Carlos Lavado’s 1986 winning Yamaha YZR250 (OW82) – With Phil Anysley
Late last year I was able to photograph a pair of historic 250cc GP bikes, here is the first – one of the pair of Yamaha YZR250 (OW82)s that Carlos Lavado used in winning the 1986 World Championship.
He used this bike, which was fitted with power-valves, for wet weather races, winning two. His other bike, with no power-valves and used for dry races, had four wins.
The newly designed YZR 250 was first tested by him during ’85 and was basically half an OW81 500cc V4. The same 60º cylinder angle was used and the new Deltabox frame structure was optimised for cooling efficiency.
The only weak spot of the design was a reluctance to start (!) which meant he spent most of the season fighting his way through the pack for his six victories…
Weight was less than 100kg, with 75hp on offer.
