Alex Asigno

The Yamaha Factory Racing Team’s second test of 2007 got underway in Sepang, Malaysia today, with Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards back out onboard their prototype 800cc machines for another three-day test. With most teams having chosen to test in Australia last week, Yamaha decided to return to Sepang and take advantage of the relatively quieter atmosphere this week, sharing the track with just five other riders from Tech 3 Yamaha, Kawasaki and Ilmor. With temperatures slightly lower than at the previous test, Edwards and Rossi, who set the first and second fastest times of the day respectively, spent the day working on the set-up of the new bike and testing some new parts for Yamaha and Ohlins. Both riders were very happy with the day’s work and reported significant improvement to the stability of the bike under braking, laying the groundwork for what they hope will be two more encouraging and fruitful days of testing as the March 10th deadline of the first race looms ever closer. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 2’02.175 Laps: 47 "Well I’m definitely feeling better than I did last time…I think everyone was a little bit rusty after the break but it’s ‘situation normal’ again now and I’m feeling much stronger on the bike. I’m pretty happy with today’s work; I’m already fast and the bike keeps on feeling better and better. Over the first 42 laps we did today we only used two different rears so it’s clear that the tyres are working well too. We concentrated on Yamaha stuff today and we made a huge step forward with the rear shock. We knew things still weren’t perfect in that area, but we’ve made a big change today and the stability of the bike under braking has improved 100% as a result. Tomorrow we’re going to focus more on tyres with Michelin and hopefully things will keep on improving." Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 2’02.221 Laps: 40 "Today we worked a lot on bike set-up and we’ve tried a few different directions, focusing mainly on the new rear shock we have from Ohlins and on the braking. What we’ve seen and understood today is very positive and this makes me very confident about the next few days of testing. We decided to come back to Sepang, where there would be fewer teams testing, in order to be more relaxed and less focused on lap times. This is the way we are planning to work throughout the test. Anyway, my lap times are already fast so of course we’ll keep trying to improve in the next two days. Tomorrow we will concentrate more on working with Michelin and testing new tyres. At the moment we’re waiting for some new engine parts from Japan; we’re looking for more horsepower, but this is the bike we have and I am very happy about how things are going at the moment." Davide Brivio - Team Director "Today has been a good first day, in a nice relaxed atmosphere without too many other people around. Today we focused almost exclusively on set-up work and we had some new material to try, which has given our riders a better feeling with the bike. We’ve clearly improved the general set-up for both riders and also made some great steps on the braking, which was one of our key areas to work on during this test. We got some very useful information today, which we can continue to develop over the next two days, and I am happy with the results of our first day." Unofficial Lap Times 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'02.175 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'02.221 3. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.966 4. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2'03.219 5. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2'03.959 6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2'06.558 7. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 2'08.640 Sepang Lap Record (990cc) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 - 2'02.127 Sepang Best Lap (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Company Ltd and Valentino Rossi will continue to race together until the end of the 2008 season. The next two seasons will see Rossi ride as part of Yamaha’s Official Factory Team, with which he has already won two MotoGP World Championship titles since joining the Factory in 2004. The Italian, who turns 28 this month, has won 25 Grand Prix during his three seasons with Yamaha and currently stands third in the all-time Grand Prix winners list. Rossi, who is spearheading the rider development of Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle in the run-up to the new MotoGP season, will be back in action next week for Yamaha’s second test of the year in Sepang, Malaysia. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, commented "We are thrilled to confirm that our partnership with Valentino will continue for a fifth year in 2008, and it’s especially good to have completed all contract negotiations before the start of the rapidly approaching 2007 racing season. This now leaves Valentino free to concentrate solely on the job in hand – winning back the World Championship! The past three years with Valentino have been a huge success for the Yamaha brand worldwide, Valentino is a great champion and there is no doubt in our minds that he remains the best possible person to continue to lead Yamaha’s MotoGP effort for the foreseeable future." "I’m very happy I renewed the contract with Yamaha until the end of 2008 so now I can just concentrate on racing this season" said Rossi. "I think that last year, when we fought back from what seemed an impossible situation to come so close to taking the title, showed what a fantastic team we are and this is why I want to stay with Yamaha. The past three years with Yamaha have been very positive and this is why I am pleased to stay. The atmosphere in our garage is always relaxed and happy and I think that this is something very special and difficult to find. I have great faith in Yamaha and I am very excited about my future and the future of the 800cc bike with them. We are ready to challenge with the new 800cc and now this agreement gives us the chance to launch this challenge for the next two years". Davide Brivio, Team Director of Yamaha Factory Racing, commented: "During the last three seasons we have won on our debut with Valentino in 2004, dominated in 2005 and lost in 2006: to extend the contract for a further year at the end of a difficult season like the last one is the greatest demonstration of the trust Valentino has placed in this Team. This is the great motivation for everyone; Valentino, the engineers, the mechanics, all the staff and, of course, all those who, like me, have lived and continue to live through the victories and the defeats so intensely. We will continue to enjoy ourselves on track and to provide enjoyment for the huge numbers of passionate fans of two-wheeled sport; together we will look forward to the next two seasons with great energy." Click here to view the news

Yamaha Factory Racing Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got the new year off to a promising start at the first MotoGP test of the season in Sepang, Malaysia today, setting the third and fourth fastest times respectively. With all teams now running new 800cc prototype machines, in accordance with the new MotoGP engine capacity limits, the 20-strong field of riders enjoyed good weather throughout the day and Yamaha's two factory riders made the most of a full day of testing. Both riders had completed two tests on the new bike before Christmas and followed on from where they left off today, concentrating on double-checking the information they gathered during those tests and developing the set-up of the new bike, whilst also finding time to test some new Michelin tyres. The fastest lap of the day, a time of 2'02.277, was set by Suzuki rider John Hopkins, with his team-mate Chris Vermeulen second with a best lap of 2'03.049. Rossi and Edwards were close behind, the Italian setting a best time of 2'03.184 from 67 laps and his American team-mate fourth with a lap of 2'03.337 after 61 laps. "I am feeling very confident at the start of this test and the new season. I've made the most of my holidays, had a good rest and I think I am starting in the best shape possible. Everyone is very motivated and excited now! The bike I am riding here is basically the same as the one I rode in Jerez at the last test and everything feels very good with it still. You have to ride these bikes slightly differently to the old 990cc bikes, you need to be slightly softer, but we understand more about them every day. Some things still need to be improved but the chassis is good and we don't have any of the problems we had at the start of last season. We need to be fast from the start this year and at the moment it seems that's the case. The power delivery of the bike is good, better than I hoped for at this early stage of the season, and I am feeling quite confident overall about the situation we're in. Today we mainly worked on setting and tyres and we've definitely made a good start to the new year, now we will try to continue like this for the next two days. "It's been good to have a bit of a break and some time at home with the family, but I'm excited about the new season and it's good to be back on the bike! The rain held off so we got started on time this morning. The bike feels pretty similar to what we were riding before Christmas, of course there are some subtle tweaks here and there and some new stuff, but nothing too drastic and it still feels really good. This morning we worked on tyres with Michelin before testing a couple of new things with the bike this afternoon, but mostly we were just backing up everything we worked out at the last two tests, double and triple-checking every setting to ensure that we're working in the right direction. It's obvious that everyone's already at a high level and the times are fast, so it's going to be hard work for us all from now on!" Davide Brivio - Team Director "It's good to get back to work after the winter break and it has been a positive first day for us here in Sepang. The bikes were assembled at Yamaha in Japan last week and they have started the year in their black 'winter-test livery', with yellow stickers for Valentino and red for Colin. Today we've worked on basic set-up and we haven't had any problems so far. All the information we gathered at the tests before Christmas has been taken into account and once we felt confident with this latest version of the 2007 bike, we were also able to spend some time testing new tyres for Michelin. We've definitely started our job well today and worked in a productive manner. Despite a poor weather forecast, the rain has held off and we've been able to use all the track time available to us. Hopefully this will continue and we can keep on working hard through the next two days and make the most of this important first test." Unofficial Lap Times 1. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2'02.277 2. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 2'03.049 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'03.184 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'03.337 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2'03.413 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2'03.538 7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'03.542 8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2'03.620 9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2'03.785 10. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 2'03.944 11. Alex Hoffman (GER) Ducati 2'04.003 12. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 2'04.011 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR 2'04.088 14. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda 2'04.101 15. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda 2'04.138 16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2'04.270 17. Shinichi Ito (JPN) Bridgestone Test 2'04.641 18. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2'04.710 19. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2'04.718 20. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2'07.403 Sepang Lap Record Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 - 2'02.127 Sepang Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605 Click here to view the news

Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got the first ever Grand Prix of the new 800cc era off to a flying start in Qatar today, both lapping comfortably under the 990cc circuit record and finishing the day in first and second places after two free practice sessions. Following a long winter of testing it was a relief for the team to finally get the season underway, with this the first time the championship has begun outside Europe since Rossi's historic first win with Yamaha in South Africa in 2004. After an excellent performance at the test here just a few weeks ago, Rossi and Edwards were both confident of a strong start today and there were no surprises from their 800cc M1s, running in their new Fiat Yamaha Team livery for the first time. Edwards finished the morning session on top with his team-mate close behind in third whilst Rossi dominated the second free practice this afternoon, sitting at the top of the time sheets for the majority of the hour-long session. Edwards, despite not bettering his time from this morning, was second, just over three-tenths of a second behind his Italian team-mate. Today was also the first day of the new MotoGP tyre regulations, which stipulate a maximum of 31 tyres (14 fronts and 17 rears) per rider during a Grand Prix weekend. This has forced the teams to alter the way they work throughout the practice sessions but Rossi especially is confident that these new rules will help rather than hinder the riders, bringing increased clarity on set-up decisions and making it easier to plan the weekend's work. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 1'56.464 Laps: 47 "It was a very good beginning for all of the team; it's a new season and we have a new sponsor and livery so it's good to start with both Colin and I at the top! We were in a good situation at the test here also but really the most important test was Jerez, because there we understood a lot more about our bike and we made some important changes. It seems here that the setting is very good and we were fast from the start this morning. I'm very happy with my Yamaha today, I can ride it well, I have a good rhythm and it's great fun to ride here in Qatar! For me, the new tyre rule is very good. Like this you know just what you have from the start, it's much more logical and there is less confusion for everyone. It means we can make decisions more quickly and I think, especially with a delicate bike like ours, that it's going to be helpful to have such a clear situation with tyres from the start of every weekend. Now let's see how we get on tomorrow and try to keep this rhythm going throughout the weekend." Colin Edwards Position: 2nd Time: 1'56.665 Laps: 45 "Today's gone pretty good, I think we can say we've made a strong start to the weekend. After finding a great setting here at the test we made a few more changes in Jerez and made the bike even better. We started off today with the bike set-up pretty similar to Jerez, with just a few small changes, and it seemed to work well from the off. We had a little bit of an issue this morning with a tyre, but we compared notes with Valentino afterwards and sorted that out pretty quickly between us. It's the first day of the new tyre rules and it's a little bit scary to know that there's no longer an inexhaustible supply, but we just have to slightly adapt the way we work to accommodate it and I think it will work well in the long run. Here it could be more of an issue because the conditions can be quite changeable from day to day, but we'll keep our fingers crossed that we stay in the 'range' and save one of each of our best tyres for race day." Davide Brivio - Team Director "This is a very good start to the season because both riders are feeling comfortable and finding it easy to keep a good pace. Now the most important matter is to make a good tyre choice, especially considering the new rules. It's definitely helped that we've tested here not long ago but we also made a lot of progress in Jerez and this has showed today. It's only Thursday of course and the race is a different matter, but it's nice for the team to be in first and second and we couldn't have hoped for a better start to the weekend." Circuit Length: 5380 Temp: 25 Weather: Sunny 2007 MotoGP Qatar - Doha/Losail 08/03/2007 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'56.464 2 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'0.201 3 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 0'0.281 4 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'0.508 5 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 0'0.517 6 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'0.526 7 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'0.648 8 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'0.783 9 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'0.918 10 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 0'1.027 11 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 0'1.156 12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'1.172 13 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'1.222 14 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'1.274 15 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'1.458 18 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 0'2.256 21 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 0'3.724 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi rounded off a successful three days in Malaysia with another impressive day's testing at the Sepang International Circuit today. The high point of the Italian's day was his race simulation, when he lapped consistently under lap record pace and improved on his time from the January test, as well as on last year's race time. Rossi was pleased both with the performance of his 2008-spec M1 and with his Bridgestone tyres, today's results indicating that he and his team are on target with their pre-season development. His best time of 2'01.190 was set on a qualifying tyre on his 23rd of 48 laps, putting him second in the standings behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. The Fiat Yamaha Team will reconvene closer to home at Jerez in Spain on Saturday, 16th February for the three-day Official MotoGP Test, the penultimate test before the season kicks off in March. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 2'01.190 Laps: 48 "I'm really happy about today's race simulation and about the overall balance of this test. Everything has gone well and the race-simulation was an improvement on the one from last time; this is the real test of where we are. We've worked on various different items in many different areas but we've had positive feedback throughout. It's given me the chance to better understand the tyres and today's simulation has given me even more information about how they behave. We've worked more at this test on the set-up of the bike to enable it to work as well as possible with the new tyres and we've also continued to work on the new engine, which will be the standard one for this season, and on the electronics. We've still got a lot to do but so far everything is progressing well. Now we're looking forward to Jerez and seeing where we are at a new track alongside all of our competitors." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "This test has been very positive; all the hard work that the Yamaha engineers have put in over the winter is now showing in our good results so I would like to say a big thank you to all of them. We've seen improvement in all the different areas in which we've worked in this week and so we hope that these results will help us to create a competitive package. Today's race simulation was good and an improvement on January, plus the individual lap times within it were fast and consistent. This is a very important indication of our level. We've only done 50% of our pre-season testing, we have two more to go before the first race but we hope to continue improving like this and arrive at the first race in good shape and ready to commence our challenge." Lorenzo on Top Despite Struggles on Final Day in Sepang Jorge Lorenzo finished his second test of the year in positive fashion today with an impressive lap on qualifying tyres. The young Fiat Yamaha Team rider had a somewhat difficult test overall and was unhappy not to improve in the way he had expected to, but his performance on Michelin qualifying rubber at the end of the day gave him some cause for cheer. Like his team-mate Valentino Rossi, Lorenzo had planned to complete a race simulation today but he abandoned it after a few laps when he found he was lacking pace, deciding instead to spend the remainder of the day working on set-up and tyre testing with Michelin. His time of 2'00.705, set on the 72nd of 73 laps, was an improvement on his best qualifying time from the January test and good enough to leave him at the top of the day's time sheets, with Rossi in second after a best lap of 2'01.190. Lorenzo and his team will now enjoy a short break before the Official MotoGP Tests commence at Jerez in southern Spain on 16th February. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1st Time: 2'00.705 Laps: 73 "This has been a difficult test for us but not completely negative. The major problem is still the front end going into the corners; the bike is not stable and we also have a bit of vibration. We've tried many different settings but we haven't been able to improve as much as we expected, so this means that I still need to adapt my riding style in some areas. Today I started to do a race simulation but I came in again because my pace was not good enough. At the end of the day we tried some qualifying tyres and I was able to improve on my time from the last test, so that's positive. I'm not worried about what's happened here; I've had bad days before and I have confidence that we will find the right way forward. I am looking forward to going to a different track now and seeing what happens there." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "After the January test, when we had quite a good pace, we hoped to improve again this time but unfortunately this hasn't been the case. We've tried many different things with the chassis and the suspension settings but we still have some problems going into the hard braking areas. It's been a useful test despite this however because we've had the chance to refine some mapping, improve the cooling system with the new fairing and to find some new tyres with Michelin. Jorge has worked very hard this week; the hot weather makes his job more difficult and of course he's not used to so much winter testing outside of Europe like this, so well done to him. Now everyone has a short rest and hopefully we'll start in better shape in Jerez." Test Results 1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'00.705 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'01.190 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda Gresini 2'02.135 4. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Honda Gresini 2'02.194 5. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 2'03.021 6. Tamaki Serizawa (JPN) Kawasaki Racing 2'03.623 7. Yamaha Test Rider (-) Yamaha Test Team 2'06.000 8. Yamaha Test Rider (-) Yamaha Test Team 2'06.040 Sepang: Lap Record Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2'02.108 Sepang: Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 2'00.605 Click here to view the news

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi continued his impressive form on the second day of testing in Sepang today, topping the time sheets again with another very quick lap on qualifying tyres. The Italian, who turns 29 in ten days time, was also fast throughout the day on race tyres, lapping consistently in the 2’01s. Rossi had a busy day, continuing his tyre testing programme with Bridgestone, working on suspension and electronic mapping as well as trying a new cowling and putting in some practice starts. His time of 2’00.472 was set on the penultimate lap of 70 and was a fraction slower than his time from yesterday, although still inside the existing circuit pole record, which he himself still holds from 2006. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 2’00.472 Laps: 70 “Today was another very good day and I had a good pace and rhythm all day. We tested some different Bridgestone tyres before again trying the one I prefer, which confirmed that this is the best one for us and so we will use it for the long run tomorrow. We worked a little bit on the suspension and also on the electronic mapping and we also tried a lot of practice starts, maybe as many as ten, and we need to improve a bit in this area. I also tried a new cowling which is aimed at improving the cooling system and this had a good result. Finally I tried a qualifying tyre again and, although I made a small mistake on my lap because I was quite tired by then, it was again very positive.” Davide Brivio - Team Manager “At the moment we’re going very well and we’re very happy with our progress so far. Tomorrow we will concentrate on completing a long run and this will be very important to help us to see where we are. It was very, very hot today which made work quite difficult and Valentino did very well in these conditions. Now we just hope for a successful final day before we return to Europe.” Difficult Day for Lorenzo in Malaysia Fiat Yamaha Team rookie Jorge Lorenzo ran into a few problems on the second day of a three-day Sepang test today, continuing to struggle with front-end feeling going into the hard braking areas. The 20-year-old and his crew dedicated most of the day to working on the problem but are yet to find the perfect solution, although Lorenzo was able to make a small improvement on his time from yesterday. There were some positive notes however as the Spaniard tried a new chassis and reported improved stability with this. He completed 55 laps in the sweltering conditions and finished the day fourth fastest in a time of 2’02.396. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4th Time: 2'02.396 Laps: 55 "It has been quite a difficult day! We’re not so fast; slower than at the last test even though we have the same bike set-up, and we need to improve. Tomorrow I think I need to try some changes to my riding style. It’s still the same problem overall, with the front-end going into the corners, although I did try the new chassis and this is helping a little bit. After the session we had a long meeting with the engineers to look at all the data and now we will make a plan for tomorrow. We have one day left so of course we will try to make the most of it and finish the test in better shape.” Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “Today was a hard day’s work. We’ve tested various different set-ups and improved a little bit but we still need to make a bigger step. We had some positive points with the new chassis, which improved stability in the hard braking areas, so we will keep working in this direction. I am confident that the team can find some solutions to help us on our final day here tomorrow.” Results 1. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:00.472 2. Nicky Hayden - Repsol HRC 2:00.900 3. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini 2:02.049 4. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.396 5. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:02.646 6. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.513 7. Yamaha Test Rider - Yamaha Test Team 2:05.647 8. Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing 2:06.027 9. Yamaha Test Rider - Yamaha Test Team 2:06.244 Click here to view the news

The Yamaha Factory Racing Team rounded off their first test of 2007 in fine style today, with Valentino Rossi topping the unofficial time sheets after three days of testing. Both Rossi and his team-mate Colin Edwards made more positive progress with Yamaha’s new prototype 800cc machine and the team closed the test feeling confident about their level of performance at this stage of the season. Although they finished the day a little earlier than usual, both riders completed their full agenda of work, once again trying several new tyres for Michelin, with Rossi also concentrating on improving the balance of the bike when braking. Rossi’s best time of 2’00.936 was set on a qualifying tyre and is close to his pole position time from last year’s Grand Prix, when he was riding the old 990cc machine. Close behind him was Suzuki’s John Hopkins with a time of 2’01.026, whilst Edwards, who did not use a qualifying tyre today, was eighth fastest with a lap of 2’02.266. Whilst most teams will now head directly to Phillip Island for another test, Yamaha Factory Racing have instead elected to return to Sepang in ten days time, with another three-day test on 5th, 6th and 7th February. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 2’00.936 Laps: 30 “Today was another good day for us. We concentrated a lot on braking and definitely made some improvements, although I think we can still make it even better and this is something we will work on when we come back here. We had an important technical meeting today and came to some interesting conclusions, which will help Yamaha’s engineers to continue to improve our new bike. We’ve got through our entire programme for this test, including testing many new tyres for Michelin. Today I also had the chance to try a qualifying tyre and I was able to go below 2.01; I think that Michelin have done a very good job over the winter. We tried the 16” tyre again and I am still sure that it’s good for us, although we still need more time to work on it with Michelin. Overall it’s been a very positive test for us. Most of the other teams will go to Phillip Island now, but we will return here in ten days with more new things to test. We still need to work on the engine, although for this early stage it’s very good. So far we have concentrated on power delivery, rather than on the power itself, but this only the first test of the year so there is plenty more time!” Colin Edwards Position: 8th Time: 2’02.266 Laps: 22 “I’m heading home feeling really happy after three excellent day’s work. We didn’t do so much today, 22 laps, but it was enough to back up what we’ve learnt this week and finish feeling sure about everything. We changed direction with tyres a bit today and went towards the package Valentino's been using and that definitely improved things even more; my fastest lap was on a race tyre similar to the one he’s been using quite a bit. We didn’t try a qualifier, but I really felt that I got into the ‘zone’ on the race tyre and that was when my best time came. We tried a new front and a new rear as well and they were both great, the tyre situation in general is really good. We played around a bit with the setting too and tested a few things Valentino's been using, but actually I preferred my setting so we came back to that. So that’s it for the first test and it’s been really encouraging. A quick rest now and then we’ll be back for more!” Davide Brivio - Team Director “We’ve finished this first test of 2007 with both riders and the team feeling good. Valentino and Colin shared a lot of information between one another and this is very important in this development period. The times are already very satisfying and this means that we’re working in the right direction, even if there’s still a lot of work to do! The final conclusion of this test is very positive but we need to keep working hard; we have clear ideas about what we need to do. We’re coming back here again soon and we will have new items to test, especially tyres, and we will be able to continue to fine-tune the set-up of the new 800. 10th March is getting closer and closer so we have to just keep on working!” Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2’00.936 2. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2’01.026 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2’01.274 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2’01.664 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 2’01.691 6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2’01.878 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2’01.884 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2’02.266 9. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 2’02.407 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2’02.489 11. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda 2’02.583 12. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 2’02.630 13. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2’02.927 14. Alex Hoffman (GER) Ducati 2’03.040 15. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda 2’03.077 16. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2’03.308 17. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR 2’03.330 18. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2’03.592 19. Shinichi Ito (JPN) Bridgestone Test 2’03.97 3 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha Did not ride Sepang Lap Record (990cc): Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 – 2’02.127 Sepang Best Lap (990cc): Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 – 2’00.605 Click here to view the news

The second Fiat Yamaha Team test of 2008 began in Sepang, Malaysia today, with Valentino Rossi picking up just where he left off at the same track 12 days ago. After several teams opted to test at Phillip Island last week, it was a somewhat depleted MotoGP field on track today and Rossi and new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo shared the track with just seven other riders. Rossi topped the time sheets today with a blistering best lap of 2’00.300, over 0.3 seconds faster than the existing best lap of Sepang, which the Italian set himself back in 2006. Rossi set today’s time on a Bridgestone qualifying tyre on his 62nd of 64 laps, but he also recorded improvements in his times with race tyres as he continues development with his new tyre manufacturer. Team-mate Lorenzo chose to stick to race tyres today and posted the fourth fastest time with a lap of 2’02.654 Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 2’00.300 Laps: 64 “Today was a positive day for us and I really enjoyed myself. We started to work more on the bike and to adjust the suspension and balance to suit our tyres. I have a very good feeling and the lap times have improved compared to last time, both with race tyres and with the qualifying tyre. It’s a big deal changing tyres – not as big as changing bikes but all the same I have needed time to understand how to ride the bike differently and now I’m learning more and more how to get the best from the Bridgestones. My fitness has also improved compared to last time and this is also helping me to ride better, so I think that we’re in good shape at the moment.” Davide Brivio - Team Manager “It was a good day for us and the times show that we are on target. This morning the surface was quite dirty but it improved this afternoon and Valentino was quicker than at the last test both on race and qualifying tyres. His fitness is also better so this is enabling him to improve his overall performance. Tomorrow we will continue with our testing programme and hopefully we can improve further on this good start.” Lorenzo Working Hard To Improve Set-Up in Sepang New Fiat Yamaha pilot Jorge Lorenzo resumed the task of getting to grips with his YZR-M1 in Sepang today, ahead of his inaugural MotoGP race in Qatar in one month’s time. After a promising showing here last time out, Lorenzo and his team’s clear focus for this test is to refine and improve set-up, and they began work today with the same bike they used at the last test. The Spaniard’s main issue to address is front-end feel going into the corners and he was disappointed not to make more progress in this area today. Nonetheless his engineers were able to gather some important information and they will continue with their task tomorrow, as well as resuming tyre testing with Michelin. Lorenzo posted the 4th best time of the day, his lap of 2’02.654 coming on the 24th of 57 laps. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4th Time: 2'02.654 Laps: 57 “We are working as we planned but unfortunately today we haven’t been able to improve as much as we hoped on the problems we had at the last test. The biggest issue is the feeling I have with the front-end going into the turns; I need more confidence in this area so we still have some work to do to find the key. We have some more ideas after today so tomorrow we will try again, working in a slightly different direction, and hopefully we will be able to make more progress on this.” Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “We didn’t improve as we wanted to today and Jorge is still lacking some confidence in front, which means we’re not fast enough going into the turns. Despite this it’s not a wasted day as our engineers were able to collect a lot of data and they and the team will analyse this tonight, prepare a schedule for tomorrow and go from there. The bike is the same as the last test but the goal is to improve the set-up and solve the issues which are affecting Jorge. We will keep working tomorrow and see where we get to!” Results 1. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:00.300 2. Nicky Hayden - Repsol HRC 2:01.949 3. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini 2:02.317 4. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.654 5. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:03.231 6. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.655 7. Yamaha Test Rider - Yamaha Test Team 2:06.356 8. Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing 2:06.874 9. Yamaha Test Rider - Yamaha Test Team 2:07.319 Sepang Lap Record Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007 - 2'02.108 Sepang Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605 Click here to view the news

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi claimed his tenth consecutive career podium at Phillip Island today, taking third place and clocking the fastest lap of the race in the process. Team-mate Colin Edwards finished ninth in a race that was won by Casey Stoner, with Loris Capirossi second. Starting second on the grid, Rossi slipped to fourth but passed Dani Pedrosa on lap two, only to make a small mistake at the end of the lap, briefly touching the grass at the start of the main straight and letting Pedrosa back past. On lap four of 27 he managed to get in front of the Spaniard once again and he then set off after Nicky Hayden, who was running second behind Stoner. Despite setting the fastest lap on lap seven, Rossi was unable to make much headway until lap 11, when he passed Hayden for second. As Stoner gradually extended his advantage in front however it became clear that Rossi's fight would be for the runner-up spot as he became embroiled in a three-way battle with Capirossi and Pedrosa. After several changes of position between the trio Pedrosa tailed off and it briefly looked like another being another vintage Rossi-Capirossi showdown, but with little grip left in his tyres Rossi was unable to keep pace with his compatriot and he eventually crossed the line three seconds adrift, with Stoner several seconds ahead of Capirossi. After failing to find a comfortable setting throughout the practice sessions, Edwards made a change to his setting for the race and, although it took him some laps to adapt and he dropped a few positions early on, he kept pushing throughout and was able to peg back several places. He finished ninth and claimed seven points, which moves him up one place in the championship to eighth. Rossi's 16-point haul meanwhile sees him move 29 points clear in second place, ahead of Pedrosa. The team now heads directly to Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix in just seven days time. Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rd Time: +10.038 "Honestly I'm not too disappointed today because I know I did everything I could have possibly done. I started okay and in the opening laps I felt like I could go quite fast and have the chance to fight at the front. I passed Pedrosa and at that stage I was quite close to Hayden and Stoner, but then I made a small mistake coming onto the straight and lost a bit of time. I managed to pass Pedrosa again but then I wasn't able to close the gap to Stoner, even though I was riding at the maximum. In places I had fun and I made some good passes; at the end especially I was hoping for a great battle with Capirossi, like the old days, but by then the grip from my rear tyre was very poor and I had to slow down to make sure I would arrive to the end. I am very happy that I was on the podium because this is a special place and it's always a big emotion to stand there with all the crowds in pit lane. Today with Casey I think it was a bit like for me in Mugello! Anyway, now we go straight to Malaysia, where our bike usually goes well, so once again we will do the maximum and try for the win." Colin Edwards - Position: 9th Time: +35.073 "After the problems we'd had all weekend we made a big change to the tyres and to our setting for the race, more towards what Valentino was running, so it was pretty different to what I'd been used to all weekend. I got pinched a bit at the start and had to go round the outside of a few people, and then I had a huge moment at the end of the first lap where it nearly flicked me off and I lost a few places. Once I'd got the measure of how to ride it though it actually felt okay and I did a 31.9 at one point, which I hadn't been close to all weekend. I gave it everything I had today and, although I can't be happy with ninth, after the nightmare I'd had all weekend I think it could have been worse. It's been great to have so many family and friends here as ever and I want to say a huge thank you to my guys; they've had to work so hard changing the bike around so much and they've done a great job as always." Davide Brivio - Team Director "At the beginning of the race Valentino was keeping the same pace as the riders in front and we were all hoping for a battle until the last corner. Unfortunately it was not possible because after some laps the grip went down and we had to settle for finishing third. We had hoped for a better result today and it's a real pity because we all love this track; it's a magic place for us. Colin made a big effort and did a very good job because he was able to climb some positions in the second half of the race. If he'd had a faster pace from the beginning, he could have made a very good race. Unfortunately we struggled a lot with his bike throughout the weekend and this was the best we could do with him. It was not a disaster today because we were able to confirm Valentino's second place in the championship and we will keep on defending it in the last two races. Now we go to Sepang and we will be fighting for the win again." More championship points for Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 In a weekend marred by extreme changes in the weather, the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team managed to gain more championship points as Sylvain Guintoli brought his Yamaha M1 home in 14th position at the Australian Grand Prix held at Phillip Island while his team mate Makoto Tamada finished in 16th. Sunshine was only seen on race day which made machine setup and tyre selection over the two days of practice extremely difficult as the track was either fully wet or damp for most of the time. Qualifying was held in dry but cold conditions, which allowed Sylvain to take full advantage of the Dunlop qualifying tyres to put him on the third row of the grid. Sylvain Guintoli - Position: 14th Time: +54.324 Although I had a good start, I lost quite a lot of places on the first lap waiting for enough heat to get into the tyre. Once that happened I was able to set a good pace and match the lap times of the riders in front of me. It took me a long time to get past Chaz Davies by which time the others had made too much of a gap on me and I wasn't able to reduce it with the number of laps remaining. Makoto Tamada - Position: 16th Time: +1'12.904 I was very happy with the bike setting we had and the front tyre was great but I didn't have a lot of side grip in the rear. It was ok when I was right on the side of the tyre but I didn't have much feeling throwing the bike into the corners and also picking it up on the exits. Herve Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Manager After the lift from Motegi this was a very disappointing weekend for us as we came here with high hopes of a good result. We didn't find the best settings with the weather but that is no excuse. Qualifying was good as Sylvain was on the third row in front of some more fancied riders but in the race we lacked grip in the crucial first couple of laps. We then started lapping at the same pace as the guys in front but we had lost over five seconds to them in the opening laps, which is just too much. We expected a lot better so we are all disappointed. Race 1 - 27 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 41'12.244 2, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 0'6.763 3, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'10.038 4, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'11.663 5, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 0'19.475 6, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'27.313 7, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 0'29.243 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'34.883 9, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'35.073 10, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 0'36.971 11, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'37.721 12, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'38.426 13, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'47.430 14, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 0'54.324 15, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 1'10.471 16, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 1'12.904 17, Kenny Roberts, KR212V, USA, 1'13.020 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 1'30.801 Rider Standings 14/10/2007 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 322 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 230 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 201 4, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 165 5, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 160 6, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 154 7, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 150 8, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 115 9, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 112 10, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 102 11, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 88 12, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 88 13, Alex Hofmann, Ducati, GER, 65 14, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 59 15, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 58 16, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 45 18, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 37 Team Standings 14/10/2007 Pos., Team, Points 1, Ducati Marlboro Team, 472 2, FIAT Yamaha Team, 345 3, Rizla Suzuki, 325 4, Repsol Honda Team, 313 5, Honda Gresini, 248 6, Pramac D'Antin, 168 7, Kawasaki Racing Team, 155 8, Tech3 Yamaha, 82 9, Honda LCR, 59 10, Konica Minolta Honda, 45 11, Team Roberts, 14 Manufacturer Standings 14/10/2007 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 349 2, Honda, 268 3, Yamaha, 267 4, Suzuki, 216 5, Kawasaki, 124 6, KR212V, 14 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi ended his pre-season preparations in fine style today after taking top honours in the traditional 40-minute ‘Qualifying’ Practice session at Jerez, smashing last year’s pole time and becoming the fastest man ever round the Spanish circuit in the process. There was double satisfaction for Yamaha as Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards, who took this same accolade in treacherously wet conditions at Catalunya last year, finished the session third. After a one-two in this morning’s free practice, Rossi and Edwards were feeling confident for this afternoon’s timed shoot-out and with several qualifying tyres each to try during the session, had plenty of chances to see what their 800cc Yamahas could do under pressure. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) took an early lead before Dani Pedrosa (Honda) took control with just over half the session gone. Rossi soon joined him at the top and an exciting battle ensued between the Italian and the Spaniard as they swapped the lead several times over the last twenty minutes, with Edwards remaining in close contention throughout. In the closing stages of the session Rossi produced a perfect lap to set an outstanding time of 1’38.394, almost seven-tenths of a second faster than Capirossi’s pole time from 2006. Pedrosa was unable to find an answer despite crossing the line seconds before the chequered flag and mounting a last-gasp effort to usurp Rossi from the top spot. Today’s result marks the end of a long but satisfying pre-season testing campaign for the Yamaha Factory Team, who leave Jerez in good shape and high spirits ahead of the first race of the season in Qatar on 10th March. Valentino Rossi (1st, 1’38.394, 17 Laps) “After this morning, when my Yamaha worked very well, I knew that I had a chance to try to win this competition. However I knew it was going to be a hard fight as well and I definitely expected Pedrosa to be as strong as he was. It was a fun battle with him, the first real one of the year! Anyway with every qualifying tyre I tried it felt better and better and I was able to go faster; in the end my time was fantastic and my Yamaha really flew! The most important thing about this is that it shows what great work we’ve done over the winter, everyone has tried so hard and this is a nice way to say thank you to them all. This new bike is working really well with the new tyres, both with race and qualifying tyres, so this is very important too and I would like to say thank you to Michelin. It was fun to see just how far I can push this new bike and it has answered me brilliantly, I felt very confident in my Yamaha today and I was able to ride it on the limit. Colin was also very fast so this once again shows how well our bike is working. Of course this isn’t even the first race and now we have to wait until Qatar, but we’re definitely in good shape and I am excited about the season ahead!” Colin Edwards (3rd, 1’39.300, 16 Laps) “That was good fun today! This morning everything really came together for both Valentino and I and we knew that we were going to be able to push hard this afternoon. The Michelin qualifiers worked great and, after some of the problems we had last year, that’s a massive relief for us. I had a few more issues than Valentino in the timed session, nothing serious but our setting wasn’t quite the same as his and I wasn’t able to match his pace, but we know what we need to work on and anyway we were still in the top three and pretty fast. Honestly both Valentino and I are just so happy with everything, it all seems to work and it seems all the effort over the winter has paid off this time! It’s good to have finally finished testing and to be leaving here on such a high note; it gives everyone that extra kick for the first race. I can’t wait to finally get to Qatar now and start racing!” Davide Brivio - Team Director “This is only an appetiser before the real racing begins, but anyway it’s always nice to win this competition for the third time in four years and it gives everyone real confidence for the first race. The fact that Valentino was on top and Colin third is really great and it’s especially important that it’s happened here at Jerez, where we struggled quite a bit last year. This is very satisfying for everyone and it shows we’ve worked very well in the right direction throughout winter testing. Of course the race is a different story, so now we will focus on Qatar and hope it goes well for us there too.” Lap Times 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 1'38.394 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 1'38.527 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 1'39.300 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 1'39.556 5. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 1'39.832 6. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 1'39.873 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 1'39.887 8. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 1'40.043 9. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR 1'40.083 10. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda 1'40.100 11. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 1'40.202 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda 1'40.242 13. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 1'40.307 14. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 1'40.396 15. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 1'40.551 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati 1'40.681 17. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 1'41.038 18. Kousuke Akiyoshi (JPN) Suzuki 1'41.805 19. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 1'42.215 20. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati 1'43.008 21. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 1'43.026 22. Shinichi Ito (JPN) Ducati 1'43.073 23. Jeremy McWilliams (IRE) Ilmor 1'43.202 Jerez Lap Record (990cc): Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 – 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap (800cc): Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2007 – 1’38.394 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi made a triumphant return to the top step of the podium in Estoril today, sealing his fourth victory of the season with a masterful ride to victory in front of Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Rossi's eighth consecutive podium finish at this circuit was his first in six races, since his last victory at Assen back in June. Colin Edwards was unable to match his team-mate's pace today and slipped back through the field, eventually finishing in tenth. With 41,566 spectators looking on, Rossi made a poor start from the outside of the front row and slipped to fifth around the first corner, before making up one place and crossing the line first time around behind Nicky Hayden in fourth. He quickly began to put the pressure on Hayden and passed him on lap three, whilst Pedrosa in the meantime picked off Stoner to take the lead. Lap-by-lap Rossi closed the gap and he showed the improved level of his new Yamaha engine when he passed his championship rival on the straight going into lap nine. From then on the race turned into a nail-biting head to head between Rossi and Pedrosa, the pair evenly matched on pace but faster in different areas of the track. With four laps to go Pedrosa ran wide and Rossi came through, only to make a similar mistake moments later, letting the Spaniard back past him. With Pedrosa beginning to slide and Stoner looking menacing in third, Rossi made his move with an inch-perfect pass on the penultimate lap but was forced to keep pushing at the limit to hold on until the end, crossing the line just 0.175 seconds ahead of Pedrosa. Edwards meanwhile suffered with grip issues throughout, finding himself as far down as 17th at one point. The Texan did not give up however and battled back past several riders to finish tenth, taking six points and holding onto seventh in the championship. Rossi's maximum-points haul today means he clo ses the gap to Stoner to 76 points with five races remaining, the next of which comes at Motegi in Japan in one week's time. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1stTime: 45'49.911 "First of all I want to dedicate this victory to Colin McRae, who sadly died yesterday. Colin is one of my idols from when I was very young and it's because of him that I have my passion for rally. It's a very sad day for motorsport and I am glad that I could win for him today. This is a very important victory for us in every way, it's the fourth one of the year so the numbers are starting to look a little bit better, and it's a great, great emotion to win again after so long without even a podium. Today my Yamaha and my tyres worked very well. Our new engine is better and today I was able to keep in the slipstream of the Honda and the Ducati on the straight, and even to go alongside them at some points, so this is very important. Michelin have done some good work on the tyres and today we were maybe stronger than our rivals. Once again we've shown that when the tyres are working well we can fight at the top. I had a great battle with Casey but most of all with Dani and it was fantastic fun to ride like this again, at the maximum and with a lot of good passes. When I passed Dani for the first time I tried to go but he was too good so I knew it was going to come down to the last few laps. At the end Dani started to slide a little and I knew I was stronger on the brakes than him in some places, so I was able to make a good pass. When I came out of the last corner on the second to last lap I could only think about how I lost the championship there last year so I knew I had to be far enough ahead next time around! I want to thank Yamaha, Michelin, my team and everyone around me, this is a great day and it's given us a lot of confidence to keep fighting to the end of the season." Click here to view the news

The 25th edition of the Starcross International at Mantova in Italy kick-started the 2008 European motocross calendar last weekend and it was a positive meeting for the Yamaha Motocross Team as David Philippaerts took his first overall victory on the YZ450FM and Josh Coppins filled second position. The inaugural race of the year saw factory representation from all the manufacturers and a large quota of world championship riders line the gate. Across the three 20 minute and 2 lap motos on the rough and hard-pack sandy Italian terrain, Philippaerts rode strongly and did not drop out of the top three to post finishes of 2nd, 1st and 3rd. Coppins suffered from a spill in Saturday’s qualification heat that left the New Zealander with a sore shoulder. The 30 year old slipped off again on a chaotic first lap of the opening sprint but recovered to obtain a set of 7th, 4th and 4th positions. Philippaerts was a convincing winner in Moto2 and should have perhaps won the first race also if he did not need to briefly slow while in second place to sort out a brake concern. In the final outing he was unable to chase Jonathan Barragan but the Spaniard had mechanical trouble early in race two and was physically fresher than his peers. The team were testing for two days this week prior to their first competitive appearance of 2008 and will be clocking up kilometres again on the YZ450FM in the days after Mantova. The new Kayaba suspension units have had a benefit, and the improvement in the front end feeling of the chassis - helping the bike turn quicker - has been met with all-round approval from both riders. Aside from the motos, that took place under bright sunshine but in modest temperatures, spectators were also treated to the ‘One-on-One’ contest in which selected riders from each class fought over one lap. Coppins was particularly sharp with his starts and won three face-offs (including a defeat of 2007 title rival Steve Ramon) to reach the final against 2007 pole position specialist Tanel Leok. Only a brave move from the Estonian through the triple on the second part of the lap prevented Coppins from walking away triumphant from this particular novelty, unique to the Starcross meeting. In the MX2 category Martin Barr was Yamaha’s top performer with a decent seventh place overall. Manuel Monni was also in the top ten with ninth position. Yamaha Motocross Team will be action again next week with the first round of the Italian championship taking place at the Montevarchi circuit. Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider Antonio Cairoli was present as a spectator in Mantova and will join his team-mates Matteo Bonini and Alessandro Lupino at Montevarchi as the Italian squad open their account for 2008. David Philippaerts, 1st position: “This is a good start to the year and I am very happy for the team and everybody. The bike was really good today. It is very fast, maybe too fast for me at the moment! In the first race I had a small problem with the brake and had to stop quickly but my riding was good after that and I had some nice lines. In the second I was determined to win and passed many riders in the first corners. It was quite easy in the end. Barragan was fast in the last race but because he had a problem earlier he might have been fresher than the rest of us. We still have some time before the first Grand Prix and we are going in the right direction; my condition is getting stronger and the bike feels better each week. I am especially pleased with my starts today.” Josh Coppins, 2nd position: “I am happy it is all over as I don’t really like this track and I crashed on Saturday and hurt my shoulder. It was a tough weekend. I got to the last round of the ‘One on One’ but Leok just got by me on the triple. In the first moto I went down on the first lap and did pretty well to come back to 7th from 15th or 20th; something like that. I fought hard and my shoulder was tight afterwards. The second race was going OK and I moved past Pourcel for third at the end but unfortunately I got caught up with a lapped rider and that pushed me back. In the last I felt the pace with my shoulder. Overall there were too many mistakes and having two crashes was not good. However, we are on the podium so it was not a waste. We also rode the bike for the first time this week and I am pleased with what we have so far.” Mino Raspanti, Team co-ordinator: “I am really happy for the riders. The results were not really important this weekend but it was still good to do well and take the momentum we had from testing onto the race track. We had made some changes to the bike but the practice track is always different to the races where everything is much rougher and quicker. We have started our programme now and can begin counting down to the first Grand Prix." Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards rounded off two days of intensive work at Brno today, following Sunday's Czech Grand Prix. After heavy rain yesterday evening the track was still damp this morning, which delayed the start of action, but conditions improved throughout the day and both Rossi and Edwards managed to complete their planned testing programmes. Once again both riders concentrated mainly on tyre testing, trying a variety of new material with Michelin. Rossi also put in laps with the new-specification engine, which he tried for the first time yesterday. The team now have a week's break before they head to Misano for the San Marino Grand Prix. Colin Edwards - Position: 7th Time: 1'58.86 Laps: 50 "It was all about tyres again today and we actually found a front that I'm pretty happy with. It's something of a different theory to what we've been using before but it seems to work so I think we've gained something in that area. We also found something for the rear which we think could be good if we have a little more time to work on it and evolve it. Based on that I think we've definitely made some progress today. It's not going to change overnight but we've just got to go step-by-step, put in the laps and see how we go. I tried a couple more starting maps as well which I'm really happy with. I'm heading home now for a few days rest before Misano and we'll see how we get on there!" Valentino Rossi - Position: 11th Time: 1'59.35 Laps: 69 "We continued today to test many tyres with Michelin, different components and different compounds. We haven't found a miracle tyre yet but we gave a lot of information to Michelin which will hopefully help them in their work for the next races. We used the new engine again for some of the day and found it a little bit better, although we need more time to work on it. Anyway we've given some important information to our engineers so they can continue with the development for the future. We've done a lot of work these two days and I know that Yamaha and Michelin will now do as much as possible with what we've found out here, and we will be ready to try again next week in Misano." Davide Brivio - Team Director "We've worked a lot these two days and both riders have done a lot of laps, which is hard after an intensive race weekend. This is always a very important test, before the last part of the season, and this year has been no different. We've checked many options, especially with Michelin, and we hope that this information will help them to continue to improve the situation in the near future. We know that both Yamaha and Michelin will be working very hard over the next week and we will see how we get on in San Marino!" Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards carried on from where they left off yesterday on day two of the seasonopening Grand Prix of Qatar, topping the time sheets again in this morning's free practice before taking first and third in a gripping Qualifying session this afternoon. Rossi will start from pole for the 46th time in his Grand Prix career with his team mate two places away from him, the pair separated only by the Ducati of Casey Stoner who was just five-thousandths of a second slower than the Italian. With the new tyre restrictions meaning the Yamaha duo had only two qualifying tyres to work with in the session, the first forty minutes were focused on perfecting the set-ups of their 800cc M1s and both continued to show a consistently strong pace on race tyres. Already holding the top spot after a string of fast laps inside the last twenty minutes, Edwards' first qualifying tyre saw him consolidate first place with ten minutes to go, his team-mate moving into second place behind him a few minutes later. The last five minutes saw a flurry of activity with Rossi, Edwards, Stoner, Toni Elias and Dani Pedrosa (both Honda) all putting in quick flying laps in a tense finale. All five riders lapped under last year's pole time but it was Rossi who took the honours with a lap of 1'55.002, over half a second faster than the existing record. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 1'55.002 Laps: 26 Laps "It's great to have my first pole of the season at the very first race and it's extra special for me because it's pole number 46 of my career! I hope this is a good omen for tomorrow. I'm really happy for this pole position because everyone has worked so hard; all my mechanics, engineers, Michelin…everyone involved. Yamaha has built us a great bike. Anyway tomorrow is another day and the real race, but we're starting from first and Colin is on the front row too so I hope we can put in a good Yamaha show! We have a couple of things to check in morning practice but we're more or less ready. I really like this track, the grip is great, it's fast and technical and it's possible to have a lot of fun with the new Yamaha. It's also quite quiet here, with not too many people and this is a nice atmosphere in which to start the season as I can focus completely on racing without too many other distractions! I think tomorrow there are three or four riders who can fight at the top with Colin and me, but we're feeling confident in our garage." Colin Edwards Position: 3rd Time: 1'55.223 Laps: 24 Laps "Yamaha, Michelin, Valentino and I have all worked so hard and it's really exciting to be up there together on the front row...although of course I would like to try to reverse the order tomorrow! Our bike is going so well so far this year, everywhere we go we've got a plan and it seems to work and the lap times are just amazing. It's a great feeling. I love this track and the set-up we have seems to be spot-on, really we don't have anything left to do tomorrow morning except double-check everything and make our final tyre choice. I've got a choice of two but honestly I'm not too worried, they both work well and I don't think either will be the difference between winning and losing - Michelin seem to have it all under control for us! It's going to be a matter of getting a good start and seeing how it goes. I think there's a few that can run with us but our race pace is pretty good so I am confident I can be up there fighting!" Davide Brivio - Team Director "It's a very good start for us and we're very happy! The weekend so far has been very good for us and both riders are working in a very smooth, confident way. Tomorrow is the important test and it will be the final proof of where we are, but we feel that we're ready to race and I hope we'll be able to enjoy a great result together with both Colin and Valentino." Circuit Length: 5380 Temp: 27 Weather: Dry 2007 MotoGP Qatar - Doha/Losail 09/03/2007 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'55.002 2 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'55.007 3 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'55.233 4 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'55.358 5 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'55.361 6 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'55.833 7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'55.851 8 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'55.933 9 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'56.041 10 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'56.222 11 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 1'56.306 12 Carlos Checa Honda ESP 1'56.609 13 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'56.639 14 Olivier Jacque Kawasaki FRA 1'56.754 15 Alex Barros Ducati BRA 1'56.814 16 Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha FRA 1'57.257 19 Makoto Tamada Yamaha JPN 1'58.024 Click here to view the news

Following the conclusion of the 2007 season, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd and Yamaha Motor Racing Srl are pleased to be able to confirm the final line-up of their 2008 Factory Team. Seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi and two time 250cc World Champion Jorge Lorenzo will contest the 2008 MotoGP World Championship as team-mates in the Fiat Yamaha Team. Yamaha can also confirm its plan to run Valentino Rossi on Bridgestone tyres in 2008, while Jorge Lorenzo will be racing with Michelin tyres. In order to facilitate the use of both Michelin tyres and Bridgestone tyres within the Yamaha Factory Team and to ensure confidentiality of data for each tyre company, Yamaha will organize separate rider pit boxes, but the Fiat Yamaha Team will continue to operate and race as one team. Click here to view the news

After the disappointment of yesterday's Czech Grand Prix, it was back to the drawing board today for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards as they embarked on the traditional two-day test at Brno, alongside almost the entire MotoGP paddock. The sun shone until mid-afternoon when it clouded over, eventually giving way to rain at about 4.30 pm. The main focus of the test for both riders is tyre testing with Michelin and they worked through a variety of new material today as they seek to find a better package for the remaining six races, following recent issues. Rossi also got the chance to complete some laps with a new-specification engine, with which he will continue working tomorrow. Colin Edwards - Position: 6th Time: 1'58.81 Laps: 51 "Michelin brought a lot of new stuff for us to try here today and I think, in total, I tried about four fronts and maybe five rears before the rain came. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like we've found a miracle yet! We're in a difficult situation but I am determined to give 110% to help Michelin get back to where they should be. I tried a new shock for Ohlins as well and some starting maps and electronics and everything else seems to be feeling pretty good. We've got another day tomorrow so let's hope it stays dry so we can get through the remainder of our testing programme." Valentino Rossi - Position: 10th Time: 1'59.20 Laps: 66 "We tried a new engine today and I completed about 25 laps with it. Initially we haven't found that it's a lot faster, but anyway this is only the very first step so we need some more time to understand it better and to see how it can help us. Tomorrow we will continue to work with it again, for part of the day at least. We also did some work with tyres, but so far we haven't found anything special. We tried some new fronts but then, when we started to work with some new rear tyres it started to rain and so we weren't able to finish our work. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to use the whole day, because we still have a lot of work to get through and this is a very important test for us." Click here to view the news

The Fiat Yamaha Team head straight from Australia to Malaysia this week as they contest the second Grand Prix in just seven days, with the penultimate race of the season set to take place at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. Yamaha have been the most successful manufacturer in MotoGP at the ultra modern circuit, taking three victories from eight visits, and their strong record in Malaysia stretches back to the first ever race in the country back in 1991, when John Kocinski took 500cc honours at Shah Alam. The most recent Malaysian Grand Prix was also won by Yamaha, with Valentino Rossi taking his fourth premier-class win at Sepang following a stunning battle with Loris Capirossi last season. Rossi is keen to repeat that performance this weekend as he aims to become the first MotoGP rider ever to score 100 career podiums in the class - his third place finish at Phillip Island last Sunday having taken his tally to an unsurpassed 99. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards is also targeting a return to the podium after a dry spell of eight races since his last top-three finish at Donington Park. Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the calendar, measuring 16 metres across in some areas, and high track temperatures are always a factor in the tropical climate. With four major hairpins, and some fast and frequent changes of direction in its 5,542m layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the entire bike set-up and its largely consistent, if demanding, climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue. However, after being completely resurfaced since preseason testing back in February, the teams will have to wait until first free practice on Friday morning to see how useful previous data will be for set-up this weekend. Valentino Rossi - "Our target is unchanged" Valentino Rossi's impressive career podium tally in MotoGP includes six from the past six seasons at Sepang, including those four victories. After extending his advantage over Dani Pedrosa in the battle for the important runner-up spot in the championship at the last round, the Italian is again targetting the top step of the podium as he aims to finish a difficult season on a high note. "I did everything I could in Australia but we couldn't challenge Stoner so our target for the final two races is unchanged - to fight for the win," says Rossi. "Sepang is another of my favourite tracks and I've had some great races there. Last year's battle with Loris was especially memorable, and I would really like to have the chance to fight like that with my rivals again this year. "We know that our bike generally goes well there and we have a lot of data from so much testing there, even if our bike has changed quite a bit from the start of the year when we were last there and the track has also, but hopefully we will be able to find a good package and be competitive. We have two races left and we are going to be doing everything we can to win them both so we can end the season in a good way." Colin Edwards - "Still determined" After another disappointing weekend in Australia, Colin Edwards prefers to focus on the positive preseason tests the team enjoyed at Sepang back in February, when both riders dipped under 990cc lap record pace during an extensive tyre workout. Edwards has not enjoyed the best of luck at Sepang in the past and has yet to finish above tenth place but he is confident of turning that around this weekend. "Despite only finishing ninth I did leave Phillip Island feeling like we salvaged something from the weekend because at times it was looking like it was going to be a lot worse and I think we learnt something," reflects Edwards. "For Malaysia, Michelin are bringing some stuff that I know from testing works for me on this bike at this track - we just have to hope it works just as well with the new surface. Hopefully if we put it together with what we learnt about the bike in Australia then we'll be in good shape. "The YZR-M1 went brilliantly at Sepang in preseason testing - now we will have to see how much better our rivals are there after a full season of development. Anyway, I'm glad to be going straight there from Australia because there's no time to sit about feeling disappointed about what happened Phillip Island. I'm still determined to get a good result before the end of the season and Sepang is a good place to do it." Davide Brivio - "A few question marks" It promises to be a busy weekend for Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio, who arrived in Malaysia early this week to check out the newly resurfaced Sepang circuit. With weather forecasts predicting rain and the Grand Prix Commission set to announce a decision over tyre regulations for next season, there is plenty for the Italian to think about both off and on the track in Malaysia. "We had a great test here in February but it looks like the resurfacing has changed the track a lot so we don't know what the grip will be like," says Brivio. "It means we go there in pretty much the same shape as everybody else, with some doubts about what we tested here. The weather forecast we have is predicting rain each afternoon so there are question marks over the track and the conditions. "Apart from that, this is a circuit we have enjoyed a lot of success at in the past and Valentino has won here many times so we have to be confident. It will also be an important weekend because of the decision over a possible single-tyre rule for next year. Once it is made we can decide our exact development strategy for next season so we are all looking forward to hearing how it will work out. Then we can look ahead to making a stronger challenge next year." Valentino Rossi : Information Age: 28 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 88 (61 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 189 (129 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 49 World Championships: 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 33 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 81 x MotoGP World Championships: 2 World Superbike Sepang: Lap Record L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 2'02.127 Sepang: Best Lap V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 2.00.605 Grand Prix Results: Sepang 2006 1. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 43'07.829 2. L. Capirossi (Ducati) +0.849 3. N. Hayden (Honda) +3.863 10. C. Edwards (USA) Yamaha +19.909 Click here to view the news

The Fiat Yamaha Team of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will run a special one-off livery on their bikes and leathers for the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island this weekend, starting from Free Practice. The livery has been inspired by the famous ‘Abarth' brand, a division of Fiat Automobiles SpA. The Abarth brand has been re-launched by Fiat this year with several new models and this weekend's livery is designed to celebrate that. The livery uses all the elements of the logo - the Scorpion, which is synonymous with the brand, the white and red flag and the word ‘Abarth'. This will be the last livery change of the season for the team. Click here to view the news

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino rounded off a difficult weekend with a strong ride in today's Malaysian Grand Prix, bringing his Yamaha M1 home in fifth position from ninth on the grid. His team-mate Colin Edwards, who started from 13th, finished 11th. The usual hot and steamy Sepang conditions ensured that the 21-lap race would be a test of stamina for all 20 riders on the grid and, after being hampered by grip issues throughout practice, the Yamaha pair were not expecting an easy race. However some last-minute alterations worked wonders and Rossi especially was able to lap consistently at the same pace as the leaders throughout, recording the second fastest lap of the race on the penultimate lap. The Italian dropped two places at the start but quickly found his rhythm and pegged back Nicky Hayden, marking the start of a spirited ride which saw him pass four riders in as many laps. Soon finding himself in fifth with a gap of more than three seconds to Randy de Puniet, Rossi put his head down and kept pushing, trying to close the gap to the Frenchman. Despite steadily gaining ground on him to the flag, it was not quite enough and he had to settle for fifth. Edwards too made up some places early on and looked to have ninth place secure with two laps to go. However Hayden, who had earlier dropped behind Edwards when running off the track, passed him in the closing stages and Texan was relegated to tenth place. Today's race was won by Casey Stoner, with Marco Melandri and Dani Pedrosa taking second and third. Rossi now lies 24 points clear of Pedrosa in the championship standings, meaning he has to take just a single point during the final race to secure second place, whilst Edwards' six-point haul sees him hold on to eighth position. The final Grand Prix of the season takes place in Valencia, Spain, in a fortnight's time. Valentino Rossi - Position: 5th Time: +4.733 "Of course I'm disappointed with fifth place, but I am very happy with my race today. It's a pity because we had great potential this afternoon and, if we had been able to start from the front row, I think we could have fought for the victory. We made some modifications today and luckily everything worked much better during the race than it had during practice. We were fast this afternoon, we had a great rhythm but unfortunately we really lost the race yesterday in qualifying! I took some time to find my rhythm at the start of the race but once I did I realised I had a great pace and that my bike and tyres were working very well. I tried to catch de Puniet but, even though I was a tiny bit faster than him, the difference was only one or two tenths and so it wasn't enough to be able to make up three seconds. My Michelin tyre worked very well to the end today so this is encouraging for Valencia, where we will be trying one more time to win before the end of the season. Colin Edwards - Position: 10th Time: +29.746 "I got a bad start and had a bad few corners, but once I'd got settled I managed to get past a couple of guys and push on a bit. After a while I got Vermeulen and Hopkins in my sights and I was trying pretty hard to close the gap to them, but I couldn't get closer than about 0.8 seconds. Towards the end I started to feel pretty light-headed - I was feeling the remnants of when I was sick earlier in the week - and everything was really a bit of a blur for the last few laps. I had a terrible headache and in this heat it's hard to concentrate if you're not at 100%, and unfortunately I couldn't hold Hayden off at the end. It's been another tough weekend for us but once again it could have been worse and I want to say thanks again to everyone for working so hard and keeping morale going during a difficult couple of races." Davide Brivio - Team Dorector "Valentino ran a great race today but unfortunately he was penalised by his starting position and the first lap, when he had to take some time to find his rhythm. We saw today that the pace he had could have allowed him to fight at the front, but we lost a lot of ground during practice and qualifying and this afternoon we suffered for that. Colin also made some big improvements today but at the end of the day he, too, could only do the best he could from a bad grid position. Today everything worked well, especially for Valentino, and it's a great pity we weren't in a position to make the most of it. We will try once more in Valencia and let's hope we can finish the season on a high note." Malaysian malaise for Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 The Malaysian Grand Prix held in stifling conditions at the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur did not provide the results the team was expecting. After travelling from the cold climes of southern Australia in early spring to the humidity of the tropics, Casey Stoner continued his dominant form in 2007 with another victory. As has been the case many times this year, variable weather conditions in practice combined with problems associated with a newly laid surface guaranteed that the weekend would be far from plain sailing. For the first time this season neither of the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders, Sylvain Guintoli and Makoto Tamada were able to score any championship points. Makoto Tamada - Position: 18thTime: +59.596 That was a very hard race and it has been a very hard weekend to find something but we never could get there. Friday and Saturday were very difficult but we seemed to find something this morning that we thought would work but again we were wrong. During the race the grip level was very low and didn't seem to improve during the race. Sylvain Guintoli - Position: 19thTime: +1'23.119 I'm really disappointed in myself as the entire package worked really well for me today with the bike and tyres. I had a bad start and then on the second lap I had a coming together with Kurtis Roberts and I never really recovered. I knew if I got a good start I would be able to battle with Checa, Nakano and a few others but I blew it from the very beginning. I pushed really hard but I was making too many mistakes as on this track you have to be very smooth. I just didn't ride well today and the more I pushed the more mistakes I made. Herve Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Manager This was a weekend to forget. We never had the right pace in race configuration all weekend but after a fairly good qualifying session we expected better than what happened in the race. Now we have to forget about this weekend and look ahead to the final round at Valencia where hopefully we can finish the season on a high note. Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 43'4.405 2, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 0'1.701 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'2.326 4, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'3.765 5, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'4.773 6, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 0'17.667 7, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'20.950 8, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 0'22.198 9, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'22.450 10, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'29.746 11, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 0'34.923 12, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 0'35.667 13, Nobuatsu Aoki, Suzuki, JPN, 0'44.113 14, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'44.486 15, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'49.658 16, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'51.726 17, Chaz Davies, Ducati, GBR, 0'58.905 18, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 0'59.596 19, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 1'23.119 20, Kurtis Roberts, KR212V, USA, 1'50.960 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 2'2.108 Rider Standings 21/10/2007 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 347 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 241 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 217 4, Marco Melandri, Honda, ITA, 174 5, John Hopkins, Suzuki, USA, 173 6, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 169 7, Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 155 8, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 121 9, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 119 10, Alex Barros, Ducati, BRA, 106 11, Randy De Puniet, Kawasaki, FRA, 101 12, Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 98 13, Alex Hofmann, Ducati, GER, 65 14, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 61 15, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 59 17, Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha, FRA, 45 18, Makoto Tamada, Yamaha, JPN, 37 Team Standings 21/10/2007 Pos., Team, Points 1, Ducati Marlboro Team, 502 2, FIAT Yamaha Team, 362 3, Rizla Suzuki, 345 4, Repsol Honda Team, 336 5, Honda Gresini, 278 6, Pramac D'Antin, 172 7, Kawasaki Racing Team, 169 8, Tech3 Yamaha, 82 9, Honda LCR, 61 10, Konica Minolta Honda, 45 11, Team Roberts, 14 Manufacturer Standings 21/10/2007 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 374 2, Honda, 288 3, Yamaha, 278 4, Suzuki, 225 5, Kawasaki, 137 6, KR212V, 14 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Factory Racing riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards started their final pre-season preparations today as the Official MotoGP Test began in Jerez. The Andalusian circuit, which will play host to the second round of the MotoGP World Championship in March, will provide the teams with the last chance to fine-tune their 800cc MotoGP motorcycles before the season gets started in Qatar. After three consecutive races in warmer climes, it was a wet return to European shores this morning when the MotoGP paddock was subjected to a heavy rainstorm and as a result Rossi and Edwards were not able get out on track until the early afternoon. However even after that the low temperatures meant that track failed to dry properly and it remained quite damp in places, causing the Yamaha pair to take it gently throughout the afternoon as they concentrated on trying to find the right set-up ahead of a hopefully drier day tomorrow. The timesheets were topped today by Honda rider Marco Melandri, who set a time of 1’42.563, a full two seconds off Rossi’s old 990cc lap record, which still stands from 2005. Edwards came in at 11th position with best lap of 1’43.845 with Rossi behind him in 13th after a lap of 1’44.494. Colin Edwards, Position: 11th Time: 1’43.845 Laps: 38 “Actually that was a really useful day for us, despite the weather! Obviously the times don’t really show it, but I’m not worried about those because the conditions really limited what we could do with regards to going fast. It wasn’t nice out there with the patchy conditions and it was really quite dangerous; it was obvious that whoever took the most risks was going to be fastest today! Anyway, we came here with our ‘smooth-track’ setting which worked so well in Qatar and tried it here, which is much bumpier. The good thing about today is that we think we now understand why it doesn’t work so well on bumpy tracks and so tomorrow we’re going to work on changing that and getting it to work everywhere. That’s the aim for tomorrow and hopefully we’ll be successful in that task, which will put us in much better stead as far as adjusting the bike to different tracks goes. We were obviously nowhere near our times from December today but we know the bike is better than it was then so I am sure that once the track dries out properly and it gets a bit warmer, we’ll get a lot faster.” Valentin Rossi Position: 13th Time: 1’44.494 Laps:36 “The most important thing about this test for us is that it gives us the chance to see how our new bike has changed from the test here in December to now. We’ve had three tests in between and the bike has changed quite a bit, plus we’ve had some new parts for the engine and the bike is a bit faster. Today wasn’t great because the conditions were bad, it didn’t really dry out all day so it wasn’t possible to go so fast. Anyway though, I am impressed at some of the times of my rivals in these conditions! I was quite fast at the start when it was quite wet, but really it wasn’t enough to do a real wet-weather test. So after today we still can’t see how much we’ve improved from the last test, but hopefully tomorrow will be better. We’ve found some interesting things though and I think it will be better tomorrow. Of course the objective of this weekend is to be ready for the race when we return here and I hope we will also be able to go faster than we did here in December. The biggest changes since we were here last have been made to the suspension, especially in the front, but today we couldn’t really see the potential of these changes. If it becomes warmer we will also try to find some good tyres for this track, so let’s hope for sunshine!” Davide Brivio, Team Director “Today was a bit disappointing because we obviously have a lot of work to get through here and the weather really delayed us, but anyway both riders found out some interesting things about their bikes in these conditions and gathered some good information. We hope that the weather will be better tomorrow so we will be able to see how much our bike has improved since the last test here. It’s a bit cold at this time of year, but hopefully the sun will come out and we will be able to really get started!” Unofficial Lap Times 1. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 1’42.563 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 1’42.634 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 1’42.706 4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda 1’43.206 5. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 1’43.214 6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 1’43.315 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 1’43.476 8. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati 1’43.673 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 1’43.687 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda 1’43.817 11. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 1’43.845 12. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 1’44.052 13. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 1’44.494 14. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 1’44.659 15. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 1’45.081 16. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 1’45.208 17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati 1’45.603 18. Shinichi Ito (JPN) Ducati 1’45.826 19. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 1’45.901 20. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR 1’45.937 21. Kousuke Akiyoshi (JPN) Suzuki 1’47.191 22. Jeremy McWilliams (IRE) Ilmor 1’47.696 23. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 1’49.365 Jerez Lap Record (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1’40.596 Jerez Best Lap (990cc) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 - 1’39.064 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts produced another stellar performance in a strong 2008 FIM MX1-GP season to-date to secure 4th position in the sand of Lierop for the Grand Prix of Benelux and extend his lead in the series from 5 to 14 points with just one round remaining. Team-mate Josh Coppins was extremely close to winning the second moto and ended up with 5th place. Lierop, near the city of Eindhoven, represented the third time the riders encountered the physical and technical demands of sandy terrain. The surface became rougher and bumpier throughout practice and provided a stage on which the Benelux riders - groomed from an early age in the sand - could excel. Under occasional showers and through strong winds, watched by a crowd of 35,000 spectators the team worked diligently to enjoy a sturdy set of results and edge closer to the title. Philippaerts surprised many after two reasonably decent starts to attack at the front and take part in a complicated pair of motos that saw many position changes and varying pace from the leaders. The team provided the 24 year old with a fettled YZ450FM on Saturday and the effort behind-the-scenes paid off. With main title rival Steve Ramon struggling, the Italian moved forwards and battled for first place in both sprints. He gained 3rd in Moto1 and obtained 5th in Moto2 to stretch his run as leader of the world championship to 11 Grand Prix (from 14) and importantly gain a bit more breathing space over Ramon and Ken De Dycker. Josh Coppins had one of his better qualification sessions of the year to take 6th spot on Saturday. The Kiwi felt in good form and although he started quite slowly from the depths of the top ten in both races his speed in the final third of the motos was excellent. After a positive 4th place earlier in the day his rhythm was knocked in the second outing when he got a tear-off visor caught in his mouth. Once unhindered, he began setting a rapid pace that pulled him to second position with two laps to go. The 31 year old did not realise he was so high up the ranking because the field was so dispersed, and a small miscalculation proved costly when he ran wide and hit the fence causing a crash on the penultimate circulation. He remounted to take 6th and 5th place overall. 50 points are all that remain in the 2008 MX1-GP World Championship. Philippaerts holds a gap of 14 over Ramon and 25 over De Dycker. Coppins is 5th and needs more than 37 points to make the top three. Yamaha are tied on points at the top of the Manufacturer's standings. The Grand Prix Citta di Faenza, at Faenza, will culminate a tense, exciting and very entertaining 2008 world championship for the team in just seven days time. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 4th: "This was a big result today. I wanted to go out there and try to win the title, not the race. I finished third in the first moto and for an Italian at Lierop I did not think that was bad at all! In the second moto I looked for the victory but pushed a bit too hard because I felt tired at the finish. I had some close moments out there and I tried my best, aware that anything can happen. The team worked really hard all weekend and the bike was great for the races; I am really happy with this GP. We go to Faenza next and I think two top five positions will be good enough for the championship. I will go home and remain focussed this week. I just want to train and do my normal routine and see what next weekend brings." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 5th: "The same old story for me really, two crashes and something little and annoying like a tear-off in my mouth. In the first race I took it a bit easy at the start because I was mindful of my energy for the second moto. After crashing with Marc in the second I just put all my anger and frustration at this season in the rest of those laps and it brought me to the front. It was nice to race with the guys again after so many incidents at the starts of motos recently. I honestly did not know I was second. I did not see anything on the pit-board and I guess positions were changing quite fast. If I knew Ken was the leader then I would have backed off slightly in order to line him up. I can't seem to get a Grand Prix right, but I will give my best in Faenza to try and get something from this season." Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager: "Apart from the last two laps for Josh it was a really good weekend for us. A moto win would have been possible and it would have been positive for him because he has had bad luck recently. He was riding well after the first moments of the races and it would have been nice to see him on the podium. I am really happy for David. He surprised many people with his speed and approach. He looked a bit tired in the last twenty minutes of the second moto and then decided to play it safe. The team worked really hard to get the bikes ready and I was surprised at how much progress we made in such a short time so a big thank you to everyone. There will be many people and many supporters for David in Faenza and for sure it will be a different Grand Prix compared to normal but we will try our best to treat it as another race and hope for the right result!" Race 1 - 17 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 40'3.592 2, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'8.025 3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'11.507 4, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'20.570 5, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'22.773 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'25.932 7, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'50.755 8, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 1'15.921 9, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'23.049 10, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'25.376 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'33.239 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'35.665 13, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'45.231 14, Patrick Roos, KTM, NED, 2'0.638 15, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, 2'36.250 16, William Saris, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps 17, Cedric Melotte, Aprilia, BEL, -1 Laps 18, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, -1 Laps 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, -1 Laps 20, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 17 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 40'14.189 2, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'4.653 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'13.630 4, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'14.733 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'16.478 6, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'21.415 7, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 0'28.700 8, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'36.755 9, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'42.159 10, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'24.811 11, William Saris, Yamaha, NED, 1'32.143 12, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'39.869 13, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 1'46.678 14, Cedric Melotte, Aprilia, BEL, 1'57.496 15, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'59.821 16, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 2'6.014 17, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, -1 Laps 18, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, -1 Laps 19, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps 20, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 477 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 463 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 452 4, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 419 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 415 6, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 394 7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 392 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 337 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 293 10, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 277 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 263 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 245 13, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 164 14, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 159 15, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 159 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 135 17, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 94 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 93 20, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 75 21, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 58 Manufacturer Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Suzuki, 543 2, Yamaha, 543 3, KTM, 525 4, Kawasaki, 494 5, Honda, 443 6, TM, 33 7, Aprilia, 23 ---------- RACE REPORT - 07/09/2008 Aubin back on the podium at Lierop Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin celebrated his second podium result of the 2008 MX2-GP World Championship and also moved up to third in the series standings courtesy of his third position in the damp sand of Lierop for the Grand Prix of Benelux and the fourteenth and penultimate round of the competition. The Frenchman defied a small crash in the first of two motos across the bumpy and technical Dutch sand to take 4th and 3rd places and lift his second set of silverware in 2008. Thanks to his efforts ahead of rival Shaun Simpson, Aubin is third in the championship and 14 points in front of the Scot with just 50 to play for at the final race in Italy. 35,000 spectators flocked to the shower-hit and windy venue and saw Aubin enact one of his best performances of the season on a difficult terrain and register his first top three finish in the sand. The next highest placed YZ250F rider was Yamaha Van Beers' Evgeny Bobryshev, who set career-best results with 8th overall and a 7th position finish in Moto2. Aubin's team-mate, Davide Guarneri, scored 17th (minus a rear brake in Moto1) and 11th for 13th overall, on a surface that is not one of the Italian's strongest. Despite his weakened knee, Guarneri - the Spanish Grand Prix winner - is 13th in the championship. 3C Racing's Manuel Monni was 13th in the final GP ranking while Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Matteo Bonini continued his comeback to race fitness after injury to place 18th overall and score points in the second moto. Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne struggled on the sand in Moto1 and hit the terrain on three separate occasions, finally crossing the line outside of the points. He was doing better in Moto2 and gaining ground on the top five until a mechanical problem halted his race. In other news Mike Vanderstraeten, winner of first MX Rookie trophy held prior to the GP of Belgium for amateur youngsters, was presented with his prize (a YZ250F) by series instigator Eric Geboers and Yamaha Monster Motocross Team owner Michele Rinaldi. "I am really happy to have won the trophy," the sixteen year old Belgian said. "My goal now is to keep on improving as a rider and maybe one day I can race in the world championship." "I want to congratulate Mike for his victory and I am proud on behalf of Yamaha that he has won the first trophy," said Michele Rinaldi. "I hope he can repeat his win with us in the future and who knows? Maybe he could become one of our factory riders one day." 2007 World Champion Tony Cairoli will be present at his home Grand Prix - the fifteenth and final round of the '08 series - next weekend to hand over his number one plate. The Grand Prix Citta di Faenza will take place at the Faenza circuit a short distance from Bologna and around 40 km from the city of Ravenna. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 3rd: "Top three in the championship was my aim at the beginning of the season so I was watching Simpson and Goncalves carefully today. I had some low moments in the middle of the year but I have been building it back up and getting better step-by-step. I liked the track but my starts were not great and I made some small mistakes, apart from that moment my rhythm was strong and my lines were good. I am happy with the podium today and can take some more confidence to Faenza." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 13th: "I am struggling a little for motivation at the moment. I would just like to finish the season and start preparing myself for 2009. This GP was like hell! So many bumps and jumps. I had a bad start in the first race and then my back brake faded in the middle of the moto so I had to lower my pace and could not push. In the second I made my rhythm, which was not so bad, and I made 11th. Nobody passed me and I was so tired by the end. We will see now how I can finish the year in Faenza. I have a lot of problems with my knee but it is the last race so we have to go for it!" Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 18th: "In the first moto I had a bad start and I did not want to go too crazy and waste energy because I knew it would be difficult for me to finish 40 minutes here. I found it difficult to find a rhythm but by the midpoint I was riding better, around four seconds faster, but it was too late to get any points. My start was great in the second moto. I knew I could not stay in the top five but my speed was good immediately. I thought it would be possible to stay in the top ten but then I crashed before the pit-lane and it took me a long time to restart the bike. I built up my speed again but had some more trouble and just wanted to finish. I am a bit sad because I think I could have taken a good position without the crash." Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 26th: "In the first moto I just struggled with the rhythm of the track. It wasn't a good race for me and I fell three times. In the second moto I started OK and was around eighth before we had another small problem with the bike. Overall it was not a good day but I learned a lot from the weekend. The sand was a lot different to Lommel. It was heavier and required a different technique. The Grand Prix was a good experience." Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 41'4.866 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'0.614 3, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'15.176 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'6.469 5, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'7.909 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'24.725 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'45.299 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'45.508 9, Matiss Karro, Suzuki, LVA, 1'59.826 10, Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki, RSA, 2'7.013 11, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 2'24.108 12, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps 13, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 14, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, -1 Laps 15, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, -1 Laps 16, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps 17, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 18, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 19, Harri Kullas, KTM, FIN, -1 Laps 20, Jan Van Hastenburg, Honda, NED, -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 41'13.223 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'13.301 3, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'53.892 4, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'2.155 5, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'8.807 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'38.206 7, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'45.014 8, Matiss Karro, Suzuki, LVA, 1'47.620 9, Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki, RSA, 1'53.340 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'59.094 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 2'1.720 12, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 2'3.148 13, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 2'7.777 14, Rob van Vijfeijken, Yamaha, NED, 2'38.207 15, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 16, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 17, Rinus Van de Ven, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Jan Van Hastenburg, Honda, NED, -1 Laps 20, Harri Kullas, KTM, FIN, -1 Laps Rider Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 596 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 563 3, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 381 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 367 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 365 6, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357 7, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 289 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 283 9, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 277 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 259 11, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 257 12, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 243 13, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 181 14, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 181 15, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 180 16, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 161 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 117 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 102 19, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 101 20, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 22, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 66 24, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 55 27, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 46 45, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 8 48, Martin Barr, Yamaha, GBR, 6 Manufacturer Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 666 2, Yamaha, 597 3, Kawasaki, 430 4, Suzuki, 347 5, Honda, 250 ---------- RACE REPORT - 07/09/2008 Prumm ends 2008 with 9th Yamaha Van Beers racer Katherine Prumm has taken 9th position in the first ever FIM Women's World Championship after the fifth and final round took place at a showery and windy Lierop circuit in the Netherland for the Grand Prix of Benelux. Prumm, absent through injury, took podiums in two rounds of the series before breaking her collarbone in a practice accident. Livia Lancelot was crowned as champion after winning the Grand Prix ahead of Steffy Laier and American Ashley Fiolek in third place. The second edition of the series will take place in 2009 and will be extended from five to eight rounds. Race 1 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 27'16.891 2, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'23.729 3, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 0'31.809 4, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'54.545 5, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 1'5.134 6, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 1'6.603 7, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 1'7.838 8, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'15.402 9, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'17.817 10, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'40.513 11, Aubriana Dunn, Honda, USA, 2'5.405 12, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, -1 Laps 13, Shirley Verkade, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 14, Sofia Sjöberg, Honda, SWE, -1 Laps 15, Sara Petterson, KTM, SWE, -1 Laps Race 2 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 27'5.013 2, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'17.770 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'24.030 4, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 0'30.985 5, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 0'37.546 6, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 0'47.365 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 0'51.091 8, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 0'52.125 9, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'58.276 10, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'52.318 11, Sofia Sjöberg, Honda, SWE, 1'52.795 12, Britt Van der Wekken, Honda, NED, 1'55.413 13, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 2'7.199 14, Sara Petterson, KTM, SWE, 2'9.341 15, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 2'23.877 Rider Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 212 2, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 185 3, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 166 4, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 160 5, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 144 6, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 140 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 135 8, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 133 9, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 122 10, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 101 11, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 90 12, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 83 13, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, 67 14, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 64 15, Sofia Sjöberg, Honda, SWE, 51 Manufacturer Standings 07/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Kawasaki, 219 2, KTM, 217 3, Yamaha, 182 4, Suzuki, 177 5, Honda, 162 6, TM, 28 Click here to view the news

 The British Utag Yamaha.com team have secured the services of vibrant young American Zach Osborne for the 2009 FIM MX2 World Championship. The 18 year old from Abingdon, Virginia will steer a YZ250F in next year’s series after impressing in a several outings this season. The teenager reeled off a series of excellent lap-times on his world championship debut through one of the hardest tracks of the schedule – Lommel, in Belgium – and was then again quick seven days later on the hard-pack of Loket for the round in the Czech Republic. He reached the front of the pack with emphatic determination two weeks ago in Ireland and won the first moto in what was only his third international appearance for the team. “I am happy that we have reached a deal,” said Osborne. “Steve Dixon and the team have been superb for me so far; their support has been great. I am looking forward to the challenge next season. I do not want to make any predictions but I will be doing my best for the guys and for Yamaha.” “We had already spoken with Zach about 2009 a couple of weeks ago and his win in Ireland showed that his commitment to us and the effort we have made in supporting him should hopefully lead to a promising full attempt next season,” said Team Principal Steve Dixon. “We are already working on development for next year and we are really happy to have a rider of Zach’s potential on board. I want us to keep on getting good results for Yamaha so that we can contribute and continue the company’s strong name and presence in the MX2-GP category.” “We are delighted that Zach will be racing for Yamaha in the MX2-GP World Championship,” said Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “After very encouraging results as a junior he has recovered from some bad luck with injury and has started to show his potential on the Grand Prix scene and with Utag Yamaha.com. He should be an exciting addition to our line-up in the class for 2009.” Click here to view the news

The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team celebrated a fantastic end to a wonderful season of racing as David Philippaerts became world champion and went home permanently with the red plate as MX1-GP series leader after the fifteenth and final round at the Faenza circuit in Italy. The 24 year old fronted the FIM world championship for 13 of the 15 events and was crowned 'number one' with the YZ450FM for the first time in his career in front of 30,000 wiling spectators. The Italian, in his first season with the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team and only his second in the MX-1 GP class after moving up from successful exploits in MX2-GP, defied the pressure of expectation by his home crowd and also the last-gasp attentions of main rivals Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker to take results of 3rd and 9th for 5th overall across the damp soil. The tight and compact Faenza circuit (some 50km east of Bologna) did not offer a typical Italian test thanks to some changeable weather conditions and outbreaks of rain that left the terrain a mixture of slippery and soft parts. Philippaerts rode determinedly in Moto1 to rise from 8th to 3rd by mid-distance and leave nearest challenger Ramon in his wake. Finishing one position behind De Dycker meant that the champion-elect needed just three points to claim his prize. An understandably cautious approach in Moto2 saw Philippaerts settle for a safe top ten slot. After jumping for joy at the finish line he was mobbed by an army of fans, media and well-wishers at the finish line in scenes not witnessed at a motocross Grand Prix for many years. His achievement in 2008 represented the fourth crown in five years for the Yamaha factory team with the potent and conquering YZ450FM. From the 30 motos of the 2008 FIM world championship Philippaerts recorded 3 wins and 13 top three finishes. From the 15 Grand Prix he obtained 7 overall podiums and was victorious twice. He is the first Italian to win the title in the blue ribbon category since Alex Puzar eighteen years ago in 1990. Josh Coppins ended the season with 6th place at Faenza. The New Zealander earned 5th in the final championship standings despite an unlucky campaign. He appeared twice on the rostrum, winning once and scoring 2 moto victories. The 31 year old had a problem with his front fork in the opening race and had to slow his speed; he took 10th by the flag. In the second outing he was back to form and held off several riders in an intense fight for 3rd place. The racing calendar is not yet quite over for both Yamaha Monster Motocross Team riders. Coppins competes in the Belgian Championship next weekend before travelling to Donington Park to represent New Zealand at the 62nd Motocross of Nations. Philippaerts will also be in the UK and wearing Italian colours. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 5th, 1st in championship: "It has been a long, long year and now I am so happy. Steve and Ken were really fast all week and kept the pressure on. I wanted to take decent points at every GP and I only really believed that the title was in my grasp during that second moto today. I had looked at Steve's season in 2007 and I knew that consistency was the key to the title. I am so pleased for the team, Yamaha, Michele and my sponsors. I also want to say a big thank you to my girlfriend Alice. I am happy and it was so emotional to win the championship here in Italy and in front of those fans. I do not know what else I can say!" Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 6th, 5th in championship: "It has not been my year but I am happy for the team and for Yamaha to regain the championship. With the fork problem in the first moto my braking points were off and the traction was affected; I struggled basically and crashed twice. I was disappointed when I came in and we made some changes during the break. My start was again good and in the second race I showed that I am capable of running near the front. I am happy the season is over and that I finished the year injury-free. I finished in the top five but this is not that much of a consolation for me. Anyway, we will now look towards next season." Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: "This is a fantastic day, for many people connected with the team and with Yamaha. David was excellent in the first moto and was really dedicated and brave with his approach; many riders in the same position would have thought about the points but he pushed hard for the top three. He went for the safe result in Moto2 and he deserves all the acclaim. I am really happy for him. We knew he might win a few GPs this season but '08 was about gaining experience, so he has done an immense job, especially considering he led the championship from round three. Josh had a good second moto and it was a decent way to finish a season in which he has been so unlucky. After last year I am glad we have the title back and now we will continue working hard in the winter for a defence in 2009." Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Division Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe: "Last year we were so close to the championship and now I really feel that the title is back where it belongs. MX1-GP is the top class in off-road racing and we wanted the championship back for 2008. It has been an incredible year and an exciting season. David came into the team as the new rider but he was leading the series from round three and had to weather that pressure all year. To finish it off like this, here in Italy, is really fantastic." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 38'49.652 2, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'31.860 3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'35.891 4, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'42.932 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'44.356 6, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'45.635 7, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'46.998 8, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'49.515 9, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 0'57.967 10, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 1'0.552 11, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'1.630 12, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'41.127 13, Martin Michek, TM, CZE, 1'42.414 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'48.962 15, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, 2'23.116 16, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, -1 Laps 17, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, -1 Laps 18, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, -1 Laps 19, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 39'20.428 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'5.714 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'10.748 4, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'13.861 5, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'15.936 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'17.332 7, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'48.880 8, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 0'56.674 9, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'57.990 10, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'57.990 11, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 1'1.352 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'12.192 13, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'19.864 14, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'43.409 15, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'52.048 16, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps 17, Jacob Saylor, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps 18, Youhei Kojima, Suzuki, JPN, -1 Laps 19, Martin Michek, TM, CZE, -1 Laps 20, Matteo Dottori, Kawasaki, ITA, -2 Laps Rider Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 509 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 495 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 490 4, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 455 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 446 6, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 444 7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 392 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 352 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 320 10, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 292 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 290 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 261 13, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 183 14, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 164 15, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 159 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 147 17, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 109 18, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 19, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 94 20, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 75 21, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 74 Manufacturer Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Suzuki, 587 2, Yamaha, 583 3, KTM, 575 4, Kawasaki, 518 5, Honda, 470 6, TM, 43 7, Aprilia, 23 ---------- RACE REPORT - 14/09/2008 Aubin ends 2008 championship with 3rd With 7th position overall at the Faenza circuit in Italy for the last round of the MX2-GP World Championship Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin guided his YZ250F to 3rd place in the series. The Frenchman was 9th and 8th in the two motos under changeable but mainly bright skies and was able to fulfil his pre-season aim of securing a 'podium' finish behind champion Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle. Despite a grim weather prediction of continual rain all day, the clouds emptied only in the morning during Sunday and made the track a mixture of slippery ground and sticky mud providing decent traction. First Yamaha rider in the classification was Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne. The American took pole position on Saturday with victory in his heat race and then produced two decent moto performances (only blighted by an average start in Moto1) to place 7th and 3rd, for 4th overall. The teenager has impressed since coming to Europe for the eleventh round of the championship and has already signed to race for the British crew in 2009. Aubin was 7th and was expecting a victory at this last round but a crash in Moto1 and not finding a satisfactory rhythm with the track kept him away from the leaders. Team-mate Davide Guarneri was unable to complete the first moto after catching and twisting his weakened right knee. The Italian, who will have surgery on Tuesday and then face a 3-4 month rehab period before he can ride again, did not start the second race and ended the year 15th in the final table. 10th overall in Faenza belonged to the continually improving Alessandro Lupino, of the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli Team. The teenager marked a career-best with finishes of 10th and 12th after his first full season in 2008. Outgoing world champion Antonio Cairoli was on-hand at his home Grand Prix to present new winner Tyla Rattray with his number one plate. The Sicilian pulled out of the series at round ten with a knee injury and ended the year with 6th in the standings, registering 7 moto wins (from 20), 4 victories and 6 podiums from 10 events. Elsewhere 3C Racing's Manuel Monni finished 11th in a term where he gained a Grand Prix podium (in Spain) and also became MX2 Italian champion. He was disappointed with his 12th place result in Faenza, commenting that the track was very different from tests one month before and he could not find the speed to enter the top ten. His low point haul meant that he lost the chance of a top ten slot in the championship. Aubin (France), Monni (Italy) and Osborne (Puerto Rico) will contest the 62nd Motocross of Nations at Donington Park in two weeks time. Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing 7th and 3rd in the championship: "I won a round in 2007 and I really wanted another victory before the end of 2008 but I was riding stiff on the bike and was not quick enough. The goal then became to keep third place in the championship and I got the job done. I am quite satisfied but the truth is that if Antonio Cairoli was not injured then I would likely have finished fourth." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, DNF and 15th in the championship: "The track was really rough and this is not the way I wanted to end the season. It has not been a lucky year for me and now I just want to finally have the surgery and get my body fit and well again for next time." Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 4th and 22nd in the championship: "Just one point from the podium so it was quite a positive way to end the season. I was disappointed with my start in the first race; I made a complete mess with my technique and everything. I did better in the second moto and stayed in third for pretty much the whole way. I had one really big moment that cost me about four seconds and maybe that last spot on the podium but the result was OK. I enjoyed the track; it was really rough towards the end." Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 10th and 23rd in the championship: "I am really happy and I had some nice races today. I started the first moto very well and although I dropped back a little bit I was strong at the finish for 10th; it was a lot of fun. My second start was awful and I was 28th and practically last! I pushed really hard and came back to 12th. The season has ended quite well for me and now I will go to Belgium to train this winter and be stronger for 2009." Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th in the championship: "My knee is much better and I am working on getting the strength back in my leg. I hope to be able to start riding at the beginning of November and will get on the 450 right away. It is a shame to be here at my home GP and not going for the championship, I knew it would go right until the end but I always thought I would be a part of it. It is great to see the fans again though! I am really happy for David, it has been quite a while since Italy had a really fast rider in the class and I would like to congratulate him for a good season." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 40'15.199 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'1.247 3, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'2.732 4, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'13.268 5, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'31.918 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'34.575 7, Zach Osborne, Yamaha, USA, 0'35.071 8, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 0'45.389 9, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'50.920 10, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 0'52.194 11, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'59.374 12, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'7.923 13, Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki, RSA, 1'10.840 14, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'20.902 15, Klemen Gercar, Yamaha, SVN, 1'41.598 16, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'48.914 17, Jake Nicholls, Suzuki, GBR, 1'49.997 18, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 19, Marcus Norlen, Suzuki, SWE, -1 Laps 20, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 40'8.026 2, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 0'5.185 3, Zach Osborne, Yamaha, USA, 0'10.637 4, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'14.105 5, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'15.501 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'19.513 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'52.490 8, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'56.786 9, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'58.613 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'58.887 11, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 1'9.641 12, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'10.768 13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'16.069 14, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'18.339 15, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'22.599 16, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'25.793 17, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 18, Marcus Norlen, Suzuki, SWE, -1 Laps 19, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 20, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps Rider Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 636 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 613 3, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 406 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 394 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 380 6, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 307 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 299 9, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 291 10, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 289 11, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 277 12, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 263 13, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 216 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 189 15, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 181 16, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 169 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 118 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 118 19, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 101 20, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 96 23, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 75 24, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 71 28, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 48 43, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 11 49, Martin Barr, Yamaha, GBR, 6 Manufacturer Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 716 2, Yamaha, 631 3, Kawasaki, 464 4, Suzuki, 371 5, Honda, 265 6, Husqvarna, 1 Click here to view the news

A second day of testing in Malaysia today saw the Yamaha Factory Racing Team continue to come on in leaps and bounds with the development of their new prototype 800cc motorcycle. With rain threatening for tomorrow’s third and final day of testing, both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards elected to take advantage of clear skies and complete their long-run today, the first for either rider on the new bike. Initial feedback was good and Rossi especially was very pleased with the performance of his Yamaha under race conditions. Edwards, who was trying a different set-up and tyre package to his team-mate in order to gather as much information as possible for Yamaha’s engineers and Michelin, was less comfortable during his long-run, but importantly was able to identify some of the key areas in which the team still need to focus their attention over the coming tests. Both riders improved on their times from yesterday, with Edwards dipping under the old 990cc lap record pace with a fastest lap of 2’01.930, set during the morning on race tyres. He was just behind Suzuki’s John Hopkins, who topped the unofficial time sheets for the second day running in a time of 2’01.806. Rossi posted the fifth fastest time of the day after completing 57 laps, with a time of 2’02.619. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will complete their final day of this first test tomorrow. Colin Edwards Position: 2nd Time: 2'01.930 Laps: 60 "I’m not sure if it’s to do with the fact that I’m getting old, or just that I’ve been off the bike for six weeks, but this week it seems that I’m much stronger in the morning than in the afternoon! The morning felt really good today, Michelin had me working in one direction and Valentino in another and I was quite excited about how everything was feeling and about the times I was able to do. I did my best time on a race tyre and it was coming pretty easily. Michelin have worked seriously hard over the winter and the new front tyres they’re bringing us are just getting better and better, so congratulations to them. This afternoon was much harder and it was pretty hot out there too. The package I used for the long-run wasn’t so good, it definitely wasn’t the right direction for the rear tyre and it was hard work for me. Anyway Valentino's package worked well and that’s why we’re here after all – to work out what does work and what doesn’t! It’s given us some clear answers and now we can use tomorrow to double check what we’ve learned this week and finish on a good note." Valentino Rossi Position: 5th Time: 2’02.619 Laps: 57 "Today I made my first long-run with the new bike, because I was worried about the weather for tomorrow. It was important to be able to see the level of the bike over a long distance, so we didn’t want to risk waiting for the last day. I am very happy about how it went; the performance of the bike and tyres was very good. We still need to improve the braking a bit, but I am sure it will get better as we continue to work on the set-up. The temperature at noon was very high and the sun felt like a sword beating down on my helmet, but it was still great fun and I really enjoyed myself! Of course with the 990cc bike the top speed was a bit faster, but overall with the new bike the pace on a long-run isn’t so different, because it puts less stress on the tyres so their performance remains higher for longer. The physical effort is similar for both bikes, and I feel very motivated after the long-run today. We tested the 16” front tyre today; we still need to work more on this, but the initial feeling is very good and the handling is a bit better with it. The bike is more stable in the corner and therefore I have more confidence. I think in the end it could be a good solution, but we need more time to be sure. Tomorrow we have other tyres to test and we will just continue to work on the general set-up of the bike." Davide Brivio - Team Director "It has been another good day for us here in Malaysia. Every day we understand more and more about our new bike and we gain more experience about the right way to work and ride with this new 800cc Yamaha. Today both riders made a long-run, which is always an important indication of how we are progressing. Valentino's was very positive and we gathered a lot of important information from it. Colin had more difficulty and showed some of the problem areas we need to work on, but he also gained positives from today and his best time this morning was very fast. Of course we’ve got a lot of work to do, but that is the reason for testing! Tomorrow we will continue like this, working on the set-up of our bike and also testing some new tyres for Michelin." Unofficial Lap Times 1. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 2'01.806 2. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'01.930 3. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 2'02.275 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 2'02.538 5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'02.619 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 2'02.793 7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.806 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 2'02.948 9. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 2'03.098 10. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 2'03.190 11. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 2'03.253 12. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda 2'03.633 13. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda 2'03.681 14. Shinichi Ito (JPN) Bridgestone Test 2'03.700 15. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR 2'03.800 16. Alex Hoffman (GER) Ducati 2'03.895 17. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 2'04.124 18. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2'04.171 19. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2'04.350 20. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2'04.892 Sepang Lap Record (990cc) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2006 - 2'02.127 Sepang Best Lap (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605 Click here to view the news

Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards continued his impressive pre-season form today by setting the fastest time at the start of a three-day test session at the Phillip Island circuit. Just six days after an exhausting but successful test at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia, Edwards clocked his best lap of 1.29.566 on the first of two Michelin qualifying tyres he tried shortly after 1pm. Evaluating new Michelin tyres and the latest electronics upgrades from Yamaha, the American’s best time on race tyres today was a 1.30.832 set in a seven-lap run this afternoon as the Texan completed 77 laps in close to perfect conditions. That was the third fastest time on race tyres with reigning world champion Casey Stoner quickest in race trim. James Toseland also impressed by setting the fifth quickest time on only his fourth appearance on the Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1. His best time of 1.30.864 on race tyres came on his 46th lap of an 81-lap stint today, with the British rider immediately on the pace as he returned to familiar territory at Phillip Island. Toseland’s extensive track knowledge gained in his World Superbike career at Phillip Island immediately came to the fore as he broke into the 1.32 bracket on only his fourth lap. He then reeled off a series of consistent laps of 1.31 laps and finished just 0.03s slower than Edwards. Today’s action marked the start of the second of four 2008 pre-season tests for the Tech 3 squad, with tests in Jerez and Qatar to follow before the first race in Doha on March 9. Colin Edwards 1st 1.29.566 – 77 laps “It was a good day. I started with the same setting I finished in Malaysia and played around with that for the day. The bike feels good at this track compared to what I raced with a few months ago. Yamaha has been working hard and the new parts are definitely a step in the right direction, particularly with the electronics, which has helped on corner entry and exit. With a qualifying tyre in Malaysia my time didn’t get any better. I had a couple of handling issues with the qualifier in Sepang so once I got a good pace going I chucked a couple of qualifiers in. It is the first day but you never know what the weather is going to do down here, and it could be raining tomorrow. We wanted to make sure with the adjustments we were going to make for the qualifier that it was the right way. In Sepang I had too much weight on the rear. The rear was taking over and running me wide and we made a change to get more weight on the front and get it to turn a bit better. It seemed fine and I’m happy with the lap time.” James Toseland 5th 1.30.864 – 81 laps “The first few laps I was able to hit the exact same six inches of track and I got up to speed much quicker than I did in Sepang and Jerez. It was nice to be at the sharp end of the times and I didn’t realise but track knowledge is even more important with these bikes to help things come together. When you can hit the same spot lap after lap without thinking about it then you can really concentrate on the bike set-up and that makes a big difference to help gradually improve. I’ve got a slight problem with entry to the fast corners. Just as I tip in I get a bit of chatter from the front. I’m losing quite a lot of time because of that problem because they are in such fast parts of the track.I could make up quite a lot of time if it wasn’t for that. I’ll try a new setting tomorrow morning to try and help before I do a race simulation. But it’s nice to be doing decent lap times with a few problems. And I actually passed somebody on the brakes for the first time ever in MotoGP. I passed Chris Vermeulen going into the first corner turn which I was pretty proud of.” Results: 1. Edwards Yamaha Tech3 1'29.566 (77) 2. Stoner Ducati Marlboro 1'30.178 (73) 3. De Angelis Honda Gresini 1'30.688 (70) 4. Dovizioso JiR Team Scot 1'30.701 (79) 5. Toseland Yamaha Tech3 1'30.864 (81) 6. Melandri Ducati Marlboro 1'30.869 (99) 7. Nakano Honda Gresini 1'31.111 (91) 8. Hayden Repsol Honda 1'31.226 (107) 9. Capirossi Rizla Suzuki 1'31.274 (82) 10. Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki 1'31.317 (99) 11. De Puniet Honda LCR 1'31.436 (103) 12. Hopkins Kawasaki Racing 1'31.623 (88) 13. West Kawasaki Racing 1'31.786 (72) 14. Guintoli Alice Team 1'32.484 (68) Click here to view the news