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Fiat Yamaha rider and 2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi recovered from yesterday's mishap to charge through the field from the fourth row at Phillip Island today, eventually taking second behind Casey Stoner. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo took a second consecutive fourth place after a race long battle with several other riders. A mistake during qualifying yesterday had left Rossi with strained neck muscles and a grid position of 12th, but the Italian relishes a challenge and he was already up t

The fifteen year-old star-in-the-making Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) took a hard fought second place in Saturday’s European Superstock 600 Championship race, and in taking the podium he also took the championship in his rookie year. The close race was a constant battle with fellow Yamaha riders Linfoot and Gines, and Baz was only outbraked by Linfoot on the entrance to the final corners of the Magny-Cours circuit. Baz happily shares the success of his championship victory with Martia

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) took a race win and a second place at the Magny-Cours races to go second in the championship with one round remaining. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) recovered from sixth in race one to finish third in race two and now sits third overall, nine points behind his team-mate Haga. Haga was imperious in race one after his strong qualifying performances and Superpole win, taking the lead from fast-starting Troy Bayliss before blasting away to

The final round of the '08 World Enduro Championship, staged in Mende, France, proved to be a challenging one for UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz as both were unable to secure podium finishes at the GP of Europe. However Yamaha France rider Marc Germain performed well finishing in a strong runner-up position on Day1 and 3rd on Day2. With the French event bringing the '08 WEC series to a close, Albergoni, Germain and Micheluz, as well as injured UFO Corse Yamah

Yamaha dominated in style at the finale of the UEM Road Racing European Championship last weekend.The formidable YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 have proved again this year to be the ultimate track weapons for racing success. The top four riders in the Superstock 1000 class where all riding Yamaha YZF-R1 machines. Carmelo Morales and Javier Del Amor (Team L’Oreal Men Expert LGS) took first and third respectively on their Yamaha machines whilst Bernat Martinez (Team Bernat) took a well deserved second on hi

After dominating for the entire 2008 season, German Yamaha rider Nina Prinz has takenthe title on her YZF-R1, her second consecutive championship win, at the third and final round of the Women’s European Championship at Albacete (Spain) on Sunday. The reigning European champion from Mannheim / Leutkirch was in predictably consistent form all weekend, despite the atrocious qualifying and racing conditions. Nina went into the final round leading the championship with 50 points, followed by seco

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

2008 AMA Motocross Champion, Motocross of Nations winner and undoubtedly one of the main stars of American motocross and supercross, James Stewart, will make his first European appearance on his new Yamaha YZ450F at the Bercy SX in Paris, France, in just over two weeks time. The 22 year old from Florida only recently joined up with his San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/Land M Racing Supercross team and displayed that his combination with the 2008 AMA Supercross title-winning YZ450F will be a f

Valentino Rossi brought the curtain down on a spectacular season with a third place in Valencia today, his 16th podium from 18 races in a year which saw him win his eighth world title. The 29-year-old Italian has taken nine wins, five seconds and two thirds this year, surpassing the all-time premier class win record and the record for the most points in a season in the process. His outstanding performances this season also helped the Fiat Yamaha Team to secure the Teams' title and Yamaha the Man

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) finished the 2008 WSB season second in the championship standings after securing a podium finish in the first race at Portimao, then following that up with a safe sixth in race two.   The all Yamaha battle for the runner-up spot behind champion Troy Bayliss saw Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) drop out of contention after serving a ride-through penalty for jump-starting in race two, having already been forced out of race one. Both races wer

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd and Fiat Automobiles Spa have concluded an agreement to continue their partnership for a further two years.   The agreement will see Fiat continue as the title sponsor of Yamaha’s Factory MotoGP Team, which will continue to be known as the Fiat Yamaha Team, for 2009 and 2010.   Fiat joined Yamaha at the start of 2007 and their partnership has been a successful one with 14 grand prix wins to date, culminating in the capture of the 2008 Rider, Team and Manufacturer titles

2009 Yamaha WSB riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes enjoyed a successful two day test at Portimao with their new team. The riders used the time to develop both their relationships with their new team and also to make a start on the development of the all-new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 race bike. Day one of testing was spent mostly riding the 2008 WSB machines, giving both riders the opportunity to learn the highly technical Portimao circuit which opened for the first time last weekend for the last round of

blank_page2008 Grand Prix of Ireland winner Tanel Leok will line-up alongside former double MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli as the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team switch their emphasis to the premier MX1-GP world championship for 2009. The 23 year old Estonian has been drafted into the formidable Italian set-up and will have his first taste of the ’08 title-winning machine the YZ450F during winter tests. Leok first came to prominence at the start of the century by winning Junior Wor

There was an extra guest amongst the media journalists present for the 2008 Factory Media Test at the Parkalgar circuit in Portimao last Monday. Former Formula One star and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was invited to put on his leathers and join the invited journalists testing out the 2008 Yamaha WSB YZF-R1 machines of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser at the all new Portugese circuit.   Schumacher is no stranger to superbikes having completed his first year in the German Superbike

San Manuel Yamaha rider James Stewart continued a perfect start to his career in ‘blue’ by taking his YZ450F to a dominant streak of victories at the 26th Bercy Supercross in Paris. The 22 year old AMA Motocross Champion owned all three nights in the French capital to become ‘King of Bercy’ at his first attempt.   The prestigious European Supercross meeting saw a Yamaha upon the top step of the podium for the second year in succession as Stewart followed in the footsteps of Chad Reed an

After eight intense hours around the impressive Losail circuit in the Qatari desert the YZF-R1 claimed all three podium spots in the final round of six in the Endurance FIM World Championship. Yamaha Austria Racing Team, represented by Igor Jerman, Steve Plater and Steve Martin finished ahead of Yamaha Folch Endurance and Maco Moto Racing.   For Jerman and Martin it was a case of sweet revenge after narrowly missing out on victory in Losail twelve months previously. Their triumph, together wit