LE MANS, FRANCE - MAY 21: Maverick Vinales of Spain and Movistar Yamaha MotoGP celebrates the victory on the podium at the end of the MotoGP race during the MotoGp of France - Race on May 21, 2017 in Le Mans, France. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Images)

When Maverick Vinales took a brilliant victory at the Grand Prix de France at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit on Sunday afternoon, the Spanish rider set anothr new record, giving Yamaha their 500th Grand Prix victory.

This exceptional achievement is a splendid occasion for Yamaha's racing stars of earlier years to celebrate the highlights of the company's 56-year run in Grand Prix racing.

Yamaha secured victories in the 125cc (47 wins), 250cc (165 wins), 350cc (63 wins), 500cc (120 wins), and MotoGP class (105 wins), adding up to 500 Grand Prix wins in total, according to FIM statistics.

Grand Prix racing legends and Yamaha riders Phil Read (39 wins), Wayne Rainey (24 wins), Kenny Roberts Sr. (24 wins), Carlos Lavado (19 wins), Luca Cadalora (13 wins) and Giacomo Agostini (12 wins) took the opportunity to congratulate Yamaha and look back on their contributions to the company‘s successful Grand Prix racing history, dating back all the way to 1961.

“The highlights of my time with Yamaha are obviously my three World Championships. I raced six years of Grand Prix with them and I was on the podium 64 times in just over 80 races so we had a lot of success together,” Waybe Rainey said. “Yamaha‘s DNA is racing. I won 24 races with Yamaha and I can say that every time I raced with them they were all in. We squeezed every bit of performance out of the bike, out of myself and out of the team.”

“Yamaha was as committed to the project as I was. We couldn‘t have accomplished all that we did without each other. We were a great team. Yamaha has been an easy fit for me because they are a great company and I‘ve always felt welcome there. When I look at my link of the chain that is Yamaha‘s 500 wins, I know what I contributed to it and it‘s amazing to think that Yamaha has been there for all 500 of those.”

‘It‘s very special for me to be a part of that, because their commitment was to win and to give myself and all these other riders the opportunity to win. Being a Grand Prix winner is the ultimate for a road racer and to have 500 of those is amazing. I‘m very honoured to be a part of that.”

There are many more Yamaha stars who played a key role in the company's journey to elite status, including multiple World Championship winners Jorge Lorenzo (44 wins) and Eddie Lawson (26 wins).

Now it's on to the next 500 starting with the next round of the 2017 MotoGP championship in Italy on June 2 - 4