2005 Yamaha Royal Star Trike 1300cc V-four on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Yamaha Named Official Motorcycle Of Road America

The economic downturn hit the motorcycle world particularly hard, as many factory-backed road racing efforts closed shop. The decision, while unfortunate, isn’t hard to understand, as racing at the highest levels isn’t cheap, and a factory involvement means added pressure to succeed, which ultimately means spending more money to do so. Through it all, however, Yamaha has remained involved with the sport, fielding factory teams and sponsoring various riding schools and even racetracks.

Lorenzo Signs Two-Year Extension with Yamaha

Two-time MotoGP Champion Jorge Lorenzo has signed a contract extension with Yamaha to see him race on the company’s factory team through the 2016 season. The signing comes as no real surprise, following similar two-year contract extensions for teammate Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. Ducati also confirmed it would field Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone next season, so unless Lorenzo wanted to spend a season or two developing Suzuki‘s or Aprilia‘s new prototypes, Lorenzo’s only option for a factory ride was to re-sign with Yamaha.

MotoGP to Hold Official Test in Argentina; South American Nation Returning to Calendar for 2014

Dorna Sports announced there will be a MotoGP test at Argentina’s Circuito Internacional Termas de Rio Hondo in July to allow teams to prepare for the track’s expected addition to the 2014 MotoGP calendar. Argentina was actually supposed to join the MotoGP tour this season, but the round was scrapped because of a dispute between the country and Spain after the Argentine government seized control of a Repsol subsidiary. Repsol is, of course, a prominent sponsor of several teams including Honda‘s factory team.