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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

Dr. Roberto Buzzi, head of Trauma at the CTO Careggi (Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico) in Florence, Italy, made the following statement about Valentino Rossi today: "Today Valentino underwent another small operation to close the wound, which is looking good. We closed it with 15 stitches and our overall medical judgement is positive. We used a short general anaesthetic and when he woke up he was in good shape. The healing process of the injury is going well and as e

Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi continued from where he left off at the last test in Malaysia today, setting the fastest time once again on the first day of the second pre-season outing at Sepang. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is not in action at this test as he is currently recovering at home in Spain from a hand injury. It was a dry day in Sepang with temperatures reaching 37 degrees and 31-year-old Rossi made the most of it, compl

Valentino Rossi made another historic step in his incredible career today when he took his 90th career victory in Le Mans, equalling the record set by the great Angel Nieto, to move into second in the all-time winners list behind Giacomo Agostini. It was an outstanding display from the Fiat Yamaha Team rider and he celebrated in fine style when Nieto joined him on his slow-down lap, the Spaniard taking charge of the bike with Rossi riding pillion behind him. It was a superb day for Yamaha in g

Valentino Rossi’s YZR-M1 will carry a one-off livery for the Grand Prix of Catalunya this weekend in celebration of the European Football Championships, which begin on Sunday. The championship leader’s bike has been specially painted in the style of the shirts of the Italian national team, the ‘Azzurri’, ahead of their opening game against Holland on Monday. Rossi will also wear leathers designed in the same vein and even his famous number 46 has undergone a change for the weekend. The special

Valentino Rossi took the runner-up spot in the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring today and moved back to the top of the championship, after Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the lead on lap five. Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was another victim of the first fully wet race of the season, sliding out of the race on the third lap. This morning's practice was run on a damp track but the weather worsened through the middle part of the day and the MotoGP race began in heavy rain. Rossi, st

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced one of the performances of his life today as he rode through the pain of hand and ankle injuries to take a simply sensational second place in the British Grand Prix. Roared on by a partisan local crowd, who have taken the Italian to their hearts after a string of victories at this circuit, Rossi started steadily from twelfth on the grid but soon got into his rhythm and began passing riders with the flamboyance and determination that has already ta

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi emerged from a crash-strewn race at Catalunya with 25 more points to boost his world title defence, thanks to his third Grand Prix victory of the season at Montmelo today. One of the most dramatic races in recent history began to unfold from the first corner, when Sete Gibernau (Ducati) collided with his team-mate Loris Capirossi under braking and both riders went tumbling into the gravel at high speed, taking Marco Melandri (Honda) with them. All three ri

Valentino Rossi made a triumphant return to the top step of the podium in Estoril today, sealing his fourth victory of the season with a masterful ride to victory in front of Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Rossi's eighth consecutive podium finish at this circuit was his first in six races, since his last victory at Assen back in June. Colin Edwards was unable to match his team-mate's pace today and slipped back through the field, eventually finishing in tenth. With 41,566 spectators looking on,

Tomorrow's Grand Prix of Catalunya will see Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi start from pole position for the fourth time this season, after he put in another exemplary qualifying performance at Montmelo this afternoon. The Italian, who is seeking a ninth victory at this circuit, will also be aiming to break the current MotoGP pole position jinx to become the first rider to win from the front of the grid since Motegi last year. Team-mate Colin Edwards was only 0.4 seconds slower than Rossi

Valentino Rossi rode a perfect race to win Yamaha's home Grand Prix in Japan today, claiming the 2008 MotoGP World Championship title in the process. In doing so the 29-year-old Italian became only the second rider in history to recapture the title after two years, the other being Giacomo Agostini, whose all-time victory record Rossi surpassed at the last race in Indianapolis. This is Rossi's third title with Yamaha, his sixth in the premier class and eighth in total in a career spanning 12 yea

The dramatic scenery of the Mugello circuit in Tuscany provided the backdrop to one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living memory today as Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi clinched his second victory of the season in a heart-stopping Italian Grand Prix. The local hero produced one of his best ever performances in front of the adoring 89,200 crowd, emerging from an intense battle with his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and a host of other riders to take the chequered flag with a

A fantastic team effort from Yamaha today saw Valentino Rossi take the lead in the MotoGP World Championship by eight points ahead of the final round of the season at Valencia, after taking second place in a race that saw Nicky Hayden (Honda) dramatically crash out at Estoril. Rossi missed out on victory by just 0.002 seconds after a photo finish with Toni Elias (Honda), the Spanish youngster slipstreaming the Italian to the line to take his maiden success in the class. Nevertheless the 20-point

2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi rode an inch-perfect race in energy-sapping conditions at Sepang today to take his ninth win of the season and his 150th career podium. He is only the second rider in the history of the sport to pass this milestone, the other being Giacomo Agostini, whose all-time win record Rossi has already broken this season. Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo meanwhile had a disappointing day, with his challenge ending in the gravel trap on lap 12. With temperatu

Just a couple of days after the dramatic finale to his rollercoaster season, Valentino Rossi was back out on track in Valencia yesterday and today, already thinking about next season’s revenge as he got to grips with Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle. After the final race of the 990cc era on Sunday, most of his MotoGP rivals were also out on their new bikes as the teams began the long winter of testing in the build-up to the first race next March. Having only ridden the Yamaha 800cc bike briefly on

Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi signed off the second pre-season test of the year on top once again in Malaysia today, meaning he has been fastest at all four days of testing so far this year. The Italian smashed his own pole record by almost three tenths of a second, proving that he and the new YZR-M1 are on track for the season's start in a month's time. Rossi spent the final day of the test trying electronic packages, a ne