But what does it take to develop the Yamaha R1 into a race-winning WorldSBK machine? It certainly takes teamwork, with everyone from Yamaha's engineers, the team crew chiefs, the mechanics and the five riders having worked tirelessly during preseason testing.
"Preseason testing isn't just about the individual riders going as fast as possible, or teams working flat out to chase the best possible lap time, it's also about developing the Yamaha R1 into the most competitive WorldSBK package possible," explains Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Manager, Andrea Dosoli.
The development process actually starts at the end of the preceding season, with feedback from both teams and riders gathered during post-season testing in Spain.
"We had a successful test in November in Jerez with all the four riders and we got from them very important feedback their request. We then took this information back to our headquarters at YMRE and started to implement this feedback and these requests into our development program," continues Dosoli.
"The development program needs to keep in mind several points. One point is resources, such as manpower and internal budget. Another is the timing, what we would like to introduce and when. We are developing a race bike starting from a production-based machine, so we also need to keep in mind the technical regulations and how they are likely to change. Finally, we need to understand where Pirelli, the official tyre supplier for WorldSBK, are going in terms of development direction."
"The responsibility of YMRE is to develop a racing bike starting from a production machine like the R3, the R6 or, in this case, the R1, and then deliver the development parts to each of the three Yamaha race teams in WorldSBK," concluded Dosoli.