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Josh Coppins still leads the world championship despite missing his second Grand Prix in a row. The New Zealander has seen his advantage narrowed from 77 to 43 and now to 12 as main rival Steve Ramon could only finish fifth. Yamaha Motocross Team's Marc de Reuver was seventeenth after scoring points in just one moto in front of 18,500 people. De Reuver started the third-to-last meeting of the year in sixteenth position after riders of both classes on a wet Saturday had only 45 minutes to practic

The wooded hills of Brno, thronged by 141,632 spectators, proved a less than happy hunting ground for the Fiat Yamaha Team at today's Czech Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi was dogged by traction problems almost from the start and was only able to hang on for seventh, whilst Colin Edwards slid out of the race on the second lap. Starting from sixth, Rossi slipped one place at the start but regained his starting position by the end of lap one, behind Loris Capirossi. The Italian then spent several lap

After the disappointment of yesterday's Czech Grand Prix, it was back to the drawing board today for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards as they embarked on the traditional two-day test at Brno, alongside almost the entire MotoGP paddock. The sun shone until mid-afternoon when it clouded over, eventually giving way to rain at about 4.30 pm. The main focus of the test for both riders is tyre testing with Michelin and they worked through a variety of new material today as they seek to find a better

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards rounded off two days of intensive work at Brno today, following Sunday's Czech Grand Prix. After heavy rain yesterday evening the track was still damp this morning, which delayed the start of action, but conditions improved throughout the day and both Rossi and Edwards managed to complete their planned testing programmes. Once again both riders concentrated mainly on tyre testing, trying a variety of new material with Michelin. Rossi also put in laps with the n

Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins made a brave comeback to the FIM Motocross World Championship despite sustaining a two inch break to his left shoulder only four weeks ago but could not prevent his lead in the standings being lost to rival Steve Ramon. Meanwhile MX1 debutant Antonio Cairoli marked a new highlight in a truly wonderful season of success as the MX2 world champ won his first ever outing in the premier class with a 2008 production YZ450F in front of 28,000 spectators. Coppins wa

Valentino Rossi's hopes of a glorious homecoming to Misano ended after just five laps today, when an engine problem forced the Fiat Yamaha Team rider to retire when running strongly in fourth position. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile struggled with rear grip in the later stages and was only able to bring his YZR-M1 home in his starting position of ninth. With thousands of passionate Italian fans looking on, Rossi started the San Marino Grand Prix from second on the grid with high hope

The Yamaha World Supersport Team is pleased to announce their rider line up for 2008, ahead of next weekend’s race at Lausitz in Germany. Australian Broc Parkes will remain with the team and he will be joined by the French former Supersport world champion Fabien Foret. 2008 will be Broc’s sixth year challenging in the World Supersport Championship and his fourth with Yamaha. 25 year-old Parkes plans to fight for the world title this year were hampered by injury early on in the season when he br

The weather was kind to the World Superbike Championship today as the rain disappeared and the sun came out while Haga and Corser took three podiums between them; one on each step of the podium. Haga took the win in race one and rounded it up with a second place in race two, while Corser finished third in the first race and fifth in the second. Race one started well for Haga as he went from eighth to second in the first few laps. Undeterred by the gap that Bayliss had created between first and

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,

French-run Team Yamaha GMT94 took the chequered flag in the famous but also grueling Bol D’Or 24hrs Endurance race this weekend, completing 801 laps on their YZF-R1 machine and beating second place by five laps. The race took place at the circuit of Magny-Cours (France) in front of almost 100,000 spectators; it started at 15.00 hrs on Saturday and ran through the night to finish at 15.00 hrs on Sunday afternoon. The three riders were Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa, who both also ride for Team Y

Yamaha has today confirmed that Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga will remain with the Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team in 2008. A flamboyant and much-loved character, Haga has worked with Yamaha for many years and his WSB career highlights include second in 2000 and third title position in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Currently Haga is fighting for the 2007 title with only 41 points separating him in second place from front man Toseland, having caught up 25 points at the last round in Lausitz. Wit

Weather and tyre issues brought about an end to Valentino Rossi's slim title chances today, as he finished 13th in Motegi despite a heroic ride which saw him lead the race at one point. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards suffered similar problems in what was an extraordinary race, finishing one place behind Rossi in 14th. With the asphalt still wet after a morning of light rain, the riders started with wet-weather tyres on a fast-drying track. Rossi got a poor start from second on the gri

Team Yamaha Ricci’s Nicolas Aubin ended an impressive breakthrough season in which he won his first Grand Prix, finished a career-best sixth in the MX2 World Championship and by assisting France to second place in front of a huge 74,000 crowd packed into the impressive Budds Creek circuit, Maryland USA for the 61st Motocross of Nations. On a typically American track that was quick, technical, lined with jumps and blessed with hot sunshine. The temperatures in the mid 30’s gave the racing an ext

In a day of dramatic racing, Yamaha came away with both their rider and manufacturer championship still hopes alive. Haga came third and fourth in today's races with Corser finishing in fifth in the second race after a DNF in race one. Race one had a spectacular start as Corser lost the front and crashed out on the first lap while Haga almost crashed but managed to move into third in front of Toseland. He then proceeded to take the fastest lap three times to catch Bayliss and Biaggi who were b

On Behalf of Yamaha Motor Corporation Co. LTD About the Passing Away of Norifumi (Norick) Abe It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Norifumi (Norick) Abe (32) on October 7, 2007, following a traffic accident. Norick Abe, as he is fondly known by motorcycle race fans around the world, was competing this season in the JSB1000 class of the All-Japan Championships from the “Y'S GEAR Racing” team. Norick was riding a motorcycle in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Pref. when he met with an a

The Fiat Yamaha Team of Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will run a special one-off livery on their bikes and leathers for the Australian Grand Prix in Phillip Island this weekend, starting from Free Practice. The livery has been inspired by the famous ‘Abarth' brand, a division of Fiat Automobiles SpA. The Abarth brand has been re-launched by Fiat this year with several new models and this weekend's livery is designed to celebrate that. The livery uses all the elements of the logo - the Scor