YZR-esurrected!: Project Yamaha YZR500 part 1

What do you do if you’re offered a former factory YZR500 that you once raced? You procrastinate for several months and count your pennies…

- NIALL MACKENZIE

The year was 1991 and I started the season riding for Honda UK on VFR750Rs RC30s. I was teamed up with the one and only Carl Fogarty, who was entering his second year with the Silkolene-backed Team.

The original plan was for the King of the Jungle to be the sole rider, but after a chance meeting at the Earls Court bike show with Neil Tuxworth, I was offered a contract. We had a comprehensive season planned taking in all the British Supercup races, most of the World Superbike Championship, Daytona, North West 200 and the Suzuka Eight-Hour.

Coming off my best ever season in 500 GPs where I finished fourth in the World Championship with Lucky Strike Suzuki, I was definitely surprised to find myself on a Superbike. Shit happens and it wasn’t the first time I’d been sacked (or the last) so this seemed like a decent plan B. It wasn’t. Unfortunately, the team was a bit too ambitious, stretching itself with a lack of budget, staff and equipment, so by June I decided it was time to bale out. It was a fairly amicable split, except for an aggressive fax from HRC boss Youichi Oguma who had put some effort into a good team for me at the Suzuka Eight-Hour race.

It was still the right decision as within days of my departure I was contacted by Yamaha Japan and asked to ride at the Suzuka Eight-Hour on a factory bike. As a sweetener they would throw in the use of a YZR500 for the British GP at Donington.

Kenny Roberts was tasked with running me out the back of his garage for that one round, but as with anything involving KR, it was a raucous weekend ending with plenty beer on Sunday night.