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Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. announces the start of a new partnership with JT International (JTI), a subsidiary of Japan Tobacco Inc., whose brand CAMEL will become the new title sponsor of Yamaha's Factory MotoGP Team for 2006. The Yamaha Factory MotoGP Team, consisting of reigning-World Champion Valentino Rossi and his team-mate Colin Edwards, will be known as the "Camel Yamaha Team" in 2006. Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Lin Jarvis commented "Yamaha is very excited to enter into this n

Day 7 - Friday 6 January 2006 Zouérat - Atâr (Mauritania) Connection 10 km, Special 499 km, Connection 12 km, Total 521 km A big dose of courage was needed to cover this special. Technically difficult as well as providing a tough test of navigation, the day's riding consisted of large dunes alternating with fast flat portions on treacherous ground - proving to be one of the toughest stages of the rally. Starting in reverse order, David managed setting sixth time on CP1 (checkpoint). Fellow Fren

On January 9, 2006 Altadis abruptly announced that it had initiated arbitration proceedings against Yamaha arising out of an alleged breach by Yamaha of the two companies' sponsorship agreement for Yamaha's factory racing team.  Yamaha would like to clarify several points in light of Altadis' wrongful statements.  First, Yamaha no longer has any sponsorship agreement with Altadis, as the previous sponsorship agreement was terminated in all respects for the 2006 season. Second, Yamaha strongl

Day 11 - stage 10 - Tuesday 10 January 2006 Kiffa > Kayes (Mali) Connection 1 km, Special 283 km, Connection 49 km, Total 333 km   Due to the tragic accident of Andy Caldecott the Dakar organization decided that the day's stage was to be covered in liaison from start to finish for the bikes as a tribute to the unfortunate Australian rider. Instead of the 283 kilometer special, the day would not be timed for the riders. The cars and trucks were not excluded from competition and competed as pla

Day 14 - Stage 13 Friday 13 January 2006 Labé > Tambacounda Connection 7 km, Special 348 km, Connection 212 km, Total 567 km A very technical stage was set for Friday the 13th after two days without technical assistance. The reliable technique of the WR450F demanded only the obvious maintenance: oil and filters. Passing the highest points in this year's Dakar, the riders had to cross several steep and rocky passes. The nimble character of the WR450F gave David Frétigné good expectations to a

Rossi and Edwards get underway at first test of 2006 The Camel Yamaha Team launched its 2006 campaign today, with the first of three-days of testing in Sepang, Malaysia. After a six-week holiday the team is back at its favourite testing venue alongside other MotoGP Teams from Yamaha, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki. A cloudy morning with a few spots of rain at one stage gave way to a sunny afternoon and Yamaha's Factory Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were able to complete a fu

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards both made progress on the development of the 2006-spec YZR-M1 in Malaysia today, despite the day being cut short by rain. The morning saw high temperatures and building humidity at the Sepang track before it gave way to a rainstorm in the mid-afternoon. Both riders decided not to carry on testing and now hope for good weather tomorrow in order to make the most of the final day. Ducati riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi both set fa

The Italian based UFO Corse Yamaha enduro team are pleased to announce details of the riders that will represent them in the eight-round 2006 World Enduro Championship (WEC), which starts in Sweden on March 18-19. Bringing together riders from three of Europe's leading enduro nations, the UFO Corse Yamaha team will again compete in two of the WEC's three senior classes and is this year represented by Italian, Spanish and French riders. With the new-look squad, an exciting mix of experience and y

Yamaha Motor Germany today completed their final test before next month's opening round of the Supersport World Championship. The team spent three days at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia, with riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes both completing over 1000 trouble-free kilometres and lapping their home circuit at lap record pace. Having given their machines a shakedown test in Valencia last month, the team travelled to Australia with updated machines fitted with a range of new Öhlins sus

The Camel Yamaha Team completed their three-day test in Sepang, Malaysia today with more promising work on the new 2006-spec YZR-M1. Both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards concentrated mainly on work for Michelin in the morning and made some important progress in this area with the tyre manufacturer. After lunch both riders then completed a long run in order to gather information about the new M1 in race conditions, and were both pleased with the performance of the bike and the improvement in ti

2006 Yamaha YZF-R1 LE Owners Club 2006 YZF-R1 LE         Key Features:   The R1 LE is a special, limited-edition version of our awe-inspiring liter-bike—packed with premium components in addition to the standard tremendous firepower of the R1. Öhlins suspension units front and rear, custom-developed for the R1 LE by the same people who work on the YZR-M1 MotoGP bike, provide the ultimate ride and handling. Custom, YZR-M1-style forged aluminum Marchesini wheels designed specifically for the LE

The Tech 3 Team will compete in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship with two riders, Spaniard Carlos Checa and Briton James Ellison, both on Yamaha M1s fitted with Dunlop tyres. "Thanks to the combined efforts of Dunlop, Yamaha Motor and Tech 3, we have been able to finalize this project", explains Herve Poncharal, Team Manager of the French team. "After a difficult winter during which we developed our project with Dunlop, Yamaha and the young rider James Ellison, we are now really excited to s

The UFO Corse Yamaha team have signed a new agreement with multiple enduro world champion Stefan Merriman. The Australian rider has decided to renew his contract with the team, with which he has won the world championship title in 2004 in the Enduro 1 class. Stefan Merriman will start in the Enduro 2 World Championship and in the Assoluti d'Italia 450 class, riding the Yamaha WR450F. Director of UFO Plast, Vito Consoloni, said after confirming the agreement; "I am very enthusiastic having reac

Testing for the first time at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were pleased to get back in the saddle on their new 2006-specification YZR-M1s today. Both riders made the most of good temperatures to put in some fast laps at a track where both of them enjoy riding. Although they are only joined on the track here by the MotoGP Teams of Suzuki and Tech 3 Yamaha, as well as test riders from Ducati and Kawasaki, Rossi and Edwards we

Yamaha's world superbike stars made their final preparations ahead of the 2006 campaign, with the Yamaha Motor Italia squad testing in Qatar and Yamaha Motor France in Valencia. Testing alongside Yamaha's MotoGP teams, the Yamaha Motor Italia squad proved the performance and reliability of their new specification engine and fine-tuned the updated Magneti Marelli electronics in their three-day outing at the Losail circuit. The team's 2006 YZF-R1s feature a host of new parts over the 2005 version

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards continued the good work they began yesterday with a second day at the top of the time sheets at the desert circuit of Losail, Qatar today. Spending the majority of the day testing tyres for Michelin, Rossi and Edwards completed 60 and 76 laps respectively on their 2006-spec YZR-M1s. Rossi was once again fastest, setting a best lap of 1'56.53 with Edwards close behind him with a time of 1'56.81. Yamaha Tech 3 rider Carlos Checa was third fastest, according to t