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Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began key set-up work on their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines for the Grand Prix of Qatar in relatively mild temperatures of 27ºC today. After excelling at this track in pre-season tests the riders were keen to gauge the bike's performance against the other main contenders in the MotoGP class and after two intense free practice sessions they ended the day in optimistic moods about their chances for Saturday's race.  Following on from a disappo

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards improved the setting of their Yamaha M1 machines for tomorrow's Grand Prix of Qatar despite struggling for a fast single lap in this afternoon's qualifying practice. Whilst both riders again demonstrated encouraging pace on race rubber, the improved rear grip offered by the qualifying tyre at the end of the session exaggerated the remaining traces of vibration problems and prevented them from mounting a serious challenge for a front row

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top step of the podium after a stunning ride in today's Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi's 54th career MotoGP victory was sealed with a perfectly timed run in the second half of the race, passing early leader Casey Stoner (Honda) on lap 10 of 22 and holding off a late attack from Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who completed the podium. The win brings Rossi's premier-class tally level with that of Mick Doohan, with only the leg

Following Valentino Rossi's hard-fought victory in yesterday's Grand Prix of Qatar, the Italian was back out on track today alongside his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards for a one-day test today. Despite Rossi's win, the team still saw remnants of their vibration problem arise during the weekend and today's test was aimed once again at working to understand and finally eliminate this problem from the 2006 YZR-M1. As at the last one-day test in Jerez, Valentino Rossi completed a few laps on

The Grand Prix of Spain at Bellpuig has turned out to another positive meeting for the Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team and the YZ450FM motorcycle. Stefan Everts won the second MX1 moto to claim his 89th career victory and also seize control of the current World Championship standings while Cedric Melotte produced a hard-earned seventh position overall without having too much luck. After a cold and blustery opening Grand Prix of the season two weeks ago at Zolder in Belgium the hot Spanish s

Noriyuki Haga was once more the fastest Yamaha qualifier at an official SBK test, and had he not found another rider in his path when running qualifying rubber in the final afternoon session, he may even have had the chance to improve his 1'33.870 best. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was once more the rider leaving a test session with the fastest time, a new track record 1'33.317. Haga, who had tested new triple clamps and rear suspension linkages on his R1, decided not to continue in the very last mome

The Spanish round of the Superbike World Championship takes place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on the outskirts of Valencia. The modern venue is well known to all the superbike riders, as it is a favourite location for winter testing and the host of the first official FG Sport test, held between round two at Phillip Island and this weekend's third round of the championship. Valencia is a tight and twisty circuit built with spectators in mind. Surrounded by grandstands, fans can see almost the

Noriyuki Haga was in fine form during qualifying for Sunday's third round of the Superbike World Championship, ending the day fourth on the timesheets. Having enjoyed successful tests at Valencia and Misano prior to this event, the Japanese star was able to take advantage of the Yamaha Motor Italia team's continuing development work to put his YZF-R1 to the head of the timesheets for much of the session, only to be displaced in the closing stages. Despite his provisional front row starting posi

Norick Abe had his best qualifying performance of the season, ending the day as the top Yamaha rider after setting the eighth fastest time in superpole. The former MotoGP star is reveling in a new specification engine provided by his Yamaha Motor France squad and has been up with the top riders all weekend. Fourth place in the pre-superpole practice session suggests that Abe should be at the sharp end in tomorrow's races. Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt will start from

Yamaha's world superbike riders overcame a lack of traction to bring home a good haul of points at round three of the series in Valencia today. Norick Abe was the leading Yamaha rider, ending the day with a pair of fourth places and only narrowly missing out on a podium finish in his second outing. The Japanese star was in superb form all weekend after his Yamaha Motor France squad brought along a new specification engine for the race. The team, which uses and is responsible for development o

Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team rider Stefan Everts steered his YZ450FM to a sixth consecutive victory and the third this season today at a warm Grand Prix of Portugal and the Agueda circulated populated by 15,500 spectators. It was the 90th career success for the reigning number one and came after a gripping first moto tussle with Sebastien Tortelli (KTM).  The third round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM MX1 World Championship took place in good weather conditions with sunshine and decent tempe

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi reaches another special milestone in his illustrious career this weekend as he contests his 100th consecutive premier-class race in the Grand Prix of Turkey. The Italian and his team-mate Colin Edwards travel to the Istanbul Park circuit, located 300 kilometres north west of the capital city of Ankara, looking to build on tentative first impressions of the track from last year, when they finished second and seventh respectively in a race won by Marco Melan

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards spent the first day of practice for the Grand Prix of Turkey gathering important set-up data after encountering different track conditions to those they enjoyed here season. With this year's event taking place some six months earlier than the inaugural race here last October, overcast skies contributed to cool ambient temperatures of 20ºC and produced low grip levels on track, where Nicky Hayden (Honda) set the free practice pace with a

Local weather forecasts predicting heavy rain for today's qualifying session at the Grand Prix of Turkey were borne out today as an early downfall and intermittent afternoon showers thwarted the Camel Yamaha Team's hopes of improving their YZR-M1 machines ahead of tomorrow's 22-lap race. After struggling to find an ideal setting for the demanding Istanbul Park circuit in yesterday's free practices, both Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi had hoped to complete some dry laps before this afternoon's

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi made up valuable points in the MotoGP World Championship title chase after charging from eleventh place on the grid to take fourth overall in today's Turkish Grand Prix. Despite making a quick start from his lowly grid position, the Italian made a mistake on lap two and dropped as far back as twelfth. However crucial changes made to the setup of his YZR-M1 before the race then allowed him to pass no fewer than seven riders, as he lapped at the same pace as

Round four of the Superbike World Championship sees the series move to the historic Monza circuit in Italy, the fastest racetrack on the entire calendar. With top speeds often exceeding 300kph down the long home straight, the first of three Italian races this year is always an exciting slipstream battle on this unique circuit. For the Yamaha Motor Italia world superbike team this race takes on an extra importance, as their headquarters is based just a few kilometres from the circuit. While the