It is the end of an era. With 44 Dakar rallies under their belt, Yamaha is pulling the plug on its long and storied participation in the motorcycle class at both the Dakar Rally and the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. The announcement follows their recent performance at the 2022 Dakar in which Adrien Van Beveren and Andrew Short finished in fourth and eighth place respectively after the team’s many years of setbacks. 

Yamaha has been a staple of the Dakar Rally throughout its history, being the only brand that has participated in every edition of the race since its inception. Notably, Frenchman Cyril Neveu took victory aboard a Yamaha XT500 on the very first edition in 1979 and followed that up with a second win a year later. Yamaha’s impressive performance continued with Dakar Legend Stéphane Peterhansel who scored a record six victories for the Japanese manufacturer in the 1990s. Italian Edi Orioli added to Yamaha’s success in Africa with victory in the 1997 edition.

In recent years the Dakar podium has been more elusive for Yamaha, which they last achieved back in 2014 when Olivier Pain took third. It appeared things were looking better for the brand with Van Beveren within reach of the podium at the 2022 edition, one year after their abysmal performance at the 2021 Dakar. However, Yamaha has decided it is in their best interest to put an end to their motorcycle factory presence at the famous race.

“While the Dakar Rally has mainly succeeded in remaining close to its roots, even when it moved out of its spiritual home of Africa, the world in which it exists has changed considerably. Our off-road customers now have different expectations and they look for different products, and we must cater for these if we are to stay connected. It is for this reason we have decided to end our long history on two wheels at the Dakar Rally and in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies,” said Yamaha Motor Europe President, Eric de Seynes.

In spite of ending their motorcycle rally factory team, Yamaha will continue to support the SSV class at Dakar. Their off-road experience will also be focused on supporting the full potential of their popular adventure bike ― the Tenere 700.  “Yamaha’s commitment to Rally Raid events with motorcycles is not over, but our future engagement must have a closer connection to our customers and their aspirations, developing further the Ténéré 700 potential towards a direction which will enable them to rediscover the more adventurous side of Rallies,” added Seynes.