This year the Assen TT will play host to a number of very special activities as Yamaha marks its 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix Racing at the Dutch round of the 2011 MotoGP Championship. The Japanese manufacturer will bring its glorious racing heritage alive for fans around the world with an Exposition of classic Grand Prix racing machines and a breathtaking parade of race bikes on the legendary circuit, ridden by iconic riders from Yamaha’s former victories.
The Yamaha Exposition will display a unique collection of 14 Yamaha Grand Prix Racing machines including, from 1965, Phil Read’s World Championship-winning 250cc RD56. The collection travels forward in time right up to Jorge Lorenzo’s 2010 YZR-M1, the current World Champion machine.
The machines, all original and in mint condition, have been sourced from Yamaha’s Communication Plaza (Yamaha’s Iwata based corporate exhibition facilities), Yamaha Motor Racing Srl and Ferry Brouwer’s Yamaha Classic Racing Team collection. They represent Yamaha’s highlights of 50 years of Grand Prix racing.
The classic race machines on display will be supported by historic items including photos and videos from key points in Yamaha’s Grand Prix racing story. The exposition will be organised at hotel and event centre ’De Bonte Wever’ in Assen, just 2.5 km from the TT circuit and will be open to the public from Thursday 23rd to Monday 27th June; admission is free. For opening hours and more information, please visit www.yamaha-racing.com . At the Exposition voluntary donations will be collected to donate to the Japanese Red Cross Society (50%) and Riders for Health (50%).
The Assen Anniversary Expo will be first of a series that can be found on yamaha-racing.com.
Race day at Assen will witness a rare occasion for fans as iconic classic race machines will take to the track for a parade lap. Yamaha’s famous historic red and white racing colours will be echoing the ‘YZR-M1 WGP50th Anniversary Edition’ livery that will be used by Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies for the MotoGP race.
In cooperation with Dorna, the Assen TT and the Yamaha Classic Racing Team Yamaha will be privileged to share some of the special moments of Yamaha’s racing heritage. There is special significance as Assen is the only circuit that was already on the calendar when the Grand Prix series started in 1949. The provisional timing and more information about the parade will be shared on www.yamaha-racing.com between 8th and 10th of June.
