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Yamaha Racing Team Riders Gather in Suzuka as Anniversary YZF-R1 Livery Breaks Cover
July 4, 2025 – At a private test on July 3-4, 2025, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. unveiled a special red and white livery for the Yamaha Racing Team’s YZF-R1, which will be featured in the 46th edition of the FIM Endurance World Championship "Coca-Cola" Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race.
Red and white colors were first seen on a Yamaha racebike in 1964, and in 1973 they adorned the YZR500 (0W20) for Yamaha’s first full season challenge in the 500cc world championship. Since then, it has become a symbolic color for Yamaha racebikes.
This year, as Yamaha Motor celebrates the 70th anniversary of its 1955 founding and makes its return to the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours with a factory team for the first time in six years, the Yamaha Racing Team have adopted this special livery on the YZF-R1 to represent Yamaha's ongoing spirit of challenge. The design is based on the 1999 YZF-R7 production racebike, but for 2025, this livery blends the 1990s look and feel of the R7 with new design elements like updated speed blocks and others.
The leathers worn by riders Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Jack Miller and Andrea Locatelli, along with the shirts worn by all the team staff, and the pit garage itself will be fully coordinated in red and white throughout the 8 Hours race weekend.
Katsuyuki Nakasuga
“I’ve been racing a long time, and through my career I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of some of Yamaha’s big milestones. I’ve raced with some special liveries, and I’ve always felt honored to do that, so to be racing in the 1999 YZF-R7 colors for this year’s 8 Hours is another point of pride for me. I feel like we have to get a result worthy of these colors, so there’s some extra pressure. “About the livery itself, I love it! I think it’s really cool. I’ve ridden red and white Yamaha liveries before, like the speed block design, and I’ve ridden in black and yellow, too. But this feels different from any of those, so I’m really looking forward taking this year’s bike out on track. Just like I’ve done in the past, I’ll be focused on getting a great result for the team.”
Jack Miller
“Obviously, I'm extremely excited to be able to wear the red and white for the Suzuka 8 Hours. It’s a massive honor for me to be able to run these colors, especially in the 70th anniversary for Yamaha. These colors mean a lot when I think about legendary colors. Like Agostini’s championship win in 1975 in the magnificent red-and-white colors. It’s a big pleasure to wear these fantastic colors at a race like the Suzuka 8 Hours.”
Andrea Locatelli
“I’m really happy to use this iconic color scheme for Yamaha, and I will be in the Suzuka 8 Hours with this livery. All the leathers, all the helmets will be ready for this race, and for sure it will be amazing for our 70 years anniversary.”
Team Manager Wataru Yoshikawa
“Like the YZF450 that came before it, the YZF-R7 this livery is based on was a special machine designed as a base bike to win races with. I actually helped develop the R7, making some decisions on the frame rigidity and other areas. It was Yamaha’s first fuel-injected racebike, so in the first half of the JSB1000 season I struggled on it, but in the second half we got it right and won the title with it, so it holds a lot of memories for me.
“At that time, I was a factory rider, but even before that when I was much younger, I remember seeing the factory teams using the red and white speed block designs, so it was something I really looked up to. I told myself that one day I’d be a factory rider and win the title on a bike like that. So back then, those colors gave me extra motivation.
“This year is Yamaha Motor’s 70th anniversary, and we’ll be racing a red and white machine once again in the 8 Hours. As a team, we haven’t competed here since 2019, and we’ll be aiming to fight at the front and take a victory worthy of this special anniversary livery.
