Alex Asigno

It may 'only' have been the battle for second place in the 2006 Superbike World Championship, but Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga and Honda rider James Toseland certainly served up an end of season thriller at Magny Cours today. Along with outgoing world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki), Haga and Toseland gave the fans probably the best racing of the year as they traded positions corner after corner in the day's opening race. Haga did a remarkable job to even catch the leading group after running wide under braking on the first lap. That put the Japanese rider way down to 13th in the pack but, undeterred, Nitro Nori lit the afterburners to charge through the pack and challenge for the lead by lap nine of the 23 lap race. The leading quartet, with new world champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) hanging in the background, traded places with the outcome of the race hanging in the balance until the final lap, with Toseland leading the Yamaha man across the line by one tenth of a second, Corser no more than a few lengths behind. Race two proved to be more of the same for the fans, although this time Haga was unable to challenge for the lead as Bayliss, Corser and Toseland fought it out a few seconds ahead of him. The Japanese rider had retained the same machine settings for the second outing, but found that his rear tyre performance was less impressive than in the opener. Bayliss went on to take his 12th win from 24 races, with Corser second and Toseland third. The result sees Haga repeat his 2006 performance, ending the year third in the standings. Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt ended his best ever season with a fine fifth place in race two. The Australian suffered disappointment in the opener when he slid off on lap two, but showed typical grit to pull his R1 out of the sand trap and finish the race, albeit just outside the points. In the second outing Pitt struggled for front end feel and ran just behind the leading group to take fifth at the flag and fifth in the championship, missing out on fourth place to Corser by just five points. Sebastien Gimbert The Yamaha Motor France squad had a mixed day at their home race. Shinichi Nakatomi was the top individual performer, showing stunning speed as race one wore on to charge through to tenth, although the Japanese rider ended his debut world championship season in the gravel, crashing out of race two. Countryman Norick Abe took 13th and 12th place finishes, with local favourite Sebastien Gimbert retired from the opener with brake problems and took 11th in race two. In the championship, Abe finished 13th, Nakatomi 17th and Gimbert 19th on the kit part development bikes. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The first race was good fun with some big fighting with James and Troy. I made a mistake under braking but the bike worked very good and I was able to push hard and catch the leaders. For the second race we kept everything the same but unfortunately rear tyre performance was not as good and after two or three laps I knew that it would be very hard to win the race. I am a little disappointed not to be able to take second in the championship today. I only finished 10 points behind Toseland in the championship and it for sure there were some places where we lost points." Andrew Pitt Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We went for a softer front tyre in race two and on the brakes, going into corners, it was moving a little bit. It was never one I really liked, but I used the harder one in race one and crashed. I didn't quite have the speed in the early laps, and I just hung in there and got back up to fifth, which was an ok result to end the season on. We've had a good season I'd like to thank Yamaha for giving me this opportunity to run at the front of the championship for the past two years." Shinichi Nakatomi Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "So-so! This weekend everything was pretty bad with the set-up in qualifying and afterwards. Other times we can improve on race day but this time it maybe got worse. The lap times were not as good as in qualifying. I don't know why. I have raced two years in this team and everyone is so kind, it is like a family now." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "In race one I had a good finishing position, up on what I could do normally. In race two we changed the settings a little bit and they were better, and I was behind Walker and Kagayama. I pushed and pushed but the front washed out and I fell down." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "My races were unbelievable. I had a problem in race one with a warped brake rotor and no brakes. Then I had no grip in the second race. But I finished 11th and scored good points." Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Having both riders in the top five is a fine achievement for our team, although there has to be some disappointment as our target at the start of the season was to go for the title. We've improved a lot this year and it gives us a good base for next season. Today Noriyuki made the same tyre choice for the two races, but in the second the rear did not work the same. In the first race it had been perfect but in the second the bike started to slide after around two laps. Andrew was not so confident with the front end today and couldn't push as hard as he wanted to. In the end he did the best he could and fifth in the championship is a good result." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Sebastien was not so lucky with a warped disc in race one. In race two, finishing between Barros and Abe was a good result. Abe got some useful points for the team, and it was too bad that he did not have enough grip. The tenth of Nakatomi was very nice, although he fell in race two. I would like to thank everyone for their efforts in 2006." Circuit Length: 4411 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Magny Cours 08/10/2006 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 James Toseland Honda GBR 38'53.856 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'0.115 3 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'0.412 4 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'3.000 5 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'7.152 6 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'14.906 7 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'17.330 8 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'17.474 9 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'25.257 10 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'25.883 11 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'31.542 12 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'33.422 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'36.159 14 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'40.867 15 Joshua Brookes Kawasaki AUS 0'50.110 18 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'57.659 Race 2 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 38'54.239 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'1.282 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'3.388 4 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'8.524 5 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'11.836 6 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'14.126 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'15.217 8 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'18.212 9 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'20.224 10 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'23.387 11 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'28.965 12 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'33.071 13 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'33.125 14 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'35.223 15 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 0'40.136 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'40.370 Rider Standings 08/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 406 2. James Toseland Honda GBR 320 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 313 4. Alex Barros Honda BRA 240 5. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 239 6. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 234 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 204 8. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 160 9. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 150 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 139 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 122 12. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 113 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 108 14. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 103 15. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 103 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 48 21. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 08/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 425 2. Honda 398 3. Yamaha 388 4. Suzuki 352 5. Kawasaki 221 6. Petronas 19 RACE REPORT 08/10/2006 Curtain takes runners-up slot in France Kevin Curtain Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain took the runners-up spot in the 2006 Supersport World Championship after crashing out at Magny Cours today. The Australian needed to finish eighth or higher to deny Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) the world title for the second year, but crashed out of fourth place on the eighth lap of 22. Charpentier went on to win the race from team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu and become the first rider to win the championship two times. Curtain's still-injured team-mate Broc Parkes rode a brilliant race to take the final podium position. The Australian, who won at Magny Cours 12 months ago, stayed with the leaders for the opening part of the race but slipped back to take the flag 10 seconds behind the leader. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa finished fifth at his team's home race, his best result since taking fourth place at Misano in June, although it was a bad end to the season for Yamaha Team Italia. Massimo Roccoli crashed out at the final chicane on the second lap while team-mate Gianluca Vizziello scored just two points for 14th position. The results see Charpentier win the title by seven points from Curtain, with Sofuoglu taking third ahead of Parkes. Roccoli who, like Curtain and Parkes, won one round on his YZF-R6 this year, ends the year in sixth. Yamaha has re-signed Curtain and Parkes to lead its world supersport challenge in 2006. Roccoli has also demonstrated his commitment to the brand by signing a two year extension to his contract with Yamaha's Italian distributor, Yamaha Motor Italia. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I just don't know what to say. It all seemed too good to be true and we came back to reality with a bang. That's my first race crash of the year and I just can't believe that it had to happen today. I don't really know what happened, I was running with Checa and was trying to pull a bit of a gap on him as we had almost touched a few times. I was going through the long left when I just lost the front and went down. I'm feeling down just now but I know that I'll be able to refocus and come back to challenge for the title next year." Broc Parkes Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It's been a very disappointing day for us and I can't believe that Kevin hasn't won the championship. Our team has put so much into this season and after Brands Hatch it seemed that we had two chances at the title. Sebastien has taken the opportunity and I must congratulate him and his team, because they have done a great job. After Assen I lost my own chance of winning the championship when I crashed and got injured, but today I was ready and willing to help Kevin. I thought that he was behind me, in fourth, and it was only when the race finished I knew that he was out. I'm so disappointed for Kevin but I feel that I have ridden well in these last two races. I like this circuit and fully fit I could probably have run with Sebastien and Kenan today. I felt the power drain out of my body at about half distance and I was happy to bring it home on the podium. I want to win the title so badly next year and I'll be training hard over the winter to make sure that we come back fitter and stronger." David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) "I got a good start and I thought I had a shot at the podium but the headwind lowered our top speed today. I was chasing Curtain when he just lost the front and I had a similar experience when I lost both wheels. I thought I would crash but the bike picked itself up. I think we showed what we could do today, with a little more power we might have been further up." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I destroyed my first bike in the morning warm-up and I had to ride my spare bike in the race, with which I do not have as good a feeling. I tried to get some points for the championship but I am sorry for the team as I could not make a good performance today." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I was trying to recover from a bad start when my front wheel touched the kerb and I went down at the final chicane. I'm disappointed, because I lost any chance of fifth in the championship, but it has been a good season with our win at Misano the definite high point." Circuit Length: 4411 Temp: 27 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Magny Cours 08/10/2006 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 38'14.775 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'3.779 3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 0'10.879 4 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'19.556 5 David Checa Yamaha ESP 0'22.790 6 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'25.745 7 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 0'29.437 8 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 0'31.609 9 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 0'35.190 10 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 0'37.552 11 Simone Sanna Honda ITA 0'52.996 12 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 0'55.346 13 Gregory Leblanc Honda FRA 0'55.462 14 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 0'59.631 15 Vesa Kallio Yamaha FIN 1'4.252 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'42.506 Rider Standings 08/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 194 2. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 187 3. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 157 4. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 145 5. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 117 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 96 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 80 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 70 9. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 69 10. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 44 12. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 43 13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 39 14. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 32 15. Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 31 Manufacturer Standings 08/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 277 2. Yamaha 240 3. Ducati 87 4. Kawasaki 62 5. Suzuki 39 RACE REPORT 08/10/2006 Corti takes French win and championship silver Claudio Corti Yamaha young gun Claudio Corti ended his first season in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup on a high with a win at Magny Cours. The 19-year-old Yamaha Team Italia racer led for most of the 14-lap race to take his fourth win in the ten race series. The Italian, who won the 600cc superstock class on a YZF-R6 last season, has won more races than any other rider on his YZF-R1 SP and ends the year second in the championship. Starting on pole position, his third of the season, Corti grabbed the holeshot as behind him four riders went down at the first corner. Low temperatures saw many riders crash out of the race, but Corti rode intelligently to build up heat in his tyres and increase his pace as the race went on. Fellow Italian Alessandro Polita (Suzuki), who came to France as the champion, passed Corti on lap four and led briefly, but the Yamaha man was able to regain the lead on four laps later and retain it to the chequered flag. Polita came home two seconds behind the Yamaha in second place, with former European supersport champion Matteo Baiocco making it two YZF-R1 SPs on the podium, in third. Corti's win moves him onto 156 championship points, 21 behind Polita in the final standings and 34 ahead of third placed Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta). Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start and was able to push in the early laps. When I looked behind me I could see that only two riders were behind me, Polita and Baiocco, and this helped me relax. Alessandro passed me but I was able to increase my pace and build up a gap on him. To win here is the best way to end the season I can imagine. Many people have helped me in my career and I would like to dedicate my silver medal to Yamaha, the FMI (Italian motorcycle federation) and my team." Circuit Length: 4411 Temp: 16 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Dry 2006 Superstock Magny Cours 08/10/2006 Race 1 - 14 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 24'37.791 2 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'1.975 3 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'2.705 4 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 0'6.275 5 Emeric Jonchiere Suzuki FRA 0'11.139 6 Arne Tode Suzuki GER 0'11.475 7 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 0'11.746 8 Herve Gantner Yamaha CHE 0'17.334 9 Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 0'18.450 10 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'19.786 11 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'22.745 12 Olivier Depoorter Yamaha BEL 0'24.472 13 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'24.812 14 Raphael Chevre Suzuki CHE 0'25.927 15 Petter Solli Yamaha NOR 0'32.251 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 1'44.667 Rider Standings 08/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 177 2. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 156 3. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 122 4. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 118 5. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 87 6. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 87 7. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 78 8. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 58 9. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 57 10. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 11. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 42 12. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 41 13. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 35 14. Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 35 15. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 Manufacturer Standings 08/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 209 2. Yamaha 174 3. MV Agusta 153 4. Kawasaki 95 5. Honda 45 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow's final round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship from fifth and ninth places respectively. Both men made small mistakes on their superpole lap to slip down the order from their positions in regular qualifying and, despite not qualifying as well as hoped, the Yamaha Motor Italia riders are primed for action in tomorrow's 22-lap showdown. A damp circuit, caused by overnight rain, meant that superpole positions were decided by Friday's times. Only a few riders ventured out onto the circuit during the session, with the best time some six seconds from the ultimate dry weather performance. After ending yesterday fourth on the timesheets, Pitt was the fourth to last rider to take to his superpole lap. Despite clocking his best lap time of the weekend, a 1:40.090, the Australian rider was unable to make as big an improvement as many of his rivals on the soft qualifying rubber. His time saw him take the ninth slot on the grid for tomorrow's races, on the outside of the third row. Haga was last to depart for his superpole lap after holding the provisional pole position but made a small mistake on the opening part of the lap. An improved performance in the latter part of the lap saw Haga post a lap time of 1:39.914, to end the superpole session directly in front of Pitt, in fifth. Rain has meant that set-up time has been at a premium at Magny Cours this weekend, although Haga and Toseland gave fans a sneek preview of tomorrow's action in the afternoon practice session, when they spent 10 laps trading positions and never separated by a few bike lengths. The speedy R1 has proved rapid around the French circuit, with Yamaha riders recording the top three speeds in the superpole session. At 285.7kph through the speed trap, Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest on his Yamaha Motor France machine, followed by Haga (284.2kph) and Pitt (283.5kph). Sebastien Gimbert The Yamaha Motor France squad saw two of its riders qualify for the top 16 superpole shootout. Home rider Gimbert was the fastest of the squad's trio, earning a third row start with 12th position. Shinichi Nakatomi starts from the fourth row maintaining his pre-superpole 14th, although fellow Japanese Norick Abe was one of the men to lose out in the weather conditions. The Japanese rider was hoping to improve his 18th position from Friday but had no chance due to the wet conditions this morning. Abe was able to find some improvements in the afternoon free practice session, ending 16th on the timesheets. Pole position for tomorrow's races goes to outgoing world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki), with James Toseland (Honda), Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) and Karl Muggeridge (Honda) completing the front row. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Second row is ok, in fact in many ways fifth (on the grid) is better than third or fourth because I am on the outside going into the first corner. Race set-up is good but we're going to make a few changes to the gearbox settings to make it a little better still. The conditions made it pointless to ride in the morning session but this afternoon went well and I had fun riding in the group with Toseland." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I made a mistake on the first sector of my superpole lap and for sure I'm disappointed to be starting ninth. But actually our race set-up is ok and we should be in good shape for the race. I did a good simulation in the practice and our race pace seems to be up there with everyone else." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "The first free practice session was difficult because I could not do many laps due to a small technical problem. Later on, we worked very well on the suspension and I was able to get into the 1:40 bracket. I can go fast with the bike and am able to make consistent laps. Tomorrow, I shall try to shine to thank my team, my mechanics and my sponsors. This is also the occasion to prove the qualities of the endurance riders." Shinichi Nakatomi Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "Yesterday during the timed session, I could go faster and faster when I followed some riders like Chili, Nieto and Fabrizio. My best improvement was when I followed Troy Corser - I went one second quicker! Many riders here are following other riders. For me, it was a good progression. I am very happy to have made superpole but my settings for the race are also good. We only have very little details to improve and we do that step by step." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Yesterday I was 18th and I wanted to qualify for superpole this morning. But the conditions were so bad that is was impossible. So I had to change my mind. We work on the bike to improve the setting. Tomorrow I must make a good race." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "I think that we're in a good situation for the race. Despite missing the morning session we know what tyres to use in the races and both riders have made good simulations. I think Andrew expected a little more on his superpole lap. He made a few mistakes and that cost him a few places on the grid, although his race pace is good and he should be up there tomorrow. Nori ran with Toseland in the afternoon and found a good rhythm. We'll make a few changes to the gearbox on his bike tonight but otherwise we are ready for what should be some good races tomorrow." Circuit Length: 4411 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Magny Cours 07/10/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'39.147 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'39.355 3 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'39.773 4 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'39.911 5 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'39.914 6 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'39.944 7 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'39.961 8 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.079 9 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.090 10 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'40.270 11 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.307 12 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'40.613 13 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'41.113 14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'41.412 15 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'41.475 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.474 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'40.734 3 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'40.821 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.872 5 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.936 6 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.950 7 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'40.954 8 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'41.006 9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'41.044 10 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'41.184 11 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'41.385 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'41.547 13 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'41.563 14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'41.644 15 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'41.648 18 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'41.993 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 07/10/2006 Second row for Curtain in title decider Kevin Curtain Championship leader Kevin Curtain will start tomorrow's final round of the Supersport World Championship from the head of the second row after failing to improve his time in a rain-affected final qualifying session at Magny Cours today. The Australian Yamaha Motor Germany rider, who needs to finish eighth or higher in the 22 lap race to win the title, was looking to improve upon his 1:43.765 lap from Friday when a light rain fell - curtailing any opportunity to move up to the front row. Ahead of Curtain will be two other YZF-R6s, with his Yamaha Motor Germany team-mate Broc Parkes an impressive third at the circuit where he scored his first race win in the class. The 24-year-old improved his Friday time by almost a second before the rain arrived, moving him up from sixth on the provisional grid. Joining Parkes on the front row will be will be Yamaha GMT94's David Checa. The Spaniard, who has completed hundreds of laps of the circuit in endurance racing, was another overnight improver. Massimo Roccoli will start the race from eighth position on the Yamaha Team Italia entry, with team-mate Gianluca Vizziello 12th after failing to improve his time. Pole position goes to Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), with his team-mate Kenan Sofuolu in second position. Circuit Length: 4411 Weather: Changeable 2006 WSS Magny Cours 07/10/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'42.506 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'43.097 3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'43.514 4 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'43.763 5 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'43.765 6 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'44.032 7 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'44.170 8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'44.238 9 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'44.367 10 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'44.371 11 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'44.430 12 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'44.452 13 Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 1'44.553 14 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 1'44.556 15 William De Angelis Honda ITA 1'44.638 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga topped the timesheets in today's opening practice session at Magny Cours, while team-mate Andrew Pitt also impressed with the fourth fastest time of the day. In a close qualifying session that saw the top ten riders covered by less than one second, the Japanese rider topped the timesheets for virtually the whole session. Haga set a best time of 1:40.474 just six minutes into the session and was never to be topped. The Yamaha man went on to work at finding the best possible settings for Sunday's two 23-lap races and declared himself generally happy with his day's work, despite an off-track excursion midway through the session. Pitt ended the day four-tenths of a second behind his team-mate, fourth in the overnight standings. The Australian also worked on race set-up, although he lost a little track time when one of his machines developed a minor technical problem in the morning free practice session. Confirming the R1's potency at the French circuit, Pitt and Haga sit jointly at the top of the speed charts, gunning their Yamahas through the speed trap at 285kph. Both riders go into Sunday's races with similar objectives: Haga is looking to overhaul James Toseland (Honda) for second place in the championship while Pitt looks to consolidate his best ever season by retaining his fourth place in the points' standings. Home rider Sebastien Gimbert was the quickest of the Yamaha Motor France riders, ending the day 13th on a circuit he knows like the back of his hand. Shinichi Nakatomi was less than one tenth of a second behind his team-mate in his first competitive outing at the circuit. Norick Abe tried various machine set-ups throughout the day and ended the day 18th fastest. Final qualifying positions will be decided by tomorrow's superpole session for the top 16 riders. Making up the provisional top four is second placed Toseland and Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati), in third. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "As always we are working to make a good setting for the race, but it is still nice to be at the top of the timesheets, even if it is only on the Friday. I like this circuit and the feeling with the bike is already very good, although we will continue working hard and trying to make the bike a little better at a few points on the track." Andrew Pitt Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I found a good rhythm this afternoon and we were able to get through lot of work. Overall it's not been a bad day. The main thing we need to improve are the gearbox settings but I know that the team will look at all the data tonight and try and find a solution for tomorrow." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "I lost some time in the morning session as we had problems with both bikes, but in the afternoon I was able to make some good laps. My fastest lap was not perfect, as I made mistakes in the first two sectors, and I know that I can go faster tomorrow." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "We made a test here a few weeks ago so this circuit is not new to me. I'm happy to be so close to the top riders and I hope to remain in the superpole tomorrow. It would be good to get some strong results at my team's home race and end my first season in Europe on a high." Norick Abe Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We changed the bike settings from the morning to the afternoon but it turned out that what we had in the morning was better, as we had less grip and stability in the afternoon. For tomorrow we will try to go in another direction again and hopefully this will help us make a better lap time." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "It's been a good day, certainly better than at Imola last weekend. Both riders were able to do a run a lot of laps and we're pleased that both are at the top end of the timesheets. Andrew needs to find a better gearbox (setting) but otherwise I think we are in good shape for the races." Circuit Length: 4411 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Magny Cours 06/10/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.474 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'40.734 3 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'40.821 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.872 5 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.936 6 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.950 7 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'40.954 8 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'41.006 9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'41.044 10 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'41.184 11 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'41.385 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'41.547 13 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'41.563 14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'41.644 15 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'41.648 18 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'41.993 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 06/10/2006 Curtain third despite early crash Kevin Curtain Championship leader Kevin Curtain ended today's first practice in third position, despite suffering a crash at a cold and grey Magny Cours circuit. The Australian crashed at Adelaide corner on his seventh lap of the afternoon qualifying session but, despite completing just a handful of laps, Curtain remained one of only three riders to break the 1:44 bracket. Curtain was one of many riders to be caught out by the low surface temperatures, which saw many of the supersport riders crash out, thankfully without injury. Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes ended the day sixth on the other Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6. The Australian is still riding in some discomfort following his big crash in Assen last month and rode with a safety first attitude around the circuit where he scored his maiden world supersport victory 12 months ago. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa took a provisional seventh place at his team's home race. The Spaniard knows the Magny Cours circuit well from his many outings in the Bol d'Or 24-hour race, which is held at the circuit each September. Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli ended the day on the provisional third row, in 10th and 11th positions respectively. Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) took provisional pole position, just ahead of his team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu, with Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda) completing the front row with Curtain. Circuit Length: 4411 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Magny Cours 06/10/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'42.829 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'43.097 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'43.765 4 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'44.032 5 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'44.170 6 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'44.273 7 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'44.277 8 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'44.367 9 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'44.371 10 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'44.452 11 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'44.741 12 Simone Sanna Honda ITA 1'44.869 13 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 1'45.044 14 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 1'45.081 15 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'45.147 Click here to view the news

Yamaha will mark the end of a great era today with a special livery on the YZ450FM of Stefan Everts, as the Belgian celebrates the final Grands Prix of his illustrious career. The 33-year-old lined up on the gate for his first Grands Prix at Faenza (Italy) in 1989 and has since won a total of 100 Grands Prix and 10 world titles. Yamaha is marking the end-of-career occasion with a special livery. The design features all his 100 Grands Prix victories symbolising a chequered flag to mark the finish of Stefan’s Grands Prix career. Tyre sponsor Pirelli has fitted Stefan’s YZ450FM with special one-off white colour painted tyres, which have the same performance and durability as the regular black ones. Stefan on his turn has cooperated with clothing sponsor Acerbis who have produced a one-piece ‘golden’ riding suit to mark the occasion as well. This weekend’s French Grands Prix is a fitting venue for Everts’ final GP, Ernée being the venue of the Belgian’s finest day of racing when he won all three Grands Prix classes (125, MotocrossGP and 650) on one day in 2003. In addition to that remarkable achievement, Everts has broken every conceivable record in the sport. His 100 race wins and 10 titles far exceed anything achieved by any other rider. Stefan joined Yamaha for the 2001 season and has won a championship in each of those six seasons, accumulating 57 Grands prix wins on YZ four stroke machinery. The final races at world level for the Yamaha/Everts racing partnership will be next weekend’s Motocross of Nations, where Everts will represent Belgium for the very last time. Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were welcomed to the Phillip Island circuit by bright blue skies and cool ambient temperatures of 18ºC today, as the paddock breathed a sigh of relief that dismal recent forecasts were denied on the first day of practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The relatively good weather gave the riders ample opportunity to begin set-up work on their YZR-M1 machines as they worked to find an ideal configuration to suit the demands of the fast and flowing circuit over 27 laps on Sunday. However relatively fresh track temperatures of 28ºC, compared to 45ºC on the first day in Malaysia one week ago, made life difficult for the Italian and the American as they tried to adapt their bikes to cope with the lower grip levels. Both riders struggled for rear traction and after ending the day in eighth and thirteenth place respectively they will aim to work specifically on this area in tomorrow morning's final free practice session before qualifying takes place in the afternoon. Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) set the pace today with a best lap of 1'29.745. Valentino Rossi (8th - 1'31.045; 58 laps) "Friday is always a difficult day for us because we have to make a lot of changes to the bike from one circuit to the next and today was no different. Especially here, since the track temperatures and the conditions are a big change from Malaysia, which makes life especially difficult and we have some work to do. The grip levels are lower than in past years and I think both Colin and I are struggling with the rear. For me it is taking me four or five laps to get the tyre up to a temperature where I can ride at the maximum so obviously this is not the ideal situation for me. We have to find a setting and a tyre that can deal with these cooler conditions better tomorrow because this is a very important race for us and I want to do well in front of the Australian fans. However we have gathered a lot of data today and we have some good ideas for tomorrow, so we're quite confident that we can improve the situation." Colin Edwards (13th - 1'31.514; 55 laps) "It hasn't been a bad first day despite how it may seem on the time sheets. My only problem at the moment is on the rear - it steps out if I brake too hard, runs off line if I'm too fast through the corner and spins up if I get on the gas too early. The front end is great but the low track temperatures are really not helping the bike to work with the rear tyre we have at the moment. This will be our main focus tomorrow and I think once we get that sorted out then the lap times can come down dramatically. It seems Valentino has some similar problems and between both sides of the garage we have some good ideas, so let's see what happens tomorrow." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Today was quite cold and we have found ourselves in a completely different situation to Malaysia, which we expected. Valentino spent a lot of time working to find a good race tyre, whilst Colin worked hard on adapting the setting of his bike after struggling at Sepang. We didn't test here in February like the other teams so we have a lot of work to do compared to them. Already we can see that our rivals are setting a strong pace and they will be hard to beat on Sunday, but we are confident we can make the right steps forward tomorrow." Tech 3 Yamaha Team shines in Australian sunshine at Phillip Island Carlos Checa With unusually mild temperatures and pristine blue skies blessing the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team confirmed the ongoing improved developments of the latest range of Dunlop MotoGP tyres as Carlos Checa again recorded a time to place him in the top ten of the field after the opening two free practice sessions at the picturesque Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. In the second session Carlos was up to seventh fastest but with the combined times dropped back slightly, although still in an encouraging tenth fastest position just 0.092 second behind fellow Yamaha rider and defending world champion Valentino Rossi. Teammate James Ellison continued his long season of disappointment to finish the day in 19th spot in a session where Kawasaki rider Randy De Puniet recorded the fastest time of the day Carlos Checa (10th, 1'31.137, 43 laps) "Today was one of the best sessions we have had all year. I am very happy with the progress of the Dunlop tyres and today confirms the steps that we have achieved. To be so close to Valentino and in front of Colin Edwards is very encouraging for me although also being on a Yamaha I wish them all the best in their setup troubles. Phillip Island is one of my favourite tracks and to come here and records these times, shows that we are improving all the time. It is not only the time I am happy with as we are now getting very good consistency with the tyres and the durability is improving all the time. Also, we have much better side grip of the rear tyre compared to the troubles we had last week in Malaysia and this is allowing us better drive. Side grip is very important at a place like Phillip Island as we are on the edge of the tyre for very long periods, especially coming onto the straight and this is vital for a good lap time. I am looking forward to the sessions tomorrow as the weather seems to be getting better all the time so if we have a fine weekend we are expecting a very good result James Ellison (19th1'32.778, 44 laps) "I wish I could be as happy as Carlos but today has been a continuation of the rest of the year so I am pretty disappointed. It is very frustrating to me and the rest of the team because no matter what direction we decide to go nothing works. All I can hope for is that we can decide something overnight that will help us in the morning as I am determined to finish this season on a high note. I love this Philip Island track and I don't think people realise how well I want to do here so I have to have the attitude that tomorrow is another day and that things will improve Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It is so good to be back in Australia and everyone really looks forward to coming to Phillip Island. Surprisingly the weather has been exceptional and it looks like it will get better as the weekend goes on. We are very happy after today and it is more satisfying because we did no testing here during the winter. The Dunlop tyres are working really well and this new batch have performed exceptionally from the first time out and the times and performance has been as good as we could have hoped. We are also putting in consistent lap times on race tyres and that makes us all smile at a place like Phillip Island as this track is so very hard on tyres. We are hoping for even more improved performance and wear with the tyres as the weather is expected to get warmer and this is very good for the Dunlops." Circuit Length: 4448 Temp: 18 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Phillip Island 15/09/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'29.745 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'30.310 3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'30.471 4 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'30.693 5 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'30.716 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'30.768 7 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'30.863 8 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'31.045 9 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'31.077 10 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'31.137 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'31.346 12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'31.496 13 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'31.514 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'31.846 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'31.978 19 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'32.778 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi moved another step closer to the summit of the MotoGP World Championship today thanks to a breathtaking victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix. After starting from pole position the Italian was part of an entertaining battle for positions over the first half of the race before breaking clear alongside compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati). Just as they have done on so many occasions in the past, the pair became embroiled in a cat and mouse chase that had the 43,182 spectators on their feet until the very last lap. With half a lap of the Sepang circuit remaining Rossi dived past Capirossi for the final time, opening out a crucial advantage within the next two corners and denying his rival the opportunity to make a last-gasp pass in the final hairpin. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) clinched the final podium position in third place despite riding with an injured knee. Rossi's victory moves him up to third in the championship, four points behind the Spaniard and 26 adrift of series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), who finished fourth. Colin Edwards managed a top ten finish despite struggling all weekend to find the appropriate set-up for his YZR-M1 machine at this track. The Texan was up against it as he started out from eleventh on the grid after yesterday's decision to base the qualifying positions on aggregate free practice times and he struggled to make an impression after losing touch with the leading pack. The series now moves on to Australia for the second of three races in as many weekends before returning to Europe for a tantalizing double header in Portugal and Spain. Valentino Rossi (1st; 43'07.829) "That was another legendary battle between myself and Loris - very hard but also very fair. At Brno he escaped but today I was able to hang on to him. When both our bikes are working well it is always spectacular because his performs better in some sections and mine in others so it makes for a beautiful fight. I enjoy racing with him so much because there is a lot of respect between us and a great trust - he is probably the hardest rival I have ever had but also one of my best friends in the paddock. At one point I thought I'd got away but then he appeared again and I knew it was going to be a battle to the end. He tried to break free but I stayed with him and I think we passed each other about ten times in the last few laps, it was amazing. I want to say a huge 'thank you' to everybody at Yamaha because they virtually cancelled their summer holidays to get this bike working at the maximum again and I was able to push at 100% today. I also need to say another big 'thank you' to Michelin, who have worked really hard to help us to get back to this level of competitiveness. For the two Honda riders to finish third and fourth is not ideal but all I can do is keep winning races so that is what I will try to do." Colin Edwards (10th; +19.909) "We've had the same problems since Mugello - I don't have enough rear grip and I can't push the bike as hard as I need to. This weekend we turned it upside down but still couldn't find that little bit of grip we need. We've been following Valentino a little with the setting and today I had virtually the same as him. I don't know how he does it, but somehow he does and today I couldn't. It's always tough starting from so far down the grid and I tried to make up the ground but from mid-race I was basically riding on my own, trying to cut down the gap to Melandri but without much success. Luckily we have another race in seven days at a place I love so hopefully we can move onwards and upwards in Australia." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "What an incredible day! Another great race from Valentino and from our part all I can say is that we really enjoyed the show but we're enjoying the 25 points even more! Valentino never gives up and his performance today was typical of him, I think that says it all. All our staff, from Japan to Italy and here in the paddock, have been working incredibly hard and this is their reward. Colin had a difficult weekend - he improved this morning but it wasn't enough. We're pleased that we have another race in seven days' time at a circuit both our riders like so all we can do is keep our heads down, stay focused and do our best to hold on to this championship in the four rounds that remain." Another typically determined effort for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Carlos Checa The Tech 3 Yamaha Team led by Spaniard Carlos Checa put in another typically determined effort during the Malaysian Grand Prix held in sweltering conditions at the Sepang circuit in an absolutely enthralling race won in style by fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi Checa managed to finish in 12th position in front of factory rider Makoto Tamada while team mate James Ellison had another difficult weekend to finish just out of the points in 16th spot. In a positive for the team to take to the next round at Phillip Island next weekend is that the lap times of Carlos were very similar to Colin Edwards who is also on a Yamaha rider and finished just two places behind him. Carlos Checa (12th Fastest lap 2'03.466) I'm quite satisfied with the job I did today. I feel that we raced on the limit of what we have as the bike seemed a little down on power today but the tyre performance was quite constant so considering this I feel I did my best. We made no mistakes and we found some more good information for Dunlop to work with so working like this we have found something better for the remaining races James Ellison (16th Fastest lap 2'04.692) I'm very disappointed to be honest. We've been working really hard all weekend to cure this handling problem as no matter what we do we cant get enough weight on the rear of the bike to make it steer into the corner but that has been going on all year. The frustrating thing is that no matter what we try with the setup we can't get the bike to handle properly. I have to thank my team because they have been working very hard all year attempting to get the most out of the bike. Herve Poncheral - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director It was another interesting weekend and as I have said many times this year this is a learning year so we have to expect that we won't have perfect weekends. Today we were 30 seconds to the front and we were very consistent with the Dunlop tyres. We lack a bit of performance and stability but we are now having a lot of durability so things are improving. I'm reasonably happy and we are definitely making progress every race. Stability used to be the worst problem but this has improved a lot so now we have to find half a second for the first ten laps so then we will for sure be a lot closer with many riders in front of us. Circuit Length: 5548 Temp: 33 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Sepang 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 43'7.829 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'0.849 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'3.863 4 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'5.780 5 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 0'9.301 6 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'11.081 7 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'11.838 8 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 0'12.267 9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'15.019 10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'19.909 11 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'23.371 12 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'30.884 13 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'36.335 14 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'48.777 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'59.081 16 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'5.787 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 2'2.127 Rider Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 214 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 192 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 188 4. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 171 5. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 168 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 109 7. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 101 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 96 9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 93 10. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 75 11. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 69 12. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 69 13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 66 14. Toni Elias Honda ESP 64 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 58 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 20 Team Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 406 2. Camel Yamaha Team 284 3. Ducati Marlboro Team 247 4. Fortuna Honda Team 232 5. Rizla Suzuki 159 6. Honda LCR 109 7. Team Roberts KR 101 8. Kawasaki Racing Team 101 9. Tech3 Yamaha 78 10. Konica Minolta Honda 69 11. Pramac D'Antin 23 Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 278 2. Yamaha 226 3. Ducati 180 4. Suzuki 111 5. Team Robert KR 101 6. Kawasaki 86 Click here to view the news

The Yamaha Motor Italia squad travels to this weekend's final round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship with Noriyuki Haga looking to take the runner-up slot in the championship from Honda rider James Toseland. While Troy Bayliss (Ducati) celebrated his second world title in Imola last weekend, the British rider overtook Haga in the battle for second place and holds a two point advantage going into the final race. Haga had a difficult time in Imola, where set-up problems restricted him to fourth and sixth place finishes, but is focused on equalling his best ever final ranking by taking second in the championship. "There are only two points between me and James so I know what I have to do," says 31-year-old Haga. "I like the Magny Cours circuit and have won there in the past. It has an interesting mix of long straights, some fast corners and very slow hairpins. There are a lot of places where you can make a pass under braking and this is one of our strengths with the R1. As always I will be going with the target of winning the races. If I can do that then the championship will look after itself." Andrew Pitt has his own targets going to Magny Cours after yet another impressive outing in Imola. The Australian has been one of the revelations of the season and moved up to fourth in the standings with a third and fourth place finish last weekend. The former supersport champion knows that a good result is required in France if he is to fend off the attentions of the in form Alex Barros (Honda) and outgoing world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) in the battle for fourth. In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain aims to give Yamaha its first riders title since 2000 and, in doing so, end Honda's four-year run of dominance in the class. The Australian goes to the final round with an 18 point advantage over defending champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), meaning he needs to finish in eighth place or better to add a world title to his 13 Australian championships. "I was disappointed that I couldn't challenge Sebastien in Imola," explains Curtain. "We struggled for rear grip but I rode with the championship in mind, so third was an ok result. All year we've been working towards the championship, so this weekend will be no different. We know exactly what we need to do to win the title and that's exactly what we'll focus on this weekend." Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes made a fighting return from injury in Imola and could potentially take third in the championship. The Australian's enforced absence saw him overtaken by the in form Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) and is hoping for a good result at the track where he took his first world championship win 12 months earlier. "I should be much fitter this week than last," says Parkes. "It was hard work in Imola but I was pleased with my result because it pretty much tied up fourth in the championship." Click here to view the news

With just days to go before the 2008 FIM World Enduro Championship begins with the Grand Prix of Sweden, the UFO Corse Yamaha team are busy putting the final touches to what they are confident will be a successful season with their WR450F and WR250F machinery. The series opener is being staged for the third successive season in Ostersund, deep within the heart of Scandinavia’s frozen north, the 16-day championship only weeks later will head to warmer climes in Portugal and Spain before continuing to travel through southern Europe eventually ending in France in mid-October. The only event of the year in which competitors are required to use spiked tyres to wade through the snow and ice, the Grand Prix of Sweden will once again present many unique challenges to the world’s best riders as they battle against the winter conditions. The expected sub-zero temperatures and heavily rutted snow-covered special tests require a dedicated approach and mindset. With the demands of the course and climate taken into consideration the first round of the ’08 WEC campaign will undoubtedly be a memorable one. For the UFO Corse Yamaha team’s number one Enduro 2 class rider, Johnny Aubert, 2008 is set to be a hugely important - and extremely challenging - season as he bids to claim his first enduro world championship. A proven WEC race-winner, the Frenchman will face the world’s most successful enduro rider – seven-time world champion Juha Salminen - in what is expected to be the closest fought tussle in any of the WEC classes this year. Having showed that he has the speed at the highest level following several dominant wins during the ’07 series, Aubert, who enters his third full term of international enduro competition, knows that winning the chilly season-opener will be a tall order but is confident that he has what it takes to win the coveted E2 crown. “My goal is nothing less than to win the Enduro 2 world championship this season,” comments Aubert. “Last year I proved that I could win races and although I wasn’t able to take the E2 title I ended the season well by topping the last round of the series and by winning the International Six Days Enduro in Chile. It certainly won’t be easy to beat Salminen but I am ready to fight.” In the Enduro 1 class the UFO Corse Yamaha team are also looking for success with Italian Simone Albergoni leading a three-rider assault on the category. Runner-up in 2007 Albergoni, now fully fit following a back injury that forced him to miss the ISDE late last season, has been training hard all winter in readiness for the start of the eight-round championship. Just like Aubert, Albergoni will face stiff competition in the division, not only from three-time world champion Ivan Cervantes but also reigning E2 number one Mika Ahola. “I’ve spent one full season racing for Yamaha and I’m ready for the start of the world championship,” offers Albergoni. “The first race in Sweden isn’t one that I have enjoyed the last two years but I’m looking forward to the championship returning to southern Europe. There are some really fast riders in the E1 class this season, but I’m looking forward to challenging for the title.” In addition to Albergoni’s plight the UFO Corse Yamaha team are also expecting Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero to regularly challenge for podium positions having sampled the view from the top step during 2007. Despite sustaining a shoulder injury at the final round of this winter’s Indoor Enduro World Cup, Guerrero, along with the UFO Corse Yamaha team’s third rider Maurizio Micheluz, is looking to ensure Yamaha is the dominant player in the Enduro 1 class this season, just as they were in 2007. 2008 Maxxis World Enduro Championship 15-16 March, GP Sweden, Östersund 29-30 March, GP Portugal Vale de Cambra 05-06 April, GP Spain Sitges 14-15 June, GP Poland Kwidzyn 19-20 July, GP Wales Llanidloes GB 26-27 July, GP France Uzerche 27-28 September, GP Italy Piediluco 11-12 October, GP Europe Alès - France Click here to view the news

The wooded hills of Brno, thronged by 141,632 spectators, proved a less than happy hunting ground for the Fiat Yamaha Team at today's Czech Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi was dogged by traction problems almost from the start and was only able to hang on for seventh, whilst Colin Edwards slid out of the race on the second lap. Starting from sixth, Rossi slipped one place at the start but regained his starting position by the end of lap one, behind Loris Capirossi. The Italian then spent several laps on his fellow countryman's tail before he was able to pass him on lap eight of 22, but by then Rossi was suffering from grip problems and was unable to push on and clear a gap from the chasing pack. A few laps later he was passed by Chris Vermeulen and then by Capirossi, before Randy de Puniet began to threaten him in the closing stages and he was forced to use all his skills to keep the Frenchman behind him to the line. Edwards meanwhile failed to finish a race for only the third time in his Yamaha career, making a rare mistake on lap two and losing the front. He rejoined the race briefly but was unable to continue, coming into the pits on the next lap. The race was won by Casey Stoner, who extends his championship lead over Rossi to 60 points. Edwards remains seventh with 93 points. The MotoGP paddock now has one weekend off before the San Marino Grand Prix, when Grand Prix motorcycle racing returns to Misano for the first time in 14 years. Valentino Rossi - Position: 7thTime: +22.485 "We expected a difficult race today because we knew our potential here wasn't very high after the last two days. However it was even worse than we expected! I tried to keep my rhythm going but, after only seven or eight laps, the tyre started to slide a lot on the right side and from then on I wasn't able to open the throttle. "Throughout the weekend we have done everything to try to find more traction. We have changed the setting a lot to try to find a way to make the tyre work, but unfortunately during the race we had no grip. Also, with the setting we had to use, we had to sacrifice some of our corner speed and this also slowed us down. It was very difficult today. I was able to do 1.59s to start with but after a few laps the tyre made a big step down and then I just had to wait for the end of the race. "I had a hard time with Capirossi at the start; in some parts I was faster than him but I couldn't overtake him because he was pulling away from me on the straights. Eventually I got past him but he stayed with me and I couldn't pull clear. I pushed as hard as I could; at that time I wasn't too fast but not too slow either, but after that my tyre was finished and then Vermeulen came, then Loris again...I am sad because I wasn't even able to try to fight with them today. Towards the end I had to push at the limit to stay in front of de Puniet and luckily I managed, but we were a very long way from a good performance. I tried to change my style, to ride in a different way to help the situation, but it was no good. "We have a test now but in reality our situation is quite bad and we have a few different problems to deal with. We will try to make the best of the next two days of work and to try to find something different for the next few races. We have to wait and see what we find, but for sure it's going to be very difficult. This is a very hard moment that we're in. We have six races to go and we just have to work as hard as we can to try to find a way to make some good results." Click here to view the news

UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Simone Albergoni continued his impressive form in the 2008 World Enduro Championship claiming two podium finishes at the second round of the series, the Grand Prix of Portugal staged in Vale de Cambra. Earning a well-deserved victory on Day1 Simone battled hard on Day2 to place 2nd and finished less than six seconds behind winner Ivan Cervantes despite a costly mistake on the extreme test. Having recorded his best ever start to a world championship season at the recent GP of Sweden, Simone showed in Portugal that no matter how challenging the conditions he is certainly ready to take the E1 title fight to his class rivals. Winning 6 of the opening day's 9 special tests, Simone took control of the Enduro 1 class early on with a winning performance on the opening enduro foray. With world champions Mika Ahola and Ivan Cervantes applying considerable pressure to the Italian throughout the opening day the Yamaha rider remained error- free and managed to maintain his lead. Knowing that just one mistake on the challenging Portuguese terrain would easily end his hopes of victory, Simone topped two of the third and final lap's three special tests to claim a well-deserved victory. Albergoni placed ahead of round one winner Mika Ahola with former E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes third. Proceedings took a turn for the worse on Day2 as heavy rain ensured the three Portuguese special tests became heavily rutted and even harder to ride than on Day1. Despite the atrocious conditions Simone again performed extremely well aboard his WR250F. Winning the first special test as he had on day one, Simone wasn't quite able to match Cervantes for pace during the opening lap. On lap two a mistake in the extreme test saw him lose six seconds to the Spaniard and despite his best efforts he wasn't quite able to repeat his Day1 achievement. Finishing the second day less than six seconds away from the top step of the podium Simone importantly again placed ahead of round one winner Mika Ahola. Albergoni is currently second in the standings, just three points behind Ahola. For Albergoni's UFO Corse Yamaha team mates Maurizio Micheluz and Cristobal Guerrero the GP of Portugal was one of mixed fortunes. Not pleased with his performances at the opening round of the series in Sweden, Micheluz claimed a solid 5th place finish on Day1 but then disappointingly failed to finish Day2 with an ignition problem. For Guerrero, who following his early season shoulder injury is still not 100 per cent bike fit, the Portuguese event was extremely hard. The Spaniard was 7th on Day1 and managed to improve his result by one position on Day2 but was far from happy with his results. The next stop of the 2008 WEC series is Cristobal's home race - the GP of Spain at Sitges, just south of Barcelona. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 1st, Day 2 2nd: "It's been another good race for me. My speed is good but importantly my confidence also now. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season because I know I can compete against the two world champions that are in the Enduro 1 class - Cervantes and Ahola. I had two small crashes on day one but I was still able to win by one second so I am really pleased with that. After a small mistake in the extreme test I pushed as hard as I could but Ivan Cervantes was really fast. I finished five seconds behind, which is good but a little bit disappointing as I could have won again without that mistake." Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 7th, Day 2 5th: "It's been a really tough race for me because I haven't been able to do as much training ahead of the world championship races as I needed to do because of my shoulder injury. I took as many points as possible here in Portugal but I still don't feel completely comfortable in all of the special tests. The next race is my home race in Spain, so I hope that there I can get the kind of results I know I'm capable of." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 5th, Day 2 DNF: "The first day was tough but I am pleased with my fifth place result. After the first race of the world championship in the snow I was looking forward to competing in more normal conditions. I was close behind fourth position so I was very happy. Day two was very difficult and disappointingly I had a problem with my bike on the first lap. The problem was the ignition and I wasn't able to finish the day." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 50'11.120 2, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 0'2.430 3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'11.800 4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 0'45.340 5, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 0'56.790 6, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 1'4.120 7, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 1'14.430 8, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'13.820 9, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 2'19.010 10, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 2'31.880 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 53'59.090 2, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'5.510 3, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 0'29.420 4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 1'6.940 5, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'12.570 6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 2'43.330 7, Paulo Felicia, Kawasaki, POR, 4'8.490 8, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 4'20.080 9, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 4'35.060 10, Fernando Ferreira, Yamaha, POR, 6'28.340 Rider Standings 29/03/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 92 2, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 89 3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 82 4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 74 5, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 54 6, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 48 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 44 8, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 29 9, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 29 10, Niklas Gustafsson, Honda, SWE, 28 11, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 24 12, Paulo Felicia, Kawasaki, POR, 14 13, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 12 14, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 12 15, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 11 Manufacturer Standings 29/03/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 92 2, Yamaha, 89 3, KTM, 87 4, Husqvarna, 41 5, Suzuki, 24 6, Kawasaki, 14 7, TM, 12 ---------- RACE REPORT - 30/03/2008 Albert seizes first win in double podium outing Johnny Aubert knew before the 2008 E2 World Enduro Championship started that to beat seven-time world champion Juha Salminen he would have to perform at his very best and on day one of the GP of Portugal that's exactly what the UFO Corse Yamaha rider produced. Following decent outings at the first round of the championship in Sweden the former motocross racer claimed his first Enduro 2 class victory of the year following a solid opening day performance in Portugal. Locked in an intense battle with his Finnish E2 class rival, the Frenchman emerged from the opening day less than one second ahead having topped 5 of the day's 9 special tests. On Day2 Aubert started well by winning 2 of the opening lap's 3 special tests, but despite his hardest efforts a double class win eluded him as he placed as runner-up to Salminen at the end of a demanding competition. Showing that the Enduro 2 title fight is likely be a two-rider tussle, Aubert, with Salminen right behind him, placed more than two minutes ahead of third placed competitor Joakim Ljunggren. Aubert was runner-up to Salminen at the end of the first special test with no other rider posing any real threat to the duo. He then managed to top test two to claim a small but decisive advantage. With little to separate the rivals throughout the day, Aubert arrived at the ninth and final special test trailing Salminen. Aubert recorded a time just under two seconds faster, which was enough for him to take the lead and the day win. A wet and technical Day2 started with Aubert looking as if he was headed towards another E2 class victory as he headed the first two special tests from Salminen. However the Finn claimed the following four tests by the mid-way point of the day. Aubert was in second, but comfortably ahead of third place rider Valtteri Salonen. Despite taking the event's penultimate test, Johnny was unable to repeat his success of the previous 24 hours, but nevertheless claimed a solid runner-up result to continue his good start to the '08 WEC series. He is lies second in the standings, three points behind Salminen. Aubert's Italian UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate, Fabrizio Dini, performed well at the GP of Portugal with 7th and 6th place results in the Enduro 2 class. Starting Day1 badly, Dini had to battle his way back from 15th position on lap one to an eventual 7th - a result that would have been better if it wasn't for a mistake on the final extreme test. Despite the worsening conditions on day two Dini improved his result and placed a deserved 6th. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 1st, Day 2 2nd: "Winning the first day was really good. It was really close between me and Juha. Before the last special test of the event there was only one and a half seconds between us, but I was behind Juha. I pushed as hard as I could and managed to win the day. I didn't have any real problems on day two, only that Juha Salminen was really fast. It's been a hard race. I didn't have any problems, apart from a small mistake in the first extreme test, but it was very wet. You had to keep pushing hard all day; there was no time to rest. For my championship it has been another good weekend." Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - day 1 7th, Day 2 6th: "It's been a nice race but very hard. The time controls were tight and it meant that there wasn't much time to relax during the day. Both days were extremely difficult. It was a strange race for me. I started day one very badly, in 15th position. By the end I was in sixth, but then I fell on the last extreme test and dropped to seventh. Considering the way my day started it wasn't such a bad result. The second day wasn't so bad. It was really difficult because of the weather but it was the same for all riders. I didn't have too many problems although I didn't like the mud on the motocross test so much. I hope that in Spain we have better conditions." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 49'13.710 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 0'59.000 3, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 2'4.870 4, Andrea Belotti, KTM, ITA, 2'6.550 5, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'37.970 6, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'54.000 7, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 2'54.600 8, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 2'58.560 9, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 3'0.100 10, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'22.760 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 54'12.030 2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'30.980 3, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 1'56.970 4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 1'57.240 5, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'15.120 6, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 2'57.940 7, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 3'8.920 8, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 3'53.440 9, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 4'20.390 10, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 4'44.320 Rider Standings 29/03/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 92 2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 89 3, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 67 4, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 56 5, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 51 6, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 46 7, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 41 8, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 41 9, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 31 10, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 31 11, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 28 12, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 27 13, Fritz Andersson, KTM, SWE, 24 14, Andrea Belotti, KTM, ITA, 18 15, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 11 Manufacturer Standings 29/03/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 92 2, Yamaha, 89 3, HusaBerg, 87 4, Honda, 56 5, TM, 51 6, Aprilia, 31 7, Husqvarna, 31 8, BMW, 27 9, GasGas, 11 Click here to view the news

Colin Edwards maintained his exemplary pre-season form by topping the unofficial time-sheets once again at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar today, with team-mate Valentino Rossi hot on his heels. The Yamaha pairing continue to forge ahead with the development of their 800cc Yamahas and their hard work is reaping rewards, with both riders feeling confident about the impending season. Edwards best lap of the day, an outstanding time of 1’56.296 set in the morning session, was over a second under the current 990cc lap record. Meanwhile Rossi bettered his time from yesterday with a lap of 1.56.537, despite running into a few set-up problems which he will look to iron-out tomorrow. Both riders will now aim to complete a long-run on the last day before they fly back to Europe for the final ‘dress-rehearsal’ in Jerez ahead of the first race. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 1'56.296 Laps: 56 “Today was impressive! We got our second-choice front tyre from Michelin and it was instantly better than the third-choice one we had yesterday, it gave me a lot more confidence in the front-end. We made some big changes to the setting last night and we’re now in a different realm, close to what Valentino was running yesterday. It’s basically just something that works well on a flat track with no bumps and it felt really good. We made a small change to the rear shock and then we were just testing tyres for the rest of the day. We tested a series of right-side rubbers and then a series of left-side rubbers, searching for the best combination for the race. The times are great but they’re coming quite easily, I really haven’t pushed out of my comfort zone at all yet. This afternoon was slower because of the wind but at the end of the day, with the last rear tyre, I got my head down for a couple of laps and we still did a 56.4! We’ll do a long run tomorrow and see how it all works out then; hopefully we can stay on top and make it a clean sheet for the test!” Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1'56.537 Laps: 62 “So, another fast day for Yamaha and I am happy that we’re one and two again. Actually, today we ran into a few problems which we need to work on, but anyway this is expected when you’re getting faster and faster and it’s much better that we find the problems now than in the race! Again we need to work to improve the stability of the bike under braking and this is a very delicate thing because we don’t want to sacrifice the agility of our bike. We need to find the right balance. We tried some more tyres for Michelin and today we didn’t find anything so great in this area, but we made some decisions about what to try for our long run tomorrow. We’re fast and we know we’re at a good level, but we can’t afford to relax because our rivals are getting closer and I think it’s going to be a very great battle this season. Tomorrow we’ll try to fix the problems we found today, we have some ideas and I am sure we can have a good last day.” Unofficial Lap Times 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 1'56.296 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 1'56.537 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 1'56.712 4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda 1'56.874 5. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 1'57.040 6. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 1'57.065 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Honda 1'57.274 8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 1'57.288 9. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR 1'57.504 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 1'57.591 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 1'57.629 12. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 1'57.698 13. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 1'57.770 14. Alex Hoffman (GER) Ducati 1'57.999 15. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 1'58.513 16. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 1'58.610 17. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 1'58.990 18. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 1'59.138 19. Shinichi Ito (JPN) Bridgestone Test 1'59.617 20. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 2'02.453 Qatar Lap Record (990cc) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 1’57.305 Qatar Best Lap (990cc) Casey Stoner (Honda) 2006 - 1’55.683 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi's hopes of a glorious homecoming to Misano ended after just five laps today, when an engine problem forced the Fiat Yamaha Team rider to retire when running strongly in fourth position. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile struggled with rear grip in the later stages and was only able to bring his YZR-M1 home in his starting position of ninth. With thousands of passionate Italian fans looking on, Rossi started the San Marino Grand Prix from second on the grid with high hopes of an exciting podium battle with chief rival and pole-sitter Casey Stoner. He dropped one place at the start and another a few turns later as first John Hopkins and then Chris Vermeulen came through, but never got the chance to fight back as he lost power in his engine on lap five of 28 and was forced to coast home to the pits. Edwards got a good start and rose to sixth at one point, but a lack of grip on the left side of his rear tyre meant he was unable to make any further headway through the field, eventually slipping to ninth behind Anthony West. With Stoner the eventual winner, today's result sees Rossi's dream of a late-season championship revival slip further away as he now sits 85 points adrift in second, with a possible 125 points left available from five races. Edwards remains seventh with 100 points. The Fiat Yamaha Team will have a one-day test here tomorrow, before heading to Portugal in ten days time for round fourteen. Colin Edwards - Position: 9thTime: +47.146 "I got a good start and managed to miss the big melee with Hayden and de Puniet. Then Checa almost took me out a couple of times and the second time I had to run wide and West and a couple of others came through. Once I'd got sorted again I had my work cut out getting back by West, but then I just got my head down and got going. Unfortunately however, the left-hand side of my tyre then started to give me trouble and I had no grip from then on. There are a lot of quick changes of direction here, turns one-two and four-five for example, and every time I had to flick it left it felt pretty scary. I had to adjust my pace accordingly and from there on in it was just survival and looking to salvage what points I could. It wasn't fun out there today to be honest!" Valentino Rossi - Position: DNFTime: "At the start I felt I was lacking some temperature in my tyres and so I slipped back a little from my starting position. However apart from this I felt quite good, stable, with a good rhythm and confident that things would continue to improve as the temperature in my tyres increased. However on lap five, when I was braking hard, I suddenly felt something go and that was the end of my race. The engine was the same one that I used at the Brno test and also here in practice and it felt quite good; we don't yet know what the problem was today so we will have to wait until our engineers have had time to examine the situation. "It would have been great, and very useful, to have a good result here in Misano today. I like the track a lot and I really wanted to do well in front of all the fans; it was a great emotion for me to see so many people in yellow. Unfortunately this wasn't the case today and now we know that the championship will be very, very difficult. Breaking down after just a few laps is frustrating and unlucky, especially because today we had good expectations and we had been fast during practice. But when bad things like this happen you have only two choices; give up or come straight back and start working again even harder than before. This is what we will do at Yamaha; me, my team, the engineers - everyone involved. We still have five races left and we will keep trying to get the result we deserve. Once again Stoner deserved to win today, so well done to him. We have a lot of work to do before Estoril." Davide Brivio - Team Director "We used the new engine today and unfortunately something went wrong. We don't know yet exactly what, we won't be able to tell until our engineers have had a lot more time to look at it. It might not have been anything to do with the new technology, we need to check but this can happen and this is racing. It's just very disappointing for everyone and especially all the thousands of fans who came today to cheer Valentino on. Colin had some rear grip issues and he tried his best but unfortunately he too was not able to get the result he deserved. We have to look forward to Estoril now and keep working; we know that all the Yamaha engineers are very busy trying to improve our situation and we have confidence in them. Thanks to everyone for their hard work; we know we are capable of winning and so we will just keep trying." Misano disapointing for Dunlop Yamaha Tech3 After an absence of 14 years Grand Prix racing returned to the re-vamped Misano circuit where Dunlop was victorious in the last premier 500cc class race to be held at the circuit with Luca Cadalora on the Marlboro Yamaha. History was not to be repeated for the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team as Sylvain Guintoli and Makoto Tamada finished in 12th and 14th positions respectively. The weekend had a silver lining however as Sylvain repeated his qualifying performance of the previous race in Brno to start from 11th on the grid. With the first day of practice a washout when the circuit was flooded by devastating rains that caused the abandonment of the day, this ensured that with limited track time, set-up and tyre selection would play an even more important role than usual. Due to a first corner incident that eliminated Dani Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden and Randy De Puniet and then the unfortunate retirement of Valentino Rossi the race was not the spectacle we have come to expect of the MotoGP class. Sylvain Guintoli (12th - Fastest lap 1'36.560) This race was similar to Brno as I think we proved we have a good qualifying package but we expected to struggle during the race because we couldn't find a rear tyre with good enough grip and endurance. The race was ok. The start was good and the first 12 laps I had a good battle with Nakano and we caught the group in front but after 12 laps the rear grip level started to drop away and I lost touch with the group. The second half of the race was not so much fun. I had a 12 second lead over the riders behind me and I just carried on with a fast enough rhythm so I could not be caught. One thing I am happy with is how much I am learning every time I ride the bike and what is needed in qualifying to get a good lap. I hope we can find something for Portugal so that we can fight for the entire race. Makoto Tamada (14th - Fastest lap 1'36.645) The race wasn't so good for me. I had a good feeling for the first 12 laps and was able to keep a pretty good pace but then I had trouble with the rear. The performance stayed the same for a few laps but towards the end it dropped off again so all I could hope to do was ride the bike to make sure I finished. It's been a hard season so I hope we find something for the last races so that I may be able to battle with a few riders for the whole race and not just wait for something to happen. Herve Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Manager Firstly I would like to apologise to all the fans that turned up as after the incident on the first lap and with Valentino retiring so early in the race it wasn't much of a spectacle when so much was expected of this race on its return to Misano. As for our weekend, this has been another race that has not gone the way we wanted. We have a good qualifying package but we are missing something in the race. We couldn't find a tyre that we were confident that would last us the entire race so we set everything up the best we could. Hopefully we can find some improvement in the race package to compliment the good work we do in qualifying and all the hard work the team is putting in trying to get the results we desire. Click here to view the news

Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi proved they are more than ready for the challenge ahead with their new 800cc Yamahas by clocking some outstanding times today, on the third and final day of testing in Sepang. Both took the chance to try new Michelin qualifying tyres and Edwards stunned his crew by dipping well under the current pole position record, set by Rossi at last year’s race on the old 990cc Yamaha, with a lap of 2’00.248. Rossi also came close to his own pole record with a time of 2’00.793. Both riders spent the day continuing to work on set-up and tyre-testing before completing long runs, enabling them to see the benefits of their latest developments under race-like conditions. The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will now pack up and head west for the next stage of testing in Qatar on February 13th-15th. It will be the first time this season that the entire MotoGP class will be on track together and Rossi and Edwards are looking forward to seeing how their 800cc bikes fare at a new track alongside a full field of their competitors. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 2'00.248 Laps: 46 “We started off this morning by testing a couple more front tyres and a different bike setting, just generally playing around with a few things. At the end of the morning we tried another new rear tyre which was pretty good too, and then we had two qualifiers to try. I came in from the first one thinking that I’d probably done a low 2'01; I’d made a couple of small mistakes and thought I could have been faster, so I couldn’t believe it when it was around the 2’00.6 mark. The next qualifier was pretty unbelievable and the bike just felt perfect, so I’m really pleased with that time. The long run was pretty interesting…I’d already done about 30 laps in the morning session and I was feeling pretty tired, I went off a bit too hard at the start and was giving it all I had, it was feeling great but then after about 14 laps I was seeing double! I slowed it down for a bit but there wasn’t much point pushing it so I came in a bit early. Anyway things were still improved from the last time here so we were happy. Overall it’s been a really great test; the bike is unbelievable, better than ever even with less power!” Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 2'00.793 Laps: 43 “It was another really positive day for us, and I am so happy because the bike is feeling great. During these three days we have worked a lot on the suspension set-up, in order to fix the problems we had in braking, and I think we’ve done a very good job on that. We’ve been pretty fast all week, quicker than during the January test, and the long run today was faster too which is important. I am also pleased that Colin is going so well, he made a fantastic time today, he’s very fast! We also worked again today on the engine mapping, as I said yesterday; fuel consumption is going to be crucial for everyone this year and we can’t afford to make mistakes! I am sure that we can still improve in every area and now we have the chance to carry on like this in Qatar next week, where we will also have the first race in one month. Next week will be a very important test!” Davide Brivio - Team Director “We leave Sepang in the certainty that we’ve made a very good test and we have improved the situation with both riders. Colin has made a great improvement since January’s test and I think that no one has ever ridden so fast here in Sepang as he did today! This shows that the 800cc bikes are already faster than the 990s! We are working very well and the general development of the new bike is going very well. Now we go to Qatar for the next test and we know that will be a very important test for two reasons: first, we will be testing in a different circuit, so we will have the chance to confirm what we’ve learnt here at another track and second, we will meet all the other teams there and will be able to see our level alongside them.” Unofficial Lap Times 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha 2'00.248 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 2'00.793 3. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.071 4. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki 2'02.607 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha 2'03.380 6. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Yamaha 2'04.636 7. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 2'07.373 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

Troy Corser went through one race of joy and endured one non-finish at the challenging Phillip Island circuit in Australia, taking a masterful second place in race one but falling out of contention for the podium places in race two. On his home track, Corser had to work hard with his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team to find a good raceday set-up and he made adjustments between races to improve it still more, finding great gains until his race finished early. Noriyuki Haga celebrated his 33rd birthday today but not in the way he wished on the racetrack, taking eighth in race one and seventh in race two. He found traction issues in each 22-lap race, following on from similar concerns in qualifying at Phillip Island. A dramatic race one had to be restarted after a startline incident, when Michel Fabrizio's machine stalled on the line and was struck first by the unsighted David Checa (Yamaha GMT94 Team) and then more powerfully by privateer Vittorio Iannuzzo, who was injured in the impact, breaking his left wrist. As Iannuzzo lay trackside the race was red-flagged, and a complete 22-lap restart called. In the second race, Corser was fast off the line, too fast for the race officials, and he was given a jump-start penalty in controversial circumstances. Unsure if the penalty signal was for him, he carried on initially, but fell on lap five, having led for three laps and looking strong for another podium finish at least. Corser was uninjured by his high-speed crash exiting the first left-hand corner, and felt he must have slid off on oil or water lying on the racing line. Fast starting in each race, Haga was forced to go backwards through the field, having a lonely race towards the end of the first contest, but working hard in race two to defend his seventh place finish. Even with his race two no score, Corser is fourth in the championship chase, with 45 points, while Haga, who has scored in every race so far, is on 22 points, holding ninth place. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was lucky to escape the race one startline incident with only a badly cut left foot, and he recovered from a DNF in the restart to take a fine 12th place in race two. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert just missed a point in race one, but had a neck-and-neck race with Checa in race two and scored 13th place. Team YZF Yamaha squad rider Shinichi Nakatomi overcame some difficult moments in qualifying to take two points scores, going 15th in each race, approximately thirty seconds behind the leaders each time. Troy Corser (2nd and DNF - Yamaha Italy WSB Team) "There were a few tough passes in that first race, but I never panicked even when I got run wide a couple of times. The bike wasn't perfect and we were moving around a bit too much. We were going as fast as we could sideways! We made changes for race two and it was a lot better. Overall a podium in race one was not too bad. They definitely held the start too long in race two. It was like the starting light was on, on and then on some more, then it went off. It was way too long to wait. I knew I had moved, but I had stopped again. Anyway I felt much more confident on the bike and in control in race two but it seemed to me that there was a small line of oil on the corner and that's what it felt like - tucking the front on oil. I thought there would be bikes coming into the gravel trap after me. We learned many things this weekend and I think we could have finished second in race two at least, maybe even challenged Troy Bayliss." Noriyuki Haga (8th and 7th - Yamaha Italy WSB Team) "My physical condition was OK today because I had a very effective massage from the Clinica Mobile people, so thanks to them. This whole weekend has just been down to a lack of grip. It feels like the first two races this year have just been an exercise for me. We have not had the chance to build our performance on the bike so it feels like our season will start in the European races." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We had a lot of trouble with grip all weekend and I think what Troy achieved in race one was earned by Troy. We made the same settings for Nori in race two as we did for Troy, but he did not feel any great benefit. We always seem to have a struggle in Qatar and here, but we will be back when we get to Europe. We never give up and the season is a long one." Shinichi Nakatomi (21st and DNF - Team YZF Yamaha) "I had a better feel from the tyres in the first race, not so much in the second. We scored points in both races, which was a good reward for the team, who work so hard." Cristophe Guyot: (Team Manager Yamaha GMT94 Team) "As we are still racing these bikes 12kgs over weight and on Endurance specifications mainly, we can be very happy with these results. Unfortunately David Checa was involved in a crash during the start of race one, resulting in pain in his neck and quite a big wound on his foot. For race two both riders did a great job - David with his injuries and Sebastien with a lesser spec YZF-R1. WSB is a perfect experience for the team and is major benefit for our Endurance efforts. Our aim is to be on of the top contenders in WSB. For Valencia we will be able to lose a couple of kilograms and we have some additional YEC (Yamaha racing) kit parts available for our riders and therefore we have great hopes for that race as well." Round 2: Phillip Island, Australia Track length: 4445m Fastest Superbike lap: 1:31.493 (Troy Bayliss, Ducati) Lap record: 1'31.826 (Troy Corser, Yamaha) Last year's winners: Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and James Toseland (Honda) Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 34'22.933 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'4.221 3, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'4.738 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'5.171 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'5.543 6, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'5.895 7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'5.964 8, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'14.826 9, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'18.899 10, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'20.633 11, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'21.601 12, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'29.281 13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'29.500 14, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'30.030 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'30.223 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'30.800 17, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'50.107 18, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'7.385 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 34'35.284 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'1.127 3, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'4.395 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'6.621 5, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'11.550 6, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'11.620 7, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'12.049 8, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'12.134 9, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'13.462 10, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'15.519 11, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'16.225 12, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'21.959 13, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'21.989 14, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'29.106 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'29.219 16, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'32.994 17, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'34.380 18, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'42.537 19, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'46.623 20, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'47.030 21, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'8.601 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'32.516 Rider Standings 02/03/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 88 2, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 61 3, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 59 4, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 45 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 45 6, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 39 7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 36 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 34 9, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 22 10, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 18 11, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 17 12, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 17 13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 13 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 13 15, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 12 20, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 4 21, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 3 22, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 2 Manufacturer Standings 02/03/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 95 2, Suzuki, 63 3, Yamaha, 54 4, Honda, 46 5, Kawasaki, 7 ---------- RACE REPORT - 02/03/2008 Foret just misses podium as Parkes crashes out A breathtaking 21-lap World Supersport race at Phillip Island provided very different fortunes for the Yamaha World Supersport Team's riders, Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes. Foret overcame a poor start and went from sixth on lap one to the lead on lap 20, only to be swamped by riders as the finish line approached. He ended round two a strong fourth, only 0.780 seconds from the win, and in a group of six riders covered by only 1.228 seconds. Broc Parkes was looking good for another podium finish to go with his race win at Qatar last weekend until he fell under braking into the tight downhill right hand MG corner on lap two while leading. The tough Aussie rider remounted to try and score some points, but was forced to stop after entering the pits to check his machine over. Andrew Pitt, who was a non-finisher in the opening round in Qatar, won the race and therefore the World Championship battle is still a relatively open one. Parkes is currently fourth, sharing a total of 25 points with two other riders, while Foret's 13 Phillip Island points take him to eight in the championship. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) put his Qatar disappointments behind him with a strong ninth place finish, just over ten seconds from the win after 21-laps of frantic raceday action throughout the field. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport team) finished out of the points in 18th after taking to the grass on lap two, and he is now 15th on points, one place ahead of Roccoli. Fabien Foret (4th - +0'0.780 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I was happy to be able to catch the leaders even if I did not have so much grip in the race. I could follow them and the plan was to wait for the last lap. Then I was hoping to use the slipstream and use the R6's high top speed to pass and then keep them behind me. But when I saw McCoy coming from behind I knew I could not wait anymore. So I had to push and I got into the lead. It was a hard fight on the last lap but I just wanted points in this race. To get 13 points is not what I wanted but it is better than two no-scores in a row. The championship is open, and the season is long." Broc Parkes (DNF - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I had just got into the lead and I was keen to stay there, just racing the clock. The pace was not strong in the first lap so that's why I decided to go out in front. Entering the MG corner on the second lap everything just felt normal, like every other lap, until the front went away from me. Maybe the tyre wasn't quite warm on the right side. I tried to continue but the handlebar was too bent. By the time I got back to the pits the race was over for me." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It looked like a good race was coming for Broc because he had a very good pace in morning warm-up. We talked things through and we knew our riders were strong enough to lead. Maybe Broc just went too early. But that's racing, you can't wait sometimes. Fabien's starts are always a bit cautious, but that is not a big problem for him. He always finds his pace early and can catch up. He had to push hard near the end even though it wasn't the ideal time to do it, so he had to try harder in the braking areas. It is impossible for any rider to defend a lead at this track because of the slipstreaming opportunities. Overall the race package we have is good and when we get it all together things will be fine." Massimo Roccoli (9th - +0'10.594 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "After warm-up the bike felt OK but I had to work hard to gain some positions at the front during the race. Vizziello, Nannelli and I had a very similar pace so we ended up racing together. After 15 laps the rear tyre was sliding more and more and it was impossible to push at the same speed as the beginning. These are my first points of the year, so overall I am happy." David Salom (18th - +36.396 seconds - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) "The start was not so bad but in the second lap I passed a rider under braking but I was too fast and my bike didn't stop. I left the track and ran onto the grass. It was like starting all over again but I had a good pace and passed many riders, until I found myself on my own again. The team did a great job and I hope never to make the same mistake under braking again." Round 2: Phillip Island, Australia Track length: 4445m Fastest Supersport lap: 1:34.592 (Andrew Pitt, Honda) Lap record: 1:34.976 (Sebastien Charpentier, Honda) Last year's winner: Fabien Foret (Kawasaki) Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 33'51.257 2, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'0.062 3, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'0.597 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'0.780 5, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'0.976 6, Garry McCoy, Triumph, AUS, 0'1.228 7, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'6.590 8, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'10.266 9, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'10.594 10, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'10.991 11, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'16.068 12, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'16.245 13, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'16.355 14, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'16.526 15, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0'17.270 16, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'17.480 17, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'20.948 18, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'36.396 19, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'45.078 20, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'46.640 21, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'52.165 22, Arnaud Vincent, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'57.732 23, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'57.879 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 1'35.429 Rider Standings 02/03/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 33 2, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 29 3, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 25 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 25 5, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 25 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 16 7, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 14 8, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 13 9, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 11 10, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 11 11, Garry McCoy, Triumph, AUS, 10 12, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 10 13, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 9 14, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 9 15, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 16, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 7 Manufacturer Standings 02/03/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 45 2, Yamaha, 38 3, Triumph, 14 4, Suzuki, 10 5, Kawasaki, 9 Click here to view the news

Troy Corser had mixed fortunes on raceday at Losail, taking a fine third in race one but slipping backwards in race two to finish seventh as his tyres lost grip at half race distance. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga recovered from a crash in race one to secure an eventual 14th, and he was also in a leading position for much of race two, before the same lack of traction experienced by Corser made him drop through the field. He ended up 13th. Corser, the Superpole winner yesterday, was in sparkling early form in each race, looking set for a double podium finish at least. Haga 's race one crash came after Max Biaggi made a strong pass on the Japanese rider, and forced him wide, off the ideal racing line. Haga had set the best lap of the race in the first 18-lap contest, with a 1'59.217, before the lap record was broken in race two, by race winner Fonsi Nieto. Troy Bayliss won the first race, from Max Biaggi. Corser now leaves the Losail circuit fifth in the championship chase, on 25 points, with Haga 14th on five points. Troy Corser (3rd and 7th - Yamaha Italy WSB Team) "We made a tyre change between race one and race two just to be on the same tyres as everyone else. But it wasn't better it was worse. There was just no grip after a while and you can't race when you can't push hard. I'm really disappointed after getting Superpole yesterday, and it was obvious we had the speed to be competitive. That's about all I can say." Noriyuki Haga (14th and 13th - Yamaha Italy WSB Team) "Not such a great day after we started so well in each race. In the first race Biaggi took my front tyre and what can I say, it was a mistake. In race two I was following Troy and saving my time until the end but after nine laps I had chatter from the rear, then more the next lap, then it started moving, then there was no grip and I could not push any more. My wrist is sore so I have to rest that before the next race." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "This morning we made a choice of harder tyres, and this afternoon we went to the softer tyres of the other riders. Troy said that the traction was not enough in race one, so we decided to go with the ones that gave more performance. After ten laps, they were gone." Shinichi Nakatomi (21st and DNF - Team YZF Yamaha) "There was nothing I could do in race one because the tyre choice didn't give me any drive. In race two it started OK but then I was forced off the track. Disappointing but it is a strange circuit here." Martial Garcia(Team Manager, Team YZF Yamaha) "We were only in 21st position in race one because Shinichi chose a C tyre, the same as many riders, but it didn't have enough grip. In the second race somebody crashed in front of him and went into to gravel and rejoined after 30 seconds had passed. He carried on to test the tyre but when the grip dropped down he pulled in." Round 01 Losail, Qatar Track length: 5.380m Opened: 2004 Fastest Superbike lap: 1:58.053 (Troy Corser, Yamaha) Lap record: 1'59.156 (Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki) Last year's winners: Max Biaggi (Suzuki) and James Toseland (Honda) Ambient temperature: 24 degrees Weather: dry, sunny Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 36'11.468 2, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'0.396 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'1.878 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'4.487 5, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'7.505 6, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'9.639 7, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'9.725 8, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'19.537 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'23.156 10, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'24.429 11, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'27.595 12, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'27.979 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'28.237 14, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'30.205 15, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'31.882 16, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'32.067 17, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'40.745 18, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'41.280 19, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'41.333 20, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'41.743 21, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'43.183 22, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'43.569 23, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'43.892 24, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'50.380 25, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'12.884 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 36'12.963 2, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'0.301 3, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'1.321 4, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'6.452 5, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'7.627 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'9.117 7, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'10.806 8, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'11.661 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'13.269 10, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'14.563 11, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'15.953 12, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'16.748 13, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'18.356 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'26.311 15, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'26.560 16, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'26.683 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'26.821 18, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'28.650 19, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'33.150 20, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'36.656 21, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'42.633 22, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'55.352 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 1'59.156 Rider Standings 23/02/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 38 2, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 36 3, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 34 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 33 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 25 6, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 19 7, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 18 8, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 15 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 13 10, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 10 11, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 10 12, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 8 13, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 6 14, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 5 15, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 5 Manufacturer Standings 23/02/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 45 2, Suzuki, 36 3, Yamaha, 25 4, Honda, 16 5, Kawasaki, 5 ---------- RACE REPORT - 23/02/2008 Parkes Wins On new YZF-R6 As Foret Is Forced Out Broc Parkes scored a win on the 2008 Yamaha YZF-R6 first time out in World Supersport Championship, in a dramatic race that seemed almost certain to go the way of his team-mate Fabien Foret until the very last lap. Foret and Parkes had been looking for a one-two finish almost throughout, with Foret looking all set to win the 18-lap race, until he ran out of fuel on the very last lap. At that time he was leading by over two seconds from Joan Lascorz, Parkes and Craig Jones. Foret and the new Yamaha leave the circuit with the new lap record to their credit, a 2'02.626, set on lap nine. Unable to cross the finish line, Foret was not classified with a finish, but Parkes redoubled his efforts on a tense last lap to re-pass Lascorz on the home straight, and gain maximum points in round one. He now heads off to his home race at Phillip Island next week as the championship leader, on 25 points. David Salom continued his good form in qualifying through to raceday, earning a strong eighth place after a race-long fight with two other riders. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) retired on lap one with a clutch problem. Broc Parkes (1st - 37'05.271 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "A good result for our side of the garage and the new YZF-R6 because at the end I was struggling a little bit for grip and when I saw Fabien go our I knew it was up to me to win so I pushed on anyway. I had a few front end slides on the last lap just because I was trying so hard, even though the tyres were good all race. I could still push them that hard at the end of the race and on the last corner I got into the slipstream and used the power of my Yamaha to get Lascorz over the line. It was a great win for me and we have struggled sometimes this weekend, but we got this season off to a good start. " Fabien Foret (DNF - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It was really disappointing to be out of the race in such a fashion, especially as we had done so well all through practice, qualifying and the race itself. It was just fuel running out, not the bike, but it is still hard for the team and myself to take." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It looked like two good results for almost all the race but bad luck for Fabien at the end. We filled the tanks completely before the race, that is sure, and our calculations showed we would have a safe amount of fuel left at the end of the race, obviously we used more. I am really happy for Broc to take the win and it is a relief after Fabien's misfortune. The season is long and we have two guys who can fight for the championship, but only one was able to get the result today. We won first time with an all new bike so we are happy, but we obviously have mixed feelings." Laurens Klein Koerkamp - YME Racing Division Manager "The story of raceday is clear - the bike was nearly perfect, the riders were nearly perfect, qualifying had been great and we just had some bad luck for Fabien at the end. It's a great result for Broc to win, especially in the first race for the new Yamaha YZF-R6, showing that the new roadbike technology works on the track as well." David Salom (8th - +17.888 seconds - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) "Not a bad race but my I didn't started very well and I could not make up the time in the first few laps. It was too late to go any higher than my group of riders, but it took us eight or nine races last year to reach the level that we have started this season at." Round 01 Losail, Qatar Track length: 5380m Opened: 2004 Fastest Supersport lap: 2:01.928 Fabien Foret (Yamaha) Lap record: 2:02.949 Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) Last year's winner: Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 37'5.271 2, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'0.048 3, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'0.755 4, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'9.502 5, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'11.962 6, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'17.428 7, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'17.660 8, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'17.888 9, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'25.883 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'32.236 11, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0'32.573 12, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'35.117 13, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'36.390 14, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0'36.608 15, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'37.096 16, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'38.526 17, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0'42.675 18, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'43.375 19, Mirko Giansanti, Honda, ITA, 0'44.319 20, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 0'45.924 21, Ilario Dionisi, Triumph, ITA, 0'47.277 22, Attila Magda, Honda, HUN, 1'24.963 23, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 1'25.440 24, Josep Pedro Subirats, Yamaha, ESP, -1 Laps Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 2'2.626 Rider Standings 23/02/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 25 2, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 20 3, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 16 4, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 13 5, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 11 6, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 10 7, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 9 8, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 9, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 7 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 6 11, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 5 12, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 4 13, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 3 14, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 2 15, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 1 Manufacturer Standings 23/02/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 25 2, Honda, 20 3, Suzuki, 10 4, Kawasaki, 7 5, Triumph, 4 Click here to view the news

Shortly after New Year, on January 6th, the 29th edition of the Dakar Rally will traditionally kick off the 2007 motor sport season. Ever since the first event ‘The Dakar’ has been the most grueling test for both man and machine, whereby for bike competitors things are quite a bit rougher then for the car drivers. For the second time in the event’s history the caravan will start from the Portuguese capital Lisbon, when a total of 525 competitors from 42 nationalities will embark on the intimidating journey across some of the toughest desert landscapes on earth. Formerly known as the Paris-Dakar, the current race is the lasting legacy of one man and his dream: the pioneering French motorcycle racer, late Thierry Sabine. Back in 1977, Sabine was a bike competitor on the tough Abidjan-Nice rally who stranded in the deep Libyan sands. Although he was defeated by the challenging conditions, Sabine fell in love with the harsh beauty of the desert and vowed he would return. One year later, on December 1978, Sabine’s unique event was ready and the first Paris-Dakar took off from Place du Trocadéro in Paris. Since then the event has withstood many challenging issues mostly connected with safety and politics. In 1986 the number of entrants soared to 603, while the event nearly perished in 1993 when only 154 competitors enlisted. Since that low point the Dakar has recovered year by year and although both the name and the routes have changed, the spirit of the original event lives on. Sabine’s vision says it all; ‘it’s a ‘challenge to those who go; a dream for those who stay behind.’ Yamaha is the most victorious motorcycle manufacturer with nine overall victories and has been involved in the rally from the very beginning. At the tender age 21 years old Cyril Neveu won the first event on the iconic XT500, a feat he repeated in the following year. The Dakar’s most successful competitor, Stephan Peterhansel, made the biggest contribution to Yamaha’s victory tally which consists out of the following victories; 1979 Cyril Neveu (F) 1980 Cyril Neveu 1991 Stephan Peterhansel (F) 1992 Stephan Peterhansel 1993 Stephan Peterhansel 1995 Stephan Peterhansel 1996 Edi Orioli (I) 1997 Stephan Peterhansel 1998 Stephan Peterhansel After Peterhansel’s last win Yamaha withdrew officially from the rally to return to the event five years later putting their latest groundbreaking technology to the ultimate endurance test. Back then Dakar rookie David Frétigné caused a stir by winning three stages as he challenged the big capacity twin cylinder bikes on his revolutionary WR450F 2-Trac mono cylinder, the first off-road competition motorcycle to have two-wheel drive. “Fretos” convincingly won the 450 class in 2004 and 2005, but on the many long ‘flat-out’ desert stretches the lower top speed of a 450 single cylinder prevents it to fight for the overall victory, yet Frétigné managed to finish fifth overall in 2005. For this year’s edition Frétigné (#12) is again one of Yamaha’s favorites, although he saw his participation endangered when his new Spanish team failed to put together a competitive team. With two months to go, Yamaha and other loyal sponsors came to David’s aid enabling him to organize his own set up. With the support of long term technical partner Franck Helbert, Frétigné is confident to score a career best result; “On paper, one can’t win with a 450, but I still aim for podium finishes. With the imposed top speed of 160 km/h for bikes on some of the very fast stretches, two stages where no technical assistance is allowed and the 450cc bonus points system, we can challenge the factory teams with the bigger bikes. If we are smart in terms of management and race strategy we might be able to close the performance gap completely From the 230 motorcyclists, 57 will be equipped with WR450F machines in either 2-trac or rear wheel drive specification. Some other competitors to look out for are the 27-year-old Portuguese rider Helder Rodriques (#10), who scored a ninth position finish overall in 2006. Yamaha Team Holland fields a strong effort with five times sidecar world champion Daniel Willemsen (#233), who looks forward to enter his first Dakar participation, while Daniel’s team mate Mirjam Pol (#93) aims to go one better after finishing second in the female class last year. What is sure is that the majority of the starters will not make it to the finish, while the skilled and fortunate ones will see their superhuman efforts rewarded when they ride on the Dakar beach, the traditional finish of the monster event. On the 21st of January after 7.915 km, including 4.309 km of timed special stages we will know who made it and who didn’t. Click here to view the news

Colin Edwards completed his first test of the 800cc era with another good morning’s work at Sepang today, making more progress on the development of Yamaha’s new prototype machine and finishing the day with the 3rd fastest time in the process. Edwards once again spent the time working on general set-up with his team, especially chassis and suspension, as well as testing some new tyres for Michelin. Suzuki rider John Hopkins was fastest again with a best lap of 2’01.64, followed by his team-mate Chris Vermeulen, who recorded a time of 2’02.04. Edwards was third with a time of 2’02.43 after 32 laps. The Camel Yamaha Team will reconvene for the final test of 2006 in Jerez, Spain, on 28th-30th November, when Colin Edwards will be re-joined by team-mate Valentino Rossi. Colin Edwards (3rd – 2’02.43, 32 Laps): “Today was another really good day. I was quicker again and it felt really good to be able to consistently run fast times comfortably. We got a lot of great work done on a variety of things, even though we only tested in the morning. We did a fair bit for Michelin, they’ve got some good stuff and it seems pretty clear what the right direction is for us to go in with regards to tyres. We’ve played about with the chassis and the suspension, as well as a few other things, and when we came to add everything together you could see we were making some good progress. As far as getting input for the final bike they’re going to roll out for us next year, I think we’ve done a pretty good job during these three days. I’m really happy with my first test on the 800, we seem to get on okay and now I am looking forward to the next test in Jerez, where I am sure Valentino and I together can make even more progress.” Daniele Romagnoli – Colin Edwards’ Crew Chief: “This has been an encouraging first test for our team and for Colin with Yamaha’s new 800cc bike. We’ve changed quite a bit with the overall set-up and we’ve definitely made some big improvements from the bike we first tried on Wednesday. We’ve also worked quite a lot on tyres with Michelin and found some options that seem to be working well for us. The most important thing is that Colin already seems to be getting on very well with the bike, he can ride it well and he’s been fast all week. We’re very satisfied with this first test and it seems like we’re in good shape for this stage of development.” Unofficial Lap Times (800cc Bikes) 1.John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2’01.64 2.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2’02.04 3.Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 2’02.43 4.Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2’03.28 5.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha, 2’03.36 6.Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2’03.55 7.Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda, 2’04.27 8.Tadayuki Okada (JPN) Honda Test Rider, 2’04.44 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

New 2007 factory Yamaha Motocross team rider Marc de Reuver completed his first laps with his works YZ450FM in Italy last week and then guided a production 450cc YZ to victory in the high-profile RedBull Knockout beach race in Holland at the weekend. The 23 year old De Reuver, who finished fifth in the 2006 MX2 World Championship and makes his debut in the MX1 class for the 2007 Grand Prix campaign, completed his first Yamaha test in Italy, where he spent 3 very positive days with his new team. “We started testing with the stock bike, moved onto the kitted version and then the factory YZ450FM. More or less right from the beginning I was happy with what I was riding,” commented Marc. “The Yamaha is very different from what I had before and it was up to the quality of what I was expecting. Everyone knows the level and reputation of the Rinaldi team so it was great to start working with them.” “I found the group very professional,” he continued. “There were six people working for me and I have never had something like that before. There was an engine specialist, someone for the suspension and basically whatever I needed. Every day we would have a meeting altogether and for me the whole environment was very productive and efficient.” “We rode on a hard pack course then went to a slightly sandier circuit before going to Rinaldi’s track, which is long and narrow and very technical. The strongest part of the bike for me was the handling. The Yamaha feels very stable and I felt like I always knew what the bike was doing.” As the Netherlands’ top rider, De Reuver will retain a high profile alongside fellow new Yamaha recruit Josh Coppins next season and will push to be the first Dutchman to claim victory in the MX1 class since the inception of the category in 2004. “I feel very confident and for sure I know that I can be inside the top five, I have the right tools to do the job,” he commented. Racing Manager Carlo Rinaldi was enthused by De Reuver’s early efforts. “We started the test with the production bike and Marc was satisfied already from the beginning, he commented that it felt comfortable and safe. We then went forward with a step by step process to build the bike for him using the materials we had. We had a good few days and found a decent base from which to get the bike ready for next season. Watching Marc ride was very positive and I was impressed with how he took to the Yamaha.” After his promising first test-session, De Reuver travelled back to his homeland for his first race outing on a Yamaha in the RedBull Knockout race, that took place on November 12 on the beach of Scheveningen. In a field numbering near 500 competitors, including recognised names such as Steve Ramon (3rd in the 2006 MX1-GP) and ex-GP star Erik Eggens, De Reuver showed his superiority in the sand and guided a stock YZ450F to first position to earn his Yamaha spurs. “There was quite a bit of pressure because we had made some commercials that had been going out on Dutch TV from October and then Steve Ramon entered the race at the last minute,” he recalled. “It was good fun though; I love beach races. The long straight was a bit dangerous and I knew the beach specialists would be quick, but the YZ450F I rode from Yamaha Motor Netherlands was well prepared and overall it was an exciting experience.” Click here to view the news

After yesterday’s torrential downpour, the rain stayed away today and the sun came out at Sepang for the second day of MotoGP testing at the Malaysian track. Yamaha pilot Colin Edwards, who is riding Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle for the first time this week, was able to complete 48 laps and make significant improvements to the setting of his bike, despite suffering a small slide into the gravel in turn one at one stage. Edwards was luckily unhurt and was able to continue working on the same bike after a short time. The two Suzukis of John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen where fastest today, putting in times of 2’02.77 and 2’02.78 respectively. Having set the fastest time yesterday, Edwards was able to improve on that and finished the day third fastest with a best lap of 2’02.91. Following yesterday’s washout, Yamaha have elected to stay for one more half day of testing tomorrow before heading home for a short break ahead of the final test of the year in Jerez. Colin Edwards (3rd – 2’02.91, 48 Laps): “The sun came out today, luckily, but the track was still wet this morning so we had to wait until about eleven before we could get going. Anyway things felt pretty good straight away and we were able to start doing some real work, playing around with some new stuff and just generally improving the setting all over. We then tested some new front tyres for Michelin and the second one especially felt really good. As a result I was pushing quite hard and just held onto the brake a little too long into turn one, which is when I came off. It wasn’t a big crash; I was trying to find the limit and it just bottomed out. Anyway it wasn’t a great drama and within half an hour I was back out on the same bike. After that we just kept on tweaking away at the setting; we ruled a few things out and some things in and made a lot of progress. I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot in a short time and now we’ve just got a few more things to try out tomorrow before we head home.” Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director: “Today was a good day and, although we had to wait for the track to dry, we had time to get through a lot of work. Colin went well today and he was able to give some very important information to our engineers, as well as put in some good lap times. We managed to complete everything we had scheduled for the day and we’re pleased with his progress. Finally we have decided to stay for one more half day of testing tomorrow to make up for the time we lost yesterday, and then we will have a short break before the next test in Jerez, which is also going to be very important for the ongoing development of our bike.” Unofficial Lap Times (800cc Bikes) 1.John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2’02.77 2.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2’02.78 3.Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 2’02.91 4.Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2’03.74 5.Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2’03.87 6.Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda, 2’04.08 7.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha, 2’04.65 8.Tadayuki Okada (JPN) Honda Test Rider, 2’05.70 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

Positive first outing for Haga and Corser on the All-New R1 After working hard to make the first race version of the 2007 YZF-R1 ready for a two day Pirelli Development Teams’ test at Valencia, the Yamaha Motor Italia team enjoyed two positive days of work under clear Spanish skies. Troy Corser set a best of 1’34.9 with a race set-up, with Noriyuki Haga on a 1’35.1, on qualifying tyres. Both existing team rider Haga and new signing Corser made back-to-back evaluations of the 2006 and 2007 models, and despite the ’07 model being in its very first stage of development and testing, each rider found real improvements in the performance of the new machine. Haga spent his time on the new machine, while Corser moved on to the ’07 machine after riding most of day one on the previous model. The fastest rider in the test was Max Biaggi (Suzuki) who set a fastest lap of 1’33.9 on race tyres. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia): "We started yesterday just making a shakedown test on the new ’07 bike. Compared to the ’06 bike it was a good start. It’s already quite a good bike and of course we are only at the first step. We have understood what we need from this test and I am sure it will be even better in Qatar. The feeling from the bike is different, front and rear, and it turns a little bit better than the ’06 bike. The ’07 engine is easier to control because the feeling from the engine is good, although right now we only have one specification of race engine. We need to make some adjustments to the mapping and the take it from there”. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia): "We tried some new swingarms and experimented with the length of the bike, but even considering that, out lap times weren’t so bad. This was our first day with the new bike because on day one I hardly touched the new bike. For a first full day on the new bike I think we have got some good info to take away and prepare for the Qatar test. I think the new bike overall is maybe already a little bit better than the fully developed ’06 bike. And we have only just started. The ’06 bike feels a bit more nervous, and the new one feels easier to ride overall. It feels more stable under braking, even thought he ’06 bike was good in that respect too. The ’07 just feels even more stable again. We are still working on the throttle but already the ’07 engine pulls right through the midrange to the higher revs. It just feels more linear. We tried some new versions of the development tyres and found an improvement with both front and rear. I’m pretty happy." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "We can only think of this test as a positive one. To do so many laps and have so few problems was great. In the end we used the new bike all day on the second day and Troy was faster on the new bike when compared to the old one. We are quite optimistic because we didn’t expect this. Because the bike is new we can expect to experience a few problems. The bike was finished only on Saturday night and after we had run in the engines and checked that everything was working we put them in the trailer and drove straight to Valencia. So we were expecting a few small problems, as usual when all is new. When we go home will have a lot of data to check and we go to the next test with good experience from this first one " OFFICIAL SBK TESTS Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005km Lap Record: 1' 35.007 (Neil Hodgson, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.758 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Temp: 23ºC WSB - fastest time over two days Biaggi, Suzuki 1’33.9 Lanzi, Ducati 1’33.9 Kagayama, Suzuki 1’34.2 Bayliss, Ducati 1’34.2 Toselan, Honda 1’34.2 Nieto, Kawasaki 1’34.8 Corser, Yamaha 1’34.9 Laconi, Kawasaki 1’34.8 Haga, Yamaha 1’35.1 Rolfo, Honda 1’36.7 Pirelli Test Session: Spain Circuit: Valencia Date: 14-15 November 2006 Temp: 23ºC Weather: Sunny Parkes flies solo at Valencia Yamaha Motor Germany rider Broc Parkes was on form once more in testing, posting competitive times despite having a heavy workload of machine and tyre evaluation duties to perform, in the absence of his team-mate Kevin Curtain. His absolute best lap on day two was a 1’37.0, putting him fourth fastest overall. Parkes rode most of the test alone, aided at some points by Yamaha Motor Europe test rider, Jeffry de Vries. Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) was the fastest rider on display, setting a 1’36.4. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It would have been good to have another day and I had a lot of work to do as it was. We wanted to get through a lot of new things on the bike and we had to get those worked out properly, so we didn’t devote so much time to testing tyres to start with. We went through a lot of stuff anyway and the bike is working well. I think I did a 1’37 flat, and that was only half a second off the fastest guy, so that was pretty good. We have new quick shifters now and the bike is lighter, so we can move the weight around the bike if we want." Pirelli Valencia Test WSS Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4.005km Lap Record: 1' 38.664 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.4 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006 - this test) Temp: 20ºC WSS - fastest time over two days S. Charpentier, Honda 1’36.4 K. Sofuoglu, Honda 1’36.8 G. Nannelli, Ducati 1’36.9 B. Parkes, Yamaha 1’37.0 F. Foret, Kawasaki 1’37.7 B. Veneman, Suzuki 1’38.6 P. Riba, Kawasaki 1’39.3 Click here to view the news

Colin Edwards got his first chance to try out Yamaha’s brand-new 800cc MotoGP bike today, but his debut on the bike was cut short due to bad weather at Sepang. Torrential rain fell on the Malaysian circuit from 1pm, flooding parts of the track and bringing about scenes reminiscent of September’s Grand Prix, when a similar storm led to the cancellation of Qualifying. The rain did begin to ease up as the afternoon wore on but parts of the track remained underwater and Edwards, along with all other MotoGP riders present, chose to stay in his garage. Nonetheless Edwards and his crew made the most of a dry morning and the American was able to complete 32 laps before it began to rain, forming a positive initial opinion of the new bike in the process and setting the fastest time of the day with a lap of 2’03.56. Second fastest was Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen with a time of 2’03.90. Colin Edwards(1st – 2’03.56, 32 Laps): “The weather has been a pain but actually we’d already accomplished more or less everything we wanted for the first day. The aim of today was to get on the new bike, do a few laps and just generally get a feel for it. I went out on one tyre for about 15 laps and then on another for 12 and my initial impression was pretty good; in fact the bike feels great for this stage of its development. Obviously power-wise it feels different, but other than that it just feels like it’s rounded-off a bit; not such a knife-edge and a little bit more forgiving. We didn’t change anything drastic from the set-up that Valentino's been running, but just made a few tweaks here and there through the morning to get things working better for me. Hopefully we’ll be a bit luckier with the weather tomorrow and then we can start to really work on it and see where we get to.” Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director: “Today the weather didn’t allow us to use the day to our full advantage, but anyway we completed quite a few laps and this was very important to get Colin’s initial comment on our new bike. This is the first taste for him and his information is going to be very important for our engineers. Unfortunately the weather this afternoon was just too bad and it was impossible to carry on, but now we hope for better conditions tomorrow so we can continue what we began today.” Unofficial Lap Times (800cc Bikes) 1.Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 2’03.56 2.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2’03.90 3.John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2’04.06 4.Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2’04.69 5.Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2’04.98 6.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha, 2’05.11 7.Tadayuki Okada (JPN) Honda Test Rider, 2’05.90 8.Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda, 2’11.05 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

Just a couple of days after the dramatic finale to his rollercoaster season, Valentino Rossi was back out on track in Valencia yesterday and today, already thinking about next season’s revenge as he got to grips with Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle. After the final race of the 990cc era on Sunday, most of his MotoGP rivals were also out on their new bikes as the teams began the long winter of testing in the build-up to the first race next March. Having only ridden the Yamaha 800cc bike briefly on two previous occasions, this test was the first chance for Rossi and his team to assess it in detail and really begin to work on its development. They concentrated on a variety of different set-ups throughout the test with the aim of gathering as much data as possible to aid the Yamaha engineers in their task. Discounting some times from riders who chose to start off on their 990 bikes, which included Rossi for some laps yesterday, the Italian set the seventh fastest lap time of the 800s overall with a time of 1’33.10 yesterday. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards will get his first taste of the new bike at Sepang in two weeks time before both riders head to Jerez together for the final test of the year at the end of the month. Valentino Rossi “It was really good to have two days to rest after such a sad day on Sunday and I’m already feeling much better, in fact I wish the season started in two weeks time! We actually started off the test by doing some laps on the old 990cc bike as we wanted to have one more go at understanding why we lost! Then it was time to finally put it all behind us and get on with the new campaign. It’s been great to be able to try the new bike straight away, when the 990 is still fresh in my mind, as it’s easy to compare and understand the differences. Our bike is already quite good; it’s at a good level for this early stage of development. This is the third time I’ve ridden it and it’s got better each time because they’ve been working hard in Japan. They haven’t made so many big changes yet, just small things like the engine setting, but already it’s a bit faster. Yesterday we were fastest, which was exciting, but today we’ve been trying some different things and we were quite a lot slower. Anyway I’m not worried about that, the most important thing at the moment is to get as much information as possible and really start to understand and get to know the bike. This has been a useful test, I’m already feeling very motivated about the new bike and I am sure that next time I ride it in Jerez it will be even better!”. Davide Brivio – Camel Yamaha Team Director “It was nice to start the 2007 season straight away and not to dwell on the past and this has been a very important test for us with our new 800cc bike. Yesterday Valentino was quite fast which was encouraging. Today we worked on some different things and so he was a bit slower, but at this stage all this information is extremely useful in order to help develop the bike for the next test. Next Colin will have his chance to try the bike and give his opinion and this will also be very important for our engineers. It’s been interesting for us to have a look at our competitors here this week; everyone is already fast so it’s clearly going to be another hard and competitive season and we know we’re all going to have to work very hard through the winter!” Unofficial lap times Wednesday 1st November 2006 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 990, 1’32.70 2. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda 990, 1’32.73 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda 990, 1’32.90 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 800, 1’33.10 5. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 800, 1’33.14 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 800, 1’33.17 7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 800, 1’3318 8. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 800, 1’33.21 9. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 800, 1’33.43 10. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 990, 1’33.64 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 800, 1’33.66 12. Jeremy McWilliams (IRL) Ilmor 800, 1’35.80 13. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 800, 1’36.60s Thursday 2nd November 2006 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda 800, 1’32.66 2. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki 800, 1’32.69 3. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki 800, 1’32’95 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati 800, 1’33.96 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati 800, 1’33.02 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda 800, 1’33.03 7. Alex Barros (BRA) Ducati 990, 1’33.40 8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha 800, 1’33.78 9. Jeremy McWilliams (IRL) Ilmor 800, 1’35.90 10. Andrew Pitt (AUS) Ilmor 800, 1’36.40 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi slid out of the Grand Prix of Valencia today and lost his grip on the MotoGP World Championship for the first time in six years on the final day of an implausibly dramatic season. Nicky Hayden (Honda) lifted the title after claiming third place behind surprise winner Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi (both Ducati), with Rossi recovering to cross the line in 13th place but missing out on the title by just five points. The fifth lap mishap came after a bad start from Rossi, who looked to be in perfect shape to defend his eight-point advantage going into the race after qualifying on pole position. However, the bad luck that followed the Italian throughout the first half of the season returned to strike its final, decisive blow when the front end of Rossi's YZR-M1 tucked under braking and sent him spinning into the gravel. Another heroic charge from the defending champion saw him recover seven places and brought him back into the points but it wasn't enough to hold off Hayden. The last ever MotoGP race of the 990cc era, before maximum engine capacity is reduced to 800cc in 2007, also proved to be a let-down for Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards. The Texan had shown good pace throughout the weekend but higher track temperatures reaching 43ºC this afternoon did not suit the set-up of his machine and he was unable to reproduce that practice form. After starting tenth on the grid he made up one place to finish ninth, a result that lifted him to seventh in the final championship standings. Colin Edwards (9th; +26.072) "Well, obviously that was a disaster from all angles! After two or three laps I lost the front a couple of times but I'm not really sure why. We chose a soft front here but it was the same one as in Motegi and Estoril and it had worked great all weekend here. Today it was quite a lot hotter so maybe that's what did for us. Basically from then on I couldn't turn it properly, I had to put it all on the knee and slow right down to turn, otherwise I was going straight on. I was really feeling that I might crash any minute and I had to follow Hopkins for the whole race; without any corner speed I just couldn't get the jump to pass him. It's a disappointing end to a difficult season for me. I want to say a huge thank you to my team and everyone at Yamaha for all their work throughout the year; they've never given up and I'm sorry that we couldn't finish on a better note. Bad luck to Valentino, he's shown once again how good he is this season and I'm sorry for him and for the whole team. It's all over for another year but we'll both be back in March with the new bike, ready to get some serious revenge!" Valentino Rossi (13th; +38.546) "Of course this is a big disappointment for me because to arrive at the final race with an eight-point advantage and then not win the title is a disaster. Basically I made two mistakes today - one was at the start and then the second one was the crash. It has been a very emotional season, with some great moments, some bad luck and now some mistakes. But this is racing. All I can say now is a big 'congratulations' to Nicky because he is a great guy, a great rider and he is the World Champion because he has been the best this year. I have known him a long time, I know his family well and even though I am disappointed I am also very happy for them. It has been a great fight with him this year - not like in the past with other riders when there have always been some polemics - and we have great respect for each other. I want to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, to all my team and engineers and to everyone else involved, they've done an amazing job this year and now I am looking forward to working towards next season with the 800; I am sure it will be another exciting season and another big battle!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is normal that the feeling now within the team is one of disappointment but we are also proud that we brought this fight to the final round after all the bad luck we had in the first half of the season. Valentino has worked incredibly hard and shown on several occasions why he has been such a great World Champion - even today he kept on fighting to the very end. It is a sad day for us but we are already looking to the future with great excitement about the new 800cc era and the chance to win the title back in 2007. I want to thank all our riders, team staff, sponsors and technical partners for their excellent work this season and, from our behalf, congratulations to Nicky Hayden." Checa ends his tenure with Tech 3 Yamaha Team scoring another top 10 result It was a fitting result for the current Tech 3 Yamaha Team as Carlos Checa, in his swansong for the team brought his Yamaha home in 10th place after a hard fought tussle at the Grand Prix of Valencia at the Ricardo Tormo circuit won by Australian, Troy Bayliss on a Ducati. After starting from 16th position on the grid Carlos battled his way through a number of other factory machines showing the determination that has attracted the appreciation of many in the Grand Prix world and again demonstrating the impressive improved performance of the Dunlop tyres the team has used this year. Carlos came close to being the first Yamaha home as he followed Colin Edwards home by less than two seconds after defending world champion, Valentino Rossi made a very rare mistake when he crashed although he remounted to finish in 13th position Team mate James Ellison finished his time with the Tech 3 team in the points finishing in 14th position after battling handling problems with his machine. Carlos Checa Carlos Checa (10th, Fastest lap 1'33.944) It was a very good race. I got a start that was not so bad and I was with a group fighting for 10th to 15th position then Valentino crashed. I feel sorry for them because they lost the championship. Finally, I finished in the top 10 but it wasn't easy at the beginning. I was extremely happy with the performance of the tyre as it stayed very stable and this gave me the opportunity to pass some riders and I ended up quite close to Colin. This will give the team a good reference for us considering Colin's team is using another tyre brand and it shows how much Dunlop has improved. I feel very close to Yamaha but very sad as it is the day I leave this team, Dunlop and Yamaha and after this year I feel so very satisfied as we always fought to improve as it was never easy to get better to bring the bikes and tyres as good as possible. I feel that this is one of my best seasons considering how the season started as it was quite difficult an intense. This team gave me the chance to continue competing to learn more about tyre, and in the human aspects we had a very close relationship with many positive things. We must be very satisfied now. It is something hard to explain at this moment why I am leaving because I want to challenge for a better position in races and I know if they continue here I need more time to develop to get into a more competitive position. At least I left something very important, some progress, some results and some improvements so they can keep working and growing. This is the kind of year I will not forget for sureas like I said it has probably been my most satisfying in al the years I have spent in the Grand Prix. I'd like to thank Herve, Yamaha, Dunlop and the entire team for allowing me to learn more about riding, development and about myself and know that we will part as good friends." James Ellison (14th,Fastest lap 1'35.311) "For me the race was pretty disappointing as the chatter problem was still with us. All year it has been much the same. We ran the same tyre as Carlos but I've been running a different spec Yamaha all year to what Carlos runs. Getting the setup has been very, very difficult. No matter what we run the chatter problems has been persisting. After four laps the chattering is there. It's either a case of ride with it or if I try to ride through it. If I try and ride though it I will crash like happened in Assen and yesterday during qualifying. When things go well and the bike is working I know I can run the times but when I'm riding something that is chattering every corner and it is so close to the limit all the time it makes this impossible. After today I'm wrecked trying to hang onto it. But saying that, I'd like to say I really appreciate the work and the effort Herve and the team have put in. Truthfully the team has been unbelievable all year. I only wish that there were a few things that were different that may have given me the chance of scoring some results I know I'm capable of. I would love to be staying with the team as well to continue the hard work we have all put in but that isn't possible, so I'd just like to say thanks to them all and hope that one day I can return to the MotoGP paddock." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It was an incredible day today. Firstly, I feel sorry for Yamaha and Valentino who lost the championship today but that is racing. I am very sorry about that. I am very happy for our last race with Carlos as he showed much fighting spirit because he started 16th and he passed a lot of guys. His pace was very close to that of the leaders for a lot of the race and he caught many riders on other tyres. He eventually passed Hopkins and was closing on Colin to be just two seconds away at the end so we went close to being the first Yamaha - and on Dunlop. That says a lot. We have definitely improved so much during the year but we still have to concentrate on qualifying tyres but if you look at the last few races - apart from Motegi - the second part of the season really showed consistency and a big improvement. Thank you to Carlos and well done Dunlop. We go again with Dunlop next year and together with the new tyre rule and the 800cc capacity everything is much more open and we are very positive so it's good to end up with a race like this. The only sad thing for us is that we say goodbye to Carlos as he has done so much for us. I want to wish him all the best and good luck for what he is doing and thanks again for what he has done. I would also like to say thanks to James as well. I know that he tried very hard all year to come to grips with the bike and the tyres but unfortunately it didn't work out. Like Carlos I would like to wish him the best for anything he does in the future." Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 32 Crowd: 129.446 Weather: Hot 2006 MotoGP Valencia 29/10/2006 Race 1 - 30 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 46'55.415 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'1.319 3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'9.230 4 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'12.065 5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'16.306 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'17.390 7 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 0'19.329 8 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'23.174 9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'26.072 10 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'28.194 11 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'29.364 12 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'29.707 13 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'38.546 14 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'20.013 15 Garry McCoy Imor X3 AUS -7 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'32.924 Rider Standings 29/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 252 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 247 3. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 229 4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 228 5. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 215 6. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 134 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 124 8. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 119 9. Toni Elias Honda ESP 116 10. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 116 11. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 98 12. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 96 13. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 95 14. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 92 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 75 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 26 Team Standings 29/10/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 467 2. Camel Yamaha Team 371 3. Ducati Marlboro Team 356 4. Fortuna Honda Team 344 5. Rizla Suzuki 214 6. Team Roberts KR 134 7. Kawasaki Racing Team 129 8. Honda LCR 119 9. Tech3 Yamaha 101 10. Konica Minolta Honda 96 11. Pramac D'Antin 33 12. Ilmor SRT 2 Manufacturer Standings 29/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 360 2. Yamaha 289 3. Ducati 248 4. Suzuki 151 5. Team Robert KR 134 6. Kawasaki 109 7. Imor X3 2 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will launch his bid for the MotoGP World Championship title in the best possible circumstances tomorrow after sealing pole position for the final race of the season in today's qualifying session at Valencia. The Italian repeatedly smashed the pole record here to make sure of the top spot, eventually clocking a best lap of 1'31.002 to hold off the twin challenge of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who join him on the front row. Tomorrow, in front of an expected crowd of over 120,000 fans, the five-time MotoGP World Champion will defend an eight-point advantage over Nicky Hayden (Honda) as he aims to secure his sixth consecutive title. Hayden, the only man with a mathematical chance of denying Rossi, starts from the second row after qualifying fifth fastest, meaning there are three riders between the championship contenders on the grid. Unfortunately Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards is not one of those, having struggled to significantly improve his lap times on a qualifying tyre this afternoon. Nevertheless, the in-form Texan has set an impressive pace throughout the day on race rubber. In the morning free practice, when Rossi also topped the time sheets, Edwards was fourth fastest and in the afternoon he lapped consistently inside the circuit record before being forced to settle for tenth place on the grid. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'31.002; 30 laps) "We knew we had great potential with the qualifying tyre because we tried it this morning in the free practice and then this afternoon I did three very good laps, each one better and better and then the final lap was very fast. To do a 1'31.0 was really incredible. This pole position is crucial for me because it is an important part of my race tactics to start from the front. The session couldn't have gone much better for us because we have a couple of other riders between myself and Nicky. It is a shame Colin is not one of them but he has a good race pace so hopefully he can help me out like he did at Estoril. The team has done a great job this weekend, especially with the balance of the bike. Now we need to make one or two small changes for tomorrow and then we'll just wait and see. I hope the weather will be like this - for the riders and for the fans because it looks like there will be a great crowd! Now we have the most important thirty laps of the season left to complete our target." Colin Edwards (10th - 1'31.711; 28 laps) "I'm really pleased with the race setting although we could still make a little more time up in the second sector so that is something we will look at in the warm-up tomorrow. I'm also having a slight problem under braking into turn one but it's good to know that even with those small setbacks we are still right up there in terms of the pace we can expect to see at the front tomorrow. The bike is a lot better than yesterday - we were confident that the changes we had in mind would work and they did, so I have to give my thanks to the team for that. They've done a great job on the bike and we're all set to give a good showing in the last race. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get it done on the qualifying tyre today so the starting position is a little further back than we would like but I know this circuit really well and hopefully I can use that knowledge to make as many passes as possible at the start of the race, get up there and help Valentino win this championship." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "We couldn't have asked for a better starting position for the most important race of the season but the main thing is that Valentino's general feeling with the bike is good and he is comfortable going into such a big day tomorrow. Of course, anything can still happen but we feel ready for this last battle and happy in the knowledge that our bike will be competitive enough to go out and race. Unfortunately Colin wasn't able to take advantage of the qualifying tyre today but we're pleased with his pace on race rubber and we expect a big effort from him tomorrow. If he can get a good start then I'm sure he can stay with the lead group and help out Valentino, just like he did at Estoril. We are ready for D-Day!" Tech3 Yamaha confident of strong race at Valencia Two hours of practice and qualifying for tomorrow's final MotoGP of the year at the Grand Prix of Valencia have placed the Tech 3 Yamaha Team in an encouraging frame of mind for a good performance in what is the final race with the team for both Carlos Checa and James Ellison. Carlos and James finished the critical one hour qualifying session in 16th and 19th positions respectively but these places are deceptive as on race tyres the Tech 3 Yamaha Team is right in the hunt. Carlos's lap times especially are similar to those of pole sitter and fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi and, encouragingly, just over a second off the fastest pole time of the defending world champion. Also during qualifying, Carlos did almost an entire Grand Prix distance on race tyres to boost his confidence for his final race with the Tech 3 Yamaha Team while teammate James had his session interrupted with a crash as he was pushing hard following Carlos in an effort to move up the grid. Although he had a small hiccup with the low-side crash, the Englishman still lowered his lap times from yesterday to set him in the mood for a good performance. Carlos Checa Carlos Checa (16th, 1'32.747, 31 laps) "I am not too disappointed with the session, although of course we would like to be closer to the front, but I did a race pace on a new tyre selection so we hope we can do the same times and be able to do the entire distance. We are quite satisfied with the job we did as on the last lap we did a flat 34. Our main problem is the consistency and to be able to race all laps in the 33s will be quite difficult. Unfortunately, with qualifying tyres we had a lot of chattering and couldn't improve too much. I thought I may be able to do one more lap but this was not possible. We are not in the best place on the grid as we are a bit further back than we would've liked but I am confident after doing the lap times today on race tyres that if we can get a good start we may be able to push our way through a few positions to get closer to the front but we have to remember that this is a very hard place to pass so we must aim for the best of starts. Also, as it is my last race with the team I want to have a good result to say thanks for all the hard work they have put in this year. At the beginning of the year we knew this would be a very difficult season but for everything that has happened I must say that it is one of the most personally satisfying years I have had in my career." James Ellison (19th, 1'33.953, 25 laps) "The session was ok at first and I really thought we may pull out a half decent qualifying position but we are still hitting a barrier that we can't push through, as once we start pushing through it we are having heaps of chattering problems on the right side. It starts to chatter then you try and ride through it and sometimes you get away with it and it stops chattering and sometimes it doesn't and that's what happened when I lost the front through the second right-hander. I can follow Carlos on exactly the same line and speed but when we look at the telemetry we see how different each bike is performing but it seems to have been the case all year. We have a pretty good idea for a race setup as I can run around in the 34 second bracket quite comfortably so I am fairly confident that we can run a good pace tomorrow and finish off a difficult year in the points. Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "First up congratulations to Valentino as this could be the most important pole position of his career. Saying that, it was a not so bad day for us today although the time sheets may show different. We look quite good on race tyres as we did 20 laps with Carlos earlier in the session and the lap times was very consistent with the entire block in the 1 minute 33 second bracket which after two days appears to be what the race pace will be and this is quite promising. Unfortunately we didn't qualify as well as we could've done and the starting position is not what we would've have liked but we saw Carlos at Estoril start from quite far behind after an incident at the first corner and he came back to a very decent position after the first few laps. We hope tomorrow that he will be able to make his way through the field for a similar result. As it is Carlos' last race for the team in Spain front of his home crowd we would like him to do well so we will all be trying our best. James was riding quite well also until he fell when pushing. We are happy to see him pushing hard and although he didn't improve after he crashed, he was very aggressive and this is what we like him to do and tomorrow we hope that he can do the same thing and finish his time with the team with a satisfactory result." Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 31 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Valencia 28/10/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'31.002 2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'31.210 3 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'31.307 4 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'31.341 5 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'31.378 6 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'31.385 7 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'31.470 8 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'31.606 9 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'31.663 10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'31.711 11 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'31.892 12 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'32.062 13 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'32.144 14 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'32.358 15 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'32.467 16 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'32.747 19 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'33.953 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi today began preparations for the race that will decide the destiny of the MotoGP World Championship title as the first free practice sessions took place at Valencia. Fans have already begun to stream into the Ricardo Tormo circuit to witness the first exchanges of what promises to be another historic chapter in this sport's great history, with bright sunshine and warm autumn temperatures of 25ºC welcoming them to the eastern coast of Spain for the final round of the season. In the morning session Rossi and his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards helped raise the heat with a series of quick laps that left the Italian on top of the time sheets, with the American sixth fastest, over lunch. However, the pace picked up considerably in the afternoon as a number of riders tested out their qualifying rubber ahead of tomorrow afternoon's grid decider and the pair slipped down the order, with Rossi ending the day seventh fastest overall and Edwards, who was unable to improve on his best lap from the morning, down in eleventh. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) clocked the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1'32.220, ahead of Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki). Rossi and Edwards will look to close the gap as they work on further setting refinements to their YZR-M1 machines in the final free practice session tomorrow morning, before official qualifying gets underway at 2pm local time. Valentino Rossi (7th - 1'33.274; 51 laps) "We found a good setting this morning and we were quite fast from the start, but this afternoon some of the others made big improvements and caught up with us! This afternoon we tried a lot of different things and quite a few tyres, trying to find the best possible package for tomorrow and Sunday. Tyres are fundamental here and its very hard on the left side of the tyre especially. This track isn't so easy and it takes time to find the right setting, but the feeling from the bike is good and in general our race pace is quite fast so we're not really worried. We've got one or two things to improve, especially in a couple of the hard braking areas, but I think if we can make just a couple of improvements then we will be able to fight at the top. For now we will stay calm and focused and tomorrow things will be clearer." Colin Edwards (11th - 1'33.545; 39 laps) "It's okay, everything is under control! Our new breakthrough, 'miracle' setting that we found in Motegi needed a few tweaks before it was perfect for Estoril and here it's the same story. In fact we need to make a few small changes back towards the Motegi setting in order to have it perfect for this track. Everything we're learning and understanding here, especially with the setting, is going to be really valuable next year, even with the new bike, so that's quite exciting. We understand why it was perfect in Portugal and why we've got some problems here, so there's no need to panic. We'll make some changes tonight and I'm confident that we'll be back up there tomorrow." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "With Valentino we worked a lot today on many different things. We're still trying to fine tune the setting and select the right tyres but anyway the situation is not so bad. Colin this morning was quite fast but now we need to look at what happened this afternoon because he couldn't improve on that time. We've got some work to get through tonight to see how we can improve with him but it seems his team understands what they need to do and I am sure they will be able to bring everything together for tomorrow. It's not a perfect start but we're relaxed, it's only Friday and we have all of Saturday to improve." Hard work ahead for Tech3 Yamaha at Valencia The opening day of practice proved to be a difficult one for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team as riders Carlos Checa and James Ellison struggled to find a suitable setup in preparation for tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions in preparations for Sunday's Grand Prix de Valencia where over 125,000 spectators are expected to witness one of the great races of the modern MotoGP era as both riders prepare for their last race in the yellow and black Tech 3 Yamaha colours. Carlos along with fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards were the only two riders not to improve their morning time later in the day as higher temperatures made tyre selection challenging. While Carlos struggled to be in the somewhat unfamiliar position of 15th fastest, James took nearly two seconds off his time from the opening session to be one position behind his team mate with both riders confident that some hard work overnight can improve their chances for Sunday's race. Carlos Checa (15th, 1'33.860; 53 laps) "It hasn't been a frustrating day but it has been very hard work. This afternoon we couldn't find the right combination with grip and we also had a lot of chattering. We have been using one bike then the other, testing different rear tyres but we haven't found good performance especially with the side grip. Sometimes it hasn't been so bad but then we get some big chatter in one bike very badly but in my other bike we have a setting to try and stop the chatter. Today is one of those days where you hit the same wall and can't jump over it. We need to change something else to try and stop this chatter and improve the side grip but honestly at the moment I can't find that next step that we need to move forward. But like this team has been doing all year we have some ideas to try tomorrow and Dunlop have some other combinations with rear tyre that we will try tomorrow to see if this can give us something better. We also tried a different front rim size to try and eliminate our problems but the tyre worked quite different this afternoon. I don't know if it was the rim or the fact that the track had a lot higher temperature but I'm sure we will find something tomorrow as we have already been working on some ideas. Although many others tried qualifying tyres it didn't make sense for us to use one. We have to improve the pace to be more consistent and faster with the race tyre. It is my last race with this team and I am determined to give a good result for the team as they have been working very hard all year to improve the situation we are in. I thi k we all have done a very good job to get the Dunlop tyres to where we are now but of course not every day is going to be perfect so we will work on making these improvements for tomorrow. Ellison and Checa James Ellison (16th1'34.323; 51 laps) "We had a slow start this morning as we had a lot of changes with setup to find a balance with the bike and tried a few new tyres to find a direction for this afternoon which obviously we did as straight out of the box we were a lot better than we were this morning but, to be honest it seems all the Dunlop runners are struggling to find the right combination of tyres. The ingredients are there in each tyre. A certain area of one is good and then there are the same things in other tyres that are goods so it's a case of all getting together and finding the one that is going to work this weekend because the times are so close. I am very happy to be right with Carlos. It's probably the closest since Brno so in that respect I'm happy but we still have along way to go. I'm sure Carlos isn't too happy so the only way is moving forward. The times are so close so its not like taking big chunks out of a lap time we're looking for its just fine-tuning with the tyres and the balance of the bike. Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director This is an important weekend for us of course as it is the end of the season but also the last Grand Prix with Carlos which is something very special because we have had a really good year together and I think we have done a great job thanks to him. The improvement of the Dunlop tyres owes him a lot and most of it is because of his dedication and hard work. This morning was good as we started really strong and looked like we could be doing another Phillip Island or Estoril but I'm not in a position at the moment to explain this afternoon. Maybe it was because of the unexpected heat combined with the track. The only two guys that didn't improve were Carlos and (Colin Edwards) but still Carlos didn't want to use the qualifying tyre. We know that the result of the second practice session doesn't reflect 100% of the situation because we are only 0.8 to the best time on race tyres. It is still a long way behind but not as bad as we've seen on the screen. I am quite confident that we can give Carlos the best package possible to end this adventure with us and I think he is very motivated to give a good gift to the team. We are not too far away and we are going to push very hard tomorrow so we are quite confident. James has been riding well to improve his time so I think we are in a pretty good shape to move up the sheets tomorrow. Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 25 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Valencia 27/10/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'32.220 2 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'32.408 3 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'32.786 4 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'33.019 5 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'33.080 6 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'33.254 7 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'33.274 8 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'33.369 9 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'33.394 10 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'33.433 11 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'33.556 12 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'33.622 13 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'33.689 14 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'33.795 15 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'33.954 16 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'33.967 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'34.323 Click here to view the news