Press Release | July 3, 2024
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team & Yamaha Corp will continue their collaboration into the 2024 season of MotoGP racing.
This is a press release from Yamaha…
Gerno di Lesmo, Italy (July 1, 2024) – Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Corporation aim to create new harmonies between their companies. With Yamaha Corporation all set as an Official Sponsor of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team, they will collaborate throughout the remainder of the 2024 season.
Today, the 1st of July, 2024, marks Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.’s 69th anniversary. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. is delighted to use this auspicious occasion to confirm Yamaha Corporation as an Official Sponsor of the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team for the 2024 MotoGP World Championship.
Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Corporation are natural partners as they share history, sensibilities, and passion for performance, fine-tuning, and technical excellence.
Though from 1955 onwards the two Yamaha companies went their own way focusing on their respective market sectors, their core values and company culture of promoting curiosity and innovation remain central.
The shared history and values are commemorated every year by both companies on July 1st as well as on October 12th, both known as ‘Yamaha Day’. On those days they celebrate Yamaha Motor’s and Yamaha Corporation’s founding respectively, as well as the synergy between the two companies.
Thanks to the new collaboration between Yamaha Corporation and the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team, Yamaha fans can now look forward to many more shared undertakings from the two Yamaha companies during the remainder of the 2024 MotoGP season as they explore their common heritage and the similarities in their current endeavours.
TAKAHIRO SUMI | GM, Motor Sports Development Div., Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
Today marks Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.’s 69th anniversary, making it the perfect occasion to confirm the strong bond and partnership between Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Corporation.
The two companies share not just a rich history but also the same values and company culture. A passion for new technology, innovation, and the drive to keep fine-tuning and looking for ways of improvement are at the heart of both Yamahas. These shared sentiments and origin make our companies forever intertwined. Still, we can only imagine that to have both companies collaborate and work so closely together 137 years after the birth of the Yamaha brand*, as well as all that both companies have achieved, would have filled the company founder Torakusu Yamaha with Kando**.
*1887, when Torakusu Yamaha repaired an organ at an elementary school in Hamamatsu, and he succeeded in producing an organ in the same year.
**Kando: A Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.
TSUYOSHI YOSHIKAWA | GM, Corporate Marketing Division, Yamaha Corporation
At Yamaha Corporation, we share a passion for pushing the limits.
Sponsoring the Yamaha MotoGP team allows us to explore our shared spirit of innovation and defying expectations.
We see their dedication mirrored in the artistry of our own diverse product creation, and we’re fired up to be part of their journey to victory on the world stage.
THE HISTORY OF THE YAMAHA BRANDS
The Yamaha brand name is derived from the name of the company’s founder, Torakusu Yamaha. He was fascinated with modern technology and became a pioneer in the manufacture of Western-style musical instruments. His keenness to learn about music and different instruments led to the establishment of Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd. (which is now Yamaha Corporation) on 12th October, 1897. The Yamaha founder’s dedication and perseverance whilst learning the new skill of tuning instruments is symbolically depicted by the three tuning forks in the Yamaha logo.
Yamaha Corporation’s philosophy to this day is to use its ‘unique expertise and sensibilities, gained from our devotion to sound and music, and commit to creating excitement and cultural inspiration together with people around the world’.
A fondness to explore new and exhilarating opportunities is not only at the heart of Yamaha’s origin story, but it also remains a key value. The love for innovation has led to many business adventures. In the present day, Yamaha Corporation and its group companies offer pianos, keyboard instruments, string instruments, brass & woodwinds, drums, percussion instruments, professional and home audio equipment, unified communication products, and also opened Yamaha Music Schools.
It wasn’t until 1st July, 1955 that Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., a dedicated motorcycle division, was founded. The production of their first product, the 125cc Yamaha motorcycle “YA-1”, began that same year. The YA-1 went on to win the 125cc class of the 3rd Mount Fuji Ascent Race and captured the first three places at the 1st All Japan Autobike Endurance Road Race (Asama Highlands Race) in the Ultralight (125cc) class in 1955.
The early success was a promise of the many racing successes to come.
In 1958, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. took 6th place in its first attempt at the 8th Catalina Grand Prix in the U.S., which was Yamaha’s international racing debut. In 1963, the first world-class accolade came when Yamaha won its first 250cc class road race in World GP (Belgium GP) and, in 1965, its first 250cc-class victory at the Daytona Grand Prix (U.S.).
In 1972, Yamaha won its first 250cc-class race in the Motocross World GP at Round 10 (Swedish GP). At the next round (Luxembourg GP) Yamaha won its first Motocross World GP 500cc-class race. Two years later, Yamaha won manufacturer titles in all classes of the road race World GP: 125cc, 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc.
The on-track success continued, resulting in Yamaha reaping rewards in all motorcycle disciplines across the world. The fast-developing technology that was tried and tested in the racing classes was applied to consumer motorcycle models. Meanwhile, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., like Yamaha Corporation, was not shy to explore new avenues and ventured into creating scooters, snowmobiles, outboard marine motors, Waverunners (personal watercrafts aka PWCs), ATVs recreation off-highway vehicles, golf carts, lawn mowers, remotely piloted helicopters, e-bikes, robots, and more.
In 1999, Yamaha‘s wholly-owned full Factory Team in MotoGP was founded following the retirement of Grand Prix racing legend Wayne Rainey, who had run a factory-supported team in the 500cc class the previous two years.
Yamaha’s Factory MotoGP Team is run by Yamaha Motor Racing Srl (a daughter company of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.), based in Gerno di Lesmo, Italy, as of 2005. Their efforts have earned Yamaha 8 MotoGP World Championship wins, 6 Constructor Titles, and 7 Team Titles, including 4 Triple Crowns, between 1999 and 2024.
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