Yamaha will have their bikes painted in the old yellow and black paint scheme of years gone by when they race this weekend at Laguna Seca. These colors haven't been seen since the 1970's and are in celebration of Yamaha's 50th anniversary. From the Yamaha press release:
Yamaha’s Factory MotoGP team goes to this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in celebratory mood, wearing the famous Yamaha USA colours of yellow, white and black.
This special livery marks Yamaha’s 50th Anniversary and acknowledges the significant contribution made by American riders to the marque’s racing history. The Yamaha Motor Company was founded on July 1st 1955, just two weeks before the factory’s first bike, the YA1, won its first race, the Mount Fuji Ascent race. Since then three American riders have won nine premier-class World Championships with Yamaha – ‘King’ Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey, each taking three crowns across three decades, the 70s, the 80s and the 90s.
The livery that Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will wear at Laguna Seca was first used by Yamaha USA in the late 1960s and won global renown when Roberts scored his World Championship hat-trick.
Prester John says
July 8, 2005 at 2:17 pmYamaha’s been featuring their first bike, the YA-1, during their 50th Anniversary celebration. They don’t credit the German engineers that designed it – the YA-1 was in fact a DKW RT125 knockoff. The lesson obviously wasn’t lost on the Chinese, who now copy a number of Yamaha designs.
PJ