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Valentino Rossi moved two races clear at the top of the championship with his fifth win of the season today, enjoying an easy ride home after his closest rival Casey Stoner crashed out on lap seven. Rossi, starting from second, lost some time at the first corner getting past John Hopkins and for the first couple of laps Stoner looked in danger of clearing off, but the Italian soon found his rhythm and was gradually making up time on the Australian when he saw him slide off into the gravel. The

Only three rounds remain in the 2008 MX1-GP World Championship after a brilliant meeting for the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team at the Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic represented the twelfth meeting of fifteen on the series schedule. David Philippaerts obtained his second victory of the season and his third moto success to regain control of the standings and snare the red plate once again for the front of his works YZ450FM. Team-mate Josh Coppins was struck by a freak moment of

1 – What’s been the biggest change to the M1 this year? “We have made many changes to the 2008 M1 compared to the 2007 version and we have improved it a lot; Valentino is satisfied with our work so far. Of course the biggest change for us has affected Valentino’s side only – the change of tyre manufacturer. After the switch we had a hard time learning how to get the best performance from the new tyres and of course we had no data. Last however year Valentino predicted that changing would be the

The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team endured one of their hardest and most dramatic days of the 2008 FIM MX1-GP world championship as Josh Coppins finished 7th and David Philippaerts 10th through the notoriously heavy and difficult sand of the Lommel circuit for the Grand Prix of Belgium and the eleventh round of fifteen in the current campaign. Arguably one of the toughest tests for man and machine on the GP calendar, the rough and absorbing sand in central Belgium was suitably demanding, and th

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) took second and third places respectively after impressive performances in the second Brands Hatch race, both riders changing their tyre choices from race one. An unhappy outcome to a promising first race saw Haga fall on lap seven while Corser dropped back from the leading group to go eighth, on a track surface that had started off slick after a fall of rain shortly before the scheduled 12 midday kick-

UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Simone Albergoni finished the sixth round of eight in the 2008 WEC series - a dry Grand Prix of France staged in Uzerche - with two 5th place results as team-mate Cristobal Guerrero claimed his first podium of the season with 3rd on Day2. Looking to finish on the podium as he did in Wales recently title contender Albergoni struggled to master the dry French special tests and as a result failed to perform at his best. Although he was the highest UFO Corse Yamaha team

MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli has undergone surgery on his left knee after scans yesterday in Belgium revealed a damaged ACL. Renowned specialist Dr Claes performed the successful procedure and the repercussions of the injury sustained last weekend in South Africa and the subsequent recovery period mean that the 2008 series is over for the unlucky Sicilian. Cairoli twisted his knee trying to keep control of his YZ250F after being touched negotiating a crowded fourth turn on the first l

Three time British Supersport champion Karl Harris has signed up to the Yamaha World Supersport Team for the British round of the 2008 World Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch on 2nd August. With proven previous Supersport experience and currently riding for the Rob Mac Yamaha British Superbike team, he was a natural choice for the ride. Karl steps in to replace rider Fabien Foret after the Frenchman suffered a serious crash in qualifying at the Brno round of the championship. Foret crack

Jorge Lorenzo will be wearing a cast on his left foot for the next ten days, in order to recover from the clean fractures he sustained to his third, fourth and fifth metatarsal bones last Sunday. The Fiat Yamaha rider was taken directly to the USP Institut Universitari Dexeus in Barcelona upon his return from Laguna Seca, in order to undergo a series of examinations by Dr. Xavier Mir. The Spaniard was injured in a crash on the opening lap of last Sunday’s U.S. Grand Prix, the final round befor

Starting the second half of the 2008 World Enduro Championship in style Italian UFO Course Yamaha rider Simone Albergoni narrowly missed out on claiming the Enduro 1 class win on day one of the Grand Prix of Wales, claiming an eventual second place behind Yamaha France rider Marc Germain. With the opening day of the fifth round of the series the wettest of the calendar so far, it also proved to be one of the hardest, but despite the atrocious conditions the two Yamaha riders battled one anothe

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi took his first career win on American soil today, emerging victorious after an epic duel with Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca. The Italian, who signed a new two-year deal with Yamaha this week, has now won four races this season and is 25 points clear at the top of the championship. Rossi started from second and was able to pass Stoner on the brakes during the first lap to take the lead. From then on it was clear that the pair were in a class of their own tod

Low winter sunshine bathed 20,000 spectators at the scenic Nelspruit circuit for the Grand Prix of South Africa and Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts finished 4th overall and saw just one point chipped away from his lead at the top of the series; the gap now at eleven. Josh Coppins was 6th on the YZ450FM and remains third in the standings. The tenth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship visited the southern hemisphere for the first time since 2006 (after t

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) moved from fourth to third in the championship standings after securing a second and a fourth place finish at Brno, as his team-mate Noriyuki Haga rode with all his spirit and skill to take sixth in race one and salvage a seventh from a pitlane start in race two. Corser was on top form once more on raceday and in the 500th World Superbike race, the 13 points he took for his race two fourth place put him into overall third place in the championship, 12

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd is delighted to announce that it has signed a new two-year agreement with Valentino Rossi. The seven-time world champion will continue to race with the Yamaha Factory Racing Team for the 2009 and 2010 MotoGP World Championships. The 29-year-old Italian joined Yamaha in 2004 and since then he has won two world championships, 32 races and taken 20 pole positions for the Japanese factory. He is currently leading the 2008 rider championship, having taken three wins and a furt

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd is delighted to announce that it has signed a new one-year deal with current Tech 3 Yamaha team rider Colin Edwards. Edwards will continue to race with the Tech 3 Team alongside Briton James Toseland in 2009. The Texan has agreed the new one-year contract for the 2009 MotoGP World Championship after enjoying the best spell of his premier class career with Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3 Yamaha squad. The 34-year-old has already scored two podium finishes, four top five finishes a

Former double world championship runner-up Josh Coppins will enter a third year with Yamaha and the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team after putting pen to paper to extend his current deal this week. The popular New Zealander, who presently sits third in the 2008 FIM MX-1 series as the calendar reaches its tenth stop this weekend in South Africa, has won six Grand Prix in a potent combination with the YZ450FM, including a memorable debut success at Valkenswaard for the opening round of 2007 and almo