Listen, my children, and you shall hear…
Such is the first stanza of Paul Revere’s Ride, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s dramatic poem that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775. Told from the perspective of an innkeeper, the poem recounts, in galloping measure and steady rhyme, Paul Revere’s urgent ride as he warns colonists of the approaching British soldiers on the eve of the battle of Lexington and Concord.
This week, Yamaha Motor Europe introduced the three factory-supported teams and six riders who will compete aboard Yamaha’s brand-new YZF-R9 in the 2025 FIM Supersport World Championship, which gets underway at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia on February 21 through 23.
It is a massive paradigm shift for Yamaha, which has had an inline, four-cylinder, 600cc, middleweight sportbike in its lineup for 40 years beginning with the FJ600 in 1984, followed by the FZ600 in 1986, then the FZR600 in 1989, the YZF600R in 1995, and finally, the YZF-R6, which debuted in 1999. By contrast, the 2025 YZF-R9 is an 890cc inline triple that slots perfectly into the modern-day Supersport Next Generation rules.
So, the World Championship gets their R9s at Phillip Island later this month. When does the MotoAmerica Championship get theirs?
For Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., Daytona is not only a rite of spring, it is also a rite of passage for introducing its sportbikes. When the FZR600 was introduced in the U.S., it debuted in race-ready form at Daytona International Speedway in 1989, and not only did future two-time world champion and AMA Hall of Famer John Kocinski win the 600 Supersport race at Daytona that year, but every one of the top-ten finishers was aboard Yamaha’s brand-new Fizzer 600. And, when the Daytona 200 switched to a 600cc “Daytona SportBike” format in 2009, Ben Bostrom won the race on a Yamaha YZF-R6, followed by Josh Herrin in 2010, Joey Pascarella in 2012, Cameron Beaubier in 2013, Michael Barnes in 2016, Danny Eslick in 2017 and 2018, Kyle Wyman in 2019, and Brandon Paasch in 2021. Nine out of the past 15 Daytona 200s were won by riders aboard Yamaha R6s.
Six Yamaha YZF-R9s will be on the WorldSSP starting grid at Phillip island later this month. Rumor has it that there are at least five R9s currently in the U.S. being prepped and tested for competition in the 2025 MotoAmerica Motovation Supersport Championship. But will they break cover in the Daytona 200 next month, or at Barber Motorsports Park in April?
Yamaha wouldn’t miss a chance to make headlines at Daytona, would they? The tuning-fork brand has won 27 Daytona 200s, not to mention a whole host of Superbike, Supersport, and Twins Cup races at the “World Center of Racing.”
“One, if by land, and two, if by sea.” Stay vigilant, race fans. The midnight ride of Paul Revere made history. Could the Daytona 200 ride of the Yamaha R9 do the same?
The stage is set, Yamaha. Get on your horse.
