First pics: Yamaha unveils 2005 M1 livery.

The new 2005-specification Gauloises Yamaha YZR-M1s were displayed for the first time in their new livery today (pictured), during a press conference attended by Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan.

The reigning world champion and his new team-mate were the guests of honour at Yamaha's '2005 Motor Sports Press Conference', where team director Davide Brivio and senior management representatives from Yamaha Motor Company also joined the two riders on stage to talk about Yamaha's plans for MotoGP in 2005 and beyond.

During the event Rossi, now in his second season as a Yamaha rider, spoke about his pre-season preparations to date and his main targets for the forthcoming season:

"We have done a lot of test runs during the off-season. Things aren't quite 100% yet, but the machine and the engine are already much better than last year," said the six-times world champ.

"It's nice to see the M1 in its final 2005 livery. I hope I can win the title again this year on this new bike, but winning is never easy!" added Vale, who could match Mick Doohan's five consecutive premier-class titles this season. "I was very happy to win nine rounds in last year's championship and I think that is a good target for this year too. I hope everyone will be cheering for me!"

New team-mate Edwards, who recently turned 31, then commented on his return to Yamaha after a seven-year absence:

"I was last with Yamaha in the 1998 season in the World Superbike Championship and I am very happy to be back," he began. "I saw how good the team and machine were last year, so I was excited when I got the offer to come back to the Yamaha side.

"I am also glad that there will be a US round at Laguna Seca this year for the first time in a while. I hope to have a bit of an advantage there, but I will be giving my best shot in all the races," added the Texan.

Brivio, who is entering his fourth season as the factory team director, added his impressions of the 2005 machine - which, in terms of livery at least, is largely similar to the 2004 machine.

"We're very pleased with the look and design of the new bike, as well as with its performance so far during testing," said the Italian. "This is going to be a very exciting season and a big challenge for both riders.

"After this we are flying directly to Phillip Island for our fourth test of the year and we hope to continue the good work we've been doing so far with the development of this new bike, with the aim of having it ready for the first race in a month's time."

Senior managing director of Yamaha Motor Company Tsuneji Togami, senior general manager Masao Furusawa and Shigeto Kitagawa, head of the engineering department in charge of developing the 2005 YZR-M1, were three of the Yamaha Motor Company representatives present at today's event.

Mr. Togami launched the press conference by stressing the importance of Yamaha's race activities for fulfilling Yamaha's corporate mission of "We create Kando - Touching your heart", saying:

"Through our motorcycle racing activities we want to stimulate the motorcycle racing scene, to bring motor sports closer to people and to help raise the next generation of people who will lead these sports into the future."

Mr. Kitagawa then highlighted the four key goals of the YZR-M1 development project in 2005 as improving the balance of the machine's handling stability, boosting acceleration performance and top speed, balancing high power with fuel economy, and making the machine more robust in terms of its adaptability to different track conditions.

"Besides winning a second consecutive rider title," he commented. "We also intend to go for the manufacturer's title with the new M1."

Rossi and Edwards now fly directly to Phillip Island, Australia for three days of testing from 9th-11th March, before returning to Europe next week for the first of the two official IRTA tests in Barcelona.