Yamaha XSR900GP and XSR900 at Malle Beach Race

One motorcycle that we don’t get here in Malaysia, Yamaha trotted out the Yamaha XSR900GP and XSR900 at the 2026 Malle Beach Race in Margate, Kent UK. Now in its seventh edition, the Malle Beach Race is two days of bikers gathering and beaching racing covering a range of classes including scramblers, customs and modern classics.

Ahead of the main competition, riders took part in the Malle Rally100 on Friday, a 100-mile ride through the Kent countryside. Racing then shifted to Margate beach over the weekend, where competitors waited for the tide to recede before tackling a flat quarter-mile course laid out on the sand.

Despite being a road-going sport heritage motorcycle, Yamaha entered the XSR900GP in the Custom class with rider Tommy O’Grady. Defying expectations, O’Grady advanced through the qualifying heats and head-to-head races before securing second place overall in the Malle Double race. Meanwhile, in the Women’s class, British Flat Track champion Skye Adams competed aboard a standard Yamaha XSR900 finishing sixth overall while also showing in the Custom class.

Representing Yamaha’s heritage at the event were Hubert Bastié and Jed Kooning, who raced vintage Yamaha TT500 motorcycles and entertained spectators with spirited riding throughout the weekend. Yamaha also maintained a strong presence off the track with a display featuring accessorised XSR900 models and a specially liveried XSR900 GP developed in collaboration with Malle.

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