In today’s edition of Rewind, we take a closer look at Yamaha and its involvement in the World Superbike Championship – past, present and future. As one of the ‘big four’ Japanese marques, Yamaha has had various interests in the production-based series for over two decades.

Yamaha’s World Superbike outfit was privately owned until the 1995 season where it received factory status. The team weapon of choice was the YZF750SP, followed by the YZF-R7, which achieved mixed results.

Yamaha would exit the series for an extended period, returning five years later with the YZF-R1: the same Superbike it markets to its world-wide customer base today.

The team won the manufacturers title in 2007 thanks to the efforts of Nori Haga and Australia’s Troy Corser. Both riders remained with the squad for 2008, with Corser finishing runner-up and Haga claiming third.

The brand played a master stroke in 2009 with the signing of up-and-coming American Ben Spies. Spies proved a revelation, winning 14 races and claiming 17 podiums, along with 11 pole positions. He would deliver the brand its first ever World Superbike title, and go down as the most successful rookie in the series’ history.

British riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow took up the factory fight in 2010, with the latter achieving three wins and a top five finish.

Source: Yamaha Racing.

While 2011 held plenty of promise with Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri at the helm, Yamaha’s future plans in the category were effectively halted as it announced it would withdraw factory representation at the end of that year.

“Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. (YME) has decided to withdraw their official Yamaha World Superbike Team at the end of the current season from the FIM Superbike World Championship,” read the statement, issued in August of 2011.

“This announcement follows a full strategic review of the marketing operations within Europe, including all motorsport activities, and takes into account the continuing severe and rapidly-changing Powered Two-Wheeler market conditions throughout the region.”

With the global economic crisis impacting heavily, Yamaha sat watch on the sidelines for 2012 but cogs were turning in the background. A number of hints from the top level of the factory suggested that the brand’s move was a short term strategy, allowing a full focus on its prototype racer in grand prix competition.

Less than 12 months after it announced its exit there were signs of movement in the blue camp.

“We are not participating in World Superbikes right now but that doesn’t mean to say in the future we won’t have interest,” said Lin Jarvis. “We were involved in almost every single racing discipline until last year when we pulled out of World Superbikes. If the entry point is lower and more affordable then it will increase the chance of us returning to the series.

“I think that production racing definitely has a place in the market and World Superbikes needs the technical level of the machinery reduced and if you do that then you can also bring MotoGP down to a more affordable level of participation while also keeping a good show.”

At the same time WSBK management was drawing up details of its future framework, its moves towards a more production-based championship aligning with Yamaha’s direction.

When Valentino Rossi returned to the marque in 2013, there was plenty of interest in throwaway comments about helping Yamaha develop its future production range, namely the R1, which had lost some ground to its rivals in the 1000cc category.

For 2014 WSBK has made the significant shift to a combined class, with the regular-spec Superbikes pitted against the new EVO class, which run a lesser-spec setup.

2015 is shaping to mark a wholesale change as the series shifts its interest to a complete EVO setup in an effort to ensure healthy grid numbers and contain the costs of developing a race-winning World Superbike.

It is widely believed that an announcement of a brand new bike from Yamaha is imminent, with variations of the base YZF-R1 tabled. Interestingly, Yamaha recently registered patents for the YZF-R1 S and YZF-R1 M, possible hints towards the range makeup. The developments coincide conveniently with WSBK’s new technical direction, though things would need to move quickly given the various homologation requirements that must be met.

From an Australian perspective, more bikes on the grid can only be good, as more places in the premier series would become available.

Yamaha has shown plenty of interest in Australian riders of late, only yesterday announcing it would field multiple factory World Endurance-spec R1s at the Suzuka 8 Hours to accommodate no less than four Aussies – Broc Parkes, Josh Brookes, Wayne Maxwell and Rick Olson.

The manufacturer’s actual plans remain shrouded in secrecy, but there is a very real possibility that Yamaha will be back as a competitive force in World Superbikes as early as 2015.