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One of the most exciting seasons in the history of the MotoGP World Championship reaches an intense climax next weekend as Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden (Honda) go head-to-head for the title in a final-round shootout at Valencia. The amphitheatre-style surroundings of the Ricardo Tormo circuit on the outskirts of the Spanish city provide the perfect stage for the ultimate instalment of a 17-round epic that began on the Iberian peninsular in less than perfect fashion for Camel Yamaha rider Ros

Today two-time former world superbike champion Troy Corser had his first outing with the Yamaha Motor Italia team with whom he will compete in the 2007 Superbike World Championship. The Australian completed 74 laps on the Mugello circuit in Italy riding a 2006-spec YZF-R1. The main objectives of the test were to help the team understand the rider’s preferences with regards to machine settings and to give Corser a first impression of his new team and of the R1 he has competed against for the pas

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd is pleased to announce that Colin Edwards will continue with the Japanese factory for a third year in 2007, racing in the official Yamaha Factory Team. The 32-year-old American, who has previously won two World Superbike titles and has a best finish of fourth in the MotoGP World Championship with Yamaha, joined the Team in 2005 and has scored points in all but one of his 33 starts for them. Edwards has signed a one-year agreement, which will see him race on Yamaha’s new 800c

The Tech 3 Yamaha Team have chosen Makoto Tamada to join their team for the 2007 MotoGP World Championship season. The 29-year-old Japanese will ride the new 800cc Yamaha and continue the development of Dunlop tyres of which the performance has significantly improved during the 2006 season. "We are very happy to welcome Makoto Tamada" says Herve Poncharal, Tech 3 Yamaha Dunlop team manager. " He is an excellent rider who has already proved his potential by winning two Grands Prix and being on t

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi today began preparations for the race that will decide the destiny of the MotoGP World Championship title as the first free practice sessions took place at Valencia. Fans have already begun to stream into the Ricardo Tormo circuit to witness the first exchanges of what promises to be another historic chapter in this sport's great history, with bright sunshine and warm autumn temperatures of 25ºC welcoming them to the eastern coast of Spain for the final ro

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will launch his bid for the MotoGP World Championship title in the best possible circumstances tomorrow after sealing pole position for the final race of the season in today's qualifying session at Valencia. The Italian repeatedly smashed the pole record here to make sure of the top spot, eventually clocking a best lap of 1'31.002 to hold off the twin challenge of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who join him on the front row. Tomorrow, in front

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi slid out of the Grand Prix of Valencia today and lost his grip on the MotoGP World Championship for the first time in six years on the final day of an implausibly dramatic season. Nicky Hayden (Honda) lifted the title after claiming third place behind surprise winner Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi (both Ducati), with Rossi recovering to cross the line in 13th place but missing out on the title by just five points. The fifth lap mishap came after a bad s

The Tech 3 Team is pleased to announce that the Yamaha-Dunlop project will continue in 2007 with a two-rider line-up. After signing Makoto Tamada last week, Tech 3 Yamaha has completed its 2007 squad with the addition of French 250cc rider and current Tech 3 test rider Sylvain Guintoli. Herve Poncharal, Team Principal of Tech 3 Yamaha, said “I am very grateful to Yamaha for supporting us for one more season and enabling us to have two riders on the new 800cc motorcycle. Furthermore, I am very h

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

Colin Edwards got his first chance to try out Yamaha’s brand-new 800cc MotoGP bike today, but his debut on the bike was cut short due to bad weather at Sepang. Torrential rain fell on the Malaysian circuit from 1pm, flooding parts of the track and bringing about scenes reminiscent of September’s Grand Prix, when a similar storm led to the cancellation of Qualifying. The rain did begin to ease up as the afternoon wore on but parts of the track remained underwater and Edwards, along with all other

Positive first outing for Haga and Corser on the All-New R1 After working hard to make the first race version of the 2007 YZF-R1 ready for a two day Pirelli Development Teams’ test at Valencia, the Yamaha Motor Italia team enjoyed two positive days of work under clear Spanish skies. Troy Corser set a best of 1’34.9 with a race set-up, with Noriyuki Haga on a 1’35.1, on qualifying tyres. Both existing team rider Haga and new signing Corser made back-to-back evaluations of the 2006 and 2007 mode

After yesterday’s torrential downpour, the rain stayed away today and the sun came out at Sepang for the second day of MotoGP testing at the Malaysian track. Yamaha pilot Colin Edwards, who is riding Yamaha’s new 800cc motorcycle for the first time this week, was able to complete 48 laps and make significant improvements to the setting of his bike, despite suffering a small slide into the gravel in turn one at one stage. Edwards was luckily unhurt and was able to continue working on the same bik

New 2007 factory Yamaha Motocross team rider Marc de Reuver completed his first laps with his works YZ450FM in Italy last week and then guided a production 450cc YZ to victory in the high-profile RedBull Knockout beach race in Holland at the weekend. The 23 year old De Reuver, who finished fifth in the 2006 MX2 World Championship and makes his debut in the MX1 class for the 2007 Grand Prix campaign, completed his first Yamaha test in Italy, where he spent 3 very positive days with his new team.

Colin Edwards completed his first test of the 800cc era with another good morning’s work at Sepang today, making more progress on the development of Yamaha’s new prototype machine and finishing the day with the 3rd fastest time in the process. Edwards once again spent the time working on general set-up with his team, especially chassis and suspension, as well as testing some new tyres for Michelin. Suzuki rider John Hopkins was fastest again with a best lap of 2’01.64, followed by his team-mate

2006 FIM International Six Days Enduro – Taupo New Zealand (November 14-19 November) Germain finishes fourth in E1 class Yamaha France rider Marc Germain has finished in fourth place in the overall Enduro 1 class at the 81st running of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) staged in Taupo, New Zealand. Competing aboard his WR250F Marc performed brilliantly to win the E1 class on the opening day of the competition and continued to perform well on days two, three and four despite being disadv

Antonio Cairoli claimed his second big international prize in his young career by sealing the 2006 SX UEM championship. The 2005 MX2 world champion scored enough points at the 24th Fiat Supercross of Genova event held last weekend to claim the SX title. Earlier in the year Cairoli already won the Italian MX2 championship and finished as vice world champion in the MX2-GP class, making 2006 an almost prefect season. After Cairoli won the SX race in Milan earlier this year he succeeded in beating