LEGENDARY MACHINES
Every year, the Sunday Ride Classic opens its gates to machines that deserve more than a museum. They deserve to be seen, heard, felt — and for some, put back on track where they wrote history.
For the 2026 edition, the SRC brings together factory motorcycles, one-of-a-kind prototypes and the rarest of racing machines, ridden by the greatest names in Grand Prix: Sarron, Saarinen, Sheene, Lawson, Schwantz. Names that still echo. From the 250cc Works Yamahas of the 70s to the 500cc two-strokes of the 90s, through the legendary Elf X, every machine on display carries a piece of motorcycle racing history within it.
Some will ride before your eyes. On this very Circuit Paul Ricard that watched them come to life.
This is not an exhibition. It is a resurrection.
ELF X
One of a kind. The Elf X is far more than a racing motorcycle — it is a complete break from the conventions of its era.
Built around a Yamaha 750 engine, it abandons every traditional architecture: no conventional frame, an integrated load-bearing structure, and suspension directly inspired by Formula 1. At a time when Grand Prix motorcycles remained rooted in classical designs, the Elf X stood as a mechanical UFO — admired, studied, never truly matched.
Born at Circuit Paul Ricard in 1977, it returns in 2026 to where it all began.
It is Thierry Espié who will have the honour of putting it back on track before your eyes.
A moment of pure history, not to be missed under any circumstances.
500 Yamaha ROC
Built in France, feared everywhere. The ROC Yamaha 500 was born from a historic decision by Yamaha in 1992: entrust its factory YZR V4 engines to European chassis builders.
Serge Rosset and his team from Annemasse rose to the challenge and designed an exceptional machine, aluminium chassis, Öhlins suspension, a 155-horsepower two-stroke V4 engine. A true Grand Prix weapon in the hands of privateer riders.
Between 1992 and 1997, around thirty ROC Yamahas were entered in the World Championship, giving an entire generation of riders the chance to go up against the factory armadas. No electronics. No aids. Pure talent and a fistful of throttle.
At the SRC 2026, a former Yamaha France machine will take to the start. A two-stroke missile from a heroic era, back on the circuit where it once blazed.
Yamaha YZR 500 OWL9
Four years of work. Four passionate builders. Four impossible machines.
Claude H and his three companions — two French, two Italians have achieved the unthinkable: building from scratch, part for part, four replicas of the Yamaha YZR 500 OW19 of 2002, the very last factory two-stroke 500 entered by Yamaha in Grand Prix racing. Engines cast piece by piece, carburettors tomographed with X-rays, exhausts welded in titanium. No compromise, no shortcuts.
Their first public start took place at the SRC 2023, at Circuit Paul Ricard. This year, they are back.
500 Honda NSR V2
22 units. A legendary weapon.
The Honda NSR 500 V2 is an absolute rarity: only 22 units built by HRC between 1996 and 2001. A 100° V2 engine, 135 horsepower, barely 103 kg, and no electronic riding aids whatsoever.
It is on this machine that Sete Gibernau revealed himself to the world, claiming a 3rd place finish at his home Grand Prix in Spain before going on to take a pole position.
At the SRC 2026, this factory Repsol NSR V2 will be out on track. Its two-stroke V-twin is going to roar.
Yamaha YZ635 1972
Yamaha enters its Works Racers in the world road racing championship. Among them, the YZ635, a water-cooled 250cc factory machine entrusted to Barry Sheene and Rodney Gould. An exceptionally rare motorcycle, produced in very limited numbers by the factory competition department.
Rodney Gould finished third in the championship, winning the Grand Prix of Holland and Sweden on this very YZ635. The bike was then handed to Frenchman Olivier Chevallier for a race in Rungis at the end of 1972, where he finished second behind Renzo Pasolini.
Rediscovered in the early 2000s and painstakingly restored by Jacky Germain, it will be on display at the SRC 2026 in the Yamaha Historic Racing Team garage.
A one-of-a-kind factory piece, rescued from over fifty years of history.
KÖNIG 500
Not one, but two König 500s will be present at the Sunday Ride Classic 2026, and both exceptional machines will also take to the track.
For those not yet familiar with this extraordinary machine: the König is the wild story of an engine builder, František König, who had the audacity to graft a marine outboard engine onto a Grand Prix motorcycle chassis.
A water-cooled 2-stroke, howling like no other motorcycle has ever done before. A boat engine on the grid of the 500cc Grand Prix!
Exceedingly rare, the König 500 is today one of the most fascinating motorcycles in Grand Prix history.
Don't miss them!
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