Designed to win on the racetrack, the 2008 R6 continues to redefine the role and scope of a 600cc Supersport machine. The technology and design of the bike is focused on providing maximum performance at the circuit.

Yamaha makes a range of kit parts to allow racers to change parts permitted under the FIM Supersport regulations, but the company knows only too well that in racing the base bike has to be good if you're going to have a chance of winning. And as the fifth generation R6 uses technology transferred from the YZR-M1 MotoGP machine, it’s a worthy adversary for the cut and thrust of Supersport competition. One such example is the fuel injection system with its secondary injectors, working in tandem with the main injector to ensure optimum efficiency in the higher rpm range and giving a huge benefit to the Supersport racers, who are bound by the rules to use the production machine's throttle bodies, injectors and butterfly mechanisms - hardly a handicap when the stock bike features equipment like this.

Other important technical features making a significant contribution to the performance of both the road and race bikes are the crank and pistons. These are two more areas where the racers must remain absolutely standard.

But there's much more to the YZF-R6 than its engine. Using information gained from the YZR-M1 project, the steering head, swingarm pivot and rear axle are placed in a single plane to achieve the desired balance and rigidity. The chassis puts more weight over the front wheel, its 52.5/47.5 weight distribution replicating Mr. Rossi's M1. The massive air induction system is another M1-derived feature, going straight through the machine's headstock and using the inside of the frame as the air cleaner box.

As world Supersport rules insist on the standard front fork being used (only the internals can be changed), the 2008 YZF-R6 comes with redesigned fully-adjustable 41mm upside-down-front-forks, which feature a unique two-way compression stroke damping adjustment to allow both low and high speed damping to be tuned for even more control on the racetrack.

Supersport racing is one of the most popular racing classes at both world and national levels and Yamaha's YEC (Yamaha Engineering Corporation) kit parts give private teams the full range of items needed to turn their R6 into a world championship contender. As Yamaha's official team in the class Yamaha World Supersport Team will carry out further tuning on the machines of Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes, including the production of special parts developed in-house at their Neuss headquarters.