50th Anniversary Yamaha Special Edition R1? Yes Please!
When Yamaha unveiled its 50th anniversary edition red and white livery for its M1 MotoGP machines in May, one question came immediately to mind: when can we get the special edition R1?
The red and white design was created to celebrate Yamaha‘s 50th year in Grand Prix racing. Yamaha factory racers Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies debuted the livery at the Assen round in June, which saw the American Spies nab his first a career MotoGP win.
According to the Britain’s MCN, Yamaha is set to reveal special editions of an updated-for-2012 Yamaha YZF-R1, a cosmetically updated YZF-R6, as well as an FZ8 and a YZF-R125 for the U.K. market. MCN is basing this news on new (but empty) folders found on Yamaha’s press site.
Of course, just because the red and white colors will be offered in the U.K., that doesn’t mean American customers will get the same option.
On the other hand, Yamaha used the red and white M1 in both the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and the Indianapolis Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Those two rounds, as well as the TT Assen, were the only three races so far this season Yamaha elected to use the red and white livery, so it would only be a surprise if Yamaha Motor USA decides NOT to offer a special edition R1, R6 or FZ8 (of course, it would still be a surprise if Yamaha finally decides to import the small displacement YZF-R125 to the U.S.)
And don’t forget the one-off red and white Kenny Roberts R1 that was recently auctioned to raise $87,000 for charity. We know they have the template. Let’s see that special edition 2012 Yamaha R1 already!
[Source: MCN]
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Dennis has been a part of the Motorcycle.com team since 2008, and through his tenure, has developed a firm grasp of industry trends, and a solid sense of what's to come. A bloodhound when it comes to tracking information on new motorcycles, if there's a new model on the horizon, you'll probably hear about it from him first.
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