Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team has revealed its new look for the 46th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race, Japan’s round of the FIM Endurance World Championship.
With Yamaha Motor turning 70 in 2025 and returning to the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours with a factory team for the first time in six years, it has adopted a special red and white livery based on the 1999 YZF-R7 production race bike.
As Yamaha’s top team in the EWC, YART will carry the red and white colour scheme together with Yamaha Racing Team when both squads going for Suzuka glory from 1-3 August.
The leathers worn by riders Marvin Fritz, Karel Hanika and Jason O’Halloran, along with the shirts worn by all the team staff, and the pit garage itself, will be fully coordinated in red and white throughout the Suzuka weekend.
Red and white colours were first carried on a Yamaha racing motorcycle in 1964. In 1973 they adorned the YZR500 (0W20) for Yamaha’s first full season challenge in the 500cc world championship. Since then, it has become a symbolic colour scheme for Yamaha race bikes.
YART Team Manager Mandy Kainz said: “This year’s special livery for the Suzuka 8 Hours is truly amazing. I remember the OW02, called the YZF-R7, was the bike that inspired me to join the Yamaha family 26 years ago. I actually have an R7 displayed in my office, so every time I go to work, I get to see it. And now to race the R1 in the same colours in the 8 Hours is just awesome. These are my dream colours, so of course it’s a present to the fans, but also a present to me.
“When I first started riding, Yamaha bikes were red and white, and those iconic machines were the ones I wanted to ride so badly. I still have vivid memories of that, and when I think about those days, the red and white Yamahas are what stand out. We’ve won two titles (2009/2023) with red and white Yamahas, and I hope to make it a third in these colours in 2025.”
YART tops the FIM Endurance World Championship for Teams after two rounds with an 18-point advantage over Kawasaki Webike Trickstar. It finished runner-up in the 45th Coca-Cola Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race last July.
Original Source [ FIM EWC ]
