Yamaha reveals another fancy retro livery, this time for Suzuka 8 Hours
Just like it did at the Dutch MotoGP, Yamaha has taken inspiration from the past with its Suzuka 8 Hours livery.
Continuing its 70th anniversary celebrations in style, Yamaha has unveiled a new one-off livery ahead of its Suzuka 8 Hours challenge on August 3. And it looks nearly identical to last week’s beautiful Noriyuki Haga-inspired M1 MotoGP bike.
But while it looks like a case of copycat from Yamaha, it takes nothing away as the R1 looks stunning, plus, it’s a livery we’ll never tire of seeing.
Sure, last weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix burst into life thanks to great racing, but it also did so when Yamaha pulled the covers off its M1 bike, which can be seen here, as it revisited a livery that was used by Haga 26 years ago.
But there are some subtle differences when it comes to the Suzuka 8 Hours bike that will be ridden by World Superbike rider Andrea Locatelli, Katsuyuki Nakasuga and the team’s headline addition for 2025, Jack Miller.
The tank and side fairings are the same, and feature a lovely white and red combination. However the front of the bike is slightly altered, with the winglets fully coated in black, as is the front part of the bodywork where the team features its race number. That area of the bike was instead predominantly white during last weekend’s 100th Dutch TT.
The updated colours for this year’s race also mark Yamaha’s first retro-themed livery at Suzuka since 2019. The reveal of the Suzuka 8 Hours colours took place during a team launch at the Japanese track, as Yamaha took part in a private test ahead of next month’s race.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Suzuka 8 Hours, it’s the golden boy of races when it comes to all the Japanese brands, and is seen as a must-win event for each of them. Honda was victorious in last year’s event with Johann Zarco forming part of the HRC squad, while Yamaha claimed second place.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
