Yamaha R9: A Track Newbie's Baptism by Fire at Sydney Motorsport Park

Yamaha Australia has just unleashed the R9, and they threw the keys to a few seasoned pros and grizzled journos for the Australian Media launch...but they also gave me a set, just a typical road rider. My destination? Sydney Motorsport Park.

This isn't your usual high-performance review; it's about the raw experience of a typical road rider jumping on a sports bike on a racetrack. Genius move or recipe for disaster? Let's find out.

The new Yamaha R9 looks fantastic, and firing it up, the first thing that strikes you is the incredibly light clutch. After a few cautious warm-up laps behind one of the coaches from Moto School, it's was go time.

The riding position is aggressive, no doubt, not what I am used to so a little nervousness crept in. My initial goal? Just get a feel for it, and try to get out of 2nd gear gear. 

The South or Amaroo Circuit at Sydney Motorsport Park is a tight and technical 1.8km stretch of pristine tarmac, the perfect place to test out a bike like the R9.  Navigating the track, especially a tight left-hander, I found myself stiff and needing to relax. This circuit is fantastic for learning, getting your lines right, understanding where the bike wants to go and really giving it a handful before very quickly having to jump on the brakes in preparedness for the next bend. It was a re-learning curve, constantly reminding myself to use the brakes.

Slowly, I began to find my rhythm, though one particular bend seemed to confound me every time. Getting better at that became a personal challenge for the day. Having one of the coaches from Moto School jumping in front to follow through lines was invaluable, especially when he demonstrated braking points. It truly makes a difference. The R9's brakes are incredibly responsive and effective – a huge confidence booster.

My first impression of the bike? It's far more capable than I am! The riding position, while sporty, isn't as extreme as some other sports bikes I've experienced, which is a definite plus for a track novice. The main takeaway from that first session was the absolute necessity of using the brakes effectively.

The R9 excels. It's a great sports bike, and for me, following another rider's line through the corners was a revelation. The engine is incredibly usable, and I found myself able to tackle the entire track in second and third gears, whilst only getting into forth for a few quick seconds up the very, short straight. This bike really feels like it fills that sweet spot between the R1 and the R7 – a perfect balance for both road and occasional track work. Yamaha has done a stellar job.

Throughout the day, I focused heavily on trail braking through the bends – getting on the brakes early and smoothly trailing them off. It's a skill I try to practice on the road, and the track is the perfect environment to hone it, directly transferring those learned skills to road riding.

The R9 is a truly capable machine. The more I rode it, the more natural the riding position felt, and while I wouldn't plan massive kilometres on it, it's certainly a joy to ride. If you've never done a track day, I highly recommend it. You learn so much about yourself and your riding style, and picking up tips, especially from training programs like Moto School, is incredibly beneficial.

After my last session, I can confidently say the R9 is a wonderful bike. It boasts a new lighter chassis, suspension derived from the R1, and shares components with the MT-09 and XSR900GP. Crucially, while it uses the same engine, it's definitively tuned differently for this application.  And this is one of the key ingredients that make the R9 such a brilliant bike, the engine is just superb, easily one of the best triples on the market.

So all up a great day on a great bike and definitely looking forward to getting one for a full road review soon.