Yamaha seemed almost unstoppable following MotoGP’s regulation changes, limiting engine displacement to 800cc. After Rossi’s consecutive championship victories in 2008 and 2009, Jorge Lorenzo rode the YZR-M1 (0WS9) to his own maiden MotoGP title in 2010. Over this tree-year-period, Yamaha won the Triple Crown of constructors’, team riders’ titles each season. This was the first time in MotoGP history that the same manufacturer won consecutive titles with different riders. It must be said that Rossi contributed greatly to the development of the YZR-M1, but Lorenzo’s succession proved that it had not simply been a matter of building a model specialized to Rossi alone.

Jorge Lorenzo won his first MotoGP title in 2010 with nine wins, after joining the Yamaha MotoGP team in 2008.

Jorge Lorenzo took his second MotoGP crown for Yamaha in 2012 .

When Rossi moved to Ducati in 2011, Yamaha brought Ben Spies into the factory team to contest for the title with Lorenzo. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be for both riders that season.

Responding to the setback, Yamaha introduced the YZR-M1 (0WT3) for 2012. That season there was another big change in the regulations; maximum engine displacement was raised to 1,000cc and cylinder bore limit was set to no more than 81mm. However, the amount of fuel allowed remained unchanged from the 800cc era at 21 litres, and the number of engines a rider could use in a season stayed at six. This meant that the greater displacement and resulting increase in power output would have to be accompanied with significant advantages in fuel efficiency and durability. While meeting all these needs, the 0WT3 also succeeded in maintaining the same incredible cornering speeds of the 800cc model by revising the machine’s balance and increasing rideability. Lorenzo thus took full advantage of this performance to take several wins and podium finishes until he was crowned MotoGP champion for a second time.

In 2013, Rossi returned to Yamaha and the two champions raced together again. Lorenzo was the winningest rider that season (eight) and finished as the championship’s runner-up. The next year, Rossi also claimed second in the standings.

In these two years, more changes were made to the rules; minimum bike weight was raised from 157kg to 160kg and maximum fuel capacity further lowered from 21 to 20 litres. Through it all, Yamaha continued to apply its R&D strength to its factory machine development, which continued with a further evolved YZR-M1.

After two seasons away, Valentino Rossi returned to the Yamaha MotoGP team in 2013.

Jorge Lorenzo became an exclusive triple world champion in 2015 with his final MotoGP title.

Having lost out on the riders’ title in the previous two season, Yamaha were keen to bounce back in 2015. It turned out to be an epic title battle between Lorenzo and Rossi, as the other manufacturers could not match the YZR-M1 in the corners. Rossi led for much of the season, having not missed the podium in the opening 12 races, but Lorenzo fought back to take his third MotoGP title in the final round by just five points.

In 2016, Yamaha introduced a new electronics package and single ECU software, as per the revised FIM regulations. The fuel tank was also moved, positioned under the seat for better weight distribution. MotoGP also announced all teams must switch to Michelin tyres, with the maximum fuel capacity increased to 22 litres, although the weight limit was reduced to 157kg. Rossi and Lorenzo would combine to win six races that year, finishing second and third in the standings respectively as Yamaha won the teams’ title.

Ahead of the 2017 season, Lorenzo left Yamaha, with Maverick Viñales drafted in from Suzuki. The Spaniard was quickly on the pace, winning the first two races, but was unable to climb on the top step of the podium in the second half of the year. Viñales impressed with third in the standings, as Rossi took fifth overall.

After joining Yamaha in 2017, Maverick Viñales took an incredible victory in his first race for the team in Qatar.

Marking his debut in the MotoGP class, Fabio Quartararo delivered a stunning first season on the satellite Petronas SRT YZR-M1 in 2019.

After a tough 2018 season, where Rossi scored third in the standings this time ahead of Viñales in fourth, Yamaha was somewhat more competitive in 2019. Viñales was third in the standings, but it was rookie sensation Fabio Quartararo that caught the eyes of many on the SIC Racing Team YZR-M1, which Yamaha had leased bikes to. Six pole positions and regularly fighting for victory saw the Frenchman finish fifth in the riders’ standings, earning a spot on the factory team for 2021, ending Yamaha and Rossi’s hugely successful collaboration.

Since entering the 21st century, Yamaha’s R-series production models have continued to compete with excellent results in a variety of production racing categories, especially the series’ flagship, the YZF-R1. Equipped with the same type of cross-plane crankshaft as the YZR-M1 since 2009, the all-new R1 was ridden by Ben Spies in his debut Superbike World Championship year, in which he won.

In a record-breaking debut season, Ben Spies took the 2009 WorldSBK title at his first attempt with the Yamaha R1.

Yamaha returned to WorldSBK with a full factory effort in 2016, fielding Sylvain Guintoli and Alex Lowes.

Cal Crutchlow placed fifth in 2010, with Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty finishing second and fourth respectively the following year. Yamaha suspended its factory racing activities in the Superbike World Championship from 2012.

The GMT94 Endurance World Championship bike also switch to the new R1 and improved its ranking from third in 2011 and 2012 to second in 2013, before winning the championship title again in 2014.

Veterans of the Endurance World Championship, Yamaha outfit GMT94 took three consecutive championships from 2011-2013, and again in 2014.

In a record-setting streak, Yamaha won the legendary Suzuka 8 Hours four times in a row from 2015-2018.

After the YZF-R1, which had a sophisticated electronics package that included a Slide Control System that was never-before-seen on a production bike, found success in the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours with Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith, Yamaha returned to the Superbike World Championship with factory support in 2016. However, it underestimated the series’ competitiveness to take one podium with Sylvain Guintoli.

For 2017, Yamaha ramped up its technical expertise within the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team, bringing in Michael van der Mark to partner Alex Lowes. It was a step in the right direction for Yamaha, as Lowes took fifth in the standings on the YZF-R1 ahead of Van der Mark in sixth.

That upwards trajectory continued in 2018, as Van der Mark took Yamaha’s first WorldSBK victory since 2011 to finish third in the standings, with Lowes also winning that year. In 2019, the YZF-R1 was victorious again and the Pata Yamaha riders finished third and fourth in the standings, with Lowes ahead this time. Marco Melandri impressed with a number of podiums on the YZF-R1, with Loris Baz, who was drafted in for the second half of the year, also consistently challenged the top five.

2018 saw PATA Yamaha riders Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes each take their maiden WorldSBK wins at Donington Park and Brno.

GMT94 added to their title collection with victory in the 2016/17 EWC season.

Meanwhile, the YZF-R1 continued to impress in the Endurance World Championship, taking four consecutive Suzuka 8 Hours victories between 2015 and 2018, while the GMT94 Yamaha Official EWC Team claimed the 2016/2017 EWC title.

In national motorcycle championships, the R1 was also a force to be reckoned with. In the US, YZF-R1 rider Josh Hayes, after finishing second in 2009, won three consecutive AMA Pro Superbike class titles between 2010 to 2012. His team-mate, Josh Herrin, was crowned champion in 2013, as Hayes regained the title once again in 2014. Cameron Beaubier took over the title reigns for Yamaha in 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019, concluding a dominant decade for the YZF-R1 in the AMA Superbike Championship.

Meanwhile, in Japan, Katsuyuki Nakasuga was back on top on the YZF-R1 in the premier JSB1000 class. Besides his 2008 and 2009 titles, he reclaimed consecutive championships between 2012 and 2016. After missing out in 2017, Nakasuga was crowned champion again in both 2018 and 2019.

The YZF-R6 has also been a consistent challenger on the race track. In the Supersport World Championship, Chaz Davies won the 2011 title, Sam Lowes did the same in 2013, taking six wins. In the 2016 championship, Niki Tuuli showed the YZF-R6’s potential by taking three consecutive second-place finishes, and in 2017 Yamaha was back to its title-winning ways. Lucas Mahias brought home the riders’ championship that year, and with six race wins shared between all four of its full-season riders, Yamaha claimed back the manufacturers’ title.

In 2018, Yamaha was dominant, winning every single race on the way to a second consecutive manufacturers’ championship, with five of its riders: Sandro Cortese, Mahias, Jules Cluzel, Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo all finishing in the top five in the riders’ standings, which was won by Cortese. 2019 played out in similar fashion, with Krummenacher taking the riders’ title, ahead of Caricasulo and Cluzel, as Yamaha won its third straight manufacturers’ title.

When Daytona 200 was changed to a 600cc class race in 2009, Yamaha won both the 2009 and 2010 races with 1-2 finishes, repeating that in 2012 and 2013 with Joey Pascarella and Cameron Beaubier respectively. After two years where Yamaha dominated the top 10 with its YZF-R6 bikes but ultimately failed to take victories, between 2016 and 2019 they could not be topped. Yamaha’s four consecutive wins are the longest streak since they took 13 straight victories between 1972 and 1984.

In Asia, after his success in the Yamaha Asean Cup Race, Thai rider Decha Kraisart entered the Asian Road Racing Championship, winning the 2010 SS600 title on a YZF-R6. After that, he entered and won the All-Japan Championship’s ST600 class in 2012. In 2015, the YZF-R6 was a title-winner again, this time with Ryuji Yokoe, with Kerisuke Maeda (2017) and Yuki Okamoto (2018) also crowned champions with Yamaha.

From 2017, Yamaha also entered the newly-formed Supersport 300 World Championship with its 321cc 4-stroke 8-valve DOHC engined YZF-R3. It was a popular choice among riders, and took the manufacturers’ and riders’ title that year with Marc Garcia.

The YZ450F 4-stroke motocrosser was about to enter a new stage in its evolution: the option of a fuel injection system. Although Yamaha introduced its first model with fuel injection in the 2005 All-Japan Motocross Championship and continued testing its fuel-injected prototypes in races before other manufacturers, Yamaha would take its time to refine the technology before bringing the system to its production models. The aim was to introduce a new motocrosser that took overall potential and performance to the next level.

Onboard the YZF-R6, Chaz Davies won the 2011 WorldSSP title in his first season with Yamaha.

David Phillippaerts rode the YZ450FM to third in the 2010 MX1 rider's championship, the bike's debut year in the class.

The result was the 2010 YZ450F. Though it was equipped with fuel injection, its biggest feature was the completely new and innovative engine layout. Discarding the conventional layout with the intake at the rear of the cylinder rand exhaust port on the front, this new layout reversed that positioning to bring intake to the front and the exhaust out from the rear, while giving the cylinder itself a rearward incline.

That same year, the YZ450FM factory machine, based on the new bike, was entered in the pinnacle MX1 class of the Motocross World Championship. David Philippaerts rode it to finish third in the riders’ championship. Although this result denied Yamaha its third consecutive win, the all-new machine’s performance had proven its potential in its first season of competition. True to that anticipated potential, the 2011 season saw Steven Frossard finish as championship runner-up. And, just when it looked like Yamaha could claim the title, its main riders suffered from falls and injuries throughout the 2012 and 2013 seasons; putting them out of contention for the title. Jeremy van Horebeek brought a brighter outlook when he rose to place second in the standings of the new premier MXGP class (formerly MX1) in 2014.

In 2015, the YZ450FM reasserted its place at the top of the MXGP World Championship with new recruit Romain Febvre securing the world title in his rookie season. Both Febvre and Van Horebeek remained on Yamaha’s proven YZ450FM for the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons and at the forefront of the premier class, but both riders’ campaigns were unfortunately spoiled by injury.

2018’s YZ450F was a revised sixth generation model of Yamaha’s flagship fuel-injected off-road motorcycle. The bike was slimmer and more compact, which gave extra stability and control over rough terrain, better braking, and even greater traction. The power delivery was made more linear which meant the bike had a smoother delivery of power and acceleration was optimized. The all-new YZ450F also came complete with an electric start, which is extremely important for the riders who race on the edge week-in, week-out. With the factory version of Yamaha’s YZ450F, in his capable hands, Jeremy Seewer put the YZ450FM back in title contention in 2019 as he finished as the MXGP class silver medallist.

Despite a promising start in AMA Supercross Championship, Yamaha was also unfortunate when its rider suffered an injury and could not win the 2010 championship, which also extended to the following two years. However, teammate Davi Millsaps ranked second in 2012 on the YZ450F. That turned out to be Yamaha’s best 450SX result over the decade, but it did find more success with the YZ250F. After a slow start to the decade, Yamaha’s new YZ250F took the 2015 AMA 250 Supercross West title with Cooper Webb. Webb took top honors again in 2016, as fellow Yamaha rider Aaron Plessinger finished second in the East series. The following year, Plessinger moved over to the West championship and would just miss out on second, but would return in 2018 to take the title. 2019 saw Dylan Ferrandis claim the title for Yamaha in the West championship, with Justin Cooper taking second in the East standings.

In the newly-renamed MXGP, Jeremy Van Horebeek took second place in the 2014 season of the premier class.

In his rookie season, newcomer Romain Febvre took the MXGP title in 2015, putting Yamaha back on top once again with the YZ450FM.

Jeremy Seewer rode hard to the podium multiple times in 2019 to take second place in the MXGP championship.

Jeremy Martin took the 2014 AMA 250 MX titile on the YZ250F, Yamaha's first since 1992.

From 2014, Yamaha also introduced a front intake rearward-inclined engine on its YZ250F production motocrosser. Riding it in the AMA 250cc Motocross Championship that year, Jeremy Martin brought Yamaha its first title in the class since 1992. Meanwhile, in Europe, Benoit Paturel took his YZ250F to third overall in the 2016 MX2 World Championship. In 2019, Yamaha released an all-new version of its popular YZ250F off-road motorcycle. The updated YZ250F added an electric start to its narrower and more compact frame. It also optimized the power range and delivery, which was proven by 18-year-old Belgian talent Jago Geerts who rode the bike to a third-place ranking in the 2019 MX2 World Championship.

In 2015, 15-year-old Maxime Renaux put Yamaha’s popular 125cc two-stroke motocross bike, YZ125, on the map with an emphatic victory at the Junior Motocross World Championship in El Molar, Spain. Thibault Benistant added to the YZ125’s credit in 2018 after awarding Yamaha its first ever EMX125 Championship crown.

In the trials racing department, the Dakar moved from Africa to South America in 2009. A year later, the vehicle entry regulations changed as well; motorcycles were expected to be 450cc or under, and any machines with a larger displacement would be subjected to performance restrictions. From 2011, only single-cylinder models of 450cc or under were allowed to participate.

Thibault Benistant took Yamaha's first EMX125 title in 2018  with the YZ125 at Horsham, Australia.

Helder Rodrigues took consecutive podium finishes for Yamaha at the 2011 and 2012 Dakar rallies.

During this period of regulation changes, Yamaha continued to race with the 450cc single-cylinder WR450F and took fourth place in the 2010 Dakar with Hélder Rodrigues. In 2011 and 2012 Dakar the Portuguese rider finished third and in 2014 it was Olivier Pain who took a podium finish in third place on a factory machine, based on the 2013 YZ450F.

For the 2015 Dakar event, Yamaha brought a brand new WR450F Rally, featuring a single carbon-fiber fuel cell and a more compact design, optimizing weight distribution and balance, as well as an electric starter. It finished tenth that year with Pain, but after further developments was more competitive in 2016, finishing fifth with Rodrigues and sixth with debutant Adrien van Beveren.

In 2017, Yamaha fought amongst the front-runners with rising star Van Beveren and Rodrigues, with the former taking the final stage victory to place fourth overall, less than a second off the podium positions. The following year, the Frenchman won stage four to take the lead, briefly losing it before regaining top spot on stage seven. However, a technical issue while out front during the ninth stage saw Van Beveren forced to retire. In 2019, Yamaha introduced a revised engine configuration and updated suspension set-up for its WR450F Rally challenger. It won the third stage with Xavier de Soultrait, finishing a respectable sixth.

In the All-Japan Trial Championship, Kenichi Kuroyama and the TY250F factory machine have been a winning combination. Although losing his title in 2010, he came back again in 2011 and 2012; in the latter, he became only the second rider in Japan to win all seven events of the series. Kuroyama finished as runner-up in 2013 and 2014. With no titles to boot, Yamaha debuted its new factory trials bike, the TYS250Fi, in the second half of the 2016 campaign. It was an instant winner with Kuroyama and his victory streak continued into 2017, but ultimately he would finish second in the standings again.

In a close-fought 2017 Dakar, Adrien van Beveren took an emphatic victory in the final stage of the legendary rally.

As the top Yamaha WorldSSP300 performers in 2019, young riders Andy Verdoia and Galang Hendra were promoted to the WorldSSP class for 2020.

In 2016 Yamaha launched its bLU cRU programme in Europe giving young riders the opportunity to follow their passion, off-track and in road racing. The YZ bLU cRU Cup focuses on young motocross talents, expanding from 125cc to 85cc and 65cc in 2017. The bLU cRU selects the best performers across the year to take part in the FIM bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup Finale in support of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. The top finishers across the classes in this will be entered into the Masterclass – a multi-class training and assessment camp, with those who impress the most earning support from Yamaha for the following season. For road racing, the bLU cRU also offers support to youngsters contesting the Supersport 300 World Championship, with the Masterclass event also offering support for the next step-up. The top performers from 2019, Andy Verdoia and Galang Hendra Pratama, both were promoted to the Supersport World Championship for 2020, joining the newly-formed Yamaha bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing as Yamaha continues to expand its involvement in rider development.