Alex Asigno

It was a day of mixed emotions for the Yamaha Motor Italia team in Assen. Andrew Pitt grabbed two superb second places to move up to fourth in the championship but team-mate Noriyuki Haga dropped down to third after he failed to finish either race. The day's first race was wet and, with little more than 15 minutes rain testing in the morning warm-up, was to prove something of a lottery that caught out all of the main title contenders. Starting from second on the grid, Haga found himself in fourth place at the end of the first lap, behind series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and the Suzukis of Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama. Despite the conditions the racing proved close, with Haga fearless on the brakes as he took the lead for the first time on lap six. One by one Haga's rivals crashed out, leaving the Yamaha rider with an 18 second lead over team-mate Pitt in second. Unfortunately Haga also succumbed to the conditions, losing the front end on lap 13 of 22. That left Pitt in the lead, the Australian having worked his way diligently through after ending the first lap in seventh place. The Australian had found it hard to overtake, a situation caused as much by the proliferation of yellow caution flags as the slippery surface, but finally got past Michel Fabrizio (Honda) to take the lead on lap 13. Pitt rode steadily as the conditions worsened, but by lap 15 wet weather specialist Chris Walker completed his charge from the back of the grid to take the lead going into the chicane. The Englishman went on to take his first ever world championship win, while Pitt used his head to take his fourth podium finish of the season. Race two was run in dry conditions but proved to be short for Haga. The Yamaha rider had collided with Corser coming off the line but led into the first turn, only to be knocked off by another rider. With the accident also claiming Corser and championship contender James Toseland (Honda), Bayliss led from Pitt and Kagayama. Bayliss was able to make a break and take his 10th win of the year, while Pitt rode a superb race to take a comfortable second ahead of third placed Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki). Norick Abe Norick Abe used all of his experience to take fifth place on his Yamaha Motor France YZF-R1 in the opening race. The Japanese rider avoided the carnage to move steadily through the pack, although he was unable to equal his best result of the season after being passed by Nieto on the final corner. Team-mate and countryman Shinichi Nakatomi gained three points for 13th place, although there was disappointment for Sebastien Gimbert on the third Yamaha France machine. He crashed out of a top 10 finish on lap 10 and was unable to make the second race due to a back injury. Abe and Nakatomi also failed to score in the second race after retiring with a lack of grip. Bayliss now leads the championship by 100 points from Toseland, who is two points ahead of third placed Haga. Pitt's 40 point haul in the Netherlands, the highest of any rider on the day, sees him move up two places, to fourth overall, with three rounds and six races of the championship remaining. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "At half distance I really thought that I could have won that second race, but in the end the front tyre was gone and I had to settle for second. I'm really pleased with how its went today and I'd like to give special thanks to my team, because they worked very hard and gave me a great bike for the races. When Chris passed me in the first race I tried to stay with him but I think that I was destined to be second. Fortunately the grip is quite good here in the wet but there were a few parts that were unbelievably slippery, probably from the oil that got spilled in the morning warm-up. You just had to work out where you could push and where you couldn't and thankfully I was able to bring it home." Noriyuki Haga Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "My pace in the first race was not so good but I was lucky that many riders crashed in front of me. In the second race I made a good start but slipped back because the grip wasn't right. I went out of the points and pulled in because it was too dangerous to continue." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "Very difficult weekend. Conditions were very hard in the first race and I was pleased to make the finish and score points. In the second race there was a problem with the rear grip, I think the suspension settings caused the tyre to wear too quickly, and I had to retire." Shinichi Nakatomi Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "A very bad day with many crashes. After crashing in the warm-up I had to ride my second bike for the first race. I had a good feeling with the bike but then I just lost the front without any warning. The second was also disappointing because I made a good start and was leading into the first corner. The next thing I knew another bike has hit me and I am out with Toseland and Corser." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "My back is very painful but I have been to the hospital and the scans say nothing is broken. This is good news and with the Bol d'Or endurance racing coming up soon I hope I can make a speedy recovery." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "It's been a mixed day for us in Assen. For Nori it's been a bad day, losing 25 points in the first race and then getting knocked off in the second. Andrew, however, rode two fantastic races. He scored more points than anyone else and has moved up two places in the championship, so this is a good result for him. His points have also moved Yamaha up to second in the constructor's championship. This is also important because it proves to us that we have a very good bike and that the team is working in the right way. Now we've got to go to Lausitzring next weekend. We had a good test there recently and we're looking forward to going back." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "It's been a crazy day because it stared out well and finished bad. The biggest problem is Gimbert's injury. Nothing is broken but he will not make the Lausitz race because the most important thing for him is the Bol d'Or. Abe made a very nice race in the first but it was a bad choice of tyre in race two. The tyre is completely destroyed, and I have never seen anything like it. He used the 200, but Nakatomi used the smaller one and had basically the same problem. So we had a soft tyre and hard tyre and both had a problem. Maybe we did not adjust the suspension properly for the conditions." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Changeable 2006 WSB Assen 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 44'23.501 2 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'4.965 3 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'24.130 4 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'36.968 5 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'37.178 6 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'37.324 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'40.930 8 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'41.857 9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'53.382 10 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'55.869 11 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 1'39.835 12 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'59.724 13 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 14 Harry van Beek Suzuki NED -1 Laps 15 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA -5 Laps Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 40'0.000 2 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'9.342 3 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'11.648 4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'12.743 5 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'12.811 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'19.845 7 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'29.241 8 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'34.085 9 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'42.113 10 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'51.815 11 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 0'53.608 12 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'56.132 13 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'57.168 14 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'1.056 15 Joshua Brookes Kawasaki AUS 1'34.429 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'40.767 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 332 2. James Toseland Honda GBR 232 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 230 4. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 197 5. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 193 6. Alex Barros Honda BRA 175 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 139 8. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 123 9. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 115 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 112 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 109 12. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 95 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 88 14. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 80 15. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 76 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 32 20. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 351 2. Yamaha 299 3. Honda 292 4. Suzuki 282 5. Kawasaki 181 6. Petronas 13 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Curtain takes championship lead in Assen Kevin Curtain Kevin Curtain did a professional job in difficult conditions to take second place and the championship lead at Assen today, although there was disappointment for his Yamaha Motor Germany squad as team-mate Broc Parkes suffered serious injury after crashing. The experienced Australian finished second in each leg of the two-part race to pull out a seven point lead over defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). Charpentier took the chequered flag 'on the road' but finished fourth on aggregate time. In wet conditions it was Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes who took the lead and quickly pulled away. The Australian had hoped a good result would put him right in contention for the title after winning last time out in Brands Hatch but his day ended on lap three when he suffered a huge crash. The rider lost the rear of his machine and tumbled spectacularly into the gravel. Parkes was taken to hospital where the initial diagnosis suggests he has suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and an injured shoulder. With Parkes out, Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu built up a big lead while Curtain slotted into a five rider battle for second. The Yamaha rider was battling with Kai Borre Andersen (Suzuki) when the red flags were brought out on lap 10 to allow medical staff to attend to an injured rider. Charpentier took the flag in a relatively incident-free second part, with Curtain and Sofuoglu content to ride sensibly and finish second and third on the road. Sofuoglu took the win, his first of the season, on aggregate time, with Curtain second, Andersen third and Charpentier fourth. Curtain now leads the championship on 151 points to Charpentier's 144, with three races remaining. Parkes stays third, on 119. Yamaha's other supersport riders faced mixed results in Assen. Yamaha Team Italia riders Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli brought their YZF-R6s home in seventh and eighth places respectively, while Yamaha GMT94's David Checa ran strongly until being sidelined with an electrical problem in the second part of the race. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It was important to come here and get a good result for the championship. It's a shame for us that the race was wet, because we worked really hard all weekend to find a great set-up for the dry conditions. It was important not to throw it down the road and we can go to Lausitz in good spirits. I'm a lot more confident going to Lausitz than I was coming here, because we've tested there and have good settings while Assen was completely new to us with this bike." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm happy with the result today and felt confident because I normally go quite well in the rain and had a good rhythm in the practice. It's important to have a good end to the season, to remain in the top 10 of the championship and to build up my confidence for next season." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I felt a lot better in the second part of the race as I learned a lot about how to ride this track in the wet conditions. With Tibero and Harms crashing I thought about the championship and rode for the points. I'm satisfied because I am not normally strong in the wet but have scored some good points today." Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "When Broc was in the lead everything was looking OK but in the crash he had a bad head knock and other internal injuries. It is strange because it is great for Kevin to be leading the championship but tonight I my feelings are mixed, on one hand I am happy for Kevin but very sad for Broc." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 2006 WSS Assen 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 41'49.124 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'4.581 3 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 0'9.241 4 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'9.489 5 Arie Vos Honda NED 0'29.994 6 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'31.858 7 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'54.312 8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'56.085 9 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'9.735 10 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 1'13.899 11 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'21.451 12 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 1'26.458 13 Alessio Velini Yamaha ITA 1'32.137 14 Vesa Kallio Yamaha FIN 1'37.377 15 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'45.357 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'55.516 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 151 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 144 3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119 4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 94 5. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 92 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 86 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57 9. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 10. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 46 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29 12. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27 13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 22 14. Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21 15. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 21 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 202 2. Yamaha 188 3. Ducati 54 4. Kawasaki 49 5. Suzuki 28 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Corti takes second 1000cc win at Assen Claudio Corti Yamaha Team Italia youngster Claudio Corti took his second FIM Superstock 1000 Cup win of the season in a thrilling Assen race. The Italian had looked strong all weekend, placing his Yamaha YZF-R1 SP second on the grid and riding an intelligent race to fend off the challenge of British superstock champion Brendon Roberts (Suzuki). The pair enjoyed a fascinating battle which was settled once and for all when Roberts braked too late trying to make a pass as they went into the final chicane for the last time. Corti's win sees him close in on the top three of the championship. The Italian remains fourth in the standings but is now 17 points from third placed Luca Scassa (MV Agusta) with three races remaining. Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) finished third to extend his championship lead to 22 points over non-finishing pole sitter Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta). Former European supersport champion Matteo Baiocco finished fourth on another Yamaha. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am especially happy because I did not make a good start today. I was able to recover quickly though and when I got into the lead I had a good feeling that I could win. I knew that Roberts would try to pass at the last corner so I was aware of him and waiting for his mistake. It's a good result and now I will push hard and try to finish in the top three of the championship." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Dry 2006 Superstock Assen 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 13 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 22'58.130 2 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 0'3.461 3 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'5.718 4 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'6.094 5 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 0'7.397 6 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'7.623 7 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'8.007 8 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'8.557 9 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 0'8.596 10 David Johnson Yamaha AUS 0'10.275 11 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'16.091 12 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 0'16.188 13 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 0'16.396 14 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'17.802 15 Herve Gantner Yamaha CHE 0'24.357 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 1'44.800 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 131 2. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 109 3. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 107 4. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 90 5. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 65 6. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 51 7. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 8. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 43 9. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 42 10. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 34 11. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 12. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 29 13. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27 14. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 24 15. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 23 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 144 2. MV Agusta 129 3. Yamaha 108 4. Kawasaki 78 5. Honda 35 Click here to view the news

The Grand Prix of the Netherlands marked another important chapter in a truly memorable season for Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts as the 2006 World Champion dominated both motos in the Lierop sand for his 100th career success and his thirteenth triumph from fourteen rounds on the YZ450FM in the 2006 campaign. The penultimate meeting of the year occurred under dark clouds that freely dispensed rain all day over the Lierop circuit. 33,135 spectators gathered to watch the hardest GP of the term so far for the MX1 and MX2 riders. The sand quickly cut into a path of bumps, ruts and heavy, rough sections that tested the machines as much as the endurance and fitness of the riders. Everts claimed his eighth pole position of the season yesterday with a lap-time almost a second quicker than fellow countryman Steve Ramon as Belgian riders filled the top four positions on the leader-board. The 33 year old started well and was in second place negotiating the first corner behind Josh Coppins. By the fourth turn the World Champion was ahead and embarked on a trouble-free ride. He had to remain alert cutting through backmarkers that he lapped up to 7th position and the 41 second winning advantage at the flag was a clear indication of the dominance Everts enjoyed in his self-confessed 'playground'. The victory was his 24th moto success in 2006. In race two he delivered a repeat performance and was a class apart of the MX1 flock as he again pulled away from his Honda rival. 25 motos from 28 this year were duly confirmed and Everts danced and punched the air at reaching his phenomenal goal of 100 victories; 43 more than the next most successful rider Joel Smets and clinched in an 18 year career stretching back to 1989. Cédric Melotte attempted to ride this week but the bruising on his right foot as a consequence of three broken toes meant that pushing the Yamaha was still too painful for the Belgian. He should return to action next week in the Belgian Championship and be fit to ride at Ernee. Everts has already wrapped up the 2006 campaign but extended his point margin over Kevin Strijbos to 198. Melotte is tenth after his second non-start in a week. The fifteenth and final round of the World Championship will take place in two weeks time for the Grand Prix of France at the Ernee circuit, less than 100km west of Le Mans. Stefan on the podium Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "There is not much left to win now, maybe just the Motocross of Nations! This has been a tough little period for me. Mentally I have been a bit 'done' and physically it has been hard. Last week was a hard race; Josh said that the riders can learn from me physically but he was very strong in Ireland also so he is right there also. Anyway, it has been a long way to this 100th GP win. I started in 1989 and now we are in 2006, so that is eighteen years to try and win 100 GPs; it has been a long road. Counting from one to ten in terms of titles can take some time, but one to one hundred is something else. I am so, so happy, thanks to everyone who has supported me." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Only fifteen days after the crash the toes on my foot had recovered but there was a large bruise on the bottom of my foot and it was difficult to put a lot of weight on my leg so this race came too soon for me. I am able to cycle and the whole injury is getting better so I hope to be back to a good level by the time of Ernee." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "We have run out of objectives for this season! Stefan's achievement was unbelievable and the way he won today was excellent; he was riding far above the level of the others. Mentally and physically he is a little bit exhausted but his skill on the sand allowed him to win today. He dominated both motos and was just perfect all day." Circuit Length: 1875 Temp: 20 Crowd: 33135 Weather: Wet 2006 GP of Lierop, The Netherlands 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'57.876 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'43.152 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 1'32.032 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'37.711 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 1'40.262 6 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'41.951 7 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 1'47.567 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 9 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP -1 Laps 10 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 11 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -1 Laps 13 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA -1 Laps 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 15 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 16 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 17 Anne Advokaat Honda NED -1 Laps 18 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 19 James Noble Honda GBR -1 Laps 20 Aigar Bobkovs Honda LVA -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'20.984 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'36.728 3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'55.438 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 2'7.398 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 2'36.900 6 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 7 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA -1 Laps 8 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 9 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 10 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps 11 Mark Jones Honda GBR -1 Laps 12 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 13 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -1 Laps 14 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 15 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 16 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 17 Mike Kras Suzuki NED -1 Laps 18 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 19 James Noble Honda GBR -2 Laps 20 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 2'9.699 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 689 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 491 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 454 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 434 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 405 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 338 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 293 8. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 267 9. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 247 10. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 11. James Noble Honda GBR 202 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 161 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 153 16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 146 17. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 120 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 689 2. Suzuki 561 3. Honda 538 4. Kawasaki 420 5. KTM 416 6. TM 161 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Cairoli still defending his crown Tony Cairoli World Champion Antonio Cairoli finished as runner-up overall in a soaked MX2 Grand Prix of attrition and mere survival at Lierop. The Italian gained results of first and third for his third consecutive podium at the penultimate round of the series. Cairoli - who has sweet memories of the Lierop sand after his World Championship celebrations one year ago - initially led the opening moto but was pursued by David Philippaerts and had to let his countryman through to set the pace. Approaching the final stages of the moto Philippaerts crashed and slipped back to fourth place (before another spill dropped him further down the classification) giving the Sicilian a reasonably clear track to seal his 10th moto of the season. In the second race a bad start immediately ruled out a second victory as Pourcel drew clear at the front ahead of Rattray, and Cairoli had to beat a path to third; a job made easier once he had disposed of Rui Goncalves. It meant the five points gained on Pourcel from Moto1 were conceded before the end of the afternoon. Billy MacKenzie The Yamaha Team Ricci packed up early after their sole rider Kenneth Gundersen fell out of a top ten position in the first moto and hurt his right shoulder. The early diagnosis estimates no broken bones but the luckless Norwegian will have a further examination tomorrow and only then will he be informed as to the likelihood of being able to ride at Ernee. Davide Guarneri was in no condition to compete and Alessio Chiodi elected to miss the Grand Prix with a still painful broken finger. With one round remaining Cairoli has a mathematical chance of defending his crown. 50 points have still to be won and the De Carli racer trails Pourcel by 28. Billy Mackenzie is the next highest Yamaha rider in eleventh and dropped three places with a double DNF today. The trip to Ernee and the French Grand Prix will provide the MX2 competitors with their final outing of the season in two weeks time. The Motocross of Nations in which Cairoli, Gundersen and Mackenzie will represent their countries takes place immediately after the Gallic meeting. Antonio Cairoli Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "Christophe is a very good rider and has been consistent this season; this for the Championship is very important. This year I have lost a lot of points in three or four heats and I am far behind him now. I just want to win in France and I won't be thinking about the Championship because it is too hard. In the first moto I started well but Philippaerts was going very fast. I know that my physical condition is good and if I didn't make any mistakes I would be in contention for the win. David made two mistakes and I was ready to take the heat. I was really happy to win at this track because last year I took the world title here and this is always a big race for me. In the second race I was braking too late for the first corner and went wide. I got caught in the middle of the group in the second turn and then it was very hard to close down the gap." Circuit Length: 1875 Temp: 20 Crowd: 33135 Weather: Wet 2006 GP of Lierop, The Netherlands 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'53.916 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'16.401 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'31.286 4 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 0'57.200 5 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'58.845 6 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'0.295 7 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'21.844 8 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 1'33.696 9 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'41.615 10 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'46.024 11 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'49.922 12 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'55.204 13 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 2'1.008 14 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 2'3.608 15 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 2'18.009 16 Wayne Smith Honda GBR -1 Laps 17 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 18 Nick Tuin Yamaha NED -1 Laps 19 Johan Carlsson Yamaha SWE -1 Laps 20 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40'43.318 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'21.464 3 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'40.615 4 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'59.948 5 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'13.800 6 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'18.715 7 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'21.487 8 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'35.252 9 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'43.760 10 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 1'58.452 11 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 2'12.457 12 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 2'22.505 13 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 2'26.282 14 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 15 Johan Carlsson Yamaha SWE -1 Laps 16 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 17 Nick Tuin Yamaha NED -1 Laps 18 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 19 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps 20 Wayne Smith Honda GBR -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time David Philippaerts KTM ITA 2'9.633 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 541 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 513 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 446 4. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 440 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 373 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 343 7. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 300 8. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 296 9. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 291 10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 286 11. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 281 12. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 215 13. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 183 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 149 17. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 141 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 106 19. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 97 20. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 43. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 640 2. Yamaha 607 3. Kawasaki 566 4. Honda 232 5. Suzuki 22 Click here to view the news

Noriyuki Haga grabbed his third consecutive front row start after taking second place in today's grid deciding superpole session at Assen. The Yamaha Motor Italia star put in his fastest lap of the weekend on his superpole lap, boosting him up three places from his position at the end of regular qualifying. As always, Haga spent the day's two hour-long sessions working on finding a good set-up for tomorrow's 22-lap races. With his mechanics he was able to solve the tyre chatter problems that plagued him in Friday's practice and qualifying sessions. Team-mate Pitt was the biggest winner in superpole, elevating himself from 13th to eighth after setting his quickest lap of the weekend. The Australian has struggled to find a good set-up for the restyled Assen circuit this weekend, but finally made big progress in the afternoon's free practice session. Yamaha Motor France's trio of riders were typically close in qualifying, with just three-tenths of a second separating them after the two one hour sessions. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest of the three. He qualifyed for superpole in 12th place but was marginally slower on his grid deciding lap, pushing him back to 15th position on tomorrow's grid. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi will line up alongside Gimbert after making the cut for superpole on his Dutch debut. The former Japanese 250cc champion cut over two seconds from his Friday time as his knowledge of the circuit improved although, like Gimbert, he was unable to up his pace on the sticky superpole tyre and was unable to advance up the grid. Norick Abe just missed the cut on the third Yamaha Motor France-entered YZF-R1 and will start from 18th position. Pole position for tomorrow's race goes to defending champion Troy Corser (Suzuki), with Haga, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) completing the front row. Weather forecasts suggest a high chance of rain showers throughout the day, which could affect the races on a weekend when all track time has been in dry conditions. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We made some big improvements today and the feeling with the suspension is now very good. For tomorrow we will make some final changes and finish testing some tyres. If it rains then that will also change the situation. Anyway, it is important to make a good start here so I am happy to be on the front row. We'll try to make the extra changes and then we must see what happens tomorrow." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We found a little problem with the bike and were able to make the bike better and more consistent. I was third fastest on the race tyre and although my superpole lap felt pretty good it was close but not close enough. Tomorrow's race is going to be tough and the last few laps are sure to be interesting!" Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "We have done a good job today although I was a little disappointed to lose some places on my superpole lap. I think that we're in good shape for the races and I hope we can get some good results." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I was very pleased to make such a big improvement today. We made a few changes but mostly the improvement was down to me learning the track better. I'm looking forward to the races tomorrow and hope that we can get some good points in both races." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We've been working step-by-step to improve the bike and get the bike set up for the races. There is a very grippy surface here and we haven't had the same lack of traction that we've had at the last few races, it's just a case of making some small improvements. I know that there is a chance of rain tomorrow but I really hope that it stays dry." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Both the riders did an improvment today and there are still some things to try for tomorrow and will do some more tests with the tyres. I'm quite positive tonight but we have to wait until tomorrow as it may be wet. We want it to be dry because you just never know what will happen in wet." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 20 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Assen 02/09/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'38.965 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'39.009 3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'39.176 4 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'39.304 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'39.419 6 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'39.543 7 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'39.565 8 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'39.758 9 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'39.958 10 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'40.149 11 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'40.251 12 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.264 13 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.388 14 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'40.503 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'40.585 16 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'40.742 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'40.171 2 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.191 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'40.242 4 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'40.380 5 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.397 6 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'40.415 7 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'40.458 8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.467 9 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'40.518 10 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'40.534 11 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.567 12 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.612 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'40.671 14 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'40.746 15 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.837 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 02/09/2006 Curtain and Parkes on the front row despite crashes Kevin Curtain Yamaha Motor Germany duo Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes will start tomorrow's ninth round of the Supersport World Championship from the front row, despite suffering a crash each in this afternoon's final qualifying session. Joint championship leader Curtain crashed his YZF-R6 immediately after setting the best time of the afternoon, a 1:42.056, with around five minutes of the session remaining. The 40-year-old was set to further improve his lap when he pushed too hard and lost front end grip going into the first corner. The incident meant he was unable to wrestle the pole position from his championship rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who denied Yamaha a fourth successive pole position in the class with his time from Friday. Earlier in the session Parkes had set his best lap of 1:42.170, only to miss the final 15 minutes of the session after crashing spectacularly next time around. The Australian escaped injury in the crash although his machine was badly damaged after flying through the air spectacularly. Yamaha Team Italia's Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli will start on the third row after ending qualifying in 10th and 11th places respectively, while Yamaha GMT94's David Checa was unable to improve on his Friday time and slipped back to 14th on the final grid. Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Assen 02/09/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'41.906 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'42.056 3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'42.170 4 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'42.320 5 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'42.388 6 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 1'42.554 7 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 1'42.554 8 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 1'42.759 9 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'42.869 10 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'42.894 11 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'42.933 12 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'43.002 13 Arie Vos Honda NED 1'43.057 14 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'43.077 15 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'43.087 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia's Andrew Pitt ended today's first qualifying session in sixth position on his first acquaintance with the remodeled Assen circuit in the Netherlands, with team-mate Noriyuki Haga just behind in ninth. As usual, the Australian spent the day's two sessions working on a race setting for Sunday's two 22-lap races, spending most of his time circulating with used tyres and heavy fuel loads. The Misano race winner put on a new set of rubber on his last stint to find a one-second improvement in his lap time. His 1:40.474 places him just over a second behind fastest man Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The Assen track has been radically remodeled since the superbike series visited last September, with a shorter circuit making lap times around 25 seconds less than on the previous incarnation - much to the displeasure of many riders who miss the fast and flowing opening section of the old track. Haga remained unfussed with the new layout, spending the entire session on a single set of tyres to simulate a full race distance. The Japanese star was generally happy with his day's work but will work with his technicians in a bid to solve a tyre chatter problem and find some additional traction from his machine. Despite concentrating on race trim, Haga ended the session just a few tenths of a second behind his team-mate Pitt finishing the session in ninth place. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert led the Yamaha Motor France trio, setting the 16th fastest time on has YZF-R1. Team-mate Norick Abe was the fastest rider through the speed trap, recording a top speed of 278 kph. Despite the obvious speed of his Yamaha, the former MotoGP rider struggled to find an ideal set-up for the twisting circuit, ending the session in 18th. Yamaha Motor France's third rider, Shinichi Nakatomi, was 25th fastest on his first visit to the legendary circuit. He spent the two hours track time learning the layout of the circuit and hopes to cut his lap time significantly in tomorrow morning's second qualifying session. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I struggled for most of the session but we changed the balance of the bike at the end and found a big improvement. We tried to get through as much as we could today, just in case it rains tomorrow, and it was hard work. In the end I improved my lap time by a second at the end, although it didn't feel that fast when I was out there. We still need to work on the set-up for the race though, although I think we've found the tyre to use in the race. It's a shame that they've changed the circuit because the bit that's been taken out was my favourite part. The new section is not really a problem, though, as it is so slow that you can probably run anything through there, it's the rest of the circuit where I still have a few problems." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Not so bad. It's a new circuit now so it was important to learn the layout. The new part is slower not a problem for me, but we have a bit of chatter and I would like some more rear traction. We'll change some settings for tomorrow and I think that this will be a solution. I hope so, but as always we must just wait and see what tomorrow brings." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "It's been a busy time recently as I have been testing at Magny Cours for the Bol d'Or. I'm quite confident for this weekend. Already the feeling with the bike is good and I think that we will be able to have a good weekend here." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I'm looking to improve on 19th place tomorrow and I think that if we can make some improvements to the settings then we can challenge for superpole tomorrow." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "After a month's break in Japan my wife and family are with me in Europe for the first time, which is very nice. Today I had to learn the Assen track, as I have never been here before, so I am confident that I can make some improvements to my time tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "The settings for both riders were not the best today but they are in the top ten and making progress. Nori worked on his race setting and only used one set of tyres in the qualifying session, while Andrew had found it hard until the end, when he put a different tyre in and made a big improvement. It is only Friday so we must see what happens tomorrow." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 24 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Assen 01/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'39.336 2 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'39.888 3 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'40.171 4 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'40.242 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'40.415 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.474 7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.567 8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.581 9 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.612 10 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'40.746 11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'40.796 12 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.837 13 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.848 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'41.001 15 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 1'41.034 16 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'41.104 18 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'41.661 25 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'42.787 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 01/09/2006 Parkes second fastest in Assen opener Broc Parkes Yamaha Motor Germany's Broc Parkes set the second fastest time in today's first qualifying session for Sunday's ninth round of the Supersport World Championship in Assen. The Australian, winner last time out in Brands Hatch, was just four tenths of a second behind the day's fastest rider, defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), around the revised Dutch circuit. Joining the two championship front runners on the provisional front row are Suzuki riders Kai Borre Andersen and Barry Veneman. Parkes' team-mate Kevin Curtain, joint championship leader with Charpentier, ended the day ninth as he tried various settings on his YZF-R6. One place ahead of Curtain is Yamaha GMT94's David Checa with Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli in 11th and 13th places respectively. Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 19 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Assen 01/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'41.906 2 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'42.327 3 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 1'42.554 4 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 1'42.554 5 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'43.035 6 Arie Vos Honda NED 1'43.057 7 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'43.077 8 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'43.112 9 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'43.285 10 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'43.385 11 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'43.560 12 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'43.611 13 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'43.767 14 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'43.855 15 Julien Enjolras Yamaha FRA 1'44.121 Click here to view the news

After a break of almost a month the Superbike World Championship enters its hectic final leg with round nine of the series at Assen in the Netherlands this weekend. With four rounds over the next six weekends it promises to be a busy time for the teams and riders in what has been a thrilling championship so far. One man who can surely be expected to be in the thick of the action is Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga, who is the closest rival to series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The Japanese star gave his best form of the season last time out in Brands Hatch, winning the day's second race, and consolidating his second place in the championship. Haga rates Assen as one of his favourite circuits although, like his rivals, he has yet to experience the shortened circuit that awaits him this season. Previously boasting the longest lap time on the superbike calendar, the entire northern loop section has been removed to make way for a new car park and improved spectator facilities. The circuit now measures 4.55km, compared to 6km of the previous incarnation. Many riders have expressed their disappointment at the emancipated layout but the real winners will be the trackside spectators, who will experience 22 laps of superbike action, rather than the 16 laps of previous years. "Assen has always been one of my favourite circuits and I have had some good results there before," explains Haga. "I know that they have changed the track quite a bit but it does not bother me at all - the track is the same for all the riders and we must just go out and ride it. At Brands Hatch everything was good. Only a small problem with the bike stopped me from pushing as hard as I would have liked in the last laps of the first race, but otherwise the bike was perfect. "I'm not thinking about the championship and I just want to go out and win as many races as possible. It was a great feeling to win again in Brands Hatch and since then I have had a holiday back home in Japan. It was good to relax and spend some time with my family and I'm feeling in good shape for the last part of the season." Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt was the rider of the day at Brands Hatch for many people. The Australian recovered from two bad starts to charge through the field and finish fourth and third in the races. If the former supersport world champion can get off the line better in Assen then there is little doubt he will be in contention at the Dutch round. Pitt currently lies sixth in the championship but, with former MotoGP winner Alex Barros (Honda) just nine points ahead of him in fifth place, his target for Assen is to add to his three podium finishes this year and move up the leaderboard. While Haga faces an uphill struggle to claw back the early-season advantage of Bayliss, the 2006 Supersport World Championship looks like going right down to the wire. Kevin Curtain heads to the Netherlands on equal points to defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) with his Yamaha Motor Germany team-mate Broc Parkes also well in contention for the championship. Yamaha's third-generation YZF-R6 has flourished over the second part of the season, taking pole position and the win at each of the last three races, in the hands of Curtain, Parkes and Yamaha Team Italia's Massimo Roccoli, the winner in Misano. "It's back in our own hands now," says Curtain. "We were working on developing the bike at the beginning of the season and then had a few races where we ran into a bit of bad luck. We're working together much better as a team and our understanding the bike improves at every race. I've always maintained that the championship wouldn't be decided over the first half of the season and here we are going into the last four races with everything to play for." Click here to view the news

Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team's Stefan Everts was beaten for the first time this season after a thrilling contest against Josh Coppins at Desert Martin for the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland. The Belgian was forced onto the second step after accumulating a 100% perfect winning streak of twelve rounds in succession when he lost a second race duel with Coppins. He had earlier taken his 22nd consecutive moto triumph by capturing the opening foray from the New Zealander and this haul of 25 points contributed towards the confirmation of Yamaha's ownership of the Manufacturer's title in MX1 with the YZ450FM. The powdery soil at the venue some 60 kilometres west of Belfast became increasingly rough after a day of practice and qualification. Quick, undulating and technical the layout demanded complete concentration but also offered several racing lines for some interesting and intense action. For only the second time this year the 35 minute and 2 lap Grand Prix motos encountered rainy conditions as brief showers scattered the scenic Irish landscape. Everts was too busy to notice the spurts of light rain as he faced his hardest challenge since the Portuguese round in April during Moto1. Coppins harried the World Champion for the duration of the sprint and the duo were only separated by more than a second when they had to negotiate backmarkers. It was entertaining fare but Coppins only really showed his front wheel to the Belgian in anger on several occasions, an overtaking move would have been another feat altogether. Everts started the second moto in a similar vein but Coppins was a renewed force and a fantastic race between the rivals with numerous lead changes occurred. They lapped all of the riders up to 3rd position but in the closing stages Everts had to concede the moto, and the Grand Prix, to the determined Kiwi who extended his lead throughout the last ten minutes. Everts has already claimed the 2006 campaign with an emotional victory three weeks ago at Namur. He heads the standings by 181 points from fellow Belgians Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon. Cédric Melotte was absent in Desert Martin after breaking three toes on his right foot last week in a Belgian Championship event. The 28 year old is hoping to be back in action for the following race at Lierop taking place next weekend for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands; the fourteenth and penultimate round of the Championship. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "It has been a tough race today. The track was hard. The first race was exciting and in the second Josh was so fast. At one point I could not stay with him anymore and physically I was finished. I think that we had the same speed but he was a bit stronger so I decided to go for a safe second towards the end. I am happy for Josh, he has been working hard for this. Of course I am a bit disappointed to lose but I still have two more chances to reach 100." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a long time since we have lost and this was a situation we were very used to! Second place overall is by no means a bad result and our moto classifications were the same as Josh's, but he deserved to win because in the second race he seemed more physically prepared than Stefan. Towards the end of the second moto Stefan struggled to keep the rhythm. It is a pity because we very much wanted to take the 100th win this weekend but I hope it is only delayed by one week or maximum to Ernee. In the meantime we have won the manufacturer's title which is important for Yamaha. It is possible that Cédric will be back next week, we should know by tomorrow." Temp: 18 Crowd: 18243 Weather: Changeable 2006 GP of Desert Martin, Ireland 27/08/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'50.848 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'0.722 3 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'58.605 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'9.286 5 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'27.028 6 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'51.475 7 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'59.467 8 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 2'1.314 9 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'2.284 10 Christian Beggi Honda ITA 2'5.783 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 12 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 13 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 14 Wayne Smith Honda RSA -1 Laps 15 Mark Jones Honda GBR -1 Laps 16 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 17 Neville Bradshaw Suzuki RSA -1 Laps 18 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 19 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 20 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 40'51.512 2 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 0'25.650 3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 2'4.676 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 5 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 6 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 7 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 8 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 9 James Noble Honda GBR -1 Laps 10 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN -1 Laps 11 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 12 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 13 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 14 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 15 Neville Bradshaw Suzuki RSA -1 Laps 16 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 17 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps 18 Wayne Smith Honda RSA -1 Laps 19 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -2 Laps 20 Tom de Belder Suzuki BEL -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 1'57.572 Rider Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 639 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 458 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 418 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 409 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 387 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 306 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 249 8. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 242 9. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 239 10. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 11. James Noble Honda GBR 198 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 161 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 153 16. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 129 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 106 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 Manufacturer Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 639 2. Suzuki 523 3. Honda 494 4. Kawasaki 391 5. KTM 384 6. TM 161 RACE REPORT 27/08/2006 Cairoli takes seventh podium of the season Antonio Cairoli World Champion Antonio Cairoli was third overall in the MX2 class at Desert Martin today for his second podium appearance in a row and seventh of the season. The Team Yamaha De Carli rider was 2nd and 7th for the bottom step of rostrum despite a crash in the second moto. The Sicilian completed a lonely race to second place in the initial race after Tyla Rattray had escaped. Unfortunately for the reigning number one, series leader Christophe Pourcel pushed through from a mediocre start to collect third and minimise any damage to his margin in the standings. Cairoli, who struggled with his suspension set-up on the rough and physical terrain, finally ended up giving his French rival two more points with a fall from third place on the second lap of Moto2, necessitating a hard trawl back into the top ten. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen withstood a pursuit by David Philippaerts in the second half of the first moto to make sure of sixth position and the second highest Yamaha rider home. It was the Norwegian's best finish from the last four Grand Prix. However, his poor luck struck again later in the day as he barely walked away from a pile-up of riders on the first turn. Slightly concussed Gundersen's moto finished only seconds after it had started. Fellow Yamaha Team Ricci representative Davide Guarneri's season hangs in the balance after several problems with illness, breathing problems and a virus that has left the Italian in a weakened state. He will now spend some time away from the sport to fully recover and although he may attempt to return for the final Grand Prix of the year at Ernee it depends on his progress and the results of a complete physical examination conducted in Italy this week. Alessi Chiodi opted to stay away from the trip to Ireland after his painful broken finger from Namur several weeks ago prevented the Italian from being able to ride and train. He climbed back on the YZ250F a day before the Grand Prix and is expecting a return at Lierop. Billy MacKenzie Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini finished out of the points in both motos. Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Billy Mackenzie also had a fall in each outing but finished 9th in the second race. Tyla Rattray won his fourth Grand Prix of the season with Pourcel assuming the status of runner-up. Cairoli now stands 28 points behind Pourcel at the top of the Championship table. Two more Grand Prix and 100 points remain. Mackenzie is the next Yamaha rider in eighth while Gundersen is twelfth. The finale of the World Championship is rapid approaching and the penultimate round of fifteen will take place at the flat, sandy Lierop circuit for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in seven day's time. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "I am not so happy because I wanted to take points away from Pourcel today. I made a stupid mistake and crashed in the second heat, losing a lot of time in picking up the bike and restarting. We had some suspension problems this weekend and we have to get it fixed for Lierop. I did not have a good feeling out there and had to use a lot of energy to push hard. In the first race I did my best and finished second but in the second I felt tired and it was harder." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "The first moto was quite good. I was riding a bit stiff at the beginning but at the end things were coming better and better. I was looking forward to the second moto to make an improved result but that ended in the first corner. I don't know what happened. I was right next to Cairoli but someone hit me from behind and I was thrown into the ground. I am going to go home and get healthy and try to do better in Lierop because I like the sand." Temp: 18 Crowd: 18243 Weather: Changeable 2006 GP of Desert Martin, Ireland 27/08/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 41'19.221 2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'7.757 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.579 4 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'20.357 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'32.583 6 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 0'34.607 7 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'40.106 8 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'51.108 9 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'54.777 10 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'58.962 11 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'2.674 12 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'8.972 13 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'10.743 14 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'14.177 15 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'21.390 16 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'25.612 17 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'31.068 18 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'32.734 19 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'40.206 20 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'43.836 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 39'52.916 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'20.796 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'29.930 4 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'42.802 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'47.523 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'48.687 7 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'16.210 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'18.640 9 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'19.069 10 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'27.582 11 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'30.662 12 Martin Kohut Honda SVK 1'33.566 13 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'35.089 14 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'36.839 15 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'54.252 16 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'58.572 17 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 2'3.705 18 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR -1 Laps 19 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 20 Carlos Campano KTM ESP -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 1'57.584 Rider Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 496 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 468 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 427 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 402 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 373 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 315 7. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 291 8. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 281 9. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 278 10. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 267 11. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 264 12. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 215 13. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 183 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 119 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 118 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 98 19. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 82 39. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7 Manufacturer Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 596 2. Yamaha 562 3. Kawasaki 521 4. Honda 210 5. Suzuki 22 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi picked up 20 vital points in the Czech Republic today after taking second place in a race which saw series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) stumble to ninth - a result which reduces the gap between the pair to 38 points with five rounds remaining. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) took a dominant victory, leading from the first corner to finish with a 4.902 second advantage, whilst Rossi had to fend off a valiant challenge from rookie Dani Pedrosa (Honda) four laps from the end before comfortably sealing the runner-up spot. It was an even tougher afternoon for Colin Edwards, who started out in equally impressive fashion to his team-mate but faded in the second half of the race to finish in tenth. The Texan started from eighth on the grid and was keen to get in touch with the leading riders as soon as possible, making up three places on the opening three laps. However, his efforts took their toll on the rear Michelin tyre of his YZR-M1 machine and, without the perfect set-up to rely on in the latter stages of the race, he was forced to drop back and settle for another top-ten finish. Valentino Rossi (2nd; + 4.902) "It was a good race today and I am very happy with the weekend. Obviously starting from pole position you hope that you can win but today Loris had a completely different pace to the rest of us and I couldn't believe the gap he made! We weren't perfect today and we still had a few problems, but anyway I was able to do a good race and fight hard to the end. I had a great battle with Pedrosa with many good overtakes, which was great fun, especially since I finally managed to finish in front of him! Even though I didn't win today this is a very important result for the championship; we are now third and we've gained on Pedrosa and Hayden. After this weekend the situation is much clearer for us with the bike and the tyres and now we have two days of testing, during which we have some new things to try in order to help us be even more competitive for the final five races. This weekend my M1 worked well from Friday morning, which is very encouraging after the problems we've had during practice this season. Everyone at Yamaha has worked so hard to come back to this level so I want to thank my team and all the engineers. Now there are five more races and five riders who can still fight for the championship, so I think it's going to be a very exciting end to the season!" Colin Edward (10th; + 19.435) "At the beginning things felt alright and over the first few laps I was actually quite excited. I was able to be quite aggressive and pass a few people, but then after a while things just went downhill. The balance of the bike didn't feel right and I just couldn't keep the same level. Then the tyre started to go off after about eight laps and that just acted as a limiter and my pace went right down. I was fighting really hard just to keep the pace I was running and it was nowhere near fast enough to be competitive. The bike didn't feel perfect under braking either and that makes life difficult here! We've spent all weekend playing around, trying to find the right balance but we just couldn't find exactly what we needed. Honestly we've worked hard all weekend but things just weren't right today. We've got two days of testing now and plenty of work to do if we're going to improve for the final few races." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "This has been a good weekend, despite the fact that we didn't win. We've achieved the most important goal of taking a lot of points back from Hayden and also gaining on Pedrosa. Valentino starting from pole position is a great improvement after the previous weekends and it's a good sign for the final part of the season. There are five riders now that can win the championship and it's clearly going to be a hard fight to the end, for which we need to be fully prepared! This weekend has shown how well Yamaha can react to problems and everyone has worked extremely hard to solve them, so a big thank you to the mechanics, engineers and of course Valentino! Colin made some big changes before the race and in the first part of it he looked very good. Unfortunately he couldn't keep that pace up and now these two days of testing for him will be very important in order to come up with some things that can help him finish the season well." Tech 3 Yamaha Team find satisfaction after a difficult weekend Carlos Checa Fifteenth place for Carlos Checa on his Yamaha YZF-M1 may not be the position that the Tech 3 Yamaha Team desired today, but after the difficulties of the previous day, the team is satisfied with the result attained in the Czech Republic Grand Prix at the Brno circuit in a race won by Loris Capirossi (Ducati) as teammate James Ellison struggled with his own problems to finish 17th. With a difficult race now behind them, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team is looking ahead to the two-day test at the circuit to endeavour to eliminate the problems that have surfaced after the positive results of the previous two races in the USA and Germany. Carlos Checa (15th, Fastest lap 1'59.630) "Considering yesterday nothing worked, today we should be satisfied with the job we did. We changed quite a lot on the bike but we were not too radical with the alterations we made. This morning the bike felt a lot better but in the different conditions this afternoon after a few laps we again had chattering and it increased during the race so by the end we had quite a lot. The tyre wasn't so bad even though I was getting some movement in the acceleration area but the chattering was the main limitation. "We knew it was going to be difficult today because many were doing 1" 58s lap times and we were struggling to match those times but we did quite a lot of laps in the 59 sec bracket and to keep that pace until the end was the most positive thing we can take from here. Also keeping in mind that we couldn't race with the tyres we have been using for the last two races, with the chattering problems we are having, today's race was fine." James Ellison (17thFastest lap 2'00.608) "That result was not what I wanted at all. I'm really disappointed. After yesterday I was definitely hoping for a top 15 finish but I was secretly thinking that a top 10 might happen. To finish 17th is a huge let down. I know I can do it - that's the frustrating thing to me. My lap times to Carlos weren't too bad for a few laps. He could keep that consistency with his times but after four or five laps my times dropped off. I lost traction on the rear exactly like what happened at Donington. I was getting a little bit of chatter but it was mainly rear wheel grip making it spin up everywhere. Tomorrow during this test I will get to test the frame Carlos is running so hopefully, we will be able to find a cure to these problems we have been having and move forwards pretty quickly so I can score some decent results that I know I'm capable of getting Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director Truthfully after the very average qualifying session yesterday, it was quite a good race. We had a lot of problems during the weekend that didn't help for the race but it is always a big handicap to start from so far back. We lost many seconds during the first two laps but we were able to fight back so Carlos was nine seconds behind Colin (Edwards) at the end of the race. Our pace was quick enough to be with the group fighting for 10th position so we're not happy with the position but we are happy that we were consistent with our lap times until the end. The bike still chattered but not as much as during practice and the gap to the guys in front of us was not that big. 15th is not a great result but there were no crashes and guys in front of us stopped so it's reasonable. The work we have done here is going to be helpful for Dunlop. Let's hope we can qualify better so we can have he results of the previous meetings. A positive point for Carlos is that he has scored points in every race but before going to the next three Grands Prix on the other side of the world, we have two days testing here to find solutions to these new problems and finish off the year on a good note. Circuit Length: 5403 Temp: 23 Crowd: 81.000 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Brno 20/08/2006 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 43'40.145 2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'4.902 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'8.012 4 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'14.800 5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'15.025 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 0'15.699 7 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'16.775 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 0'16.942 9 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'17.061 10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'19.435 11 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'22.215 12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'23.978 13 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'24.967 14 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'28.961 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'29.296 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'2.982 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'58.157 Rider Standings 20/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 201 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 176 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 163 4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 161 5. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 151 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 101 7. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 92 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 90 9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 83 10. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 75 11. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 67 12. Toni Elias Honda ESP 64 13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 61 14. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 58 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 54 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 20 Team Standings 20/08/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 377 2. Camel Yamaha Team 253 3. Fortuna Honda Team 225 4. Ducati Marlboro Team 216 5. Rizla Suzuki 144 6. Honda LCR 101 7. Kawasaki Racing Team 98 8. Team Roberts KR 92 9. Tech3 Yamaha 74 10. Konica Minolta Honda 67 11. Pramac D'Antin 22 Manufacturer Standings 20/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 262 2. Yamaha 201 3. Ducati 160 4. Suzuki 101 5. Team Robert KR 92 6. Kawasaki 83 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi will start a MotoGP race from the front of the grid for only the second time this season in tomorrow's Czech Republic Grand Prix after clocking an incredible pole record time in today's single qualifying session at Brno. Rossi's time of 1'56.191 was almost 1.5 seconds inside the previous best lap at this track and followed up an impressive performance yesterday, when he also set the pace. A trial run on a qualifying tyre in those first free practice sessions paid dividends today as the Italian defined his race set-up for the YZR-M1 machine before setting a devastating pace which knocked Loris Capirossi (Ducati) off the top spot in the dying moments of the session. Capirossi will line up in second place whilst Kenny Roberts (Team KR) completes the front row. Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also enjoyed a productive day working on his race setting and was on course to challenge for a place on the front two rows before a minor mistake in the first section of his fast lap cost him vital tenths. It meant that his final effort recorded 1'56.967 on the stopwatch - enough for eighth place and a third row start. Tomorrow's race is the first of a final run of six, which will determine whether Rossi can cut back a 51-point gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) and defend the title of MotoGP World Champion for a fifth successive season. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'56.191; 25 laps) "I think the practice today was a great emotion for everybody but especially for us! We worked well on the bike, especially the tyres, because we have suffered too much this season during the practice sessions and my team and Michelin did a great job today. When I saw Loris' time I thought it was very fast and didn't know if I could beat it but I was very determined and I pushed hard on all three qualifying tyres. In the end the final lap was great and to set a 1'56.1 was unbelievable! For tomorrow pole position is definitely better than starting from the fifth row like in other races so for this I am very happy. We still need to decide two or three things about the setting before the race, but I am quite competitive." Colin Edwards (8th - 1'56.967; 24 laps) "I really don't know what to think about today! Our race pace is okay, we're doing 58.6 which looks like it could compete for the top five, but I won't be happy with that! I think we need to make some more changes for tomorrow morning to the setting and see if we can find another three-tenths. With the setting we were using today, the race tyre was working well for 3 or 4 laps and then it was starting to lose grip and then the lap times were going. So we've got a few ideas and we'll fiddle with the setting in the morning a bit to see if we can sort that out. On the positive side, I think we're finally figuring out what we need to do with the setting in order to make the tyres work better with our bike, and today the qualifier especially worked really well for me. Unfortunately I lost half a second on the first split but the tyre was perfect so that's pretty encouraging after some of the problems we've had with qualifiers so far this season!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is very nice to be back in pole position - our first target for the weekend was to qualify on the front two rows so we are delighted that Valentino has gone one better! The last three races have all been complicated for us because of the starting position but hopefully now this should not be a problem for us tomorrow. Now we need to fix a few things with the bike and find the best combination of the different settings we have tried over the course of the weekend so far. There are a few riders with a good pace so it will be a difficult race but we expect Valentino to be up there and if Colin can get a decent start then I believe he also has the pace to stay with the leaders and end the weekend with a good result. For Valentino this is a very important race because the championship could be a lot clearer tomorrow night." Back to the drawing board for Tech3 Yamaha Team James Ellison A promising opening day was a distant memory by this afternoon for Carlos Checa on his Tech 3 Yamaha YZF-M1 after he recorded his worst qualifying performance of the year. Carlos will start from 17th position on the grid as fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi stormed to pole position with an astounding lap time over two seconds below his own current lap record. The team battled valiantly to overcome handling problems that surfaced in Carlos's bike during the morning's final free practice session only for the situation to be magnified during the afternoon's critical qualifying session. It wasn't all bad news for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team as James Ellison managed to subtract over two seconds off his time from yesterday although he is only one spot ahead of his teammate in 16th position James Ellison (16th, 1'59.011, 24 laps) "It's been a long time coming and obviously I'm happing to be where I am in front of Carlos but you can see the guy has got a lot of problems - he is never three seconds off the pace. We both have things to work on I'm having chattering problems but we have managed to get it down to just two areas. We really need to find out where the problem is coming from. Everytime we improve the chatter I go half a second quicker, it's not just a little step. It's the quickest I've been around here and I know there is more that can come off but I can't believe how quick Rossi is going around here. That is incredible. I've come with the same attitude as ever to push as hard as I can but fortunately for this circuit has been quite good as we have been able to eliminate most of the chatter and I can push as hard as I want. We are by no means on the pace I would like to be but at least we are moving in the right direction. I don't want to change too much now and ruin it for the race. I've done 30 laps on the front tyre so I'm happy with that as it is the bigger tyre as well, so it's just a matter of finding a decent rear tyre for the distance. Carlos Checa (17th, 1'59.289, 22 laps) "I think that is the worst qualifying session of my entire life. I don't know what happened but everything we tried nothing worked. It is very frustrating after how we felt after the first day when we were seventh fastest. Today was a major disappointment because I couldn't lap quicker on qualifiers today that what we did yesterday We haven't got too much time to find a cure and even if we do it will be very hard work from so far back on the grid. I think I will have to put it down to one of those days and hope we can work a bit of magic overnight. Saying that it mightn't be as bad as it seems because the lap times during the race will be nothing like the qualifying laps so that may help us to stay in touch if I can get a good start and stick with the pack Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director Clearly this is not a good day for the team. We were expecting a lot better especially after the last race in the US before the break. Although yesterday we did quite a good pace we have never been on the pace. We seem to have a lot of chatter and we didn't find any real solution to get rid of it and that is what is upsetting Carlos the most. On the other hand, I am quite happy with James. He has been using his qualifying tyre really well to be over a second quicker than on his race tyre. That is the only good point of the weekend so far. We have been struggling. We're nowhere near where we are supposed to be. Dunlop brought many, many new products but we haven't been able to test them properl. We are not so far off on race tyres so hopefully that will help us tomorrow. The only good news is that we have another two days to test here after the race to try and understand what is happening and to fix the problem for the next three overseas races. The other thing that may help us a bit is the weather. We do not pray for rain but if the situation remains the same the race will be quite difficult for us. We will be looking for a few points and then to work hard on Monday and Tuesday. Circuit Length: 5403 Temp: 25 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Brno 19/08/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'56.191 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'56.441 3 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'56.603 4 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'56.694 5 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'56.770 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'56.875 7 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'56.913 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'56.967 9 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'57.139 10 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'57.185 11 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'57.221 12 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'57.679 13 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'57.894 14 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'57.906 15 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'58.239 16 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'59.011 17 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'59.289 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi got back to dominant form today as the MotoGP World Championship returned to action in the Czech Republic following a brief summer break. The Italian was able to bounce back from his Laguna Seca disappointment with a series of fast laps at the Brno circuit after quickly finding a good base set-up for his YZR-M1 machine. After lapping second quickest in the morning practice, just 0.047 seconds behind series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), Rossi ended the day on top of the time sheets after improving by almost two seconds in the afternoon - with only Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki) able to lap within 0.5 seconds of his best effort. It was also a positive first day for Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, who started the day with one of his two bikes configured with the same settings used by Rossi on his way to victory and the circuit lap record last season. The information immediately put the Texan on the front foot and, after reacquainting himself with the YZR-M1 machine following his recent exertions on a Superbike in the Suzuka 8 hour race, he was also able to pick up the pace in the afternoon and lapped fourth fastest. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'57.871; 34 laps) "Today was very positive for me because the bike worked well from the start and then we tried some things that improved it even more. We have experimented with some new suspension settings to help the tyres work properly, especially the rear, and they had the effect we wanted so I am happy about this. This year has been difficult because we have struggled so much in practice and then I have ended up on the third or fourth row of the grid, so I am pleased to start off like this. We also tried a qualifying tyre today, in order to give us more of an idea about what we need to adjust tomorrow in the afternoon session in order to challenge for a place at the front of the grid. This is really why I am in first place but anyway the race setting is also good and I was second fastest in the morning practice too so we know we have the pace. Tomorrow we need to continue working like this." Colin Edwards (4th - 1'58.851; 38 laps) "It's strange that after all the bad luck we've had this season we should roll up here at Brno and things suddenly seem to be turning around! We turned up here today and decided to start with two different settings - one based on what we found in the test last year and the other on Valentino's 2005 race setting. I have changed my riding style since then so I went out and tried both this morning and basically Valentino's setting worked and mine didn't! I felt really comfortable with that so we went with it in the afternoon and just continued making small modifications so that it suits me better. It's early days yet but it is important to get a good start and also a relief to know that we are onto something good. Hopefully the good work can continue tomorrow for both Valentino and I." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It was a good start to the weekend and just what we were looking for after the engineers worked so hard during the summer. This is only the first day and we all know the important thing is to continue like this and make sure we are prepared for qualifying and the race but it is nice to have such good result so early in the weekend. It looks like the bike has responded well for both Valentino and Colin so let's hope it continues to do so. Today has definitely given the team a boost and there is a very positive spirit here but it is still early days." Checa Czechs in to top ten at Brno After the opening two practice sessions for Sunday's Gauloises Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at the undulating Brno circuit, Carlos Checa on his Tech 3 Yamaha M1 clocked the seventh fastest time as fellow Yamaha rider and world champion Valentino Rossi claimed the top spot. Fresh from the summer break, Carlos was among the leaders from the outset and after the morning's opening stanza was just over a second off the pace. This afternoon he continued the progress to post a quicker time than series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) and is confident that changes overnight will improve his lap times even further. His teammate, James Ellison time was better than his 17th position indicated as his fastest lap was completed right at the end of the session but mysteriously was not included in the official lap times. As such, James is confident that he can move up the pack and hopefully secure his best grid position of the year in tomorrow's solitary qualifying session Carlos Checa (7th, 1'59.254, 45 laps) "This morning we had a little bit of trouble testing a few tyres that we thought would work quite well but they didn't. Then we found something in a better direction and this afternoon we started working with the tyres giving up better support and better grip. At this stage it seems we have good endurance. The grip level when the tyres have average wear is better than we expected so maybe we might go with a softer compound. So far the direction of the bike and tyres is quite clear. Our lap times are good but like many we used qualifiers at the end. Basically with the race tyre we have been in the top ten for all of the practices and I can be quite consistent in my lap times. We'll try to improve different areas of the bike tomorrow with the grip of the tyres, turning and reduce the chatter. If we can do that I know that we will go quicker and get an even better lap time. "The grip of the track is ok - its amazing for an old track it is still looking pretty good. Some areas have a few bumps but considering how long since the asphalt has been down maybe they can show the Americans how to make asphalt! "The chatter has nothing to do with the track but under hard braking on the front and flicking it in. Compared to this morning we have reduced a lot and I think that with a few changes to the settings we will make more progress. After the break it is good to be back and this is a good start for the rest of the year." James Ellison (17th2'02.426, 33 laps) "I don't know what happened to my fastest time because I passed the flag bang on time but they didn't count it. I don't know what happened. It came up on the computer but basically they erased the lap. It doesn't really worry me as it is only practice. We're just making steady progress with all the changes we have made. We have lowered it overall, softened the front and lifted the rear up again, just to get the balance right. It feels pretty good and, like Carlos, we have to eliminate the chatter but every tyre we are putting in it is getting less and less. With the qualifier it came back a bit but that's because you have better grip, you're pushing it harder and have more confidence braking later and things like that. Now we have to run those times on race tyres. We will be able to do it- I know that - because all the changes have been going in a positive direction. I reckon I can take at least a couple of seconds off because I did it last year on race tyres. That's the frustrating thing about it because I know I can do it and I'm on a much better bike than last year. You don't come back to a circuit 12 months later on a much superior bike and go slower so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director It's good to be back after the summer break. I think everyone was looking forward to the holiday but after two weeks off we all wanted to go racing again. We are happy to be here as it is always a good GP in the middle of August. Our two riders stayed in the US after the GP to work on their fitness and they are in good shape. While we had a rest, Dunlop certainly didn't as after our good result in America, they have brought a new batch of tyres along for the weekend and first indications are that they are again an improvement on what we were using recently. For the first day of the second part of the season we have done a lot of consistent laps and we are happy so far. Every team has been testing qualifying tyres this afternoon and I think that Dunlop have made some improvements in the qualifying tyres as well because both Carlos and James seem quite happy with them although, James's fastest lap time wasn't recorded because something happened to his time when the flag came out. His time is over a second quicker than was recorded. We have to wait and see what tomorrow may bring but at this stage I feel we are in a good shape for the race. Circuit Length: 5403 Temp: 27 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Brno 18/08/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'57.871 2 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'58.028 3 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'58.470 4 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'58.851 5 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'59.119 6 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'59.240 7 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'59.254 8 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'59.258 9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'59.313 10 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'59.406 11 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'59.515 12 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'59.607 13 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'59.919 14 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'59.995 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 2'0.507 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 2'2.426 Click here to view the news

The Camel Yamaha team return from a three-week holiday next weekend to tackle the first of a final spell of six races that will determine whether reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi can turn around his fortunes and make a sixth consecutive defence of the title he has held since 2001. The Czech Republic Grand Prix takes place at the legendary circuit of Brno, located just over 200 kilometres south-east of the capital city of Prague, where last year Rossi took victory and the lap record as he edged towards his fifth straight title. The scenario is dramatically different for Rossi this time around but a similar performance is required as the Italian aims to close down the 51-point gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda). It is a tough task but certainly not impossible, as Yamaha legend Wayne Rainey proved in 1992 when he pipped the injured Mick Doohan to the title despite lying 65 points behind with only five races remaining. Fittingly this weekend marks the thirteen-year anniversary of Rainey's final 500cc victory for the factory at Brno and is also precisely a decade since Rossi took his maiden Grand Prix win at the very same circuit in the 125cc class. Since then Rossi has added to his Brno tally with a further 250cc success and three wins in MotoGP - including last year's dominant display on the Yamaha. Colin Edwards can't wait to reacquaint himself with his YZR-M1 machine after riding a specially prepared YZF-R1 SP Superbike alongside Noriyuki Haga in the Suzuka 8 Hour two weeks ago. The prestigious Japanese race proved to be a brief but eventful affair for the American after he was knocked to the ground on lap one and then mounted a stunning recovery, only to suffer a mechanical failure a few laps later - continuing a run of bad luck almost comparable to that of Rossi. Despite the shortened holiday Edwards was able to take crucial time out to recharge his batteries at home in Texas and he returns to Europe even more determined to turn things around. Valentino Rossi: Race by race This time last season Valentino Rossi arrived in the Czech Republic knowing that two more wins would be enough to seal the MotoGP World Championship title but, for only the second time in his premier-class career, 'The Doctor' must now accept that with six races remaining his destiny is out of his hands. The latest chapter in a catalogue of misfortune came immediately before the holidays at Laguna Seca, where a win for Nicky Hayden combined with a breakdown for Rossi left the Italian focusing simply on his performance in each approaching race. "This year I've had a lot of bad luck and Laguna could not have been worse, but now we have had twenty days of holiday to relax and forget about what happened there," says Rossi. "Hopefully after this rest we can try to do something better in Brno. It isn't one of my favourite tracks but last year it was a great race for me; almost perfect, with the fastest lap and the victory. I know that everyone at Yamaha and Michelin has been working hard in the break and hopefully in Brno we can come out fighting on Friday morning and make the most of the weekend. "I don't know what to say about the championship to be honest. We only have six races left which is maybe not enough to make up the difference but anyway I want to try to have some fun and win as much as possible. Right now I'm not even thinking about the championship. I want to take it race by race and try to find a better way forward with this bike and these tyres so I can have some fun and try to win some more races." Colin Edwards: Refreshed and relaxed If anyone has endured as much bad luck as Rossi this season it is his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, whose Suzuka misfortune came on the back of illness at his home Grand Prix in the USA and, just a few weeks previously, a last-corner crash that denied him of his first MotoGP victory at Assen. However, after spending some time with his young family at home in America, the 'Texan Tornado' is confident he can kick up a storm at Brno. "It's been really good to have a holiday because this season, especially during June and July, has been incredibly hard and I definitely needed some time off to relax with my friends and family," says Edwards. "Now I am feeling ready to get back on my bike and enjoy the last six races. After the disappointment of Laguna I went to Suzuka for the Eight-Hour and sadly that didn't work out either - it was a long way to go for six laps! Anyway, I've since had two weeks holiday at home in Texas with my family and I'm feeling refreshed and relaxed now and ready to get going again for the last six races. "Things haven't worked out exactly how we would have liked up until now but I know that when our package is working we can fight at the top and this is what I am determined to do for the rest of the season. Brno is a track I really like and I've been racing there a long time so I know it pretty well. There's always a good atmosphere there as everyone's nice and chilled out after their holidays! I'm going to give the weekend everything I've got and hopefully the bike will work well so we can get a good result under our belts to set us up for the three flyaways." Davide Brivio: Keeping the faith Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio echoes Rossi's sentiments about the championship being a 'race by race' affair but outlined the determination of his staff to back up their World Champion with 100% commitment until the end of the season. The Italian admits his team faces a tough challenge over the final six rounds but insists that they will not give up on the title until it is a mathematical impossibility. "Brno is the start of the final stage of the season and we go into it finding ourselves in a difficult situation," admits Brivio. "We are obviously not where we would like to be in the championship with six races to go but we will not give up and every member of the team is ready to fight until the end. Of course we still want to win the title and we still believe we can do it. We have had a lot of misfortune during the season but we still have faith in our potential. "The break was good for everybody but after Laguna Seca we are looking forward to getting back on the track and trying to win races again. That is Valentino's goal for every Grand Prix between now and the end of the season. Because of the Eight-Hour Colin barely had a day off for seven weeks before the holiday so I think he needed the break more than anybody and we are looking forward to seeing him back in good shape. Our target for both riders is simply to improve our level of performance and try to win every race." Technically speaking: Brno according to Matteo Flamigni The current Brno circuit is encircled by the tendrils of the various 'real' road layouts that made up the Czech Grand Prix venues of yesteryear. Used for a Grand Prix for the final time in 1977, the old track was replaced in 1987 by what is basically the current incarnation, subtly altered in 1996 to measure 5.403km in length. Brno has come a long way since riders used to judder across its cobblestone sections but its winding chicanes and dramatic elevation changes still provide an interesting challenge for the riders and their engineers. "Firstly Brno is a difficult track for the riders because it is so wide - around 15m in some parts - and that makes it easy for them to run off line and make mistakes," explains Matteo Flamigni, Data Engineer for Valentino Rossi. "From a set-up point of view we have to give the rider a bike which is strong under braking because there are many areas where a rider can pass or be passed in downhill turns, which adds to the normal stress of braking. The bike must also be stable in the long fast corners, such as turns one, nine and thirteen, and then agile for the chicanes. This is always a compromise situation at any circuit but especially at Brno, where the chicanes are also combined with elevation changes. "The balance of the bike is critical towards the end of the lap because there is a lot of weight transfer between hard uphill acceleration, which naturally lifts the front end, and braking into the chicanes, where the rider must wait for the front to load up again before turning in. Brno is one of the circuits where you can most clearly see the evolution of the MotoGP bikes since changing from two-stroke to four-stroke because a good lap time has come down by around five seconds, even though the track hasn't changed. As well as showing the general improvement of the bikes and tyres, this outlines the need for a lot of horsepower on the long uphill straights, where gearbox settings are also crucial." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 167 (108 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 41 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 59 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Brno Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1'58.787 Brno Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005, 1'57.504 2005 Czech Republic Grand Prix Results: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 43'56.539 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, +1.837 3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda +3.444 7. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +13.532 Click here to view the news

At a fitting, historic and emotional stage of his home Grand Prix and favourite circuit at Namur, World Champion Stefan Everts completed a successful title defence of his MX1 crown and gave the YZ450FM its third consecutive MX1 distinction this afternoon. By dominating both motos at the Citadelle for the 12th round of 15 in the 2006 FIM series the 33 year old Belgian remains undefeated every year since the inception of the MX1 competition in 2004. His tenth World Championship in a eighteen year career, achieved through 125, 250, 500, MXGP and MX1 classes, was also the sixth title in succession with Yamaha in an unparalleled streak of results and glory since 2001. In that time Everts has broken the record for most Grand Prix victories and won three classes on the same day when the 2003 season saw 125, MXGP and 650 categories run with just one moto. The '06 campaign has been momentous for the Rinaldi-led Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team and the new aluminium framed YZ450FM. Everts has won 21 motos in a row and all twelve Grand Prix. He now has reached a total of 99. After a bright and sunny day of practice Sunday dawned cloudy but also warm. The track, already rough and extremely technical after the wear of practice and qualification, was a severe test of concentration and stamina for the MX1 and MX2 competitors. On the brink of history Everts was cheered on by a willing 30,000 partisan crowd and the team had both of their riders flying formation for the first two laps of the opening moto as Cédric Melotte grabbed the holeshot and led Everts. The Champion soon took control and enacted a familiar scene of drawing away from his pursuers. The second race was a repeat with Everts owning the race by forging a blistering speed in the formative stages. On a day when his son celebrated his second birthday there was also the novelty of another generation of the Everts clan rolling back the years as Stefan's father Harry took to the track in the first ever Veteran's World Cup and finished second overall onboard a YZ250F. Cédric Melotte was competing at his home Grand Prix and the site of his first World Championship victory in 2003 (650 class). The local-born rider grabbed a sensational holeshot in the first moto and would go on to secure his best result of the season with two finishes of 4th and 5th for 4th overall. After treating a breathing problem during the week, Cédric set a decent pace within the top five and was able to produce two positive races for the third time this year. Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team With a lead of 168 points over Kevin Strijbos Everts cannot be caught in the three remaining Grand Prix due to take place in Ireland, Holland and France. He will have these opportunities to reach the magical 'ton' in terms of his career victory tally and a memorable send-off is planned for Ernee and his final race on September 17th. Melotte is currently holding eigth in the standings and six points from seventh. The MX1 paddock will now disperse for two free weekends before the Grand Prix of Ireland at the Desert Martin circuit brings the fraternity back together for round 13 on August 26th/27th. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "What a great day. I never dared dream of becoming World Champion here at Namur. It has always been a very special place with a special atmosphere. It is a unique track that is hard and demanding. Both races went pretty good. At one point there was a difficult moment for me in each moto because the terrain was so bumpy, slippery and so rough. I had to be really careful because this is one of the hardest circuits in the world and you can only really appreciate it if you get out there and try forty minutes. The motos worked out well though and I am so happy for my 99th victory and the Championship. I had such an exciting feeling going out on the track and unfortunately it is my last time here but I cannot think of a better way to go out. What else can I say?" Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I did not feel the pressure so much of racing at home this year. This is my best result so far and I could finish in the top five twice. I am happy because today was a tough track; very hard and physical. I made some tests with my lungs this week and found out that I have been suffering with an allergy and asthma. I took the right treatment and feel much better. In the first moto it was great to lead for two laps in front of my fans. I had the holeshot in my mind before the race so to take it was great and I just wanted to lead as long as I could. Stefan was pushing a little bit and passed me, I settled into a speed I could make and finished fourth. In the second moto I followed Strijbos for fifth and I was really happy for a good overall position." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a fantastic day and a great conclusion to the season, even if it isn't over yet. It was a familiar GP for us. Good starts and controlling the motos; Stefan may have had some more pressure than usual but he did not show it. What is unbelievable is not that Stefan wins, but how he does it; victory is all he wants. Yamaha is doing a great job. The new bike gave an extra boost to Stefan and with his motivation in his final season it was the perfect tool for a perfect job." Cedric Melotte Michele Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "There is not much I can say as you can imagine. I think Stefan managed something that not even he was expecting this season. He did a fantastic job and it even seemed to easy at times. We have had a great atmosphere in the team and he has won everything so far so his decision to finish his career with Yamaha was 100% correct. Our bike has never stopped this year and we have done a lot of work; the result of which can be seen on the track. We could not have imagined a season like this." Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. - Racing Division: "This is amazing and I think it will take a long time before people really appreciate what has happened. Ten titles for Stefan is unbelievable and for us six titles in six years is also something incredible. Technically we have had almost no problems at all in that period and for that we must give a big thank you to all the guys in the team. Success is about the rider and the bike but it is also about the guys who prepare the bike. The team have won all those titles but still remain so motivated to win. Overall this is a super day for everyone connected with the team and Yamaha." Circuit Length: 2477 Temp: 24 Crowd: 30000 Weather: Sunny 2006 GP of Namur, Belgium 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 43'13.152 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'11.409 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'14.665 4 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 0'16.980 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'19.086 6 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 0'34.115 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'54.119 8 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'8.640 9 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 1'13.201 10 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'24.525 11 James Noble Honda GBR 1'36.862 12 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'46.520 13 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'49.243 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'52.460 15 Cyril Coulon Suzuki FRA 1'54.428 16 Marko Kovalainen Honda FIN 2'4.810 17 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'7.248 18 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 2'12.617 19 Marc Ristori Honda CHE 2'14.930 20 Jaka Moze Suzuki SVN 2'16.058 Race 2 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 41'10.064 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'17.973 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'28.484 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'46.443 5 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 0'52.909 6 James Noble Honda GBR 0'57.447 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'2.393 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'14.458 9 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 1'23.714 10 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'27.292 11 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'31.291 12 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'39.857 13 Christian Beggi Honda ITA 1'43.852 14 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 2'4.429 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'17.104 16 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 2'22.634 17 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps 18 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 19 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 20 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 2'38.204 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 592 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 424 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 408 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 371 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 365 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 273 7. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 230 8. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 9. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 210 10. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 202 11. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 12. James Noble Honda GBR 186 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 138 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 137 16. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 127 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 106 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 592 2. Suzuki 489 3. Honda 447 4. Kawasaki 369 5. KTM 351 6. TM 138 RACE REPORT 06/08/2006 First 2006 double moto succes for Cairoli Antonio Cairoli The MX2 Grand Prix of Belgium took place at a bustling and vibrant Namur circuit today and World Champion Antonio Cairoli gave Yamaha a perfect afternoon with his first double moto success of the season and his second overall victory of the campaign. The De Carli racing representative - competing at the site of his maiden victory in 2004 - beat David Philippaerts in the first sprint after his Italian rival ran wide while leading and collected green fencing in his rear wheel. Cairoli was waiting in his tracks for a passing opportunity and moved through for his eighth moto triumph this term. In the second event he started brightly and resisted attention from Carl Nunn and then Christophe Pourcel for win number two in convincing fashion. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen experienced a Grand Prix in stark contrast to his Yamaha compatriot. The Norwegian got out of the gate poorly in both motos and hit the ground during each race. He only picked up three points for 18th in the opening foray. Team-mate Davide Guarneri had been feeling unwell in the build-up to the Grand Prix and retired in the first moto with a headache. He then crashed in Moto2 and again was forced to retire. Antonio Cairoli Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing rider Billy Mackenzie took a decent jump from the gate in Moto1 and finished 7th but a fall on a frantic set of opening corners on the Esplanade later in the day relegated him to the back of the pack. The third member of the Yamaha Team Ricci Alessio Chiodi was ruled out of contention on Saturday afternoon when a rock struck his right hand and broke one of his fingers. The Italian was in too much pain to take part in the rest of the Grand Prix. His withdrawal means the sixth non-score after a very promising opening to the season was wrecked by a knee injury at Sugo in May. Cairoli is second in the World Championship standings, 26 points behind Pourcel, with three Grand Prix and 150 points remaining on the 2006 schedule. Mackenzie is also part of the top ten and lies 7th. Antonio Cairoli - Team Yamaha De Carli: "We have a good setting on the 250 with De Carli for this track and I like it a lot since taking the win here in 2004. It felt great to win both heats and make a double here. I rode better than I did last year and could change my lines very easily with the suspension set-up we had, so the track was not so hard for me this time. I have been struggling with my physical condition this year but things are getting better now. I am not thinking of the championship I just want to ride well and win more heats. Christophe is very young but he is controlling the class well; he does not make big mistakes and is finishing every race." Kenneth Gundersen Kenneth Gundersen - Yamaha Team Ricci: "In the first moto I made a bad start but I was still in the top ten when I lost the front end into a corner and on the top of a step-down. I completed the rest of the race to get some training done. In the second moto I was last off the start and crashed after 15 or 20 minutes. I did not have much confidence and decided to stop. Normally this track is perfect for me and yesterday it was really good but things did not work out in the races." Circuit Length: 2477 Temp: 24 Crowd: 30000 Weather: Sunny 2006 GP of Namur, Belgium 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 43'9.307 2 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'2.531 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.378 4 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'36.668 5 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'37.729 6 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'38.835 7 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'4.262 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'4.687 9 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'16.247 10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'18.581 11 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'30.575 12 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'35.528 13 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'46.824 14 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'59.253 15 Shaun Simpson Honda GBR 1'59.537 16 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 2'7.078 17 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 2'10.294 18 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 2'15.929 19 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA 2'16.646 20 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 2'19.960 Race 2 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 41'55.640 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'4.597 3 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'6.644 4 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'18.363 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.627 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'39.360 7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'40.970 8 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'44.443 9 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 0'45.639 10 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 0'49.984 11 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 0'55.966 12 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'16.716 13 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 1'22.385 14 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'26.360 15 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1'27.561 16 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 1'52.850 17 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'59.849 18 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 2'9.095 19 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 2'30.325 20 Jonas Wing KTM SWE -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 2'38.198 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 458 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 432 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 393 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 352 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 338 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 307 7. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 264 8. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 259 9. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 254 10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 251 11. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 236 12. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 13. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 200 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 167 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 105 17. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 98 18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 97 19. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 80 37. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 546 2. Yamaha 526 3. Kawasaki 483 4. Honda 195 5. Suzuki 22 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga thrilled the large and passionate Brands Hatch crowd by taking his YZF-R1 to a spectacular win in the eighth round of the Superbike World Championship today. Team-mate Andrew Pitt rode brilliantly to take a hard fought third place to give the team its second double podium finish of the season. Haga was involved in a race long battle with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) to take the race two victory by just two tenths of a second after 85km of breathtaking racing. Earlier in the day Haga finished third in race one after contesting the lead with Bayliss and Honda rider James Toseland. For the second outing Haga switched to his back-up machine, which used alternative settings, to take his fourth win at the venue in three years. In a thrilling race the pair were never separated by more than a quarter of a second as they crossed the line for lap after lap. Championship leader Bayliss applied considerable pressure in the final lap but the Yamaha man, wearing a new helmet design for this race, showed all of his experience and legendary late braking skills to take his first race win of the year and the 20th of his illustrious world superbike career. Team-mate Pitt proved to be one of the stars of the show at Brands, providing plenty of thrills for the fans as he overcame bad starts to take a third and fourth place finish. The Australian over-revved his YZF-R1 on the line on both occasions, relegating him to the middle of the pack. The former supersport world champion was able to match the pace of the very fastest men, working his way to fourth in the opener and a fine third in the second race to complete a great day for the Italian Yamaha squad. Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert brought their Yamaha Motor France machines home in the points in both races, with two 13th places for the Japanese and a 14th and 15th for Frenchman Gimbert. The team's Brands Hatch novice Shinichi Nakatomi improved each time he took to the technically demanding English circuit, finishing 17th in race two, an improvement of two places on his opener. Twenty-one-year-old wild-card Tommy Hill came home an impressive 11th on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 in the day's first race but was forced to retire with technical problems in the second. With two thirds of the season gone, Haga retains second in the championship, 77 points behind Bayliss and 11 ahead of third placed James Toseland. Pitt stays sixth in the points and has reduced the gap to fourth placed Troy Corser (Suzuki) to 36 points. Honda's Alex Barros is fifth in the series. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the first race I could not push as hard as I wanted to in the last five laps and for the second race I used my other bike, which had other settings. I had a big fight with Troy and I was determined not to see his exhaust pipes again. It feels so good to win today. We have been close so many times, especially at the first race - where I crashed on the last lap - but for some reasons I have not been able to take the win. Today the feeling with the bike was very good and the tyres worked perfectly all the way to the end." Andrew Pitt Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I made a terrible start in both races, which is surprising as our R1 is normally one of the quickest bikes off the line. I think that I was a bit anxious and just gave it too many revs, but each time I lost a lot of places. I just had to get my head down and get through as quickly as possible. My rhythm was good and I was pleased with my fourth place in race one, so to top it off with a podium is a fantastic end to the day. I'm especially pleased as I have some friends over from Australia for this race. They've come a long way so it is great to give them something to cheer." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Brands Hatch is difficult, very difficult, and until yesterday our chances were dead. In the race things were not so bad, and in race one I finally had a battle with many riders, and scored points. So compared to qualifying, it was a big jump up. It was the best I could do. We changed the setting between races and in the beginning it was not so bad, just at the end of the race the rear was moving and sliding and my lap time went up and up. But compared to qualifying, it was much better." Tommy Hill Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "These boys are on it, and it was definitely a fast pace out there. I just needed to get past Nieto to get up to Walker and Kagayama, but it took too long. We changed the rear tyre to get more grip on the rear in race two but the bike had no drive and I had to stop. That was disappointing but things are a different league here and I have learned a lot." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "In the first race I was able to make a good start but lost a few places when I made a small mistake. After around four laps the tyre lost some grip but I tried to push as hard as possible to get a point. In the second race my start was not so good and I had to fight hard to get 14th." Shinichi Nakatomi Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "This was a very difficult track. Enjoyable to ride but difficult to learn and go fast on. In race one, the feeling was better than in practice, and race two, it was better again. Results were not so good, but my feelings about the improvements were better." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "This is a great result for the team to take into the month's break. After the first race Noriyuki said to me that he could not go any faster on that bike - but he felt he could win on the other bike. I think he had only done about 10 laps on that bike over the three days but he knew what he was doing and rode brilliantly in the second race. Andrew rode well in the first race but said that he needed to make a better start. Unfortunately in the second race he made an even worse one but was able to make it through for our second double podium of the season." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Not so bad, because again we had each rider finish, six out of six. We also had two riders in the points so for us, as a team developing kit parts, this is not so bad. In front we only had factory bikes, so I am proud of this result." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 29 Crowd: 115,000 2006 WSB Brands Hatch 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 25 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 36'26.855 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'1.657 3 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'2.248 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'2.860 5 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'9.666 6 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'16.731 7 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'16.892 8 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'20.707 9 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'25.196 10 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'25.338 11 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 0'26.477 12 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'26.709 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'27.335 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'29.465 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'39.195 19 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'51.243 Race 2 - 25 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 36'29.709 2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'0.184 3 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'2.242 4 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'6.523 5 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'7.073 6 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'7.521 7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'10.903 8 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'19.715 9 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'22.202 10 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'26.797 11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'29.702 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'29.804 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'31.829 14 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'34.177 15 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA 0'35.267 17 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'43.413 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time James Toseland Honda GBR 1'26.351 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 307 2. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 230 3. James Toseland Honda GBR 219 4. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 193 5. Alex Barros Honda BRA 166 6. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 157 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 126 8. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 96 9. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 96 10. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 87 11. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 84 12. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 83 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 77 14. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 72 15. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 66 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 29 19. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 317 2. Honda 267 3. Yamaha 259 4. Suzuki 259 5. Kawasaki 140 6. Petronas 4 RACE REPORT 06/08/2006 Parkes and Curtain make a perfect day for Yamaha Germany Broc Parkes Broc Parkes scored an exemplary start to finish win at Brands Hatch today as team-mate Kevin Curtain moved to the top of the championship table in Yamaha Motor Germany's second successive one-two finish. Starting from pole position Parkes was able to fend off early challenges from Honda team-mates Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu before consistently pulling away to win by almost two seconds at the end of a tough 23 lap race. For the second year in a row Curtain found himself crowded out at the first corner and resigned to fighting his way through the pack. The veteran Australian ended the first lap in seventh but carved his way through the field, setting a new lap record on lap five and joining the leading trio on lap four. After sitting behind Charpentier and Sofuoglu for the mid section of the race, Curtain took second place with an audacious move around Sofuoglu as they entered the daunting Paddock Hill bend for the 20th time. Curtain's 20 points takes him onto equal points with Charpentier, who slipped back to sixth at the chequered flag. Both men are tied on 131 points, with Parkes moving right back into the title chase - just 12 points behind the leading duo with eight of the 12 races run. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha's other competitors had a tough day at Brands Hatch. Misano winner Massimo Roccoli had been part of the group battling it out behind the leaders but was forced to settle for ninth after struggling for grip in the latter laps. His Yamaha Team Italia colleague Gianluca Vizziello ran in 11th for much of the race but was forced to pull in due to sickness. The Italian was suffering from a fever and decided to pull in on safety grounds after 14 laps. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa finished an unusually low 21st, suffering from a crash sustained in Friday's qualifying session. Parkes' win also takes Yamaha to within nine points of Honda in the manufacturer's championship in the latest YZF-R6's first year of world supersport competition. The series now takes a one month break, before resuming at the historic Assen circuit in the Netherlands on 3 September. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "That was the perfect win for me. I knew that I didn't want to be playing around in a battle with these guys so I got my head down and tried to break away. It's not always easy when you've got a bit of a lead and although the bike ran perfectly I could hear all these imaginary engine noises in my head! I tried not to think about the win too much and just ran the laps down like it was a practice session. There's still a third of the season to go, at four tracks that I like, and with only a 12 points between me and Kevin I'm right back in the championship. It's between the three of us for the title now and I can't wait until Assen." Kevin Curtain Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I got a bad start again and I wasn't sure if I could mow them down or not. In the end I was able to get the Hondas, but unfortunately by the time I got past Kenan I couldn't catch Broc on that other Yamaha! That said, I'm delighted with the result today. We had a few bad results from the middle of the season but we are right back on track now. Everything's level in the championship so it is back in our own hands again." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start only to lose three or four places when I made a mistake at Druids on the first lap. I was with the second group and tried hard to get to the front but the bike started sliding around and I couldn't push as hard as I wanted. By the end by front tyre was sliding around too so I could only think about the championship and bring it home for as many points as possible." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I have had a high temperature all weekend but tried to push as hard as I could in the race. It was going ok but in one lap I just felt all the power drain out of my body and I decided that it was safer to pull in than trying to continue." Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "This is a great result for the whole team, who have worked so hard over the past few months. Since the Misano race we have brought in a few new working practices and, as a result, everyone is working better together. We've been able to make some small improvements to the bikes, in the suspension and engine, and our tyres worked very well today too. Broc made a smart decision by going for a harder rear tyre, which proved to be very consistent over the whole race. Kevin has a smoother style and chose the softer option, and would probably have been able to run a similar race to Broc if he hadn't had to come back from a bad start. Now our team can have a well earned week's holiday before the next race in Assen." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 29 Crowd: 115,000 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Brands Hatch 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 34'27.306 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'1.758 3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'2.088 4 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'12.146 5 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 0'12.309 6 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'12.570 7 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 0'15.144 8 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'16.848 9 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'17.058 10 Leon Camier Honda GBR 0'17.380 11 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 0'19.834 12 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 0'20.967 13 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 0'21.597 14 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 0'24.048 15 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'25.071 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'29.074 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 131 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 131 3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119 4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 87 5. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 78 6. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 67 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57 9. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 10. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 37 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29 12. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27 13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 22 14. Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21 15. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 21 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 177 2. Yamaha 168 3. Ducati 48 4. Kawasaki 44 5. Suzuki 12 RACE REPORT 06/08/2006 Corti fourth in Brands Hatch thriller Claudio Corti Yamaha Team Italia youngster Claudio Corti overcame a bad start to take fourth place in today's sixth round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Brands Hatch. After qualifying in seventh place, Corti found himself down in tenth at the end of the first lap. The 19-year-old European Superstock 600 champion set about cutting through the field on his YZF-R1 SP. By lap nine of the 15 lap race Corti had slotted into fourth place but, with the leaders three seconds ahead, he was unable to challenge for a podium placing. Early in the race it was Australian Brendon Roberts (Suzuki) and Spaniard Ivan Silva (Kawasaki) who took turns at leading, only to slip back in the order after making mistakes. That left Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) to battle with MV Agusta riders Ayrton Badovini and Luca Scassa in an all-Italian punch up at the front. The three passed and repassed each other throughout the race, with all three remarkably making it to the finish line - Scassa taking the honours from Polita and Badovini. Corti brought his YZF-R1 SP home in fourth, six seconds behind the leader, to move himself up to retain fourth in the championship. Polita continues to lead the series, six points clear of Badovini and a further 13 ahead of third-placed Scassa. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start but lost some positions when I touched with Rocamora going into the first corner. That left me about three seconds behind the leading group and although I could run the same times as them the gap was too much to catch up. Overall though I am happy with the result. I have scored some good points and we have been able to make some changes to the set-up which has helped me to overcome the traction problems I have had in earlier races." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 24 Crowd: 115,000 Weather: Sunny 2006 Superstock Brands Hatch 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 15 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 22'48.907 2 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'0.449 3 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 0'0.583 4 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 0'6.200 5 Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 0'7.829 6 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'7.904 7 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 0'10.196 8 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'12.933 9 Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 0'14.474 10 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'14.520 11 Guy Sanders Kawasaki GBR 0'14.973 12 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 0'15.055 13 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 0'15.254 14 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'15.329 15 Nick Henderson Suzuki AUS 0'20.965 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 1'30.037 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 115 2. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 109 3. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 96 4. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 65 5. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 55 6. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 7. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 43 8. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 38 9. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 34 10. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 11. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 29 12. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27 13. Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 25 14. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 24 15. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 23 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 124 2. MV Agusta 118 3. Yamaha 83 4. Kawasaki 78 5. Honda 35 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga is hopeful of repeating his last visit to Brands Hatch, where he won a race in the season's most exciting meeting, after claiming a front row start in superpole today. The Japanese star only narrowly missed out on his second successive pole position, losing time as he fought to control a massive slide on his grid-deciding lap. Haga lost a few tenths of a second in the incident but was able to compose himself and set his fastest lap of the weekend - an impressive 1:25.857. Only series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was able to go quicker than the Yamaha man, setting a pole time four tenths of a second quicker than Haga. Despite the minor disappointment of missing out on the honour of pole position, Haga and his team were delighted to secure a front row start and are confident that their machine settings will allow them to fight at the front in tomorrow's races. Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow's races from the second row after setting the sixth fastest time in superpole. The Australian had experienced a few small problems in the morning's second qualifying session, including a trip through the gravel after an incident with another rider, but was back to his best in superpole - recording a 1:26.291 on his flying lap. Local rider Tommy Hill upheld British honour on board his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1. The 21-year-old wild card ended regulation qualifying in seventh position and eventually ended up tenth in his first ever dry-weather superpole. Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest of the Yamaha Motor France trio in 15th. The Frenchman squeezed into superpole in 16th place, despite a high-speed accident in the morning's final qualifying session. His Japanese team-mates both missed the cut: Norick Abe failed to improve his Friday time in the morning qualifying session and will start 19th, although he was able to go quicker in the afternoon free practice, while team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi will start 26th on his first visit to the demanding British course. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The front row was our target so I am very happy with second because I made a mistake on my superpole lap when I grabbed too much brake and came out of the saddle. We have a very good setting and have been able to do two long race settings yesterday and today, so we know what tyres to use and how they are likely to work late in the race. Troy (Bayliss) is very fast but I think that tomorrow we will have the opportunity to go for the win. I am second in the championship but have not won a race yet, so I hope to fix this at Brands Hatch." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We made a few changes to the bike overnight and it didn't feel quite as good in the morning session. We changed some things around in he afternoon and I think we're in good shape for the race. I had a few slides on my superpole lap and that probably cost me some time but the second row's alright and I'm confident for the race." Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "It's great to be running up there with these top riders. I'm learning a lot. Following Corser I could see tyre smoke everywhere from him spinning it up, so I'm taking it in and trying to do the same. Superpole was also a good experience and I'm looking forward to the races. The support from the fans is great but I'm not feeling any pressure - I'll do my best and try to enjoy the racing." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "My lap time is one-and-a-half seconds quicker than last year and I'm pleased to have made superpole and the progress we have made with the bike. There is still a little bit more work before we are ready for the race, but we are going in the right direction and I am confident of a good result tomorrow." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We tried some changes this morning but it was not really an improvement from yesterday. We improved the set-up in the afternoon and still have some things to try in the warm-up. This is the most difficult track of the year in terms of suspension settings so I hope we can find a good solution tomorrow." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I still have not found a good rhythm with this track. We still have some more things to try for tomorrow but mainly I need to improve my riding. I am quite far back on the grid but I am sure we can improve our performance in the races." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "So far things have gone well this weekend, with no real troubles to speak of. Both Andrew and Noriyuki have been able to do many laps in practice and we are ready to fight in what should be two very close races." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 22 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Brands Hatch 05/08/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'25.449 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'25.857 3 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'25.901 4 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'25.933 5 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'26.000 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'26.291 7 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'26.323 8 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'26.542 9 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'26.560 10 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 1'26.580 11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'26.794 12 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'26.814 13 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'26.850 14 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'27.047 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'27.102 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'26.272 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'26.376 3 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'26.433 4 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'26.494 5 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'26.601 6 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'26.635 7 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 1'26.665 8 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'26.702 9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'26.741 10 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'26.844 11 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'26.955 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'27.059 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'27.229 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'27.465 15 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 1'27.648 16 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'27.690 19 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'27.940 26 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'28.896 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 05/08/2006 Parkes top of the pops in practice Broc Parkes Broc Parkes gave the Yamaha Motor Germany squad their third successive pole position after setting the fastest time in today's final qualifying at Brands Hatch. The Australian fired in a lap of 1:28.447 late in the session to grab his second pole position of the season. Parkes' team-mate, Kevin Curtain, had topped the timesheets for most of the session with a 1:28.574 lap time, only to be deposed in the closing minutes of the session. World champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) was another late improver, moving to second, with Curtain third on tomorrow's grid. Provisional pole sitter Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) will start fourth after failing to improve his time from Friday. Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello will start from eighth and tenth places respectively after finding small improvements overnight. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa will start tomorrow's 23-lap Supersport World Championship round from 19th after missing most of yesterday's action due to a crash. Tomorrow's supersport race takes place between the two superbike contests, with Curtain and Parkes looking to close the gap on series leader Sebastien Charpentier. Going into the race Charpentier leads Curtain by just 10 points, with Parkes a further 17 behind in third. Circuit Length: 4197 2006 WSS Brands Hatch 05/08/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'28.447 2 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'28.500 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'28.574 4 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'28.634 5 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'28.653 6 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 1'28.792 7 Leon Camier Honda GBR 1'29.083 8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'29.170 9 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'29.222 10 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'29.323 11 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 1'29.334 12 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'29.447 13 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'29.505 14 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'29.546 15 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'29.666 19 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'29.881 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt continued their splendid run of form today, blasting their Yamaha YZF-R1s to provisional front row starts at Brands Hatch today. Both riders featured at the top of the timesheets throughout the two one-hour practice sessions as they worked on finding the ideal settings for Sunday's two 25-lap races around the challenging British circuit. Haga's R1 was the fastest bike through the speed trap, recording almost 276kph up the Hawthorn Hill straight as the Japanese star powered to a 1:26.563 lap time - good enough to give him third place on the provisional grid. Team-mate Andrew Pitt also concentrated on his race settings but made a late charge to take fourth place at the chequered flag. The Australian ran strongly throughout the sessions and was able to make small refinements to allow his YZF-R1 to cope with the bumpy and demanding circuit. His best lap of 1:26.702 was good enough for fourth in the overnight standings. British wild-card Tommy Hill proved his pole position in Silverstone was no fluke. The 21-year-old, who won the British R6 Cup in 2003, featured in the top four for much of the session on the Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 with which he usually contests the British superbike championship. Hill ended the day ahead of numerous of the championship stars in eighth. Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest of the Yamaha Motor France trio in 15th, just two places ahead of team-mate Norick Abe. Shinichi Nakatomi had a tough day on his first visit to the demanding British circuit. The Japanese rookie only completed a handful of laps after crashing 15 minutes into the afternoon qualifying session. The 27-year-old was uninjured in the crash and will compete in tomorrow's final qualifying session. Championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) topped the times with a 1:26.272 lap. World champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) was second. Second qualifying takes place tomorrow morning, with the final grid positions decided in the afternoon superpole session for the top 16 riders after the morning session. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "As always we are working for the race and today we were able to complete a lot of laps and understand how the bike works on worn tyres. The bike is working very well from the very first session and I was able to do two race simulations. There are a few small things for us to try out tomorrow and hopefully these will help us to make some slight improvements for the race." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "No real troubles today. The bike's working pretty good already but there are still some more things for us to try and improve tomorrow. I had a slight problem with the front end running wide on the entry to the corners today, but we were quickly able to solve that. We've now got to try and make the bike ride better over the bumps and I have to try and go quicker through the third sector, as I am losing some time there. Most of today was spent trying out tyres and we still have some work to do in deciding what to use in the race. Nothing is standing out as the obvious choice for the race, as all the options we have available seem to work well." Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "We came here with what we thought was a good package and I'm pleased with how things went today. We're maybe a little bit down on power (compared to the Yamaha Motor Italia machines) but we're able to make a bit up through the corners. We're also using development Pirelli tyres in the British championship, so we've got a few more adjustments to make to get the bike work better on these tyres. It's a great experience riding with these guys and I'm sure we can find that little bit extra tomorrow." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I have raced here once before but I was so bad in the first session I think I forgot which way the track went! After the session my mechanic looked at the computer and we were able to find some big improvements. It felt much better in the afternoon and I think now we have a good starting point and I will be able to make a much better lap time tomorrow." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "This is a new track for me so I could have done without crashing. I am ok but the bike was very badly damaged in the crash. We will be ready for tomorrow and we should be able to find some improvements." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Other than the gearbox settings, the bikes are virtually the same as at Brno and are working very well here as well. Both riders are happy and are only requesting a few small changes. That has allowed us to focus on the race and both Noriyuki and Andrew have been very impressive in the way they have worked to find that little bit extra that will hopefully help them late in the race on Sunday." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 22 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Brands Hatch 04/08/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'26.272 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'26.494 3 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'26.563 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'26.702 5 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'26.741 6 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'26.844 7 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'26.955 8 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 1'26.987 9 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'27.165 10 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'27.285 11 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'27.308 12 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'27.372 13 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'27.468 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'27.510 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'27.690 17 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'27.940 26 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'29.033 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 04/08/2006 Curtain fast in first practice Kevin Curtain Kevin Curtain claimed a provisional front row start for Sunday's eighth round of the Supersport World Championship at Brands Hatch in England. The Yamaha Motor Germany rider's best lap of 1:28.674 was just four-hundreds of a second slower than provisional pole sitter Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda), with championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) and wild-card Cal Crutchlow (Honda) completing the provisional front row. Broc Parkes was the second YZF-R6 rider, ending the day in fifth position but just three tenths slower than Sofuoglu in a close session that was spiced up by the inclusion of some fast wild-card riders from the British championship. Italians Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello ended the day seventh and 12th place respectively on their Yamaha Team Italia YZF-R6s, although there was disappointment for David Checa and the Yamaha GMT94 squad. The Spaniard crashed heavily in the opening stages of the qualifying session and was taken to the medical center but was passed fit to take part tomorrow. Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 22 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Brands Hatch 04/08/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'28.634 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'28.674 3 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'28.739 4 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 1'28.792 5 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'28.948 6 Leon Camier Honda GBR 1'29.083 7 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'29.183 8 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'29.302 9 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'29.427 10 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'29.546 11 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'29.666 12 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'29.732 13 Simone Sanna Honda ITA 1'29.778 14 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 1'29.863 15 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'29.899 27 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'31.509 Click here to view the news

This weekend sees the Superbike World Championship move to the famous Brands Hatch circuit in England for round eight of what is proving to be a pulsating series. Brands is traditionally the highlight of the season, with the year's biggest crowd flocking to see some of the best racing of the year. An old-fashioned race track, Brands Hatch provides a challenging mix of fast, blind corners and radical elevation changes to test the riders' skill, bravery and machine set-up skills. It is a circuit rated by many riders as their favourite. The Yamaha Motor Italia squad travels to the UK in good form, having seen Noriyuki Haga close in on series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) last time out in Brno. Haga currently lies second in the series, 73 points behind Bayliss, and Brands Hatch is one of the Japanese rider's favourite venues, having taken his YZF-R1 to the win there last year. He explained: "I like Brands Hatch a lot and last year I had two great races with Troy Corser. I was disappointed after Brno because I thought that I could win. I was very fast in qualifying, although I had big grip problems in both the races. It is going to be two more hard races this weekend but I am confident that we can be back fighting at the front again." Haga has been a busy man since Brno, competing at last weekend's Suzuka 8-hour endurance event with Colin Edwards, although mechanical problems following a small crash during Edwards' first stint meant that he did not actually compete in the race. Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt goes to Brands Hatch out to avenge a Brno nightmare. Having won his first world superbike race at Misano, the Australian had high hopes for the Czech race - only to be denied two potential podium finishes due to technical problems. The Australian enjoys riding at the British circuit posted a sixth and seventh place finish there last year. In the 600cc world supersport class, Kevin Curtain closed the gap on Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) at the head of the championship with a win in Brno. The Yamaha Motor Germany rider now trails the Frenchman by just 10 points with five of the 12 races remaining. "Things are in our own hands now," said the 40-year-old Australian. "We're working with a new bike this year and maybe we've made taken a few wrong turns with the set-up in the first part of the year. But we showed at Brno that the package is very good and capable of winning races. I was so happy after Brno and I'm really buzzing about Brands." Broc Parkes made it a Yamaha Motor Germany one-two in Brno and currently lies third in the championship, just 18 points behind his team-mate and also right in contention for the title with five races remaining. Click here to view the news

Yamaha Intur Sports rider Stefan Everts won his eleventh event in succession at a hot and humid Loket circuit to own the Grand Prix of Czech Republic today. The reigning MX1 World Champion now needs to score just one point more than his nearest rival at the Belgian round next weekend at Namur, his favourite circuit, to claim a record tenth title. Everts triumphed in both Czech motos in front of 23,000 spectators and has now reached a total of 19 consecutive heat victories with the YZ 450 FM as well as a career tally of 98 overall Grand Prix wins; a phenomenal amount. The hillside circuit located 110km west of Prague had been slightly altered over 2005 with a new pit-lane setting giving the riders more time to see their pit-boards and a tight set of corners behind the technical area. The terrain was loose and littered with small stones that made the mud slippery in places and the layout tended to favour sheer speed over technical ability. Everts' 98th win Everts was denied his fifth consecutive pole position by just two hundreds of a second by Kevin Strijbos but it mattered little as the Belgian made a decent jump out of the gained and was just pipped to the holeshot by Josh Coppins. By the end of the first lap Everts had placed his YZ 450FM ahead of the pack and proceeded to show the CAS Honda rider the fastest route around the steep course. For two thirds of the duration the pair were not separated by more than two seconds but approaching the final ten minutes Everts broke his opponent's resistance and claimed his eighteenth moto in succession. The second race was a more curious affair as a bump on the first turn meant the 33 year old had to chip away at a lead held first by Jonathan Barragan and then Kevin Strijbos. As in previous Grand Prix this year Everts soon hit the front and was able to remain aloof for further domination. Stefan Everts Cedric Melotte was struck by more bad luck with a stone. After partially swallowing a pebble in South Africa the Belgian this time had a rock enter his boot and press against his shin. He had to pit and unfasten the boot while holding sixth and dropped down to sixteenth. Melotte had made some changes to the YZ's engine to suit the swirling track and got into his stride late in the second moto after a bright start to capture eighth and take eleventh overall. Round twelve of fifteen will occur in just seven days time at the 'Enduro-esque' and special setting of Namur. With a 149 point lead and just 200 left to win Everts needs to leave his home race with just one point more than Kevin Strijbos to be Champion for the tenth time and the sixth successive occasion in a row with Yamaha since 2001 in 500cc, MXGP and MX1 categories. He will also remain the sole winner of the MX1 class since the series' inception in 2004. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a hard GP for me. The track was not that difficult in the layout and you could see that by how fast everyone was going. The next few tracks will be more technical and better for me. Josh was riding well in that first moto. There were a few places on the track where I did not have such good lines and he was closing the gap but it is hard to know the full situation when you are in front. In the end I figured out a few places where I could improve and I think he must have made a mistake but it was quite easy to win that moto finally. My start wasn't that good in the second race and for a few laps I was in third position with Jonathan and Kevin having a small lead. I had to try hard to pass them both and it was tough, but it was also nice not having to always be working from first position. The new section around the back of the pits was very difficult and it was a place where you could make or lose some ground. That is eleven races in a row now but I am not trying to focus on records and take each weekend as it comes. It is the chance of a lifetime to become Champion at the Citadelle; it is something that I never dared to dream of and now it might come true. I have been working hard throughout my career for a moment like that and I have many people to thank so that I am in a position like this." Cedric Melotte Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "The weekend was not so bad. I had a good qualification yesterday and we changed a few small things on the bike. I felt much better, and when my wrist is in good condition I can suggest more things to the team to improve the overall package for me. I was happy with the seventh best time. In the first moto I made a good start and kept the rhythm of the leaders for twenty minutes but then I had to let Ken and Strijbos go. I then could not believe it when a stone got in between my brace and my boot. It pushed hard against my shin. I gritted my teeth for ten minutes but I could not go on any longer and had to pull into the pits to get it sorted. In the second race I slid a bit wide on the first corner otherwise I would have had the holeshot but in the first few laps I struggled to find my pace and was hitting some bad lines. After 15 minutes things got better and easier but I felt tired towards the end. I am happy about this weekend. I have not had much luck this season but I am keeping motivated and that is encouraging." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was perfect this weekend even though the win was far from easy this time. In the first moto Stefan made a good start and took the lead but Coppins was right there and pushed so hard for the whole moto, so Stefan had to do his best to keep Josh behind him. In the second heat he had a collision in the first corner and had to come through; that time it was Strijbos who was the quickest. This was the 98th win and it is just amazing. We made some small tweaks to the engine so it would suit Cédric's riding style better. The track was tricky because it was slippery so he had a different characteristic on the power to help him with that." Circuit Length: 1630 Temp: 27 Crowd: 23000 Weather: Humid 2006 GP Loket, Czech Republic 30/07/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'8.345 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'4.521 3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'15.160 4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'24.355 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'34.034 6 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'38.930 7 James Noble Honda GBR 0'46.271 8 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'5.258 9 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'11.872 10 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'18.916 11 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'24.088 12 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'28.349 13 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 1'29.152 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'30.160 15 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA 1'33.605 16 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 1'34.833 17 Marko Kovalainen Honda FIN 1'45.452 18 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 1'47.520 19 Aaron Bernandez Honda ESP -1 Laps 20 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR -1 Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'35.004 2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'5.770 3 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'15.616 4 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'25.449 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'35.807 6 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'39.903 7 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 0'45.960 8 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 0'55.615 9 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'58.644 10 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'3.424 11 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'9.872 12 James Noble Honda GBR 1'11.729 13 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'17.070 14 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 1'45.936 15 Marko Kovalainen Honda FIN 1'54.677 16 Aaron Bernandez Honda ESP -1 Laps 17 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 18 Aigar Bobkovs Honda LVA -1 Laps 19 Cyril Coulon Suzuki FRA -1 Laps 20 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 1'51.735 Rider Standings 30/07/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 542 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 393 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 368 4. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 355 5. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 353 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 273 7. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 202 8. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 190 9. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 189 10. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 172 11. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 12. James Noble Honda GBR 161 13. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 158 14. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 15. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 128 16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 127 17. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 117 18. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 19. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 84 20. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 84 Manufacturer Standings 30/07/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 542 2. Suzuki 449 3. Honda 403 4. Kawasaki 359 5. KTM 329 6. TM 128 RACE REPORT 30/07/2006 Cairoli takes seventh moto but finishes off the podium Antonio Cairoli Antonio Cairoli's excellent showing and defeat of Christophe Pourcel in the second MX2 moto at Loket this afternoon gave the World Champion his seventh success of the season and makes him outright the most successful rider so far this term. The Italian missed out on the podium by one point however after a first race crash relegated him to eleventh. After rain during late afternoon and Saturday evening the track was at its dampest for the first MX2 moto. Gaining traction on the corners was a cause for concern for most of the riders and tyre choice became a little more complicated than usual. Passing places were not prevalent and the terrain became very rough. Antonio Cairoli Cairoli was luckless at the start of the first moto as he fell along with Championship leader Pourcel and Kenneth Gundersen. Billy Mackenzie was also held up. The Italian struggled to fight his way through the lower pack without a rear brake and eventually finished eleventh while a fully fit Gundersen had to retire on the first lap because of a damaged front wheel. In the second sprint Cairoli was ruthless in swerving his way up to leader Pourcel from seventh place on the first lap. The duo, who are also contesting the World Championship at the top of the standings, put on a good show for the hefty crowd for several laps but the Team Yamaha De Carli rider's speed eventually pulled him clear to win by eight seconds. Alessio Chiodi had his best race finish since notching third at the opening moto at Teutschenthal in May by taking a strong fourth place in race one but was a victim of a first corner tangle later in the afternoon and ploughed a path to thirteenth for a final slot of eighth. His team-mate Gundersen hit the ground on the opening lap of race two and could manage a highest position of sixteenth by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps. The third member of the Yamaha Team Ricci, Davide Guarneri woke on Saturday with a sore throat and a fever. The Italian was not fit enough to ride. Alessio Chiodi With Pourcel walking the podium as overall runner-up Cairoli lost just two points to the French teenager today. The Championship table now shows the gap at 34 points between the pair with David Philippaerts eleven behind in third. There are still 200 points remaining in the last four GPs. As with the MX1 class, the next MX2 meeting on the schedule will visit the unique setting of Namur in seven days time. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "The first race was so unlucky for me again. After the crash the tube going into the rear brake came off and after five laps the brake faded and did not work. I was riding well but it was difficult going down the hills. I have not had much fortune this year; the guys in the Rinaldi team said for a technical problem to happen like that was incredible! I crashed with Sebastien Pourcel and lost a lot of time in that first moto. The second race was great. I know that when I start in the top six or seven I can win and have done that this year. I hope that Pourcel might have some bad luck otherwise it is going to be difficult to catch him in the Championship." Kenneth Gundersen Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "In the first moto I crashed with Cairoli at the start and his footpeg went through my front wheel. A few spokes were broken; I could not ride like that and had to stop. In the second race I had a bad start and crashed on the first lap. I was maybe half a lap behind and rode to get some training! This was the first week in a long time that I felt OK with my physical condition and my hand. Things were finally supposed to go well but better luck next time." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "My knee is good and my head is also getting better in terms of my confidence. I am a bit disappointed about the second moto because today I think it was possible to finish on the podium. I was fourth in the first race but also quite close to Philippaerts and Nunn but I crashed at the start of the second moto after hitting another rider. I re-started last by more than ten seconds and I just tried my best. I was thirteenth and I was sad for that but happy that things are getting better." Circuit Length: 1630 Temp: 27 Crowd: 23000 Weather: Humid 2006 GP Loket, Czech Republic 30/07/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 38'56.828 2 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'8.367 3 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'9.715 4 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 0'10.499 5 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 0'11.374 6 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'11.982 7 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'18.908 8 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 0'22.267 9 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'37.341 10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'38.527 11 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'39.616 12 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'43.508 13 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 0'45.858 14 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 0'48.154 15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'5.207 16 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'19.549 17 Jason Dougan Honda GBR 1'21.998 18 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'24.114 19 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'27.398 20 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA 1'28.324 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'30.754 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'8.146 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'25.722 4 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'35.106 5 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'39.534 6 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 0'43.070 7 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 0'45.350 8 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'48.750 9 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'50.634 10 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'3.639 11 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 1'5.815 12 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'7.347 13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 1'8.718 14 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'21.788 15 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'35.066 16 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'38.263 17 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'38.924 18 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 1'40.952 19 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'54.933 20 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 2'7.497 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'52.177 Rider Standings 30/07/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 416 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 382 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 371 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 330 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 314 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 277 7. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 254 8. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 246 9. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 236 10. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 225 11. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 12. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 209 13. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 197 14. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 15. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 143 16. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 17. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 87 18. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 85 19. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 77 20. Patrick Caps Honda BEL 68 Manufacturer Standings 30/07/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 504 2. Yamaha 476 3. Kawasaki 441 4. Honda 173 5. Suzuki 22 Click here to view the news

Please note that due to technical difficulties the Saturday qualifying report has not been sent. The report can be read on http://www.yamaha-racing.com. We apologise for any inconveniences caused. What looked certain to be another stunning race recovery from Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi ended in disaster today as the reigning MotoGP World Champion retired from the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca with tyre and engine troubles. After starting from tenth on the grid Rossi slowly worked his way through the field and with just five laps remaining he was on course for a valuable fourth place finish. However, with blazing sunshine bringing track temperatures up to a soaring 56ºC, the punishing conditions inevitably took their toll and Rossi's rear tyre developed a problem, which forced the Italian to drop his pace. To add to Rossi's woes, his the water-cooling system then malfunctioned and within moments the engine of his YZR-M1 machine overheated, blowing clouds of smoke into the air and bringing his participation in the race to an end. Things started out brightly for Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards before also ending in disappointment, the Texan getting a decent start from the front row of the grid and lapping with the lead group before identical tyre troubles began to kick in. With the searing heat also playing havoc on his physical condition, having suffered from flu symptoms and an upset stomach throughout the weekend, Edwards was unable to maintain his pace and he dropped back from fifth place to eventually cross the line in ninth. Nicky Hayden (Honda) took his second victory of the season to extend his advantage at the top of the championship to 51 points over Rossi, who has dropped to fourth overall with six rounds remaining. Colin Edwards (9th; +53.228) "My start wasn't great; I got off the line okay but then as I leaned over into turn one the power went a bit and I got slower and slower, so a few guys came past me. After that I just had to give it all I had to hold on and do 24.1s and 2s, which anyway is faster than we were doing on race tyres yesterday. I also had a bit of a problem stopping the bike, which was another thing to contend with. After ten laps I was completely wrecked, I think being ill on Friday took a lot out of me and suddenly I had no power left in my body. I was feeling so bad that I was seriously considering coming in, but then I saw Stoner crash and so I thought I had better hold on and try and get some points! On about lap 20 the tyre started spinning up and it just kept on getting worse and worse on each lap. I had a few big moments where I scared myself a bit, especially coming into turn one a few laps from the end. With about three or four laps to go I looked over at my rear tyre and saw just how bad the problem was, and it was all I could do to bring it safely home. Obviously I'm pretty gutted, the weekend hasn't worked out how we hoped, but that's racing!" Valentino Rossi (DNF)"We've been in a really difficult situation all weekend, with a lot of problems and unfortunately things got even worse today! We made a big improvement this morning in warm-up and I was much faster, so I thought that maybe we could do a good job in the race and to start with we made good progress from our grid position. But then we had a problem with the rear tyre and I lost all grip and was forced to slow right down in order not to crash. Then we had a problem with the water-cooling system for the engine, it overheated and when I saw the smoke, I knew it was over. Anyway, now we're 51 points down on Hayden with only six races left, so for the first time I will race for the rest of the season without thinking about the pressure of the championship. My plan is to have a lot of fun over the remaining races and try to win as many as possible, and then who knows what might happen?" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director"It's been a very difficult day from every angle. We had two separate problems of a different nature which affected both riders. Colin could have done a really good race but he was hampered by his physical condition and then later by a problem with his rear tyre. Valentino had exactly the same problem with his tyre and then when he slowed down the cooling system on his engine failed and it overheated, so he had to retire. Now we're a lot of points behind in the championship and we have a mountain to climb, but we won't give up and we will fight to the end." Tech 3 Yamaha Team secures season best result at Laguna Seca On the eve of the summer break, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team has secured a season best result with Carlos Checa finishing in seventh position proving that the persistence and dedication the team has put in since the stat of the year is paying dividends. The race was run in the most severe conditions but Carlos showed his fitness and determination to also be the first Yamaha home after the demise of Valentino Rossi. James Ellison started on fire to make up plenty of ground from his grid position but he too was affected by tyre wear in the middle of the race before recovering to finish in the points in 13th position. Carlos Checa (7th; +44.825)"We are very satisfied with the result. We made a good position at the beginning of the race to be behind Valentino and Nakano and I was able to keep the gap to them. Then in the middle of the race the tyre dropped down a bit in performance because of the heat and so I struggled the last five or six laps. The final result in seventh is the best result so far so we must be very happy considering the conditions for the entire weekend it was not easy for us. We made the choice of a tyre for the race that we haven't tested before so overall we have to be satisfied as we struggled a little on this track. Finally, after the risk we take with the tyre choice to finish in this position the team is very happy. Yes we were the first Yamaha home but it has been a shame for Yamaha this year. I think Colin had some trouble with is tyre and for Valentino he is always putting in more than 100% and he doesn't have much luck this year. At the end of the day I am part of Yamaha and I am disappointed for that. Yes it is nice to be first Yamaha but I would like to do it in normal conditions - that is the right satisfaction that I want." James Ellison (13th; +1.19.283)"That was one hard race but at the start I was feeling very good. I got a great start to be away with Tamada and De Puniet and I thought I was in for a good battle. For quite a few laps I was with them but then the front tyre started to go away and I had some big moments. The front tyre was moving around quite a bit with the rise in temperature and with me trying to brake a little harder as I wanted to pass these guys the tyres was just a bit soft and I lost a lot of confidence in it so I just started dropping back. Then I thought to myself 'I'm not doing this again as it looks like I'm not trying hard enough so I thought I'm going for it. If I crash I crash but it was actually still turning even though it was squashing like mad. That gave me confidence as even though it was moving around heaps it was still gripping. I was getting quicker towards the end and the bikes in front were getting closer. Plus I could see all these flags around the track with people cheering me so I had a really good race towards the end of it. It's just a pity that I had those moments in the middle of the race. I should've just bitten the bullet and pushed through that. We all got some points so everyone can go away from here happy." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director"This is for sure the best result we have had so far. It's also a great way to finish the first half of the season to go on holiday and enjoy them. We knew today was going to be a very tiring race as the temperature was so hot and from practice we saw a lot of guys struggling. We took a big gamble for the race as we started with something for Carlos that we have never tested before and it was quite hard to go into the race without knowing what was going to happen. To finish seventh which is our best race position so far this year to be first Yamaha is really showing that the technical project is really working well. We are happy because we are improving all the time and I think Carlos did a beautiful job the whole weekend long like he did in Germany James did a good job as he was very consistent the entire race and I think that with a bit more consistency he could have caught one or two rider in front of him because he was definitely faster than them towards the end of the race. But anyway let's be positive. Both our riders are in the points, no tyre problems and were really consistent from lap one to the end so we can be happy with that. Let's go on holiday and continue to work hard when we return in a few weeks time." Circuit Length: 3610Temp: 39Crowd: Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Laguna Seca 24/07/2006 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 45'4.867 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'3.186 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'10.929 4 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'11.941 5 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'27.439 6 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'38.820 7 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'44.825 8 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'48.526 9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'53.228 10 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'6.279 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'11.941 12 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'14.407 13 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'19.283 14 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'41.277 15 Toni Elias Honda ESP -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'23.333 Rider Standings 23/07/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 194 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 160 3. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 150 4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 143 5. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 126 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 91 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 84 8. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 79 9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 74 10. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 67 11. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 64 12. Toni Elias Honda ESP 59 13. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 58 14. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 57 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 53 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 20 Team Standings 23/07/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 354 2. Camel Yamaha Team 227 3. Fortuna Honda Team 209 4. Ducati Marlboro Team 191 5. Rizla Suzuki 131 6. Honda LCR 91 7. Kawasaki Racing Team 88 8. Team Roberts KR 79 9. Tech3 Yamaha 73 10. Konica Minolta Honda 64 11. Pramac D'Antin 22 Manufacturer Standings 23/07/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 246 2. Yamaha 181 3. Ducati 135 4. Suzuki 92 5. Team Robert KR 79 6. Kawasaki 75 Click here to view the news

The blazing Californian sunshine and a bumpy new track surface made life even more turbulent than usual at Laguna Seca today as preparations for the US Grand Prix got underway for the Camel Yamaha Team and their MotoGP World Championship rivals. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards made a bright start to the day, lapping fifth and second fastest in the morning free practice, but both struggled in the afternoon session and were unable to improve their times as they focused on adapting the set-up of their YZR-M1 machines to the unique demands of the wild western circuit. Rossi himself indulged in a moment of rodeo riding as he ran across the gravel traps after misjudging a braking marker going into the Corkscrew corner. To make matters worse for Edwards he also began to struggle from the effects of flu symptoms and an upset stomach, which were not helped by afternoon temperatures exceeding of 30ºC. His morning benchmark was bettered by only five other riders, however, the fastest of those being American compatriot Kenny Roberts Jr. (Team KR) with a lap of 1'23.859 - just inside Edwards' own official lap record of 1'23.915 set during the race last year. Tomorrow the pair will have one more free session to adjust their machine set-up before tackling the all-important qualifying practice. Colin Edwards (5th; 1'24.310, 44 laps)"At the moment we're just working to get the bike better, trying to find the right setting for the track. The new surface is not great - I don't think they could have made it any bumpier if they tried. It's been hard to ride today because I've also been suffering with flu symptoms and an upset stomach. I'll go to the Clinica Mobile for some treatment tonight and hopefully get a good night's sleep because I really don't want to feel like this again tomorrow, it was really hard to ride this afternoon. The morning session was quite good and I was feeling pretty confident, but I started to feel worse throughout the day and things went downhill a bit this afternoon. We tried some new things in the second session and didn't find exactly the right setting, but we have some more ideas for tomorrow and I'm confident that if I'm feeling okay I can be back on the pace." Valentino Rossi (11th; 1'24.674, 47 laps)"I think that they've done a good job on the circuit and done nearly everything we've asked for. The track is quite dirty at the moment but the new asphalt has much better grip and by Sunday I think it will be okay. Turn one is especially much safer and much less dangerous. The problem that we have now is that it's still very bumpy in parts of the track, which is not good. In most places it's better but they've put the new asphalt down over the old bumps, so they're still there. This is unfortunate; the worst part is after the corkscrew, turns 9 and 10. I was happy with how we started today - I did some good laps towards the end this morning and was starting to feel good with the bike and the track - but this afternoon we had a lot more problems. I didn't have a good feeling in the corner and the bike was quite hard to ride. The bumps are causing us some difficulties and we need to understand how to make the M1 work at this track. It is only Friday but we have a lot of work to do. We need to make some tests with the qualifying tyre tomorrow morning and hopefully we will have a better situation than in Germany. It is going to be very important that we qualify well because it's hard to pass on this track." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director"We have some work to do, as always on a Friday! After the morning session we expected to be a lot closer to the front in the afternoon but the situation remained the same and we didn't make any major improvements. We have collected a lot of data that our engineers will check overnight and we will see how we can move forward in the morning. With the American riders all going fast here there is more competition at the top so Valentino knows he has work to do. Colin did a good job today considering his physical condition so we hope he will be feeling better tomorrow and will be able to make some more steps forward with the bike before qualifying." Testing for Tech 3 Yamaha Racing Team in Californian sunshine With a new track surface and extreme temperatures to contend with it was a testing time for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team to find a suitable setup in preparation for Sunday's US Grand Prix at the undulating Laguna Seca circuit in the hills of Monterey. Carlos Checa managed to slot himself into 12th position a shade behind Valentino Rossi on his Yamaha as the team had to contend with a layout that is much rougher than last year. In another encouraging sign for the Spaniard, Carlos was faster than the factory Ducati's and Kawasaki's and is confident that he can find even more speed to claim a top 10 qualifying position tomorrow James Ellison who sits in 18th position overnight, is also confident that he can move further up the grid although, he lost some time in the afternoon's free practice wresting with his bucking Yamaha over the now notorious bumps slamming his helmet through the screen in a successful effort to keep it under control. Carlos Checa (12th, 1'24.883, 61 laps)"It has been a pretty tough first day as we had to do a lot of work and we still haven't found a proper setup that we can work on. Obviously with the new track condition, we have been working with the setup of the bike but also with the tyres to find the best combination that is going to work for both so that we can be as fast as possible. We have made much progress in the last few races and it is important that we can continue that same rate here. Hopefully, the track will be in a bit better condition tomorrow now that there has been some rubber laid down and hopefully the weather conditions will stay the same as I think the Dunlop tyres should work pretty well around here if these conditions remain. If it does stay the same it will allow us to test some more tyres as we now know the durability of the Dunlops is there so we just have to find the one that suits this track as the quality of the asphalt and the finishing is not good. Grip is not the problem but it is all the bumps, especially on the exit of the Corkscrew where we are becoming airborne like a motocross bike that we have to find a good solution. The surface is like laying on a beach and feeling the unevenness of the sand underneath you; that is how uneven the track is now! They have made many improvements to the safety of the track but I wish they had taken a bit more time to get the surface correct." James Ellison (18th 1'25.768, 48 laps)"It has been a difficult day in some ways but we have made some good progress as well. The first hour was a matter of finding what the track was like as it is not as good a surface as last year. The good thing is that we left the bike the way it was in Germany and it has worked well from the start plus we know we can improve a lot of areas and being less than a second behind Rossi is a bit of a confidence boost as well. We are not having too many grip problems as we used one set of tyres for most of the second session doing 23 laps on them. Plus, we are not getting any chatter here it's just trying to get the drive in some areas as it is so bumpy. Coming onto t he straight on one lap it got so out of shape that I slammed my head through the screen and broke it so that tells you how uneven the surface is around here now. We're going to lower the bike a bit overnight to see if that helps in getting it to handle a bit better but overall I am happy that we are heading in the right direction and now we know what we are up against with this track I think we should be able to get some decent times tomorrow and hopefully be right up with Carlos by tomorrow afternoon Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director"The important thing for us to do after our best race of the season at Sachsenring last week is to continue on the same path that we have seen in recent races. I was a bit worried this morning as Dunlop has a lot of information about this track as they have raced here many times over the years in the American superbike class but unfortunately the new surface has changed that.. I don't know what the situation is with the other tyre manufacturers as they battle then new track surface but I have to say I am quite happy with how the Tech 3 Yamaha Team and the Dunlop tyres performed today. I hope that we will be able to improve in our qualifying performance as well but that may be difficult as if you don't get a clear lap it can be quite difficult to pass around here. With the weather forecast we feel that the track condition should stay the same as far as grip levels go so we should be able to test a few more tyres to find out which one will suit us on Sunday. The main problem is the bumps as we have to find a setup that is going to ride over them but it is the same for everybody. For the most part the surface does seem pretty good grip and from what we saw today with the Dunlops I don't think we should have a problem with the durability of the tyre. Let's hope our progress continues here in America and we can put on a good show like last week." Circuit Length: 3610Temp: 29Crowd: Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Laguna Seca 21/07/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'23.859 2 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'24.125 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'24.194 4 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'24.223 5 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'24.253 6 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'24.320 7 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'24.339 8 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'24.494 9 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'24.523 10 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'24.663 11 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'24.822 12 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'24.883 13 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'25.094 14 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'25.252 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'25.294 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'25.768 Click here to view the news

Brno lap record holder Noriyuki Haga once again showed his liking for the Czech circuit by obliterating the opposition to claim pole position for tomorrow's two Superbike World Championship races, the first time he has started at the front of the grid since 2002. The Japanese Yamaha Motor Italia ace gunned his YZF-R1 around the fast and flowing circuit in a time of 2:00.457, over half a second quicker than second placed James Toseland (Honda). Ducati riders Lorenzo Lanzi and Troy Bayliss complete the front row for tomorrow's race. It is the third time Haga has won pole position in a world superbike event and the first pole for his Yamaha Motor Italia team since they moved up to the class at the beginning of 2005. Yamaha Motor France's trio of riders narrowly missed out on superpole, with Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert less than two-hundreds of a second behind Alex Barros (Honda) in the 16th and final superpole position. Meanwhile the team's Japanese riders Shinichi Nakatomi and Norick Abe had difficulty with the surprisingly low grip levels on the circuit. Nakatomi made big progress in the afternoon session. He was the 12th fastest rider in the one-hour session, one place behind Haga and one ahead of Pitt, but will start in 19th based on his time from the morning qualifying session. Abe will start the two 20-lap races one place behind his team-mate after struggling to find rear grip with his YZF-R1 in practice. Andrew Pitt took over a second from his best lap of the weekend in superpole, recording a 2:01.482 to move from tenth in regular qualifying to seventh position and a slot on the second row on the final grid. Pitt was plagued with some minor electrical problems that forced him to switch to his spare machine for superpole but, despite running different gearing and suspension to his preferred machine, he was still able to post a 2:01.482 lap time. Times tumbled during today's qualifying sessions, with the surface providing considerably more traction than in Friday's sessions. With hot conditions set to make for a tough day's racing tomorrow, both riders worked hard to find a set-up that will work over 20 laps of the challenging circuit. Haga and Pitt were able to run fast and consistent times as they worked on finding an optimum race setting during the day's two one-hour practices, before showing the ultimate pace of their YZF-R1s in the grid deciding one-lap superpole. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Yes, of course, I am very happy with pole position. The feeling with the bike is very good and even before superpole I knew the settings and tyres I will use for the race. I was able to ride a good lap and get the pole. Tomorrow will be very hard work and I hope that the temperature will be cooler for the races. The tyre wear is very high in this heat but that is the same for everyone and I am happy that we have such a good setting for the bike, as I expect some very hard races." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the end second row's not too bad. My bike stopped before superpole so I had to go on my second bike and it wasn't set up at all how I'd like it. It was a bit chaotic as we tried to change some things around but I'm quite happy. We were able to do some consistent lap times and as long as we don't have any more problems we should be ready for the races." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "I am a little bit frustrated because my qualifying time is almost three seconds faster than last year, yet I am again starting on the fifth row - that shows how the level of competition has gone up this year. Overall though, I am happy with how practice has gone. We have made some steps forward with the bike and the times of all the riders are close. I'm only just behind guys like Barros, so I am quite positive for tomorrow's races." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I'm not so happy with today. The temperatures are much higher than when we tested here and because of this the grip levels are much lower. I tried a new swingarm in the practices and I like this and will use it in the race. The afternoon was better, although I have not yet been able to decide on a tyre choice and therefore suspension settings for the race." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Still we are struggling with rear grip on the exit of corners. As a result I tried entering the corners faster, but this has caused some chatter to occur. We will try some more settings in the warm-up to try and find a solution for the races." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "A great job from Noriyuki today. It was hard to know how superpole would go as each session had been quite different. He rode such a great lap and was very smooth - in fact when I watched the lap on TV I commented to the team that he didn't seem to be pushing so hard. It was very satisfying to win our first superpole, especially to do it with such a big gap to second. Andrew did an excellent job too. He had to go out on his second bike and that was set-up differently, so to get the second row was good." Circuit Length: 5403Temp: 33Crowd: Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Brno 22/07/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 2'0.457 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 2'1.056 3 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 2'1.073 4 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 2'1.207 5 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 2'1.351 6 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 2'1.453 7 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 2'1.482 8 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 2'1.498 9 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 2'1.620 10 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 2'1.799 11 Fabien Foret Suzuki FRA 2'2.124 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 2'2.208 13 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 2'2.220 14 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 2'2.569 15 Alex Barros Honda BRA 2'2.757 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 2'1.779 2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 2'1.783 3 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 2'2.206 4 James Toseland Honda GBR 2'2.213 5 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 2'2.298 6 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 2'2.447 7 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 2'2.449 8 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 2'2.534 9 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 2'2.539 10 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 2'2.566 11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 2'2.620 12 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 2'2.657 13 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 2'2.700 14 Fabien Foret Suzuki FRA 2'2.777 15 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 2'2.810 17 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 2'2.892 19 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 2'3.111 20 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 2'3.431 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 22/07/2006 Curtain grabs first world championship pole in Brno Kevin Curtain secured the first pole position of his long world supersport career to give his Yamaha Motor Germany team their second successive pole position. In what will be his 58th race in the class, the veteran Australian confirmed the progress made by his squad to the new-for-2006 YZF-R6, posting a record-breaking 2:05.900 lap around the long and historic circuit. In a frantically close 45-minute session, the top three riders were covered by less than one tenth of a second. Completing an excellent day for Yamaha Motor Germany, team-mate Broc Parkes, pole sitter last time out in Misano, will also start from the front row. The 24-year-old Australian stopped the clock at 2:05.997 to end the day third, behind Curtain and Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda). Monza race winner Yoann Tibero completes the front row on his Honda. Misano winner Massimo Roccoli starts from eighth on his Yamaha Team Italia YZF-R6, with team-mate Gianluca Vizziello ending practice in 12th. David Checa of the Yamaha GMT94 squad will start tomorrow's 18-lap race from 11th. Circuit Length: 5403Temp: 31Crowd: Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Brno 22/07/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 2'5.900 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 2'5.952 3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 2'5.997 4 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 2'6.202 5 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 2'6.242 6 Simone Sanna Honda ITA 2'6.736 7 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 2'7.019 8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 2'7.145 9 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 2'7.186 10 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 2'7.201 11 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 2'7.359 12 David Checa Yamaha ESP 2'7.362 13 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 2'7.502 14 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 2'7.561 15 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 2'7.598 Click here to view the news

Noriyuki Haga returned to the scene of one of his finest moments to end first qualifying in fourth position at Brno today. The Yamaha Motor Italia rider won at the classic Czech circuit last year, despite qualifying way back on the fifth row, and today confirmed his liking of the circuit by putting his YZF-R1 on the provisional front row for Sunday's race. A combination of high temperatures and residue left from car racing meant that the riders struggled for grip on the dirty surface and struggled to match their times from last month's three-day test at the same venue. Haga's best lap of the day was 2:02.904, over a second slower than his best time on race tyres at last month's test, but just half-a-second behind provisional pole man James Toseland (Honda). A heavy shower with just minutes of the session remaining meant that team-mate Andrew Pitt was unable to make what he expected to be his fastest lap of the day. The Australian, winner last time out in Misano, ended the day in 13th position. Despite his lower than expected position, the former supersport world champion was happy with his day's work, having made small but important improvements to his YZF-R1's settings and completing a race simulation. Yamaha Motor France's trio of riders spent most of the session having their own personal battle just outside the top 16. Norick Abe, Sebastien Gimbert and rookie Shinichi Nakatomi. Just three tenths of a second separated the riders as Frenchman Gimbert ended the day 19th, ahead of Japanese colleagues Abe and Nakatomi, who were 20th and 21st position respectively. Final qualifying for Sunday's two-race seventh round takes place tomorrow. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Fourth is ok but really I am not so happy. The grip levels are much lower than when we tested here. I think that there have been cars racing on the circuit and they have left some rubber on the track. We only have three different tyres to choose from and I tried the soft and medium ones. The soft was sliding around like a qualifier after a few laps and the feeling was also not so good with the medium. I am surprised because I usually have a good feeling with the bike and the tyres. We can try some things for tomorrow but I think that the heavy rain will change the surface anyway. Maybe that will be better or maybe it will be worse. We have to wait and find out." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "What can I say, I'd just gone out on a new tyre when it started to pour down! Up until that point it'd gone fine. There's not a lot of grip out there but I was quite happy with the bike and had been able to get in a race simulation. We improved things quite a bit between the morning and afternoon and we're definitely going in the right direction." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Unfortunately I missed the team's test here through injury but it should not be a big problem as Brno is one of my favourite tracks. Today the problem for me is again rear traction. The surface is very slippery but the team will try a few thing for tomorrow to try and improve the bike and give me a chance to run at the front on Sunday." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "Brno is a long and challenging circuit but it is not a new track to me as we tested here recently. I was able to go quickly straight away but at the end it started to rain when I went out with a new tyre on and I couldn't go for a final fast lap. I am sure that we can make a big improvement tomorrow because the bike and the track will probably be in better condition." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "After good tests here and at Lausitz I think we expected a little bit more from today. We're having some problems with the grip levels but this seems to be as a result of the track surface. Looking at the lap times it seems that everyone is only able to do two or three fast laps before the performance level drops off. We'll work further on the settings for tomorrow but we'll have to see if the track surface improves overnight." Qualifying 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, James Toseland, Honda, GBR, 2'2.349 2, Fonsi Nieto, Kawasaki, ESP, 2'2.723 3, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 2'2.847 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 2'2.904 5, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 2'3.058 6, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 2'3.107 7, Michel Fabrizio, Honda, ITA, 2'3.112 8, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 2'3.178 9, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'3.389 10, Steve Martin, Petronas, AUS, 2'3.408 11, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 2'3.146 12, Troy Corser, Suzuki, AUS, 2'3.475 13, Andrew Pitt, Yamaha, AUS, 2'3.528 14, Alex Barros, Honda, BRA, 2'3.728 15, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 2'3.901 16, Pierfrancesco Chili, Honda, ITA, 2'3.915 17, Roberto Rolfo, Ducati, ITA, 2'3.947 18, Fabien Foret, Suzuki, FRA, 2'4.136 19, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 2'4.245 20, Norick Abe, Yamaha, JPN, 2'4.373 21, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 2'4.580 22, Craig Jones, Petronas, GBR, 2'5.152 23, Pawel Szkopek, Ducati, CZE, 2'5.165 24, Joshua Brookes, Kawasaki, AUS, 2'5.863 25, Ivan Clementi, Ducati, ITA, 2'6.299 26, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki, ITA, 2'7.241 27, Marco Borciani, Ducati, ITA, 2'7.895 28, Jiri Drazdak, Yamaha, CZE, 2'8.039 29, Berto Camlek, Yamaha, SVN, 2'8.237 30, Marek Svoboda, Yamaha, CZE, 2'8.372 31, Milos Cihak, Suzuki, CZE, 2'8.524 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT - 21/07/2006 Yamaha Motor Germany pair fastest in first Brno practice Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes topped the timesheets in this afternoon's first qualifying session at Brno. The Australian YZF-R6 riders were able to take advantage of three days testing at the Czech venue last month and, just as at the test, it was Curtain who ended the day as the fastest rider - one tenth of a second ahead of his team-mate. Both riders were fractionally slower than the times they achieved in testing, Curtain's best of 2:06.407 comparing to a 2:06.0 set last month, with the hot conditions responsible for a reduction in grip levels. Third fastest in today's first qualifying session was Italian Simone Sanna (Honda), with Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) completing the provisional front row. Misano winner Massimo Roccoli ended the day eighth on his Yamaha Team Italia YZF-R6, with Yamaha GMT94's David Checa 11th and Gianluca Vizziello 12th on the second Yamaha Team Italia entry. Qualifying 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Kevin Curtain, Yamaha, AUS, 2'6.407 2, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 2'6.556 3, Simone Sanna, Honda, ITA, 2'6.736 4, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 2'6.863 5, Sebastien Charpentier, Honda, FRA, 2'6.906 6, Yoann Tibero, Honda, FRA, 2'6.979 7, Johan Stigefelt, Honda, SWE, 2'7.034 8, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 2'7.176 9, Christian Zaiser, Ducati, AUT, 2'7.188 10, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 2'7.407 11, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 2'7.408 12, Gianluca Vizziello, Yamaha, ITA, 2'7.476 13, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 2'7.682 14, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 2'7.720 15, Mauro Sanchini, Yamaha, ITA, 2'7.733 16, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 2'8.073 17, Kai Borre Andersen, Suzuki, NOR, 2'8.084 18, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 2'8.269 19, Sebastien Le Grelle, Honda, BEL, 2'8.269 20, Maxime Berger, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'8.272 21, Stephane Chambon, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'8.336 22, Xavi Fores, Yamaha, ESP, 2'8.397 23, Vesa Kallio, Yamaha, FIN, 2'8.667 24, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 2'8.883 25, Tatu Lauslehto, Honda, FIN, 2'9.054 26, Julien Enjolras, Yamaha, FRA, 2'9.113 27, Luka Nedog, Ducati, SVN, 2'9.214 28, Stuart Easton, Ducati, GBR, 2'9.495 29, Alessio Corradi, Yamaha, ITA, 2'9.740 30, Sebastiano Zerbo, Yamaha, ITA, 2'9.884 31, Vactav Bittman, Honda, CZE, 2'10.274 32, Alessio Velini, Yamaha, ITA, 2'10.320 33, Bernat Martinez, Yamaha, ESP, 2'10.337 34, Tom Tunstall, Honda, GBR, 2'10.437 35, Vladimir Ivanov, Yamaha, RUS, 2'10.536 36, Javier Hidalgo, Honda, ESP, 2'11.257 37, Andrea Berta, Yamaha, ITA, 2'12.193 38, David Garcia, Yamaha, ITA, 2'12.632 Click here to view the news

Brno in the Czech Republic is the venue for this weekend's seventh round of the Superbike World Championship, with the Yamaha Motor Italia squad looking forward to the event for a variety of reasons. The historic circuit was the venue of the team's first world superbike race win last year, when Noriyuki Haga came through from 18th in qualifying to win the second race by over three seconds. And with team-mate Andrew Pitt going to Czech on the back of his first win in the class in the last race at Misano, the team is understandably relishing the second half of the 2006 championship. At 5.4km, Brno is the longest circuit on the superbike calendar. It is a wide and flowing circuit with grippy tarmac and many elevation changes. It's a circuit that has been proven to suit the characteristics of the YZF-R1 and with the Yamaha Motor Italia squad having tested there alongside the other Pirelli development teams last month, Haga and Pitt go to the venue with good base settings for their machines. For Haga, Brno comes in the middle of a hectic schedule and kicks off a grueling three weekend run of races. The Japanese star has spent most of the time since Misano back in his homeland, testing the machine he will ride in the Suzuka 8-hour endurance race with MotoGP rider Colin Edwards. He returned to Europe last weekend, where he was the fastest rider in the three-day official Pirelli tyre test at Eurospeedway Lausitz. Haga topped the timesheets on qualifying tyres, his best of 1:37.6 equalled only by world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki). However the Yamaha man demonstrated his superiority in race trim, with a 1:38.2 lap that saw him joint top with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The Japanese rider currently lies second in the championship and, although Australian rider Bayliss has carved out a 94 point advantage in the standings, Yamaha's Japanese star won't stop fighting for the title that has eluded him in his career so far. "Yes, I am very busy just now," said Haga. "The Suzuka bike has some big differences from the one I ride in world superbikes, especially the tyres, but it was no problem for me to switch back to my usual bike and the Pirelli tyres for the test in Germany. Brno is where we won the first race with the R1 last year and for sure the bike is much better now than it was then, so I hope we can have a good weekend. After Brno we go back to Suzuka for the race and then Brands Hatch is the week after. I am just taking each race as it comes but hope to always be up there and fighting for the win." Pitt ended the Lausitz test just one-tenth of a second behind his team-mate. The Australian currently lies sixth in the championship and just 32 points behind second-placed Haga. "Both riders had a good test in Lausitz and are ready for the race in Brno," commented Yamaha Motor Italia team coordinator Massimo Meregalli. "Pirelli brought along a lot of tyres for us to test and we were also able to try some small upgrades to the suspension set-up. Noriyuki managed a good race simulation at the end and both he and Andrew were happy at the end. I don't like making predictions for the races but we're all feeling positive for going to Brno. The riders want to win so I hope that we can have a good weekend." In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha riders are showing strongly with three of the top five riders mounted on the latest generation YZF-R6: Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes in second and third, and Yamaha Team Italia's Massimo Roccoli moving into fifth following a win in Misano. The Yamaha Motor Germany duo will be looking for a good performance at one of their team's local circuits this weekend after both had disappointing time in Misano. Parkes finished third after making an incorrect tyre choice and Curtain a lowly sixth after failing to find a good machine set-up throughout the race weekend. Both are looking to pull back the advantage of championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) over the second half of the season. The Frenchman currently has a 30 point lead over second-placed Curtain, but with the latest YZF-R6 improving at every race the Australian knows that the destiny of the title is still very much in the hands of him and his team personnel. "We learned a lot when we tested at Brno," explained Curtain. "We tried a lot of stuff and by the end we maybe lost our way a bit, but we know what works around there and hopefully that means we can go there and be right on it from Friday morning. It's coming up to that important time in the season now. Nothing is ever decided in the first half of the season but now we are getting to that stage where we need to be taking points back from Sebastien if we are to win the title." Click here to view the news

The Camel Yamaha Team began their preparations for the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring today with riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards working hard to adjust their YZR-M1 machines to the tortuous demands of the MotoGP World Championship's shortest and slowest circuit. The first day of free practice was held in cloudy yet warm conditions of around 20ºC, with the threat of storms hanging ominously over the circuit throughout the day but thankfully not progressing beyond a couple of spells of light rainfall as the riders squeezed every available minute out of the two hour-long sessions. Both Rossi and Edwards admitted running into difficulties as they adjusted the base setting of the bike, which so far hasn't proven as well suited to this circuit as it has to faster tracks such as Donington, Assen, Mugello and Catalunya in recent weeks. The Italian ran sixth fastest in the morning session, with the American ninth, but they were both unable to match the progress made by their rivals in the afternoon and they slid marginally down the time sheets at the end of the day - Rossi ending up seventh with Edwards in eleventh. Both riders face a crucial day of set-up work tomorrow as they prepare for the tenth round of the season on Sunday. Valentino Rossi (7th - 1'23.871; 43 laps) "We knew before we came here that this was not one of my favourite circuits and that it was always going to be a big effort from the first day. Unfortunately that is proving to be the case and I have not got comfortable with the bike or the track today. We are trying a whole 'sack' of things to make the bike better but we keep running into problems and haven't found the best way to work yet. Luckily we still have two hours tomorrow to do this so we hope the weather stays dry because we need all that track time to work on the bike. Anyway I am still confident because Jerry and the engineers have shown in the past few races when I have been injured that they have a great ability to set the bike up using a minimal amount of data. Tomorrow we will have to stay concentrated and see what we can do. It already looks like it will be a tough battle on Sunday but the tough ones are always the most fun!" Colin Edwards (11th - 1'24.100; 33 laps) "We're struggling. The bike feels a bit rough in a few sections and we need to make some drastic changes tomorrow to get it working how we want. The bike and I are not getting along with the circuit at the moment and I'm losing around half a second in the second section alone, which is clearly not good enough. We have to work on that and generally improve the speed through the corner in all the other sections - it's not carrying enough pace and no matter what I tried it just wasn't happening today. We know we've still got a lot of work to do but that's what we're here for and I'm looking forward to tomorrow." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Clearly we still have plenty of work to do tomorrow because we are not where we want to be on the first day. We need to improve the pace of both riders, who are struggling with different kinds of problems. As always they are working together for the good of the team and the engineers will use their feedback to try and come up with some better settings tomorrow. This is a very particular track because it is so tight and twisty, unlike any other circuit in the world, so we have to look for something particular with the setting. That is not as easy as it sounds but we will keep going!" Checa within reach for Tech 3 Yamaha Racing Team in Germany Although at least half of the opening practice session for Sunday's German Grand Prix was lost due to the now familiar inclement conditions, Carlos Checa on the Tech 3 Yamaha was less than a second off pole position at the end of the day's proceedings to be well within striking distance to score his best grid position of the year. A further encouraging sign for Checa after the afternoon's second free practice session was the inspiration that he is less than two-hundredths of a second behind fellow Yamaha rider, Colin Edwards. This has set the scene for an interesting duel in the solitary qualifying shootout tomorrow. The same cannot be said for Carlos's team mate, James Ellison as he struggled with tyre selection problems to be in 19th position although he remains confident that the situation will improve after finding a suitable front tyre to hasten progress tomorrow. Carlos Checa (12th, 1'24.116, 47 laps) "The day started pretty well as we were very close to the front guys but lost a little in the afternoon. Truthfully though, the day was quite acceptable for our situation. We still need more grip on the side of the tyre, especially on the right side around here. In the slow area where we don't need so much throttle - we only open the throttle maybe 10-15% - this is no so bad but, the areas where you go harder on the gas at the back of the track I don't have enough support and grip in the rear. We have to find something in the settings and in the tyre which will improve this situation - especially the very fast downhill right hand turn. It is hard to put the bike on the side of the tyre and open the throttle hard to get drive. But saying that, lately in the last few races we are improving in all areas every time I ride the bike and to be closer to the other Yamaha's than we have been all year gives me a good feeling. This is what you need to keep trying after all the hard work the team and Dunlop have been doing so hopefully the progress will again continue tomorrow and I can move closer to the front." James Ellison (19th 1'25.833, 41 laps) "A steady start to the weekend really but from one round to the next the bike changes so much and you have to start from scratch all over again. The twists of the second split are the best bit for me at the moment but the fast bits where you dab the brake and let it run in, it just vibrates and there is no stability. I tried a wider rim today that seems to help but it makes it harsh although it improves the corner entry and that gives me more confidence. I think with the tyre construction we were using it's a lot stronger and doesn't seem to squash as much. What we need to do now is go back a bit to a little softer tyre as because the rim is wider the tyre is a lot stronger and there is no give in it. The harder tyre seems to be picking up all the bumps and ripples a lot more. At least we are finding a direction. I know we are a bit off Carlos at the moment but this afternoon we are near the time he was doing this morning so we are really a session behind. I think we will find a good direction now we have the new front tyre. We were so far off this morning and losing time with the wet track that this afternoon was really our first session. We made steps in this afternoon's session so I think tomorrow will be a lot better. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "I seem to say this every week but this first session was very good. Carlos is again lapping closer to the leaders and this morning was just 0.6 second off the fastest time. We know the lap times here are pretty close because of the low lap times but he is very close to the other Yamaha's which makes us happy. It shows that we are getting the right pace and have improved quite a lot on the tyre department. We lost half a session this morning but it is the same for everybody. It may be a bigger deal for us in a way as we need more track time than everybody else but c'est la vie, there is nothing we can do with the weather. "Although we haven't done a race distance yet, so far the feeling is not too bad to get the firm indication for what we need. The weather should be warmer tomorrow, with the sun expected to come out and we plan to do a lot of laps because the race is long. So far we are happy. "But I am worried for James. To be last is not good and the tyres have improved so much. We have to find some speed because it is now over halfway through the season and it is very important and crucial for him to be quicker." Round: 10 - 2006 MotoGP Sachsenring Circuit: Sachsenring Circuit Length: 3671 Lap Record: 1' 23.705 (Sete Gibernau, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 22.756 (Max Biaggi, 2004) Date: 14 July 2006 Temp: 20ºC Free Practice : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice 1 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 23.145 2 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 23.486 3 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 23.490 4 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 23.525 5 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 23.676 6 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 23.693 7 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 23.871 8 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 23.889 9 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 1' 24.022 10 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 24.030 11 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 24.100 12 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 24.116 13 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 24.190 14 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 24.582 15 T. Elias Honda ESP 1' 24.626 16 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 25.092 19 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 25.833 Click here to view the news

With many riders commenting that the motocross and enduro special tests in Canada were similar to those found in Finland it was little surprise that Samuli Aro topped the Enduro 2 class on both days at the fifth round of the WEC. Having claimed the E2 class win on both days at the GP of Italy, Samuli continued his good form to claim two more day wins. On day one Yamaha riders Stefan Merriman and Johnny Aubert surrounded the Finn on the podium with the UFO Corse Yamaha team mates placing 30 seconds apart and in second and third places respectively. On day two Aro was again the rider to beat and was joined by countryman Mika Ahola and Johnny Aubert on the podium. For Merriman numerous crashes early in the day knocked the Australian's confidence in the challenging conditions and saw him place in an eventual fifth position. For Aubert day two was also a difficult one, but for a very different reason. Having broken a rib at the GP of Italy Aubert had been unable to train or ride a bike prior to the Canadian GP and as a result found the event extremely hard. In the '06 Enduro 2 world championship standings Stefan Merriman is currently second to Samuli Aro while Aubert lays fourth, just 10 points off third. Currant Enduro 3 world championship leader David Knight continued his domination of the E3 class in Canada topping the class on both days. Finishing three and a half minutes ahead of his team-mate Marko Tarkkala on day one the Manxman then placed close to five minutes ahead on day two and in doing so finished the weekend unbeaten in the E3 class. Claiming third on both days was French rider Seb Guillaume. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: Third, Day 2: Third "I feel extremely tired after the race because I wasn't able to train or ride since the last round of the world championship, because I broke some ribs. I have tried my hardest but I felt really tired at the end of each day. I made some small crashes on day one but apart from that everything went pretty well. I finished on the podium so I was happy with that. "I crashed once on each of the special tests on the first lap on day two and then twice on the extreme test on the final lap. Apart from being really tired during the race it has been a good event. It wasn't as difficult as the race in Italy, which was a good thing. The tests were difficult but the course was really enjoyable." Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: Second, Day 2: Fifth "Day one went ok but my performances on the enduro test let me down. It was very similar to Finnish conditions, which obviously favoured Aro and Ahola. I pushed as hard as I could without wanting to ride over the limit but it was so difficult on the enduro test because there were tree roots, rocks and ruts everywhere. "Day two went badly right from the start because I crashed three times in the first enduro test. I just couldn't find any sort of a rhythm and every time I hit a tree root I seemed to crash before I knew what had happened. I lost a lot of time there. That knocked my confidence and it was hard to get it back. It was so easy to damage your bike in the enduro test so I just took it steadily. "The event was really good - the organisers have done a great job. I would have liked the ground conditions to have been a little harder but apart from that it has been great." Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 5 - Parry Sound, Canada Circuit: Parry Sound Race: day 1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Aro KTM FIN 45' 16.980 2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +54.190 3 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +1' 23.920 4 M. Ahola Honda FIN +2' 24.540 5 F. Planet KTM FRA +2' 25.110 6 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +3' 24.000 7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +3' 38.530 8 X. Galindo KTM ESP +3' 55.780 9 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +4' 22.090 10 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +4' 27.820 11 K. Caselli KTM USA +4' 35.630 12 N. Kanney Yamaha USA +4' 50.690 13 E. McConnell TM GBR +5' 28.700 14 G. Kearney Suzuki AUS +7' 44.720 15 G. Giroux Suzuki CAN +8' 16.740 16 K. Glasgow KTM CAN +9' 12.190 17 K. Graffunder KTM CAN +10' 51.960 18 R. Reed KTM CAN +12' 40.800 19 D. Watt HusaBerg CAN +12' 41.730 20 B. Rempel KTM CAN +12' 49.060 Race 2: day 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Aro KTM FIN 58' 27.680 2 M. Ahola Honda FIN +52.650 3 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +1' 56.220 4 F. Planet KTM FRA +1' 59.320 5 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +2' 37.710 6 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +3' 6.000 7 X. Galindo KTM ESP +3' 22.660 8 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +3' 55.180 9 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +3' 58.010 10 K. Caselli KTM USA +4' 25.450 11 N. Kanney Yamaha USA +4' 30.760 12 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +4' 53.670 13 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +6' 32.650 14 K. Glasgow KTM CAN +6' 51.570 15 E. McConnell TM GBR +7' 42.090 16 G. Giroux Suzuki CAN +10' 28.030 17 D. Watt HusaBerg CAN +13' 5.760 18 I. McKill KTM CAN +13' 19.200 19 T. Burman HusaBerg SWE +13' 50.690 20 K. Graffunder KTM CAN +14' 7.000 Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 228 2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 205 3 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 200 4 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 190 5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 142 6 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 135 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 131 8 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 92 9 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 91 10 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 85 11 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 75 12 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 74 13 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 62 14 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 61 15 Euan McConnell TM GBR 58 16 Kurt Caselli KTM USA 40 17 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 39 18 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 28 19 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 21 20 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 20 Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 228 2 Yamaha 226 3 Honda 200 4 GasGas 139 5 HusaBerg 92 6 Aprilia 85 7 Husqvarna 83 8 Beta 67 9 TM 57 10 Suzuki 36 11 Sherco 31 12 Kawasaki 16 Enduro 1 : Fifth position on both days for Micheluz Round: 5 - Parry Sound, Canada Circuit: Parry Sound Date: 16 July 2006 Crowd: 4000 Temp: 26ºC Weather: Sunny Spaniard Ivan Cervantes and Italian Simone Albergoni shared a day win each in the Enduro 1 class at the GP of Canada, the fifth round of the '06 World Enduro Championship. It was Cervantes that topped the first day ahead of Albergoni after the two riders fought tooth and nail all day. With just 10 seconds separating the two, Pole Bartosz Oblucki claimed third, finishing close to one minute behind Albergoni. On day two positions were reversed at the top of the class with Albergoni getting the better of the current E1 championship leader. Winning four of the day's nine special tests Albergoni placed 40 seconds ahead of Cervantes with the Spaniard finishing almost the exact same distance ahead of third placed rider Bartosz Oblucki. Due to the logistical challenges and high costs of competing in Canada less than 10 E1 WEC regulars travelled to North America with just nine and eight riders respectively scoring points in the E1 class. With just one rider representing the UFO Corse Yamaha team in Canada Italian Maurizio Micheluz had a good weekend finishing in fifth position on both days. Finding the soft and in places rocky conditions difficult to master, Maurizio finished day one without problems but then crashed hard on day two. Despite being de-tuned by his crash Maurizio claimed valuable championship points and currently sits in fifth in the E1 world championship standings. Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: Fifth, Day 2: Fifth "I felt like I rode quite well on day one - not great but ok. I didn't make any mistakes and I finished fifth, which I was reasonable happy with. I think that if I had pushed any harder I would have crashed because I didn't feel so comfortable in the conditions. "On day two I crashed hard on the second enduro test and I didn't feel so good after that. I just wanted to finish the race as best as I could after that. It was a strange race because the ground in the special tests was very different to what I am used to. The organisation was very good though and the race was really interesting." Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 5 - Parry Sound, Canada Circuit: Parry Sound Race: day 1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 46' 51.770 2 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +10.090 3 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +1' 7.480 4 A. Belometti KTM ITA +1' 21.980 5 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +2' 39.810 6 A. Roberts Yamaha AUS +3' 9.030 7 M. Hartmann KTM GER +3' 51.760 8 S. Cuthbertson KTM CAN +7' 48.260 9 J. Skinner KTM CAN +10' 58.180 Race 2: day 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Albergoni Honda ITA 59' 14.260 2 I. Cervantes KTM ESP +39.070 3 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +1' 18.960 4 A. Belometti KTM ITA +1' 22.820 5 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +4' 55.480 6 A. Roberts Yamaha AUS +6' 0.140 7 S. Cuthbertson KTM CAN +9' 40.140 8 J. Skinner KTM CAN +12' 5.560 Championship standings Enduro 1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 241 2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 212 3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 174 4 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 167 5 Mauricio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 161 6 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 105 7 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 97 8 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 84 9 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 75 10 Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 74 11 Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 52 12 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 43 13 Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 41 14 Roberto Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA 32 15 Anthony Roberts Yamaha AUS 30 16 Shane Cuthbertson KTM CAN 27 17 Joan Jou Yamaha ESP 27 18 Robert Carlsson Yamaha SWE 26 19 James Skinner KTM CAN 25 20 Manuel Pievani KTM ITA 24 29 Fernando Ferreira Yamaha POR 13 30 Alexandre Mendes Yamaha FRA 12 33 Arnau Vilanova Yamaha ESP 10 35 Andre Fernandez Yamaha POR 6 37 Santos Helio Yamaha ESP 4 Manufacturers standings Enduro 1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 241 2 Honda 212 3 Husqvarna 177 4 Yamaha 166 5 TM 105 6 Suzuki 77 7 Kawasaki 24 Click here to view the news

Reigning World Champion Stefan Everts, of the Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team, now has just three more victories to reach a magical and all-time record total of 100 career wins after taking his 97th success and tenth consecutive triumph at Sun City in South Africa today. The 33 year-old Belgian clinched both motos in dominant and now familiar fashion in front of 25,300 spectators to stretch his unbeaten run to ten rounds and nineteen races. A journey of almost 200km was necessary to reach the luxurious holiday 'oasis' of Sun City from the capital of Johannesburg. The complex boasts one of the best and most spectacular hotels in the world in the form of the 'Palace' and the motocross circuit is an entirely man-made creation sculpted from land next to the large car-park situated just beyond the entrance to the resort. The venue set standards once again for its organisation and the pleasant layout of the surroundings including two sides of the track flanked by grandstands and decent viewing possibilities. The terrain had been improved over the two previous years with softer dirt allowing for more ruts and racing lines although the hard pack was still slippy in places. Everts captured his fourth pole position in a row and sixth of the season yesterday with a late lap only eight hundredths of a second ahead of Steve Ramon. He started moto one in third place and needed a circulation to gently ease his way past his countryman and then holeshotter Josh Coppins. With a customary clear track stretching ahead, Everts began to work and pulled out a lead of five seconds over his Honda rival in a matter of minutes. His 18th consecutive moto victory was then a formality and he only had to worry about the backmarkers which was a tough task in itself. The second outing was almost a carbon-copy and Everts crossed the line almost five seconds ahead of the New Zealander with Ramon also in attendance. The eighth double of 2006 represented Everts' first triumph on African soil and the landmark means that his lead in the standings has pulled to 136 points. In theory his tenth World Championship could be won in the fairytale setting at Namur, Belgium during the first week of August. Cédric Melotte finished the opening race in sixth position and put up a stiff resistance to the speed and aggression of Ken de Dycker while holding fourth but eventually had to concede two places to his fellow Belgian and Tanel Leok. Later on in race two he was picking his way through the field after a bad start but got a stone in his throat and struggled to breathe. The luckless Belgian was again forced to stop and the DNF was his sixth of the campaign. He is 8th in the World Championship 14 points behind Pascal Leuret. The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, home to two World Championship celebratory parties for Everts and Yamaha in the last five years, will take place once more at the Loket circuit in the far west of the country near the idyllic town of Karlovy Vary. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I am a bit surprised myself at how I can win so many GPs, and maybe in a few years time I will look back at what I have done so far and realise the achievement. I have also never won ten in a row, nine was the most; so that is a personal record. I have never won in South Africa before so that also was special. I did not wave to the crowd on the last lap this time! I came here with a positive outlook after two years of bad luck and it really worked out today." Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I am trying to ride and enjoy myself on the bike at the moment and that is what I did in the first race. My arms got a little bit tired in the last three or four laps. I had a really bad start in the second race but I was coming back slowly. I was gaining on De Dycker and Leuret and was enjoying myself. I was pushing hard for the top ten but then something entered my throat and I could not breathe and wanted to vomit. It is a real shame because I could not continue and should have had a good result." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was another perfect weekend. Stefan's starts were not as good as we have become accustomed to but he proved again who is the fastest. There is not much to say because we have seen this type of GP before this season; Stefan just wants to win at any cost. We made a few settings on the bike but we changed hardly anything. Cédric had a half decent race the first time and while he was coming back from a bad start he got a piece of dirt caught in his throat. He could not breathe and had to stop, losing a lot of points, so that was a pity." Race classification MX1 Round: 10 - 2006 GP of Sun City, South Africa Circuit: Sun City Race 1: 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 39' 49.835 2 J. Coppins Honda NZL +5.555 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +11.709 4 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +19.545 5 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +21.713 6 C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +53.306 7 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 2.336 8 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 4.923 9 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +1' 11.786 10 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 27.554 11 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 34.262 12 W. Avis KTM RSA +1' 49.209 13 J. Barragan KTM ESP +2' 43.560 14 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1 lap(s) 15 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 16 C. Dugmore Kawasaki RSA +1 lap(s) 17 K. Stegen Suzuki RSA +1 lap(s) 18 L. O'Farrel Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) 19 D. Keramidis Honda GRC +3 lap(s) 20 C. van Niekerk TM RSA +4 lap(s) Race 2: 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 19.139 2 J. Coppins Honda NZL +4.591 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +9.215 4 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +37.551 5 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +40.730 6 J. Barragan KTM ESP +1' 25.723 7 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 32.927 8 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 37.300 9 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 39.573 10 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 40.537 11 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1' 41.009 12 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +2' 4.872 13 W. Avis KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 14 C. Dugmore Kawasaki RSA +1 lap(s) 15 J. Noble Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 16 L. O'Farrel Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) 17 R. van der Westhuizen Honda RSA +2 lap(s) 18 K. Stegen Suzuki RSA +2 lap(s) 19 K. Bowen KTM RSA +3 lap(s) 20 A. Nielsen Yamaha KEN +3 lap(s) Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 492 2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 356 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 334 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 330 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 322 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 235 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 186 8 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 172 9 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 172 10 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 168 11 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 12 James Noble Honda GBR 138 13 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 14 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 128 15 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 127 16 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 116 17 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 102 18 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 19 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 84 20 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 63 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 492 2 Suzuki 409 3 Honda 361 4 Kawasaki 334 5 KTM 291 6 TM 128 MX2 : Cairoli takes first victory of 2006 Round: 10 - 2006 GP of Sun City, South Africa Circuit: Sun City Date: 16 July 2006 Crowd: 25300 Temp: 31ºC Weather: Hot MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli climbed the top step of the podium for the first time this season at a hot Grand Prix of South Africa. The De Carli Yamaha rider completed an excellent tenth round of the FIM World Championship for the manufacturer and only the second time this term that Yamaha have owned both classes on the same day. The Sun City circuit was again a gleaming picture of good organisation and attention to detail. In its third and final year of hosting the South African round the venue even counted on an improved terrain, perhaps the biggest weak point of past editions. Softer dirt from the dark clay texture meant less dust and more grip. Cairoli was masterful in qualification and enacted a text-book performance by leading from gate to flag in the second heat, earned second pick of slot on the start line for the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. The first race saw the World Champion circulating in a lonely third after a dodgy start meant that he lost the back of David Philippaerts and Tyla Rattray disputing the win. He pushed through to third despite having trouble with a bent plastic radiator guard catching the bars of the 250F because of an off-track excursion. The top three finish was a decent platform from which to try for the overall and he defeated local favourite Rattray by winning the second moto in style for his sixth race trophy from the twenty held so far. Kenneth Gundersen was visiting South Africa for the first time having missed the last two years due to injury. The first moto saw the Norwegian clatter a haybale that had been dragged into his path and he fell heavily onto his left hand. The Ricci Racing rider needed medical attention at the side of the track and will now head back to Italy tomorrow night for an examination on a possible broken bone in his wrist. Alessio Chiodi showed signs that he is coming back to the decent speed he showed before a fast practice crash in Japan left the former World Champion with an injured knee. The Italian is still missing race fitness however and ended the day twelfth overall after a set of average starts. Davide Guarneri slipped off his 250 in the first qualification heat race yesterday and injured his right knee. The Italian was a reduced force but scored ninth overall with moto finishes of ninth and 12th. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "For sure I am very happy about this win because for many GPs I have been close to victory but one mistake has cost me dear. I managed to take one moto in the past but then finished too far back in the other. It is the first time I have won in South Africa. I had some trouble with the radiator guard in the first moto after I jumped off the track; it was difficult to balance and I lost a lot of time. It was a fast race so I thought about the points. I really liked the track because the mud was softer this year and there were many jumps." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "The knee is a little bit better but my physical condition is not so good because I have not been able to train properly recently. I hope things will get better, it is coming back slowly." Race classification MX2 Round: 10 - 2006 GP of Sun City, South Africa Circuit: Sun City Race 1: 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA 39' 58.600 2 T. Rattray KTM RSA +1.252 3 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +27.332 4 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +32.669 5 C. Nunn KTM GBR +34.481 6 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +38.529 7 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +42.451 8 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +45.990 9 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +46.376 10 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +47.003 11 M. Monni KTM ITA +59.201 12 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 11.559 13 T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1' 39.682 14 J. Dougan Honda GBR +2' 1.111 15 M. Kok Suzuki RSA +2' 4.076 16 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +1 lap(s) 17 K. Fitzgerald Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) 18 N. Naude Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) 19 F. Fourie KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 20 F. Ford Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) Race 2: 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40' 44.327 2 T. Rattray KTM RSA +4.810 3 C. Nunn KTM GBR +6.250 4 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +21.592 5 M. Monni KTM ITA +23.473 6 R. Goncalves KTM POR +26.331 7 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +29.590 8 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +30.146 9 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +38.294 10 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +52.685 11 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +1' 2.303 12 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +1' 29.588 13 T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1' 47.242 14 J. Dougan Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 15 N. Naude Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) 16 R. Branch Kawasaki RSA +1 lap(s) 17 J. Kruger KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 18 J. de Bruin Yamaha RSA +1 lap(s) 19 F. Fourie KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 20 K. Fitzgerald Yamaha RSA +2 lap(s) Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 379 2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 347 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 329 4 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 305 5 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 284 6 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 241 7 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 228 8 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 224 9 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 210 10 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 207 11 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 194 12 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 193 13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 185 14 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 15 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 125 16 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 17 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 87 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 73 19 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 69 20 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 56 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 459 2 Yamaha 433 3 Kawasaki 403 4 Honda 153 5 Suzuki 22 Click here to view the news

Just seven days after Italy won the football World Cup with a dramatic victory against France in Berlin, Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced an equally stunning performance to seal another success for his country on German soil thanks to a remarkable MotoGP win at the Sachsenring circuit near Dresden. Starting from tenth place on the grid after struggling to find the right set-up for his YZR-M1 machine in practice, the odds were stacked heavily against Rossi as he aimed to close the gap on series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) with another win. However, the reigning World Champion again confounded all the predictions with his superb skill and dogged determination. Already shifted up one place on the grid from his qualifying position of eleventh after Casey Stoner (Honda) was ruled out of the race through injury, Rossi continued to make his way forward as soon as the red lights were out, passing four riders by the end of the first lap to immediately get in contact with the lead group. After carefully picking off Kenny Roberts (Team KR) and Makoto Tamada (Honda), Rossi set about the lead group of Hayden, Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and Marco Melandri (Honda) and by lap 13 of 30 he was in front. The Italian held on to a slim lead for all but one of the remaining laps, when Melandri made one of his many attacks stick, before holding off a barrage of attacks from all three rivals in a dramatic final corner to seal his fourth win of the season. Whilst Rossi was able to rescue a dismal situation in practice, unfortunately the same could not be said for his team-mate Colin Edwards, who was unable to make any further progress with his bike setting in the morning warm-up and struggled to eleventh place. Valentino Rossi (1st; 41'49.248) "That was an unbelievable race for me and my team. The first thing I have to say is 'sorry' to my M1 because last night was the first time in our relationship that I ever doubted her! But she was true to me once again and for this I owe a huge thank you to Jeremy and all my mechanics and engineers. Last night I didn't think I could win this race but we made a change in the morning warm-up and then again before the race in the afternoon and today my M1 flew. In some parts of the track it was very, very fast. We also did a great job together with Michelin and at the start I realised that my rhythm was good enough to battle for the win. Once I got to the front I knew I was probably two or three tenths faster than the other guys but it wasn't enough to escape and I had to battle with Dani, Nicky and Marco - each one was a great fight. Marco was so strong at the end of the race and I have to give my big congratulations to him, but thankfully I got the right line in the last corner and I was able to win. Italy became World Champions in the football last weekend and I won today; Germany is a good country for us!" Colin Edwards (11th; + 29.308) "What can I say? I guess I'm just slow around here. The guys worked their butts off all weekend trying to give me something but we simply couldn't get the bike working and I never had the pace. It looked like Valentino was in the same situation but today he pulled out something like his 700th miracle and you can only take your hat off to a great champion. We changed some things for the warm-up this morning but I wasn't comfortable so we went back to the setting from yesterday, which we knew wasn't ideal either. The first few laps were okay but I struggled to pass Toni Elias and by the time I got past him we were way back. From there on it was just a battle to keep the bike on the track and there wasn't much more I could do but bring it home." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Valentino was unbelievable today, fantastic. This was a very important victory for the championship because we've collected a lot of points but more than that it is a big psychological boost to win a fight in this way. This victory is a fruit of the hard work from the engineers, the team and Valentino - we have a great group of people here and they never give up. We always try to win races and today Valentino made it possible. Colin wasn't able to recover a difficult situation but now he has seven days before getting a big chance to turn things around in his home Grand Prix." Sachsenring provides huge step forward for Tech 3 Yamaha Racing Team With another top 10 finish and a result that saw Carlos Checa finish closer to the leaders that at any other race of the 2006 season, the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring circuit provided a huge step forward for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team and the performance of the team's Dunlop tyres. Checa was involved in a tense battle throughout the race to miss out on seventh place by just 0.389 of a second to eventually finish ninth in an enthralling race won by fellow Yamaha rider and defending world champion, Valentino Rossi. Carlos was only 17 seconds in arrears after the 30-lap battle. In another positive result, Checa's best lap of 1'23.097 was just 0.424 of a second off the fastest lap of the race. Englishman, James Ellison had to overcome handling problems in his quest to finish 13th, picking up some valuable points for himself and the team. Carlos Checa (9th, +17.097 secs Fastest lap 1'23.779) This has been a very good result for us and I am very happy. The gap to the winner was the closest we have ever been this year, so that is another positive step considering that we had some chatter and after 17 laps something went wrong with the engine. This is no excuse of course but, basically overall our consistency and speed is good. The first race of the year we were 59 seconds behind the winner, now we are 17 seconds and also we were with other riders fighting for positions so this has been a very big improvement. I'm quite satisfied. We started with the tyre we knew from practice and overall we are working quite well. Now I hope that Yamaha will help us with the chatter and maybe the engine a little bit. On the chassis side, the tyres are getting better and better but we need to work on the chassis as we can see the official team is struggling as well. I think it is a general problem with the Yamaha we must work together and even us with different tyres we are finding this problem but we will continue to work hard and hopefully we can continue to progress and improve the way we have done in the last four races. ". James Ellison (13th +1'02.029 Fastest lap 1'25.634) "I wish I could say I was happy but that would be far from the truth. I had very bad chattering for most of the race. The whole balance of the bike was really good but I couldn't run it into turns very fast because of the chatter so I had to pull back and I couldn't run the speed I wanted to. The tyres were working well but I couldn't get the times I wanted. At the start I could see Colin and the rest of the boys and I kept them close for 10 laps or so but then the chatter starting getting worse and worse and it started happening in more areas of the track. I just had to bring it home so I'm happy I did that and got some more points for myself and the team but that's about all I'm happy about as I'm pretty disappointed. I've had a chat to Carlos about the chatter as he has dealt with things like that for years. He told me that if you try to carry the speed going into the corner it just gets worse so you have to brake as hard as you can and then throw it in because he knows it's going to chatter. I've just got to change my riding to adapt to it because, it takes a while as if a bike is chattering the last thing your brain is telling you is to just throw it in because you think you will crash. I've just got to get on with it and see what I can do. I really hope the next race at Laguna Seca is different because this year has become extremely frustrating. I can't tell you how much I want to improve and get up to a pace I know I can run at." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Altogether, a very good weekend and the very best weekend for us so far this season. We were only 17 seconds behind the winner at the end so for sure this is by far the best result we have had. We were a bit worried about the second part of the race but the tyre was really stable and we have definitely gained on performance and durability of the Dunlop tyres. At the end of the race we were in front of Hopkins on the Suzuki and on Bridgestones. We were catching Vermeulen but just a bit too late to pass him - another lap and we would have! We could've been seventh, that's no big deal but clearly we are happy we improving. To be 12 seconds in front of Edwards was another positive sign for us. We are not talking about Valentino because he is on another planet after what he has done today. To be the second Yamaha in the race, second Yamaha on the grid and fastest Yamaha in morning warm-up was extremely satisfying for everyone so it confirms that the Yamaha/Dunlop combination worked very well here at Sachsenring and the improvements are getting bigger and improving all the time. We have another race before the summer break so we hope to continue at this same pace and to be able to fight again for a top 10 finish. James rode a steady race as he didn't finish that far from Colin which is ok. Both our riders were in the points. In the team's championship we move up, Carlos is gaining some more points so we are happy. Race classification MotoGP Round: 10 - 2006 MotoGP Sachsenring Circuit: Sachsenring Circuit Length: 3671 Lap Record: 1' 23.355 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 23.355 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Race: 30 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 41' 59.248 2 M. Melandri Honda ITA +0.145 3 N. Hayden Honda USA +0.266 4 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +0.307 5 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +8.764 6 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +9.147 7 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +16.608 8 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP +16.648 9 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +17.097 10 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +17.786 11 T. Elias Honda ESP +27.425 12 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +29.308 13 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1' 2.029 14 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1' 19.997 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 23.355 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 169 2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 143 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 140 4 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 134 5 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 118 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 91 7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 77 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 67 9 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 66 10 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 64 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 59 12 Toni Elias Honda ESP 58 13 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 52 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 46 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 44 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 17 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 221 2 Yamaha 172 3 Ducati 127 4 Suzuki 81 5 Kawasaki 71 6 Team Roberts KR 66 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 309 2 Camel Yamaha Team 220 3 Fortuna Honda Team 192 4 Ducati Marlboro Team 177 5 Rizla Suzuki 110 6 Honda LCR 91 7 Kawasaki Racing Team 84 8 Team Roberts KR 66 9 Tech3 Yamaha 61 10 Konica Minolta Honda 59 11 Pramac D'Antin 20 Race classification GP250 Round: 10 - 2006 GP250 Sachsenring Circuit: Sachsenring Circuit Length: 3671 Lap Record: 1' 25.118 (Sebastian Porto, 2004) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 24.618 (Alex de Angelis, 2005) Race: 29 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 Y. Takahashi Honda JPN 41' 30.350 2 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +0.058 3 J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP +1.013 4 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA +4.021 5 H. Barbera Aprilia ESP +9.384 6 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +19.242 7 A. West Aprilia AUS +26.457 8 H. Aoyama KTM JPN +26.607 9 S. Aoyama Honda JPN +26.741 10 S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +30.621 11 A. Baldolini Aprilia ITA +44.754 12 F. Battiani Aprilia ITA +45.063 13 M. Poggiali KTM SMR +48.793 14 J. Smrz Aprilia CZE +52.317 15 A. Espargaro Honda ESP +52.369 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR 1' 25.284 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 174 2 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 172 3 Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 133 4 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 131 5 Hiroshi Aoyama KTM JPN 116 6 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 114 7 Hector Barbera Aprilia ESP 100 8 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 65 9 Anthony West Aprilia AUS 58 10 Marco Simoncelli Gilera ITA 55 11 Shuhei Aoyama Honda JPN 48 12 Alex Debon Aprilia ESP 35 13 Jakub Smrz Aprilia CZE 34 14 Manuel Poggiali KTM SMR 31 15 Martin Cardenas Honda COL 28 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Aprilia 221 2 Honda 189 3 KTM 120 4 Gilera 55 Click here to view the news