After Yamaha entered the MotoGP World Championship under the Yamaha Factory Racing name in 1999, many riders have left their mark on the brand’s history.
The structure of the fingerboards is the one that has been regularly present in the world championship paddock for the longest time, writing its past, but also present and future in most of the displacements it has had the opportunity to accompany.
For years, Yamaha has been collecting the identity and charisma that each of the riders have left behind after passing through the team, inviting us to remember some of the emblematic stars that have posed under its spotlights.
Review with us the best ‘aces’ of Yamaha in MotoGP
The pilot who will preside over this list, in order of seniority, is Max Biaggi. Despite not shining as much as he would have liked in his career at Yamaha, ‘El Corsario’ starred in one of the most remembered historical duels among the two-wheeled fans.
To talk about this moment we have to go back to the South African Grand Prix in 2004. Biaggi and Rossi were involved in a relentless battle that led to Rossi’s first victory with the Japanese structure.
Biaggi reached the mark of the tuning forks in 1999 and disputed 64 Grand Prix with 8 victories and 28 podiums.
Carlos Checa also trusted Yamaha during 1999. The Spaniard signed with the structure of the fingerboards with Max Biaggi as a teammate. During his time with the official team, Carlos Checa took part in 95 races and was on the podium a total of 13 times.
This generation, following in the footsteps of the charismatic Norifumi Abe, served as a bridge to many other riders responsible for leaving their mark on Yamaha’s history. One of them is Marco Melandri in 2003. The Italian took part in thirteen tests with the Japanese factory and continues to be a historic stepping stone in Yamaha’s history.
Melandri also shares this list with Colin Edwards. ‘The Texas tornado’ reached out to Yamaha from 2005 to 2011, six years in which, despite not getting any wins, they savored the podium ten times.
A year after Melandri, Valentino Rossi arrived, the rider who marked an entire era and represented the colors of Yamaha during 255 Grand Prix, 56 of them with victory and 142 podiums behind him. The Italian spent 15 years of his life at Yamaha, with 2021 being his last season as a rider in the World Championship and thus putting an end to his idyllic history with the brand.
In 2008 Jorge Lorenzo arrived, and together with Yamaha he competed in 156 Grand Prix of his sports career, achieving victory on 44 occasions and reaching the podium a total of 107 times.
A year later, Yamaha welcomed Ben Spies. The American driver forged a bond with the factory that was reinforced during 32 Grands Prix, appointments in which he was able to achieve a total of four podium finishes and one victory.
Less than 10 years later, in 2017, Maverick Viñales arrived to leave his mark. The Spanish rider achieved eight victories at the hands of the tuning forks team, to which were added 24 podiums and a total of 78 grand prizes.
In 2021, a young man from Nice named Fabio Quartararo won his first world crown and became the first Frenchman in history to win a title. Quartararo engraved his name in gold letters and ran as champion in a season in which he completed 18 Grands Prix with the team, adding five wins and ten podium finishes.
