The 2010 FIM MX1-GP World Championship – the seventh edition of the class since its creation in 2004 – will see the new YZ450F face Grand Prix action for the first time and Yamaha technology defend title status for the third year in a row.

With the introduction of the four-stroke YZM400F factory prototype in 1997 Yamaha changed off-road motorcycle sport as few other manufacturers have ever achieved before. The YZM400F brought four-stroke power and traction with an agile two-stroke type of chassis to the race track, a concept that in the end proved to be more competitive than the commonly used two-stroke machines of that era.

The initial stones in the YZ ‘wall’ of supremacy were laid in 1998 when Doug Henry took the YZ400F to a thrilling debut in the AMA-MX championship, winning five nationals on the way to the crown. He also gained four podiums within the Supercross campaign of that year.

In 1999, Andrea Bartolini won the machine's first Rider’s World Championship in the 500cc class with the production based YZ400FM, and ever since that time Yamaha have led the four-stroke revolution. The bike has formed the basis of winning technology in MXGP, MX1, MX3 and AMA Supercross and AMA Nationals since the turn of the century.

In 2008 innovations of the production YZ450F involved a new aluminium frame with altered geometry, making the base for racing machinery extremely competitive straight from the crate.
For 2009 an altered swingarm and linkage system helped lighten and add precision to the handling while the rear hub also carries less weight. The 2009 YZ450FM was a further, refined development of the motorcycle that propelled the legendary Stefan Everts to his 2006 world title, winning fourteen from fifteen Grand Prix. Coppins’ took the machine to within one race of the 2007 MX1 championship (taking five wins on the way) while Philippaerts claimed the title in only his second season in the premier category during 2008, continuing a fantastic run of results for Yamaha's strong four-stroke technology. In 2009 Antonio Cairoli used a De Carli-tuned version of the YZ450F to win the title at his first attempt.

1999 - Andrea Bartolini - YZ400FM (MX500)
2001 - Stefan Everts - YZ500FM (MX500)
2002 - Stefan Everts - YZ500FM (MX500)
2003 - Stefan Everts - YZ450FM (MXGP)
2004 - Stefan Everts - YZ450FM (MX1)
2005 - Stefan Everts - YZ450FM (MX1)
2006 - Stefan Everts - YZ450FM (MX1)
2008 - David Philippaerts - YZ450FM (MX1)
2009 - Antonio Cairoli - YZ450FM (MX1)

2010 saw Yamaha dazzle the market and race paddocks again with the brand new YZ450F. The rear slating and re-positioned fuel-injected engine unit benefitted from a new configuration with innovative displacements of the airbox and exhausts. Housed within a chassis that helped lower and further centralise the riding sensation the motorcycle was feted by the world’s press and its undoubted potential now has to be proved on tracks around the world. YRRD (Yamaha Rinaldi R&D) have been sharpening this formidable piece of equipment since the summer of 2009 and some modifications and slight adjustments will form Philippaerts factory steed for the 2010 calendar:

• Ohlins suspension
• Ported GP cylinder head YRRD specification
• Camshaft
• YRRD - GET Programmable ECU
• ARROW Exhaust pipe and silencer: GP FIM specification
• Hydraulic clutch
• MG ignition cover
• CRM Carbon fibre: sub-frame / fuel tank / chain guide / rear brake pump protection / front sprocket protection / skid plate
• Xtrig triple clamps
• YRRD rear brake pedal
• Titanium: footrest / footrest bracket / bolts