Yamaha Motor Newsletter March 30, 2018 (Issue No. 63) The “Rev” in Yamaha’s Businesses Preparing the Next Generation of Racing Stars Creating a Ladder to MotoGP in Southeast Asia Hafizh Syahrin is the first Malaysian rider to secure a full-time MotoGP ride. At Round 1 in Qatar, he finished in 14th place, taking his first premier-class championship points and getting his rookie season off to a solid start. It’s spring, which means the 2018 motorsports season has finally begun. Yamaha’s riders and teams are set to challenge once again for titles in road racing and motocross, from national and regional series to world championships. The riders in particular carry the weight of their fan’s expectations and fly the banner for their teams, and since they are chosen from among a wide field of prospects, they are also often seen as heroes. The scenes of them locked in on-track battles and the race victories they secure serve to create new Kando* and add greater luster to the Yamaha brand. Yamaha has been continuously active in motorsports since its founding and is constantly working to discover and develop young talent in order to pass on its racing tradition and passion to the next generation. In this issue, we introduce some of those efforts in motorcycle road racing and its pinnacle class of MotoGP. *Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value. Yamaha Motor Newsletter 1 To the Premier Class: A Hero who have honed their skills in this Who Once Raced Underbones series and made the jump to racing in Europe and other international series is In mid-February, one month before the on the rise. MotoGP season-opener in Qatar, Syahrin’s selection for the Tech3 Monster Yamaha Tech3 team manager team is a brilliant achievement that Hervé Poncharal chose 23-year-old also speaks volumes of the surge in Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin to fill-in popularity of road racing seen in ASEAN at the official test in Buriram, Thailand. countries. He became the first rider to He commented on the prospective go from underbone racing to achieving rookie’s performance on the every rider’s dream of competing in MotoGP.com website. MotoGP. “It was a good surprise! You have to keep in mind that Hafizh was ASEAN Cup: Tapping into absolutely unprepared [for riding in Southeast Asia’s Talent MotoGP], that he was heading for his Moto2 project. [He took last year’s Yamaha and Southeast Asia have a bike] for these three days of testing long history together. From the early and finished only 1.7 seconds from the 1960s when Yamaha was making its best laptime.” first forays overseas, factory teams Just a few days later he would be would be sent to participate in major officially welcomed to the team’s lineup races in countries like Malaysia and to replace Jonas Folger, who is out for Singapore with the goals of branding the season. “We had to give him a and boosting motorcycle sales. The tough task during the three days of TD-1 production racer was also testing in Buriram. In the end, he did a introduced to help promote the spread tremendous job; he fulfilled the and popularization of road racing. mission. I know this is going to be something historical, because it’s the first time that a Malaysian rider is racing a full season on a MotoGP bike and we know how popular our sport in this part of the world is,” said Poncharal. In Southeast Asian motorcycle markets, 100–150cc underbone machines are commonplace, and local/club and national races using these bikes has long been popular in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Adding in China, India, Japan, the Philippines and other countries, the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) was established in 1996, holding races in each country. The series is currently comprised of the SuperSports 600cc (SS600) class at the top, with the Asia Production 250cc (AP250) class, Underbone 150cc (UB150) class and other class races With the ASEAN Cup, Yamaha worked to elevate the level of racing overall with riding clinics put on by top below it. Recently, the number of riders riders, providing support for mechanics and more. Yamaha Motor Newsletter 2 Starting in the 1980s, Yamaha’s group companies, local distributors and dealerships took the lead and began running initiatives in their respective countries, such as hosting one-make Yamaha Cup Races, setting up the Yamaha Riding Academy program to improve rider skills, supporting domestic championships and even providing training for instructors, all aimed at increasing the number of Syahrin is also a graduate like racers and raising the level of Pradita and Kraisart, winning the competition. Novice Class at the 6th ASEAN Cup The Yamaha ASEAN Cup Race was when he was 14. After gaining also one of those initiatives, a experience in Moto2 he has returned to one-make race that began in 2003 and Yamaha. Will he become the shining brought together riders that won their star of Southeast Asia? It will be countries’ respective qualifiers to fascinating to see how he progresses as compete. It was an event where riders a rookie over the long, 19-round and mechanics from various ASEAN MotoGP season. countries came together and tested Syahrin won the Yamaha ASEAN Cup Race in 2009 and their skills against each other using the has now fulfilled the dream he spoke of after his win: “I want to someday become a MotoGP rider.” same spec machines (mainly underbones) to learn and grow. Training the Next Generation: Winners that cleared a certain set of Finding the World’s Next Rossi conditions would receive Yamaha support like rider and mechanic While the ASEAN Cup showed steady training and the lending of racebikes results with rider development, with an eye on helping them eventually Yamaha reaffirmed its global step up to the ARRC, the All Japan Road motorsports strategy in 2015—its 60th Race Championship or even world anniversary. As part of that, Yamaha championships. began to create a new roadmap for The first heroes the Yamaha ASEAN ambitious young riders to reach the Cup Race produced include Indonesian world level. rider Doni Tata Pradita and Thai rider The first step on that roadmap is Decha Kraisart. Pradita won the very the ARRC. To facilitate the switch from first ASEAN Cup event in the Novice underbones to motorcycles, Yamaha Class when he was 12 and then built up pushed for the AP250 class to be experience in Indonesia and Japan established with 250cc supersport before making his GP debut with a bikes eligible for entry. And from 2013, wildcard in the 250cc World the ASEAN Cup included a class using Championship (currently the Moto2 the YZF-R15 and then the YZF-R25 the class) at the age of 17. Kraisart entered following year to take this effort across the Expert Class of the Cup from its all of Southeast Asia. first to fifth event and achieved Then in 2015, Yamaha positioned excellent results before switching from racing in Japan as its central base for an underbone to a YZF-R6 and entered developing racing technology and the ARRC’s SS600 class and the ST600 personnel and began a global class of the All Japan Championship, personnel development program in taking three titles in the process. coordination with its subsidiaries throughout Southeast Asia. This took Yamaha Motor Newsletter 3 form with 6 teams from Australia, Hong Southeast Asia to the world level, as he Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and contests a full season in WSSP300. Thailand fielding 13 riders on R25s. “Yamaha engages in motorsports The following year, an official across the world to raise the value of SS600 Yamaha team was also put our brand, acquire technology to then together to function as an objective for incorporate our products and promote riders in the lower classes to aim for. In the healthy spread of racing culture. A addition, the Master Camp was created vital part of these efforts is to find a in cooperation with the VR46 Riders young rider to inherit the Yamaha Academy, Valentino Rossi’s training racing spirit from Valentino Rossi and program for young Italian racers. Held Maverick Viñales, and train and for about a week at the Academy’s develop him or her ourselves,” says training facilities and at the Misano Keitaro Horikoshi, the General Manager World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, the of Yamaha’s Motor Sports Strategy Academy’s staff and regular riders Division. provide instruction to the lucky “For example, if we are able to find participants. and nurture a champion from Asian riders racing in the AP250 Southeast Asia, which is the biggest class were selected to participate in the motorcycle market in the world, it first and second editions of the Camp in 2016 and the experience gave them renewed determination to aim for the world level and make their dreams a reality. The first of these attendees to really stand out was Thai rider Apiwat Wongthananon. In 2016, the year he joined the Master Camp, he won 8 of 12 races in the AP250 class’ six rounds to win the title. He went on to compete in Riders from a wider area were chosen for the Master the CEV Moto3 Junior World Camp in 2017, including Europe, North America, Championship in 2017 and also made a Oceania and South America. Of them, Italian Alfonso wildcard appearance at the ARRC Coppola will be moving up from WSSP300 to the World Supersport Championship in 2018.