Yamaha YZF-R1 ‘track only’ in Europe from 2025
But Yamaha superbike to remain on sale in Oz for “foreseeable future”Yamaha’s YZF-R1 will not form part of Europe’s road-registrable sportsbike line-up from 2025 onwards, after the Japanese firm announced it won’t make the necessary updates required for the superbike to meet Euro5+ homologation requirements.
However, in good news for Aussie buyers, Australia doesn’t need to comply with the emission mandates at the same time as Europe does, and Yamaha Australia has confirmed both the YZF-R1 and YZF-R1M machines will remain on sale in Australian dealerships for “the foreseeable future”.
It’s the same fate the R1’s 600cc supersport sibling faced in late 2020, when it was announced the YZF-R6 would be sold as a track-only bike in Europe from 2021 onwards. The R6 remained on sale in Australian dealerships for another 12 months before being relegated to a track-only bike from 2022 onwards.
Despite no longer having a production road bike on the global market from next year onwards, Yamaha says it “remains fully committed to racing the R1 in the premier production race classes worldwide, including the FIM Superbike and Endurance World Championships.
“This commitment also extends to supporting teams and customers who race Yamaha’s flagship Supersport model or utilise it as the ultimate track tool.”
Following the WorldSBK World Championship curtain-raiser held at Phillip Island at the end of March, the factory Yamaha squad recorded mixed results. Andrea Locatelli now sits third overall behind Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) and Nicola Bulega (Ducati). Teammate and six-time world champ Jonathon Rea failed to score a point on his debut aboard the Yamaha YZF-R1.
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