3 Gen I2 Gen II
No Gen III
Is there a trend here? - the Yamaha ad certainly didn't say anything about the vintage of the top finishers.
I suspect the IBR results will not influence many prospective buyers. Anyone who knows anything about the IBR already knows that Yamaha (actually fantastic competitors who happened to be riding FJR's) had an impressive finish at the event. If you don't know anything about the IBR, I suspect the statistic won't have much meaning or influence. I certainly wouldn't make light of the fact that the machine helped but I also believe that the results wouldn't have been very different if the top riders were riding something else - as long as the bike held together long enough to make the trip (insert BMW final drive comment here).
I would have to assume that the ad was sanctioned by the IBA. If not, I suspect it won't be up there for long.