like a virgin

The Yamaha R6 Cup was the highest profile one-make race series since the glory days of theYamaha Pro-Am Challenge in the early 1980s.

Held for five years between 2003 and 2008, it was responsible for breeding a whole new generation of racing talent, including MotoGP winner Cal Crutchlow, British Superbike Champion Tommy Hill, British Supersport Champion Billy McConnell, and current British Superbike contender, Tommy Bridewell.

The series was the brainchild of former TT winner and 500cc Grand Prix star Rob McElnea who was, at the time, running the Virgin Yamaha team in the British Superbike Championship. “Me and Andy Smith from Yamaha were having a beer and we just came up with the idea based on the old Pro-Am series and then just added things to it,” McElnea explains. “Yamaha was well up for it and it worked out really well for them. The deal was that Yamaha would supply the bikes and all the