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Japanese superbike: Yamaha Factory unveils the 20th anniversary livery of the R1.
The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will race in the All Japan Superbike with a decoration inspired by the first R1 of 1998: a livery which could also be adopted at the Suzuka 8 Hours.
A 20th anniversary to be celebrated with a “vintage” livery which, we hope, will bring good luck for the double entry in All Japan Superbike and the Suzuka 8 Hours. For the 2018 season, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team will field the two official YZF-R1s entrusted to Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane in the top JSB1000 category of the All Japan circus with a special decoration dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the R1, inspired by the very first generation of Iwata's Superbike presented in 1998.
The special livery was presented during the 'Suzuka Motorsports Fan Thanks Day' at the roller coaster circuit with Nakasuga and Nozane already on track with the new graphics. As you can see in the photos, both R1s feature the same blue as the 1998 model, as well as the same YZF font.
Now in its eighth generation, the Yamaha Factory Racing Team R1 will aim for the fourth consecutive victory at the Suzuka 8 Hours this year with a crew yet to be defined, but probably formed by the same Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane.
The two riders will try to bring the house of three tuning forks back to the throne of the All Japan Superbike after an unhappy season in 2017. For Katsuyuki Nakasuga, it would be the eighth after his previous victories (all with Yamaha) in 2008, 2009 and successively 2012 to 2016, while Kohta Nozane was called up by Yamaha to race in his homeland after his experience with the YART Yamaha in the FIM EWC Endurance World Championship.
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8 a.m. Suzuka: The HRC team shows up for the “Factory” return at 8 a.m.
Presentation of the livery which will accompany Team HRC at the start of the Suzuka 8 Hours and All Japan Superbike (with Takumi Takahashi): the “Factory” return after 10 years of absence…..
Finally! On the occasion of the "Suzuka Motorsports Fan Thanks Days" which took place on the legendary roller coaster track, the HRC team showed off the wings of the CBR 1000RRW which will start this year's All Japan Superbike with reigning champion Takumi Takahashi and, above all, at the Suzuka 8 Hours, sanctioning the return of the direct involvement (and with its own team) of the Honda Racing Corporation at the start of the race course.
10 years after the last official participation in the Suzuka 8 Hours (2008 edition, victory with Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari), the decision was taken to put the HRC team back on the road, changing philosophy after having officially supported several teams ( HARC-PRO and FCC TSR) over the past decade, both in the 8 Hours and in the top JSB1000 category of the All Japan Race Championship road racing championship.
The declared objective is to return to the podium at the Suzuka 8 Hours on July 29, relying on Takumi Takahashi, Japanese Superbike champion, and the pit wall experience of Tohru Ukawa, former MotoGP rider, today now sporting director of the HRC team and record holder for successes (5) at 8 hours.
For the two other drivers of the HRC team at the 8 hours of Suzuka, we will still have to wait a few weeks. Honda's idea is to align two MotoGP protagonists, with Takaaki Nakagami (present today in Suzuka for an exhibition on the track of a Honda RC213V-S dressed in the colors of LCR-IDEMITSU) with a view to a new coronation after the (“reserve”) success of 2010 and the unfortunate participation of last year.
In the photo gallery the Honda CBR 1000RRW from the HRC Team unveiled today at Suzuka in JSB1000 (All Japan Superbike) configuration
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