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Once again showing his passion for motorsports, Eric de Seynes entered the 2017 edition of the event with Yamaha's new YXZ1000R SS SE side-by-side machine and alongside eight time Dakar Rally finisher Camelia Liparoti. Getting a first taste of rally competition with his participation in 2016, Eric de Seynes returned to Sardinia better prepared and with higher expectations for 2017. Kicking things off with a short Prologue in the city of San Teodoro, this 10th edition of the Sardinia Rally s

Riding again for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team will be Katsuyuki Nakasuga, the defending champion and current holder of four consecutive titles in the pinnacle JSB1000 class of the All Japan Road Race Championship, and MotoGP regular Pol Espargaró, who put Yamaha in pole position last year with an incredible flying lap, despite it being his first time to race at Suzuka and aboard the YZF-R1. The two star riders that helped bring Yamaha its stunning Suzuka 8 Hours win last year will be joined by

The stage was not enjoyed by all Yamaha riders unfortunately. Spanish Yamaha rider Juan Pedrero didn’t start this morning and was very nearly joined by Xavier de Soultrait, who was ill all night with gastroenteritis. The Frenchman finally arrived at this evening’s bivouac in a courageous 21st place. Overall Olivier Pain maintains his 10th place, Xavier de Soultrait is 13th with Frans Verhoeven 16th. Xavier de Soultrait In the quad category there were some different names on top of the leade

For the second marathon stage of the 2015 Dakar, the remaining competitors had to make another high-altitude crossing of the Andes before tackling a 371 kilometre special. The route was mostly over hard-packed ground and directly followed by 135 kilometres of liaison to take them to their bivouac. Olivier Pain finished today’s special 15’37 behind the leader, with Frans Verhoeven not far behind in 19th (at 17’10). Olivier preserves his 10th place overall, while fellow Yamaha mounted Frenchma

The day started slowly as the start of the race was delayed to 8:00 am local time. Yesterday’s heavy rain in Uyuni had made it nearly impossible to cross the salt pans that cover the first 100km of the eighth stage and an alternative route had to be sorted. The change in plans did not affect Pedrero’s focus. With a chance of victory in his sights the Spaniard fought off Stefan Svitko and snatched the lead, until Pablo Quintanilla dove under his time by just eleven seconds. Today’s results se

Yamaha Factory Racing Rally Team Yamalube’s Alessandro Botturi was the next rider to complete the route from Copiapo to Antofagasta. He arrived at the bivouac and found himself in 18th place just ahead of Michael Metge in 20th. Olivier Pain crossed the line shortly after in 24th position. Alessandro Botturi In the quad category Rafal Sonik was again the fastest man of the day. The Polish rider set a fastest time of 05h47’46. Completing the top three were fellow Yamaha riders Ignacio Casale

Best placed Yamaha was once again Juan Pedrero’s machine, finishing in 10th place. The day’s results put Pedrero in 10th overall, Metge in 17th, Boturri in 18th and Pain in 19th place. Yamaha Netherlands Verhoeven Team’s Robert van Pelt didn’t start this morning after being helicoptered out of yesterday’s special after a crash, however his teammate Frans Verhoeven is still in the game and finished 32nd. The riders are now taking a well-earned rest to ready themselves for tomorrow’s stage

Michael Metge was the fastest of the Factory Yamaha’s today, securing 17th place. Alessandro Botturi took 18th and Olivier Pain arrived not long after in 19th. Today’s leading Yamaha was Spanish rider Juan Pedrero Garcia. The Spanish rider battled the heat to finish an impressive 10th. Despite the heat, it was a good day for the Yamahas in the quad category. Rafał Sonik won the special stage with his Yamaha Raptor 700 as he created an over three-minute lead from Ignacio Casale (3’33), who wa

Not taking any unnecessary risks, the Yamaha riders made a cautious start. Olivier Pain was the first rider of the team to ride his WR450F Rally into the bivouac (13th at 03’34), followed by Michael Metge (19th at 05’40) and Alessandro Botturi (25th at 06’35), who were forced to slow their pace due to visibility issues. Michael Metge Quad rider Ignacio Casale had a different strategy as he took on the first stage. After securing his first Dakar crown one year ago, the Chilean gave his all t

Olivier Pain “For sure, with us moving into the assistance parc with all the other teams and going through scrutineering, the tension goes up a little. The start is only a few hours away now and you can feel the anticipation. The nice thing about the Dakar though is that it really is like a big family. We spend a lot of time together and share something very intense and that creates strong friendships. Plus of course this isn’t circuit racing, it isn’t a contact sport, essentially we are racing

Olivier Pain “As always it’s a pleasure to be back in South America. This will be my seventh time here for the Dakar but I’m still surprised by the warmth of the people and the welcome they give to the competitors. At the moment we are in a hotel about 70 kilometres from the centre of Buenos Aires, the perfect place to relax, acclimatise and recover from the flight. But even here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the other hotel guests come up to us to wish us luck and politely ask

Week 1 "Still, if we look at the route a bit more closely we can make some educated guesses about what to expect. The first day is a long stage but a short special, 663 and 175 kilometres respectively. It has been billed as a giant prologue without major difficulty and that seems entirely logical. Clearly the challenge is to not get carried away and do anything stupid right at the start of the race, while making sure to be up with the front runners and not stuck in the dust of the mid-pack r

“One of the most striking features of the new bike is the WR’s unique single-cell fuel tank incorporating the rear sub frame”, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Yamlube Team Manager Jose Leloir commented. “The major consideration when building a Dakar bike is where to place the necessary 35 litres of fuel. For 2014 we had five separate fuel tanks all requiring pumps and all linked by fuel pipes. By using a single carbon fibre fuel cell we have simplified the system massively and in the processes made h

In this season that saw Nakasuga shooting for the coveted third consecutive championship in the pinnacle class, he emerged the winner in a fierce battle with rivals Kosuke Akiyoshi (Honda) and Takumi Takahashi (Honda) to take the opening round, the Suzuka 2 and 4 Race, and get the season off to a great start. Katsuyuki Nakasuga In the next round at Autopolis, he took a fall and suffered injuries before the qualifying, leaving him to start the race from 6th position. Although the victory in

Alexandre Kowalski (Team Director - Yamaha Factory Racing Rally Team Yamalube) “It is a new start for Yamaha Factory Racing, with the arrival of this brand new WR450F Rally that the riders have extensively tested and developed and which they will be able to push to the limits. Solid and experienced, Alessandro Botturi completes a team already composed of Olivier Pain (3rd on the 2014 Dakar) and the promising Michael Metge. Both among the riders and the technical team the motivation is strong to

When was the first time you ‘noticed’ Cyril Despres? I first noticed Cyril when he was riding in his first Dakar Rally. When did you first think he was going to be a Dakar winner? In 2001 he came to Vesoul to train with me, I noticed that he had a good technical level and a really strong motivation. I said to myself; “This guy, will get there!” Do you think he has a similar riding style and approach to Dakar as you? He doesn’t have the same riding style to me, but like me, he has the