This weekend’s Dutch TT at Assen marks a very special occasion for Yamaha as the factory team undergoes a full livery change as part of ongoing activities to celebrate the iconic Japanese manufacturer’s 50th year of Grand Prix racing.

The red and white colour scheme will be launched to the media on Wednesday close to the Assen circuit, signaling the start of the Yamaha Expo which will run the full TT week.

Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies will be looking to put the previous race at Silverstone behind them and focus on delivering strong results at Assen, a track favoured by both.

Lorenzo has won on the Dutch circuit in all three GP classes, while teammate Spies took pole and a race win in 2009 in World Superbike and finished fourth last year in his rookie GP visit.

“Assen is my favourite track where I’ve won in all categories and also last season,” Lorenzo said. “This year it is very special coming here because we celebrate the 50th Anniversary!

“Now we are in second position in the championship, we come here looking to put pressure on the leader. I need to do the same job as I’ve done before with maximum effort.

“The team is focused and I wish to come back to finish at least on the podium.”

Spies too is excited to race in a new livery on Saturday.

“I’ve really been looking forward to coming to Assen again,” Spies said. “It’s a track I love and the Yamaha M1 seems to really work well here. It’s a fast track which I really enjoy.

“I have so many memories of watching the racing on TV here as a kid, it’s a privilege to race here now. I’m still pretty sore from Silverstone’s crash but I’m not going to let it stop me giving 100 percent as always and going for the best results possible.

“It’s also going to be really cool to go out on the track in the special livery in front of all the fans.”