International Dealer News IDN 137 June/July 2017 | Page 15

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Yamaha hits 500th Grand Prix racing
victory milestone
Yamaha is celebrating a momentous
landmark in its successful motorcycle
racing history with Maverick Viñales
having secured their 500th race win at
the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race
circuit in France.
The Fédération Internationale de
Motocyclisme (FIM, the global
governing body of motorcycle racing)
has officially declared that, according
to their statistical records, Yamaha has
enjoyed victories in the 125cc (47
wins), 250cc (165 wins), 350cc (63
wins), 500cc (120 wins) and MotoGP
class (105 wins), adding up to a
sensational 500 Grand Prix wins in
total.
Out of all Yamaha riders, current
MotoGP class racer Valentino Rossi is
the biggest achiever. His love story
with the YZR-M1 has been going
strong for many years and has resulted
in 55 wins to date. Teammate Viñales
has only been competing as part of the
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team for
five races, but has established an
impressive 60% victory rate on the
Yamaha, thanks to his wins in Qatar,
Argentina and France.
Yamaha‘s list of Grand Prix victors is
full of legends - Jorge Lorenzo (44
wins), Phil Read (39 wins), Eddie
Lawson (26 wins), Wayne Rainey (24
wins), Kenny Roberts Sr. (24 wins), Bill
Ivy (21 wins), Carlos Lavado (19 wins),
Luca Cadalora (13 wins), Giacomo
Agostini (12 wins), and many more.
To give an overview of the magnitude
of the effort put in by all its Grand Prix
riders, Yamaha has created a micro
website, which features a special
500th victory video, an infograph,
some of the best historical
photographs of Yamaha‘s 56-year
Grand Prix racing run, as well as
overviews of all the victories, riders
and bikes that made this massive
achievement possible.
www.yamahamotogp.com/500
-victories
HP4 RACE has carbon fibre monocoque chassis
BMW has released details for its
much anticipated new HP4 race
bike, with 750 models planned
to be “individually crafted for
top performance on the race
track”.
The company says that
“advancedtechnical solutions
for maximum performance on
the race track have always been
the hallmark of hand-picked
factory racing motorcycles
modified to perfection down to
the last detail. With the new
HP4 RACE, BMW Motorrad
presents a purebred racing bike
in a production run of 750. It is
individually crafted by a small,
highly specialised team,
ensuring the very highest level
of quality.
“In terms of engine, electronics
and spring elements, the new
HP4 RACE is in the same
category as current superbike
factory racing machines, even
surpassing this level in the area
of suspension with its carbon
fibre frame. Weighing 171
kilograms when fully fuelled
and road ready, the new HP4
RACE is even lighter than the
factory racing bikes currently
used in the Superbike World
Championship and is only
slightly above the MotoGP
factory racers in terms of
weight.
BMW had been known to be
working on carbon fibre chassis
technology, and with the HP4
RACE BMW say they are “the
first motorcycle manufacturer in
the world to present a main
frame made entirely of carbon
fibre and produced industrially
in small series, thereby making
this future-oriented technology
available for anyone to
purchase.”
The frame weighs just 7.8 kg,
with front and rear wheels also
in carbon fibre, enabling a
weight reduction of
approximately 30 per cent as
compared to light alloy forged
wheels, while retaining a
“deliberately rigid” design.