You love Valentino Rossi, we love Valentino Rossi, Yamaha loves Valentino Rossi. In fact, they love the nine-time MotoGP star so much that they’ve designed a motorbike in his honour; the Yamaha R1 GYTR VR46 Tribute.

Made to celebrate his illustrious 26 year career on the track, this beauty of a bike was revealed live to the world at EICMA 2021– that’s the Milan Motorcycle Show for the less travelled of us. With a neon paint scheme inspired by The Doctor himself, the R1 GYTR VR46 livery has been produced by Aldo Drudi, Rossi’s own long-time helmet designer and friend.

It’s no surprise that after 425 race starts, 235 podiums, 115 wins and nine world championship titles that one of the world’s greatest motorcycle riders gets such a significant love letter from one of the top motorbike manufacturers in the world. Not only was it revealed for the first time on an international stage, it was also presented to Rossi for the One More Lap event at EICMA in all its glory. AND he’ll get to ride it at the Misano circuit.

The spec parts of this fantastic superbike and unique features all stem from Yamaha’s WorldSBK development. All that work contributed to Yamaha achieving the 2021 WorldSBK Triple Crown; The Riders’ Championship, Teams’ Championship and Manufacturers’ Championship. After 12 years without a Riders’ Championship and 14 without a Manufacturers’ Title, Yamaha returned to its place at the top of the world motorbike standings.

So what does the R1 GYTR VR46 2021 feature, you ask. Well, it showcases a new carbon fibre fairing and full carbon rear subframe and an increased 22L tank capacity, all with weight-saving in mind so you can fly across the track in style. Not only that, the Brembo brakes provide phenomenal stopping power in a flash while the ECU REX 140 Marelli delivers world-class power performance.

You can watch the trailer for this beauty here:

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