In 2015, Yamaha Motor celebrated its 60th anniversary and debuted an all-new YZF-R1. For the Suzuka 8 Hours, Yamaha brought back its full factory team for the first time in 13 years, and underscored its return in the best way possible by taking Yamaha’s fifth victory in the event and its first in 19 years since Noriyuki Haga and Colin Edwards’ win in 1996. Yamaha faced the 2016 Suzuka 8 Hours under the theme of being “the fastest challenger” and clinched back-to-back wins, a feat not seen since the repeat wins of Martin Wimmer/Kevin Magee in 1987 and Wayne Rainey/Kevin Magee in 1988.

For 2017, the #21 Yamaha Factory Racing Team is on a mission into unknown territory: to achieve what no Yamaha team has ever done before at Suzuka by taking a third consecutive victory. Now in the third year since its return, this year’s event will be a true test of the team’s full potential.

Shouldering this important task will be All Japan Road Race JSB1000 superstar, Katsuyuki Nakasuga, and World Superbike teammates and previous Suzuka 8 Hours winners, Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark from the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team. Without question, the three fastest R1 riders in the world have been assembled for this year.

The team will once again be managed by Yamaha’s All Japan factory team manager, Wataru Yoshikawa. The wealth of data collected during the previous two races has been used to further evolve and refine the factory-spec YZF-R1’s reliability, fuel efficiency, on-track performance and various other factors needed in the Suzuka 8 Hours. A third-straight win by the Yamaha Factory Racing Team will illustrate the full potential of the team, its riders and the Yamaha brand to the world.