The ‘Ultimate Track Day’ Yamaha GYTR R1 Costs £78k, Looks Worth It

The Yamaha R1 might be on borrowed time thanks to Euro5+ emissions regulations and a downturn in the superbike market, but it still has some tricks up its sleeve. In its twilight years, it’s been used by Cresent Yamaha as a platform to create the “ultimate track day” bike, and holy moly, it’s special. 

First thing’s first - yes, as you’ve seen in the title, it does cost £65,000 plus VAT, which - to save you loading up your phone’s calculator - works out at £78,000 with it added on. That’s about three times the price of a standard R1 GYTR, Yamaha’s box-ready track version of the bike. But take a closer look at the spec, and you’ll see where all that money goes. 

We’ll start with the CP4 engine, which is an angry enough thing out of the box, but Cresent has felt the need to increase the compress ratio, port the cylinder head, add race-spec camshafts and bolt on an Akrapovic exhaust. This bumps the power output by over 30bhp, giving a new figure of 215bhp.

To make all of that power useable regardless of your track experience level, there’s a GYTR electronics kit, working with a race-spec wiring harness and adjustment switches on the handlebar modelled on what’s used in World Superbikes. 

Further WorldSBK inspiration is found on the new underslung swing arm, and while ogling that thing of mechanical beauty, you might also see the Ohlins TTX rear shock. There’s also an Ohlins road and track fork at the front and an adjustable steering damper from the same firm. Completing the chassis is a pair of forged aluminium wheels from Marchesini.

10 limited edition bikes will be made in the Jonathan Rea 2024 Winter Test livery, and speaking of Mr Rea, each buyer will be able to claim a meet and greet with the six-time world champion at a WorldSBK round of their choosing. Customers will also be able to get a Crescent technician along to a track day to help with set up. 

Paul Denning, Crescent Yamaha managing director and Yamaha WorldSBK team principal, had this to say of the bike: 

“We really wanted to ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at this Limited Edition ‘JR Winter Test’ track bike, both from the GYTR catalogue and our other performance suppliers, to create the ultimate Crescent Yamaha track day R1 – and we’re pretty confident that we’ve nailed it! 

“We want to cater to the guys who want something special but who also really want to use up their tyres and come back with a massive grin on their faces – and to do that we considered every part in terms of both performance and maintenance, with durability in mind.

“There are a lot of details on this machine that are super close to WorldSBK but still openly available in the market, so this bike is designed to be used. With the engine upgrades and torque output, we’ve created something that can make a mega lap time in skilled hands but still delivers the very forgiving, very linear power delivery that the R1 is famous for. 

“Alongside a huge step in grip, braking power and stability, and coming in underneath the WorldSBK lower weight limit, this R1 is going to be very special to ride.”