In 2015, Yamaha Motor celebrated its 60th anniversary and to coincide with the release of the all-new 8th-generation YZF-R1, Yamaha brought back the Yamaha Factory Racing Team—along with its iconic #21 race number—for the first time in 13 years. Since its return, the team has won a record-setting four 8 Hours in a row.

The 38th Suzuka 8 Hours in 2015 marked Yamaha’s return to the event and the team featured All Japan star Katsuyuki Nakasuga and MotoGP riders Pol Espargaró and Bradley Smith. The trio stormed to 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 by bringing World Superbike (WorldSBK) contender Alex Lowes into its line-up alongside Nakasuga and Espargaró. The team 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. In 2017 at the commemorative 40th Suzuka 8 Hours, Yamaha fielded an all-R1 rider squad of Nakasuga, Lowes and Michael van der Mark and the three accomplished what had eluded every Yamaha team to date: three straight victories. While carving out a new piece of racing history, they also illustrated the true potential of the YZF-R1.

Taking place two decades after the R1’s introduction in 1998, the 41st Suzuka 8 Hours was a chance to stamp the flagship superbike’s place into annals of motorcycle racing with an unprecedented fourth consecutive win. Nakasuga, Lowes and van der Mark once again teamed up to accomplish the task. Although Nakasuga was forced to sit out the race due to an unfortunate injury during the leadup, the team worked together to take a thrilling fourth win in a row, bringing added glory to the R1’s 20th anniversary.

The same three challengers will line up for the third year running to contest the 42nd Suzuka 8 Hours this year. Thanks to the vast amount of data gathered through racing in the All Japan JSB1000 Championship and in the 8 Hours since 2015, the factory-spec YZF-R1 the team will pilot has been polished in nearly every area, from reliability and fuel efficiency to raw handling and performance. Furthermore, the bike’s livery for the 2019 race is a revival of the same “Yamaha TECH21 Team” colour scheme from 1985 that gave birth to the team’s iconic #21 race number, which is all the more fitting as this year is the R1’s 21st year. In addition to the team’s principal goal of taking an unrivalled fifth consecutive win, bringing back the TECH21 livery—one of the defining fixtures of the Suzuka 8 Hours in the ‘80s—is part of Yamaha’s desire to reignite the excitement from one of the most exciting periods in Japanese motorsports history.

*This does not indicate that Shiseido Company, Limited will relaunch or resell the “SHISEIDO TECH21” line of men’s cosmetics previously sold in Japan.