Photo: SamuxxDesign
Yamaha joined efforts with racing team Crescent and title sponsor Pata for making a strong comeback to World Superbike as of next year. The machines from which the WSBK beasts will be derived is, of course, the all-new YZF-R1 bike Yamaha introduced one year ago at EICMA.
We were there when the bike was unveiled, alongside its R1M sibling, but back then nobody mentioned anything about deriving a WSBK version from it, even though we sort of suspect such plans were just as old as the very new R1 project.
Aside from "stealing" Honda's main sponsor for 2016, Yamaha also secured the services of a very promising rider duo. Crescent Pata Yamaha (in case this is the final name of the team) will field the 2014 Superbike World Champion Sylvain Guintoli and the 2013 British Superbike champion Alex Lowes astride the WSBK version of the R1. And in case you wonder, Alex is Moto2's Sam Lowes' twin brother.
Other big names who linked to Yamaha in World Superbike are those of Noriyuki Haga, Troy Corser, James Toseland, Marco Melandri and Cal Crutchlow, to mention just a few.
On the other hand, Crescent Racing is the only British team on the grid and comes with more than two decades of experience in British Superbike Championship, World Superbike and MotoGP. Valentino Rossi is also rumored to have something to do with this bike, too.
The pictured bike is a rendering by Samuel Laurora, and shows one of the possible liveries Yamaha might choose for the historic moment. It brings together the Yamaha racing blue and white scheme, with Pata's logo and Italian flag tri-color on both the sides and the tail section.
While extremely plausible, Laurora's design would also look great as a limited edition R1 street option to celebrate Yamaha's return to the World Superbike.
Even so, if you ask us, the biggest hit would still be a retro R1 with the yellow-black speedblock graphics...
Aside from "stealing" Honda's main sponsor for 2016, Yamaha also secured the services of a very promising rider duo. Crescent Pata Yamaha (in case this is the final name of the team) will field the 2014 Superbike World Champion Sylvain Guintoli and the 2013 British Superbike champion Alex Lowes astride the WSBK version of the R1. And in case you wonder, Alex is Moto2's Sam Lowes' twin brother.
Yamaha's return to WSBK comes with great expectations
It goes without saying that Yamaha has great expectations tied to their return to the World Superbike series. Iwata's factory team was absent from WSBK since 2011. Yamaha Motor Europe won their first WSBK title in 2009 with Ben Spies, who since went to MotoGP and subsequently retired due to injuries.Other big names who linked to Yamaha in World Superbike are those of Noriyuki Haga, Troy Corser, James Toseland, Marco Melandri and Cal Crutchlow, to mention just a few.
On the other hand, Crescent Racing is the only British team on the grid and comes with more than two decades of experience in British Superbike Championship, World Superbike and MotoGP. Valentino Rossi is also rumored to have something to do with this bike, too.
The pictured bike is a rendering by Samuel Laurora, and shows one of the possible liveries Yamaha might choose for the historic moment. It brings together the Yamaha racing blue and white scheme, with Pata's logo and Italian flag tri-color on both the sides and the tail section.
While extremely plausible, Laurora's design would also look great as a limited edition R1 street option to celebrate Yamaha's return to the World Superbike.
Even so, if you ask us, the biggest hit would still be a retro R1 with the yellow-black speedblock graphics...
Google News