Yamaha 50th Anniversary celebration Laguna Seca

Laguna Seca, USA
7/7/2005

Message on the occasion of the American MotoGP race by Takashi Kajikawa -
President, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

"On July 1, 2005, Yamaha Motor Company celebrated the 50th Anniversary of our
company's founding. We have been able to reach this major milestone thanks to a
proud tradition of the Yamaha "Spirit of Challenge" that began with our founding
president, Genichi Kawakami in 1955, and has been handed down through the
generations of Yamaha employees, and also thanks to the great efforts of our
importers and dealers around the world, and finally thanks to the support we
have always received from our customers. On behalf of Yamaha Motor, I wish to
express our deep gratitude to all these people.

Throughout our company's 50-year history, racing has always been an arena for us
to nurture the spirit of challenge and refine our technology. At the same time,
it has been a very important way for us to realize our corporate mission of
creating "Kando," which is the Japanese word for feelings of excitement and deep
satisfaction. And today, we are more aware than ever of the importance of
winning races, because of the tremendous inspiration and motivation it brings to
our customers and our business partners around the world.

Looking back, the first overseas race Yamaha Motor ever participated in was the
Catalina Grand Prix in the U.S. of 1958. Later, Yamaha would bring AMA star
Kenny Roberts to the GP500 class of the World Championships and create a
sensation, when he went on to win three consecutive world titles. Now I am very
happy to see the pinnacle competition of world motorcycle road racing return to
the U.S. for the first time in 11 years.

In this race, Yamaha will be represented by our Factory Team's Valentino Rossi,
who is presently on a five race consecutive winning streak on the YZR-M1,
America's own Colin Edwards as well as the Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Tony Elias
and Ruben Xaus. For this race the machines of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards
will be sporting the nostalgic Yamaha U.S. racing colours from the 1970s. Also,
we are happy to hold events that will welcome 19 great Yamaha road race and
motocross riders of the past and present including Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson
and Giacomo Agostini.

At the American GP venue this time, we hope that all the members of the media
and the fans will have an opportunity to experience first-hand the excitement of
another Yamaha racing legend unfolding.

Yamaha Motor Company is dedicated to the promotion of racing as a form of
"Kando" that can be shared not only within the Yamaha family but also with our
customers and fans everywhere. That is why we actively pursue race programmes at
all levels, from MotoGP to local races in all parts of the world, and not only
for motorcycles but in a wide range of categories, from snowmobiles and ATVs to
racing karts. We ask for your continued support for us in these activities."

Yamaha celebrates 50th Anniversary with special Laguna MotoGP livery

Yamaha's Factory MotoGP team goes to this weekend's United States Grand Prix in
celebratory mood, wearing the famous Yamaha USA colours of yellow, white and
black.

This special livery marks Yamaha's 50th Anniversary and acknowledges the
significant contribution made by American riders to the marque's racing history.
The Yamaha Motor Company was founded on July 1st 1955, just two weeks before the
factory's first bike, the YA1, won its first race, the Mount Fuji Ascent race.
Since then three American riders have won nine premier-class World Championships
with Yamaha - 'King' Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey, each taking
three crowns across three decades, the 70s, the 80s and the 90s.

The livery that Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 riders Valentino Rossi and Colin
Edwards will wear at Laguna Seca was first used by Yamaha USA in the late 1960s
and won global renown when Roberts scored his World Championship hat-trick.

Masao Furusawa, Senior General Manager of Yamaha's Engineering Operations, finds
that this is a perfect time for the company to celebrate its first half-century.
"This is a moment of which we can be proud," he said. "We will be celebrating
our 50th Anniversary at Laguna as the reigning World Champions, while our
factory MotoGP team leads the riders', manufacturers' and teams' World
Championships, so it's great that we can celebrate in style."

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, explains the thinking
behind the yellow, white and black colour scheme of the YZR-M1 50th Anniversary
US Edition. "We chose to race in Yamaha USA's historic colours as a tribute to
the American riders who have played such an important part in Yamaha's history,"
he says. "It is also right that we should celebrate the return of Grand Prix
racing to the USA, which is great for the American fans and also very important
for the future of MotoGP.

"Of course, this isn't the first time that our YZR-M1 has carried the yellow,
white and black colours. Some of you may have noticed the seat graphics on
Valentino's M1, which since last year have featured his dog Guido wearing an
old-school Yamaha USA T-shirt! It will be fantastic to see Valentino racing in
yellow, which is his favourite colour. And this is also a big weekend for Colin,
his first US Grand Prix, plus he is the first American GP rider in 25 years to
race in Yamaha USA's traditional colours. I would also like to take this
opportunity to thank our 2005 title sponsor Altadis for their cooperation in
permitting Yamaha to race in Yamaha-only livery for this special event."

Rossi's and Edwards' one-off livery is only one aspect of a busy weekend of 50th
Anniversary celebrations during the US GP. The fun starts with a Friday night
party for media and VIP guests at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Yamaha's entire GP history will be covered on a dedicated and public microsite
on www.yamaha-racing.com/50years. The site contains information and photography
of all riders that won championships in the past. Members of the media are
advised to visit www.yamahamotogp.com, bringing even more exclusive information
on Yamaha's rich racing GP history.