Yamaha Will Present a Superbike Temple at the FIM Superbike World Championship at Imola

Yamaha's racing legacy in the production class stretches back to WorldSBK's introduction in 1988—when Italian Fabrizio Pirovano claimed second place with the legendary Yamaha FZ750 in the rider standings during the championship's inaugural run. 10 years later Noriyuki Haga began his first full season aboard a WorldSBK Yamaha—the Japanese rider would go on to be one of the manufacturers most consistent and successful, completing seven seasons on a FZ750 (1998), YZF-R7 (1999/2000) and YZF-R1 (2005/2006/2007/2008) and five of which within the series' overall top three. 2009 witnessed the YZF-R1's total domination of the World Superbike Championship at the hands of American Ben Spies. With 14 wins, three further podiums and four top-five finishes for the year's 28 races, Spies took the title having never ridden in the series or on many of its circuits before.

Yamaha will present the Superbike Temple, a unique space dedicated to the legendary WSBK bikes from, in the amazing Moto Poggi Collection. Located in Villanova di Castenaso just outside Bologna, in Italy, the Moto Poggi Collection is one of the world's largest private collections of Yamaha machinery, housing over 60 of the most iconic motorcycles of its racing history. The new Yamaha Superbike Temple is a dedicated WorldSBK exhibit within the collection, showcasing motorcycles raced across the last 29 years by, among others, Pirovano, Haga, Cal Crutchlow and Marco Melandri. Spies' 2009 title winning YZF-R1 will also be on display alongside the 2016 models raced by Lowes and Guintoli, before the current duo can be seen in action at Imola the following weekend.

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK riders Alex Lowes and Sylvain Guintoli will open the exhibition at a private event on Wednesday, April 27, as legends from the championship gather with invited guests to celebrate the occasion.

The collection will be open to the public from Thursday, April 28 until Sunday 1 May from 3:30 p.m.–7:00 p.m., in conjunction with the fifth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship.

Imagery and details of the launch will be released on the Yamaha Racing website and social media channels on Thursday, April 28.