Yamaha has decided to drop the curtain on its rally program, bringing an end to an era for the manufacturer. After 44 rallies, Yamaha announced it will not be participating in the iconic Dakar Rally as well as other FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship. This effectively makes the 2022 Dakar Rally, the manufacturer's last hurrah at Dakar that was held in Saudi Arabia, and saw the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team riders Adrien van Beveren and Andrew Short finish in fourth and eighth place respectively. Yamaha is the only brand that has featured in every Dakar Rally since its inception.
Yamaha's Adrien van Beveren finished 4th overall in the 2022 Dakar Rally
The manufacturer's association dates back to the very first edition in 1979 with Frenchman Cyril Neveu taking victory on the Yamaha XT500 and following that up with a second win a year later. Dakar Legend Stéphane Peterhansel scored a record six victories for Yamaha in the 1990s with Italian Edi Orioli adding to Yamaha's success in Africa with victory in the 1997 edition. In more recent times, the WR450F 2-Trac saw a lot of success in the 400 cc Super Production category. Rider David Frétigné finished best in class in the 2004 and 2005 rallies. He went on to finish third overall at the first South American edition in 2009. Hélder Rodrigues finished on podium in 2011 and 2012 while rider Olivier Pain finished third in 2014.
Yamaha brought the WR450F Rally in 2015 with the Monster Energy Yamaha Rally Team and the team went on to finish in the top 10 on several occasions. Rider Adrien van Beveren missed out on winning the 2018 edition with just a few kilometres before the finish line. This just could be one of the reasons why the manufacturer wants to quite the championship, especially with Honda and KTM's dominance over the past couple of years.
Yamaha has been a part of the Dakar Rally since its inception in 1979 and dominated it during the 1990s and early 2000s
Speaking about Yamaha's exit from Dakar, Eric de Seynes, President, Chief Executive Officer, Yamaha Motor Europe said, "Our off-road customers now have different expectations and they look for different products, and we must cater for these if we are to stay connected. It is for this reason we have decided to end our long history on two wheels at the Dakar Rally and in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, while simultaneously strengthening our commitment to racing the Dakar on four wheels with the Yamaha YXZ1000R SSV. However Yamaha's commitment to Rally Raid events with motorcycles is not over, but our future engagement must have a closer connection to our customers and their aspirations, developing further the Ténéré 700 potential towards a direction that will enable them to rediscover the more adventurous side of Rallies."
Yamaha will continue to support the SSV class at Dakar with its Yamaha YXZ1000R prototype project. The company will also shift focus to meeting evolving customer requirements in the off-road sector, considering the future introduction of the new Tenere World Raid. This will be based on the brand's popular adventure offering, the Tenere 700.
