EPIC FAIL – Yamaha Dominates 2015 but Loses The PR War

For the first time in many seasons, Yamaha Racing was the team to beat outright.  On almost any track, any conditions, and with both of its factory riders, the blue Yamaha YZR-M1 was demonstrably superior to anything competitors Honda and Ducati could field.  On the street, the new R1 and R1M stole headlines and won over consumers.  In the brand’s 60th anniversary year, it all looked so perfect…

The MotoGP season, and the EICMA and Tokyo motorcycle shows have just passed, events that should have cast Yamaha Motor in the very brightest light.  Yamaha Factory Racing won not only the MotoGP constructor’s championship, but won the most races, and finished first and second in the world rider’s championship as well.  Meanwhile, a plethora of new street machines, from the all-conquering R1 and MT-series to exciting innovations in both three wheel and electric drive sectors have shown the Japanese brand to be at the forefront of motorcycle design and engineering.

But sadly , the subject most recently associated with the Yamaha brand is the scandalous behavior and  bitter words surrounding the final three rounds of the MotoGP racing season.  Valentino Rossi, Yamaha’s star rider and international celebrity, seriously tarnished his personal reputation and the Yamaha brand with dark accusations of a conspiracy between his teammate, Jorge Lorenzo, and rival Honda rider Marc Marquez.  True or not, the war of words, press manipulation and the disastrous results of a physical altercation between Rossi and Marquez ruined the end of the 2015 MotoGP season for fans and Yamaha alike.

Instead of wild celebrations, and reveling in the sweet success that a year of hard work had wrought, Yamaha had to work overtime, limiting damage with weeks of careful public relations and, undoubtedly, some back-room legal wrangles with Rossi and Lorenzo.  Lorenzo is world champion, and teammate Rossi is runner up, a condition that any competitive team dreams of, yet Yamaha’s heroes are not on speaking terms, while the millions of Rossi and other MotoGP fans wrestle on the internet forums.

Yamaha is not to blame here.  Throughout the episode, Yamaha has been cool and taken the high road, refusing to be party to the mud-slinging around them, and from their own riders.  Unsubstantiated accusations and threats from HRC and Repsol, Honda racing’s division and their lead sponsor, poured a lot of fuel on an already raging fire, while the video evidence of the last races presents, if not proof, a bizarre pattern of unlikely behavior by the other actors in this sad drama that should at least cast some credibility to Rossi’s claims.

In any event, the year is drawing to a conclusion, and MotoGP has moved on to testing 2016 bikes and technology. The trifecta of riders in this story have stopped talking about it, and are no doubt looking forward to relaxing for the months in their multi-million dollar villas with their friends and families.

Meanwhile, in Iwata, the executive and marketing people of Yamaha Motor must be apoplectic.  It was all coming together like a fairy tale: an epic battle with Honda throughout the season that was tough enough to win respect and admiration, but in the end very publicly demonstrated Yamaha’s superiority.

And now?

Yamaha’s slogan is “Revs Your Heart, suggesting that they see themselves as the passionate Japanese motorcycle brand to Honda’s cold corporatism.   This year, the company’s heart was certainly tested to the limit.  They fought honorably on the track and, it turns out, off it as well.  But will that be enough to take ownership of the victories they so richly deserve, or will the racing public in years to come write 2015 off as a bad scene?