Hiroyuki Yanagi Hiroyuki Yanagi Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. President

Upon achieving 500 victories in the World Championship, I highly appreciate the continued support for our racing activities and want to thank our Yamaha customers, sponsors and suppliers, and the Yamaha fans all over the world. In 1955, from the very beginning of our company, we as Yamaha have always been committed to racing and we took on the new challenge of the Grand Prix World Championship in 1961. The young company’s employees shared the conviction of the Yamaha founder - “It isn’t a product if it isn’t world-class”. The first bike made its debut on the world Grand Prix stage just six years after Yamaha’s establishment. Fumio Ito (250cc class) brought the first victory at the Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps) in 1963, Yamaha's first step towards the 500 victories milestone. For the half century that we have been racing in the premier class under the name Yamaha Factory Racing, we pay tribute to all our riders, who fought and still fight for victories, as well as our partners and the organisers, who are involved in racing, and also the highly skilled Yamaha engineers. We see this milestone as a starting point for pursuing further victories and assiduously continuing development. As the Kando* creating company, we aim to realise “Revs your Heart”. I ask for your continued engagement and support in these endeavours.

* Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.