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Alex Asigno
The Sterilgarda Yamaha Team have unveiled the special one-off livery for 2009 World Superbike Champion Ben Spies ahead of his wildcard ride at the final MotoGP race in Valencia this weekend. Spies will be riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 prior to joining the Tech3 Yamaha Team next Monday to start testing for the 2010 season. The American rider has achieved astonishing success in his rookie year in World Superbike, bringing the first ever World Superbike Championship victory for Yamaha. Over the 2009 season he scored 14 race wins and 11 pole position starts in the class, becoming the all-time greatest rookie in the process. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to race at Valencia this weekend,” said Spies. “I’m fully aware that MotoGP is a big step up from World Superbike and realize it’s not going to be possible to achieve the same results in my first year there. I see this weekend as an opportunity to spend some time on the bike and start learning it for next season, and to have some fun as well!”
Alex Asigno
Yamaha conquered an eventful weekend of Supercross at Bercy, Paris to stand atop the podium for the second year in succession. San Manuel Yamaha rider James Stewart had won Friday and Saturday evenings of the three night affair in the French capital but withdrew from Sunday’s final showdown after complaining of sickness and dizzy spells. The overall crown was therefore won by American and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Justin Brayton who had played second fiddle to AMA and FIM World Supercross champion all weekend. After winning the US Open in Las Vegas last month 23 year old Stewart was peerless on the new YZ450F on Friday and Saturday, only a small slip in the first heat on Saturday prevented the Floridian from extending his 100% record. Surprisingly, after winning the first two outings on Sunday, he was not able to complete the final sprint and Iowan Brayton (who won the last AMA Motocross National moto of 2009 and participated in one Supercross round this year) was able to scoop the prestigious ‘King of Bercy’ title by finishing 5th. In another interesting development for Yamaha, new San Manuel rider Josh Hill was able to take the chequered flag in the very last heat of the evening, the one in which Stewart was absent. Prior to his visit to the medical centre on Sunday evening Stewart was in electric form and clearly enjoying his second visit to Paris and the event that he dominated in 2008. "It's always great to come to Bercy, the crowd is awesome and they treat me so well over here,” he said. “Last year I just changed to Yamaha and I wanted to prove for myself the Yamaha was the right pick, I was still getting used to the bike and it was more a matter of having fun and enjoying the show. This year there is no pressure for this race, I even started too relaxed in the practice. After I got back to business and it went a lot better from then on.” “The new Yamaha is awesome, it is very different but I had a good feeling since the first day and we have already found some comfortable base settings for the bike,” he added. “I'm working to get ready for Anaheim 1 in January now; we still have a long way to go but we will be ready." The 17 round 2010 AMA Supercross series (also and FIM World Championship) starts on January 9th at the Angel Stadium, Anaheim in Los Angeles.
Alex Asigno

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Alex Asigno
Utag Yamaha.com’s Zach Osborne has made a startling recovery from the left radius bone he chipped in practice for the Grand Prix of Portugal two and a half weeks ago and is now return to return to MX2-GP World championship action for his team at Mallory Park for their home event this weekend. The British Grand Prix represents the seventh round of the series and the first of five events in the next six weeks. Osborne, who was originally given a recovery estimation of between 4-6 weeks, has regained enough strength and confidence in the wrist to mount his YZ250FM this week and attempt his first GP on UK turf for the English squad. The American and winner of the Turkish Grand Prix has been undergoing intense laser treatment and oxygen tank sessions to speed up recovery of the fracture. “Zach has kept his training up and has been having a lot of treatment,” said Team Principal Steve Dixon. “He feels his wrist is healing well but at the moment his movement is still restricted so we will have to see at the weekend about his manoeuvrability.” “Zach will ride a small amount on Thursday and then ride wisely on Saturday to build up for Sunday,” he continued. “He will push to do as well as he can but understands equally that two potential top 10 rides will help towards his final championship goal.” “After the British GP and then France there is a chance to miss the British championship round at Hawkstone to have another full two weeks off to be fully fit and repaired ready for the German GP. One thing for certain is that Zach is not a person to opt out at the first hurdle and he deserves full credit for putting himself back in contention.
Alex Asigno
The 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 is proving to be a formidable weapon in the hands of Yamaha Motor Germany rider Jörg Teuchert in the German IDM Superbike Championship. Teuchert put in a masterful display of riding at the season opener on 26th April at the EuroSpeedway, Lausitz circuit, dominating from the start to take the chequered flag in both heats. Round two at the Motorsport Arena, Oschersleben saw more of the same adrenalin fuelled racing with the German rider one step ahead of the competition for both races on the day. Teuchert now leads the championship with 100 points and an unblemished record heading into the next round. “Anyone who knows me and my team knows we are here to win,” said Jörg. “Obviously a second or third place is good, no doubt but I want to win the championship!” Team-mate and 2008 Women’s European Champion Nina Prinz is also adapting well to her new R1. Prinz continues to impress as the only woman in the IDM field, she scored a 17th and a 14th place finish at Lausitz and then improved to take an 8th and a 14th place finish at Oschersleben. The first race in particular saw an incredible start with Nina taking 13 places in the first lap. She currently sits 15th in the championship on 12 points. The following round at Nurburgring is a favourite for her, last year’s race was the first time she finished inside the top ten so she’s hopeful of good results. “The last race weekend was really good, Saturday was a little difficult as I crashed in the first qualifying after five laps,” said Prinz. “I lost both the tyres at same time, and touched the ground with the engine. Sunday was crazy, there were a lot of crashes in the first race and the start was stopped twice. The first race was great for me though, I started in 24th and got to 11th after one lap. I’ve also had new suspension since the last round, so the front forks are really comfortable now.” The German IDM Superbike Championship now moves to the famous Nürburgring circuit on 29th to 31st May.
Alex Asigno
As the European Superstock championship gets underway it’s becoming clear that one bike is all you need to win. In the three rounds so far the Yamaha YZF-R6 has dominated every race. As the first opening race of the season kicked off in Valencia on 5th April, It was Yamaha Italia Junior Trasimeno Team rider Petrucci who claimed the chequered flag and set the pace for the season. Stepping up behind him for the second podium spot was another Yamaha R6, Belgian MTM Racing Team rider Lonbois. Of the top seven finishers on race day, no less than six were riding an R6, a testament to the abilities of the Supersport machine. As the championship moved on to round two in Assen, it was to be another showing of Yamaha Supersport dominance. Two more podiums came with the Dutch V.D. Heyden Motors Yamaha Rider Litjens taking second and MRS Racing rider Guarnoni taking the third spot. Of the top four, three were R6 riders. Monza, and round three followed on the 10th May at the legendary Italian cathedral of speed. Come race day and there was no question as to which bike was going to deliver on the demanding circuit. With its high speed straights and tight chicanes Monza is one of the toughest races in the calendar, but the Yamaha didn’t disappoint here. Taking his second successive win of the season, first place was taken by Danilo Petrucci after a hard fought battle with three other Yamaha R6 riders. Lonbois took second and Guarnoni took third, making it an all Yamaha podium. The fourth placed Yamaha came in the shape of Petrucci’s Yamaha Italia Junior Trasimeno team-mate, Bussolotti, who finished just off the podium in fourth. Petrucci now leads the UEM European Superstock 600 Championship with 50 points, tied with second placed Gino Rea. Guarnoni sits in third on 43 points whilst Lonbois is in fourth with 40. With Litjens, Bussolotti and Kerschenbaumer (BWIN Yoshimura Racing, Austria) occupying the other spots in the top seven and Polish rider Chmielewski (Team Trasimeno) on a shared ninth position, the Yamaha R6 is clearly dominating the 2009 championship. The next round of the championship will be held in Misano on the 21st of June.
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's David Philippaerts scored his second podium result of the season and his best result of 2009 so far with second position at a sunny, hot and crowded Bellpuig circuit for the Grand Prix of Catalunya and the sixth round of the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The defending number one defied pain and discomfort with the left index finger he broke only one week ago to steer his YZ450FM to two third positions in front of 20,000 spectators. There were actually two Yamaha's present in the top three as Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli finished third overall and won the second moto to grab his sixth chequered flag from the last eight sprints. Hard-pack, dusty and increasingly rough, the Bellpuig terrain was a major contrast to the 2008 event in which the Grand Prix was washed out with a deluge of rain. Yamaha were able to celebrate a double pole position (the second this season) on a very warm Saturday thanks to Cairoli's second qualification heat win of the year and Davide Guarneri starting well to lead home the MX2 field. Saturday was a positive day for Cairoli as he was fastest in both practice sessions and then completed a perfect set with the chequered flag for first pick in the gate for Sunday. The first moto took place in the hottest conditions of the year and Philippaerts capitalised on a good start to push and hound Clement Desalle for second position for virtually the entire race. The 25 year old underwent three days of treatment in the UK prior to the GP. The team also adjusted the clutch lever and added some extra protection to the bars. Cairoli had collided with Billy Mackenzie on the second lap and although he flew back from eighteenth to fourth (in spite of a leaking fuel tank, picked up in the fall) he then tried to overtake Josh Coppins and hit the ground again in a small error of judgement. The Sicilian and world championship leader crossed the line in eighth and with a set of sore ribs. In the second moto Philippaerts was again a protagonist and worked hard in third position to catch and pass Mackenzie. Cairoli followed his countryman until the closing stages when he pulled ahead and then pursued leader Max Nagl. A mistake by the German allowed '222' to get close to his back wheel and he moved into the lead on the penultimate lap to make the bottom step of the rostrum; his fourth consecutive trophy this year and also increase his championship lead by 11 points. Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's Josh Coppins was sixth overall with finishes of fourth and eighth. The New Zealander was proactive at the start of the motos but did not have the speed or extra energy to be able to push and affect the leaders. Cairoli's team-mate, Tanel Leok, had a difficult day. The Estonian made a mistake and crashed on the first lap and was halted from restarting by many riders clipping both the rider and the bike as they filtered past. Well down the field he recovered to eighth by the end. Two more errors and some brake trouble in Moto2 could only mean thirteenth at the end of the afternoon for a ranking of tenth overall. Four Yamahas lie in the first six positions in the world championship standings and the brand also heads the Manufacturer's table by 48 points. Cairoli holds the red plate with an advantage of 36 points from Bellpuig winner Jonathan Barragan. Coppins is fourth and 56 from the top spot, Philippaerts is fifth and trails his team-mate by one point while Leok is sixth. Round seven of the world championship will take place in two weeks time at the purpose-built track draped across the side of the Mallory Park road racing facility in England for the British Grand Prix. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 2nd: "I did not expect this because my thumb gave me a lot of problems yesterday, but today I could ride well and quite easily and I am really happy for the result; it is a bit of a surprise. I did not do any training since Portugal, only treatment, so I felt a bit tired towards the end of the second moto but obviously I am really pleased with two third positions. My doctor believes that I should be almost back to normal for the next Grand Prix." Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 3rd: "In the first moto I made two mistakes and when I crashed with Josh it was my fault because I was going for his line and just caught his back wheel. With Mackenzie the first time I think it was a normal pass but he cut the line and we both went down. My fuel tank was actually damaged after that so I was going easy on the gas because I did not want to run out before the end of the race. I still could make the best lap-time and the moment with Josh was a shame, it also hurt some of my ribs although the pain was not so bad by the start of the second race. I lost some time at the beginning of the second moto but I found the right lines and even copied a few from Jonathan when he overtook me for a while! I felt really good, and when I saw Nagl make a mistake I pushed hard for the win." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 6th: "I had some good starts and my riding was not too bad but I did not have much power today; I did the best I could do. I am not sure what the problem is at the moment but I felt tired and struggled in the second moto. There is not much more I can really say." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 10th: "A bad day. I felt good and the speed was fine but I was getting things wrong. In the second moto I hit someone's back wheel and he spun out so I was stuck behind him and was really far back, I crashed again and then had a stone jamming the rear brake so after two laps without a brake I stopped to take it out. I fell again later after that, I tried too hard to get back near the front and was making mistakes; it was not my day." Circuit Length: 1630 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Sunshine Last Years Winner: Steve Ramon 2009 GP of Spain 17/05/2009 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     40'38.899 2     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'10.982 3     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'11.453 4     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'16.273 5     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'17.446 6     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     0'18.617 7     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'19.177 8     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     0'51.165 9     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'54.074 10     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'05.652 11     Billy MacKenzie     Honda     GBR     1'10.774 12     Julien Bill     Aprilia     CHE     1'13.182 13     Carlos Campano     Yamaha     ESP     1'14.266 14     Tom Church     CCM     GBR     1'26.436 15     Jason Dougan     CCM     GBR     1'48.844 20     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     -1Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     39'22.225 2     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'01.314 3     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'13.691 4     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     0'18.063 5     Billy MacKenzie     Honda     GBR     0'20.186 6     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'23.058 7     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'23.655 8     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'23.983 9     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'33.488 10     Gregory Aranda     Kawasaki     FRA     0'39.470 11     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     0'48.519 12     Manuel Priem     Aprilia     BEL     0'54.672 13     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     1'02.669 14     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'09.052 15     Gert Krestinov     KTM     EST     1'13.655 Rider Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    231 2.    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    195 3.    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    183 4.    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    175 5.    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    174 6.    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    162 7.    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    162 8.    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    155 9.    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    101 10.    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    100 11.    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    92 12.    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    85 13.    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    82 14.    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    68 15.    Gregory Aranda    Kawasaki    FRA    50 24.    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    21 28.    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    13 Manufacturer Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    261 2.    KTM    213 3.    Suzuki    197 4.    Honda    196 5.    Kawasaki    115 6.    TM    85 7.    Aprilia    69 8.    CCM    38 RACE REPORT     17/05/2009 Guarneri 6th in Catalunya The sixth round of the MX2-GP World Championship at the Bellpuig circuit for the Grand Prix of Catalunya saw Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri negotiate the rough and dry Spanish hard-pack to clinch 6th position on his YZ250FM. The sunny conditions and high temperatures provided completely contrasting racing circumstances compared to the 2008 edition of the event. 20,000 spectators had to deal with sunburn and dust instead of rain and sinking mud. The track was rough and demanding and combined with the climate offered one of the toughest physical tests of the season so far. Guarneri started from Pole Position for the first time this year and for the first time since 2005. His getaways were not bad but the Italian struggled to make ground on the leaders as they circulated at the same pace. Taking fourth place the winner of the same GP thirteen months ago had some muscle pain in the second moto and scored seventh spot for another consistent points haul. Team-mate Nico Aubin was feeling better after recovering from his virus and a five-day course of antibiotics. The Frenchman had a poor start in Moto1 but after a few mistakes sailed from twenty-first to eleventh place. In the second race he had to ditch his goggles in the formative stages and although the dust proved hazardous he rode well to reach third place. He was just overtaken by GP winner Jeremy Van Horebeek on the last lap. Aubin was eighth overall. A first corner crash in Saturday's qualification heat left the third member of the team Loic Larrieu with a painful shoulder. The teenager did not attempt the warm-up and had to make a late decision to withdraw from the Grand Prix. He will have an examination this week to see the extent of the injury. Italian MX2 Champion Manuel Monni was 10th on the 3C Racing YZ250F. In the world championship standings Guarneri's regular points-gain means that he is third and only five points away from seizing the red plate. Aubin has made some ground and is seventh while Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne might have been absent with a broken wrist but he still rests eighth in the points table. Round seven of fifteen will take place in two weeks time at Mallory Park for the British Grand Prix. Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 6th: "Yesterday and today my speed was really good but it was very hard to pass on this track. There was one really good line and the rest was really rough, too slippery or very deep. I was third at the start of the first moto but a KTM rider crashed in the second turn and that made me lose positions to sixth. To finish fourth was good for the points. In the second moto the start wasn't great but I pushed hard. I had a small problem with a muscle in my leg and I don't know why. It is where I had the operation in the winter so perhaps it is a little weak. I had a good period in the middle of the race but in the last two laps the pain was too much. It was a shame to miss the podium but we are close all the time and it will arrive." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 8th: "I felt better here today but my starts were not that good. I had some decent speed in the first moto and was pleased with my recovery because I was quite far back and it was not easy to pass. In the second moto I had a little problem with my goggles on the second lap and I had to throw them away. It was really hard then to see with all the dust and it made getting closer to riders very difficult. I could see nothing on the last lap and Van Horebeek was able to pass me for third and I was disappointed about that. I need points however and I feel things are getting better for me." Circuit Length: 1630 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Sunny Last Years Winner: Davide Guarneri 2009 GP of Spain 17/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     39'21.424 2     Jeremy Van Horebeek     KTM     BEL     0'01.818 3     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     0'05.871 4     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'06.426 5     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     0'07.891 6     Ken Roczen     Suzuki     GER     0'07.954 7     Anthony Boissi?re     KTM     FRA     0'24.346 8     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     0'29.578 9     Marcus Schiffer     KTM     GER     0'33.182 10     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'34.051 11     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'34.785 12     Dennis Verbruggen     Honda     BEL     0'39.568 13     Joel Roelants     KTM     BEL     0'40.106 14     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     0'51.241 15     Nikolai Larsen     Suzuki     DNK     0'54.281 20     Evgeny Bobryshev     Yamaha     RUS     1'07.348 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Anthony Boissi?re     KTM     FRA     39'35.739 2     Ken Roczen     Suzuki     GER     0'02.240 3     Jeremy Van Horebeek     KTM     BEL     0'05.212 4     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'06.794 5     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     0'09.792 6     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     0'10.777 7     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'19.102 8     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     0'20.462 9     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     0'29.925 10     Marcus Schiffer     KTM     GER     0'36.699 11     Khounsith Vongsana     Honda     FRA     0'57.983 12     Stephen Sword     KTM     GBR     1'00.744 13     Jake Nicholls     KTM     GBR     1'00.927 14     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'06.647 15     Ceriel Klein Kromhof     KTM     NED     1'10.243 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    171 2.    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    165 3.    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    147 4.    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    125 5.    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    108 6.    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    105 7.    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    100 8.    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    98 9.    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    97 10.    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    72 11.    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    70 12.    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    67 13.    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    66 14.    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    61 15.    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    56 19.    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    38 27.    Cedric Soubeyras    Yamaha    FRA    15 34.    Deny Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    6 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Kawasaki    191 2.    KTM    180 3.    Yamaha    177 4.    Honda    171 5.    Suzuki    128 6.    TM    5
Alex Asigno
Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took a stunning second win of the season in Le Mans today, negotiating varying track conditions and a change of bikes to lead from the first lap to the flag and take the championship lead. It was a doom-laden day for his team-mate Valentino Rossi however as the world champion slid off early on and then had a ride-through penalty to compound his misfortune. With the track still wet from a rainy morning all riders started the race on rain tyres, with the mechanics readying the dry bikes in pit lane in anticipation of an early change as the track dried out. Lorenzo, starting from second, slipped a place at the start but had passed both Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa by the end of the first lap to take the lead. By lap five a dry line had begun to appear and a few riders chose to make early pit stops to change bikes. The 22-year-old Spaniard however was feeling comfortable and had an excellent pace on his Bridgestone wets and so he stayed out, constantly stretching his lead. In the end he was the last of the front-runners to pit, a gamble which paid off brilliantly as he was by then nearly 34 seconds clear and was able to rejoin the race in the lead on lap 13. Once he had bit of heat in his slick tyres the youngster put his head down and kept his nerve for the remaining 15 laps and he eventually took the chequered flag an impressive 17.710 seconds clear of second-placed Marco Melandri. It was a day of stark contrasts on the opposite side of the garage, with Rossi forced to make an incredible four visits to pit lane. The Italian was in second behind his team-mate when he elected for an early bike change, coming in to swap onto his second M1 on dry Bridgestones after just five laps. The change went smoothly but the track was still damp in places and he went down on the next lap whilst trying to warm his tyres up. He returned to the pits next time around to swap back onto his other bike, with the rules stipulating that he had to keep one wet tyre with the second bike change, but a problem with his pit-limiter meant he was penalised for speeding on exit and forced to return once again two laps later to perform a ride-through penalty. His final visit to the garage came on lap 11 when he changed once again onto a fully-dry machine, but by then he was some two laps adrift and he finished in 16th. Lorenzo's 25-point haul takes him into the lead by one point and he now has 66 points to Rossi's 65. Stoner has the same points as Rossi but lies third as the Italian has more second places, and Pedrosa follow in the standings. With just nine points separating the top four the next round in Mugello is sure to be a thrilling spectacle. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1Time: 47'52.678 "Never in all my dreams did I imagine this situation today - winning the race and leading the championship. This season I have been much more calm and careful and so I was really upset after the crash in Jerez because I didn't expect it! Today has made up for that though. I had a very good pace with both types of tyre and the strategy of our team worked perfectly. I felt happy to stay out on the wet tyres for such a long time and in the end I think we changed at exactly the right time for our race; there was some luck on our side but we were also strong, calm and careful and this paid off. It was the first time in my life that I've had to change bikes during the race and I was very nervous, but it went smoothly and I was able to rejoin in the lead. I'm sorry for Valentino because it was bad luck to crash, but now we are nearly on the same points and it seems like the championship is starting again! I want to thank my team because they were very clever today, I'm so happy to be here and to have won a third MotoGP race." Valentino Rossi - Position: 16thTime: +2 Laps "I had difficulties from the start today and I really could not ride my bike to its best. Already by the fourth lap I felt that I was quite slow and that I couldn't ride as I wanted. I decided to change bikes early because usually this strategy - being among the first to change the bike - pays off. Of course I knew that I had to warm the tyres up a little bit but I crashed anyway in that corner because at that point the track was still wet and I just didn't ride into it in a calm enough manner. Luckily I was able to make it back to the pits and I changed again, but the rule says that if you change the bike again then you have to use one wet tyre, and so this is what we did. When I started that time, the pit-limiter on my bike was not on and so I was given a ride-through for speeding, but by that time it was too late for our race anyway. We've had problems throughout the entire weekend with the set-up of the bike and today I was just hoping that I could stay with the riders in front and get some important points for the championship. Now we go to Mugello, my home GP, where I will perhaps be even more motivated than usual!" Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We're so happy to win today because everyone has done a great job all weekend to give Jorge a competitive machine on which he was able to ride very fast and this is a well deserved victory. The team did a very important job during the race to find a great strategy and the best moment to change the bike. Thanks and well done to all; the championship is looking very exciting now!" Davide Brivio - Team Manager "Everything happened to us today so let's hope that's it for now! I don't think that the decision to stop early was wrong, and it paid off for Melandri among others, but unfortunately Valentino crashed and that, coupled with the ride-through penalty, was the end of our challenge today. This type of race is always a gamble; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and today it really didn't for us! Luckily we're still just one point off the top of the championship and we will restart our challenge again at the next race." Edwards fights back for super seventh, Toseland back in top ten Colin Edwards produced a rousing fight back in an incident-packed French Grand Prix today, the American claiming a deserved seventh place for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in its home race. And on the 20th anniversary of the Tech 3 Team competing in the Grand Prix world championship, British rider James Toseland secured a determined ninth in a gripping flag-to-flag encounter over 28-laps. Texan Edwards was left to rue a missed opportunity to claim a second successive podium in Le Mans after a disappointing start from sixth on the grid in wet conditions. But once he'd switched to his Monster Yamaha YZR-M1 fitted with slick tyres on lap 11 as the track dried rapidly, the 35-year-old produced a stunning surge through the field. He passed team-mate Toseland with five laps remaining and at the end he was just over two seconds away from the top six having set the third fastest lap of the race in his brilliant late attack in front of 75,903 fans. Toseland showed more of his true potential in today's race, which started under grey and gloomy skies but ended in sunny conditions. The British rider set a stunning pace on wet tyres in the early stages and fought his way through from 12th on the grid to seventh. He changed bikes to slick tyres as conditions improved on lap seven and for a while he closely pursued Australian duo Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen. He eventually claimed his second top ten finish of the campaign, his ninth position in his first taste of a flag-to-flag MotoGP race another encouraging sign that the 28-year-old is making big progress with the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine. Colin Edwards 7th - 35 points "I'm really disappointed because it was definitely a missed opportunity today for a podium. In the first part of the race on the wet tyres I just couldn't get the bike to turn. I'd lost so many places I was nearly at the back and I just wasn't comfortable. The bike was just sitting on the rear and I had no weight on the front, so I couldn't get into the corner. I saw some guys come into the pits and I thought it was a couple of laps too early because there were still some wet patches out there. I waited for a bit and came in and on the first couple of laps back out of the pits I lost so much time again. I was on the hard front tyre because I can't run the soft compound and it took a while to get some heat into it. I had a couple of moments but once it came good, it came really good and I got my head down. I think only Jorge (Lorenzo) was lapping faster than me and once I got my pace going I was catching people pretty quickly. To only finish seventh is a bit frustrating when you look at my times in the dry. At the end of the day I rode a good second half of the race. But the first half wasn't great and that cost me. I'm confident for Mugello though and hopefully we'll get plenty of dry track time." James Toseland 9th 17 points "That was pretty eventful and my team did a great job for the change of bikes. I've never been in a flag-to-flag race before and it is definitely different. There's no time to lose concentration in the pits because everything is still happening so quickly. And when you go out on a damp track on slicks you can't lose focus. The team told me they were going to put 'OK' on the board as soon as the first person came in, and though nobody was coming in around me, I felt I came in at the right time. It's always a risk because there were a couple of corners where it was still quite damp, but for two-thirds of the track you definitely needed slick tyres. My pace on the slicks at the start was really good and I was seventh at one point. But I was on the soft front tyre and it kept getting hotter and hotter and the stronger front harder tyre was what I needed. When I was trying to stay with Colin at the end I just didn't have the front grip unfortunately. It was nice to be fighting up there again but on the other hand a bit frustrating because I think we could have had a seventh. It's not the best finish but I really feel we have made a step forward here and my team is working great. As long as we can keep working like this I'm really looking forward to the next few races." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "Unfortunately a race that promised so much for us ended a little disappointingly, but Colin and James still did Tech 3 proud in our home race, which had extra significance because of our 20th anniversary. We have to think that we missed something big. We'd said that top five would be a dream but we could see from Colin's brilliant pace in the dry that had he started better when it was wet he could have had another podium in Le Mans. Colin struggled with some issues in the wet but as soon as he switched to the dry bike he was the fastest rider on track at some points and for sure a top three was a possibility. It's a pity for him but he showed his potential in the dry. I'm really happy with James. The whole weekend he has shown a big improvement compared to the first three races and it was by far the best race of the season for him. We knew he wasn't going to recover from the problems of the winter so quickly, but step-by-step he is showing his true potential. Hopefully for Mugello we won't have any rain and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team can get a strong result." Circuit Length: 4180 Weather: Changeable Lap Record: 1'33.678 (Valentino Rossi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'32.647 (Daniel Pedrosa, 18/05/2008) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2009 MotoGP France - Le Mans 17/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha     ESP     47'52.678 2     Marco Melandri     Kawasaki     ITA     0'17.710 3     Daniel Pedrosa     Honda     ESP     0'19.893 4     Andrea Dovizioso     Honda     ITA     0'20.455 5     Casey Stoner     Ducati     AUS     0'30.539 6     Chris Vermeulen     Suzuki     AUS     0'37.462 7     Colin Edwards     Yamaha     USA     0'40.191 8     Loris Capirossi     Suzuki     ITA     0'45.421 9     James Toseland     Yamaha     GBR     0'50.307 10     Toni Elias     Honda     ESP     0'53.218 11     Alex De Angelis     Honda     SMR     0'53.330 12     Nicky Hayden     Ducati     USA     0'56.647 13     Yuki Takahashi     Honda     JPN     0'56.688 14     Randy De Puniet     Honda     FRA     1'11.299 15     Niccolo Canepa     Ducati     ITA     1'15.385 16     Valentino Rossi     Yamaha     ITA     -2Laps Rider Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Jorge Lorenzo    Yamaha    ESP    66 2.    Casey Stoner    Ducati    AUS    65 3.    Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    ITA    65 4.    Daniel Pedrosa    Honda    ESP    57 5.    Andrea Dovizioso    Honda    ITA    43 6.    Marco Melandri    Kawasaki    ITA    43 7.    Colin Edwards    Yamaha    USA    35 8.    Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    AUS    31 9.    Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    ITA    27 10.    Randy De Puniet    Honda    FRA    26 11.    Toni Elias    Honda    ESP    21 12.    Alex De Angelis    Honda    SMR    20 13.    James Toseland    Yamaha    GBR    17 14.    Mika Kallio    Ducati    FIN    16 15.    Nicky Hayden    Ducati    USA    9 Manufacturer Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    95 2.    Ducati    65 3.    Honda    63 4.    Kawasaki    43 5.    Suzuki    38
Alex Asigno
The first race saw Yamaha rider Ben Spies drop back to fourth from the pole position start as they left the line. He recovered quickly and took second position back as they turned into the first corner, diving up the inside of Biaggi to tuck up behind championship rival Noriyuki Haga. Halfway round the first lap he was passed by Michele Fabrizio and settled into third position behind the two Ducatis as they battled for the lead for the majority of the race. With seven laps to go, Spies dived passed Fabrizio on the last corner coming on to the start finish straight to take second. As the lap unfolded Fabrizio passed briefly but was taken straight again by Spies as the powerful Yamaha out dragged the Ducati from the corner. An unfortunate tank slapper coming out of Clubhouse allowed Fabrizio passed again, and as the tyres had now gone off it was impossible for Spies to catch up so he settled for third and a well deserved podium. Race two saw disaster strike for Spies, having dropped to third off the start, he again passed Biaggi on the inside for the second place spot and coming round for lap three took Haga in a fantastic move for the lead. No sooner had he done this than his shit linkage broke, making it impossible to change gear and forcing him to retire from the race. Team-mate Tom Sykes had a less than perfect start to race one, dropping from his eighth position start on the grid to 16th as they headed into the first corner. With ten laps to go he'd moved up to 11th position with a steady race pace and then swiftly took Lavilla for the tenth spot. Although maintaining a good race pace he couldn't get up to ninth so settled for 10th. Race two saw a better start, dropping initially to 10th, he worked hard to take two places and move up to the eighth spot which he held until briefly before the finish when Suzuki rider Kagayama took back the spot, relegating him to ninth.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (3rd,DNF) "We were struggling to hang in there in race one, it was a good race for all three of us up at the front. When I passed Michel I tried to reel in Nori and then unfortunately made a mistake. I was really strong in parts of the track but giving up too much time in some corners and couldn't get in there. The second race was very unfortunate, I was feeling good and had secured an early lead, then obviously had the technical problem and had to retire, I'm really disappointed about it. I'm looking forward to going home to the USA for the next round and seeing if we can make it up." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (10th, 9th ) "I got away badly in the first race and initially dropped down to sixteenth which was a shame as I felt I could have been more consistent. The second race I got away ok from the start and was closing in on Checa and a couple of the boys, but the last five laps or so I was really struggling. If we could have found a bit more grip it would have been better. We struggled on the power this weekend as well which was tough on this circuit. I'm looking forward to getting to Miller as I think the track will suit the R1 really well, and I want to close the gap and get up into fourth place as I think it's possible." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "Both riders did really well in the first race as we have been having issues here with the tyres, making it hard to be consistent throughout the race. For Ben in race two we had a problem with the shift linkage so he was unable to change gear and had to retire. We knew from practice that it was going to be tough racing here but both Ben and Tom did their best. The Ducati engine was stronger here on the day. " Circuit Length: 4263 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'42.178 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'37.288 (Ben Spies, 17/05/2009) 2009 WSB South Africa - Kyalami 17/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     39'47.436 2     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'00.950 3     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     0'03.391 4     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'08.914 5     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'09.019 6     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'14.812 7     Shinya Nakano     Aprilia     JPN     0'14.971 8     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     0'15.723 9     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'21.529 10     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'21.795 11     Gregorio Lavilla     Ducati     ESP     0'29.872 12     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'34.216 13     Sheridan Morais     Kawasaki     RSA     0'34.275 14     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'38.280 15     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     0'40.885 Race 2 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     39'45.027 2     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'00.322 3     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'08.936 4     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'10.561 5     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'10.767 6     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'12.413 7     Shinya Nakano     Aprilia     JPN     0'12.616 8     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     0'14.878 9     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'16.225 10     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'18.197 11     Sheridan Morais     Kawasaki     RSA     0'20.629 12     Gregorio Lavilla     Ducati     ESP     0'24.320 13     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'24.564 14     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     0'38.747 15     Fonsi Nieto     Suzuki     ESP     0'50.045 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1'38.548 Rider Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    250 2.    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    165 3.    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    162 4.    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    116 5.    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    106 6.    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    103 7.    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    103 8.    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    77 9.    Max Neukirchner    Suzuki    GER    75 10.    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    73 11.    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    72 12.    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    68 13.    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    64 14.    Shinya Nakano    Aprilia    JPN    52 15.    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    48 Manufacturer Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Ducati    275 2.    Yamaha    203 3.    Honda    170 4.    Aprilia    106 5.    Suzuki    105 6.    BMW    59 7.    Kawasaki    27 RACE REPORT     17/05/2009 Crutchlow maintains championship lead in South Africa Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow had a tough race in Kyalami today missing out on the race win after being held up by the pack at the start of the race. The British rider initially dropped to sixth position from the start, behind team-mate Fabien Foret. The pair stayed together, following Sofuoglu until a mistake by the Honda rider on the 3rd lap allowed Crutchlow past. He then passed his team-mate on the fifth lap, before swiftly taking Lascorz and Pitt to move into second behind race leader Laverty. By this point Laverty had extended a considerable lead, and although Crutchlow worked hard to close the gap he had to settle for a second place finish and another podium. Team-mate Fabien Foret had a better start and lead Crutchlow for a while before following him through to take up third place. He gradually built up a good lead over fourth placed rider Lascorz but a momentary lapse of concentration going into a corner too hot four laps from the end saw the French rider lose the front end and crash out. Crutchlow leaves South Africa still leading the championship on 119 points, 13 ahead of second placed Laverty. Foret is in eighth on 44 points.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd) "It was a really tough race, the beginning was a proper dog fight. It took me a long time to get through the pack and start working on breaking down Laverty's lead. By the time I got clear in second he had a big gap and I just couldn't keep it consistently quick enough to catch him. I made a couple of small mistakes which cost me some time so had to settle for the second spot on the podium. A big thank you to the Yamaha team again for working so hard this weekend." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (DNF) "I'm really disappointed with myself. It was a big fight at the beginning of the race and I did well to get through. I had a really good race pace and was feeling confident to keep pushing on. I had built up a good lead in third but just lost a moment's concentration going into the corner and went down on the front." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team "We lost the fight for the race win two seconds into the first lap when both riders got held up by the main pack, by the second lap Eugene was too far away to challenge. Cal was looking like he was able to catch him but he had to push hard and made one or too small mistakes. At the moment the championship lead is very close and podiums are very important. It was very disappointing not to have two podiums, Fabien had a good pace and was as fast as Cal but was a bit too hot into the corner and crashed. It was a shame as he had a good lead and didn't need to push so hard." Circuit Length: 4263 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'46.975 (James Whitham, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'40.634 (Cal Crutchlow, 17/05/2009) 2009 WSS South Africa - Kyalami 17/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     39'06.061 2     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     0'02.546 3     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     0'17.358 4     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     0'17.454 5     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     0'18.221 6     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     0'20.561 7     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     0'33.141 8     Anthony West     Honda     AUS     0'37.326 9     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     0'37.728 10     Matthieu Lagrive     Honda     FRA     0'37.939 11     Michael Laverty     Honda     GBR     0'38.782 12     Massimo Roccoli     Honda     ITA     0'39.198 13     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     0'40.386 14     Doni Tata Pradita     Yamaha     IDN     0'46.386 15     Danilo Dell'omo     Honda     ITA     0'46.794 22     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1'24.481 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     1'41.053 Rider Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    119 2.    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    106 3.    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    83 4.    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    64 5.    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    60 6.    Anthony West    Honda    AUS    60 7.    Mark Aitchison    Honda    AUS    50 8.    Fabien Foret    Yamaha    FRA    44 9.    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    40 10.    Matthieu Lagrive    Honda    FRA    31 11.    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    29 12.    Barry Veneman    Suzuki    NED    28 13.    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    26 14.    Massimo Roccoli    Honda    ITA    24 15.    Robbin Harms    Honda    DNK    23 19.    Franco Battaini    Yamaha    ITA    5 22.    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    3 Manufacturer Standings     17/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Honda    133 2.    Yamaha    119 3.    Kawasaki    71 4.    Triumph    36 5.    Suzuki    28
Alex Asigno
It wasn’t quite a romantic stroll, by the Seine but there was definitely something memorable about MotoGP World Champion, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi’s first blast past the Eiffel tower and Champs-Élysées with an YZF-R1. The Italian was taking in the tourist hot-spots of Paris ahead of pushing for his 99th career victory this weekend at Le Mans. Rossi was the draw for hundreds of MotoGP fans and curious onlookers as the 30 year old carefully steered a special edition Monster Energy- livered R1 by the Arc de Triomphe, through nearby streets to a press conference and then – despite the rain – managed a burn-out in front of the French capital’s famous sky-line form. “It was quite slippery out there with the rain, but I managed to do a little burn-out by the Eiffel Tower,” said Rossi who leads the current MotoGP standings by 11 points on his YZR-M1 and won the Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez two weeks ago he said. “It’s my first time to the Eiffel Tower so I was pleased to do that, we all had some fun out there. I’m looking forward to this weekend at Le Mans now.” Success at the short and twisty circuit of Le Mans on Sunday could set-up a momentous weekend a fortnight later with the chance to reach 100 triumphs in front of his tifosi at Mugello
Alex Asigno
The French MotoGP race at the iconic Le Mans circuit provides a fitting venue for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to celebrate a special milestone in its history this weekend. Formed by Herve Poncharal and Guy Coulon, 2009 marks the 20th year of Grand Prix world championship competition for the French-based squad. Testament to the passion and devotion of Poncharal and Coulon, the landmark anniversary means Tech 3 has supported the Grand Prix series for almost a third of its history - the premier motorcycle championship commemorating its 60th campaign in 2008. As well as being a mainstay of the Grand Prix arena since 1989, Tech 3 has played an important role in contributing to France's rich motorsport heritage. The high point for Tech 3 was undoubtedly Olivier Jacque's success in the 2000 world 250cc championship – the last time a French rider has won a world title representing a French team. That memorable season was the second year of a successful collaboration between Tech 3 and Yamaha, which remains stronger than ever today. And under Poncharal's inspirational leadership the Tech 3 Team has become established as one of the most high profile and respected in world motorcycle racing. To commemorate the 20th anniversary celebrations, the Grand Prix de France organisation will be paying its own tribute to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Le Mans. Herve Poncharal - Team Manager “It's appropriate that Tech 3 celebrates its 20th birthday in our home race in Le Mans this weekend. It's incredible to think when Guy and I first set out on this amazing adventure that Tech 3 would be going stronger than ever as we eagerly anticipate our third decade of racing at world championship level. We could never have imagined when we started back in 1989 that we would be a leading team in the premier motorcycle racing world championship class. What seemed a distant dream then is now reality, thanks to the hard work and commitment of many people who have shown unbelievable dedication to make the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team what it is today. I thank each and every person who has helped us since 1989 and it has been an honour and a pleasure to manage such a great team. We can look back at the last 20 years with immense pride. We have had some truly unforgettable experiences and we've been fortunate to have some of the world's best talent riding for Tech 3. Olivier's victory in the 250cc championship in 2000 will be etched in my mind forever. We always had a dream for a French team to win a world title with a French rider. Accomplishing that mission with OJ is something I will always cherish. We can also look forward with great optimism to the future. Racing is our passion and I hope we have made a small contribution to the huge success that MotoGP now is. I hope too that we have been a team fans around the globe have enjoyed following and will continue to do so. Here's to the next 20!”
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli has claimed his second win of the season and second double moto set of 2009 after an entertaining afternoon of racing at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal and the fifth event from the calendar of fifteen races in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The Sicilian captured two chequered flags to win his fourth Portuguese GP in five years, his first in MX1-GP and with the YZ450F, and extend his immaculate record at Agueda to nine triumphs from ten motos. Cloudy but warm conditions, with a light shower coating the second MX1-GP race, graced the weekend in Agueda. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) surrounded the hard and rough red soil that proved to be harder and more slippery compared to previous years and forced the riders to consider several tyre options on Saturday. A bumpier surface on Sunday was physically tough. The YZ450F - that was used so effectively by James Stewart to obtain the AMA Supercross Championship in Las Vegas last week - was also an effective tool in the hands of Cairoli who was nothing short of superlative across the Agueda slopes. He fought back from a good start (top five) in Moto1 and a mediocre launch (eighth) in Moto2 to enjoy superior speed over his rivals and twice deny Ken De Dycker victory. A key moment took place in the second race when the former double world champion was fighting for second position with reigning MX1-GP title holder, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts, and Clement Desalle. Holding the inside line on a fast downhill Cairoli missed the rut and collided with Philippaerts, forcing a retirement. Philippaerts - who had led the first third of the opening race until a crash dropped him to 5th place - later went to hospital with a painful left hand and was diagnosed with a broken index finger that will mean he travels to Spain next week far from 100% fit.
Josh Coppins rode consistently to score 4th overall, after almost grabbing pole position on Saturday. The Kiwi was adrift of the battle for the lead but his finishes of 7th (a consequence of a fall) and 4th in the motos represented an improvement over his last GP in Holland and demonstrated a recovery from the low energy levels he has recently suffered. Tanel Leok was 6th in the final classification after circulating on the fringes of the top five; recording a 5th position in Moto1 and 6th in Moto2, despite a small technical problem that interrupted his power supply. Cairoli now has a full 'race' lead in the championship standings of 25 points over De Dycker. Coppins is 4th, 2 points ahead of Leok, while Philippaerts' DNF has proved costly and he has dropped to 6th place. Yamaha front the Manufacturer's title chase by 37 points. The YZ450F motorcycle now has claimed four of the five GPs run so far. Yamaha's MX1-GP fleet will now spend the week travelling across the border and through Spain to the Bellpuig circuit and the Grand Prix of Catalunya for round six. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "This is a lucky and special track for me because I have won nine of the last ten motos here and this year it was unbelievable. In the second moto I did not expect to be able to catch everyone, especially Ken, like that and win the GP. My first lap was really bad but then I could find some good passing places. I am sorry about the contact with David. I did not expect him to be there and it was not my intention to touch. These things happen and they are not nice. After that I could overtake Desalle and was able to focus on catching Ken for the lead. I am really happy with this win. I thought before the season that I might be able to be in the top five by this stage but to be leading the championship is something very special. I am enjoying my riding and this is the important thing."  
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 4th: "I'm still not quite strong enough and my mind is saying 'go faster' but my body cannot keep up. I am riding smooth and easy with consistent laps and a stupid crash in the first moto was the only real black mark. In the second race I rode pretty well but nothing special and did what I had to do. I pushed at the end to try and pass Desalle but ran out of time. I know that there is better to come. I am doing the best I can, which is not bad but it is just off where I want to be. My starts were alright and overall the weekend was not bad; not as good as the first two GPs but better than the last two." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th: "The result is good; the top six is where I should be every week. I was struggling a little bit in the first moto and wasn't feeling so good but the second race was better until we had some bad luck with that small problem with the bike and I was losing drive in sections and overshooting berms in others. I am being consistent with my motos and I know that on a normal day I am fighting for the podium." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 13th: "Of course I am worried about my finger. We have the confirmation that it is broken and now we will just have to try and see what we can do next week in Spain. In the incident with Antonio, well, there were two lines and he wanted the first and also the second and came across me. This is part of motocross and not a big problem but it had a big price for me. I think now it is difficult to win the title but there are many races ahead and of course bad luck can still hit the others; everything is possible. I am pleased with the small changes we made to the bike and there is reason to feel positive but I have a lot of pain at the moment and just want to heal from this as fast as I can." Crowd: 25,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Sébastien Pourcel 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     39'32.718 2     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'07.035 3     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'12.446 4     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'14.608 5     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'16.374 6     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'21.134 7     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'50.988 8     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     0'54.914 9     Gregory Aranda     Kawasaki     FRA     0'58.430 10     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     1'11.378 11     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     1'23.735 12     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'32.244 13     Manuel Priem     Aprilia     BEL     1'41.152 14     Fabien Izoird     Suzuki     FRA     1'58.572 15     Tom Church     CCM     GBR     2'13.666 20     Carlos Campano     Yamaha     ESP     -1Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     40'13.107 2     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'10.571 3     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'18.792 4     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'20.312 5     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'40.474 6     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'49.212 7     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'58.709 8     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     1'09.139 9     Gregory Aranda     Kawasaki     FRA     1'15.733 10     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     1'31.163 11     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'44.257 12     Carlos Campano     Yamaha     ESP     1'52.586 13     Manuel Priem     Aprilia     BEL     1'54.589 14     Luis Correira     Suzuki     POR     -1Laps 15     Fabien Izoird     Suzuki     FRA     -1Laps 20     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     -1Laps Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    193 2.    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    168 3.    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    152 4.    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    144 5.    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    142 6.    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    134 7.    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    126 8.    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    119 9.    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    100 10.    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    82 11.    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    73 12.    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    67 13.    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    67 14.    Marc De Reuver    Honda    NED    45 15.    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    42 24.    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    13 26.    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    12 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    216 2.    Suzuki    179 3.    KTM    166 4.    Honda    158 5.    Kawasaki    87 6.    TM    67 7.    Aprilia    51 8.    CCM    27 RACE REPORT     10/05/2009 Guarneri 4th through Agueda bumps Guarneri      Guarneri The Grand Prix of Portugal represented the fifth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship and the warm Agueda circuit was the stage for Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri to fight off the effects of a stomach sickness to take 4th position; his fourth top five finish of the season so far on the YZ250FM. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the Italian tussling for positions inside the top three of both motos across a slippery and very bumpy terrain. He placed 5th in Moto1 and was running as high as 2nd for a long part of Moto2 before succumbing to his low stamina and slipping one place to 3rd. The 24 year old still managed to demonstrate decent consistency and was just 4 points from his first podium appearance of the campaign.     Larrieu Larrieu Team-mate Loic Larrieu took an excellent qualification position with third spot on Saturday. The French teenager repeated his bright starts from the gate to ride to 6th and 5th despite a sore foot and record his highest finish of his rookie season so far with 5th overall. The third member of the team, Nico Aubin, had been suffering during the week with a virus and finished a course of antibiotics on Saturday. The Frenchman could take 8th place in Moto1 but a first lap crash in Moto2 left him at the back of the field and he retired, exhausted after six laps. Saturday's activities were unlucky for the Utag Yamaha.com team and Zach Osborne in particular. The American had set the seventh fastest lap-time in the first practice session but then had a mechanical problem and crashed in the pre-qualification. The Grand Prix of Turkey winner chipped his left radius bone and is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks. Agueda saw the second round of the Women's World Championship but the weekend did not last long for Tarah Geiger as the American clipped a post and crashed on the first lap of the first moto and broke her right wrist. Guarneri is now 3rd and 24 points from the lead in the world championship standings. Osborne is 7th and 2 points in front of Aubin, while Larrieu is 11th. Round six takes place at the Bellpuig circuit next week for the Grand Prix of Catalunya. Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th: "Today was good. My speed was at the top and only 0.1 or 0.2 away from these French riders! The fast guys all started at the front and it was a good battle at times. I have been feeling sick since yesterday and although this did not affect how fast I can go, it did mean my energy was low and the last ten minutes of both motos were very hard. I had two good starts and that was important for me. The results are consistent but I am trying each GP to reach the podium." Loic Larrieu, Utag Yamaha.com, 5th: "It was a good weekend for me. It started well in qualifying and I could finish 3rd. Today was more difficult because I missed a rut and hit my foot but I could make two good starts in the top two positions and I finished 6th and 5th; that's good result and very positive for my confidence." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 14th: "I have been sick again and was taking antibiotics for five days before this GP. I thought I had got rid of this problem after Turkey and now I just hope that in the next two to three days my body will be clear of it. I started in the top ten of the first moto and did my own race and speed. Things were not too bad, eighth is not great but acceptable because I felt low on energy. In the second moto I had a crash on the second lap and when I restarted I managed one lap before feeling completely empty; there was no way I could do any more." Crowd: 25,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     39'53.534 2     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     0'02.587 3     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     0'02.923 4     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'21.629 5     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'29.869 6     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     0'33.387 7     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'40.667 8     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'43.076 9     Ken Roczen     Suzuki     GER     0'47.651 10     Alessandro Lupino     Yamaha     ITA     0'50.485 11     Joel Roelants     KTM     BEL     0'53.004 12     Evgeny Bobryshev     Yamaha     RUS     0'55.186 13     Stephen Sword     KTM     GBR     1'19.580 14     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'26.841 15     Yohei Kojima     Suzuki     JPN     1'31.021 16     Cedric Soubeyras     Yamaha     FRA     1'37.165 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     39'10.794 2     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     0'07.812 3     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'10.843 4     Ken Roczen     Suzuki     GER     0'13.149 5     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     0'15.004 6     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     0'25.511 7     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     0'27.974 8     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'33.318 9     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'47.567 10     Marcus Schiffer     KTM     GER     1'00.810 11     Alessandro Lupino     Yamaha     ITA     1'07.748 12     Jeremy Van Horebeek     KTM     BEL     1'13.836 13     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'18.882 14     Evgeny Bobryshev     Yamaha     RUS     1'36.007 15     Stephen Sword     KTM     GBR     1'44.852 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    171 2.    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    165 3.    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    147 4.    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    125 5.    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    108 6.    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    105 7.    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    100 8.    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    98 9.    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    97 10.    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    72 11.    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    70 12.    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    67 13.    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    66 14.    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    61 15.    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    56 19.    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    38 27.    Cedric Soubeyras    Yamaha    FRA    15 34.    Deny Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    6 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Kawasaki    191 2.    KTM    180 3.    Yamaha    177 4.    Honda    171 5.    Suzuki    128 6.    TM    5
Alex Asigno
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. A red flag was issued and the race restarted. The race then became a battle at the front between Haga, Fabrizio and Spies for the lead. By lap nine Spies had a one second advantage over the Ducatis as they fought for second, Fabrizio ending up the stronger and closing in. Three laps from the end Fabrizio drafted Spies on the main straight to take the lead going into the first chicane, only for Spies to take it back on the penultimate lap. The Yamaha rider then led convincingly and was looking a certainty for the win until running out of fuel as he took the Parabolica corner for the last time heading for the start finish straight.He managed to coast to the line but was in 15th position by the time he passed the chequered flag. Team-mate Tom Sykes started well from tenth on the grid and was eighth by the end of the first lap. Consistent race pace saw him take two more positions over the duration, crossing the line in sixth to take more points. Race two saw Spies hungry to make up the misfortune of race one. Off the line he slipped into second behind Haga briefly before moving into the lead when Haga was struck by a bird on the first corner. From this point his win was never in doubt as the Texan put his head down and laid down lap after lap of fast perfect lines, adding a second gap per lap between himself and second position Fabrizio. As the race tipped over halfway point Spies slowed to ensure the issue of race one was not repeated, taking the chequered flag over 2.6 seconds ahead of second placed Fabrizio. British rider Sykes had another consistent race in the second outing of the day, moving up from tenth to sixth position, but was unable to find the extra pace to pass fifth placed Biaggi by the end of the race. Ben Spies leaves Monza having closed the gap to championship leader Haga, he heads to Kyalami with 146 points, 54 behind the lead. Sykes heads to South Africa having moved up to fifth in the championship on 90 points and now trails Haslam by only 13. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (15th, 1st) "Race one was a tough pill to swallow, it was a hard one to get by but that's racing I guess. Race two I had a clear strategy and made sure I got into a really good rhythm in the first 12 to 14 laps to build a safety buffer. Obviously we had a problem at the end of race one which I didn't want to repeat so slowed a bit there and short shifted a bit to make sure everything was good to the end. The bike was good and could have run fast times all the way through but I wanted to make sure we got this one in the bag. The Yamaha team did great regrouping after race one and me too I think! Hopefully we can keep going and improving from here. I want to say congratulations for Michel in race one, but I couldn't give it to him so easily in race two." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (6th, 6th) "In race one I got away ok, but the problem was getting stuck in that first chicane as I was starting from row three. As soon as it bottled up everything got spread out and unfortunately the lead group spread a long way and was hard to catch. I got past a couple of people and to be honest I thought I was going to catch them but halfway through the race I suffered from some brake fading. It was very unfortunate. In race two I got off the line fairly decently and had good race pace, I was looking quite strong but not able to get that last little bit. I guess it was one of those weekends, I've been fairly fast and consistent but spoilt it a bit with the qualifying. I'm very confident in the bike and the team, especially for Kyalami and hope to have better memories after the race than when I tested there! All in all good weekend, two more scores on the board and moving up to fifth in the championship is great." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "The first race was very frustrating for us but I think Ben proved what he is capable of. A big thank you to him because he answered race one in the best possible way. We seem to have either 25 points or 0 in races at the moment! I am very optimistic about the next two races because in South Africa Ben was really fast with an almost standard bike, and now we know the performance of the R1 is better so we think we can do a really good job. Miller should also be good as it's a home track for Ben. In the end we have reduced the leadership gap to Nori which is good. Tom was really consistent today, he's coming better and better every race weekend and without making mistakes in the race. I think as the second part of the championship approaches he will get stronger and stronger. A big thanks to the team and also the suppliers who helped us to be ready with the new colours in time for this weekend." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.073 (Ben Spies, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 10/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     31'50.758 2     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     0'00.239 3     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'08.175 4     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     0'11.001 5     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'12.447 6     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'13.693 7     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'19.172 8     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     0'24.989 9     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'26.930 10     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     0'27.418 11     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'27.752 12     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'29.545 13     Shinya Nakano     Aprilia     JPN     0'30.952 14     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'31.414 15     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     0'36.998 22     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     0'58.214 Race 2 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     31'49.252 2     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'02.665 3     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'02.810 4     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'07.706 5     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'07.863 6     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'10.383 7     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'11.586 8     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'21.112 9     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'22.112 10     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'22.261 11     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     0'23.453 12     Shinya Nakano     Aprilia     JPN     0'32.956 13     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     0'37.166 14     Luca Scassa     Kawasaki     ITA     0'43.085 15     Matteo Baiocco     Kawasaki     ITA     0'43.088 19     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     1'17.915 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1'45.336 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    200 2.    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    146 3.    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    125 4.    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    103 5.    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    90 6.    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    81 7.    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    77 8.    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    77 9.    Max Neukirchner    Suzuki    GER    75 10.    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    65 11.    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    56 12.    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    53 13.    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    52 14.    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    41 15.    Ruben Xaus    BMW    ESP    40 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Ducati    225 2.    Yamaha    180 3.    Honda    141 4.    Suzuki    89 5.    Aprilia    84 6.    BMW    59 7.    Kawasaki    19 RACE REPORT     10/05/2009 Yamaha dominate the Supersport podium It was a fantastic race for the Yamaha World Supersport Team as both riders fought hard for the duration, taking well earned places on the podium at the chequered flag. Fabien Foret initially dropped to eighth place at the start but worked hard to make the places back up again. Cal Crutchlow was a constant presence in the top group, taking the lead from Laverty in a fast overtake on lap five at the Ascari chicane. Foret moved up swiftly behind him, taking second position. The two pushed on at the front until lap ten when a daring pass up the inside by Laverty at the Roggia chicane put him past both Yamaha riders and into the lead. Not content to sit back, Foret took the lead back as they turned through the Parabolica and headed out onto the straight. In a show of the incredible speed of the Yamaha R6 Crutchlow then came back to take both Foret and Laverty at the end of the start finish straight heading into lap 11. Lap 13 saw Foret run wide, allowing Laverty and Lascorz through, while Crutchlow began to extend his lead. Lascorz then made a crucial error on lap 14, sitting up and forcing Laverty wide, allowing Foret to get past. Foret then tussled with Lascorz but eventually accepted third position and a long awaited podium whilst his team-mate Crutchlow had put a definitive gap between him and the second placed Kawasaki rider for the chequered flag. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (1st) "it's going really good here at Monza and I'm really happy with the race. We came here looking to finish in the top five to be honest on a circuit I don't know. We did a good job this weekend at Yamaha so thanks to everyone who put a lot of effort in. we were never as fast as we could have been but we worked hard. When I got the break in the race today I went for it, I was willing to do anything to win, you could see by some of the passes I was taking no prisoners! It's all credit to the team who got me here so a great win for the team!" Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (3rd) "I'm pretty happy, I can clearly fight again now and I'm not injured anymore. I made a few mistakes in the race and someone hit my exhaust pipe which didn't help. It was a tough one but I enjoyed it and I think I'm back and definitely looking forward to the next one now." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "We are first and third, and for me the whole weekend was good, not just the race which can be a bit of a gamble as you saw with the Superbikes . You can easily make a mistake here and accidents can happen so I'm really happy nothing went majorly wrong in the supersport race. I'm really pleased to have both the riders on the podium, it's great we leave here extending our championship lead and with Fabien taking good points away as well." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.706 (Cal Crutchlow, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 10/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     29'34.605 2     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     0'02.660 3     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     0'02.716 4     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     0'02.780 5     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     0'09.270 6     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     0'09.332 7     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     0'20.178 8     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     0'20.221 9     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     0'22.681 10     Gianluca Nannelli     Triumph     ITA     0'26.993 11     Franco Battaini     Yamaha     ITA     0'31.343 12     Miguel Praia     Honda     POR     0'32.236 13     Barry Veneman     Suzuki     NED     0'32.695 14     Gianluca Vizziello     Honda     ITA     0'33.216 15     Alessandro Polita     Suzuki     ITA     0'33.652 17     Doni Tata Pradita     Yamaha     IDN     0'44.249 22     Jose Morillas     Yamaha     ESP     1'45.778 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'49.728 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    99 2.    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    81 3.    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    72 4.    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    54 5.    Anthony West    Honda    AUS    52 6.    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    47 7.    Fabien Foret    Yamaha    FRA    44 8.    Mark Aitchison    Honda    AUS    34 9.    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    33 10.    Barry Veneman    Suzuki    NED    28 11.    Matthieu Lagrive    Honda    FRA    25 12.    Robbin Harms    Honda    DNK    23 13.    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    23 14.    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    20 15.    Massimo Roccoli    Honda    ITA    20 20.    Franco Battaini    Yamaha    ITA    5 21.    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    1 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Honda    108 2.    Yamaha    99 3.    Kawasaki    58 4.    Suzuki    28 5.    Triumph    27
Alex Asigno
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 tyre with its distinctive yellow stripe, and the lap time tumbled as Spies displayed what is now becoming almost expected, a scorching Superpole lap and a new lap record. Team-mate Tom Spies had a more frustrating Superpole experience, having started well on a qualifier in the first session he made it through safely to the second. The young British rider's flying lap saw him quick enough through the first two splits to go through to the final session, however he came up against another rider on a slow down lap halfway round the infamous Parabolica corner, losing nearly half a second in the process and sealing his fate outside the top ten for the final heat. Sykes will now start tomorrow's races from the third row of the grid. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 1'44.073) "It's been really good here at Monza this weekend. The approach has been a bit different, we've kind of tried to sneak up on everyone and been working really hard on the race setup through the sessions. We've been working quietly away in the garage and I think the bike is going to be really good in the race. I really wanted to get this one for Yamaha on their home track so it was great to be able to take the Superpole for the team. It looks like it could be a bit of a dogfight tomorrow, hopefully we'll have some guys up there to mix it up and shake up the points a little bit." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (10th 1'45.383) "Qualifying was a fairly steady session, we tried a couple more things to cross some boxes, so it was constructive. We got some more information out of it which helped towards the Superpole. We did the first Superpole heat ok, the aim of the game was to get into the top sixteen and we did that. I was fairly confident for the second one, I knew I was on a good lap and everything felt really nice and smooth but coming into the last corner, Kiyonari was in front of me. He was going pretty slowly and then sat up and we nearly came together. I lost half a second there and didn't have time to get back and change tyres for another go. I'm very disappointed as I feel that our race pace for tomorrow is quite strong and we are having to start from row three. Hopefully we can get a good clean start and get through the first chicane and try and go with the leading bunch as I know we can stay with them." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "After the pole position we are quite confident that tomorrow we can run a good race. Here in Monza the two races will be really close at the start with a lot of riders in a tight pack for the first half but I think after that just a few riders will fight for the win. I think tomorrow we will see two very good races." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.073 (Ben Spies, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 09/05/2009 Superpole Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     1'44.073 2     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1'44.270 3     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     1'44.642 4     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     1'44.900 5     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     1'45.096 6     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     1'45.170 7     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     1'45.605 8     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     1'45.861 9     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     1'45.166 10     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     1'45.383 11     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     1'45.543 12     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     1'45.663 13     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     1'46.638 14     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     1'46.571 15     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     1'46.593 Qualifying 2 Pos.     Rider     Nat.     QUAL I     QUAL II 1     Michel Fabrizio     ITA     1'45.447     1'44.974 2     Max Neukirchner     GER     1'45.962     1'45.224 3     Jonathan Rea     GBR     1'45.919     1'45.373 4     Noriyuki Haga     JPN     1'45.790     1'45.448 5     Max Biaggi     ITA     1'46.054     1'45.748 6     Ben Spies     USA     1'46.013     1'45.755 7     Tom Sykes     GBR     1'45.758     1'45.941 8     Leon Haslam     GBR     1'46.208     1'45.919 9     Yukio Kagayama     JPN     1'45.985     1'46.069 10     Ryuichi Kiyonari     JPN     1'46.171     1'45.988 11     Regis Laconi     FRA     1'47.078     1'46.103 12     Carlos Checa     ESP     1'46.140     1'46.337 13     Shane Byrne     GBR     1'46.164     1'46.690 14     Jakub Smrz     CZE     1'46.363     1'46.264 15     Karl Muggeridge     AUS     1'46.690     1'46.319 25     David Checa     ESP     1'48.920     1'47.868 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT     09/05/2009 Crutchlow and Foret claim the front row Cal Crutchlow made it an incredible fourth consecutive pole position start in a row today. The Yamaha World Supersport rider and the R6 continue to be a devastating combination on any circuit. Crutchlow was on the pace from the word go and never ventured far from the top spot for the duration of the session. In taking pole position he also broke the lap record of 1'49.868 set here last year by Broc Parkes on the Yamaha R6. Team-mate Fabien Foret was also on top form, having won here at Monza last year, the French rider set out today to show he means business and wants the podium again on race day. A fast, consistent qualifying session ensured Foret starts on the front row with his team-mate tomorrow, in 3rd position. Foret also came in under last year's lap record set by his previous team-mate Parkes. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (1st, 1'49.706) "It was a good enough session, I wasn't really happy with the time at the end because I could have gone a lot quicker. We had a few problems with the bike throughout the session. We did our fastest time on the 14th lap of the tyre and then went slower on a brand new tyre so it was a bit weird how that worked. Race pace is good though, I'm looking forward to the race, I think we can hopefully win it tomorrow and gain a bigger lead in the championship." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (3rd, 1'49.803) "We have a few things we're trying to improve a little bit but I'm actually pretty happy with the package now and tyre wise it's also not too bad so it's looking good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I've started in fifth a few times now with hardly any time between me and the front row so this time I wanted to make sure I could finish in the front. For me though what is important is to finish on the podium tomorrow." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "it was a good qualifying heat. Fabien had a good session, he was happy and fast which was great. Cal is pole again which is fantastic, he still had some difficulties to solve but nothing major. They are both capable of doing a good race tomorrow and it's brilliant to have them both on the front row, the first time this year." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.706 (Cal Crutchlow, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 09/05/2009 Qualifying 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'49.706 2     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     1'49.739 3     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     1'49.803 4     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     1'50.006 5     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     1'50.407 6     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     1'50.636 7     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     1'50.733 8     Gianluca Nannelli     Triumph     ITA     1'50.798 9     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     1'50.828 10     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     1'50.861 11     Matthieu Lagrive     Honda     FRA     1'50.907 12     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     1'51.281 13     Franco Battaini     Yamaha     ITA     1'51.429 14     Massimo Roccoli     Honda     ITA     1'51.517 15     Miguel Praia     Honda     POR     1'51.682 23     Doni Tata Pradita     Yamaha     IDN     1'53.025 27     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1'53.351 28     Jose Morillas     Yamaha     ESP     1'56.328
Alex Asigno
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, Yamaha rider Ben Spies decided he wanted to make it personal so signed the HJC helmet he’d used for the session and handed it over for the auction. Team-mate Tom Sykes took time out after the session to sign some items of Yamaha Racing clothing to join the donations. Both HJC and the Yamaha team were delighted to be able to offer something to help those affected by the tragic earthquake that hit the community of Abruzzo so tragically on April 6th. The items collected from the riders will be up for auction in the World Superbike paddock show at Monza following Superpole on the Saturday afternoon. Racing legend and 2008 World Superbike champion Troy Bayliss will be present to help auction the unique racing items and raise money for the worthy cause.
Alex Asigno
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 third place, just behind his team-mate. Ben Spies was in equally reliable form in the Italian sunshine, focusing on tyre wear and race pace he ran consistent laps all day, finishing the afternoon's qualifying session in seventh position, less than 0.3 of a second off Sykes. The American rider spent the entire qualifying session on a single set of tyres to test the wear rate on the warm circuit. The morning's free practice session saw Spies predictably fast on a circuit he's coming to know well through testing, he finished the session second, less than 0.3 seconds behind the leader. Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (2nd, 1'45.758) "A fairly decent day to day to be honest, we came here with a big change from the test we had here which has taken a fair bit of balancing but I think we've done it. Overall I'm very happy with my race tyres, we're doing consistent fast laps over race distance so I'm confident in the team's ability and tomorrow I think we'll come out even stronger. I'm going to have a good sleep tonight and come back tomorrow with a fresh head and be even better!" Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (7th, 1'46.013) "It was a really good session for us. We pretty much found our race tyres , we only ran one set for the whole session and put in some really good lap times. We weren't really worried about fast lap times today, we just wanted to get consistent laps so we should be good for Sunday. It's an 18 lap race and our fastest lap today was the 22nd one so it's looking good. The bike's working really well so we'll step it up tomorrow and see what happens." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "A good session for us, we were working to find the best set up for the race I think we're pretty ready. We've made no major changes from the previous test here, just some small changes to improve and fine tune. The race pace was good so we're satisfied, I think we are 90% there for Sunday." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.931 (Troy Bayliss, 11/05/2008) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 08/05/2009 Qualifying 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1'45.447 2     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     1'45.758 3     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     1'45.790 4     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     1'45.919 5     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     1'45.962 6     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     1'45.985 7     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     1'46.013 8     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     1'46.054 9     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     1'46.140 10     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     1'46.164 11     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     1'46.171 12     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     1'46.208 13     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     1'46.363 14     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     1'46.545 15     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     1'46.565 27     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     1'48.920 FREE PRACTICE REPORT     08/05/2009 Crutchlow and Foret get straight down to it in Monza Both Cal Crutchlow and Fabien Foret got down to business quickly in Monza today. Crutchlow used the free practice session to familiarize himself with yet another new circuit, something he managed to do in just a few laps as his searingly quick pace showed at the end of the session. A small tumble early in the session did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm. His last lap of the day turning out to be the fastest of the Supersport riders, sending a clear message to his competitors that he means business on Sunday. Team-mate Foret was well and truly back on form, having picked up his pace dramatically in Assen and showed his old racing style, he got down to it quickly in Monza today and put in consistently fast laps at the top of the pack, leading the session briefly before settling for fourth at the end, less than 0.5 of a second off his team-mate. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (1st, 1'50.594) "It was good enough for me over the session, but I had a little bit of an off which I'm disappointed about. Every time I stick new boots on I crash! We worked hard this afternoon and done a lot of laps in the session. The race distance was good on the tyres so I'm happy enough, hopefully we can go into the weekend confident now. The second corner is weird, it's absolutely flat out, you don't shut off at all on a 600 and it took a bit of getting used to, there's barrier all the way round and it kind of suck s you in! It's nice to be quickest on the last lap and on one set of tyres, let's hope we can keep that up over the weekend." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (4th, 1'50.934) "It was good for me, I found my pace pretty easily, I used a very similar bike set-up to last year which was very good. Obviously we tried to update it a bit but right now it's working really well and I'm not pushing 100% yet so I would say everything is under control and good up to now. I enjoyed being out there on the bike and having fun on the track today, . I'm pretty happy and looking forward to tomorrow." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "It seems to be that Cal likes the track, not bad for his first time here and on provisional pole. Both the riders are happy, Fabien particularly likes this track. They both tried some different things in the session, including an Assen setting and the Monza setting from last year. We have a good direction as a result of the session, we've got a good combination of tyres which we didn't have last year so everything seems to be under control! Cal had a little off, he started with a tyre which was probably not the best and had a small front end slide. The problem here is that anything is a high speed incident but he's ok, no injuries so we're looking forward to tomorrow with confidence." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.868 (Broc Parkes, 11/05/2008) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 08/05/2009 Free Practice Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'50.594 2     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     1'50.605 3     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     1'50.749 4     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     1'50.934 5     Matthieu Lagrive     Honda     FRA     1'51.474 6     Danilo Dell'omo     Honda     ITA     1'51.783 7     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     1'51.860 8     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     1'51.920 9     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     1'51.929 10     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     1'51.939 11     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     1'52.027 12     Massimo Roccoli     Honda     ITA     1'52.073 13     Franco Battaini     Yamaha     ITA     1'52.122 14     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     1'52.154 15     Gianluca Vizziello     Honda     ITA     1'52.383 24     Doni Tata Pradita     Yamaha     IDN     1'54.392 26     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1'54.957 29     Jose Morillas     Yamaha     ESP     1'57.147
Alex Asigno
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. Sterilgada are a familiar face in the WSB paddock, having been keen supporters and partners of racing teams and riders for some time. The 2009 Yamaha World Superbike Team has had a strong start to the 2009 season with a new bike and new riders, making it an attractive proposition for sponsors, the team have already won four out of the eight races run so far with rookie Ben Spies who is regularly fighting at the front of the pack for the race win and currently sits second in the championship.     Sterilgarda Sponsorship Sterilgarda Sponsorship “We are really happy to be able to link our brand with The Yamaha World Superbike Team,” said Nando Sarzi, the owner of Sterilgarda Alimenti. “We’re really excited to be able share the racing emotions and success with the team, starting with Monza this weekend, the home race for both the team and our company. Professionalism and quality are two common, shared elements that drive both Sterilgarda and Yamaha in the search for great success.” “It’s fantastic to have Sterilgarda onboard,” said Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division. “It’s very positive to have such a well known brand in the paddock recognize how successful the Yamaha World Superbike Team is and want to be part of it. We’re looking forward to working together and this being the start of a long term relationship.”
Alex Asigno
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 and defending number one Chad Reed; the pair had been trading places at the top of the standings throughout the campaign. Stewart carried a six point advantage and could afford to ride conservatively and within distance of Reed. He led for the opening laps of the Main Event but relinquished control to Ryan Villopoto and then withstood close pressure from Reed, no doubt hoping to force a mistake, before settling for third behind the Australian and confirming the championship by just four points. "I might not have ridden the best tonight, but I did what I had to do, and I'm so happy," said Stewart who had previously won in both classes at Las Vegas and managed to stretch his career tally of wins to 36 through his efforts in 2009. "It's so emotional. There is so much hard work that went into this, and honestly I'm exhausted right now because it's been the toughest year for me. Every race this year, I've had to win, and that's hard mentally. I don't think anybody's ever been in a situation where they had to win every race. Chad has been on the podium 16 out of 17 races this year, so I had to win after Anaheim I, and then after Daytona. It pays off to have a great team, a great trainer, and a great supporting cast. I'm so happy." 2009 was the first season for the Floridian on the YZ450F and he already forged a milestone by becoming the first rider to give Yamaha 11 victories in one term (an achievement not even seen in the dominant era of Jeremy McGrath, although '09 was only the sixth season since the inception of the sport in 1974 in which the calendar stretched to 17 rounds). Stewart only finished off the podium twice and his DNF at Anaheim for round one was the sole blight on his scorecard. "I've said it before, but I don't care if I win by 100 points or one point, I won it, and I don't care what anybody says," he added. "I won this championship, and my team won this championship, and I won it fair and square. I had the most race wins, and I had the most points. I won't take anything away from Chad. Hat's off to him, he rode great this year, but the number-one plate's mine now." Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant registered a twelfth top ten finish of his rookie season with 7th in Las Vegas. The youngster's victory at Anaheim 1 meant that Yamaha owned 12 of the 17 races in 2009 and Grant was able to cap the year with 4th overall in the championship. Circuit Length: n/a Crowd: 39,506 Weather: Dry Lap Record: 0'52.030 (Kevin Windham, 01/01/2004) Last Years Winner: Chad Reed 2009 AMA-SX Las Vegas, NV 03/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ryan Villopoto     Kawasaki     USA     22'25.438 2     Chad Reed     Suzuki     AUS     0'08.090 3     James Stewart     Yamaha     USA     0'28.033 4     Kevin Windham     Honda     USA     0'35.783 5     Ivan Tedesco     Honda     USA     0'43.639 6     Mike Alessi     Suzuki     USA     0'55.968 7     Josh Grant     Yamaha     USA     1'00.509 8     Andrew Short     Honda     USA     -1Laps 9     Nathan Ramsey     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps 10     David D Millsaps     Honda     USA     -1Laps 11     Jason Thomas     Honda     USA     -1Laps 12     Nicholas Wey     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps 13     Paul Carpenter     Kawasaki     USA     -1Laps 14     Matt Boni     Honda     USA     -1Laps 15     Jesse Casillas     KTM     USA     -2Laps Rider Standings     02/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    James Stewart    Yamaha    USA    377 2.    Chad Reed    Suzuki    AUS    373 3.    Andrew Short    Honda    USA    270 4.    Josh Grant    Yamaha    USA    237 5.    Kevin Windham    Honda    USA    236 6.    Ryan Villopoto    Kawasaki    USA    233 7.    Ivan Tedesco    Honda    USA    226 8.    David D Millsaps    Honda    USA    219 9.    Mike Alessi    Suzuki    USA    218 10.    Josh Hill    Yamaha    USA    146 11.    Heath Voss    Honda    USA    103 12.    Matt Boni    Honda    USA    103 13.    Tim Ferry    Kawasaki    USA    100 14.    Nicholas Wey    Yamaha    USA    98 15.    Paul Carpenter    Kawasaki    USA    96 16.    Kyle Chisholm    Yamaha    USA    80 17.    Broc Hepler    Yamaha    USA    76 20.    Jason Lawrence    Yamaha    USA    43 25.    Nathan Ramsey    Yamaha    USA    27 40.    Sean Hamblin    Yamaha    USA    3 Manufacturer Standings     02/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    408 2.    Suzuki    377 3.    Honda    318 4.    Kawasaki    278 5.    KTM    79
Alex Asigno
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 from fourth on the grid, Rossi held his position at the start and managed to pass Lorenzo on the final turn of the second lap. Casey Stoner was the next target and the Italian quickly began to close the gap, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap four. Rossi and Stoner exchanged a couple of entertaining passes in the next few laps before the Yamaha rider made it stick at the end of the seventh lap, with the gap to Dani Pedrosa in the lead then standing at 1.2 seconds. The middle section of the race saw Rossi making little headway into the Spaniard's lead but at two-thirds distance he suddenly found a new rhythm and started shaving tenths off the gap, making the definitive move and claiming the lead with 10 laps to go. From then on there was only one winner and the irrepressible 30-year-old brought his M1 home 2.7 seconds clear of second-placed Pedrosa. Ever the joker, Rossi took advantage of the moment to replicate one of his most famous post-race stunts ten years on, making a stop on his victory lap to pop into a track side portable toilet, to the delight of the 120,000-strong crowd. After his dazzling pole position Lorenzo was fully expecting to challenge for the win but the higher track temperature today caused problems and he lacked the grip and pace of yesterday. The Mallorcan, who turns 22 tomorrow, spent most of the race in a lonely fourth position but in the final stages began to close on Stoner and looked like he might have a podium chance. With the gap down to under half a second the excitement began to build in the 99 side of the garage but with just four laps to go he lost the front and went down, emerging unhurt from the gravel trap but with damage to his foot peg and throttle meaning there was no chance to finish the race. Rossi now leads Stoner by 11 points in the standings, whilst Lorenzo slips to third, 13 points adrift of the Australian. The MotoGP paddock will reconvene on French soil in ten days time for round four in Le Mans. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1stTime: 45'18.557 "This is a wonderful victory because yesterday we were really quite worried! I couldn't ride how I wanted to and it was very hard. We had to work all together to understand how to fix the problem and finally we made a big change to try to make the bike feel how I like in the corner, which worked, so I have to say a huge thank you to Jeremy and all my guys. This morning we could tell immediately that things were much better and then we made a couple more small changes after warm-up, which made my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres feel even better. The race was long and quite hard - I lost some time getting past Lorenzo at the start and then I had a good battle with Stoner, which I enjoyed. After that I wasn't so fast and I couldn't close the gap to Pedrosa for a while; he was very quick but finally things improved and I was able to catch and pass him. It's great to win again and especially here in Jerez, which I love. It's ten years since I made the joke with the toilet here and so I thought it would be funny to do it again if I won - I liked that a lot! Now I hope that the changes we've made here will help us for the rest of the season. Thanks again to everyone!" Jorge Lorenzo - Position: DNF "I am very sad, because I was so fast all weekend and on pole position. Unfortunately today the temperature meant that our setting did not work in the same way and at the moment we don't understand why. This is really more disappointing than the actual crash. Fourth position wouldn't have been so bad but when you're in front of your fans, at home with so much adrenalin on the bike of course you try to do the maximum. I could see that the podium was possible and maybe the right thing would have been to go more gently and not push so hard in that moment, but I always want to do my best. Then I made a mistake and I threw all my good work away. We have to try to forget this and wake up feeling positive tomorrow because Le Mans is near. I'm sorry to all the fans who came to see me, to my team, family and to everybody!" Davide Brivio - Team Manager "This is a very important victory and after two second places everyone in the team was waiting for it and really wanted it. To win like this is something special; after being in trouble and quite sad on Saturday there was a lot of effort, long meetings, hard work by all the engineers, mechanics and technicians and finally we were able to give a good package to Valentino. If you can make Valentino feel happy on the bike then he will always give you this kind of performance and today it was wonderful to watch. This has to be our target every time. I am very happy and proud of all our guys, and of course of Valentino!" Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We're very disappointed for today's result. After excellent practice and qualifying sessions we expected to be on the podium but with the warmer temperature Jorge lost grip on the rear. At the end he was catching Stoner but then he lost the front and that was that! Now we need to make a deep analysis of why we had these unexpected problems and make sure they don't happen again. It's bad luck but now we will look forward to Le Mans, where we had a great result last year." Seventh for Edwards in scorching Spain, Toseland battles to 13th The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team ended a scorching hot Spanish MotoGP race with hard fought points scoring finishes for Colin Edwards and James Toseland. Texan Edwards starred in one of the most fiercely contested battles of the 27-lap encounter, dicing throughout with Italian duo Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 123,340 fans. Edwards expertly moved his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine by Capirossi to take seventh on lap ten, and four laps later he passed Melandri to set about securing his second top six in the opening three races. Small issues with his rear suspension setting though saw Edwards lose a superb last lap battle with Capirossi that left him only 1.3s away from a superb top five finish. Today's result though keeps Edwards in the top six in the championship standings and leading non-factory rider. British rider Toseland rode a determined race to finish 13th, the 28-year-old unable to progress any further through the field as he never found a comfortable set-up on his YZR-M1 machine. He showed his battling qualities though to fend off a persistent challenge from Alex de Angelis. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now takes a deserved break before its home race at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on May 17, with expectations high after Edwards finished third in 2008. Colin Edwards - Position: 7th Time: +0'34.421 "I got a really good start but right from the first lap I knew I wasn't going to be able to run the pace I needed. The guys in front just gapped me immediately and I couldn't get the bike to turn. We went in the wrong direction yesterday when it was hot, so for the race we went back to the setting I'd had in the morning when the track temperature was a bit cooler. In the cooler temperatures that setting was fine, but once the temperature goes up I just couldn't get into the rhythm I want and know I was capable of. I wanted to be smooth and precise but I couldn't do that. I was having to adjust my style to get some weight on the rear to help the bike turn, but it wasn't enough for me to get into the top six and that's a bit frustrating." James Toseland - Position: 13th Time: +0'53.683 "It has been a tough weekend and we have got some issues to sort out. We're still trying a few things on the bike and I'm still searching for a comfortable setting over a race distance. I still need a second or so on race pace but I need to sort out qualifying too. I can do the same times as four or five guys in front of me, but when you're all lapping at the same pace, it's hard to come through. I'm giving myself too much to do from qualifying and being too far back. You don't need to be too far off but if you start at the back you stay at the back in a competitive class like this. It has not been a great start to the season but I don't feel we're that far away. We've got a lot of information from this weekend and we're eliminating things that we know don't work. I'm confident we're close to finding the setting I need and working hard with my guys to find it." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a difficult race and in the first two races I have to say we were a little bit closer to the front. It's a shame that Colin wasn't quite comfortable enough with the setting to fight closer with (Loris) Capirossi and (Marco) Melandri at the end. A top six would have been well deserved for his hard effort and maybe fifth was achievable. It was also a tough weekend for James. His lap times in the race were not too bad but it is clear he must improve in qualifying. He is capable of a much stronger performance, but it is difficult when you don't qualify well. The start of the race now is crucial and qualifying is something that he will work on with his team. Everybody at Tech 3 is now looking forward to our home race. We know Le Mans is very good circuit for Yamaha and last year Colin was on the podium behind Jorge (Lorenzo) and Valentino (Rossi). I'd also like to thank Mark Hall from Monster Energy for his support this weekend. The Yamaha Tech 3 team is delighted to have Monster Energy as our title sponsor, and I'm sure our partnership will bring success in the future." Circuit Length: 4423 Temp: 27 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'38.189 (Jorge Lorenzo, 30/03/2008) Last Years Winner: Daniel Pedrosa 2009 MotoGP Spain - Jerez de la Frontera 03/05/2009 Race 1 - 27 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Valentino Rossi     Yamaha     ITA     45'18.557 2     Daniel Pedrosa     Honda     ESP     0'02.700 3     Casey Stoner     Ducati     AUS     0'10.507 4     Randy De Puniet     Honda     FRA     0'31.893 5     Marco Melandri     Kawasaki     ITA     0'33.128 6     Loris Capirossi     Suzuki     ITA     0'34.128 7     Colin Edwards     Yamaha     USA     0'34.421 8     Andrea Dovizioso     Honda     ITA     0'34.625 9     Toni Elias     Honda     ESP     0'42.689 10     Chris Vermeulen     Suzuki     AUS     0'45.183 11     Sete Gibernau     Ducati     ESP     0'48.192 12     Yuki Takahashi     Honda     JPN     0'51.875 13     James Toseland     Yamaha     GBR     0'53.683 14     Alex De Angelis     Honda     SMR     0'53.941 15     Nicky Hayden     Ducati     USA     1'01.237 Rider Standings     03/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    ITA    65 2.    Casey Stoner    Ducati    AUS    54 3.    Daniel Pedrosa    Honda    ESP    41 4.    Jorge Lorenzo    Yamaha    ESP    41 5.    Andrea Dovizioso    Honda    ITA    30 6.    Colin Edwards    Yamaha    USA    26 7.    Randy De Puniet    Honda    FRA    24 8.    Marco Melandri    Kawasaki    ITA    23 9.    Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    AUS    21 10.    Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    ITA    19 11.    Mika Kallio    Ducati    FIN    16 12.    Alex De Angelis    Honda    SMR    15 13.    Toni Elias    Honda    ESP    14 14.    James Toseland    Yamaha    GBR    10 15.    Sete Gibernau    Ducati    ESP    8 Manufacturer Standings     03/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    70 2.    Ducati    54 3.    Honda    47 4.    Suzuki    28 5.    Kawasaki    23
Alex Asigno
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 advantage with just one meeting remaining. Stewart became the first rider to give Yamaha eleven victories in a season and have increased the manufacturer's total to 67 triumphs since the turn of the century, more than a third more than their nearest competitor. "My biggest thing is just to try to stay away from the drama because at the end of the day, you want to race a guy and go to sleep knowing that you raced him as hard as you could, and clean, and didn't take anybody out," said Stewart on the tense situation between himself and Reed. "He wanted to win tonight, and I wanted to win tonight, and I think I just got lucky enough and I was able to pull it off, so I feel great," added the LandM San Manuel rider who won the sixth main event to take place in Utah and became the first rider to gain victories in both classes at the venue. Stewart dealt Reed a swift blow as the reigning champion gained the holeshot but was unable to sprint away from the challenger. With half the Main Event gone, Stewart pounced for the lead and defeated the Australian in a straight shoot-out. Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant was sixth and now stands a good chance of confirming 4th place in the championship thanks to a 5 point gap over Kevin Windham. The season curtain closer will fittingly take place on a spectacular stage with the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas hosting round seventeen this weekend. Circuit Length: NA Crowd: 40,612 Weather: Dry 2009 AMA-SX Salt Lake City, UT 27/04/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     James Stewart     Yamaha     USA     17'39.037 2     Chad Reed     Suzuki     AUS     0'03.732 3     David D Millsaps     Honda     USA     0'31.107 4     Ryan Villopoto     Kawasaki     USA     0'35.629 5     Andrew Short     Honda     USA     0'42.756 6     Josh Grant     Yamaha     USA     0'46.607 7     Kevin Windham     Honda     USA     0'50.524 8     Matt Boni     Honda     USA     0'51.605 9     Thomas Hahn     Kawasaki     USA     0'54.277 10     Ivan Tedesco     Honda     USA     0'55.365 11     Paul Carpenter     Kawasaki     USA     -1Laps 12     Nicholas Wey     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps 13     Billy Laninovich     Kawasaki     USA     -1Laps 14     Heath Voss     Honda     USA     -1Laps 15     Broc Hepler     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps 20     Kyle Chisholm     Yamaha     USA     -20Laps Rider Standings     25/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    James Stewart    Yamaha    USA    357 2.    Chad Reed    Suzuki    AUS    351 3.    Andrew Short    Honda    USA    257 4.    Josh Grant    Yamaha    USA    223 5.    Kevin Windham    Honda    USA    218 6.    Ivan Tedesco    Honda    USA    210 7.    David D Millsaps    Honda    USA    208 8.    Ryan Villopoto    Kawasaki    USA    208 9.    Mike Alessi    Suzuki    USA    203 10.    Josh Hill    Yamaha    USA    146 11.    Heath Voss    Honda    USA    102 12.    Tim Ferry    Kawasaki    USA    100 13.    Matt Boni    Honda    USA    96 14.    Nicholas Wey    Yamaha    USA    89 15.    Paul Carpenter    Kawasaki    USA    88 16.    Kyle Chisholm    Yamaha    USA    80 17.    Broc Hepler    Yamaha    USA    76 20.    Jason Lawrence    Yamaha    USA    43 31.    Nathan Ramsey    Yamaha    USA    15 38.    Sean Hamblin    Yamaha    USA    3 Manufacturer Standings     25/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    388 2.    Suzuki    355 3.    Honda    300 4.    Kawasaki    253 5.    KTM    73
Alex Asigno
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 spot on the YZ450F, and with Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts in fifth and Josh Coppins in seventh, four Yamahas filled the top seven. Several new jumps and sections had been added to the dark and rutted sand at the all-weather circuit near Eindhoven. The surface churned up and became rougher throughout the meeting, increasing the physical and technical demands of the two motos. The qualification heat on Saturday saw Coppins take third position but Cairoli and Philippaerts were victims of a first corner tumble and pile-up. Cairoli emphatically attacked the terrain from almost last to finish 7th while Philippaerts - restarting even further back - was 14th. Tanel Leok was 5th. Race-day dawned overcast and damp thanks to rainfall during the night. Thankfully the conditions became brighter later on for the 20,000 spectators, and some fantastic racing lay ahead with up to six riders disputing podium positions at the end of an unforgettable and almost indescribable first moto. Cairoli took his third chequered flag in succession when he emerged victorious from a frantic scrap in the final five minutes of the opening race that saw crashes for protagonists Steve Ramon and Marc de Reuver. Positions changed seemingly with every corner as the clock ticked down on the moto. Cairoli's achievement was all the more remarkable for the fact that he had broken three spokes on his front wheel on the third lap. Philippaerts -who led at one point - tired in the closing stages and was just beaten to 5th by Leok. A bad start for Cairoli kept him away from the front-running twosome of Jonathan Barragan and Leok, who flew from the mid-top ten to circulate in second place during what was a calmer Moto2. The Estonian would earn 3rd overall for his second podium of the season and his first since victory in Faenza. Cairoli made his way to 3rd while Philippaerts - who again was leading in the formative stages - was 6th. It was not a happy day for Bulgarian GP winner Coppins who felt the harsh physical effects of a blood disorder and did not have the energy to be in contention negotiating the sand. The New Zealander had to be satisfied with 27 points and 7th place overall. Cairoli continues to control the world championship and now has an advantage of 15 points over Barragan. With Philippaerts, Coppins and Leok filling slots 4th, 5th and 6th, YZ450F and YZ450FM machinery occupy four places in the first six. Yamaha also front the manufacturer's standings with a 31 point gap over their nearest rivals. A trip across the Iberian Peninsula represents the next phase of the world championship. Round five takes place at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal while the sixth race occurs one week later on the opposite coast at Bellpuig for the GP of Catalunya. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd: "I was third in the first lap of the first moto and I tried to pass Steve Ramon but he almost crashed and stopped so I caught my front wheel with his footpeg. I could see the wheel was broken and I was pretty scared. I dropped back to 12th place because I wanted to see if I could keep on racing. I was not doing many jumps and nursing the bike but it was OK, and I increased the speed and pushed. I could pass Steve and then he had a big crash, and also Philippaerts. There have been a lot of things happening that I didn't expect this year in MX1. It was a surprise to win here but I am having a lot of fun on the bike and I want to keep it this way until the end of the championship. I was really happy to win that race. My second start was really bad and I had some contact with other guys in the first corner. I was riding well after that and passed a lot of people but I had some trouble overtaking Desalle for a few laps and that held me up. I wanted to reach Tanel but in the last minutes I was quite tired and just stayed steady to the flag." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 3rd: "I lost a lot of points in Turkey so this helps towards getting some back. I made some silly mistakes in the first moto but really that was the only negative part of the day. I am feeling good and fit and it showed in that second race. It has been really good to be riding and training with Antonio and I am happy with how things are going for me." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 5th: "I had some good times and felt fast at the beginning of the races but I felt tired towards the end as the track was pretty hard and the conditions were warm for the Benelux! Things are still going well and although this was a physically tough race, more than the others so far, I could take some good points and keep consistent. After twenty minutes of each moto here I had to ride conservatively because crashing would have been worse than losing another position." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 7th: "I'm done, it was a tough weekend and I knew it would be like that before I arrived here. I have been suffering with a blood problem. We have been working on it and I had some injections but it hasn't helped. I want to get healthy and be able to actually battle with the guys instead of just surviving out there; that is the hardest thing, not the result but knowing that I can't affect the race. It is not fun to take a good start and then just hang on. There is still so far to go in the championship and the result is not as disappointing as the fact that I could do nothing at this GP. I will go for some tests tomorrow and will try to improve for Portugal." Circuit Length: 1750 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Ken De Dycker 2009 GP of Benelux 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     39'47.158 2     Marc De Reuver     Honda     NED     0'04.286 3     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     0'07.183 4     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'08.550 5     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'09.808 6     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'09.939 7     Kevin Strijbos     Honda     BEL     0'17.209 8     Billy MacKenzie     Honda     GBR     0'23.940 9     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'39.108 10     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'50.965 11     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'58.686 12     Cedric Melotte     Honda     BEL     1'19.903 13     Steve Ramon     Suzuki     BEL     1'22.028 14     James Noble     Suzuki     GBR     1'22.244 15     Bradley Anderson     Honda     GBR     1'28.951 18     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     -1Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     40'18.300 2     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'06.449 3     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     0'21.339 4     Kevin Strijbos     Honda     BEL     0'27.157 5     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'37.250 6     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'43.042 7     Steve Ramon     Suzuki     BEL     0'46.374 8     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     1'18.127 9     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     1'31.576 10     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'34.994 11     Gert Krestinov     KTM     EST     1'36.882 12     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     1'40.470 13     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     1'42.218 14     Billy MacKenzie     Honda     GBR     1'44.021 15     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     2'03.410 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    143 2.    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    128 3.    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    124 4.    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    118 5.    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    112 6.    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    111 7.    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    100 8.    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    87 9.    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    86 10.    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    82 11.    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    48 12.    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    48 13.    Marc De Reuver    Honda    NED    45 14.    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    43 15.    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    42 24.    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    11 30.    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    3 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    166 2.    Suzuki    135 3.    KTM    134 4.    Honda    118 5.    Kawasaki    60 6.    TM    48 7.    Aprilia    35 8.    CCM    21 RACE REPORT     26/04/2009 Aubin scores third place on 21st birthday Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Nicolas Aubin gave himself a pleasant 21st birthday by taking pole position and third place overall at Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of Benelux and the fourth round of fifteen in the 2009 FIM MX2 World Championship. The Frenchman buried the memory of a lacklustre appearance in Turkey two weeks ago to show good speed in the sand and his finishes of 5th and 2nd were rewarded with his first silverware of the season. The rough and demanding terrain punished the slightest mistake and saw riders struggling to maintain the same race rhythm for the duration of the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. Aubin, starting from the first slot in the gate, suffered two small falls in Moto1, the first while holding second position, but was nevertheless content with his pace to rise from mid-pack to the top five. In Moto2 he was more decisive and reached the runner-up position by the last third of the race. In fourth spot overall was team-mate Davide Guarneri; the Italian enjoying one of his best performances on the sand. He pushed hard in Moto1 to rise from outside the top ten to third and was missing some energy for Moto2 in which he could only manage ninth. A crash in the qualification heat on Saturday left Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne with an uphill task in the Netherlands, but the Turkish GP winner rode well on his first visit to Valkenswaard and despite a problem with his rear brake he was 4th and 7th for 6th overall. In the world championship standings Guarneri is third, 29 points from the peak of the table. Osborne is fourth and just 11 points from being the first Yamaha rider. Aubin has moved up to seventh. The Grand Prix of Portugal at the Agueda circuit will represent the fifth round of the series in two weeks time. Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 3rd: "I felt a bit nervous in the first moto and that led to some mistakes. I came back from sixteenth and was fast but made another error when I reached Musquin and we crashed together. It was a pretty good race regardless. In the second one I tried to catch Rui but everyone knows he is fast in the sand. My priority today was not to take big risks but to get some points and I am happy I did that. It is nice to get a podium on my birthday, but I would have preferred a win!" Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th: "It was a good day and I felt good in the sand; I was quite surprised to be the fastest in practice yesterday. The heat race was unlucky and with three crashes I was down in 21st, which was not a good position in this gate. I was quick in the first moto and it was no problem to pull through from 14th to 3rd but I felt the effects in the second moto and when I reached 5th place I had nothing left to give. The result was not bad at all." Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 6th: "I fell at the start in the heat race which did not give me the best pick in the gate today. I was a bit nervous about being that far down but got a good start and worked my way up to fourth, which I was happy about. In the second race I did my best to pass through the pack. I lost the back brake about five minutes into both races and that made it tougher. I enjoyed the track. It was hard on Saturday but once I got the rhythm and worked out the flow, things went well. I have put together some consistent finishes now and rising up to fourth in the championship. I wanted to be in the top five today and I feel with that first race I did OK to get up to that position." Circuit Length: 1750 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Tyla Rattray 2009 GP of Benelux 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Shaun Simpson     KTM     GBR     39'30.097 2     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     0'19.692 3     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'36.610 4     Zach Osborne     Yamaha     USA     0'40.292 5     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'43.298 6     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     0'45.718 7     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'48.671 8     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     0'53.618 9     Matiss Karro     Suzuki     LVA     0'54.654 10     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'54.854 11     Dennis Verbruggen     Honda     BEL     1'01.423 12     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'05.434 13     Mike Kras     Suzuki     NED     1'09.178 14     Herjan Brakke     Honda     NED     1'15.298 15     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     1'15.780 16     Alessandro Lupino     Yamaha     ITA     1'16.395 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     40'09.337 2     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'19.978 3     Shaun Simpson     KTM     GBR     0'24.363 4     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'32.063 5     Jeremy Van Horebeek     KTM     BEL     0'34.490 6     Joel Roelants     KTM     BEL     0'38.323 7     Zach Osborne     Yamaha     USA     0'55.543 8     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'58.023 9     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     0'58.428 10     Marcus Schiffer     KTM     GER     1'02.131 11     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     1'04.401 12     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     1'08.797 13     Dennis Verbruggen     Honda     BEL     1'12.014 14     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'17.363 15     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     1'18.965 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    140 2.    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    125 3.    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    111 4.    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    100 5.    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    97 6.    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    94 7.    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    85 8.    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    78 9.    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    63 10.    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    55 11.    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    52 12.    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    49 13.    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    46 14.    Khounsith Vongsana    Honda    FRA    44 15.    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    39 19.    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    35 22.    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    22 28.    Cedric Soubeyras    Yamaha    FRA    10 33.    Deny Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    6 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Kawasaki    149 2.    Yamaha    141 3.    KTM    133 4.    Honda    131 5.    Suzuki    98
Alex Asigno
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 followed the pair until the three laps from the end of the race when he and Haslam spent three corners abreast in a heart stopping battle for second position. There was no daylight between the bikes as they exited turn five, Spies coming out the victor and setting off after Haga as the penultimate lap drew to a close. He attempted a pass on the hairpin where Haga had passed him earlier but failed to take top spot, eventually pulling a daring pass on the last corner he shot through to take the chequered flag. Tom Sykes enjoyed a good first race, starting from eighth on the grid the British rider made a strong pass up the inside on the first corner to move up into sixth position. The back straight then offered the opportunity to pass again and move up to fifth. Two laps later and another clever move up the inside on turn one saw Sykes into fourth position. He hung on with good race pace and held fourth for the chequered flag. Race two saw a difficult start and a lot of work to do. Sykes fought hard to make up places and briefly fought with Rea for fifth before settling for a sixth position finish. Spies leaves Assen still second in the championship with 120 points, trailing leader Haga by 60. Team-mate Sykes heads to Monza in sixth place in the standings with 70 points. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st,dnf) "We got the win in race one and everything was pretty good with that. It took me a while to find a good race pace but as the tyres started to go off I found it and we managed to make some moves, it was pretty exciting at the end, really fantastic racing with both Haslam and Haga. Race two I was feeling good, the bike, even only a lap and a half in, felt better than with the tyres in race one. I was pushing and got out wide in turn one and touched the Astroturf piece and high-sided. It's a shame as I felt really good and the bike felt right. You never know if you can win the race but I felt we could have had a faster race than the first. We'll build on it though, we had a good test in Monza so we're set up for there and I haven't hurt myself today so it's ok." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (4th,6th) "The first race went ok, I was pretty pleased with the results. I managed to make a couple of passes early and move up but then lost some feeling in the front which held me back. Race two was not what I expected. I got a horrendous start and left myself a lot of work to do. I worked hard over the next few laps to make some passes but unfortunately let the front group get away. I was bitterly disappointed with that because I knew I could run with the front. I'd just like to thank all the boys for this weekend putting so much hard work in. We had two offs and I left them with some work to do but they came through and had my bikes ready for me to race." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "The first race was unbelievable, Ben was really impressive and deserved the win. In the second race he had a bad high-side, and unfortunately missed the opportunity to challenge Nori for the second win. Tom had a good fourth in the first race and a good sixth in the second. He's coming along really well. I think he'll get the podium he's chasing soon. We're ready for Monza and confident of success." Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'37.626 (Ben Spies, 26/04/2009) Last Years Winner: Troy Bayliss 2009 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 26/04/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     36'31.338 2     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     0'00.154 3     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'00.779 4     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'08.775 5     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'11.275 6     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'16.126 7     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'19.555 8     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     0'19.760 9     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'23.006 10     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     0'24.285 11     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'26.003 12     Karl Muggeridge     Suzuki     AUS     0'27.814 13     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     0'36.962 14     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'39.025 15     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'41.505 19     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     0'56.425 Race 2 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     36'31.712 2     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'02.678 3     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'04.603 4     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'08.981 5     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'12.104 6     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'14.575 7     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'17.449 8     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'17.729 9     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     0'18.167 10     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     0'25.056 11     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'32.617 12     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     0'32.688 13     Brendan Roberts     Ducati     AUS     0'37.415 14     Matteo Baiocco     Kawasaki     ITA     0'55.088 15     Luca Scassa     Kawasaki     ITA     0'55.325 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     1'38.730 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    180 2.    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    120 3.    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    94 4.    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    80 5.    Max Neukirchner    Suzuki    GER    75 6.    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    70 7.    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    65 8.    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    64 9.    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    53 10.    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    44 11.    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    40 12.    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    39 13.    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    39 14.    Troy Corser    BMW    AUS    35 15.    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    33 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Ducati    180 2.    Yamaha    145 3.    Honda    109 4.    Suzuki    76 5.    Aprilia    68 6.    BMW    43 7.    Kawasaki    10 RACE REPORT     26/04/2009 Crutchlow maintains championship lead in Assen Yamaha World Supersport riders Cal Crutchlow and Fabien Foret got caught up in the closest race of the 2009 World Supersport Championship so far. Intense racing and constant battles for position were the mainstay of the Supersport action. After a bad start Crutchlow worked hard to move back up the field, closely followed by team-mate Foret behind him. By lap six Crutchlow had made it to fourth, taking Sofuoglu for the position whilst Foret pushed on from seventh place. Lap seven saw Foret move up again behind his team-mate and the two then fought a close battle for position as they moved through the ranks to the top spot before dropping back again. Laverty was a constant presence during the battles, eventually slipping through to take the lead spot. A near miss between the two Yamaha riders into turn four when Crutchlow missed a gear and went wide, causing Fabien to run wide as well. Pitt then tried to take them both on the inside, losing the front and crashing out. Crutchlow then displayed the incredible race pace the fans are used to seeing, and three laps to the end pulled the fastest lap of the race, with a 1.40.836 while he chased Laverty. The battle continued to the flag, two laps before the end the riders touched but managed to stay on, Laverty eventually taking the chequered flag with Crutchlow a mere 0.107 seconds behind. Foret kept up his pace to finish in fourth, 1.777 seconds behind the race leader. Crutchlow leaves Assen still leading the championship by six points whilst Foret moves up to seventh position with 28 points. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd) "I had a bad start, I don't really know what happened, it was just unfortunate I felt like I was in neutral gear. I worked my hardest to get back through. Unfortunately Fabien and I got caught up together and it held us up a bit. Team Yamaha did a great job for me, we're here again on the podium and still leading the championship so it's all good. It was a fantastic job by Eugene Laverty, so well done to their team as well." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (4th) "I'm pretty happy and pleased to have got my confidence back. I had a good race, I'm just a bit disappointed with what happened with Cal, it was unavoidable but it held us both up and made it harder for me to challenge for a podium spot and a potential race win." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager It was a very, very exciting race I can tell you that! With a second and a fourth place we are still leading the championship by six points with Cal. Both riders fought really hard today, Cal was especially fast at the end and Fabien has definitely found more of his confidence and previous race pace. We go to Monza in a good position and looking forward to extending our championship lead." Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 2'08.865 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'40.313 (Cal Crutchlow, 26/04/2009) Last Years Winner: Andrew Pitt 2009 WSS The Netherlands - Assen 26/04/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     35'45.160 2     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     0'00.107 3     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     0'00.178 4     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     0'01.777 5     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     0'01.901 6     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     0'05.492 7     Anthony West     Honda     AUS     0'12.551 8     Barry Veneman     Suzuki     NED     0'12.841 9     Robbin Harms     Honda     DNK     0'13.567 10     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     0'19.657 11     Patrick Vostarek     Honda     ITA     0'24.316 12     Gianluca Nannelli     Triumph     ITA     0'25.803 13     Massimo Roccoli     Honda     ITA     0'26.255 14     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     0'26.439 15     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     0'44.902 19     Kevin Bos     Yamaha     NED     1'04.653 22     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1'08.389 23     Twan Van Poppel     Yamaha     NED     1'25.061 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'40.836 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    74 2.    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    68 3.    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    65 4.    Anthony West    Honda    AUS    52 5.    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    43 6.    Mark Aitchison    Honda    AUS    34 7.    Fabien Foret    Yamaha    FRA    28 8.    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    27 9.    Barry Veneman    Suzuki    NED    25 10.    Matthieu Lagrive    Honda    FRA    25 11.    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    24 12.    Robbin Harms    Honda    DNK    23 13.    Massimo Roccoli    Honda    ITA    20 14.    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    13 15.    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    12 20.    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    1 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Honda    95 2.    Yamaha    74 3.    Kawasaki    38 4.    Suzuki    25 5.    Triumph    19
Alex Asigno
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 the top step of the podium, after coming through a brilliant scrap with his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who finished a close second. Starting from third on the grid Lorenzo briefly lost a position on the first lap, but was soon back up to his starting spot as they crossed the line for the first time. With a superior pace to his compatriot Pedrosa it seemed as though the Mallorcan was being held up, and sure enough on lap three the Spaniard edged into second place. Once there he had the unenviable task of closing a two-second gap to his team-mate Rossi, but gradually edged nearer his colleague. The two enjoyed a good head-to-head fight, swapping positions at the V-corner before Lorenzo finally found a way past Rossi. From that point there was no looking back, and as Rossi was entangled in the battle with Pedrosa behind, Lorenzo sealed a glorious second victory in MotoGP. Leading from the first corner, Rossi had opened up the gap on the Spaniards in the early stages, but once Lorenzo had found a way past, it was Pedrosa who caused the champion most problems. With Pedrosa attacking on several occasions, the Italian was forced to keep his wits about him, but always seemed to have enough edge to keep ahead. The killer move come heading into the tunnel at turn five, and the race was decided as Rossi pulled away from Pedrosa in the latter stages. With Lorenzo leading the championship on 40 points, one ahead of Rossi, the MotoGP World Championship moves on to his home race at Jerez in just a week's time. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 43'47.238 "First of all I just want to thank my team, my Mum, Dad and whole family, my friends and all the team workers. Also Yamaha, as it is their home race, it was a difficult race because I didn't really get a very good start, I think I even finished the first lap in third or fourth. After that I began to catch up the pace. I passed Valentino and opened up a little gap, about a second and a half, and he was following me very hard. I had to ride the best I can to get the victory." Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: + 1.304 "It was a great race, long, very difficult and also physical. I got a really good start from the front row, but there was a part of the race that I wasn't quite able to ride like I wanted, there was some kind of problem and I wasn't fast enough to pull away. I lost time from Jorge and then was involved in a battle with Dani and then in the last part of the race I was able to step up my pace and pick my lines, setting some good lap times. I tried to come back but unfortunately Lorenzo was too far away. It's a good race, second place is not a victory but it's still twenty points for the championship. I think the championship will become very interesting now because we have four riders ready to battle for wins at the end." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "I'm really happy about today's result, we didn't expect a victory, maybe we were just thinking about the podium, so I'm extremely happy. We did a great job on Friday and I think that was the key because we worked a lot around the harder tyre and in the end that was the good one. With the information and the data we collected, today we just had to do some fine-tuning to the bike and it has brought us this special victory, and we are able to show the world how strong Yamaha is. Jerez will be a great battle, like today it will be a big show and so i am looking forward to that event." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "First of all, congratulations to Jorge, who rode very well, and congratulations to Yamaha, because this result confirms the great job we have done in the last months. We are always very fast and for the second time this year we have two riders on the podium. Night or day, we are always there! Valentino took a very important second place, because our target is to be always there. Now we are looking forward to going back to Europe for a very important phase of the championship and it is crucial to start this time on top". Top ten for Toseland, Edwards fights back into points in Japan Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo James Toseland and Colin Edwards secured hard fought points-scoring finishes in Yamaha's home race at the Twin Ring Motegi today. British rider Toseland gave himself a welcome confidence boost with a determined ride to ninth place in the 24-lap encounter, which took place in windy but dry conditions after another weekend dominated by rain. Opting to run the softer compound Bridgestone tyre, Toseland made a storming start from the fourth row of the grid, crossing the line at the end of the first lap in seventh place. The 28-year-old secured his first top ten finish of the campaign with a superb attacking display in the final stages, holding off the persistent challenge of Chris Vermeulen and Randy de Puniet. American Edwards encountered a small problem in the early stages of the race but once he was able to demonstrate his true potential, the 35-year-old reeled off some blistering lap times. At times he ran the same pace as the top five as he fought his way through the field to a highly commendable 12th, setting the sixth fastest time in the race to miss out on a top ten finish by three seconds. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now heads to Jerez next weekend for the start of the European leg of the MotoGP world championship. James Toseland - Position: 9th Time: "I needed to be back in the top ten, so today was the step I've been looking for. We made a big step with the front-end setting on Friday in just the 45 minutes of dry track time we had this weekend and it helped me a lot. The comfort on the braking was much better and I was able to pass a couple of guys on the brakes today, which was good. I went for the soft rear tyre just because that's what I'd run most on Friday. We knew the soft one would go the distance, but it wouldn't be as strong in the latter stages of the race with the temperature being hotter today. But I didn't want to take any risks by running the harder compound, particularly as we knew it would take a couple of laps to get to temperature. In the early part of the race I had quite a bit more grip than some of the guys and I might have been able to pass (Casey) Stoner and (Loris) Capirossi) if I was more comfortable with the bike on a full fuel load. That would have pushed me a bit further up earlier in the race when I had an advantage with the softer tyre. It was a good battle on the last lap with Vermeulen. He passed me briefly at the end of the back straight, but I managed to keep him at bay. I'm happy for my team because they've stood behind me and everybody has kept their morale up, and now we've got a result we can build on." Colin Edwards - Position: 12th Time: "That was not at all what I expected but I can't turn the clock back. I wish I could because I believe I could have fought for the podium. We had a small issue at the start of the race and I simply couldn't ride how I wanted to. I kept my head down and persevered throughout and perhaps a few more laps I could have chased down the guys in front for a top ten. I couldn't have ridden any harder today and I did my absolute best for Yamaha. I was really confident going into the race because I was one of the few guys who had done a lot of laps on the harder compound tyre in the dry on Friday. So with the track temperature coming up a lot compared to how cool it was on Friday, I felt that experience we gained would really help. When I got going in the race my lap times were as quick as the top five, so it's a case of wondering what might have been today. We'll look to bounce back in Jerez next weekend because I feel like I'm riding really well." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "We obviously had higher expectations but I'm pleased that both James and Colin showed their determination throughout the race. It was good to see James fighting strongly in the top ten and this result will have given his confidence a big boost. He has had a difficult winter and first race, but he's remained incredibly focused and this is a good platform for him to build on for the rest of the season. I'd also like to thank Colin for his efforts today in difficult circumstances. He had a problem before the start and we are still investigating the cause with Yamaha. But his pace in the second half of the race was very impressive, so we know that Colin is in very good form heading into Europe. I'd like to say big congratulations to Yamaha for its one-two in front of the Japanese fans. It shows the YZR-M1 is a very strong package and that Yamaha is the brand to beat again in 2009." Circuit Length: 4801 Temp: 22 Weather: Dry Lap Record: 1'47.968 (Loris Capirossi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'45.543 (Jorge Lorenzo, 28/09/2008) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2009 MotoGP Japan - Motegi 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha     ESP     43'47.238 2     Valentino Rossi     Yamaha     ITA     0'01.304 3     Daniel Pedrosa     Honda     ESP     0'03.763 4     Casey Stoner     Ducati     AUS     0'05.691 5     Andrea Dovizioso     Honda     ITA     0'09.207 6     Marco Melandri     Kawasaki     ITA     0'30.555 7     Loris Capirossi     Suzuki     ITA     0'32.756 8     Mika Kallio     Ducati     FIN     0'39.416 9     James Toseland     Yamaha     GBR     0'43.106 10     Chris Vermeulen     Suzuki     AUS     0'43.245 11     Randy De Puniet     Honda     FRA     0'44.834 12     Colin Edwards     Yamaha     USA     0'46.540 13     Alex De Angelis     Honda     SMR     0'53.525 14     Niccolo Canepa     Ducati     ITA     1'21.804 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Jorge Lorenzo    Yamaha    ESP    41 2.    Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    ITA    40 3.    Casey Stoner    Ducati    AUS    38 4.    Andrea Dovizioso    Honda    ITA    22 5.    Daniel Pedrosa    Honda    ESP    21 6.    Colin Edwards    Yamaha    USA    17 7.    Mika Kallio    Ducati    FIN    16 8.    Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    AUS    15 9.    Alex De Angelis    Honda    SMR    13 10.    Marco Melandri    Kawasaki    ITA    12 11.    Randy De Puniet    Honda    FRA    11 12.    Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    ITA    9 13.    James Toseland    Yamaha    GBR    7 14.    Toni Elias    Honda    ESP    7 15.    Nicky Hayden    Ducati    USA    4 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    45 2.    Ducati    38 3.    Honda    27 4.    Suzuki    18 5.    Kawasaki    12
Alex Asigno
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 team. Most competitor teams suffered crashes and incidents due to the adverse weather, making YART’s victory The team rode the new for 2009, Moto GP derived Yamaha YZF-R1, building on the racing success already being seen in the hands of Ben Spies in World Superbike. The new machine proved the perfect tool to handle the difficult conditions with its unique crossplane crankshaft design giving the riders essentially smoother torque and more useable power to get through and out of the slippery corners of the Le Mans circuit. Gwen Giabbani, Yamaha Austria Racing Team “Finally after 11 years of not winning! Igor waited 11 years for his second victory, for me it’s my first. There were no issues with the fantastic performance of the bike, and we lost very little time in stops. There were no crashes to be regretted, everything was perfect.” Steve Martin, Yamaha Austria Racing Team “It’s absolutely incredible to win here on my second time at the 24HR. The bike performed faultlessly which made the whole race easier. My team-mates both performed unbelievably, we made the right steps at the right times which gave us an advantage. We were then able to put pressure on the other teams and forced them to make mistakes. I want to dedicate this win to my life-long friend and mentor Peter Kerr who passed away this weekend, making this an exceptionally hard weekend’s racing for me. ” Igor Jerman, Yamaha Austria Racing Team “I’ve had to wait 11 years to win the Le Mans 24HR Moto. This year the team was very well prepared with the new Yamaha bike and we also changed tyres to Michelins which were great. We need to make some small changes for the next race but our result here was very good.” Mandy Kainz, Yamaha Austria Racing Team Manager “Everyone who’s dedicated to Endurance racing wants to win this race once in his life. I can hardly believe that we actually managed to do it. Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani worked together as a proper team and had hardly any problems. Heavy rain, especially at night caused a lot of dramatic scenes. In the crucial phase of the race my boys managed to capitalize on their experience. I have to give them a lot of respect, they weren’t only the fastest out there but managed to ride faultlessly.”
Alex Asigno
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 rough track on the west coast was further buoyed by the news that main title rival Chad Reed could only take 7th place - his worst finish of the season - after a first turn tumble. The 23 year old gained nine positions in fifteen laps after being held up around a tight opening corner. "They told me how far I was back - fifteenth or something like that - and it was crazy," he recalls. "I bent my clutch lever as soon as I got hit in that first corner, and it was just like, 'Man, just try to stay up.' The first couple laps were carnage, with guys trying to pass each other. I'm pretty stunned that I was able to come up and get second because I saw how far ahead those guys were." Stewart had trailed the Australian by five points coming to Seattle but the classification from Saturday evening mean that the pair have swapped positions at the top of the championship standings and the Yamaha rider has a 3 point advantage with only trips to Salt Lake City and Las Vegas in the next two weeks left to run. "We've had 15 races and I've been in the points lead twice now," said Stewart who is still hoping to be the first rider to give Yamaha 11 victories in one season (he currently has 10 and a career total of 35). "At the end of the day, it's for the championship. It's all about the championship right now. I've won a lot of races this year, and I always found myself in second place in the points - always catching up - so it feels good to be in the points lead, but we've got a long way to go still." Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant took 6th position on his YZ450F and is 4th in the points table. The penultimate round of the 2009 campaign will take place next Saturday at the Rice Eccles Field in Salt Lake City. Circuit Length: n/a Crowd: 50, 016 Weather: Dry Last Years Winner: Kevin Windham 2009 AMA-SX Seattle, WA 19/04/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ryan Villopoto     Kawasaki     USA     18'28.902 2     James Stewart     Yamaha     USA     0'07.873 3     David D Millsaps     Honda     USA     0'09.359 4     Mike Alessi     Suzuki     USA     0'10.735 5     Andrew Short     Honda     USA     0'23.027 6     Josh Grant     Yamaha     USA     0'29.702 7     Chad Reed     Suzuki     AUS     0'38.537 8     Paul Carpenter     Kawasaki     USA     0'43.705 9     Ivan Tedesco     Honda     USA     0'47.632 10     Kevin Windham     Honda     USA     0'52.394 11     Nicholas Wey     Yamaha     USA     0'54.538 12     Heath Voss     Honda     USA     1'06.764 13     Thomas Hahn     Kawasaki     USA     -1Laps 15     Jason Thomas     Honda     USA     -1Laps 16     Kyle Chisholm     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps Rider Standings     18/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    James Stewart    Yamaha    USA    332 2.    Chad Reed    Suzuki    AUS    329 3.    Andrew Short    Honda    USA    241 4.    Josh Grant    Yamaha    USA    208 5.    Kevin Windham    Honda    USA    204 6.    Mike Alessi    Suzuki    USA    203 7.    Ivan Tedesco    Honda    USA    199 8.    Ryan Villopoto    Kawasaki    USA    190 9.    David D Millsaps    Honda    USA    188 10.    Josh Hill    Yamaha    USA    146 11.    Tim Ferry    Kawasaki    USA    100 12.    Heath Voss    Honda    USA    95 13.    Matt Boni    Suzuki    USA    83 14.    Nicholas Wey    Yamaha    USA    80 15.    Kyle Chisholm    Yamaha    USA    79 18.    Broc Hepler    Yamaha    USA    70 20.    Jason Lawrence    Yamaha    USA    43 30.    Nathan Ramsey    Yamaha    USA    15 38.    Sean Hamblin    Yamaha    USA    3 Manufacturer Standings     18/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    363 2.    Suzuki    333 3.    Honda    280 4.    Kawasaki    235 5.    KTM    73