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Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Ben Spies, a World Superbike rookie and three-time AMA champion, has secured the first Superpole of the 2009 season in an incredible display of speed and skill on the new Yamaha YZF-R1 superbike at the Phillip Island circuit with a time of 1.31"069. Team-mate Tom Sykes put in an impressive display in the new format Superpole, a mere 0.8 of a second behind Spies with a time of 1.31"881, he will start the race tomorrow on 12th position on the grid. Equally impres

We are writing to you about some important changes to your free Basic membership level during this new year. These changes reflect our community's adjustment to current supporting expenses and are designed to continue our goal of offering the best possible services and benefits while maintaining our status as a not for profit community.   The following changes will be enacted on March 1st, 2009 at 00:00 GMT:   1) Access to the Yamaha Club Photo Gallery, Bike Garage and for sale/wanted sect

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd has signed a three-year agreement with PETRONAS that will see the Malaysian national oil and gas corporation become an important new Official Sponsor and Premium Partner of the Fiat Yamaha Team. Under the new partnership, the Fiat Yamaha Team will carry the PETRONAS branding on the team’s liveries, including on the bikes of riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo as well as team equipment and material. The two parties are also partners in sporting collaborations in mot

With just two rounds to go in the 2009 AMA Supercross series (also an FIM World Championship) LandM San Manuel Yamaha's James Stewart has moved to the top of the standings after scoring the runner-up position last Saturday at the Qwest Field in Seattle. The Floridian recovered from a poor start to run through the field and scoop 22 points for his 13th rostrum appearance so far in the seventeen-race schedule. Stewart's night of hard work and decent race-craft on the YZ450F across a sandy and rou

The Yamaha Austria Racing Team took their first victory of the endurance season on the new 2009 YZF-R1 at Le Mans yesterday. In what was one of the most intense Le Mans Endurance races for some time, YART riders Steve Martin, Igor Jerman and Gwen Giabbani battled flawlessly through difficult racing conditions including heavy rain for nearly 20 hours and a very damp track to take the chequered flag. The YART team took victory with a clear seven lap advantage over the second placed Honda France t

After it looked at one point on race-day as if the Grand Prix of Japan would be a complete washout, the sun broke through the dark clouds and streamed onto the Motegi circuit as the Fiat Yamaha team enjoyed a clean sweep of the top two spots. With qualifying having been cancelled yesterday due to the heavy rain, both riders started the race from the front row of the grid according to their times from Friday's free practice. Following a stunning race, Jorge Lorenzo took the glory of standing on t

It was another mixed weekend's racing for the Yamaha World Superbike Team at the famous TT circuit in Assen. An incredibly close first race Saw Ben Spies take the chequered flag a mere 0.154 seconds ahead of Championship rival Noriyuki Haga. Although initially the race leader, the American Yamaha rider had struggled to find a good race pace for most of the race, dropping back from first to third position on lap 11 behind race leader Haga and second place Leon Haslam. Spies tucked in and followe

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli scaled a world championship podium for the second time in succession with the runner-up position at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard and the Grand Prix of Benelux for the fourth round of fifteen in the 2009 FIM series. The Sicilian keeps his position as leader of the standings and with a chequered flag in the first outing in Holland has secured three moto victories from the last four. He was joined on the rostrum by team-mate Tanel Leok who took third sp

Yamaha's James Stewart stands on the brink of capturing the 2009 AMA Supercross and FIM World Championships after clinching his eleventh win of the season and the thirty-sixth of his career at the Rice-Eccles Stadium and watched by 40,612 spectators in Salt Lake City for the penultimate round of the campaign. The 23 year old guided his YZ450F - a motorcycle that has owned 12 of the 16 races run thus far - to the chequered flag ahead of main title rival Chad Reed and now holds a 6 point advantag

Valentino Rossi took a stunning win in Jerez today, his first of the season and the 98th of his career taking him 11 points clear at the top of the championship. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had a disappointing home race, crashing out on lap 24 when closing on the final podium position. The reigning World Champion had looked in trouble yesterday but an overnight set-up change saw him fastest in warm-up and he lined up confident that he would be able to mount a challenge. Starting fro

Yamaha rider James Stewart has won the 2009 AMA SX Championship (also an FIM world championship) thanks to third position taken at the seventeenth and last round of the series in front of almost 40,000 spectators at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. The 23 year old claimed his second SX title and the sixth of his career while successfully defending Yamaha's crown in the premier class. The 19th Supercross event to take place in Las Vegas saw a tense final face-off between points-leader Stewart

Italian food brand Sterilgarda has joined up to sponsor the Yamaha World Superbike team for selected races of the 2009 championship season. Starting with the upcoming Monza race, the Sterilgarda brand will feature on the bikes and leathers of both Ben Spies and Tom Sykes. Sterilgarda is a food production company based in Italy, providing products for over 40 years and today producing over 1200 tons of foodstuffs daily. Core product lines include cheese, milk, yogurt and fruit juices. Sterilgad

Yamaha World Superbike rider Tom Sykes gave a tantalizing glimpse of his race pace today in the first qualifying session at the historic Monza circuit. The British rider put in strong consistent fats laps for the duration of the session, ending it in second place, just over 0.3 seconds behind leader Michele Fabrizio. Sykes had been fast all day and had spent the morning and the qualifying session fine tuning the set up for the weekend's racing. He finished the morning 's free practice session in

Following a very public display of solidarity by the World Superbike Championship riders on the start grid at Assen in support for the Abruzzo community a charity auction is planned to give further help. Yamaha World Superbike Team riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes have joined others in donating personal items to help raise money for the cause. As an Italian based team, it was only natural that Yamaha wanted to give something special. Following the first free session on Friday at the Monza circuit

To the delight of The Yamaha World Superbike Team's home crowd rider Ben Spies effortlessly rode his R1 to take an incredible fifth consecutive Superpole of the year, again breaking the lap record in the process. Having spent the two qualifying sessions fine tuning his set up for race day, Spies took it relatively easy for the first two Superpole heats, ensuring he made it through to the final eight without using a qualifier tyre. As the final heat started, out came the new Pirelli qualifier tyr

It was a dramatic race day in Monza today for the World Superbike Championship as Yamaha rider and pole position starter Ben Spies again suffered the two extremes of racing, the victory and victory snatched away. Race one only made it to the first chicane on lap 1 as the Superbikes compressed into the tight first chicane. Tamada fell just before the corner, his bike sliding down the grass and across the track, causing collisions with Corser, Hill, Roberts and Neukirchener in the ensuing carnage.