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Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi moved another step closer to the summit of the MotoGP World Championship today thanks to a breathtaking victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix. After starting from pole position the Italian was part of an entertaining battle for positions over the first half of the race before breaking clear alongside compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati). Just as they have done on so many occasions in the past, the pair became embroiled in a cat and mouse chase that had the 43

Valentino Rossi rounded off a successful three days in Malaysia with another impressive day's testing at the Sepang International Circuit today. The high point of the Italian's day was his race simulation, when he lapped consistently under lap record pace and improved on his time from the January test, as well as on last year's race time. Rossi was pleased both with the performance of his 2008-spec M1 and with his Bridgestone tyres, today's results indicating that he and his team are on target

Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his ever-expanding history book at Indianapolis today, claiming his 69th premier-class win and becoming the most successful rider in premier-class history in the process. His hat trick of pole position, fastest lap and race victory made for a perfect first Indianapolis Grand Prix for the Italian and a third place for Jorge Lorenzo rounded off an exceptional weekend for the Fiat Yamaha Team. More bad weather in the early afternoon led to the 250cc race be

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi now trails MotoGP World Championship series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) by just twelve points with two rounds remaining thanks to his fourth consecutive podium, his eighth from the last ten races, in Japan today. Rossi took second place in a race dominated and won by Loris Capirossi (Ducati), with Marco Melandri (Honda) completing the podium in a carbon copy of the front row order. The 20-point reward for Rossi moved him another nine closer to Hayden, who

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 com

Valentino Rossi has been officially cleared to ride at this weekend's German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, six week's after his accident in Italy. The Fiat Yamaha rider was examined by the Chief Medical Officer for this event, Dr. Huber Fischer, who found him fit enough to compete this weekend. Rossi will be present at the Official Press Conference at Sachsenring at 1700 CET today.

An incredible flying lap from Valentino Rossi saw the Fiat Yamaha Team rider take his third pole of the season in China this afternoon, the Italian bettering last year's pole time by more than half a second with a perfect lap around the 5.2km Shanghai International Circuit. For the third time this season Rossi is also joined on the front row by his team-mate Colin Edwards, who qualified third, with the Yamaha pair separated by Edwards' fellow American John Hopkins. The promised rain once again

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top step of the podium after a stunning ride in today's Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi's 54th career MotoGP victory was sealed with a perfectly timed run in the second half of the race, passing early leader Casey Stoner (Honda) on lap 10 of 22 and holding off a late attack from Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who completed the podium. The win brings Rossi's premier-class tally level with that of Mick Doohan, with only the leg

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 s

Yamaha Motor Company Ltd and Valentino Rossi will continue to race together until the end of the 2008 season. The next two seasons will see Rossi ride as part of Yamaha’s Official Factory Team, with which he has already won two MotoGP World Championship titles since joining the Factory in 2004. The Italian, who turns 28 this month, has won 25 Grand Prix during his three seasons with Yamaha and currently stands third in the all-time Grand Prix winners list. Rossi, who is spearheading the rider

Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo yesterday rounded off a successful three-day visit to Indonesia, one of the most important markets for Yamaha. Rossi came straight from testing in Malaysia last week, whilst Lorenzo flew out from Spain, where he has been recuperating at home from an injured hand. Valentino Rossi Rossi visited Medan first, Indonesia's third largest city, where he took part in a press

The Fiat Yamaha Team riders concluded their pre-season preparation this evening with another strong performance in the humid Qatar night, Valentino Rossi finishing second and Jorge Lorenzo sixth. This was the last time the riders will be on track before the first race, back at the same circuit in three weeks time. Rossi concentrated largely on finalising his race preparation today, also finding time to try a new tyre compound for Bridgestone. The Italian completed 20

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards continued their relentless march towards the first race of the season with another promising day’s work in Sepang today. Having concentrated on trying new parts for Yamaha yesterday, it was Michelin’s turn today and the Yamaha Factory Racing riders spent most of the day testing new tyres, with the Malaysian temperatures providing the ideal proving ground for the latest generation of Michelin rubber. The Yamaha pair consolidated yesterday’s good work with anothe

Camel Yamaha Team racers Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their preparations for the Grand Prix of Japan in ideal fashion today, lapping at the top end of the time sheets throughout both free practice sessions and ending the day with the first and fourth fastest laps overall. Both riders were able to work on their race setting, adapting the machine configuration from the fast and flowing demands of Phillip Island to the stop-start nature of Motegi, before fitting a softer compound rear ty

A weekend of close racing beckons at the Grand Prix of China as the first day of practice finished with the top fourteen MotoGP riders separated by less than a second in Shanghai today. Fiat Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were right in the mix and ended the day sixth and seventh fastest respectively in the combined standings, with Edwards just 0.2 seconds off the day's fastest time, set by John Hopkins. With rain forecast for the afternoon this morning's Free Practice looke

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were welcomed to the Phillip Island circuit by bright blue skies and cool ambient temperatures of 18ºC today, as the paddock breathed a sigh of relief that dismal recent forecasts were denied on the first day of practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The relatively good weather gave the riders ample opportunity to begin set-up work on their YZR-M1 machines as they worked to find an ideal configuration to suit the demands of the fast and