retirement of
Wayne Rainey
Wayne Wesley Rainey (born October 23, 1960) is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his s ...
, who had run a factory-supported team in the 500 cc class for the previous two years, with
Kenny Roberts
Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951, in Modesto, California) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He ...
and
Giacomo Agostini
Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian multi-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Nicknamed Ago, he amassed 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 World Championship titles. Of these, 68 wins and 8 titles came in the 500  ...
having run their own works supported teams before him. The team was originally based in the
Netherlands
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but was relocated in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 2002.
History
Max Biaggi
Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi (; born 26 June 1971) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who achieved six World Championships. With four 250 cc road race titles and two in World Superbikes, he is one of only two ri ...
and
Carlos Checa
Carlos Checa Carrera (born 15 October 1972) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle road racer and winner of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500 cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machiner ...
raced for the team from 1999 to . Biaggi achieved a total of 8 race wins in that period, first riding the
Yamaha YZR500
The Yamaha YZR500 was a for 500cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix racing motorcycle made by Yamaha Motor Corporation, Yamaha from 1973 through 2002.
Racing history
The YZR500 was ridden by championship winners Giacomo Agostini (1975 G ...
and later the
Yamaha YZR-M1
The Yamaha YZR-M1 is an inline-four motorcycle specifically developed by Yamaha Motor Company to race in the current MotoGP series. It succeeded the YZR500 by the 2002 season and was originally developed with a engine. Since then, the YZR-M1 ...
in 2002.
In , Checa was joined by
Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He c ...
. The team had an average season with no podium finishes. For ,
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...
joined Checa at the team. Rossi got 9 wins and won the championship.
Colin Edwards
Colin Edwards II (born February 27, 1974), nicknamed the "Texas Tornado", is an American former professional motorcycle racer who retired half-way through the 2014 season, but continues in the sport as a factory test rider. He is a two-time Wo ...
joined the team for , when Rossi once again won the championship, collecting 11 wins. Rossi and Edwards stayed with the team for . Rossi earned 5 wins and finished 2nd in the championship. For the season, both riders remained with the team riding the new 800cc
Yamaha YZR-M1
The Yamaha YZR-M1 is an inline-four motorcycle specifically developed by Yamaha Motor Company to race in the current MotoGP series. It succeeded the YZR500 by the 2002 season and was originally developed with a engine. Since then, the YZR-M1 ...
. Rossi had 4 wins and finished the season 3rd overall.
For , Yamaha had a unique line-up with Rossi being joined in the team by
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero (; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, with three MotoGP World Championships (, and ) and two 250cc World Championships ( and ).
After winning the 2006 a ...
. Although the pair were fighting for the title from different pit boxes (as Rossi chose to use
Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
tyres and as Lorenzo continued with
Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
), Yamaha operated as one team and not two separate entities. The title was won dominantly by Rossi who won 9 of the 18 races and finished on the podium in every race except for two. Even though this was the learning year for Lorenzo, he was able to cruise to victory at Estoril and finished 4th in the championship. In , Yamaha dominated MotoGP with Rossi winning the title and Lorenzo finishing second. The pair won 12 out of the 17 races, and Yamaha won the Constructors' Championship.
After seven years with Yamaha, Rossi left the team to compete with Ducati for two seasons. He rejoined Yamaha again for the 2013 MotoGP season.
Grand Prix motorcycle results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
MotoGP results
By rider
By year
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
See also
*
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory is the Factory-backed, factory team of Yamaha Motor Company, Yamaha active in the MotoGP World Championship, the Motocross World Championship, the FIM Endurance World Championship, the Superbike World Championship an ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{MotoGP World Teams' Champions
Motorcycle racing teams
Motorsport in Japan
1999 establishments in the Netherlands
Motorcycle racing teams established in 1999