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On Wednesday night just outside Bologna, Alex Lowes and Sylvain Guintoli were two of the most prestigious guests at the opening of the Yamaha Superbike Temple at the Poggi Museum, made up of an incredible collection of Yamaha and motorbike history, both young and old. With the all-new YZF R1 taking center stage as the showpiece in the WorldSBK chapter of the Yamaha legend, riders Alex Lowes and Sylvain Guintoli were on hand to see their bikes admitted to the annals and present the 2016 Pata Yamaha Superbike to the attendees.

“It’s great to look back at what Yamaha have achieved, to realise what they’ve achieved and it gives you more motivation to achieve great things for Yamaha,” said Alex Lowes, Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team. “It’s really nice to be here.”

Names from the past, present and future of the Japanese manufacturer were all present, including 2011 WorldSBK runner up Marco Melandri, who was reunited with his race winning Yamaha machine from that season. After some seasons outside the WorldSBK paddock, the Japanese factory returns in 2016 with an all-new machine to try and take more of the race wins for which Melandri was celebrated. The Ravennate rider is currently the latest Yamaha rider to win for the marque in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, a record something Lowes and Guintoli will be attempting to take back at the next Round.

The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, a region and country full of motorsport history and the perfect stage for the museum and temple. The next Round of WorldSBK is to take place at the mythical track and as well as being the home round of Italian marque such as Ducati, the Round proves a home round of sorts for many on the grid, including Yamaha title sponsor Pata. After beginning the weekend with a walk through history, Yamaha will now be focused fully on the future to try and take the YZF R1 around Imola faster than their competitors.