Alex Asigno

The Fiat Yamaha Team's young Spanish rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who boasts an outstanding record of two pole positions and two podiums from his two MotoGP starts, put in more impressive work today during a one-day test in Jerez. After joining his team-mate Valentino Rossi as part of a Fiat Yamaha double podium yesterday, he posted the fastest time of the day and completed a total of 94 laps. Another day of Andalucian sunshine today provided Lorenzo and his crew with the chance to work on general setting and their all-important tyre testing programme with Michelin amid slightly more relaxed surroundings. The Mallorcan continued to show his ability and fast rate of progress, not only topping the time sheets on a qualifying tyre but lapping consistenly fast on race tyres. His best time on a race tyre was 1'39.59, over half a second faster than the fastest lap record recorded in yesterday's race and he was the only rider to dip under the 1'38 mark on a qualifying tyre. Danielle Romagnoli - Team Manager of Jorge Lorenzo "It was a another really good day today; Jorge's progress is almost unbelievable for us to watch and every day is enjoyable. The most impressive thing today is that we were able to improve on Jorge's race pace from Saturday, which was the best pace of the whole weekend. We continued to work on set-up and improved the front feeling with the help of a new fork setting, and with race tyres today he was very consistent and very fast. We also refined some engine mapping and through this it seems that we've been able to obtain improvement with tyre wear. Michelin had planned a very interesting tyre test for us today with Estoril in mind and we found some good things, especially concerning the rear tyre. Jorge has done a great job at just his second race and today's test gave us a chance to check out some important things that will help us at the next race in Estoril. We're already looking forward to the next challenge but for now I want to thank all the team and Yamaha for their hard work; they deserve a good rest before Portugal!" After claiming his 100th premier-class podium with a strong second place in the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday, it was straight back to work for Valentino Rossi and the Fiat Yamaha Team as they undertook a full day's testing at Jerez today. With just two races under their belts since joing forces with Bridgestone, the primary focus of Rossi's crew still remains developing the union between the 2008 Yamaha M1 and the Bridgestone rubber. Yesterday's podium proves they are on the right track but today offered a chance to spend some uninterrupted hours concentrating on just this, with satisfying results all round. Setting was improved in general and Rossi was pleased with some of the new compound tyres he tried, both front and rear and including qualifying tyres. He completed 85 laps in total and his best lap, set with a qualifying tyre, put him second in a time of 1'39.117. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo also had a good day after his third place yesterday, topping the time sheets with a best lap of 1'38.679. The team will now have a short break before heading to Estoril in Portugal in ten days time, confident that they are in good shape at this early stage of the season. Davide Brivio - Team Manager of Valentino Rossi "Today gave us the chance to spend a whole day working closely with our engineers and Bridgestone on tyres and general bike setting. It's still early days in the Bridgestone-Yamaha relationship so we are still focusing on adapting these two elements in order to create the best package. We got some good feedback today and it seems we improved the feeling in both areas. It's been very important to stay this extra day because the first two races have been quite intense for everyone, so it's good to have time to test in relaxed surroundings without the pressure that comes during a race weekend. We were able to go through things step by step, analyse the details and take on board some information which we hope will be useful in Estoril and beyond. We worked with different front and rear compounds today, and we also tested some qualifying tyres. Of course we're always looking to improve the setting and today we were also abe to improve the stability of the bike in the fast corners. Valentino is happy with the days work and now he and all of the team will have some well deserved rest before the next race." 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team1'38.679 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team1'39.117 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro1'39.218 4. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP1'39.484 5. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing1'39.569 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP1'39.747 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini1'40.034 8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda1'40.116 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda1'40.389 10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP1'40.394 11. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki1'40.534 12. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini1'41.308 13. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro1'41.396 14. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing1'42.132 15. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team1'42.240 16. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing1'42.562 17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team1'42.624 Jerez Lap Record - D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1'40.116 Jerez Best Lap - J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'38.189 Click here to view the news

As with the opening two rounds of the '08 World Enduro Championship, Simone Albergoni recorded the UFO Corse Yamaha team's best results in the Enduro 1 class at the Grand Prix of Spain in Sitges. Narrowly missing out on a podium result on day one when he finished fourth, Albergoni placed a comfortable third on day two and now holds the same position in the E1 championship standings. Although unsatisfied with his performances on the opening day, Simone showed that he had the speed to run with his E1 class rivals and were it not for several costly mistakes he would have finished on the podium. Mixing good and average form during the special tests throughout the opening day, two crashes - one on the third motocross test and another on the final extreme test, prevented Simone challenging eventual day one winner Mika Ahola or runner-up Ivan Cervantes. Simone eventually finished fourth. Determined to make up for his opening day disappointment Simone started day two well before again swinging between up and down results on the tests. Not a fan of the extremely high-speed enduro test the Italian managed to win one of the day's specials before going on to place third. Despite his frustration at seeing several mistakes prevent him from recording better results on each day Simone now sits just 15 points behind E1 class leader Mika Ahola Finishing just two places behind Albergoni on Day1 and three positions behind on Day2 Cristobal Guerrero performed well at his home round of the '08 WEC series despite still not being 100 per cent fit following his early season shoulder injury. Sixth on day one, Cristobal frustratingly missed a fifth place result by less than one second. Performing consistently throughout the duration he was then slightly off the pace in the final extreme test and this prevented the former Enduro Junior world champion from placing higher than sixth. On day two Cristobal again was sixth - a result that would have been better were it not for a costly mistake in the final extreme test. UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz was seventh on both days and was another rider who saw his results spoiled by a mistake on the extreme test. On day two he was holding fifth for most of the time before dropping to seventh following a last lap crash. Round four of eight takes place on June 15th in Poland. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 4th, Day 2: 3rd "I made a lot of mistakes this weekend. I would have one good test and then one bad test, all the way through the event. I didn't like the enduro test - I think it was too fast and not technical enough for a world championship special. On day one I crashed on the last extreme test, but also on the third motocross test. I'm not really happy with my results. I know I have good speed but it wasn't my weekend. I hope I can improve things at the next GP in Poland." Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 6th, Day 2: 6th "It's not been a really good race for me, but also not a really bad one. Sixth on both days is ok, but I was less than one second from fifth on day one and not so far from fifth on day two. I had some good special tests but also some that were not so good. I hope that with some more training I can be faster in Poland." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 7th, Day 2: 7th "It's been an unbelievably dusty GP, but it has been quite good for me. It wasn't as hard as many riders thought it might be, but it was incredibly dusty, especially on the motocross test. I finished in seventh on both days, which isn't too bad, but I was fighting for fifth position all day on Day2. I made a big mistake on the first extreme test, which stopped me finishing higher than seventh. It is really close between a group of about four riders in the E1 class, without my mistakes I could have got a better result." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 44'47.430 2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'5.650 3, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 0'44.050 4, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'53.130 5, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 1'18.050 6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 1'18.130 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 2'1.590 8, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 2'45.390 9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'48.170 10, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 3'0.340 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 39'25.570 2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'0.620 3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'25.310 4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 0'53.100 5, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 1'9.630 6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 1'23.180 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 1'24.900 8, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 2'17.640 9, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 2'27.290 10, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 2'37.720 Rider Standings 05/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 142 2, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 127 3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 126 4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 112 5, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 84 6, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 80 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 72 8, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 41 9, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 36 10, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 35 11, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 29 12, Niklas Gustafsson, Honda, SWE, 28 13, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 24 14, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 24 15, Paulo Felicia, Kawasaki, POR, 14 Manufacturer Standings 05/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 142 2, KTM, 131 3, Yamaha, 127 4, Husqvarna, 65 5, TM, 24 6, Suzuki, 24 7, Kawasaki, 14 ---------- RACE REPORT - 07/04/2008 Aubert aces Spain with double victory UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert's hopes of winning the 2008 Enduro 2 world championship title took a very sizeable step in the right direction at the Grand Prix of Spain, staged in Sitges, as the Frenchman claimed a convincing double E2 class win. Riding almost faultlessly in the dry and dusty Spanish conditions, Aubert saw bad luck strike his closest championship rival Juha Salminen on Day1 as the multi-world champion failed to finish. Winning Day1 comfortably before going on to beat Salminen by almost 16 seconds on Day2 Aubert now sits 25 points clear at the top of the Enduro 2 championship standings. As expected Aubert and Salminen quickly distanced themselves from the rest of the Enduro 2 class riders on Day1, with Aubert not quite able to match the pace of his Finnish rival. With little to separate the battling duo on any of the first day's special tests, Johnny took the lead as the day neared a conclusion to claim a sizeable eventual winning margin over countryman Antoine Meo and Italian Alessandro Belometti. Despite winning four of the day's special tests Aubert, by his own admission, wasn't expecting to claim the day win but following Salminen's retirement saw his hard work rewarded with a perfect result. The Enduro 2 class was again dominated by Aubert and Salminen on Day2 as they broke free from the pack by over a minute. However unlike on Day1 where Aubert had been unable to match Salminen's blistering pace, on Day2 it was the Yamaha rider who was the man to beat as he won three of the opening four special tests to open up a lead that wouldn't be caught. Never placing lower than second in the class throughout the whole day Johnny claimed a deserved E2 class win finishing 16 seconds up on Salminen and in doing so separating himself from Salminen in the E2 championship standings by some 25 points. The GP of Spain was also a good one for Aubert's UFO Corse Yamaha team mate Fabrizio Dini. Sixth on Day1, but only five seconds behind the fifth-placed rider, on Day2 Fabrizio moved into the fifth place position and were it not for a couple of costly crashes would have grabbed fourth. Nevertheless Dini claimed two solid results and now sits seventh in the E2 world championship standings. Round four of eight will occur in Poland on June 15th. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: 1st, Day 2: 1st "It's been a great weekend for me. On day one Juha was riding really well and if he hadn't had the problem with his bike I think he would have won and I would have been second. But I had some luck and Juha didn't finish the race. It's not a nice way to win but that's the way it can go sometimes. I'm so happy to have won on day two - in the right way! On the first lap I rode really well on the enduro and motocross tests and was about eight or nine seconds ahead of Juha. I kept pushing and slowly managed to open up a 16 second advantage coming into the final extreme test. I knew then that it was my day. Things are good for me at the moment but I'm not thinking about the championship. I know Juha won't give up." Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: 6th, Day 2: 5th "I crashed a lot on day one but I still finished sixth. I felt good most of the day and I'm quite happy with my result. Day two started badly for me. I crashed in the first motocross test and made a mistake on the logs on the extreme test but after that I rode well. I finished fifth but I was only a few seconds behind the fourth place rider. I'm pleased with my results." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 44'35.970 2, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 1'21.250 3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 1'24.360 4, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 1'44.930 5, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 2'2.410 6, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 2'7.630 7, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 2'8.590 8, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 2'12.800 9, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 2'19.750 10, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'52.210 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 38'36.740 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 0'15.760 3, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 1'21.890 4, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 2'10.010 5, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 2'13.010 6, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 2'13.790 7, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 2'16.770 8, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 2'21.610 9, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'35.930 10, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 2'40.280 Rider Standings 05/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 139 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 114 3, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 99 4, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 85 5, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 81 6, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 81 7, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 73 8, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 72 9, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 51 10, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 41 11, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 40 12, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 36 13, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 31 14, Fritz Andersson, KTM, SWE, 24 15, Andrea Belotti, KTM, ITA, 18 Manufacturer Standings 05/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 139 2, KTM, 134 3, HusaBerg, 119 4, Honda, 82 5, TM, 81 6, Husqvarna, 73 7, BMW, 40 8, Aprilia, 31 9, GasGas, 11 Click here to view the news

In the week where Yamaha released their YZ production models for 2008, Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins and De Carli Yamaha's Antonio Cairoli placed the YZ450FM and YZ250F on the top steps of the MX1 and MX2 podiums respectively for the fifth time this season at Sevlievo for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the eighth round of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship. Coppins gained his fifth victory of the year, with results of second and first, and has extended his tally of moto triumphs to nine from sixteen, taking at least one chequered flag from seven of the eight meetings run thus far. The new member of the European Union welcomed the GP series for the fourth time this century. Winner of 'Best Organiser' at the FIM Off-road Awards last November the Sevlievo circuit was up to its usual high standards in terms of presentation and the facilities on offer like infrastructure, grandstands and accessibility. The track was quick and undulating with many jumps and a hard-packed soil. The combination of the heat and several steep uphill drags put a lot of stress on machinery across the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. Coppins was able to qualify in third position on Saturday - just two tenths of a second away from pole - after working with the Italian crew to dial-in the machine in terms of carburetion and suspension settings on the powerful YZ four-stroke. The 30 year old had his hands full dealing with David Philippaerts in the first moto. Jonathan Barragan had already made a break with the race lead after acing the start and the New Zealander had to push hard to overtake the Italian to get up to the runner-up position. Coppins faced more opposition from Sebastien Pourcel but both the Frenchman and Philippaerts slipped off their 450s at some stage during the race. Coppins was allowed to secure his 14th appearance in the top three from 15. In the second sprint Coppins took three laps to dispose of a pursuing Ramon and then seize the lead from Mike Brown. The Kiwi, who was nursing some pain to his back and groin from a near-crash in the first race, drilled the Yamaha into the ground for several laps to establish a comfortable advantage over his Belgian rival. Meanwhile Marc de Reuver was making a small step in the right direction with an overall position of ninth. The Dutchman, who claimed his second career victory here twelve months ago in the MX2 class, started poorly in Moto1 but applied himself well to build momentum and gain ground on the leader-board. He came through to 12th for his first points from the last two Grand Prix. In the second race he performed better and was annoyed to be robbed of eighth spot on the last lap by Brown. The motos in Bulgaria tipped the World Championship into its second half. There are now seven Grand Prix, a total of 350 points available to win. Coppins has taken a step closer to his MX1 title dream and amassed a lead of 97 points over Steve Ramon. Previous contender Kevin Strijbos has been effectively ruled out of the chase for the 2007 crown after missing the Grand Prix this weekend because of a knee injury. De Reuver is currently twelfth and 17 points from the next slot. Yamaha unveiled their 2008 YZ production models this week. The 450F has undergone several significant upgrades. Improved engine mapping means stronger but controllable power while mid-range and top sections of the performance have increased. The agile machine also boasts a lightweight aluminium chassis with a shorter headpipe, lighter forks, compact new front calliper, and modified rear suspension. All efforts have been directed into making the latest 450 and 250, which has received many of the same improvements, easier to ride but with a very dependable and potent basis to chisel the most competitive motorcycle of the class. Crucially the noise output of the popular YZ 450 - and platform for the most successful MX1 GP bike ever - has been reduced to 94 decibels; a volume level that applies to the whole four-stroke range. The ninth round of the World Championship will take place in two weeks time at the impressive Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden. Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team: "It feels good to win here and after last week and being so strong in the second moto. I did not start that badly but battled with Steve in the first few laps and lost some time on Jonathan. He was riding really well in that moto so I had to settle for second. At one stage I was closing on him a little bit but then I made a big mistake. I over-jumped the triple step-up and landed in the berm. I hurt my back a little bit and also squashed my sensitive area on the fuel tank! So my chase was over after that. I started better in the second race and after passing Mike Brown I knew that if I could make some good laps and stay strong then I would win. Steve came into second place but I kept my head down and when the gap was ten seconds I knew I had the GP. I want to thank the team because this weekend we worked extremely hard and it was not an easy meeting but the result was very good." Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "In the first heat I had a good start, around sixth or seventh but a few guys passed me. I got a rhythm going and finished eleventh. In the next race the first few laps were again not so easy but I found my way and the speed improved. It was frustrating that Brown overtook me at the end. If you look at the last two GPs then this is an improvement and now we will move on from here." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "I'm happy because once again Josh rode very well. In the first moto it was just a little bit too late to attack Jonathan and the gap was too big. There was no point in taking any risks, but in the second moto he got a good start again and made his own race. Nobody could catch him so it was a perfect win. The temperature was changing on Saturday so we worked on the set-up and preparation of the bike. Marc's result is not fantastic but if we look at the very low point we had in France then it was a good reaction. The fighting spirit was there again and from our perspective that is very important. I want to be optimistic for the next race." Temp: 30 Crowd: 25000 Weather: Sunny 2007 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria 17/06/2007 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 39'53.521 2 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'9.925 3 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'14.940 4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'19.054 5 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'28.486 6 Julien Bill Honda CHE 0'34.539 7 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'38.135 8 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'44.876 9 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 0'51.713 10 Julien Vanni Honda FRA 1'6.047 11 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'8.933 12 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 1'11.161 13 James Noble Honda GBR 1'13.895 14 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'17.809 15 Cyrille Coulon Honda FRA 1'23.516 16 Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 1'24.760 17 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL 1'29.118 18 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'40.037 19 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA 1'40.652 20 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'46.662 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 40'21.572 2 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'9.056 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'16.910 4 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'26.226 5 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'31.909 6 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'35.325 7 Julien Vanni Honda FRA 0'38.030 8 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'40.754 9 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 0'43.003 10 Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 0'44.638 11 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'45.041 12 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'2.317 13 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL 1'6.956 14 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'11.957 15 James Noble Honda GBR 1'18.877 16 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'20.344 17 Cyrille Coulon Honda FRA 1'21.519 18 Cedric Melotte Aprilia BEL 1'24.239 19 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'26.009 20 Graham Bradley Kawasaki USA 1'27.012 Rider Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 368 2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 271 3. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 222 4. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 222 5. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 214 6. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 211 7. Mike Brown Honda USA 196 8. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 179 9. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 178 10. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 154 11. James Noble Honda GBR 153 12. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 136 13. Manuel Priem TM BEL 125 14. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 120 15. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 107 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 86 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 73 18. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 72 19. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 61 20. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 47 Manufacturer Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 368 2. Suzuki 314 3. KTM 284 4. Kawasaki 263 5. Honda 246 6. TM 125 7. Aprilia 7 RACE REPORT 17/06/2007 Cairoli superb for sixth double MX2 victory The Grand Prix of Bulgaria represented the seventh meeting this year to fall to the talents and speed of Yamaha De Carli's Antonio Cairoli and his fettled YZ250F. The Sicilian, with his electric, loose and flamboyant style, won both motos under the hot eastern European sunshine at Sevlievo for his sixth 'double' of the season. He has yet to finish lower than third from sixteen races and has not trodden lower than the second step on the overall Grand Prix podium. He has been beaten only once. The Sevlievo dirt was hard and sun-baked although watering from the organisers in an effort to contain the dust was a problem for the MX2 class who entered the gate first to start the race programme on Sunday. Some sections of the fast and jumpy course were slippery and rough, making the terrain difficult to tackle throughout the course; the added high temperatures of 30 degrees plus did not make things any easier. Cairoli won his seventh qualification heat on Saturday to take to the line with second position for Sunday. He passed Tommy Searle on the first lap of the initial MX2 moto and from the point when he had a clear track ahead of him, the race was his. The 21 year old furrowed a lonely but victorious path to his thirteenth moto from the last fifteen. A collision out of the gate with World Champion Christophe Pourcel meant that he had to engage in some hand-to-hand combat in the second race but showed his ease on the surface by using different lines and momentum in the early laps and was soon heading the field once again. He was able to beat Pourcel and has now collected fourteen from sixteen chequered flags. Yamaha Team Ricci's Davide Guarneri registered his best moto result of the season with a confident ride to fifth. In fact it was his second highest race finish since 2005 after a problematic '06 season with injury (he was fourth at the British GP last June). The Italian was sick during the week however and felt weak going into Moto2. He lasted the distance and was able to obtain twelfth place for seventh position overall and be the second best Yamaha rider of the day. Team-mate Nicolas Aubin and Bike it Dixon Yamaha's Carl Nunn followed in the GP classification with eighth and ninth. For Nunn it was one of his better results since joining the British team in the winter. Aubin suffered with his starts and was tenth and ninth. Kenneth Gundersen, now recovered from the stomach upset that limited his options in France last week, started badly in Moto1 after a first corner spill and was unable to make a decent impact on the race. He swallowed the roost of others and was held up to only score sixteenth by the end. The Norwegian was able to take more points in the second MX2 contest with a decent ride to sixth; his highest finish since the German GP. Cairoli's masterful form in the MX2 class this season means that he now enjoys an 83 point lead over Pourcel in the championship. Aubin is seventh and twenty points ahead of Gundersen. Antonio Cairoil, Yamaha De Carli: "Pourcel and I had some contact coming out of the start but we are fighting for the championship so this is OK and part of the racing. We lost balance and touched, there is no big deal. I have won seven GPs now and that is a lot. To have such a big lead is not what I was expecting before Valkenswaard. I really like this track here. Last year I won a moto but crashed in the next race and took zero points, so this is a big improvement. It is not my favourite place because I prefer softer ground but I had a great feeling with my bike and could make a good race. It was hot but my physical condition was fine. The first moto was over quite quickly but I liked the second because I had to pass Tommy and Leuret and find some interesting lines; it was fun." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Team Ricci: "My condition is getting better but unfortunately on Wednesday and Thursday I was a little bit sick and in these high temperatures yesterday and today it was very difficult. My speed was quite good though. In the first moto I started around the top ten and took fifth place. My rhythm was great and Tyla and Leuret were just slightly faster than me otherwise I could have looked to fourth. In the second race, before the start, I knew it would be hard to keep a good pace all the way. I took twelfth place which was not so bad for the points. This is another small step for me and I feel quite good. When I have the stamina for two good motos maybe the podium will be reachable." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "In the first race I crashed on the first corner and restarted completely last. I pushed with everything I had and I saw by the lap-times that I was running the same speed as the top five. I finished fifteenth and the result was not good but I was quite pleased with the riding. In the last moto I got a good start and did all I could. This is the level where I want to be now. I will train hard and hopefully be able to step it up for Sweden." Carl Nunn, Bike it Dixon Yamaha Racing: "I want to be better than this, even if each overall result in the top ten is helping me in the championship. I want to keep on getting as many points as I can and climb up the table. I should be knocking on the door a little bit more now for tenth place. I am happy enough but we are working on the beginning of the race at the moment because I am too slow in the first laps. My pace is OK as the race goes on and I get faster towards the end. My fitness is not the problem and I am getting quicker and quicker. If I get a good start then I drop places at the beginning because the others are pushing. We have to sort this out and that's what we are focussing on. The top five should not be far away." Temp: 34 Crowd: 25000 Weather: Sunny 2007 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria 17/06/2007 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'38.712 2 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'8.615 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'12.634 4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'18.700 5 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'25.765 6 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.678 7 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 0'31.902 8 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'32.838 9 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 0'34.122 10 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'35.158 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'45.233 12 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 0'48.024 13 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 0'50.616 14 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'52.059 15 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'53.678 16 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'57.735 17 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'3.725 18 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'8.549 19 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'16.720 20 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'14.271 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'18.944 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'7.187 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'8.678 4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'9.716 5 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'18.945 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'20.073 7 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'33.505 8 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 0'35.422 9 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'42.521 10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'51.304 11 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'59.513 12 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'7.362 13 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'9.823 14 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'13.778 15 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'24.500 16 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'26.355 17 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'30.602 18 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'46.732 19 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 1'52.094 20 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'52.987 Rider Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 392 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 309 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 298 4. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 245 5. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 244 6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 201 7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 188 8. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 168 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 137 10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 129 11. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 111 12. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 99 13. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 95 14. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 94 15. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 79 16. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 76 17. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 68 18. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 63 19. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 60 20. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 58 Manufacturer Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 392 2. Kawasaki 320 3. KTM 319 4. Honda 245 5. Suzuki 139 Click here to view the news

Yamaha De Carli Team rider Antonio Cairoli secured the 2007 Italian championship title at the last of round of the six race championship held at the Gazzane di Preseglie track in Brescia. Cairoli, as defending 2006 champion, entered the last round with a ten points lead on fellow Yamaha rider Manuel Monni and managed to seal his championshipby winning the first moto, while his closest rival placed seventh when penalized for overtaking under a yellow flag. Needing only two points from the second moto Cairoli took things steady and finished second behind winner Monni. The 2007 Italian championship turned out to an all Yamaha affair with the first four riders riding a YZ250F, while 16 year old Team Yamaha de Carli rider Alessandro Lupino, finished in sixth position. With a light early-morning rain watering the track to create optimal racing conditions it was Portuguese Rui Goncalves (KTM) who got the hole shot, but Cairoli soon got by to take the chequered flag without being challenged. Exciting however was the battle between Yamaha Team Ricci rider Davide Guarneri and Manuel Monni for second, it was Monni who eventually took the flag as runner up, but he was later demoted five positions for overtaking under a yellow flag. Only needing two points to secure the championship Cairoli could have been forgiven to just cruise home in the second moto, but as expected ‘Tonio’ diced for the win with Guarneri and Monni. But as the laps accumulated Cairoli settled for a podium while the other two went for the win, a slide of Guarneri finally gave Monni a much deserved moto win. Cairoli confirmed that winning the Italian International championship does mean a lot to him; ‘I had to dig deep today to secure the title, but I’m happy it paid off because winning this championship is really important to me. It’s been hard tough, I have not been able to train regularly the last month and I feel that my condition is weakened a bit. After a long season I feel the batteries need to be recharged. I’m sorry Manuel did not get a real shot at the title today due to his penalty, he was really strong today and deserved to win the second moto. Compliments also to Matteo (Bonini) for finishing in third overall despite having to deal with many injuries this year’. Cairoli will not have much time to recover from the long 2007 motocross season with the second round of the European Supercross championship race on the calendar for coming weekend at Bilbao (Spain), yet another championship title the Sicilian star needs to defend! Standings 2007 Italian Championship 1. Antonio Cairoli / Yamaha De Carli - 277 points 2. Manuel Monni/ Team Yamaha RSC - 261 points 3. Matteo Bonini/ Yamaha De Carli - 221 points 4. Davide Guarneri / Yamaha Team Ricci - 213 points 5. Angelo Pellegrini / Honda - 180 points 6. Allesandro Lupino / Yamaha De Carli - 151 points Click here to view the news

Having produced two impressive results at the opening round of the '06 WEC series, his first ever world championship enduro competition, UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert again showed just how talented a rider he is by claiming his first ever WEC win on day two in Portugal. In doing so Aubert made it the perfect weekend for the UFO Corse Yamaha squad as Stefan Merriman claimed top honours in the E2 class on day one. On day one Merriman made up for his disappointments at the opening round of the series in Sweden and placed 19 seconds ahead of Finn Mika Ahola and a further 13 seconds ahead of Finn Samuli Aro. Finishing in fourth position, due in part to having struggled on the event's difficult extreme special test, Johnny Aubert placed in fourth. On day two Aubert made none of the mistakes that had slowed his progress on day one and wanting to simply stand on the podium the former motocross racer claimed his first WEC victory. Winning seven of the day's eight special tests Aubert placed 23 seconds ahead of Mika Ahola with Merriman in third. In the E2 world championship standings Aubert is placed third, five points behind class leader Aro, with Merriman fourth. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha Enduro 2 class - Day 1 fourth, Day 2 first: "It's absolutely fantastic to have had such a great weekend and to have won my first ever world championship enduro race. I still can't believe it. When I saw the motocross and enduro tests I was confident that I could do well, but when I saw the extreme test I thought that I would really struggle. On day one I did find it difficult on the extreme test, and that affected my result. I also had a one big crash on the enduro test. "On day two I wanted to improve my extreme tests and fight for a position on the podium, and I did that. I felt really good on day two - on all the special tests. Winning my first world championship race in my first season of enduro is fantastic. I want to thank the UFO Corse Yamaha team for all there help and support and I hope I can continue with my good results. " Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha Enduro 2 class - Day 1: first, Day third: "Winning on day one was great because things certainly didn't go to plan at the first round of the series in Sweden. I had a really good day, and enjoyed the event although it was really difficult. I got stuck on the extreme test, like most riders did, but that was my only real problem. "Day two was also good but Johnny was just faster than me. The tests got a lot rougher and I struggled a little with the long ruts in the corners. I pushed as hard as I could but it just wasn't enough. I know that with refinements to the bike's set-up I will be able to go faster so I'm looking forward to the next race in Spain. " 'Manxman' David Knight claimed top honours on both days in the Enduro 3 class finishing ahead of Finn Marko Tarkkala with Sweden's Bjorne Carlsson claiming third on both days. Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 2 - Guimaraes, Portugal Circuit: Guimares Race: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 37' 16.200 2 M. Ahola Honda FIN +37' 21.550 3 S. Aro KTM FIN +37' 34.670 4 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +37' 47.050 5 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +38' 10.500 6 F. Planet KTM FRA +38' 32.600 7 X. Galindo KTM ESP +38' 33.410 8 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +38' 36.440 9 E. Albepart Honda FRA +39' 13.660 10 A. Beconi Beta ITA +39' 16.980 11 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +39' 44.240 12 A. Belotti KTM ITA +39' 46.550 13 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +39' 51.230 14 A. Toresson Suzuki SWE +39' 56.700 15 J. Curvalle Kawasaki FRA +40' 9.680 16 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +40' 38.680 17 E. Memmi Sherco FRA +40' 41.140 18 J. Pedrero Sherco ESP +40' 51.120 19 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +41' 19.670 20 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +41' 26.190 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA 36' 37.550 2 M. Ahola Honda FIN +37' 0.790 3 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +37' 31.980 4 S. Aro KTM FIN +37' 48.920 5 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +38' 22.910 6 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +38' 37.720 7 F. Planet KTM FRA +38' 40.320 8 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +38' 56.140 9 A. Beconi Beta ITA +39' 2.520 10 X. Galindo KTM ESP +39' 4.900 11 E. McConnell TM GBR +39' 7.430 12 A. Belotti KTM ITA +39' 8.620 13 E. Albepart Honda FRA +39' 47.060 14 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +39' 54.450 15 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +39' 55.110 16 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +40' 1.390 17 E. Memmi Sherco FRA +41' 10.880 18 J. Pedrero Sherco ESP +41' 26.730 19 F. Mancinelli Beta ITA +41' 38.640 20 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +41' 47.760 Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 88 2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 88 3 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 83 4 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 76 5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 62 6 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 49 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 46 8 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 41 9 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 36 10 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 35 11 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 31 12 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 28 13 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 28 14 Euan McConnell TM GBR 26 15 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 21 16 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 20 17 Riku Rihelainen HusaBerg FIN 19 18 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 18 19 Patrik Wicksell KTM SWE 15 20 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 11 Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 90 2 Honda 88 2 KTM 88 3 GasGas 53 4 HusaBerg 41 5 Beta 36 6 Sherco 28 6 Aprilia 28 7 TM 25 8 Husqvarna 17 9 Suzuki 7 10 Kawasaki 6 Enduro 1 : Micheluz scores best career result at Guimaraes Round: 2 - Guimaraes, Portugal Circuit: Guimares Date: 7 May 2006 Crowd: 7000 Temp: 20ºC Weather: Dry UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Arnau Vilanova was still unable to compete in the second round of the '06 World Enduro Championship due to having injured his left foot while practicing at his home in Spain prior to the event. Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues and UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz produced Yamaha's best results in the Enduro 1 class. With Rodrigues placing fourth on day one, Micheluz finished in fourth on day two to claim his best ever world championship result and in doing so lifted himself to sixth position in the Enduro 1 world championship standings. At the head of the class Italian Simone Albergoni claimed his first win of the '06 season by topping the podium on day one. Locked in a close battle with reigning E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes just four seconds separated the pair at the end of the day. Placing in third on day one was Italian Alessandro Belometti. On day two the top two finishing positions from day one were reversed with Cervantes claiming the win, 30 seconds ahead of Albergoni. Again placing third was Belometti. Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 eighth, Day 2 fourth: "The race was really difficult - not only the special tests but also the course because of the rocks and dust. But it has been a good weekend for me. I am really pleased to have finished fourth on day two because it is my best result in the WEC so far. Day one went pretty well for me and I was pleased with the way I was riding. But day two was much better. "I had a big crash on the enduro test, which made things hard for me but on day two I felt a lot better. The tests were really difficult but I enjoyed them. I didn't really have any problems so I am really happy. " Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 2 - Guimaraes, Portugal Circuit: Guimares Race: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Albergoni Honda ITA 38' 8.000 2 I. Cervantes KTM ESP +38' 12.900 3 A. Belometti KTM ITA +38' 50.090 4 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +39' 16.780 5 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +39' 53.930 6 M. Hartmann KTM GER +39' 46.830 7 P. Pohjamo TM FIN +40' 7.030 8 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +40' 14.910 9 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +40' 55.980 10 P. Enes KTM FRA +41' 2,152.000 11 J. Jou Yamaha ESP +41' 35.030 12 F. Blanc KTM FRA +41' 38.290 13 F. Ferreira Yamaha POR +41' 5,255.000 14 M. Patrao Suzuki POR +42' 48.000 15 A. Mendes Yamaha FRA +43' 342.000 16 R. Hubers Yamaha NED +49' 2.330 17 S. Helio Yamaha ESP +1,13' 14.100 18 A. Fernandez Yamaha POR +1.14' 2,712.000 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 37' 38.210 2 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +38' 8.640 3 A. Belometti KTM ITA +38' 29.650 4 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +39' 0.610 5 P. Pohjamo TM FIN +39' 3.150 6 F. Blanc KTM FRA +39' 28.410 7 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +39' 35.800 8 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +39' 48.210 9 M. Hartmann KTM GER +40' 8.100 10 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +40' 35.300 11 A. Raphael Kawasaki FRA +40' 35.930 12 J. Gauthier Honda FRA +40' 38.550 13 J. Jou Yamaha ESP +41' 20.350 14 M. Patrao Suzuki POR +41' 38.500 15 A. Mendes Yamaha FRA +42' 46.410 16 F. Ferreira Yamaha POR +42' 51.880 17 R. Hubers Yamaha NED +43' 39.260 18 A. Fernandez Yamaha POR +59' 27.900 Championship standings Enduro 1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 94 2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 83 3 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 73 4 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 68 5 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 65 6 Mauricio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 61 7 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 55 8 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 46 9 Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 40 10 Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 37 11 Robert Carlsson Yamaha SWE 26 12 Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 23 13 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 23 14 Pär Olsson Yamaha SWE 19 15 Joan Jou Yamaha ESP 18 16 Leit Holm KTM FIN 15 17 Mario Patrao Suzuki POR 14 18 Fernando Ferreira Yamaha POR 13 19 Alexandre Mendes Yamaha FRA 12 20 Pedro Enes KTM FRA 11 25 Andre Fernandez Yamaha POR 6 27 Santos Helio Yamaha ESP 4 Manufacturers standings Enduro 1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 94 2 Honda 83 3 TM 73 4 Yamaha 66 5 Husqvarna 65 6 Suzuki 54 7 Kawasaki 10 Click here to view the news

Team Yamaha Ricci’s Nicolas Aubin ended an impressive breakthrough season in which he won his first Grand Prix, finished a career-best sixth in the MX2 World Championship and by assisting France to second place in front of a huge 74,000 crowd packed into the impressive Budds Creek circuit, Maryland USA for the 61st Motocross of Nations. On a typically American track that was quick, technical, lined with jumps and blessed with hot sunshine. The temperatures in the mid 30’s gave the racing an extra physical edge and tested the best riders (three per Nation with one representative each in MX1, MX2 and MX Open classes) from around the globe with twenty countries entering the gate for the three 30 minute and 2 lap motos mixing the categories. The scoring system worked in reverse compared to a Grand Prix with the first classified participant taking one point, second position two points and then continuing down the order to last place. The Nation will the lowest score from five accumulated results (the worst finish can be discarded) earned overall victory. On this occasion it was the USA for the third year in a row. Aubin was making his Nations debut for 2001 winners France and gave his country their third share of silverware since that historic day at Namur six years ago. The youngster rode to results of tenth and sixth in the two motos against the larger machines of the MX1 and MX Open fields. He was third overall in the MX2 class and provided an exciting piece of action in the first race when he clashed with Tommy Searle, only losing out on ninth by a fraction of a second at the finish line. With the USA dominating each moto thanks to Ryan Villopoto and Ricky Carmichael it was left to the rest of the world to fight for podium slots. France beat Belgium by just one point and Italy were some way adrift in fourth. MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli was unlucky to take only fourteenth and a DNF. Cairoli was originally on the point of being unable to compete as his YZ250F arrived just in time for practice on Saturday having been held up through US customs. The 21 year old Sicilian struggled on the rough and bumpy track. He had his line cut by another rider in the first moto versus the MX1 machines and crashed, damaging his front brake and forcing a retirement. In the second race he had to enter the pits with a badly buckled front wheel as a result of a collision on the second lap. He re-entered the race but could not break into the top thirteen. USA for the third year in a row. Team-mate Davide Guarneri was also feeling the demands of the surface with his first outing on the YZ450F in the Open category. He was fifteenth and sixteenth. USA for the third year in a row. 2007 AMA Motocross Champion Grant Langston had a tough day for South Africa. His first moto was wrecked by a spate of crashes and a problem with his rear brake. He then rode better in Moto2 to finish third and give the team their highest result. With Gareth Swanepoel crashing and breaking his foot South Africa was twelfth in the closing ranking. USA for the third year in a row. Former World and American Supercross Champion Chad Reed posted the best race classification on YZ machinery across the classes at Budds Creek with a decent ride to second position in the opening moto, beating Carmichael. The Australian was luckless in the next race as he became caught up in a second turn pile-up and then retired as he could not shift gears. Australia were plagued with ill fortune and finished last as Andrew McFarlane was hit on the start straight of the first moto and pulled out of the event in pain while Michael Byrne had technical problems. Credit must be given to Bike it Yamaha Dixon’s Carlos Campano who enjoyed his best race meeting of 2007 with fourth position overall in MX2 and was Spain’s most consistent rider with fourteenth and seventh. The Spanish national champion has struggled with a knee injury this season. Jubilo Yamaha’s Akira Narita was thirty-sixth and twenty-third on the YZ450F as Japan finished seventh in the final ranking. The Motocross calendar is not quite over for Cairoli and Guarneri with two races of the Italian Championship remaining in October and then the six-round European Supercross Championship also to contest. Nico Aubin will be part of the French team for the prestigious Bercy Supercross. Click here to view the news

The last MotoGP test of the season got underway at the Andalucian circuit of Jerez today, with unexpectedly cold temperatures delaying the start of activity until late morning for the Yamaha duo of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards. Unfortunately, it then began to rain soon after track temperatures had risen to suitable level and Rossi and Edwards, testing Yamaha’s new prototype 800cc motorcycle side-by-side for the first time, were only able to complete a few laps in the dry. Rossi nonetheless topped the unofficial time sheets at the end of the day, posting a top time of 1’41.745 after 17 laps. Edwards was third fastest in the dry with a lap of 1’42.293 and the Texan also took the chance to try out his new bike in the wet, completing 36 laps in total before calling it a day. Sandwiched between the Yamaha pair was Suzuki rider John Hopkins, who set the second fastest time of 1’42.161 out of a total of 12 riders testing. Valentino Rossi (1st – 1’41.745, 16 laps) “I’m very happy to see that we have no chatter here, because we had quite a lot of problems in the first race last season. This is one of my favourite tracks and it’s a great pleasure for me to be able to ride comfortably again at it; it feels like another track compared to last March! Our new bike seems to work well and so far I am very happy with it. Unfortunately we only had time for a few laps before the bad weather stopped us just when we were about to begin to test some different things, but anyway we have made a good start. Even though the bike is clearly going well for both Colin and I at the moment, we know that we have a lot of work to do and so these next two days are going to be very important to us. I have some new stickers on my bike and a new helmet; they’re a reference to the legend of King Arthur and ‘Excalibur’! I want to show everyone that we are ready to fight back and that we’re ready to do our very best throughout these winter tests. Let’s hope the weather is good tomorrow so we can begin our task properly!” Colin Edwards (3rd – 1’42.293, 35 Laps) “It was pretty cold this morning, not really what we were hoping for! We had to hang around until about 11.30 before it was warm enough to go out; it’s not really such a great idea for us to ride when it’s only 18 degrees on track! Once we finally got out there things actually felt pretty good straight away and I was happy with how the bike was adapting to a different track. We’d played around a bit with the geometry in Malaysia but I think that for here we probably need to go back a bit to what Valentino had originally, just to calm the bike down a little in some of the fast corners. Once it started raining we decided to get out there and do some laps in the wet, just to get an idea of how the new bike goes in the rain. I think that was the most productive thing we did all day because, once we were running without much traction in the wet, we could see that we do have a few issues to sort out with relation to the engine braking. We did about 15 laps in the rain, played around with a few settings and started to understand what was going on. It definitely hasn’t been a wasted day, despite the weather, and we’ll carry on tomorrow and see what we can do.” Unofficial Lap Times 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 1’41.745 2. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1’42.161 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 1’42.293 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 1’44.030 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 1’44.307 6. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1’44.394 7. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 1’44.876 8. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati, 1’45.574 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda, 1’46.200 10. Jeremy McWilliams (IRE) Ilmor, 1’47.216 11. Vittorio Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Test Rider, 1’50.386 12. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati, 1’59.078 Click here to view the news

Career win number 93, six Grand Prix in succession, the third double on the trot and nine consecutive moto victories fell to Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts at the fast Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the 33 year old Belgian and absolute series leader own another two motos in vastly different weather conditions in which the YZ450FM excelled once more. The wide expanse of the Sevlievo track, situated in the modern and impressive infrastructure of the circuit, was quick and dry for the first moto but then the heavens opened and dropped a plethora of rain onto the venue creating a difficult and technical test, as well as constituting the first wet race of the season. Despite insisting that a repeat of his Japanese domination would be unlikely Saturday afternoon, Everts faced little opposition in both races after taking the lead within the first two laps of both sprints. He controlled the distance assimilated both times over Kevin Strijbos and his superiority has now translated into an 81 point advantage from Kawasaki's Tanel Leok in the World Championship standings meaning that he can afford not to finish three motos and still be in front. Cedric Melotte completed only three laps today during the first outing. The Belgian fell heavily on Saturday and hit his head. Feeling dazed and unable to concentrate he elected to retire frustrated instead of risking further mishap. The 27 year old did not take to the line for the second race. Melotte has also been suffering from reduced energy and stamina possibly brought on by over-training. He had several tests after arriving back from Japan and his body was found to be lacking certain minerals. "Cedric had been training quite hard, as normal but has been feeling bad after the races, which is unusual for the condition he should have," said Team Manager Carlo Rinaldi. "The season has been up and down for him. Portugal was bad but then Teutschenthal was better after he had some rest. Japan was again not so good, so we rested him before this GP. The blood tests said he was low on iron and some B12 among other things in line with the symptoms of over-training. Cedric needs to rest and renew his levels and we should see an improvement." The trip to Bulgaria represented the first of three consecutive meetings. The teams now travel directly to Italy and the Montevarchi circuit before then heading to Matterley Basin and the British Grand Prix. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Any race is a new race so anything can still happen but I have managed to keep the pace up and not make any mistakes. The second moto was difficult because of the conditions and I had to lose my goggles after a few laps. I had to slow down because of all the mud in my eyes but overall I am happy with the day. Coming here I was unsure because this is not the best track for me to try and win like Japan but I was consistent with my speed. The bike has been great on the starts and being able to push hard in the first ten to fifteen minutes really makes a difference." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I had a big crash on Saturday and I found that I could not concentrate on my riding today. I tried to make some fast laps but it was getting dangerous so I decided to stop. I am having very little luck at the moment." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was two different races today because of the track conditions and Stefan proved that it doesn't matter what weather or demands he faces. He made two very consistent and error-free races. The rhythm was strong at first but he could deal with it. The bike came through very well because there was a lot of water and you can sometimes have a strange problem like with the electrics. We made some changes between the motos to cope with the changing terrain and they worked out fine." Race classification MX1 Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Circuit Length: 1695 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 47.650 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +6.971 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +11.846 4 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +16.978 5 P. Leuret Honda FRA +27.050 6 W. Avis KTM RSA +31.597 7 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +33.118 8 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +35.635 9 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +47.909 10 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +56.167 11 G. Crockard Honda GBR +58.292 12 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +59.949 13 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 3.002 14 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 11.247 15 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1' 17.882 16 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 19.780 17 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 27.943 18 B. Verhoeven Kawasaki NED +1' 29.174 19 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 35.502 20 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 38.832 Race 2: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 51.233 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +2.117 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +3.631 4 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +27.962 5 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +39.143 6 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 40.327 7 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 53.287 8 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 59.266 9 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +2' 5.055 10 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1 lap(s) 11 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1 lap(s) 12 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s) 13 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1 lap(s) 14 W. Avis KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 15 B. Verhoeven Kawasaki NED +1 lap(s) 16 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1 lap(s) 17 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 18 A. Bobkovs Honda LVA +1 lap(s) 19 J. Noble Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 20 M. Norlen Suzuki SWE +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 292 2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 211 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 209 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 197 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 191 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 150 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 123 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 106 9 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 105 10 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 102 11 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 97 13 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 90 14 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 84 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 82 16 James Noble Honda GBR 79 17 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 60 18 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 43 19 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 40 20 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 31 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 292 2 Suzuki 245 3 Kawasaki 211 4 Honda 205 5 KTM 202 6 TM 82 MX2 : Cairoli takes fourth moto win of the season but leaves Bulgaria disappointed Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Date: 4 June 2006 Crowd: 25000 Temp: 18ºC Weather: Rain World Champion Antonio Cairoli became the rider with the most moto victories this season after taking his fourth success at Sevlievo for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of the MX2 World Championship. The Italian would limp away from the impressive venue however after two crashes in a very wet and slippery second moto forced a second DNF from the twelve heats in total held so far. The track was fast, dry and bumpy in the first sprint but showers during the lunch break meant a far muddier and more slippery prospect for the MX2 riders later in the afternoon. Cairoli weathered a late first race attack from Championship leader Christophe Pourcel for a very convincing win in a moto he had pretty much set the pace from the start. In contrast he crashed on the first corner of the second heat and was on the fringes of the top ten in very tricky conditions when he crashed on the rhythm section and went down heavily. The Sicilian hurt his knee in a spill that snapped his brace and damaged his Yamaha too much to continue. Kenneth Gundersen shared a similar fate in race1 when he fell on the first lap and collected fellow Yamaha compatriot Billy Mackenzie. The Norwegian pulled into the pits. He was however able to obtain 11 points for tenth later on. Winner of the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Mackenzie was also to leave Bulgaria disappointed. The 22 year old was last after falling when Gundersen hit the deck right in front of him and slipped off again before retiring far behind any possible points. The Scot had broken his left hand a week prior at the fourth round of the British Championship and despite using painkillers could only trail Gundersen in the second moto for a lowly ten point haul from the whole meeting. Gundersen's team-mate Davide Guarneri was eigth in the first moto but was given a one minute penalty in the second race due to a damaged exhaust exceeding the permitted noise limit. JK Racing's Luigi Seguy was ninth overall although he did suffer a spill in the opening forray. Yamaha Team Ricci's Alessio Chiodi had to miss the meeting after his injured knee, sustained as a result of his Japanese practice accident, was diagnosed as a torn muscle. The Italian should be back for his home Grand Prix and round seven next week at Montevarchi. The standings reveal four Yamaha riders in the top ten. Cairoli is fourth 32 points behind Tyla Rattray and just 27 points in front of Billy Mackenzie who has dropped one position to sixth. The Grand Prix was won by KTM's Marc de Reuver with David Philippaerts second and Christophe Pourcel third. The World Championship continues at pace now with two more Grand Prix - in Italy and Great Britain - taking place in the next two weeks. Antonio Cairoli: "This year is not going so well at the moment. When I finish the first lap in the top three I can win but when I don't start OK or go down early on then my result is not great. I felt fast here and even though I was at the back in the second moto by the fifth lap I was near the top ten. The track was very slippery and I made a small mistake and it was a big punishment. I lost a lot of points and I don't feel very lucky so far this season. Physically I am OK but I feel bad inside for the loss today." Kenneth Gundersen: "In the first race I had a crash with Mackenzie when I was running fifth on the first lap. My bike was destroyed so I could not finish. In the second heat I was right near the front but on the first corner I almost crashed so I went from virtually first to last. I came back to ninth and could not do any better than that. In terms of riding I am happy with the last race. I am not having much luck at the moment. During practice yesterday there was a haybale on the track and I landed on it and hurt my wrist. I got some points today though and for that I am happy." Billy Mackenzie: "I was really looking forward to this GP but as the weekend it went on the track became more hard-pack and faster and I felt like I was losing speed and holding people up on the uphill sections purely because of my weight. It became a horsepower race rather than any technical ability and my hand was bothering me a little bit because I could not grip the bike like I wanted. Anyway, I could not avoid Gundersen in the first race and it went from bad to worse at the back of the pack. In the second moto I lost my goggles early on but I was still able to pass a few people. It was disappointing to lose so many points. I was on a real downer after the first race and with Philippaerts making the podium it has been a poor weekend in terms of the Championship Race classification MX2 Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Circuit Length: 1695 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40' 35.110 2 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1.274 3 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +11.806 4 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +23.350 5 T. Rattray KTM RSA +26.069 6 M. De Reuver KTM NED +36.806 7 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +41.223 8 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +49.615 9 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +52.725 10 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +58.522 11 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 2.918 12 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 5.056 13 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 8.415 14 A. Leok Yamaha EST +1' 9.178 15 C. Campano KTM ESP +1' 19.566 16 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 25.012 17 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1' 30.278 18 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1' 35.721 19 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 37.503 20 X. Boog Yamaha FRA +1' 53.541 Race 2: 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. De Reuver KTM NED 41' 34.286 2 T. Rattray KTM RSA +2.234 3 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +19.618 4 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +45.692 5 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +55.654 6 R. Goncalves KTM POR +56.996 7 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 0.230 8 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 2.588 9 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 36.083 10 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +1' 42.325 11 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +1' 44.308 12 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1 lap(s) 13 M. Kohut Honda SVK +1 lap(s) 14 S. Simpson Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 15 T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) 16 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +1 lap(s) 17 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1 lap(s) 18 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +1 lap(s) 19 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +1 lap(s) 20 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 236 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 234 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 219 4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 187 5 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 160 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 160 7 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 143 8 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 122 9 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 111 10 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 109 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 107 12 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 104 13 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 101 14 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 83 15 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 80 16 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 66 17 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 64 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 53 19 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 46 20 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 45 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 268 2 Yamaha 262 3 Kawasaki 240 4 Honda 94 5 Suzuki 6 Click here to view the news

The 2007 FIM Off-road Awards took place in the affluent setting of Monaco and the ‘Salle de Etoiles’ last Saturday and Yamaha De Carli’s Antonio Cairoli and Yamaha Demaria’s Yves Demaria proudly accepted their silverware for MX2-GP and MX3-GP world championship success respectively. In front of more than 400 guests that included former world championship legends like Jean-Michel Bayle and Roger de Coster, winners from both the Motocross and Supermoto World and European stages were given their accolades by the FIM and Youthstream. Cairoli, a double world champion after recapturing the crown he owned in 2005 on the YZ250F, was treated to a short video of action highlights; revealing moments from the 10 GP wins (from 15), 21 motos (from 28) and 13 podiums (from 14) in his MX2-GP dominance. The flamboyant Sicilian was also able to re-live his stunning MX1-GP debut at Donington Park. “This is a great way to end a fantastic season for me and the team,” said Cairoli, who is committed to defending his MX2 title next year. “We won many races and it was the perfect answer to 2006 when I lost the title by just a few points. There are many good memories from 2007 but I think my win at Donington Park in the MX1-GP class was special. I was hoping for a podium result at best but to get those good starts and win first time with the YZ450F was incredible. I want to win more in 2008 and then see where my future lies with Yamaha.” Yves Demaria signed off his career as a full-time world championship racer by taking a privately entered YRRD kitted YZ479F to a third rider’s title in the larger bore category. “2007 was a difficult year because I had to combine being a rider and a team manager but I could manage to win my third MX3 world championship and I cannot think of a better way to end my career,” said the French veteran who will continue to contest select Grand Prix events with the direct backing of Yamaha France. Yamaha De Carli boss, Claudio de Carli, scaled the stage to accept the team’s prize for 2007 while Michele Rinaldi was also on-hand to collect Yamaha’s award for the MX2-GP Manufacturer’s championship. “Yamaha won a lot of MX2-GP races in 2007 and I am proud to accept this for their achievement,” he said. Click here to view the news

Yamaha is pleased to announce that current FIM MX2 World Championship leader Antonio Cairoli has signed a new contract to remain in blue colours for a further three years and will contest the MX2 series for the 2008 campaign. The popular and talented 21 year old has steered a YZ250F for the Italian De Carli team since 2004 and in that time has claimed the 2005 World Championship and finished 3rd and 2nd the other two seasons; totalling 15 career victories . Cairoli’s form has been magical this season with five straight wins and ten moto triumphs from a possible twelve. He leads the ’07 competition from 64 points over Christophe Pourcel. The Sicilian is committed to the 2008 MX2 World Championship for his fifth term on the YZ and with Claudio De Carli’s impressive crew but for the following two years he could make a switch to MX1 or even consider an AMA berth over the Atlantic. “I am really happy with the new deal,” said the flamboyant winner of Grand Prix in Holland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany this season who visited the Yamaha factory in Iwata earlier this week. “We made a good arrangement for both Yamaha and I and it is great to get it confirmed. I will definitely be in MX2 next season and then we will see, maybe MX1. It was an easy decision to make because I have a happy home with Yamaha and the team. MX2 is a difficult class but we have one of the best bikes.” “We are really happy that Tony has signed for Yamaha for three years and will continue with us,” commented De Carli. “It will be another step in a positive direction and also nice because Tony began his emergence as a top rider with our team. I am pleased that the decision was an easy one for him and that he feels happy racing with us.” “Tony is the most talented young rider in the World Championship and we are very happy to have an agreement with him for the upcoming three years,” offered Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “He is an important asset for the Yamaha brand. Not only is he a fantastic rider but a warm person with a lot of personality. He very much fits into the Yamaha family because we are a ‘human’ company. We believe that he has a lot of potential, whether he wishes to go to MX1 or to the US to race Supercross in the next few years. We are looking forward to a prosperous and exciting future together." Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motocross Team Josh Coppins missed the podium for the first time in the 2007 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship as the New Zealander finished fifth overall at a cloudy and cool Uddevalla, 100kms north of Gothenburg, for the Grand Prix of Sweden. The ninth round of fifteen in the GP series was however noticeable for Antonio Cairoli's eighth success in the MX2 class and a quite remarkable performance from the De Carli Yamaha rider in the opening moto. The circuit several kilometres outside the town of Uddevalla has been a World Championship regular since the start of the century - in fact one of only two venues to remain ever-present on the FIM calendar from the turn of the millennium. The layout had been reversed from the 2006 edition and a new start and first corner, along with a repositioned pit-lane, was in place for the '07 event. The track offered its usual winding and tight test and the terrain was softer thanks to large amounts of sand being mixed with the mud and incessant rainfall in the build-up to the Grand Prix. The giant rocky hill overlooking the facility gave ample viewing opportunities to the 28,900 crowd who scaled the inclines. Coppins had taken sixth position in Timed Practice on Saturday and did not push for a fast lap and risk a crash on a surface that was far wetter and slipperier than the races on Sunday. The New Zealander made a safe first moto by obtaining a slot inside the top five and setting a reel of consistent laps to plant himself in the front group. He was strong at the end to pass title rival Steve Ramon for fourth place. The 30 year old, who had been suffering with flu during the week, again struggled to hit the same lap-times as the leaders in the second outing and dropped to eighth at one stage before rallying back to sixth position. The day was an exercise of caution for the championship pace-setter on the YZ450FM and his fifth place overall was a steady result on a track that was hard for overtaking. Coppins still holds an impressive 89 point lead over Ramon who was runner-up to debut winner Ken de Dycker. Josh's advantage constitutes more than three motos and almost two Grand Prix with just six rounds remaining. He had five wins, one second position and two third places prior to Sweden. Marc de Reuver's weekend was curtailed on Saturday when the Dutchman crashed in the free practice and injured his left arm, received a blow to the head and was also winded. The luckless 24 year old needed to be taken to the medical centre but bravely tried to qualify later in the afternoon. However he was forced to park the YZ450-FM after attempting one lap in Timed Practice and was in no condition to continue. De Reuver is fourteenth in the standings The Yamaha Motocross Team will now look ahead to their second home Grand Prix of the season as round ten of the series heads to the Faenza circuit near Riminy, Italy in two weeks time. July's schedule also sees a trip to the Czech Republic at the end of the month. Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team: "It wasn't a good day; in fact it was a bad day at the office. I just did not 'feel it' out there, and in the end just had to do the best that I could. I knew from Saturday that I did not have the speed. No excuses today, I was not able to go with the leaders and I know I have some work to do. I wanted to keep on the podium all year and I knew that would be tough but we will come back strong for Faenza." Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "There is not much to say. I had a crash in practice and caught my arm and it is pretty badly bruised. I wanted to have a go at qualifying for the GP but I did one lap and could not handle the bike like I wanted and making any fast laps would have been impossible. It is another disappointment and I can only hope my luck changes very soon." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "It was a disappointing weekend. Marc had a very bad crash in the first few laps of practice. Luckily it was nothing serious but the effects meant that he could not ride. He tried in the qualifying but the pain was too much. Tomorrow (Monday) we will make a check-up with him but things seem to be OK. Josh just had a bad day. Physically he was not perfect because of some flu a few days ago and this race was quite tough. He couldn't do any better. However I think losing sometimes can have a positive effect." Circuit Length: 1750 Temp: 20 Crowd: 28900 Weather: Dry 2007 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden 01/07/2007 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 38'46.205 2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'6.373 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'8.022 4 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'10.482 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'11.402 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'32.766 7 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'42.135 8 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'43.561 9 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'44.659 10 James Noble Honda GBR 0'58.917 11 Mike Brown Honda USA 1'1.365 12 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'2.552 13 Julien Bill Honda CHE 1'12.998 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'21.006 15 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'21.692 16 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'42.173 17 Manuel Priem TM BEL -1 Laps 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST -1 Laps 19 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 20 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 39'17.093 2 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'5.236 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'7.610 4 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'11.930 5 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'12.878 6 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'26.948 7 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'35.137 8 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'41.722 9 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 0'44.900 10 James Noble Honda GBR 0'59.937 11 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'2.213 12 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'3.631 13 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'27.710 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'48.860 15 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps 16 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -1 Laps 17 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 18 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 19 Loic Leonce Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 20 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA -1 Laps Rider Standings 01/07/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 401 2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 312 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 257 4. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 240 5. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 235 6. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 235 7. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 225 8. Mike Brown Honda USA 219 9. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 217 10. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 186 11. James Noble Honda GBR 175 12. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 141 13. Manuel Priem TM BEL 139 14. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 136 15. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 107 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 100 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 77 18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 76 19. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 61 20. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 61 Manufacturer Standings 01/07/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 401 2. Suzuki 359 3. KTM 319 4. Kawasaki 303 5. Honda 293 6. TM 139 7. Aprilia 8 RACE REPORT 01/07/2007 Sensational Cairoli wins in Sweden De Carli Yamaha's Antonio Cairoli again displayed his phenomenal level of confidence and speed in the 2007 FIM MX2 World Championship by taking pole position with his eighth qualification heat win on Saturday, followed with second and first for his fifteenth moto victory of the season from eighteen and eighth overall GP success, not to mention a pair of fastest laps on Sunday. The Grand Prix of Sweden at a cloudy but warm Uddevalla circuit was the ninth round of the series and belonged to the Sicilian after an impressive show. In the wake of scoring a double victory at the fast and hard-pack Sevlievo track two weeks ago Cairoli again proved his versatility and excellent form on the softer and more technical Swedish mud. The Sicilian participated in one of the closest climaxes in modern times when he finished second to David Philippaerts in the first moto by just 100th of a second in 2006 and almost repeated the result with the best performance of the day in the opening race today. The 21 year old surprisingly hit the ground on the first corner alongside Tyla Rattray and had to restart in last position. The following thirty minutes witnessed a comprehensive demonstration of aggressive riding as Cairoli used all his talent and ability to switch lines and find overtaking places that nobody else had seen. He rose to second position entering the last ten minutes of the moto and closed down a gap of nearly ten seconds to leader Searle to get close by the last lap. He just ran out of time to draw alongside the British rider but his flight through the MX2 collective won the De Carli Yamaha racer yet even more admirers. Uddevalla was again using a reversed format for the second year in succession and although overtaking was far from easy on the undulating terrain the course was altogether slower and demanded more precision from the riders compared to the last outings in France and Bulgaria. Cairoli made amends for the drama of Moto1 by grabbing the lead on the first circulation and drawing away from his pursuers after lunch. He then controlled the race and kept Christophe Pourcel and Rattray at a safe distance. Searle was second overall and German Marcus Schiffer made a debut appearance on the podium with third place. With Pourcel only classifying in fourth Cairoli was able to extend his lead in the championship to more than 100 points for the first time this season. His margin of 102 now means an advantage of more than two Grand Prix with just six left to run. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Kenneth Gundersen returned to the leader's circle after a hefty absence and he had his many Norwegian fans in the crowd animated by fronting the first half of Moto1. Although he could not stretch his pace until the chequered flag - losing positions to Searle and Cairoli - the 25 year old could nevertheless equalled his best finish of the season with third place. Sadly the former 125cc and 250cc GP winner was unable to start the second moto. He had endured a virus during the week that caused severe stomach upsets and was vomiting continuously in the break between the races. He had to go to the medical centre where he was attached to a drip and was unable to make the start line for Moto2. Team-mate Davide Guarneri was the second highest Yamaha rider with fifth position even though the Italian also had stomach cramps in the second moto. Guarneri led the first qualification heat and should have won if it wasn't for a small crash that relegated him to sixth. He obtained sixth and tenth in the two GP motos and continues to get faster and fitter with each passing meeting after recovering from an ankle injury. Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Carl Nunn was tenth overall with thirteenth and eighth positions. The British Champion was as high as fourth in the second moto but is missing an extra edge to his smooth riding to break the top five. Nicolas Aubin was at a disadvantage after a spill in his qualification heat meant that he had to enter the gate down in 25th and through the Last Chance session. The French youngster could not get comfortable on the track and admitted that a crash while practicing on an MX1 machine before the Bulgarian GP gave him continued problems with a stiff back and shoulders. He was twentieth and thirteenth for nineteenth overall and fell off in Moto1. Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini was unable to attend the Grand Prix in the wake of the ankle ailment he sustained prior to the round in Bulgaria two weeks ago. The Italian is hoping to be fit for his second home event in a fortnight. Stylish third member of the team Alessandro Lupino could not make the qualification cut on a technically difficult track on Saturday. Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Carlos Campano was another non-qualified rider after a fall on Saturday ripped the seven stitches from his elbow; a wound picked up in Bulgaria. Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "I had a bad start in the first moto and my line was closed off on the inside. I think I touched with Tyla and lost the front wheel. It is difficult to overtake here but I managed to pass fifteen riders on the first lap and it is a bit strange but I don't remember much of that now! I think I just went as hard and as fast as I could until I had some space in front of me. It then took me a bit of time to get through on Leuret and I just went for the next rider in front after that. I thought I could catch Tommy for the win but two laps before the end I made a small mistake. It was probably my best moto of the year though because that was the first time that I had a bad start and I was very satisfied with how I got on. It was not really that fun because I had to take a lot of risks! In the second one I passed Seistola on the first lap and could do my race. I am still working heat by heat and GP by GP. I am far ahead of Christophe now but I am just focussing on myself." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Ricci Racing: "I am so disappointed that I could not make a podium today. I felt good and fast on the track. I knew I could be up there with Cairoli and Tyla but I have been suffering with my stomach and some kind of virus because I had diarrhoea for four days. I did all I could in that first moto and then could not stop being sick in the break. I have been told to take a complete rest for ten days now and I will make some blood tests tomorrow to see what the problem is." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing: "When I had to stop for the injury I lost some speed and race fitness and now I am training a lot for this in Italy. I am getting quite consistent and every race I am finishing in the top ten. I felt good yesterday but crashed on the last lap. In the first moto I started badly but pushed hard and had a really good pace, close to the times of the top three apart from Cairoli. I had some stomach pain like Kenneth before the second moto so I am happy that I could finish the race in the top ten again. I am progressing every week and I feel that the podium could soon be a possibility." Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing: "I am disappointed because this is my worst race of the season. I have been struggling with sore shoulders and my bad position on the gate did not help me today. I did not start well and was not able to find good lines or a rhythm. I crashed after the whoops in the first moto and the second was not much better. I just want to forget this GP and move onwards." Carl Nunn, Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing: "Something is not happening. I think I am riding well, but obviously I am not and that means there is a problem somewhere. It is not physical because I don't feel tired so it must be mental. Each week I keep thinking the results are going to get better but they don't. I am not moving any further forward and it is disappointing really. Last weekend when I won in the British championship it was good but not the same feeling as I have had in the past." Circuit Length: 1750 Temp: 23 Crowd: 28900 Weather: Dry 2007 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden 01/07/2007 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 39'12.533 2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'2.840 3 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'30.446 4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'50.850 5 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'54.071 6 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'54.926 7 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'55.809 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'4.261 9 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'5.570 10 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'11.889 11 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'13.440 12 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'14.713 13 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'16.022 14 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'19.363 15 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'26.450 16 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'37.272 17 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'41.038 18 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE -1 Laps 19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR -1 Laps 20 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA -1 Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'26.334 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'23.434 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'35.693 4 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'38.502 5 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'44.576 6 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'52.409 7 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 0'55.133 8 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'56.943 9 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 0'58.578 10 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'5.478 11 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'8.499 12 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'9.741 13 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'22.699 14 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'27.069 15 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'28.254 16 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'30.972 17 Shannon Terreblanche KTM RSA -1 Laps 18 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL -1 Laps 19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR -1 Laps 20 Rob van Vijfeijken KTM NED -1 Laps Rider Standings 01/07/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 439 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 337 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 318 4. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 285 5. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 270 6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 224 7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 197 8. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 188 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 160 10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 146 11. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 131 12. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 128 13. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 121 14. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 99 15. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 94 16. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 81 17. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 76 18. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 70 19. Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 67 20. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 67 21. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 60 Manufacturer Standings 01/07/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 439 2. KTM 364 3. Kawasaki 354 4. Honda 276 5. Suzuki 156 Click here to view the news

The 2007 FIM MX2-GP Motocross World Championship was very much a success story for Yamaha De Carli rider Antonio Cairoli. The Sicilian blazed a path through the season’s statistics book on his YZ250F. Along with the 10 GP wins and 21 moto chequered flags the double world champ’s consistency meant that he only dropped out of the top two twice from 28 MX2-GP races. Add an MX1-GP debut triumph, an Italian MX2 title and a European Supercross championship and it hard to believe how Cairoli can top this performance in 2008. Despite his many races and vast amount of silverware gained through the past twelve months the popular rider insists that his motivation for an attempt at a third MX2-GP crown (to equal the quantity set by former Yamaha great Alessio Chiodi) remains high, not to mention keeping his hoards of native fans content with his endeavours on Italian soil. “I did a lot of races in 2007 but I feel fresh and ready for another challenge in 2008,” the 22 year old said. “My main goal is of course another world title but I also want to retain an Italian championship. The Supercross was a lot of fun at the end of the year although I am still not sure if I will do the tour again at the end of this season.” An arduous 2007 saw ten months of racing in three separate series leave Cairoli with little time to recharge his batteries and take stock. The racer, who splits his time between his Sicilian home and bases in Rome and Belgium, did manage to hit the ski slopes for several weeks and also think about the competition he faces onboard his new Red Bull-backed YZ come Holland on April 6th for round one of fifteen in the FIM world championship. “It was good to get some holidays,” he commented “I did not travel far and instead chose to relax for three weeks at home and do some snowboarding in northern Italy.” “I think this season Tommy Searle, Nicolas Aubin and Davide Guarneri will be real threats. I think we will have some surprises and there will be some young riders that can fight with me for the championship; it will be fun.” For the second year in a row the De Carli team fields Cairoli, Matteo Bonini and Alessandro Lupino in both international and national competitions. The squad get their 2008 calendar underway this weekend with the first round of the Italian championship at the Montevarchi circuit. In perhaps something of a preview as to his future plans Cairoli will be steering a YZ450F in the MX1 category. “Of course we are looking towards 2009 and MX1 for Tony,” said Team Manager and Owner Claudio de Carli. “It is crucial that he starts to adapt to riding the 450 and that we can get the bike set-up for him in racing conditions. The Italian championship starts early and they are important races for us but it is also a way in which we can build up to the world championship.” Click here to view the news

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli scaled a world championship podium for the second time in succession with the runner-up position at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard and the Grand Prix of Benelux for the fourth round of fifteen in the 2009 FIM series. The Sicilian keeps his position as leader of the standings and with a chequered flag in the first outing in Holland has secured three moto victories from the last four. He was joined on the rostrum by team-mate Tanel Leok who took third spot on the YZ450F, and with Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts in fifth and Josh Coppins in seventh, four Yamahas filled the top seven. Several new jumps and sections had been added to the dark and rutted sand at the all-weather circuit near Eindhoven. The surface churned up and became rougher throughout the meeting, increasing the physical and technical demands of the two motos. The qualification heat on Saturday saw Coppins take third position but Cairoli and Philippaerts were victims of a first corner tumble and pile-up. Cairoli emphatically attacked the terrain from almost last to finish 7th while Philippaerts - restarting even further back - was 14th. Tanel Leok was 5th. Race-day dawned overcast and damp thanks to rainfall during the night. Thankfully the conditions became brighter later on for the 20,000 spectators, and some fantastic racing lay ahead with up to six riders disputing podium positions at the end of an unforgettable and almost indescribable first moto. Cairoli took his third chequered flag in succession when he emerged victorious from a frantic scrap in the final five minutes of the opening race that saw crashes for protagonists Steve Ramon and Marc de Reuver. Positions changed seemingly with every corner as the clock ticked down on the moto. Cairoli's achievement was all the more remarkable for the fact that he had broken three spokes on his front wheel on the third lap. Philippaerts -who led at one point - tired in the closing stages and was just beaten to 5th by Leok. A bad start for Cairoli kept him away from the front-running twosome of Jonathan Barragan and Leok, who flew from the mid-top ten to circulate in second place during what was a calmer Moto2. The Estonian would earn 3rd overall for his second podium of the season and his first since victory in Faenza. Cairoli made his way to 3rd while Philippaerts - who again was leading in the formative stages - was 6th. It was not a happy day for Bulgarian GP winner Coppins who felt the harsh physical effects of a blood disorder and did not have the energy to be in contention negotiating the sand. The New Zealander had to be satisfied with 27 points and 7th place overall. Cairoli continues to control the world championship and now has an advantage of 15 points over Barragan. With Philippaerts, Coppins and Leok filling slots 4th, 5th and 6th, YZ450F and YZ450FM machinery occupy four places in the first six. Yamaha also front the manufacturer's standings with a 31 point gap over their nearest rivals. A trip across the Iberian Peninsula represents the next phase of the world championship. Round five takes place at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal while the sixth race occurs one week later on the opposite coast at Bellpuig for the GP of Catalunya. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd: "I was third in the first lap of the first moto and I tried to pass Steve Ramon but he almost crashed and stopped so I caught my front wheel with his footpeg. I could see the wheel was broken and I was pretty scared. I dropped back to 12th place because I wanted to see if I could keep on racing. I was not doing many jumps and nursing the bike but it was OK, and I increased the speed and pushed. I could pass Steve and then he had a big crash, and also Philippaerts. There have been a lot of things happening that I didn't expect this year in MX1. It was a surprise to win here but I am having a lot of fun on the bike and I want to keep it this way until the end of the championship. I was really happy to win that race. My second start was really bad and I had some contact with other guys in the first corner. I was riding well after that and passed a lot of people but I had some trouble overtaking Desalle for a few laps and that held me up. I wanted to reach Tanel but in the last minutes I was quite tired and just stayed steady to the flag." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 3rd: "I lost a lot of points in Turkey so this helps towards getting some back. I made some silly mistakes in the first moto but really that was the only negative part of the day. I am feeling good and fit and it showed in that second race. It has been really good to be riding and training with Antonio and I am happy with how things are going for me." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 5th: "I had some good times and felt fast at the beginning of the races but I felt tired towards the end as the track was pretty hard and the conditions were warm for the Benelux! Things are still going well and although this was a physically tough race, more than the others so far, I could take some good points and keep consistent. After twenty minutes of each moto here I had to ride conservatively because crashing would have been worse than losing another position." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 7th: "I'm done, it was a tough weekend and I knew it would be like that before I arrived here. I have been suffering with a blood problem. We have been working on it and I had some injections but it hasn't helped. I want to get healthy and be able to actually battle with the guys instead of just surviving out there; that is the hardest thing, not the result but knowing that I can't affect the race. It is not fun to take a good start and then just hang on. There is still so far to go in the championship and the result is not as disappointing as the fact that I could do nothing at this GP. I will go for some tests tomorrow and will try to improve for Portugal." Circuit Length: 1750 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Ken De Dycker 2009 GP of Benelux 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    39'47.158 2    Marc De Reuver    Honda    NED    0'04.286 3    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    0'07.183 4    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    0'08.550 5    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    0'09.808 6    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    0'09.939 7    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    0'17.209 8    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    0'23.940 9    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    0'39.108 10    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    0'50.965 11    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    0'58.686 12    Cedric Melotte    Honda    BEL    1'19.903 13    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    1'22.028 14    James Noble    Suzuki    GBR    1'22.244 15    Bradley Anderson    Honda    GBR    1'28.951 18    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    -1Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    40'18.300 2    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    0'06.449 3    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    0'21.339 4    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    0'27.157 5    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    0'37.250 6    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    0'43.042 7    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    0'46.374 8    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    1'18.127 9    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    1'31.576 10    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    1'34.994 11    Gert Krestinov    KTM    EST    1'36.882 12    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    1'40.470 13    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    1'42.218 14    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    1'44.021 15    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    2'03.410 Rider Standings    26/04/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Antonio Cairoli   Yamaha   ITA   143 2.   Jonathan Barragan   KTM   ESP   128 3.   Ken De Dycker   Suzuki   BEL   124 4.   David Philippaerts   Yamaha   ITA   118 5.   Joshua Coppins   Yamaha   NZL   112 6.   Tanel Leok   Yamaha   EST   111 7.   Steve Ramon   Suzuki   BEL   100 8.   Maximilian Nagl   KTM   GER   87 9.   Clement Desalle   Honda   BEL   86 10.   Kevin Strijbos   Honda   BEL   82 11.   Aigar Leok   TM   EST   48 12.   David Vuillemin   Kawasaki   FRA   48 13.   Marc De Reuver   Honda   NED   45 14.   Gareth Swanepoel   Kawasaki   RSA   43 15.   Billy MacKenzie   Honda   GBR   42 24.   Rob van Vijfeijken   Yamaha   NED   11 30.   Carlos Campano   Yamaha   ESP   3 Manufacturer Standings    26/04/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Yamaha   166 2.   Suzuki   135 3.   KTM   134 4.   Honda   118 5.   Kawasaki   60 6.   TM   48 7.   Aprilia   35 8.   CCM   21 RACE REPORT    26/04/2009 Aubin scores third place on 21st birthday Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Nicolas Aubin gave himself a pleasant 21st birthday by taking pole position and third place overall at Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of Benelux and the fourth round of fifteen in the 2009 FIM MX2 World Championship. The Frenchman buried the memory of a lacklustre appearance in Turkey two weeks ago to show good speed in the sand and his finishes of 5th and 2nd were rewarded with his first silverware of the season. The rough and demanding terrain punished the slightest mistake and saw riders struggling to maintain the same race rhythm for the duration of the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. Aubin, starting from the first slot in the gate, suffered two small falls in Moto1, the first while holding second position, but was nevertheless content with his pace to rise from mid-pack to the top five. In Moto2 he was more decisive and reached the runner-up position by the last third of the race. In fourth spot overall was team-mate Davide Guarneri; the Italian enjoying one of his best performances on the sand. He pushed hard in Moto1 to rise from outside the top ten to third and was missing some energy for Moto2 in which he could only manage ninth. A crash in the qualification heat on Saturday left Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne with an uphill task in the Netherlands, but the Turkish GP winner rode well on his first visit to Valkenswaard and despite a problem with his rear brake he was 4th and 7th for 6th overall. In the world championship standings Guarneri is third, 29 points from the peak of the table. Osborne is fourth and just 11 points from being the first Yamaha rider. Aubin has moved up to seventh. The Grand Prix of Portugal at the Agueda circuit will represent the fifth round of the series in two weeks time. Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 3rd: "I felt a bit nervous in the first moto and that led to some mistakes. I came back from sixteenth and was fast but made another error when I reached Musquin and we crashed together. It was a pretty good race regardless. In the second one I tried to catch Rui but everyone knows he is fast in the sand. My priority today was not to take big risks but to get some points and I am happy I did that. It is nice to get a podium on my birthday, but I would have preferred a win!" Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th: "It was a good day and I felt good in the sand; I was quite surprised to be the fastest in practice yesterday. The heat race was unlucky and with three crashes I was down in 21st, which was not a good position in this gate. I was quick in the first moto and it was no problem to pull through from 14th to 3rd but I felt the effects in the second moto and when I reached 5th place I had nothing left to give. The result was not bad at all." Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 6th: "I fell at the start in the heat race which did not give me the best pick in the gate today. I was a bit nervous about being that far down but got a good start and worked my way up to fourth, which I was happy about. In the second race I did my best to pass through the pack. I lost the back brake about five minutes into both races and that made it tougher. I enjoyed the track. It was hard on Saturday but once I got the rhythm and worked out the flow, things went well. I have put together some consistent finishes now and rising up to fourth in the championship. I wanted to be in the top five today and I feel with that first race I did OK to get up to that position." Circuit Length: 1750 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Tyla Rattray 2009 GP of Benelux 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    39'30.097 2    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    0'19.692 3    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    0'36.610 4    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    0'40.292 5    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    0'43.298 6    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    0'45.718 7    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'48.671 8    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    0'53.618 9    Matiss Karro    Suzuki    LVA    0'54.654 10    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    0'54.854 11    Dennis Verbruggen    Honda    BEL    1'01.423 12    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    1'05.434 13    Mike Kras    Suzuki    NED    1'09.178 14    Herjan Brakke    Honda    NED    1'15.298 15    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    1'15.780 16    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    1'16.395 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    40'09.337 2    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    0'19.978 3    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    0'24.363 4    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'32.063 5    Jeremy Van Horebeek    KTM    BEL    0'34.490 6    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    0'38.323 7    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    0'55.543 8    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    0'58.023 9    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    0'58.428 10    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    1'02.131 11    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    1'04.401 12    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    1'08.797 13    Dennis Verbruggen    Honda    BEL    1'12.014 14    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    1'17.363 15    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    1'18.965 Rider Standings    26/04/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Gautier Paulin   Kawasaki   FRA   140 2.   Marvin Musquin   Honda   FRA   125 3.   Davide Guarneri   Yamaha   ITA   111 4.   Zach Osborne   Yamaha   USA   100 5.   Shaun Simpson   KTM   GBR   97 6.   Xavier Boog   Suzuki   FRA   94 7.   Nicolas Aubin   Yamaha   FRA   85 8.   Rui Goncalves   KTM   POR   78 9.   Steven Frossard   Kawasaki   FRA   63 10.   Marcus Schiffer   KTM   GER   55 11.   Manuel Monni   Yamaha   ITA   52 12.   Joel Roelants   KTM   BEL   49 13.   Arnaud Tonus   KTM   CHE   46 14.   Khounsith Vongsana   Honda   FRA   44 15.   Loic Larrieu   Yamaha   FRA   39 19.   Alessandro Lupino   Yamaha   ITA   35 22.   Evgeny Bobryshev   Yamaha   RUS   22 28.   Cedric Soubeyras   Yamaha   FRA   10 33.   Deny Philippaerts   Yamaha   ITA   6 Manufacturer Standings    26/04/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Kawasaki   149 2.   Yamaha   141 3.   KTM   133 4.   Honda   131 5.   Suzuki   98 Click here to view the news

MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli recently took delivery of Yamaha’s extreme 4x4 Rhino vehicle to continue his off-road exploits, although perhaps with less need for a helmet and boots! The 22 year old Sicilian, of the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team, travelled to the headquarters of Yamaha Motor Italy to pick-up his new mode of transportation. “I asked Yamaha last year ‘if I won the world championship, would I be able to have a Rhino?’ and they were very helpful,” he said. “After the season finished I got a nice call saying that the Rhino would be ready for me.” I had tested one in France before and I really liked it. It feels a little similar to an ATV but obviously it is a little easier to drive and is not something for competition.” The Rhino houses a 660cc four-stroke engine and boasts four-wheel drive in order to help it conquer the trickiest and most difficult of terrain. The vehicle has gathered a cult following upon its launch and has popped up at several Motocross Grand Prix in recent years. Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP rider Colin Edwards even has a special customised paint-job with his version. “I’m having a lot of fun with it,” continued Cairoli. “We had a special edition unit. It is a quick little thing and the engine is strong. I asked if it can be made ready for use on the road and now I keep it back home in Sicily. It is fantastic for making the 3km trip from my house to the beach!” Click here to view the news

Josh Coppins still leads the world championship despite missing his second Grand Prix in a row. The New Zealander has seen his advantage narrowed from 77 to 43 and now to 12 as main rival Steve Ramon could only finish fifth. Yamaha Motocross Team's Marc de Reuver was seventeenth after scoring points in just one moto in front of 18,500 people. De Reuver started the third-to-last meeting of the year in sixteenth position after riders of both classes on a wet Saturday had only 45 minutes to practice and qualify on the brand new course created for this Grand Prix and with a view towards the 61st Motocross of Nations in September 2008. The heavy rain on Friday and Saturday meant that the track was deep and swampy and could not cope with a full practice programme. The schedule was vastly reduced and thankfully the showers stayed away from Sunday even though a chilly wind swept the open circuit. The track itself drew compliments from most of the paddock for its challenging layout and big array of jumps, but the riders were not able to really test the terrain until good work had been carried out by the circuit staff to prepare the course for Sunday. The landings and take-offs were still dangerous and difficult due to the softness of the mud. De Reuver rode his own pace to pick up nine points for twelfth position in race one but did not look capable of breaking into the top ten. The second outing was not positive for the Dutchman as he simply could not get to grips with the track from the rear of the field and retired from the moto. Joshua Coppins is hopeful of being able to ride for the first time this week since fracturing his shoulder in the Czech Republic. The British Grand Prix will take place next Sunday at Donington Park - another new racing course - before the Grand Prix of the Netherlands wraps up the season at Lierop in two weeks time. Kenneth Gundersen took his first steps towards a return to the MX1 by entering the premier category with a view towards assisting Yamaha's plight to retain the manufacturer's title and gained two points for 19th in the first moto but crashed out of the second. Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Practice and qualifying was OK but there was not much time on the track and it was really muddy. I was sixteenth, which was nothing special. In the first heat I was twenty-third at the start and I came up to twelfth but I had a really bad start in the second heat and could not get a rhythm. I wasn't jumping anything and could not get into it today." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Josh still has a twelve point lead so it could have been a lot worse today and we are happy about that but we are really disappointed for Marc. We expected a quite good race at least. He had two very bad starts but there was no reaction afterwards." Click here to view the news

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) secured a fine third place in the second race at Donington, in what was otherwise a particularly challenging weekend of action at a wet and dry Donington Park. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was ruled out of each Donington race after a technical issue in race one saw him penalised for not stopping his machine in time after it developed a fault caused by a rider colliding into him, and then mistiming a subsequent ride through penalty. Neither rider was credited with a finish in the aggregate race one, as they were among several riders not allowed to take part in the restart, which was caused by an oil spill at Coppice corner. Corser had fallen and was not allowed to take his place on the grid for the restart, while Haga had earlier been classified as a retiree after his technical problem. He went out to take his place on the grid, only to be led away by race control. In race two, Haga was not classified as a finisher either after coming in too early for his ride-through penalty, and then being black-flagged. By contrast, Corser, who pushed hard throughout despite suffering multiple crashes this weekend, ignored the pain and stiffness of his body to record a superb third place, his ninth podium of the year. His bravery and skill delivered him an overall second ranking in the championship table, one higher than he started the weekend with. Haga is now fifth overall, on an unchanged 230 points. Both Haga and Corser started their races at Donington wearing unique one-off leathers and riding race bikes clad in special fairings designed by Yamaha Livery Design competition winner Ben Leeves. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 11th in a crash-filled race one, then a faller in race two. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) was a double no scorer. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) stuck to his task in race one and scored 13th, dropping to 18th in race two. Troy Corser (DNF and 3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "This is one of the toughest weekends we have had, and the conditions have been quite slippery in qualifying. I have had lots of crashes so I am pretty sore. Thanks to the guys in the team who have done a great job repairing the bike each time and putting me back on the track. I don't know how many spares the team has left after this meeting!" Noriyuki Haga (DNF and DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In race two I knew I had to come in for a ride through penalty but there was so much spray in the early laps I could not see if there was a board out for me. So I came in to do my ride through on my own. I restarted out of pitlane and then I saw a black flag for me. I could not understand it as I had already done my ride through. But not when they wanted me to, apparently. So I had to pull in. Not a good day for me but thanks to all in the team for all the hard work, and for the support from the fans" Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In some ways it was impossible to do worse this weekend, but we tried our best throughout. Nori had a really difficult day and scored no points. But what Troy did in race two was something incredible. He has had multiple crashes and he was in a lot of pain. As a rider, when you crash even once you lose a little bit of feeling and confidence, but even after several crashes Troy showed he had lost nothing. Troy is now second in the championship and that is a very positive thing to take away from this weekend. We continued to test the new Ohlins electronic suspension this weekend. It has mainly been tried in dry conditions so it was important to gather data in the wet. We have already found an advantage with the limited testing time we've had and plan to use it in Vallelunga where it was first tested six weeks ago." Shinichi Nakatomi (13th and 18th - Team YZF Yamaha) "The conditions were difficult in race one. We made a mistake when we decided to use intermediate tyres, when the other riders used slicks. After ten laps, my feeling with the bike was coming better. For the second race, we changed a few things on the setting of the bike. In this race, I did my best on this very wet and difficult race track." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 29'55.384 2, Tom Sykes, Suzuki, GBR, 0'1.266 3, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'28.636 4, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'33.566 5, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'35.966 6, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'36.034 7, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'36.442 8, Leon Haslam, Honda, GBR, 0'41.633 9, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'42.075 10, James Ellison, Honda, GBR, 0'43.476 11, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1'12.578 12, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'13.147 13, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 1'34.664 14, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'56.726 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 40'26.508 2, Cal Crutchlow, Honda, GBR, 0'2.261 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'9.727 4, James Ellison, Honda, GBR, 0'20.227 5, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'27.475 6, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'28.051 7, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'30.922 8, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'38.353 9, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'50.196 10, Tom Sykes, Suzuki, GBR, 0'57.346 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 1'3.093 12, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 1'6.697 13, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 1'8.057 14, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1'15.276 15, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'38.848 16, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 1'0.000 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'31.814 Rider Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 359 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 258 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 254 4, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 240 5, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 230 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 192 7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 192 8, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 190 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 172 10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 156 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 120 12, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 105 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 105 14, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 99 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 71 21, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 32 26, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 12 28, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7 Manufacturer Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 439 2, Yamaha, 366 3, Honda, 335 4, Suzuki, 329 5, Kawasaki, 69 ---------- RACE REPORT - 07/09/2008 Parkes into the top ten as Laverty scores points Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Supersport Team) had to race on untried settings at Donington, after all practice and warm-up sessions were damp to some degree, but nonetheless each improved form their lowly starting places to record points scoring finishes. Parkes went tenth from 20th on the grid, with Laverty taking his time to get to know his new bike in the dry, and finally posting 12th in his first ever WSS race. As the race progressed Laverty made great strides and set some impressive times as he chased a rider pairing in front that also featured Parkes. Laverty will stay with the Yamaha World Supersport team fo rthe next round at Vallelunga, continuing to ride in place of injured team rider Fabien Foret. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) was 17th on his Yamaha, while David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was only 32nd in qualifying, while his team-mate Jason Crowe missed out on a qualifying time. Broc Parkes (10th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "Better that we had dry race than a wet one. We were down on dry settings too because we didn't race here last year so we didn't have a base setting to work with. It was not quite right, so we had to work hard to get there. That was the best we could do today. It was not perfect but it could have been worse." Eugene Laverty (12th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I made some good lap times at the end but I had to be so careful at the start because I didn't really know the bike in dry conditions, and when you are riding in such close proximity with other riders, it could have been dangerous to try and push too hard from the beginning. But my lap times improved as I learned the bike and my second to last lap was fast, as quick as anyone really. It has been a difficult weekend but I think everyone can understand that. The weather was a disaster but to get a result out of things was our aim and we reached it." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "Of course I am not happy with tenth and 12th places but when you look back on the whole weekend it is difficult for many riders, not only for us. Eugene rode well and progressed through the field once he started to get familiar on the bike in the dry and he had to rebuild his confidence after crashing the bike in the wet. Broc was doing some 1'35 lap times in the dry and did well to come through the field to tenth. For the next race we will have a better base set-up, because we didn't have one for here because we had so little track time last year.." Massimo Roccoli (17th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "With no dry test time this weekend I had to use last year's settings on the machine and it meant that there was a lot of movement from the back end of the machine. Not a great weekend. We continued to test the new electronic suspension this weekend. It has mainly been tried in dry conditions so it was important to gather data in the wet. We have already found an advantage with the limited testing time we've had and plan to use it in Vallelunga where it was first tested six weeks ago. " Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 34'53.607 2, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 0'0.872 3, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'4.846 4, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'5.066 5, Hudson Kennaugh, Yamaha, RSA, 0'8.604 6, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'8.990 7, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'15.660 8, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'16.674 9, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'17.081 10, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'20.474 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'21.110 12, Eugene Laverty, Yamaha, GBR, 0'26.338 13, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'26.597 14, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'29.104 15, Chris Martin, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'30.603 16, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'39.201 17, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'39.505 18, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'40.004 19, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'41.030 20, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'53.383 21, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 1'10.076 22, Bryan Staring, Honda, AUS, 1'19.610 23, Midge Smart, Honda, NZL, 1'19.931 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 1'34.079 Rider Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 169 2, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 137 3, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 133 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 119 5, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 100 6, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 97 7, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 92 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 61 9, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 60 10, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 51 11, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 48 12, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 46 13, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 43 14, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 36 15, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 23 25, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 9 Manufacturer Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 240 2, Yamaha, 162 3, Suzuki, 70 4, Triumph, 61 5, Kawasaki, 42 ---------- RACE REPORT - 07/09/2008 Pirro Sixth After Donington Superstock Battle Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) was one of several fallers in the 12-lap 1000cc Superstock race, exiting after highsiding at the final hairpin on lap two, and restarting to finish 19th, out of the points. Pirro remains fifth in the championship chase, with 83 points. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) fell in a first corner multiple-rider incident, and is 11th overall in the series. Michelle Pirro (19th - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I just lost the rear tyre and had to wait to get my bike restarted and that meant I was too far back to challenge. It's a shame but it was very tricky in those conditions." Claudio Corti (DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I was out on the first corner, in a collision with other riders, and there was nothing I could do to carry on once we had stopped." Baz Leads Despite Fall and Restart Loris Baz crashed his Yamaha Motor France Junior Team machine in the Superstock race but remounted to finish 12th, and defend his championship lead. He is now on 146 points to Vostarek's 121, with race winner Bussolotti third, on 106. Gino Rea was third on his Yamaha machine. Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 21'30.092 2, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'16.109 3, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'34.318 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'37.319 5, Jon Kirkham, Yamaha, GBR, 0'44.199 6, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'45.533 7, Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'47.888 8, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'49.623 9, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'50.461 10, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 0'51.416 11, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'52.516 12, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 1'1.720 13, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 1'2.726 14, Niccolo Rosso, Honda, ITA, 1'2.946 15, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 1'5.181 16, Peter Hickman, Yamaha, GBR, 1'7.026 17, Franck Millet, MV Agusta, ITA, 1'10.043 18, Tommaso Lorenzetti, Suzuki, ITA, 1'10.558 19, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'10.929 20, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'12.577 21, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'13.377 22, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 1'18.026 23, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 1'18.515 24, Cameron Stronach, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'46.326 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'46.033 Rider Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 122 2, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 120 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 119 4, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 114 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 83 6, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 71 7, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 57 8, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 48 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 36 10, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 35 11, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 33 12, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 31 13, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 30 14, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 24 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 23 30, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 4 Manufacturer Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 157 2, Honda, 141 3, Suzuki, 135 4, Yamaha, 106 5, Kawasaki, 49 6, KTM, 2 Click here to view the news

Prumm on steady recovery path The final round of the FIM Women’s World Championship this weekend at the Lierop circuit for the Grand Prix of Benelux will not be able to count on the participation of one of the main stars of the series. Double Women’s World Cup winner and Yamaha rider Katherine Prumm is currently recovering from operations to her right knee and left wrist as well as the collarbone break that prematurely ended her season while leading the standings of the inaugural championship. Due to her presence at an FIM meeting this week (fulfilling her role as one of the ambassadors of the growing scene that is women’s motocross) Prumm sadly cannot be in the Netherlands as a spectator for the last GP of the campaign and will shortly head back to her native New Zealand and continue rehab and planning for 2009. Her time under the surgeon’s knife was not a straightforward as initially envisaged. ‘On July 25th I had my operation in Auckland with Dr Barry Tietjens, who reconstructed the right ACL in my knee,’ she recounts. ‘They also removed the plates from my left wrist which was meant to be a fairly easy process but the doctors found that the plates were buried in the middle of the bone so they had to be scraped out.’ ‘For the first ten days after the operation my body was under a lot of strain with three injuries (my collarbone was still healing) and for two weeks afterwards I was sleeping over 12 hours a night recovering. It was tough being on the couch for two weeks but I had friends and family to keep me entertained and it gave me time to catch up on the Olympics!’ ‘It has now been five weeks since the op and the wrist is feeling great and my knee is still swollen but getting better every day. I have been busy with the physio and surgeon to carry out different exercises to get me back in shape. My collarbone is also finally all healed up and I’m feeling positive about everything for 2009.’ Despite missing a ligament in her knee due to a pre-season mishap, Prumm gained two podium results in three rounds of the five race series and fronted the points table. She joined Yamaha at the start of the year in what was a new positive association for the multi national champion and popular racer. ‘It was great to be a part of the Yamaha family in 2008 and I was disappointed to not be able to deliver them a world title this year,’ she said. ‘The bike was great and all the riders in the Yamaha group are really friendly and easy to talk to.’ With two World Cup titles in the build-up to the formation of the first world championship in 2008, Prumm is undoubtedly one of the top riders and ‘faces’ in women’s motocross today and is in a privileged position to see the swift expansion of the discipline. The FIM competition – which runs concurrently with the MX1-GP and MX2-GP categories - will reach at least eight rounds in 2009. ‘Motocross is a fantastic sport and I hope that girls can see that it is well supported and encouraged. I would urge anyone to take the plunge give it a go,’ she added. ‘I think international women’s motocross has grown a huge amount in 2008. The numbers of riders wanting to race is increasing and the girls are also taking the championship more seriously and working really hard during the season on fitness and conditioning. I think the manufacturers are starting to see that the women’s market is competitive and a positive direction for them to look in. I would still like to see longer races but I am really happy with the development of more GPs and higher entries.’ Click here to view the news

Yamaha Ricci Racing will have their 2009 FIM MX2-GP World Championship line-up bolstered by the addition of talented youngster Loic Larrieu next season. The 17 year old Frenchman (18 before the start of the ’09 campaign) has signed to compete alongside countryman Nicolas Aubin and Italian Davide Guarneri on YZ250F machinery for the Italian crew. Larrieu, from Sete, near Montpellier, has shone in the 2008 European Championship despite carrying a shoulder injury for the majority of the campaign and has emerged as one of the brightest stars of the competitive feeder series. He has won two motos so far – dominating the French meeting – and scored nine top three race finishes from the twelve meetings to-date (obtaining four overall podiums in the first five rounds). He is fourth in the standings and just four points from second place. Larrieu made his world championship debut at St Jean D’Angely in 2007 and again appeared at his home Grand Prix this season, earning his first points with two impressive 12th positions and 11th overall. “It was important for me to find the right team with the right support and the right machinery and I am really happy to be joining Ricci and Yamaha because I believe the team and set-up have all the elements I need to make the next step,” he said. “The YZ250F is a very good and fast motorcycle and I am confident that I will be able to make my goal of getting regular top ten results in 2009.”  The acquisition of Larrieu rounds off a strong quota of riders in the Ricci set-up, with Aubin chasing third spot in the world championship standings and Guarneri claiming victory in the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season. “With the new age limit restriction coming into the MX2-GP class for 2010, meaning a maximum of 23 years of age, it is important that we start to look to the future and what teenage talent we can bring through now,” said Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “We have been watching Loic for a while now and we are delighted that he can join the Ricci team and re-enforce our commitment to the MX2-GP championship. We are confident that he will be able to show the same kind of speed and promise as Nico and Davide and we feel an exciting future lies ahead.” Loic Larrieu DOB: 17/01/1991 Place: Sete, France Height: 1m73 Weight: 61kg First Grand Prix: St Jean D’Angely 2007 Favourite Circuit: Ernee Favourite rider: Ricky Carmichael Career Highlights: 2008 – European Championship race winner, scores first Grand Prix points 2007 – Junior Vice Champion of France 2006 – French Cadet Champion 2005 – Mini French Champion 2002 – 85cc French Vice Champion 2001 – 65cc French Vice Champion Click here to view the news

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts still leads the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship after finishing in 4th position overall under decent weather conditions at the new Fairyhouse circuit for the Grand Prix of Ireland and the thirteenth round of fifteen. As the campaign heads towards its penultimate stages next week, Philippaerts was just two points away from his eighth podium of the season in Dublin but keeps hold of the red number plate - for the tenth time in thirteen events - and heads the standings by 5 points over world champion Steve Ramon. Josh Coppins' was again bitten by ill fortune as the New Zealander was hit at the start of race one and again on the first lap of race two. The second incident forced his retirement. The brand new circuit within the confines of the Fairyhouse horse racing venue contained a tricky layout with well-constructed jumps but the grass was laden with wood chippings making a soft and slippery course. The event itself was perhaps lucky to go ahead in wake of one of the wettest August months on Irish record. Thankfully the weather stayed dry over the weekend for a 16,000 crowd. Philippaerts set off from the seventh best pick in the gate while Coppins was tenth after Saturday's Time Practice. The Italian was quick from the line on both occasions. He circulated adrift of the top four for long stretches of Moto1 but timed an attack on Ramon perfectly entering the last two laps and beat his main rival for the title to 4th spot. The 24 year old was even better placed in Moto2 - in second - but some clutch trouble meant that he had to adjust his riding and lower his speed and he dropped back to 4th once more.  Coppins was also at the forefront of the pack around the first turn of Moto1 but was pushed wide and off the track by a falling Jonathan Barragan. The 31 year old faced another journey through the field from virtually last and reached a creditable 9th by the chequered flag. He was not able to complete a second lap of Moto2 as a rider clattered his YZ450FM on the landing of a table-top and forced him off the course. With the triple clamp bent and the front wheel brake sticking he pitted but was not able to rejoin. With 100 points left to win and just four motos left to run the destination of the 2008 crown will be decided at the final race. Philippaerts holds a slender margin over Ramon and Ken de Dycker is 27 points adrift in third. Jonathan Barragan is fourth and 52 away, while Coppins is fifth and 59 points from his team-mate. Yamaha front the manufacturer's standings by 3 points. The penultimate round of the world championship will take place next weekend at the sandy circuit of Lierop in the Netherlands. The Grand Prix of Citta di Faenza in Italy will close the 2008 competition the following week. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 4th: "I did not have any good lines at the start of the first race and I lost time because of that. I took a while to look at the others and finally find a rhythm that gave me some speed. I was strong at the end and passed Ramon with two laps to go and I was happy. Things were better at the start of the second moto but the track got worse and was quite dangerous with all the soft bumps. We had a small issue with the bike but finishing in the top five was a consistent result. De Dycker came close when I was in third and I did not want him to touch me; I did not want to take any risks. Fourth overall means that it was not a great day but generally I am content because the track was difficult and it was easy to make a mistake that would cost so much. All my plans and work is coming together after a long season. We will see what happens in Lierop now but I want to go there in good form. It has been a very hard year because each GP has been so open and hard to predict, Faenza will be a tough final race!" Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 16th: "I am a little bit lost for words. For the last three or four races I feel that people have not really seen the real 'me' for a combinations of reasons and today there were some more. I started really well in the first race but Barragan or somebody touched me on the inside and I crashed off the side of the track. I was really going for that holeshot and it was just one of those things. I then rode well and came back from second-to-last to ninth. The second race was similar. Everyone went really wide and I got squashed out but I was not in a bad position, however when we came to the first table-top a rider was cross-rutted and touched me in the air. He then came up short and bounced into me on the landing and drove me off the track. It damaged the front of the bike. The wheel was locking and the triple clamp was bent so I came in the pits but we could not get it fixed before all the pack had gone past and getting even just a few points would have been hard; there was too much damage. In retrospect my qualifying needed to be better. After the Czech Republic I wanted to come here and have fun. I really want to be in a race with the guys; that is where I belong." Mino Raspanti, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: "A hard weekend for us. The first moto was not bad for David but terrible luck for Josh and to finish ninth meant that he lost a lot of points for the championship. David did well to pass Steve at the end of the first moto and should have been second in the next race but had a bit of trouble with the clutch and could not keep his lap-times. Josh again had an unbelievable situation and the title is now difficult for him. Lierop will be a big challenge but we will see!" Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 38'49.681 2, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'2.572 3, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'15.287 4, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.305 5, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'22.354 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'23.658 7, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'25.976 8, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'3.541 9, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 1'9.368 10, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 1'18.293 11, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'23.584 12, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'29.328 13, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 1'31.930 14, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'34.165 15, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'36.743 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'46.380 17, Gordon Crockard, Honda, IRL, 1'48.435 18, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'50.824 19, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, -1 Laps 20, James Noble, KTM, GBR, -1 Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 39'36.398 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'15.918 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'23.160 4, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'26.158 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'29.898 6, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'36.999 7, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'45.319 8, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'53.091 9, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'57.115 10, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 1'0.277 11, Gordon Crockard, Honda, IRL, 1'6.916 12, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 1'12.982 13, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'14.221 14, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'16.458 15, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'26.577 16, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'43.236 17, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'49.477 18, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'54.756 19, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, -1 Laps 20, Stuart Edmonds, TM, IRL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 441 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 436 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 414 4, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 389 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 382 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 371 7, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 356 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 322 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 293 10, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 235 11, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 232 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 224 13, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 159 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 159 15, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 145 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 110 17, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 94 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 86 20, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 75 23, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 52 Manufacturer Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 507 2, Suzuki, 504 3, KTM, 481 4, Kawasaki, 467 5, Honda, 398 6, TM, 33 7, Aprilia, 12 ---------- RACE REPORT - 31/08/2008 Aubin fourth as Osborne shows speed with moto win Yamaha were cruelly denied a podium finish in the thirteenth round of fifteen of the MX2-GP World Championship at a bright Fairyhouse circuit near Dublin for the Grand Prix of Ireland. 16,000 people saw Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne win his first ever race in only his third international meeting with the British team, while Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin was 4th overall and missed a second rostrum celebration of the season by just 2 points. The pair went 1-3 in Moto1 respectively, but a mechanical problem for the American halted his progress while in second place during Moto2 and Aubin suffered a bad start and a brief mid-race crash before taking 7th by the flag. Aubin had showed quick pace around the heavily wood-chipped and soft course located in the centre of the horse racing track some 20 kilometres north of Dublin. He was 2nd in the first qualification heat and therefore entered the gate in 3rd position on Sunday. He was behind Osborne who won his first Saturday heat race. Osborne sprinted away from the field in just his fifth moto with the Utag Yamaha.com YZ250F and kept series-leader Tyla Rattray at bay for the whole race. His success meant that he gave the team their first set of 25 points since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix and became only one of a handful of Americans to sample victory on the world championship stage. He was also the third Yamaha rider to score a win in 2008. Sadly an overall trophy was snatched away with a mechanical glitch half way through Moto2 and he left the circuit with 8th overall. Aubin had taken a steady 3rd place in Moto1 and his progress was dented by a poor getaway in Moto2 and then a small mistake while gaining ground deep into the 35 minute and 2 laps duration. Ricci Racing team-mate Davide Guarneri failed to bag any points but twisted his weak right knee and was in considerable pain, forcing a retirement in Moto2. The Italian is scheduled to have an operation after the final Grand Prix in just over two weeks. Matteo Bonini was back in action for the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli squad after recovering sufficiently from his hand injury. The Italian scored respectable points in each moto to finish 13th overall. Team-mate Alessandro Lupino was 16th and with 10 points obtained his third highest total of 2008. Aubin is 4th in the standings and 14 points from the third position held by the absent Antonio Cairoli. The 2008 world championship now hurries towards its conclusion with two events in the next two weeks. The Grand Prix of Benelux will take place in the sand of Lierop in Holland while the hard-pack Faenza circuit entertains the final round in Italy. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th: "I was pleased to make the top three in the first moto but I cannot believe the bad start I made in the second race. A rider crashed in front of me in the first corner and I think I restarted in something like 25th position. I got back to 12th but then crashed trying to pass Goncalves and restarted in 15th before finding my way to 7th. I had some pain again in my stomach and it was difficult to ride like this. I am satisfied with the result, especially because the track was difficult for passing." Zach Osborne, Yamaha Utag.com, 8th: "This was a big step for my career today and I am really pumped with the team and everything that has been going on here. Tyla is in 'championship mode' so I knew he would not take any big chances in the first race to try and pass me. I rode as hard as I could and it worked out for me. It was a shame about the second moto but it felt really good to win and join a small group of Americans to have done so." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 25th: "This was a really hard GP for me. I did not like the track and could not get the speed together. My starts were bad and when I caught my leg on a bump in the second moto it finished the day. We will have to see how the knee is before Lierop next week." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 13th: "I did not feel a great deal of pain when I was riding and my main problem was that I did two 30 minute motos for the first time only last Tuesday, so physically it was hard to get used to Grand Prix speed again and finish those two motos. I am happy. I did not have a good rhythm at the start of the motos but I got better and improved throughout." Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Zach Osborne, Yamaha, USA, 38'59.589 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'2.365 3, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'10.678 4, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'10.678 5, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'44.102 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'45.527 7, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'46.258 8, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'46.749 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'47.153 10, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'55.719 11, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 0'59.039 12, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'3.472 13, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'15.296 14, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 1'24.775 15, Martin Barr, Yamaha, GBR, 1'27.639 16, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'28.866 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'30.003 18, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 1'41.995 19, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'44.564 20, Marcus Norlen, Suzuki, SWE, 1'46.766 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 39'55.406 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'6.126 3, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'12.077 4, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'21.385 5, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'24.993 6, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 0'26.163 7, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'28.350 8, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'29.694 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'30.703 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'47.801 11, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'49.467 12, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 0'52.392 13, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 0'59.327 14, Jake Nicholls, Suzuki, GBR, 1'7.302 15, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 1'25.623 16, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'30.835 17, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'36.756 18, Marcus Norlen, Suzuki, SWE, 1'46.045 19, Teddy Maier, Kawasaki, USA, 1'53.186 20, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 546 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 519 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 343 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 337 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 327 7, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 284 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 269 9, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 253 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 245 11, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 243 12, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 240 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 180 14, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 167 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 165 16, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 161 17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 101 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 99 19, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 20, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 92 23, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 55 27, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 42 28, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 41 41, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 8 46, Martin Barr, Yamaha, GBR, 6 Manufacturer Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 616 2, Yamaha, 559 3, Kawasaki, 407 4, Suzuki, 320 5, Honda, 234 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi reached another milestone in his outstanding career today by matching the all-time premier-class win record. His 68th premier-class victory brings him level with his great countryman Giacomo Agostini and the fact that he was able to do it at his home track of Misano made it all the more special for the flamboyant Italian. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo put the icing on the cake for Yamaha with an impressive return to the podium to make it the second one-two finish for the team this season. Rossi had a good start but Dani Pedrosa had an even better one and the seven-time world champion was forced to ride at his maximum to pass the Spaniard back, which he did on the second lap. Casey Stoner was by then some three seconds clear but Rossi's M1 was working well and he was gradually able to start making up some ground, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap six. One lap eight of 28 Stoner sensationally slid out into the gravel in a carbon copy of the last race in Brno and Rossi was left in the lead. There was no opportunity to rest however as the twisty nature of the circuit was a very different task to face alone than the flowing curves of Brno and Lorenzo, another three seconds behind, was giving Rossi no chance of a let-up. The local hero was able to bring his M1 home safely however to the rapturous cheers of his home fans, who flooded onto the track in typical Italian fashion. The sixth win of the season for Rossi and another non-finish for Stoner means he is now 75 points clear at the top of the championship, with a maximum of 125 points remaining from five races.Lorenzo stays in fourth and Yamaha remain on course for a treble of Teams' and Manufacturers' championships as well. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1 Time: 44'41.884 "Today is a truly fantastic day and I can't believe that I have matched Agostini's record! He was one of my heroes so it's quite incredible to have made it to 68 wins. This was quite a difficult weekend for us from the start and there has been the added pressure of a home race, which makes it harder to concentrate because there is so much distraction! Mugello has always been 'my' track, even though it's further away from Tavullia, but here, after the bad time last year, we haven't found it so easy. Once again today however my team gave me a very competitive bike and I felt very confident. I got a good start but then Dani came past me very fast and I then lost a lot of time getting past him and had to take some big risks - I had a big slide! Once I was past him I could see Casey, although I have to admit that today I wasn't as confident as I was in Brno that I could win. Anyway I kept pushing because it's not in my nature to ride for second place and I think it still could have been a battle; I was very fast once I found my rhythm. Then I saw Casey slide out. I'm sorry for him once again but this is very good for our championship so I am happy for our team. We have 75 points, which is a lot, but there are still five races and I will ride to win at every one, as I always have done throughout my career. Thanks to my fantastic Yamaha team, to Bridgestone and of course congratulations to Jorge as well, he kept pushing me today and I wasn't able to relax even for one minute! It is a great day for us all." Davide Brivio - Team Mananger "What a day! It's very positive for our championship and to come out with 75 points after three wins in a row is amazing. Once again the team and engineers did an excellent job to fix some problems in time for the race to give Valentino a competitive bike, so well done to them. Despite losing a bit of time at the start Valentino was able to come back and set the fastest lap and keep pushing. Of course the championship isn't done but our advantage is very big and all the team are concentrated and motivated for the final five races. It's great to see Jorge back on the podium as well - a great race and a great team!" Lorenzo returns to podium with stunning second in Misano Jorge Lorenzo made it a fantastic home-race double podium for the Fiat Yamaha Team today, finishing second behind his team-mate Valentino Rossi at Misano. It was the rookie's first podium since the team's last one-two finish in Le Mans and it was a deserved one following the injuries that have plagued him since. Lorenzo lost some time at the start when Dani Pedrosa passed him and then had to wait for Rossi to pass his Spanish compatriot before he could make his move, which he did on lap five. When Casey Stoner crashed out of the lead on lap eight, leaving Rossi in front, Lorenzo was elevated to second and he rode a strong race from then on, exerting constant pressure on his team-mate, who was unable to relax and had to keep pushing to keep the gap at about three seconds. Lorenzo was followed home by another Spaniard, Toni Elias, who crossed the line 8.54 seconds off in third. The 21-year-old Mallorcan's fifth podium of the season sees him consolidate his fourth place in the championship and his leading rookie status, whilst Rossi is now 75 points clear of Stoner at the top. There are five rounds remaining with the next one coming at Indianapolis in the USA in two week's time Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2 Time: +3.163 "Seeing the party Valentino's fans were making for him around the track today reminded me how much I want to start winning again, but as a start this second place is fantastic for us! I lost some ground at the early on but then I took my rhythm, passed Dani and started to push, and then I kept pushing until the end. To be one and two on the podium again, like in Le Mans, is wonderful and after four months of problems I am enjoying this moment very much - it's perfect. Since the Brno test and with the improvements that Michelin have made here my confidence has being going up all the time and my riding style has improved as well, so I want to say thank you to them. I hope the situation is the same at the next races, then we can continue to be strong like this. Thanks to all of my team and congratulations to Valentino and Toni." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "It's really great to be back on the podium after a long time and we are very happy for Jorge. We never lost confidence that he would come back to this level even though it has been very hard for him at times, but everyone has kept focused and here we are, so well done to all involved. Our Michelin tyres have worked much better here and this has made everything easier to achieve, it seems that the Brno test was a turning point and the improvement in the tyres has helped us to find a new set-up. Now we're looking forward with confidence to the next races. Congratulations to Valentino and the other side of the garage for a great victory." James Toseland storms to top six, tough day for Colin Edwards A fantastic performance by British rider James Toseland saw him claim his fifth top six finish of the season at red-hot Misano this afternoon. The Tech3 Yamaha rider was always in contention for his first top six finish since the Catalunya GP after a solid start from ninth on the grid. At one stage though he looked on course for his best ever MotoGP finish as he held a terrific fifth having got the better of a tough battle with Andrea Dovizoso and Shinya Nakano. He slipped to sixth place on lap 22 but then produced a heroic display to hold off intense pressure from Loris Capirossi and Dovizioso in an enthralling finale to the 28-lap encounter, which was run in punishing 35-degree heat. Today's result moved Toseland back into the top ten in the world championship standings. American team-mate Colin Edwards had a difficult afternoon, as any hopes he had of mounting an assault on the top six were dashed in the early stages. He struggled with rear grip, but was able to run a consistent pace in the second half of the race to fight his way back into a hard fought tenth. James Toseland 6th - 85 points "I got a decent start off the line and held my grid position in ninth, so I wasn't too disappointed and got into the groove quite quickly. I was battling with Dovizioso and Nakano for the first half of the race. I passed Shinya and then started chasing Dovizioso but just as I caught him I started having some troubles. But he was too and I managed to pass him and make it stick. Then Chris Vermeulen came past and pulled away which was a bit frustrating because I was hoping for fifth to get my best result. Coming from where I'd been in the last few races and to produce a ride like that was brilliant. That is what I'm here for and I really enjoyed it. I was about ten feet wide on those last few laps and probably the widest Yamaha in history. I knew Loris and Dovizioso were behind me in those last few laps and they wanted my place in front of their home fans. Loris passed me on the penultimate lap but I'd blocked the line so he had to go really deep and he just went slightly wide and he left half a door open and I moved back through. I didn't touch him so it was all fair and square. On the last lap I blocked into the last two corners and I knew I'd got sixth with it being a short drag to the line so it was a great feeling. Michelin has had a lot of stick recently but they have knuckled down and so have I. We have kept working hard and today we showed what we can achieve together with Tech 3 and Yamaha." Colin Edwards 10th - 108 points "It was a very tough race and not what I'd expected. I thought it was going to be tough, but not that tough and obviously I wanted to do better for my guys at Tech 3 who tried everything to solve some of our issues here. Unfortunately some of the issues we can't control, and I was struggling for grip in the early stages. I just couldn't get any temperature in the rear tyre and I didn't have the confidence to push like I wanted to. Those first three laps just dictated my result because once I got into my pace my lap times were pretty decent and good enough to be fighting much further up. But I lost too much in the early part of the race. The problem is on a short track when everybody is doing pretty much the same lap time; it is impossible to make up a lot of time. I got through to tenth and I've got a chance to put things right on home soil in Indianapolis next time out." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a fantastic race from James and I am really pleased to see him back up there fighting as we know he can do. When he suffers the whole team suffers and it is not been an easy period for him, but he has never let his head drop and he always kept his motivation and given Tech 3, Yamaha and Michelin 100 per cent. This result will give him a big boost for the remainder of the season, and maybe a podium is not impossible before the end. He came under a lot of pressure but he kept concentrated and showed the James we saw at the start of the season. I am sorry for Colin. His lap times showed at the end of the race he had the speed, but for some reason in the early part of the race he was not able to run the pace we had hoped. But it was a strong weekend for Tech 3 and for Yamaha. I'd like to congratulate Valentino and Jorge and I think we saw that Michelin and Bridgestone are really close together. I'd like to thank Michelin for the way they have responded to the last few races." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 44'41.884 2, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'3.163 3, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'11.705 4, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'17.470 5, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'23.409 6, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'26.208 7, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'26.824 8, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'27.591 9, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 0'33.169 10, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'36.529 11, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'42.081 12, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'43.808 13, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'54.874 14, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'55.154 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 1'34.904 Rider Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 262 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 187 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 185 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 140 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 118 6, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 110 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 108 8, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 87 9, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 86 10, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 85 11, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 84 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 82 13, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 49 14, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 48 15, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 47 Team Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 402 2, Repsol Honda Team, 269 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 235 4, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 198 5, Tech3 Yamaha, 193 6, Honda Gresini, 136 7, Team Alice, 129 8, JIR Scot Team, 118 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 75 10, Honda LCR, 40 Manufacturer Standings 31/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 291 2, Ducati, 228 3, Honda, 223 4, Suzuki, 139 5, Kawasaki, 66 Click here to view the news

After a three week hiatus the factory Yamaha Monster Motocross Team now prepare for an intense culmination to the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship with the first of the three final Grand Prix taking place in three weeks this weekend just outside the city of Dublin. Series leader David Philippaerts holds a 7 point advantage over world champ Steve Ramon with team-mate Josh Coppins 35 points from the lead in third spot with a total of 150 still to be won. Trips to Holland and Italy will close the campaign. Philippaerts, emphatic victor of the Czech Grand Prix three weeks ago, has split his time during the break between Italy and his Belgian base. The 24 year old spent a week training in the Italian mountains before heading back to northern Europe for the Bilzen International in Belgium last weekend. Going up against world championship rivals Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker, Philippaerts finished second, only one point away from first place and ahead of defending number one Ramon. “I am 100% ready for racing and excited for the next three weeks,” said the Italian who has fronted the championship for nine of the twelve GPs held so far. “I had some good training time in Italy even though we went up to the mountains and the weather was very strange, I even saw snow in the middle of August! We then came back to Belgium and Lommel and had the International last weekend. I was happy with my riding. I should have won the first moto as I was leading easily but a silly crash meant that I finished second. A bad start in the second saw me third and then I won the last race.” “It feels like a long time we have had off and now I am keen to get to Ireland,” he added. Josh Coppins has been busy over the break. The German Grand Prix winner took 3rd and 2nd positions overall in the fourth and fifth rounds of the Belgian Championship over three days at Balen and Orp-Le-Grand and then dominated the Ken Hall International in the UK last weekend, beating a host of GP peers on the way. The Kiwi has been working hard to ensure he is in peak form entering this crucial stage of the world championship but knows he faces a hard charge to the title. “I started the year on the back foot because of the injury and since then I have been gaining ground and then losing it for one reason or another; all along the way there has been a bit of pressure to keep in contention,” he said. “Thirty five points is quite a lot and I feel like the pressure has eased for these last three races. The championship is not impossible but it will be difficult. I just want to go out there and have fun and race hard. I felt a bit down after Loket so I kept busy over the break and I feel good for Dublin and the next two GPs.” The team have had some time to recollect before the heaviest spell of the calendar begins. After the three Grand Prix races – in which they will try to convert Yamaha’s current 14 point lead in the Manufacturer’s standings into a title success - they have only one week’s pause before both of their riders are likely to be representing their countries at the 62nd Motocross of Nations at Donington Park in the UK. “We have not done any tests during the break as we already rolled out some engine modifications in the Czech Republic,” said Racing Manager Mino Raspanti. “We possibly have some work ahead for the GP at Lierop, which will be another sandy event.” Click here to view the news

Eugene Laverty, the young 22 yr old Northern Irish 250 GP rider has been picked by the Yamaha World Supersport Team to replace injured rider Fabien Foret for the next two rounds of the World Supersport Championship at Donington and Vallelunga. Laverty is no stranger to the Supersport class, having raced successfully in British Supersport previously. He gave a strong performance in the 2006 championship, battling throughout the year to take third in the overall standings. The talented rider was fighting for the title however a hand injury left him side lined with four race wins at the end of the season.Prior to this he successfully competed in the 2004 British 125cc Championship, finishing 2nd in the season. Eugene moved on to take a ride in the 250 GP series for 2007 and 2008 however a lack of competitive machinery has hampered any significant racing success. Fabien Foret continues to recover well from his injuries sustained after crashing in the Brno round of the World Supersport Championship and is hoped to return to the Yamaha World Supersport Team before the end of the season. Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We were impressed with Karl Harris’ performance on the bike at Brands, it confirms for us that our bike is competitive even when we have someone not familiar with it. Karl rode well, however whilst Fabien is recovering this is a good opportunity for us to trial different riders. Donington is also more of a top power track compared to Brands which meansKarl’s physical size and weight may have been more of an issue whilst Eugene is a very lightweight rider so should have an edge" "Looking back to Eugene’s British Supersport rides he was keenly in competition with top riders like Crutchlow and Sykes, proving he’s a talented 4 stroke rider with strong Supersport credentials. With Donington coming up we wanted to keep using an English rider with excellent local track knowledge, which he has." Eugene Laverty "I’m really excited at the chance to ride a competitive Supersport machine. Two years of riding underpowered bikes has led to two difficult seasons for me. For Yamaha to pick me up and offer this opportunity is fantastic, I’m over the moon! I can’t wait to get to Donington and start working with the team to set up and get out on track" Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi moved two races clear at the top of the championship with his fifth win of the season today, enjoying an easy ride home after his closest rival Casey Stoner crashed out on lap seven. Rossi, starting from second, lost some time at the first corner getting past John Hopkins and for the first couple of laps Stoner looked in danger of clearing off, but the Italian soon found his rhythm and was gradually making up time on the Australian when he saw him slide off into the gravel. The pair had already opened out an impressive gap from the chasing pack and Rossi was left to race the remaining 15 laps alone and unchallenged, eventually coming home 15 seconds clear of Toni Elias. The seven-time world champion's 67th premier-class victory takes him within one race of the all-time premier-class record, held by his compatriot Giacomo Agostini. Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner with Pedrosa 15 points off in third, whilst Lorenzo's six points see him remain fourth in the standings, ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1 Time: 43'28.841 "I was confident today because my bike was fast from Friday practice, and with Jeremy we made a small modification to the front after warm-up to allow me to be a bit faster in some sections, and it worked very well. I lost about half a second getting past Hopkins at the start and Casey was incredibly fast at that stage, like he'd already done ten laps! For a short time I was worried but then, after two laps, I understood that my bike was working very well and that I was fast enough to try to catch him. I had closed a little bit already and gradually the red bike was becoming a bit bigger in front of me, and I think this is when he started to push harder and made his mistake. I was anticipating a very hard battle if I did catch him, so when I saw the red bike slide out I could hardly believe it - this made things a lot easier for me! After that I just enjoyed riding my bike; my Bridgestone tyres worked very well until the end and my M1 felt very good. Of course I can't count this as a complete victory because Casey fell, and I am sorry for him, but this is racing and I have to be happy with this result. We are 50 points clear which is a lot and I am very excited to be going to Misano in this situation. However we know that 50 points is still not always enough when you have someone as strong as Casey and so we won't relax. Now we have two days of testing and we will try some new electronics in order to help me open the throttle earlier and also, of course, test some Bridgestone tyres." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "Of course this is a very important victory for us and we're very happy today. It's clear that Valentino did a very good job at the start not to let Stoner get too far ahead, and he was starting to make up ground and put some pressure on him when he unfortunately crashed. Of course this made our job a lot easier! We need to keep going like this and not lose our concentration, but we've had two very good races and we are confident that we are in good shape. We have two days of testing now which will be very important for the final six races, and then we go to another home race at Misano and try to make up for last year!" Lorenzo finishes tenth with gutsy ride in Brno Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo finished a creditable tenth in Brno today, making up seven places after starting last on the grid. The Spaniard made the most of the tools he had available to pass several riders, including two on the last lap, and hangs onto his fourth place in the championship as a result. His team-mate Valentino Rossi won his fifth race of the season and was saved another tense battle with Casey Stoner after the Australian crashed out of the lead on the seventh lap. Lorenzo was able to pass Colin Edwards early on and he then gradually settled into a rhythm and passed both James Toseland and Dani Pedrosa to take 12th. During the middle part of the race his lap times gradually improved and brought him closer to the next group and he was rewarded with an exciting final lap, which saw him pass first Sylvain Guintoli and then John Hopkins on the line to take tenth. Six points for Lorenzo see him stay ten points ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in fourth place in the championship, whilst Rossi is now 50 points clear of Stoner. The Fiat Yamaha Team now have two days of testing before they head to the next round at Misano in Italy in two week's time. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 10th Time: +39.573 "This race is a bit sad for me because we have the potential to do a lot better. However considering what has happened this weekend and, above all, the problems with the front tyre, I think we have done almost as much as we could. At the start I didn't want to take too many risks and I could feel that the front tyre was getting worse on each lap, but on the other hand the rear tyre was getting better each lap! I know that we have had had problems this weekend but I know that Michelin are working very hard, so now we will try to use the test to make some improvements. I want to say thank you to all of my team for their hard work, congratulate Valentino for his victory and finally also Toni Elias for his podium." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "Today we couldn't have done any better than this, but we can't be satisfied to finish tenth. But overall Jorge did a great job and a good race, and he was able to find a good rhythm in the middle part of the race, continue until to the end and pass many riders, plus he was able to score some valuable points. Motivation in our team is still high because we have many more races to do and tomorrow at the test we will start again to work very hard with Michelin, look at the problems we have had here and try to find a way to improve things for the remaining races." Tech 3 Yamaha show fighting spirit in Brno Tech 3 Yamaha's James Toseland and Colin Edwards raced to top 15 results in today's Czech Republic GP. In front of a record crowd of over 146,000 fans at a cool and cloudy Brno, the 22-lap race proved to be a tough challenge for Toseland and Edwards, who both gave their maximum effort in difficult circumstances to claim 13th and 14th places respectively. Starting from the back row of the grid, Toseland made his customary good start, gaining two places on the first lap. The 27-year-old once again showed his never-say-die attitude, despite some traction issues as he scored points for the ninth time in 11 races. Edwards was one place further back as he too encountered some grip issues in an effort to maintain his pursuit of Toseland, as the Tech 3 duo fought closely in the opening stages. The American still remains firmly in the hunt for fourth place in the world championship, lying 18-points behind fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo with six races remaining. Tech 3 Yamaha also remains in contention for a top four finish in the Team World Championship, and is still the leading non-factory team in the standings heading to the Misano round on August 31. James Toseland 13th - 75 points "It was a difficult race and the result is clearly not where we want to be. I don't want to be fighting at the back of the top 15, and neither does my team or Yamaha and it is disappointing. All I can do is go out there with whatever I have got underneath me and give it my maximum and I did that. But this team and Yamaha deserve to be higher up and today wasn't good enough. It would be easy to let my head drop but I have never been that type of rider and I am not going to start now. I was reasonably happy with my start but I had a few moments with the front tyre on the first couple of laps and I soon realised that I was at my maximum and that I wasn't going to be able to do much more. It is disappointing because I have slipped out of the top ten in the standings and that was one of my big goals before the start of the season. We have got to keep working hard as a team and hope that Michelin can quickly turn it around for the rest of the season so we can try and get back into that top ten and keep the morale up of the team. Colin had even more problems than me so it must have been tough for him, but this is the situation we are in. We will all keep pushing hard and see what we can do." Colin Edwards 14th - 102 points "I could see straightaway behind James that he was having some issues with the front tyre, which we expected. I still thought I could put a good pace together but it never happened. I just didn't have the confidence I needed to push harder with the tyres and the more I pushed I didn't seem to go much faster. James was able to leave me pretty easily as my issues started to get worse but I wanted to stay out there and try my best for my guys at Tech 3 and Yamaha, who as always have been working like crazy to help me this weekend. I thank them for that, but there was nothing else I could do. Towards the end I just decided to take a few more risks and I went a bit quicker, but there was no way I was going to catch anybody. I've had a bad run lately but I'm still in contention for fourth in the championship, and I'll keep fighting. But we need big improvements from Michelin. The good start we had to the season seems like a long way away now, and we have to work with Michelin to try and solve some of the issues because I didn't enjoy today at all." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "We thought the disappointment of Laguna Seca would be forgotten after the summer break and we would have a positive weekend in Brno. Unfortunately from the very beginning of the weekend we understood it was going to be another tough weekend. Clearly we couldn't challenge the tyre opposition. We have been trying a lot of different settings to try and cope with that, but it was difficult. The most difficult was qualifying in the rain conditions and we were far behind. We knew starting from the last two rows it would be a tough race but James and Colin still tried as hard as they could and they stayed on track and scored a few points. But this is not how we started the championship and today was a really difficult day. To see the chequered flag with a few points is a relief but for sure there will be a lot of meetings and a lot of thinking of what to do for the future because we keep on losing ground in the championship and this is very disappointing." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 43'28.841 2, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'15.004 3, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'21.689 4, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'25.859 5, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'29.465 6, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'30.608 7, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 0'36.453 8, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'36.750 9, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'38.822 10, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'39.573 11, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'39.610 12, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'40.892 13, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 1'11.490 14, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 1'21.133 15, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 1'37.038 16, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 1'38.407 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'57.199 Rider Standings 17/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 237 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 187 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 172 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 120 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 110 6, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 102 7, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 99 8, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 84 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 83 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 77 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 75 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 66 13, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 49 14, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 42 15, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 41 Team Standings 17/08/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 357 2, Repsol Honda Team, 256 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 228 4, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 178 5, Tech3 Yamaha, 177 6, Honda Gresini, 132 7, JIR Scot Team, 110 8, Team Alice, 108 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 70 10, Honda LCR, 40 Manufacturer Standings 17/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 266 2, Ducati, 212 3, Honda, 210 4, Suzuki, 128 5, Kawasaki, 63 Click here to view the news

Only three rounds remain in the 2008 MX1-GP World Championship after a brilliant meeting for the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team at the Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic represented the twelfth meeting of fifteen on the series schedule. David Philippaerts obtained his second victory of the season and his third moto success to regain control of the standings and snare the red plate once again for the front of his works YZ450FM. Team-mate Josh Coppins was struck by a freak moment of misfortune that contributed to his result of 9th position overall. Under cloudy but dry skies and in front of 28,000 spectators, Loket was an extreme contrast to the rough and physically demanding depths of the Belgian sand last weekend. Hard-pack, slippery and fast, the layout was uncomplicated and offered diversity through the many changes of elevation thanks to the valley setting. The riders spent time finding effective tyre combinations through practice in search of the best traction. The team were pleased with some technical modifications to the YZ450FMs with new engine parts adding more bottom end grunt to the potent motor. Coppins was particularly content and was holding 3rd position in Timed Practice until finally being nudged down to 4th; it was still one of his better qualification performances of the year. Philippaerts was fastest in the first free practice although was unable to get a clean lap in the official chrono and placed 11th. The top sixteen riders were split by less than two seconds. Philippaerts' first race was incredible and saw one of his best performances of the season. More misfortune on the opening lap after a tangle with Tanel Leok witnessed the 24 year old picking up his motorcycle and re-starting outside the top twenty. He then embarked on a heart-pounding recovery with adventurous lines and overtaking manoeuvres to rapidly gain ground.Philippaerts worked his way back, setting the fastest lap on the fifth circulation and passed his team-mate and world champion Steve Ramon to take a dazzling 3rd place. The second sprint was less frantic and he grabbed the lead on the first lap and established a race winning advantage over Sebastien Pourcel to the flag. Coppins was a persistent rider in the battle for third position in Moto1 but his progress was limited when a rock broke his goggles on the second lap. The Czech dirt was littered with small stones so even keeping pace with his rivals and taking 4th was a remarkable achievement. In the second race the New Zealander was still suffering with blurred vision and when he touched a false neutral over a jump; he hit the ground and sacrificed a top three finish to cross the line in 10th. One week after losing the red plate to Ramon, Philippaerts is again in charge of the MX1-GP World Championship by 7 points over the Belgian. Coppins is still third but now 35 behind. Yamaha hold a 14 point lead in the manufacturer's table. A three week break now precedes a hard and rapid finale to the season. Three consecutive Grand Prix, in Ireland, Holland and Italy, will close the campaign by mid-September. The trip to the Fairyhouse horse racing venue for a new track just outside Dublin will represent round thirteen on August 31st. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 1st: "This is a great win for me and it has come at a good time. I pushed really hard in that first moto after a stupid crash and passed many riders. I found some good lines and just went for it. The track was very difficult but the team had worked hard in the last week to give me a bike that was perfect and I felt really happy being able to push. My goal was to at least catch Ramon but I found I could keep going and the top three was possible. In the second moto I took one or two risks but then was able to make good lap-times when I was in the lead and had a great race. For me Loket is a very real and natural motocross track and has similarities to some places in Italy. We have three races left now and I will try hard each time to get the best position I can. We will then see if the championship is ours or not! Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 9th: "If I am honest then I am happy to get out of here uninjured because it was a big crash for me in the second race and I was lucky not to get hurt. I don't seem to get on too well with Loket! Overall it was a disappointing day and nothing went right. I felt like I was riding pretty good but I was struggling with my vision in the first race after a stone whacked my goggles and broke the strap clean off. It was a freak thing. Thankfully it did not happen again in the second race but I was suffering from the first; my eyes were watering and it was very difficult to go fast. I could not race how I wanted because I couldn't glimpse the bumps clearly and things were all blurry; it was even quite dangerous sometimes. I hit a false neutral over the jump in the second race. I went over the bars and it more or less ended the moto. I ripped my pants, broke the buckle and my kidney belt was away somewhere. I feel pretty sore now and have some cuts and bruises. We still have some races left in this championship and the next challenge is to keep positive over this break until the next Grand Prix." Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: "This was a fantastic response after Lommel. David tried to pass another rider in the first lap of the first moto and the crash meant he had a lot of work to do from outside the top twenty, but wow, what a job. After two laps he had a good lap-time but was still far away and it wasn't until the halfway mark when he reached eighth and the group ahead that we realised a top three was a possibility. It was a great race. He started OK in Moto2 but the first two corners were excellent and he passed three or four riders to lead. He then did not make any mistakes to finish a fantastic weekend. Josh was so unlucky again. To race here without goggles is very tough but he is a strong guy and pushed very hard to finish the moto. The false neutral and the big crash probably cost him a podium. He lost some points in the championship but is still third with three GPs to go. YRRD have been working hard and were able to give us some new parts this weekend so a big thank you to them." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 39'38.255 2, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'8.690 3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'16.171 4, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'19.210 5, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'20.225 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'20.798 7, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'23.086 8, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'24.745 9, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'37.346 10, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'50.532 11, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'54.403 12, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'58.941 13, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'0.900 14, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 1'8.367 15, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 1'9.294 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'15.572 17, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'19.569 18, Martin Michek, Honda, CZE, 1'20.518 19, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'30.893 20, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'32.081 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 40'18.466 2, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'4.986 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.206 4, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'10.184 5, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'14.943 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'17.849 7, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'24.837 8, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'31.930 9, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'39.030 10, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'51.460 11, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'52.513 12, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'54.687 13, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'56.987 14, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 0'59.846 15, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'0.810 16, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 1'11.377 17, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 1'16.289 18, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'20.246 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'24.554 20, Jiri Cepelak, Yamaha, CZE, 1'34.332 Rider Standings 10/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 405 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 398 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 370 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 369 5, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 369 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 344 7, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 327 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 275 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 257 10, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 224 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 215 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 197 13, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 159 14, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 148 15, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 131 16, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 17, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 97 18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 93 19, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 75 20, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 74 23, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 44 Manufacturer Standings 10/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 471 2, Suzuki, 457 3, KTM, 452 4, Kawasaki, 420 5, Honda, 362 6, TM, 32 7, Aprilia, 12 ---------- RACE REPORT - 10/08/2008 Aubin 4th in Czech Republic Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin missed out on a podium position by just one point at a cloudy but dry Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and the twelfth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX2-GP World Championship.The Frenchman was 4th overall at the venue where he scored his maiden victory twelve months earlier. The hard and fast Loket mud meant that it was very difficult for riders to make up time on their competitors while even the smallest mistake conceded hard-won ground to pursuers.The 20 year old took 2nd place in his qualification heat on Saturday despite suffering a stomach illness which took the edge from his physical condition.He had an average start in the first of the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos but fought back to capture 3rd spot behind runaway leaders Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle. The duo battled for the win again in an entertaining Moto2 while Aubin had to strive against countrymen Steve Frossard and Anthony Boissiere for a top five position. Finally abdominal pain meant that 6th position was the best he could manage. Second best Yamaha finisher was 3C Racing's Manuel Monni. The 2008 Italian MX2 champion registered 11th and 8th for a decent top ten standing and 8th overall. Monni spent long periods of the first moto chasing and fighting with sole Red Bull De Carli representative Alessandro Lupino. The teenager notched the best result of his short career to-date with a decent start and 12th behind his fellow Italian. A tougher second moto meant he finished 17th, but 13th overall was a landmark. Aubin's team-mate Davide Guarneri was 12th at the end of the afternoon and although he could only complete the second moto he gained 14 points for 7th spot. The Italian was fighting for 11th in Moto1 until a crash three laps from the line dropped him far behind the pack and he rode into the pit-lane, well out of the points. A more positive outing in Moto2 produced his eighth top ten result this season. Guarneri is missing a ligament in his right knee and is currently reviewing his options to have corrective surgery in order to use the winter months for rehabilitation and come back fully fit for testing and preparation in 2009. Impressive 18 year old American Zach Osborne was on slightly easier ground compared to the demands of his world championship debut last week in the deep Belgian sand. The Utag Yamaha.com rider has signed with the British team to finish the Grand Prix season with the YZ250F and although his lap-times would have guaranteed a top ten finish he suffered a mechanical problem in Moto1 and was knocked off the bike on the fourth corner of Moto2 which meant he had to restart from last and reached 16th position. Yamaha Van Beers Evgeny Bobryshev was back in Grand Prix action after missing the last round in Belgium to win the final meeting of the Russian MX1 series with a YZ450F. The rookie missed the points in Moto1 and had a big crash on a steep downhill in Moto2 but was able to walk away. Aubin's points haul in Loket and Shaun Simpson's absence due to a fractured collarbone in Saturday practice means that he is 3 points from 4th position in the championship standings. Tony Cairoli is still 3rd despite missing the last two events and the rest of the season after the operation on his left knee. Monni is 10th. Three consecutive Grand Prix events - in Ireland (Dublin), Holland (Lierop) and Italy (Faenza) will finish the season after a three week break which now lies ahead for the teams and riders of the MX1-GP and MX2-GP categories. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th: "I am a bit disappointed because I had pain in my stomach today and for sure this affected my speed; I knew before the races that it would be a difficult GP. I had a bad start in the first moto but I made my way to 3rd and then tried to catch Tommy. I started to have some pain and had to ease-off at the end. It was the same problem in Moto2 but this time after a few laps, right at the time I was fighting with a group of riders. 4th overall is not a bad result considering the problem I had and now we have a few weeks before Ireland. It is bad luck for Shaun that he missed this GP because he has ridden well this season but I hope we can fight on the track again and both try for that third position in the championship." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 12th: "It was a bad weekend up until the last moto! I did not ride well on Saturday; I was too tense on the bike and then had a bad start in the heat race. In the first moto I got the start wrong again and my speed was not so good. When a rider put me on the floor I was too far behind by the time I restarted and stopped. I was angry for the second moto and pushed as hard as I could to reach 7th, which was much better. This might be the last race for me, although I will be in Ireland if the doctor cannot do the operation in the next few weeks." Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 13th: "Today I had two good starts and this was very important; I was really happy about this and also the fact I could do some good lap-times that were not too far from the front guys. Fighting with Monni was fun and it was like an Italian championship race! Staying in front of him for 17 laps was very hard, so it is something I can be pleased about. It has been a tough time for the team so I am pleased I can give them a small result and show that I am making progress in my first season." Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 22nd: "To say I did not have much luck today is a big understatement. I am a bit disappointed because I had the lap-times to be hanging with the top five but it overall it was a good learning experience because I sorted my starts. I will head back to the US to do Southwick on a 450 and then return in time to be ready for Ireland." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 40'20.524 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'4.493 3, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'9.888 4, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'11.828 5, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'13.149 6, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'14.178 7, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 0'14.995 8, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'15.974 9, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 0'17.119 10, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'36.511 11, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'39.144 12, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 0'42.322 13, Jake Nicholls, Suzuki, GBR, 0'49.717 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 0'52.567 15, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, 0'54.891 16, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 0'56.787 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'2.672 18, Loic Rombaut, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'5.522 19, Gunter Schmidlinger, Honda, AUT, 1'8.845 20, Petr Smitka, Yamaha, CZE, 1'13.475 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 40'44.956 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'11.162 3, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'14.520 4, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'19.897 5, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'23.158 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'26.136 7, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 0'28.266 8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'28.909 9, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'31.683 10, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'34.397 11, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'43.388 12, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 0'47.232 13, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 0'48.062 14, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 0'50.107 15, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 0'52.827 16, Zach Osborne, Yamaha, USA, 0'53.855 17, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 0'59.025 18, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'1.139 19, Loic Rombaut, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'8.502 20, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'9.492 Rider Standings 10/08/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 499 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 479 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 312 5, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 309 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 303 7, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 248 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 245 9, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 244 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 226 11, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 212 12, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 210 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 180 14, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 167 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 161 16, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 148 17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 101 18, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 85 20, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 80 25, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 45 26, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 42 29, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 43, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 7 Manufacturer Standings 10/08/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 569 2, Yamaha, 520 3, Kawasaki, 371 4, Suzuki, 296 5, Honda, 234 Click here to view the news

1 – What’s been the biggest change to the M1 this year? “We have made many changes to the 2008 M1 compared to the 2007 version and we have improved it a lot; Valentino is satisfied with our work so far. Of course the biggest change for us has affected Valentino’s side only – the change of tyre manufacturer. After the switch we had a hard time learning how to get the best performance from the new tyres and of course we had no data. Last however year Valentino predicted that changing would be the right thing for him and he was right, although of course we weren’t able to predict how differently the tyre would behave.” 2 – What else have you changed on Valentino’s bike? “We have had to work a lot on the chassis setting and we have also changed the geometry of the bike in order to get a good balance with the tyre character. Since we moved from 990cc to 800cc higher corner speed is needed in order to get faster lap times and to win. Therefore we have tried many different chassis settings in order to find out the best of bike geometry, centre of gravity, rider position, wheel-base length, chassis stiffness and so on.” 3 – Do you think that your development since the start of the season has been a success? “MotoGP bikes are not production bikes and that’s why I always say that Valentino, Jorge and all MotoGP riders are not human beings! Valentino has become more and more satisfied race by race and we have been able to find an ideal set-up for him that enabled him to win three races in a row. Since then, Casey Stoner and his team have found new solutions that have allowed them to make a big step forward and now of course we know that the remaining races will be tough, although we are still leading by 25 points after the excellent win in Laguna Seca.” 4 – What is the aim for the rest of the season regarding bike development? “Our competitor’s great performances is a big push to all of us to improve our M1 further, maybe even more than we did during last winter. I would especially like to progress the electronic control system and the engine power. At the moment there is no need to work more on the chassis, although this is something we will have to consider for next season. Lately we have been experiencing some problems with acceleration on the exit of the corner, so we need to work to find better bike geometry and chassis setting alongside the development of the engine control system.” 5 – What is your opinion about the electronics in MotoGP now? Do you think the rules need to be changed? “This is a popular discussion at the moment and we are looking at the overall situation; do we need to change the rules? It’s true that many riders have crashed this year, including Jorge, who had a very bad series of crashes, and also Dani Pedrosa. The question is if these crashes have something to do with the current bike technology. We moved from 990cc to 800cc to have safer bikes, but the new bikes have a higher cornering speed and this might present a danger for some riders. I think that we need to do something and the biggest issue is the electronic control system. In any case, it is clear that we at Yamaha will have to develop a better and better ECS, in order to beat our rivals. I still think that the M1 is best bike out there, although Casey has had a string of very impressive results.” 6 – Valentino has re-signed for two more years and has cited his relationship with you as one of the main reasons he will continue with Yamaha. How do you feel about you relationship with him? “The reason I always continue to be confident is because I trust Valentino so much! I like his way of thinking, he is always positive and this rubs off on everyone else. He never complains or criticizes; on the contrary, he is always looking forward and searching for new solutions! He has exactly the same approach to problems as I have. Valentino always has a positive and logical way of thinking, like me. He has a very good sense of humour, and I like this a lot; I like him as a person very much. The biggest shame is that my age is almost the double his, but the level of thinking is the same! The only difference is that he is just 29. When I was 29, I never thought about tactics and strategies! I have a huge respect for him. He is the genius behind the bike.” 7 – What are your mid-season impressions of Jorge? “I like Jorge very much; he is a good guy and a very good rider. Honestly, he is very different than I had expected before he joined Yamaha; I was impressed by his mature attitude and his fluent English. He is a very smart guy, smarter than I expected! He has a big talent as a rider; he is very smooth and very effective. I am sure that in the future he will dominate in MotoGP. At the beginning of the season we started with no ambitions, we thought it was too early for him to win a race because he was a rookie. He was just supposed to be here to learn about his M1. But then he surprised us with his incredible three pole positions in a row and then with his victory. Everything happened much earlier than we had expected. Generally speaking he is a very good entertainer for Yamaha and for the spectators. His season surpassed expectations early on but of course he has had some problems since then which we are working hard to address.” 8 – How has Jorge reacted since the crashes? “After the bad crashes he has suffered, he has changed his riding style somewhat, aiming to improve his confidence in the electronics, which can help him. Before the crash in Laguna he was recovering and beginning to find a different way to treat a MotoGP bike. Laguna was a great pity, very unlucky and another set-back but I am still confident for the rest of the season, although we will continue not to put any pressure on him and there is no need to hurry his learning process.” 9 – What is your feeling about the current team? "I am very satisfied with Jorge’s new crew chief, who joined us this year, Ramon Forcada. He is a very good crew chief, as is Jeremy Burgess. JB is an easy and sophisticated guy, he hates to worry about political correctness, like me! Now both he and Ramon are combining their wealth of experience with the new technology very successfully. Regarding Jorge’s bike specifically, I understand very well what Ramon is doing with Jorge and with Jorge’s bike. I speak with him regularly and I am satisfied that we have the same recognition about Jorge." "Our entire team is made up of good people and good workers! As far as our riders are concerned, we have a very strong weapon; Valentino is the present and Jorge is the future" Click here to view the news