Bill Ivy gets the Yamaha 250-4
airborn in the Isle of Man in 1968 Mike Pero on a TZ350 Yamaha in 1982
1968 Yamaha 250-4 Unfamiliar sight of Agostini on a Yamaha
In 1974 Agostini switched his allegiance from
MV Agusta to Yamaha and the two-strokes. The
following year he beat Phil Read’s MV Agusta
into second place in the championship, giving
Yamaha the first two-stroke victory in the 500cc
World Championship. From then on 500 grids
were almost totally dominated by two-strokes.
The only major factory to hold out was Honda,
who continued to field the complex oval-piston,
eight valve, NR500 four-stroke. Eventually
Honda capitulated and joined the two-stroke
ranks too. From 1977 on there were no four-
strokes on the 500cc class grids.
The most significant aspect of the two-stroke
revolution was the availability of relatively
inexpensive race machines being made
available for private owners. This stimulated the
smaller classes, particularly the 250 and 350cc
classes, into fiercely competitive racing which
would eventually spread to the 500 class.
The first Yamaha 250 production racer was
the TD1-C of 1967. By 1970 updated versions
filled nine of the first ten places in the 250
World Championship. The riders included Rod
Gould, Kel Carruthers, Kent Anderson, Jarno
Saarinen, and Chas Mortimer. The accessibility
of competitive racing machinery led to other
advantages for the sport. The nature of
two-stroke engine power forced an overdue
reassessment of tyre, chassis and suspension
technology.
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