R1M OWNERS JOINED ON TRACK BY VALENTINO ROSSI AS THE YAMAHA RACING EXPERIENCE REACHES NEW HEIGHTS IN 2024
2024 saw the Yamaha Racing Experience (YRE) scale new heights as R1M owners were joined on track at the two-day event by Yamaha Racing royalty, including nine-times Grand Prix World Champion Valentino Rossi.
Held at the iconic Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto, Spain, the 2024 YRE proved to be a purely unforgettable experience for over 100 R1M, R1 GYTR PRO 25th Anniversary owners and select customers of our GYTR PRO Shops with high-specification R1s, who were able to share the track with ‘The Doctor’ and other Yamaha Racing stars.
Yamaha’s brace of WorldSBK riders were also present, including six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea and Pata Prometeon Yamaha team-mate Andrea Locatelli, plus Dominique Aegerter, Bradley Ray and Philipp Oettl, and reigning Endurance World Champions Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika and Robin Mulhauser.
The Yamaha owners, who travelled to Jerez from across Europe, enjoyed a comprehensive track programme, taking to the circuit to enjoy their CP4-powered machine in the blistering Andalusian sunshine.
The event saw several historical moments, including the first R1 GYTR PRO 25th Anniversary customers taking their new, WorldSBK-inspired machines on track for the very first time. The very same Yamaha Motor Europe Motorsport Research & Development engineers who designed and built the bike were also on hand for technical advice and support.
Free of charge to 2024 R1M and R1 GYTR PRO 25th Anniversary owners, this immersive racing experience brought customers into the heart of Yamaha’s Racing activity, with riders, including Rossi, on hand for selfies and autographs throughout the event, including at an exclusive Customer Dinner event on the Wednesday evening at the stunning Tio Pepe Winery.
Rossi rode his striking and unique R1 GYTR PRO, which was presented to him by Yamaha Motor Europe when he retired from MotoGP in 2021, while the WorldSBK stars completed demonstration laps on their full WorldSBK-spec R1s with stand-up wheelies and high-speed thrills.
The presence of the Yamaha Racing Heritage Club exemplified Yamaha’s racing DNA, with those present treated to a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle as some of the star-studded line-up took to the track on some of the most iconic race machines of Yamaha’s past.
This included Valentino Rossi, who jumped at the chance to ride Eddie Lawson’s 1986 championship-winning YZR500 – the first time he had ridden a 500cc GP bike since MotoGP switched to the four-stroke era in 2002.
Three-time Grand Prix World Champion Luca Cadalora joined Rossi on track on his 1990 YZR250. Other machines on display included three TZ750s, and two stunning replicas of the 2001 YZR500 0WL9 – the last of the 500cc era which were taken to the track by Jonathan Rea, Andrea Locatelli and Niccolò Canepa as well as the owners of the machines.
“I have never been to an event like this in my whole life,” commented Pata Prometeon Yamaha rider Jonathan Rea. “The whole event, from start to finish, offers awesome opportunities for everyone here. Even for me as a racer, being on track with Valentino was an incredible experience! The R1M owners have been fantastic, and I hope they all had as much of a good time as I did!”
“This is easily the best Yamaha Racing Experience I have been to,” Rea’s team-mate Locatelli added. “Where else can you get an experience like this? It is not possible, from being on track with everyone to the dinner to the meet and greet sessions, the whole event offers people a great experience from start to finish.”
The YRE is unique in that. It brings together R1M owners and Yamaha’s professional racers who, in parallel with chasing world championship success, play a significant role in the development of an expanding range of GYTR performance parts for the R1. Through an extensive network of GYTR PRO Shops, Yamaha remains committed to supporting customers who race Yamaha’s flagship Supersport model or utilise it as the ultimate track tool.
