Beschreibung:

• Yamaha Motor France works machine • 2nd place in the 1997 24 Heures du Mans • Purchased by the current owner directly from MG Competition (Yamaha Motor France) Unlike previous Yamaha production 750s, which were readily available to the public, the YZF-R7 owed its existence to the Iwata factory's need for a World Superbike Championship contender. It was produced in relatively limited quantities, only 500 being made to meet the Championship's homologation requirements. Road-going versions are rare and genuine race bikes even rarer, and despite their relative modernity both are highly sought after by collectors. The YZF-R7 was powered by a 749cc four-cylinder engine incorporating Yamaha's then favoured five-valves-per-cylinder technology. In road-going form this produced a relatively uninspiring 107bhp but with the race kit fitted the second bank of fuel injectors was brought into play, liberating 139 horsepower, while in full race trim over 160bhp was attainable. The geometry of the aluminium alloy Deltabox II frame was based on that of the firm's YZR500 Grand Prix racers and the R7 came with the best suspension Öhlins could offer. In the World Superbike Championship, the R7's most successful exponent by far was Noriyuki Haga. Racing the Michelin-shod factory bike in its debut 1999 season, Haga could manage only a solitary win but switching to Dunlops for 2000 made all the difference. By this time, racing a 750cc four against 1,000cc twins was reckoned a lost cause but Haga nevertheless won seven races that year to finish 2nd in the Championship behind Honda's Colin Edwards. The R7 was also campaigned in the Endurance World Championship, most notably by the official Yamaha Motor France-supported MG Competition team. The latter had been set up in 1995 by Martial Garcia, a former mechanic with the ROC racing team, and took over as YMF's official endurance racing squad when YMF's boss, Jean Claude Olivier, ended the company's agreement with ROC. Prepared and entered by MG Competition on behalf of Yamaha Motor France, this R7 was ridden to 2nd place in the 1997 24 Heures du Mans by Jean-Marc Deletang/Jean-Philippe Ruggia/Christer Lindholm, having held the lead at the start of the race. Disposed of after the season's end, the R7 was sold to the current owner by MG Competition in February 1998 (bill of sale on file). A rare opportunity to own a genuine works endurance racing motorcycle possessing impeccable provenance.