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Yamaha Racing News

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Agostini celebrates 80th Assen TT with OW83 and special edition YZR-M1

Giacomo Agostini The Fiat Yamaha Team, the Yamaha Classic Racing Team and multiple-World Champion Giacomo Agostini joined together for a very special celebration at Assen this evening, ahead of the 80th edition of the historic Dutch TT. Giacomo Agostini, Shigeto Kitagawa, President of Yamaha Motor Racing and Ferry Brouwer, owner of the Yamaha Classic Racing Team presented the celebrated 1975 YZR500 OW23, on which Agostini won his last ever world title in 1975 and also the Dutch TT in 1974. In addition Yamaha unveiled a surprise ‘Agostini' 2010 YZR-M1 in Fiat Yamaha Team colours, with the Italian's famous Number One stickers. Yamaha legend Agostini will ride a display lap of Assen on both motorcycles tomorrow at 13.10 to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the TT. Shigeto Kitagawa Shigeto Kitagawa, President of Yamaha Motor Racing, said: "I am very pleased to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Dutch TT with Yamaha's first and latest premier class championship-winning bikes. It is going to be a great pleasure to see both machines ridden by the great and legendary champion Giacomo Agostini." Giacomo Agostini added: "It's a double pleasure and honour for to be here at Assen on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Dutch TT. First of all, I was honoured to be invited by the TT for this important occasion and secondly I am very excited to celebrate this event riding for Yamaha, to whom I gave a first world title in the 500cc series. I have a beautiful memory of this TT race and of these fans. I remember that when I used to ride here, many years ago, there were 160,000 fans all around the track. Unbelievable! Tomorrow I will have the chance to ride the "past" and the "present;" the first and the latest world champion bikes. My OW23 was like a bicycle with 120bhp, but used to get power at 6000rpm...whilst the M1 has 240bhp! When you ride the M1 for the first time, it seems that it's very easy: engine, gear, brakes, it seems that it does everything itself, but then when you open the throttle you discover its power and you realize how difficult it is to control such a force!" Ferry Brouwer (left behind 'Ago') Ferry Brouwer, Team owner of Yamaha Classic Racing Team, concluded: "This is going to be a very special moment during the 80th Dutch TT. Yamaha's past and present has joined forces to bring about a fantastic spectacle for the public here on Saturday. We sincerely hope that the fans will enjoy watching these bikes being ridden by Giacomo as much as we have enjoyed preparing everything for this moment."
Alex Asigno

Guarnoni takes third consecutive Superstock victory with the R6 at Brno?

MRS Racing Yamaha rider Jeremy Guarnoni continued his dominance of the European Superstock 600 Championship at Brno this weekend, taking his third consecutive victory in the series on his Yamaha R6. Guarnoni’s R6 has been the machine to beat since round one, the French rider scoring four race wins from six so far this year. He was not the only Yamaha to podium at the Czech Republic round, Martine Corse Yamaha rider Beradino Lombardi also made his presence felt, fighting through to take third on the podium. With four rounds still to run, Guarnoni’s European Superstock 600 Championship lead now tallies 136 points whilst closest rival Florian Marino sits on 106 points in second.
Alex Asigno

Yamaha enters 50th year of Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix

2011 witnesses a landmark of World Championship Grand Prix racing for Yamaha, having successfully competed at the highest level for 50 years. From the very first Grand Prix entry in the French GP of 1961 to today, Yamaha has been an icon at the forefront of Grand Prix racing with countless victories delivered the world over to the delight of the many loyal and dedicated fans. Yamaha will commemorate this incredible achievement over the course of this year with a number of actions. A special 50th Anniversary logo has been created using Yamaha's corporate colours and will be used during the season. The logo will be proudly displayed on the 2011 YZR-M1 fuel tank, on all Yamaha Factory Racing Team uniforms, within the pit garage of riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies and also on the Yamaha Factory Racing trucks. The World GP 50th Anniversary will also be celebrated online with a special dedicated website - 50TH YEAR OF ROAD RACING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GRAND PRIX - live from tomorrow, 1st February 2011. The website features an impressive archive tracking the history of Yamaha's involvement with racing along with detailed historical information. Throughout the season the site will be regularly updated with columns and videos along with exclusive messages and interviews of key people involved in the Yamaha story. Several exciting events are also planned to bring some of the glorious racing history to life. A special demonstration run for the public and global media at Motegi in Japan will see iconic machines back on track. The legends on the circuit for this special event will include the 1974 YZR-500 (OW20), Yamaha's first 500cc factory bike and the 1978 YZR-500 (OW35K) which delivered three championships at the hands of Kenny Roberts. This event will also be scheduled for Assen to allow European fans to take part in the celebrations and see Yamaha's racing history come alive. When Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies take their places on the grid to contest the Dutch TT at Assen, their YZR-M1 race bikes will wear a unique Yamaha 50th Anniversary livery design, reflecting Yamaha's legendary GP racing activity.
Alex Asigno

Yamaha World Superbike Team unveil 2011 livery

The 2011 Yamaha World Superbike Team has unveiled the livery they will run for the upcoming World Superbike season. The new design features a Yamaha blue corporate racing colour scheme. The livery takes its inspiration from both the famous Yamaha speed block design and also one of the colours of the current production model YZF-R1, giving the bike a modern sleek appearance whilst emphasizing Yamaha’s racing image. The team features an all new rider line up for the 2011 championship with 28yr old Italian rider Marco Melandri, a previous 250cc World Champion, stepping across from MotoGP to partner 24yr old rider Eugene Laverty from Northern Ireland who steps up from the World Supersport Championship. The new livery will feature prominently on the leathers of both riders. The team continues its winter testing schedule on the 21st and 22nd February at the Phillip Island circuit in advance of the opening round of the championship in Australia on 27th February.
Extensive photography of the new Yamaha World Superbike Team livery including detailed technical images of the 2011 YZF-R1 Superbike are now available for download at www.yamaha-racing.com/wsb/photo
Alex Asigno

Philippaerts pulls through to 6th at bumpy Loket

DP in Czech Rep. David Philippaerts endured a hard day of work at a rutty and one-line Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and the twelfth stop of fifteen on the 2010 FIM MX1-GP World Championship calendar. The Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team star showed typical aggression and determination to finish in 6th position overall against the odds. Loket was a difficult layout to deal with after two days of rainfall created a swampy surface on Saturday and the qualification heats were cancelled in favour of a Timed Practice. The rain finally stopped in the afternoon and welcome sunshine and warmer temperatures began to dry the terrain on Sunday. Philippaerts did his best on the works YZ450FM - already a winner of two Grands Prix in its maiden season - across the bumpy course and sealed 4th in the first moto. Two mistakes in the second race saw the 2008 world champion and former double winner of the Czech round having to fight back from a position outside the top twenty-five to reach a respectable 9th. De Dycker Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Ken De Dycker was 14th overall. The Belgian is still not fully race-fit after his Swedish arm injury and lacks bike-time on his YZ450FM. De Dycker did his best to record 11th in the first moto but then ran wide on a tight corner in the second race and became stuck in the slimy pool of mud that was a reminder of the atrocious weather that blighted the circuit for the previous two days. The 25 year old could not recover his machine. Philippaerts still holds 3rd in the world championship standings but will need 53 points from a possible remaining total of 150 to supersede Clement Desalle. He lays 12 ahead of Max Nagl. De Dycker is 6th although some distance from the top five. The Grand Prix of Brazil at the new circuit in Campo Grande will take place in two weeks time and rounds fourteen and fifteen will be hosted by Lierop (Netherlands) and Fermo (Italy). DP talks to press David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team: "In the first moto I struggled to get a good rhythm and I was disappointed because I started in second place but finished in fourth. In the second race I had two crashes - one when I lost control under braking and another when I got on the gas out of a turn and the rear just slipped away - I had some good speed after that and came back from very far to get inside the top ten, so that felt better. We will try our best in Brazil and look ahead to defending third place in the championship; that has to be our main goal now in the final three rounds." Ken De Dycker, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team: "The first race was not good for me. I was able to get around the problems I've had with my arm in Lommel because I know the track very well, but here it was much harder and I had to hold on up the hills with my fingers sometimes. I'm still not 100% so I have to work on that. The clutch started to slip a little in the second moto and I had to keep the bike wide-open on the downhill but this meant I ran a bit wide and hit the mud. I tried to give the bike some gas to get out but it was stuck." Circuit Length: 1630 Crowd: 21,000 Weather: Cloudy
Last Years Winner: Clement Desalle 2010 GP of Czech Republic 08/08/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tanel Leok Honda EST 39'08.429 2 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'03.457 3 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'07.250 4 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'27.771 5 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'29.930 6 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'53.331 7 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'11.257 8 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'12.146 9 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1'15.536 10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'21.500 11 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 1'27.372 12 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1'29.401 13 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 1'34.280 14 Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 1'38.218 15 Cedric Soubeyras KTM FRA 1'40.680 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 40'34.824 2 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'03.037 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 1'06.778 4 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'09.320 5 Tanel Leok Honda EST 1'10.907 6 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'11.841 7 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1'17.435 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'21.038 9 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 1'41.461 10 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 1'48.010 11 Tom Church CCM GBR -1Laps 12 Julien Bill KTM CHE -1Laps 13 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA -1Laps 14 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT -1Laps 15 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA -1Laps 17 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE -1Laps Rider Standings 08/08/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 531 2. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 447 3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 394 4. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 382 5. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 376 6. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 309 7. Tanel Leok Honda EST 290 8. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 276 9. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 270 10. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 213 11. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 201 12. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 184 13. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 182 14. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 177 15. Anthony Boissière TM FRA 145 23. Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 47 24. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 46 28. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 22 30. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 20 36. Alvaro Lozano Yamaha ESP 14 37. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 12 54. Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 1 Manufacturer Standings 08/08/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 560 2. Suzuki 497 3. Yamaha 448 4. Honda 399 5. Kawasaki 332 6. Aprilia 192 7. TM 145 8. CCM 25 9. Husqvarna 4 RACE REPORT 08/08/2010 Second podium of 2010 for Paulin GP on the podium The Grand Prix of Czech Republic at the Loket circuit gave Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's Gautier Paulin his second podium result of 2010 with 3rd overall and his second on the agile and formidable YZ250FM. The twelfth round of fifteen in a rapidly passing FIM MX2-GP World Championship took place in front of 21,000 spectators and across a soft, rutted and bumpy track that had been hit by unrelenting rainfall on Thursday, Friday and part of Saturday. The Czech hard-pack became a wavy and difficult beast to master with a single racing line cutting through many other still-soaked and boggy sections of track. Paulin was the best Yamaha rider on this testing terrain and although the talented Frenchman could only grab 6th in the first moto due to a mediocre start (he won an impressive last lap duel with good friend Christophe Charlier) he was alert from the gate in the second race and rode a consistent set of lap-times in the forty minute duration to cross the line in 3rd; and then toast the same overall ranking with the Italian factory crew. Osborne at Loket In 9th overall was Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne. The American claimed that he is still feeling the physical effects of his crash and concussion only two weeks ago in the British Championship. The 20 year old was among the quickest riders throughout the rain of Saturday and had high expectations on a track he clearly enjoys. He felt fatigued in the first moto however and 11th place was the best he could manage. Later in the day a brighter outing led to 8th. 10th belonged to Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi's Harri Kullas. The young Finn had the speed to again place himself in the top ten and should have taken two positions more than 10th in the first moto after some mistakes - particularly with three laps to go - saw him lose at least three places. He crossed the line with 11th in the second sprint. Team-mate Christophe Charlier had a decent opening to the day by running in-and-around the top six for most of the race and was finally nudged to 7th by Paulin on the last circulation. The second affair ended prematurely when the 2009 European Champion pulled out with a sore back after a first lap fall in front of the pack while holding 3rd place. Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Alessandro Lupino was 14th overall and took points in both motos. Osborne is 16 points behind Shaun Simpson who holds 5th place in the MX2 standings. Kullas is 10th and 19 points in front of Paulin in 11th. Charlier is 13th and two positions ahead of Lupino. A long trip to Brazil for the inauguration of the Campo Grande circuit will take place in two weeks time with the world championship set to finish by mid-September after visits to Holland and Italy. Paulin at Loket Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team: "I have been working hard to get back to my level and my main problem at the moment seems to be getting over this habit of one bad start and one good start. I was far behind the leaders at the beginning of the first moto but I feel quite content with this result overall because the bike and the team are great and I am gaining more confidence all the time with my riding. My aim will be two good starts in Brazil now and then the final two races!" Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha: "I struggled today. I seemed to have about fifteen good minutes in me and then I felt like I was going through the motions. I think the concussion still has a bit of an effect and I should have had myself evaluated after the crash but I guess I didn't want to know because I'm fighting for a top five slot in the world. I think the track got the better of me a little bit today. It was very 'single-line' out there and that's make it tough. I'm having a hard time at the moment and we will work through it." Harri Kullas, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi: "It was a hard track and I'm not so strong on this type of terrain yet but I know I can be in the top ten every moto. The first race went well until the last lap when I made a mistake not jumping the double and lost a position, which was frustrating. I made too many errors. I hit some soft mud out of the gate in the second race and this dragged me back a bit. I was fourteenth on the first lap and rode back to eleventh. I was lapped at the end so I know my speed was not the best! I will train more now and see what happens in Brazil." Christophe Charlier, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi: "I'm happy with the first moto, I started well and had a good rhythm. Gautier just passed me at the end but I thought it was a good ride. I was third at the beginning of the second moto but slid out on the jump and was lucky that no-one hit me. I hurt my hip a little bit and could not finish but I hope for more good starts in Brazil." Circuit Length: 1630 Crowd: 21,000 Weather: Cloudy
Last Years Winner: Gautier Paulin 2010 GP of Czech Republic 08/08/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 39'33.781 2 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 0'30.926 3 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0'35.408 4 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0'37.549 5 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'52.968 6 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 0'56.169 7 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 0'57.223 8 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1'00.372 9 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'01.813 10 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'11.753 11 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'28.754 12 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 1'36.901 13 Martin Michek TM CZE 1'45.822 14 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 1'56.300 15 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL -1Laps 16 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps 18 Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED -1Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 38'58.574 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'00.516 3 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 0'43.397 4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'58.354 5 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 1'14.565 6 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'24.314 7 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1'28.202 8 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'29.270 9 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'29.793 10 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 3'41.077 11 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN -1Laps 12 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps 13 Martin Michek TM CZE -1Laps 14 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL -1Laps 15 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA -1Laps Rider Standings 08/08/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 527 2. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 449 3. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 404 4. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 391 5. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 329 6. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 313 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 302 8. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 298 9. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 293 10. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 254 11. Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 235 12. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 198 13. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 193 14. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 148 15. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 143 20. Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR 52 25. Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED 26 28. Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 25 30. Travis Baker Yamaha USA 15 31. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 15 35. Max Anstie Yamaha GBR 9 37. Vince Friese Yamaha USA 8 41. Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA 5 51. Ed Allingham Yamaha GBR 2 Manufacturer Standings 08/08/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 576 2. Suzuki 473 3. Kawasaki 424 4. Yamaha 414 5. Honda 97 6. TM 35
Alex Asigno

Rodrigues excellent second at Rally of Morocco

Helder Rodrigues Yamaha WR450F rider Helder Rodrigues has completed a decent ‘warm-up’ for the 2011 Dakar by taking the runner-up position overall after six stages of the Rally of Morocco. Wedged in between Cyril Despres and Marc Coma, Rodrigues can feel confident of his form and condition in the final weeks of preparation until the ‘toughest rally in the world’ kicks off in Argentina on new year’s day. More than 150 competitors attempted the desert setting, dunes and rocky paths of the 2300km route over six days last week and the Portuguese was able to demonstrate that his WR450F is fettled for the new regulations at Dakar which sees the motorcycle category restricted solely to the 450cc capacity. The Rallye de Maroc has over 75 years of history. The 31 year old completed a consistent run and broke into the top three twice; finishing as runner-up on day two and then third on day four. In the final classification Rodrigues – who recently secured 3rd in the 450cc division of the 2010 FIM Rally World Championship - was just over five minutes behind Despres. “I am really happy to be part of such a prestigious podium and this proves we are heading in a good way for Dakar,” Rodrigues said. “I have to take my hat off to the organisers of this Rally as it was superb and full of variety.” Spaniard Jordi Viladoms was fifth overall for two WR machines to place at the top end of the leader-board. “It was a good week and I got to know the new bike really well,” he said. “I was really confident in the technical sections but we need to work a bit more to make the most in the quick parts and through the dunes. We will carry on testing to get ready.” France’s Olivier Pain classified 4th in the sixth and last stage and stood seventh in the final table giving Yamaha a sizeable presence in the top ten.
Alex Asigno

Crutchlow comes out on top at Imola test

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team headed straight off to Imola following last weekend’s race at Misano, and today completed a two day test in the sweltering Italian sunshine. The team spent the two days testing further areas of electronics, including traction control, wheelie control and launch control. They also worked to find improvements in the chassis, in particular the balance of the bike. At the end of the test it was Cal Crutchlow who came out fastest of the World Superbike riders, recording a time nearly half a second faster than closest rivals. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1’47.478, 125laps) “I’m happy with result of the test but we’ve got to win the races as well. We’ve tried a lot of different settings here, finally the best are close to how we started at the beginning. Hopefully over the summer break we’ll get some new parts and make more of a difference. We’re going to Brno with good confidence and we’ll take away from this test some good positives.” James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (11th, 1’49.031, 127laps) “It’s been a bit of a frustrating test for me. We’ve been concentrating over the two days on trying various different settings to try and maximise the grip on the bike as opposed to focussing on getting the fastest lap time. At the end of it I don’t feel I’ve managed to get closer so I’ve been struggling a bit.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team “We tested quite a lot of different things here at Imola, including various areas of electronics, we’ve also looked at the chassis to see what we can do to improve the balance. Both riders also spent some time testing some new tyres that Pirelli bought to the test. Cal finished fastest at the end and put in an impressive performance. James was not as fast so we need to look at our data and see what we can do to improve this.”
Alex Asigno

Yamaha victorious in French and Italian MX season openers

The European motocross scene cranked into life last weekend with chilly and adverse weather conditions affecting the Valence and Starcross International races in France and Italy respectively. The first bout of action for the 2011 FIM World Championship Yamaha line-up was a very positive one with Monster Energy Yamaha’s David Philippaerts and Gautier Paulin winning the MX1 and MX2 classes on their YZ450FM and YZ250FMs at the sandy circuit just north of Bologna while new team-mate Steven Frossard won the Superfinal in France and was runner-up overall in MX1 in his first ride on the factory motorcycle. Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha’s Arnaud Tonus – another debutant on YZ machinery – claimed the MX2 division just south of Lyon for an all-round impressive list of results. “My starts were not so good but my lap-times were fast and I was able to pass riders and come to the front,” said Philippaerts who won all three races through drizzle at Mantova. “It is a little bit hard to judge my level at the moment as we did not have so many GP riders here but I felt good and the bike was working very well. This was a good test and for sure it always feels nice to win. We will test some more on the Yamaha now in the coming races and I’m looking forward to Ponte e Egola next week.”
 
While Philippaerts was leading the way in Italy Steven Frossard was fighting a larger quota of world championship peers with at least nine grand prix teams present at Valence. Rain lashed down Saturday night and through Sunday morning and although a persistent wind dried the muddy terrain in the afternoon the layout was greasy and one-line. Frossard – making his MX1-GP debut in 2011 – went 8-2-1 in the three sprints, finishing the day with the chequered flag and second overall to Clement Desalle. “I hit the gate in the first heat so I had a really bad start,” he recounts. “It was hard to come back because the track was so slippery and dangerous. I was better in the second moto and when Pourcel crashed I moved into second but Desalle already had too much of a gap ahead; I also had a bit of arm-pump. I found it very easy to ride quickly in the last moto and this is a good start for me with Yamaha.”
The third member of the Monster Energy Yamaha MX1-GP crew, Anthony Boissiere, took third place in the final MX1 ranking at Mantova. Gautier Paulin shone against the bigger 450 bikes in Italy to record 4-3-3 and capture the winner’s spoils in the MX2 division. Harri Kullas was also on the podium with third position while Christophe Charlier was sixth. “It was a pretty easy day and being the first race I did not want to take any big risks so I just rode within myself and got a feel for the bike in the conditions,” said 2010 Grand Prix of Benelux victor Paulin. “I did not push myself so it was satisfying to finish the day as MX2 winner.” At Valence Swiss Tonus gave the British Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha team a triumphant start to 2011 by setting a mean pace through the French ooze. The nineteen year old hit 1-3-4 results for a noteworthy start to his career as a Yamaha pilot. His fourth spot in the Superfinal was creditworthy considering it was against a split field of MX1 and MX2 machines and Tonus ripped the uphill start on his YZ250F. “My start was amazing in the last moto and I got a lot of traction,” he said. “I was almost in front of the 450s so that was pretty cool. The track was really slick so my aim was just to stay on two wheels and there were people crashing around me. I fell twice in the second moto and was pushing a bit too much so I didn’t want any more mistakes. Overall this is a great way to start and the bike was strong; which gives me confidence for the coming races.” Monster Energy Yamaha will see all six of their riders competing at Ponte e Egola, close to Florence, for the first Italian Championship round (of four) next weekend. Tonus is committed to the opening races of the British Championship, which begins in two weeks and will also see the first European outing of reigning champion Zach Osborne who returns from training in his native USA.
Alex Asigno

Lorenzo storms to stunning Silvestone victory

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo ran away with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this afternoon, storming home to win by 6.743 seconds to take his first UK win in the Premier Class. The Fiat Yamaha Team's sole representative in the absence of the injured Valentino Rossi, Lorenzo led from the first lap to come home ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who took his maiden podium in MotoGP. The Mallorcan got a strong start from pole position and led out of turn one but it was not all plain sailing as he became embroiled in a feisty first-lap battle with Dani Pedrosa. The pair traded the lead several times but it was Lorenzo who eventually led over the line and he was unchallenged from there on in, gradually extending his lead lap-by-lap and leaving his rivals trailing in the wake of his blue and white M1. With two laps remaining the gap to Dovizioso stood at more than eight seconds but Lorenzo slowed down on the final two laps to ensure he came home safely, which he duly did to the delight of the 70,000 British fans who are quickly adopting the spirited Spaniard as one of their own. His third win of the season and another 25-point haul extends Lorenzo's lead to 37 points over Dovizioso in second, with Pedrosa now third. The absent Rossi falls to fourth in the championship but Lorenzo's consistency ensures that the Fiat Yamaha Team still leads the Teams' standings and Yamaha the Manufacturers'. The MotoGP paddock now faces a quick turnaround in order to get to Assen in time for next weekend's Dutch TT, which is as always a Saturday race. Jorge Lorenzo - 1st, 41'34.083 "This was an important day for me and an important win, because I felt so strong and I enjoyed riding my Yamaha so much. I had a different feeling today; I felt that it was going to be a good race. It was quite hard to be fast at the start and the first lap with Dani was difficult, but once I got past him I felt very relaxed and comfortable. I thought he would follow me for a bit longer but he didn't and then I was on my own, so I just had to focus on myself; I didn't even know who was behind me! I never dreamt of taking three wins from five races but here we are and I am feeling very strong mentally at this moment. I want to thank my team, Yamaha and Bridgestone for this victory. The Beatles celebration was something fun for the fans, I love their music and I thought it was nice to make a homage to them, since we're in England!" Jorge Lorenzo Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager Jorge Lorenzo "This was a great performance by Jorge. The start was a little bit interesting, with us on the hard Bridgestone and some of the others on the softer one, but Jorge rode so well, kept his head and brought it home safely. Our bike is working very well and it was great to see Spies taking a podium on the Yamaha too, well done to him. It is impressive to have a 37-point gap at this stage but now we have four more races in very close succession so we can't relax. Well done to Jorge and to everyone for today." Spies storms to maiden Silverstone podium Ben Spies stormed to a stunning debut MotoGP podium for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team this afternoon after a thrilling battle at the spectacular Silverstone circuit.Competing in only his ninth MotoGP race, Spies was locked in an early battle with fellow rookie Marco Simoncelli for sixth place before he became embroiled in an epic fight for second place. Spies passed Dani Pedrosa on lap nine and then launched a brilliant pursuit of the group in front dicing for second that included Andrea Dovizioso, Randy de Puniet and fellow American Nicky Hayden. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider stalked the trio befo re he began a breathtaking late attack, firstly overtaking de Puniet for fourth place on lap 17. That clinical pass left Spies hounding Hayden's Ducati and the 25-year-old timed his crucial attack to perfection, the Texan ignoring the discomfort of a small fracture in his left ankle that he aggravated in a big qualifying crash yesterday. Spies produced a daring overtake on Hayden at the fast Abbey Corner on the final lap and then defended supremely under immense pressure to claim third and his first premier class rostrum. The result moved Spies into seventh place in the overall world championship standings with 36-points and helped the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team close the gap on fourth place in the all-important Team World Championship classification. Texan team-mate Colin Edwards rode a determined 20-lap race after a difficult w eekend where he never found the optimum setting with his YZR-M1 machine. He also encountered a repeat of the arm pump issue that hindered him at the last round in Mugello, but he was satisfied having rode to a creditable ninth position to maintain his record of scoring points in every race so far in 2010. Ben Spies Ben Spies - 3rd +7.097 sec. "I didn't expect to get my first podium so quickly, especially after yesterday which wasn't the best for me. I got a decent start but once I got by Dani and Simoncelli I just tried to stay on the back of the group battling for the podium. Once I realised I could stay in contention I just tried to save the rear tyre as much as I could and it all worked out. The last few laps I pushed as hard as I could and made some good passes and it is great for Yamaha and the Monster Tech 3 Team. I'm also pretty happy about it too and this is good for my confidence. That last lap was difficult to pass Nicky but I got a really good drive onto the back straight and tried to pass him at Stowe Corner but he came back by. On the next straight I managed to get by him and then had to ride quite defensively on the last part of the lap. I was on the edge but I had to go for the podium and it worked out. It will be hard to duplicate this but right now I'll let it sink in and make the most of it. But on this day I can say I was the third best rider in the world and it is a good feeling." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - 9th +27.954 sec. "I don't want to be finishing in ninth at all but honestly I'm reasonably happy with the way I rode and it was a lot better than I expected after what has been a tough weekend. I'm still a fair way behind the top group but I had so many problems this weekend that even a top ten was looking lik e a difficult result to achieve. I didn't leave anything out there and I went better than I did in qualifying but it was still not easy. The bike isn't agile enough and having to muscle it around gave me a small arm pump problem, but not as bad as Mugello. If I could get the bike to go where I want it to go I could save lots of time, but we've got some ideas for the future. It was a bit of a lonely race but I rode as hard as I could for as long as I could. I want to congratulate Ben though because he did an awesome job and I've got nothing but admiration for him. He showed today what a great rider he is and it is great for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to be back on the podium." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "We knew Ben really liked this circuit and we thought he could do a good race. But he rode an incredible race because he didn't get a fantastic start but he was v ery aggressive in the first two laps and got himself into contention. He never let that group in front of him go away and we know his strength is on worn tyres, so we expected him to hang in until the end. He was quickest on track at one stage but I was worried a little bit because Casey was catching quite quickly. But he kept his cool and made some good passes and the best was on the last lap to beat Nicky. It his first podium in MotoGP and certainly not his last because he is such a bright talent for the future. I'd like to say thanks to Yamaha and to Bridgestone and also to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team because since the start of the season it has been a little bit up and down. But we've never stopped trying hard and today we got a big reward. Colin rode a steady race and as always he never stopped trying to improve his situation and we know better results will come for him soon. Now we look forward to Assen that both Colin and Ben like a lot and we are confident of anot her competitive weekend." Circuit Length: 3619 Temp: 17 Crowd: 70000 Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1'56.459 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'56.096 (Jurgen van den Goorbergh, 01/01/2003) 2010 MotoGP Great Britain - Silverstone 20/06/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 41'34.083 2 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'06.743 3 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'07.097 4 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'07.314 5 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'07.494 6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'09.055 7 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'14.425 8 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'15.313 9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'27.954 10 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'42.394 11 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'43.365 12 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 0'43.408 13 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'43.580 Rider Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 115 2. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 78 3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 73 4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 61 5. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 52 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 46 7. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 36 8. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 35 9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 32 10. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 32 11. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 26 12. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 24 13. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 22 14. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 18 15. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 15 Manufacturer Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 120 2. Honda 97 3. Ducati 65 4. Suzuki 23
Alex Asigno

Crutchlow fights hard for fourth in a hot second race at Misano

There were no easy points to be had today for the Yamaha Sterilgarda team as a hot track surface and rapidly disappearing grip tested the skills of both riders. Despite being mobbed by riders in the first corner of race two, Cal Crutchlow fought back with an inspired push, coming from ninth all the way up to take third from Michel Fabrizio by lap 19. He held for a further three laps but was passed back with two laps to go, taking fourth at the line. Race one had seen Crutchlow lose the front early on as he pushed on to catch the leaders, forcing retirement from the race. Race two also saw Crutchlow make the new lap record as he worked his way through the pack, scoring an impressive 1'36.546. Team mate James Toseland also experienced a tough race day at the Misano circuit. Starting from a less than perfect 13th on the grid on the hard to overtake track, Toseland fought to pass several riders, taking tenth at the line. Race two saw him losing the front end going into a corner on the tenth lap and forcing early retirement. Crutchlow leaves Misano in tenth place in the championship standings on 120 points, just ten behind Leon Camier in ninth. Team mate Toseland sits in seventh on 138 points, just 23 points adrift of Checa in fifth as they head to Brno in two weeks time. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 4th) "I had an ok start in race two, but got beaten up a bit in the first corner on the first lap and basically had to recover from then on. I was disappointed to lose out to Fabrizio at the end, I just lost a bit of drive out of the corner and he managed to get back under me. To come here and do the race pace we did at these grip levels was incredible, hopefully we can make some improvements at this week's Imola test and be even better. Race one was a stupid mistake, I had a full tank of fuel and just pushed the front a bit too hard trying to catch the front runners and lost the front, but I think I redeemed myself in race two." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (10th, DNF) "What can you say, another tough weekend. I've got the pace when the tyre grip is good but just find it difficult when losing the grip on the bike to keep with the other bikes coming off the corners. We need to work hard on this area as it's so important. We'll meet about it tonight, if we can improve that it'll be a big help. The time I'm losing on the corners to the others means I have to keep catching up on the brakes which means pushing the front, which is why I crashed in the second. Brno is a little bit faster and flowing so if we can keep the revs high we shouldn't have too many problems." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "After the test last week we were expecting better results. By Friday we realised this weekend was going to be tougher than we thought. Cal did a good job in the second race, although unfortunately he crashed in the first. He didn't have the best start in the second and he was pushing really hard to catch the front pack. Unfortunately this meant he destroyed his rear tyre which meant at the end the rear grip was suffering but he pushed to the line for fourth. James had a difficult weekend, for sure starting from the fourth row is always hard. He did what he could and unfortunately he didn't finish the second race due to a crash. Fortunately he is not hurt. Tuesday and Wednesday we will go to Imola to test and hopefully we can fix some of the issues we have." Circuit Length: 4060 Weather: Hot and Sunny
Lap Record: 1'37.135 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2009) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'35.001 (Troy Corser, 27/06/2010) Last Years Winner: Jonathan Rea 2010 WSB San Marino - Misano 27/06/2010 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 38'59.319 2 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'00.387 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'00.822 4 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'04.911 5 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'05.916 6 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'08.658 7 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'11.872 8 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'11.907 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'16.490 10 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'18.458 11 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'18.646 12 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'19.315 13 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'25.405 14 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'31.671 15 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'39.658 Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 38'58.149 2 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'04.095 3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'04.631 4 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'05.014 5 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'06.256 6 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'07.677 7 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'10.144 8 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'10.942 9 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'13.640 10 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'16.279 11 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'17.799 12 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'22.793 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'24.131 14 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'28.212 15 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki AUS 0'36.551 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'36.670 Rider Standings 27/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 307 2. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 270 3. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 172 4. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 158 5. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 151 6. Troy Corser BMW AUS 149 7. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 138 8. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 131 9. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 130 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 120 11. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 116 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 97 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 61 14. Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 53 15. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 53 Manufacturer Standings 27/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Aprilia 313 2. Suzuki 283 3. Ducati 250 4. Yamaha 177 5. Honda 169 6. BMW 152 7. Kawasaki 47
Alex Asigno

Yamaha set up for round nine of the World Superbike Championship in Brno

Brno The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team arrive in the Czech Republic this week in preparation for round nine of the 2010 championship at the Brno circuit. British riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland will be looking to build on their current point standings in advance of their home race at Silverstone at the beginning of August. The 5.403km Automotodrom Brno circuit features constant elevation changes and an incredibly steep 7.5% gradient towards the last chicane of the track. The track also features one of the fastest chicanes on the WSB calendar. Both Yamaha Sterilgarda riders know the circuit well, Crutchlow taking pole in qualifying in World Supersport last year, an incredible eight tenths of a second faster than his closest rival. Team mate Toseland enjoyed great success on his last World Superbike outing to Brno, taking a first and a second place finish in 2007. “I’ve got unfinished business at Brno,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I had a really strong qualifying there in Supersport last year and was only two laps from winning the race when an unfortunate mechanical issue forced retirement. I love the track; it’s fast and flowing and should suit our bike really well.” “I’m looking forward to the weekend,” said James Toseland. “Brno is a track I’ve always had good results on. Everyone knows its Max Biaggi’s favourite circuit so it’s going to be difficult for everyone here as it’s probably going to be a strong weekend for Aprilia. Having said that, we worked hard at last week’s test in Imola so I’m looking forward to getting out on the track on Friday to see where we stand.” Brno technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief “Brno is a traditional old-style track with a lot of character, it’s more or less like a rollercoaster with fast flowing corners. It’s really important to have a good flow with the bike, the gearbox has to work very smoothly with the track. Gear changes have to be perfect or you have to change gear in a lean angle which isn’t as efficient for the rider. The Chassis has to be set up to cope with braking hard downhill as a lot of overtaking places are on downhill braking spots, so stability is the key on the chassis. Grip level is not too bad at Brno so we shouldn’t have an issue there. Tyre wear can sometimes be abrasive if there’s a lot of rain but usually it’s ok. The track is pretty wide so the riders can have some really different lines through some areas, especially the fast chicane. We will try to have one bike as it was in the Misano race and one bike with the changes we made at the Imola test to start on Friday and see how Cal gets on.” Brno technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief “Brno is a track with constant elevation changes, wide corners, and a smooth surface. There is an equal number of left and right turns and plenty of overtaking opportunities. During the recent test at Imola we tested numerous different settings mainly in making the Yamaha more absorbent over the bumps with the new Pirelli tyres, especially in high temperatures, as this has been the weak point this year. The team are looking forward to Brno as the smooth surface and fast flow of the track should suit the bike well.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “We are ready as always. James has proven he is good here previously in Superbike and Cal was very impressive last year in Supersport. We will start on Friday with the set up we found at the Imola test, and will make some changes depending on how the riders find the circuit. The test went pretty well overall so we are optimistic that we can use the new Pirelli tyre at the weekend and chase some good results.” Yamaha set up for round nine of the World Superbike Championship in Brno
Alex Asigno

Victory quotes Masao Furusawa and Lin Jarvis

Masao Furusawa Masao Furusawa - Executive Officer, Engineering Operations "First of all, I want to congratulate Jorge Lorenzo for clinching the 2010 MotoGP World Championship title here at Sepang, with three rounds still remaining in the season. As a member of the Yamaha Factory Racing Team, I am very proud to have had the pleasure of watching Jorge progress from Rookie of the Year in 2008, when he first moved up to MotoGP, to finishing second in the 2009 series to now becoming the 2010 MotoGP World Champion. "In Japan last week Jorge signed a new two-year contract that will see him continue to ride for Yamaha in 2011 and 2012, and we hope to see him win the championship again in the two years to come." Lin Jarvis Lin Jarvis - Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing "Firstly let me say it gave me great satisfaction today to see a young athlete achieve his dream! I would like to congratulate Jorge on his excellent season, resulting in him winning his first MotoGP World Champion title. Today was a super result for the Fiat Yamaha Team, with Valentino winning the race and Jorge coming home safely in third spot, giving us two important victories at the same moment. The points haul today is also very important for the Team and Manufacturer Championships. "I would also like to take this opportunity to say congratulations and a big thank you to all of our corporate and team staff who have worked so hard and to all of our sponsors, partners and the Yamaha fans around the world that have supported us on and off the track to bring us victory again this year; this is our 3rd MotoGP rider's title in a row. "Now that the first, and most important, title is ours we will try our best to win the next three races and hopefully in the process the Manufacturer and Team titles to complete another 'triple crown' year."
Alex Asigno

Lanusse Takes Maiden Victory in Monza

Romain Lanusse (MRS Yamaha Racing France), put on a spectacular display of racing under the Italian sunshine in Monza yesterday, to take the first victory of his Superstock 600 European Championship career. The young Frenchman got off to a perfect start from his pole position on the grid and continued to impress throughout the 10 lap race before powering his Yamaha R6 to victory. Lanusse was shortly followed by the Italian Dino Lombardi (Martini Corse Racing Team), also riding a Yamaha YZF-R6, crossing the finish line to take a second place on the podium.
Lanusse heads to round three in Misano leading the Championship standings on 45 points, Lombardi in second place on 33 points.
The Yamaha protagonists of the Superstock 600 category are riding Yamaha YZF-R6’s which are almost identical to the R6 “off the shelf” production seriesversion. The above mentioned impressive Superstock 600 performances, clearly demonstrates, yet again, the strength of the bike that has dominated the category in the previous years, with Jeremy Guarnoni taking the championship title in 2010.
Alex Asigno

Colin Edwards signs 2011 Monster Yamaha Tech3 contract

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team is delighted to announce that Colin Edwards has signed a new one-year contract to ride for the French-based squad in the 2011 MotoGP world championship. Next year's Monster Yamaha Tech3 line-up will feature a blend of vast experience and young potential with Edwards partnering highly-rated British rider Cal Crutchlow. The 36-year-old has raced for Herve Poncharal's Tech3 squad since 2008 and during that period the popular American has produced his best form in the MotoGP class. He finished top non-factory rider last season by finishing fifth in the overall stangings and is currently 11th in the 2010 rankings with a best result of seventh position in Laguna Seca, Brno and Misano. Edwards, who made his 100th appearance for Yamaha in today's inaugural Motorland Aragon race, has been a key figure in establishing the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team as the leading non-factory squad in MotoGP in the 800cc four-stroke era. And his wealth of experience will be an invaluable asset in helping new Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Crutchlow adapt to MotoGP next season. Colin Edwards “I am delighted to have signed a new one-year contract with the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team. I want to say a big thanks to Yamaha and to Tech3 for their unwavering support. I am honoured to continue my long and successful relationship with Yamaha, Herve Poncharal and all at Tech3. I love the team and feel like part of a big family and I'm thrilled that our adventure together is continuing next year. I'm excited at the challenge of competing in the MotoGP world championship again and still being competitive in probably the strongest field in history is an achievement I'm proud of. I am also looking forward to working with and helping out Cal Crutchlow next season. I'd like to think I helped James Toseland and Ben Spies adapt when they arrived in MotoGP, and I will be doing my utmost to do the same for Cal if he needs any advice. I think all of us can look forward to an exciting 2011 together.” Herve Poncharal – Team Manager “I am thrilled to have reached a new agreement with Colin for the 2011 MotoGP world championship. His appetite and passion for racing is stronger than ever and he has been an incredible asset for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team. He is a great character but he has consistently proven that he remains one of the fastest riders in the world and I am glad that the Tech3 story with Colin will go on for one more year. I believe with Colin's experience and boundless enthusiasm and Cal's hunger and desire to succeed in MotoGP that the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team can already look forward to 2011 with tremendous optimism.”
Alex Asigno

Crutchlow takes double victory and claims Silverstone for Yamaha

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike YZF-R1 rider Cal Crutchlow made it two in a row today at Silverstone, delivering the double win at his home race. The British rider ended a flawless weekend´s riding with a masterful display of race craft. A good start from pole position in race one saw him quickly into second behind Johnny Rea. Crutchlow then played the waiting game, comfortably following the Honda rider just 0.1 seconds behind until mid race before taking the lead. He surrendered briefly to Rea but then re-took quickly and pulled away to build a 1.6 second lead as he crossed the line to claim his maiden win of the championship. Race two saw a repeat of the first with Crutchlow quickly settling in behind Rea, again maintaining a gap of just 0.1 to 0.2 seconds until just three laps from the end when he again pulled out to take the lead. The Yamaha YZF-R1´s incredible pace saw him take the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate lap, building a two second advantage as he crossed the line to deliver the long awaited double victory for Yamaha. Team mate James Toseland made the most of his less than perfect grid position start in both of today´s two superbike races. The first saw him move as high as sixth whilst chasing down the Aprilias of Max Biaggi and Leon Camier before finally settling for eighth at the line. The second race saw an even more determined Toseland pushing on hard. The British rider spent much of the race battling with Leon Haslam for fourth place having carved through the ranks and taken championship leader Biaggi mid race for fifth. The battle between the two Brits went to the chequered flag with Toseland less than four tenths behind Haslam across the line. Cal Crutchlow´s incredible performance means he leaves Silverstone having jumped up from tenth to fifth in the rankings, now sitting on 188 points, 55 points behind Carlos Checa in third. Team mate James Toseland remains in sixth place, now on 179 points as they head to the Nurburgring at the beginning of September after the summer break. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (1st, 1st) ?We´ve been trying so hard all year to achieve a win, I´m ecstatic that it has happened at my home race. It´s been a tough weekend with all the Brits trying hard but we knew we had the pace. We were worried about tyre wear but it wasn´t too bad. It was a little bit cooler in the first race which helped our bike as well. We now need to carry on and fight for the rest of the season. It´s been a dream come true today, three Brits on the podium for both races is brilliant. The British fans have been fantastic, they came out today and gave us tremendous support all round the circuit, a brilliant day for me, a brilliant day for Yamaha, Sterilgarda and all our other sponsors. All credit to Johnny Rea he rode really well in both races but I was able to pick him off with a couple of laps to go.? James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (8th, 5th) ?Race one was ok, the set up we used wasn´t perfect but I made the most of it. We made a massive change from race one to race two, we switched to something closer to what Cal was using in the first race, it´s the first time we tried it and it really helped us. Hopefully we´ve found a good direction for the next race. A big thanks to the team for the change between the races, it got me from where I was in the first to not too far off the podium in the second. Leon Haslam rode a great race and really covered his lines, I could have been more aggressive with him but I didn´t want to spoil his championship chances.? Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager ?This kind of feeling has been missing and finally I got it back today. Cal delivered a fantastic weekend, he proved that he was the fastest here in all the practices. He rode two really good races, I have to give my compliments to him, he rode perfectly. These results come thanks to all the efforts the team have put in over the last few months. James also proved he was fast and on the pace, the crash yesterday was unfortunate and mean that he couldn't do the last Superpole heat and so had a less than perfect start. He had some problems in the first with the balance of the bike but was much better in the second. We came here with big expectations and finally we have some good results.? Circuit Length: 5902 Crowd: 65000
Lap Record: 2'05.259 (Cal Crutchlow, 01/01/2010) Fastest Lap Ever: 2'04.091 (Cal Crutchlow, 27/05/2010) 2010 WSB Europe - Silverstone 01/08/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 37'47.851 2 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'01.621 3 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'11.433 4 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'15.874 5 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'17.085 6 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'17.532 7 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'18.250 8 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'18.938 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'22.997 10 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'25.830 11 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'30.972 12 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'31.808 13 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'32.193 14 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'33.206 15 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'34.207 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 37'48.348 2 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'02.070 3 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'08.834 4 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'13.232 5 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'13.258 6 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'13.568 7 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'13.963 8 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'14.432 9 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'16.399 10 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'19.874 11 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'26.268 12 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 0'28.003 13 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'28.550 14 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'30.117 15 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'30.415 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 2'05.259 Rider Standings 01/08/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 373 2. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 313 3. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 243 4. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 204 5. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 188 6. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 179 7. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 177 8. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 164 9. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 160 10. Troy Corser BMW AUS 155 11. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 151 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 123 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 71 14. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 69 15. Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 53 Manufacturer Standings 01/08/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Aprilia 385 2. Suzuki 334 3. Ducati 297 4. Yamaha 256 5. Honda 254 6. BMW 174 7. Kawasaki 58
Alex Asigno

Philippaerts out, Paulin in for Motocross of Nations

DP and GP Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s David Philippaerts is unable to contest the 64th Motocross of Nations for Italy at Thunder Valley, Lakewood, Colorado on September 26th after suffering a second-degree strain of the media lateral ligament in his right knee. In another late development less than two weeks before the meeting team-mate Gautier Paulin will represent France in the MX1 category with a works YZ450FM and is currently testing in Italy. Philippaerts had been called up for selection last Saturday at Fermo during his home Grand Prix to turn-out for his country for the sixth time at the biggest event of the season but upon entering a hard rut at speed in the second moto twisted his right leg. Philippaerts was able to complete the race and confirm his third position in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship on the factory YZ450FM but went immediately back to his home north of Milan for a medical opinion. A scan yesterday revealed the damage that will not require an operation but needs the 2008 world champion to rest for a period of twenty days before he can then begin light cycling and running with a view towards improved fitness for the team’s planned off-season testing schedule. “This is the last thing I wanted to happen because the news at Fermo that we could go and race for our country was fantastic for us and all the fans,” he said. “I’m lucky that the injury is not a third-degree tear because that would mean surgery. However I cannot ride nor do anything for nearly three weeks now; if the ligament has any more stress then it might go completely and that would put me out for quite a while,” he added. “I want to thank all the people that supported me at the weekend and through the season and I am sorry I cannot do the Nations for them, the team and all our sponsors. I really hope that Italy can do well.” After a successful second half of the 2010 MX2-GP campaign with victory for the YZ250FM in Holland and four podium results from the final five rounds Gautier Paulin is now ready to try and repeat his 2009 Nations race win on the larger machine. The 20 year old was called into the French line-up after a shoulder injury to Christophe Pourcel and now has only few days to get his YZ450FM dialled-in before flying across the Atlantic for the third time this year. “While I am sorry for Christophe this is exciting news for me and I am proud to represent France as part of a strong team,” said ‘21’ who was one of the most exciting stars of the 2009 edition at Franciacorta. “There is not much time to prepare but we are working hard now to get ready on the bike and be as fast as possible for Thunder Valley.” The Motocross of Nations will see over 30 countries field their three fastest riders in a three moto contest. The historic event has been won by the Americans for the last six editions with France runners-up for the last three.
Alex Asigno

Configure browser push notifications
Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.