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The final leg of an exhausting Grand Prix triple-header takes place in Japan this weekend as the chase for the MotoGP World Championship heads north from Australia with Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi now the closest he has been to the series lead since the third round of the season in Turkey. Third place for the Italian at Phillip Island on Sunday moved him to within 21 points of Nicky Hayden (Honda), with this weekend's event at the Motegi circuit in the Tochigi prefecture providing an

Stefan Everts closed a record-breaking career - boasting numbers and results surely never to be equalled - with his fourteenth victory from fifteen events Ernee at the French Grand Prix for the final round of the FIM 2006 MX1 World Championship. The 33-year-old decorated Belgian, 2006 World Champion and ten times title winner across 125, 250, 500, MXGP and MX1 classes scooped his 101st career victory with two double triumphs watched and applauded by 17.000 appreciative spectators. The masses ac

Valentino Rossi clinched the final spot on the podium with a daring manoeuvre in the very last corner of a dramatic flag-to-flag race, the first of its kind in MotoGP, held in mixed weather conditions at Phillip Island this afternoon. The drama started on the warm-up lap when a light shower meant that the race was recalled as wet, giving the riders chance to change tyres on the grid. However, with track conditions still relatively dry they all opted to stay on slicks until the rain intensified -

Yamaha will mark the end of a great era today with a special livery on the YZ450FM of Stefan Everts, as the Belgian celebrates the final Grands Prix of his illustrious career. The 33-year-old lined up on the gate for his first Grands Prix at Faenza (Italy) in 1989 and has since won a total of 100 Grands Prix and 10 world titles. Yamaha is marking the end-of-career occasion with a special livery. The design features all his 100 Grands Prix victories symbolising a chequered flag to mark the finis

Valentino Rossi will start from the front row of the grid in third place with his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards just two spots behind him in fifth when the Australian Grand Prix gets underway tomorrow, thanks to a much improved performance on the second day of action at Phillip Island. After initially struggling to find an adequate set-up for their YZR-M1 machines in yesterday's opening free practice sessions due to the cool spring temperatures, both riders worked effectively with their p

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

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

Two second places at today's German round of the Superbike World Championship saw Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga move back into second place in the series. Despite suffering a wrist injury in Saturday's free practice session, the Japanese star was able to lead both races and scored more points than any other rider at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit. In the day's first race Haga made a good start and followed championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in the opening laps. When the Australia

Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga gave a strong showing in Friday's qualifying for this weekend's world superbike round at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, ending the day fourth and seventh after the first qualifying. Having attended July's Pirelli test at the same venue, the squad arrived in Germany with good base settings for their YZF-R1s and spent the day working to further refine the machine performance for Sunday's two 24 lap races. Pitt's b

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed a hard day's work with their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines today, as preparations got underway for the Malaysian Grand Prix with two free practice sessions. Both riders were eager to test the performance of their bikes at this circuit after a positive recent test in the Czech Republic, however it quickly emerged that the setting the team found at Brno was not as well suited to this layout or track temperatures in excess of 45ºC,

Round seven of the 2006 World Enduro Championship, the GP of Slovakia held in Krompachy 380km from the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, saw Spaniard Ivan Cervantes move closer to his second Enduro 1 world championship title after the KTM rider topped the E1 class on both days in Slovakia having performed faultlessly during the weekend. Finishing 42 seconds ahead at the end of the opening day's competition Ivan upped his pace on day two and extended his wining advantage to just over one minu

One of the closest MotoGP World Championships in history heads into its final stage this weekend as the series heads out to Malaysia for the first of a five-race spell across three continents. Races at Sepang, Phillip Island (Australia), Motegi (Japan), Estoril (Portugal) and Valencia (Spain), will decide the destiny of a title which for the past five seasons has been lifted by Yamaha superstar Valentino Rossi. For the Italian to retain that honour he must turn around a 38-point deficit to

It was a day of mixed emotions for the Yamaha Motor Italia team in Assen. Andrew Pitt grabbed two superb second places to move up to fourth in the championship but team-mate Noriyuki Haga dropped down to third after he failed to finish either race. The day's first race was wet and, with little more than 15 minutes rain testing in the morning warm-up, was to prove something of a lottery that caught out all of the main title contenders. Starting from second on

The Grand Prix of the Netherlands marked another important chapter in a truly memorable season for Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts as the 2006 World Champion dominated both motos in the Lierop sand for his 100th career success and his thirteenth triumph from fourteen rounds on the YZ450FM in the 2006 campaign. The penultimate meeting of the year occurred under dark clouds that freely dispensed rain all day over the Lierop circuit. 33,135 spectators gathered

Noriyuki Haga grabbed his third consecutive front row start after taking second place in today's grid deciding superpole session at Assen. The Yamaha Motor Italia star put in his fastest lap of the weekend on his superpole lap, boosting him up three places from his position at the end of regular qualifying. As always, Haga spent the day's two hour-long sessions working on finding a good set-up for tomorrow's 22-lap races. With his mechanics he was able to sol

Yamaha Motor Italia's Andrew Pitt ended today's first qualifying session in sixth position on his first acquaintance with the remodeled Assen circuit in the Netherlands, with team-mate Noriyuki Haga just behind in ninth. As usual, the Australian spent the day's two sessions working on a race setting for Sunday's two 22-lap races, spending most of his time circulating with used tyres and heavy fuel loads. The Misano race winner put on a new set of rubber on his last stint to