When Yamaha released the R7 in 2021, the brand made it abundantly clear that the new sportbike wasn’t a replacement for its legendary R6. Despite introducing the new road-legal model, Iwata still offered the R6 as a track-only bike and pushed it to the limit in the Supersport World Championship (WorldSSP).
While the R6 was deemed obsolete in the consumer market, the celebrated supersport still dominated on the circuit, with 42 of WorldSSP’s 51 racers riding the R6 in 2021. Unsurprisingly, Ten Kate Yamaha rider Dominic Aegerter claimed the top prize last year, winning 10 races aboard the R6 along the way. However, in 2022, the WorldSSP field will experience a massive shakeup, taking the R6 from top dog to underdog in just one season.
