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

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

Valentino Rossi Update

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi sent the following message today from his home in Italy. The reigning World-Champion is currently convalescing after breaking his leg at the Italian MotoGP round three week's ago. "Three weeks have passed since the accident and two since I was discharged from hospital, and I am very happy about how my recuperation is progressing. I am feeling a lot better and I'm starting to live a semi-normal life again, although for a completely ‘normal' life I will have to wait until I'm back on my bike! I am walking with crutches and since a few days I've been able to put my foot to the floor. Honestly, I didn't expect to feel this good just a few weeks after the incident, and I mean both physically and in my ‘spirit.' "The rehabilitation is continuing as usual, both sitting in the hyperbaric chamber and with some exercises in the gym. Unfortunately my shoulder is still giving me some pain but I am working on the muscles to reduce the pain a bit. If the rehabilitation proceeds without trouble and if everything continues in this way, then my objective is to return at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. "I have started to leave the house and my good friends haven't left me on my own for even a minute, although I'm not used to spending so much time in Tavullia! I miss my bike, my team and the paddock a lot and this ‘new' sensation is pushing me to get better as quickly as possible. "I'll speak to you, but more importantly see you, soon. Ciao, Valentino Rossi."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Lorenzo extends championship lead with awesome Assen win

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo put in another textbook performance at Assen today, leaving his rivals trailing as he led from the front to win the 80th Dutch TT and take his fourth victory of the season. In doing so he becomes only the seventh rider in history to have won in three or more classes at the historic racetrack, with 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP wins to his name. Meanwhile Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies ensured that there were still two Yamahas in the top four, despite the absence of Valentino Rossi, with another brilliant performance to back up his maiden podium last week. Mallorcan Lorenzo had looked the man to beat all weekend after topping both practice and qualifying and he got a great start from pole position and quickly pulled out a second's gap, but by lap five Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were looming large behind him and for a few laps it looked as if a tense three-way battle was in the offing. However Lorenzo's choice of the harder Bridgestone tyre soon began to pay off and, with a lighter fuel load by mid-race distance, he was able to step things up a notch and gave himself an unassailable lead, crossing the line 2.935 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, with Stoner third and Spies fourth. The Fiat Yamaha man's second win on the bounce sees him extend his championship lead to an impressive 47 points from Pedrosa, while Rossi remains fourth in the standings. The next round comes in just a week's time at Barcelona in Spain, when Wataru Yoshikawa will join the Fiat Yamaha Team to fill in until Rossi is back on board his M1. Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo - 1st, Time: 41'18.629 "This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone because Dani was so fast with the softer tyre early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point. I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tyre would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice. It wasn't easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish! I am really happy that I have won here in all three classes because it's such a historic place and the football I had in Parc Ferme was to celebrate this 'hat-trick.' Thanks to all my Yamaha guys and also to Bridgestone for this win, we have a big lead in the championship so we can afford to stay calm and relaxed. Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans."
Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager Jorge Lorenzo "We knew before the start that Pedrosa and Stoner had chosen the softer tyre so we expected them to be fast at the beginning and in fact we were quite pleasantly surprised that Jorge was able to make a gap so early on. Then they came back to him but he is mentally very strong at the moment and he just kept his head and did very well to stay in front, because they were pushing him hard for a while. Once the laps went on and our fuel load was reduced, Jorge was able to use the harder tyre to his advantage and he succeeded brilliantly, we had no doubts about him. Well done to him and to all the team for this second win in a row on this special TT Anniversary"
Ben Spies scores a brilliant fourth at Sun-kissed Assen Ben Spies produced another outstanding ride today in the 80th running of the historic Dutch TT, the Texan thrilling a crowd of nearly 100,000 fans with a stunning fourth place. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Spies made a blistering start from fourth on the grid to take up the tough challenge of fighting with dominant MotoGP world championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in the early stages. Opting to use the softer compound Bridgestone rear tyre, Spies kept Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner at bay with a hard charge in the opening laps before he slipped down to fourth on lap four. Unable to match the pace of the leading trio despite pushing his YZR-M1 machine to the limit, Spies became locked in a close dice with Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian looked at ease in fourth spot before Spies mounted a brilliant attack on lap 15 from fifth position. He started the lap over 0.7s adrift of Dovizioso but slashed the deficit to 0.103s at the end of lap 15. Spies then produced a brilliantly executed overtake on Dovizioso at the final chicane on lap 16 and was able to use his superior speed to pull out a comfortable gap over the Repsol Honda rider. But Dovizioso wasn't finished and inspired by Randy de Puniet's attack, both began to hunt down Spies as the battle for fourth intensified. Spies responded with a masterful performance in the final four laps, the 25-year-old holding his nerve with some brilliantly aggressive riding to prevent de Puniet and Dovizioso from getting close to denying him fourth place. Spies took fourth by nearly two seconds at the conclusion of the 26-lap race to continue the excellent form he displayed when storming to a maiden podium at Silverstone last weekend. It is the second successive race that he has finished leading non-factory rider and he moved firmly into the battle for a top four championship placing. Fellow American Colin Edwards extended his impressive record of scoring points in all six races so far this season with a solid ride to eighth place. Edwards continued to adapt to a new front-end geometry set-up he first tried this weekend and gained crucial information that he hopes will help him close the gap to the leading group in future races. The 21-points collected by Spies and Edwards today moved the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad into fourth place in the Team World Championship standings, the French squad once again the leading independent squad in the series. Ben Spies Ben Spies - 4th, Time: +13.265 "I got a good start and was happy with that. I ran the soft rear tyre because it made the front load better for turning and the track temperature was hotter than all weekend. But it didn't work as well I'd hoped in the first ten laps and then when Dani and Casey came by I knew I was holding them up. But I was sticking with my game plan. I tried as hard as I could and 12 laps in Andrea passed me. But then his tyres dropped down to where I was with mine and I reeled him back in. The podium battle had gone away and then over the last three laps I heard Andrea and Randy putting the pressure on. I put my head down hard and managed to open a gap. I was sliding a lot but I managed to stretch away and I could cruise the last lap. I wanted at least fourth place today and I'm happy but I didn't have the pace for the podium like in Silverstone. I'm happy with the result and we go to Catalunya next week not knowing the track and I think we will be a little bit on the back foot again. But I'll do the same as the past two weeks and push as hard as I can." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - 8th, Time: +28.991 "I can't be disappointed or upset with eighth place and wonder why I didn't get a better result when I rode my heart out. There was nothing else I could have done today but I know what we can improve. We've been experimenting with some different front-end settings and we've made it better, but I just lose a bit of time when I release the brakes and can't turn the bike how I want. And losing that little bit everywhere adds up by the end of the lap and makes it difficult. I know I rode harder than last year when I finished fourth, but I'm eighth. I guess that proves that those guys at the front are running an unbelievable pace. I was behind Nicky for a long time but I could never get close enough to put a pass on him. Looking at Ben it can be better and once again, I can't praise him enough. He's riding really good and I have to congratulate him because at the last two races he's been really impressive." Herve Poncharal - Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager "I can't say enough good things about Ben. He made an incredible start and he almost took the lead. We knew Casey and Dani would push hard and in the first few laps I don't think Ben had a great feeling with the bike. But he dug deep and continued to push and I have to give him enormous credit for that. Dovizioso and de Puniet were pushing really hard at the end but Ben's strength is his pace on used tyres and he demonstrated this again. Being greedy we'd have liked to be on the podium again but fourth showed he is the best of the rest of the moment. His confidence is really high and he's proving a massive asset for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. Colin had a strong race and after Silverstone he found a direction with the bike, which we hope will work in the future. He was pushing hard and never gave up and the points he scored have helped us move back into fourth place in the Team Championship. That is very important for us. I said that in 2010 the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team had its strongest line-up ever in MotoGP and I think today again we proved that." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 23 Crowd: 100000 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 1'36.411 (John Hopkins, 01/01/2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'34.515 (Jorge Lorenzo, 26/06/2010) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2010 MotoGP Netherlands - Assen 26/06/2010 Race 1 - 26 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 41'18.629 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'02.935 3 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'07.022 4 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'13.265 5 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'15.323 6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'15.772 7 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'25.867 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'28.991 9 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'35.658 10 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'35.837 11 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'56.769 12 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'56.890 13 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 1'00.615 14 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 1'08.074 15 Kousuke Akiyoshi Honda JPN -1Laps  
Rider Standings 26/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 140 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 93 3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 89 4. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 61 5. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 61 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 56 7. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 51 8. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 49 9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 39 10. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 34 11. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 32 12. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 28 13. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 28 14. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 20 15. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 18  
Manufacturer Standings 26/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 145 2. Honda 117 3. Ducati 81 4. Suzuki 26
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

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

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

Yoshikawa to join Fiat Yamaha Team in Rossi's absence

Wataru Yoshikawa Yamaha Motor Racing is pleased to announce that Wataru Yoshikawa, their experienced Japanese test rider, will join the Fiat Yamaha Team from the Barcelona round of the MotoGP World Championship. The two-time Japanese Superbike Champion will ride in the place of the injured Valentino Rossi, with Rossi's team and the YZR-M1, until the Italian is back to full fitness following his broken leg. It is expected that Yoshikawa will be with the Fiat Yamaha Team for at least three races, after which more should be known about Rossi's expected return date. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, said "we have considered many different scenarios and candidate riders to fill the temporary vacant seat in the Fiat Yamaha Team. We had always planned to use a rider from within the Yamaha Motor and Tech 3 family but for each rider we considered who is in active competition, their move to the Fiat Yamaha Team would have created another problem for their own racing program or for the teams in which they are engaged. Finally, after a great deal of consideration, we have selected Wataru Yoshikawa, our Japanese YZR-M1 Test rider, to join us as our substitute rider. We provisionally plan for three races (Catalunya, Sachsenring and Laguna Seca) but we will adjust the plan accordingly when we know more about Valentino's expected date of return. "The benefit of Wataru's presence in our team will be threefold. Firstly he brings with him a wealth of experience riding the YZR-M1. Secondly his presence allows us to fulfill our contractual obligations and to join the team's quest to accumulate points for the Team Championship. Thirdly he will gain valuable first hand MotoGP race experience in three challenging circuits which will surely be very useful to assist him and Yamaha with the future development of the YMR-M1. "We look forward to welcoming Wataru into our team while we wait for Valentino's return to full fitness." Wataru Yoshikawa added "I'm happy to have this chance to stand-in for Valentino while he is recovering and to compete in MotoGP again for the first time since 2002, when I raced at Motegi. Looking at the Fiat Yamaha Team results with the 2010 YZR-M1, I can see that the winter developments were correct and now I am looking forward to having the chance to gather some ‘real racing' data, which will be very helpful for the future development of the M1." Wataru Yoshikawa Racing Biography Nationality: Japanese Born: 26th September 1968, Tokyo Wataru Yoshikawa won the Japanese Superbike Championship for Yamaha in 1994 and 1999. Between 1992 and 2002 he made many wild-card appearances in the World Superbike Championship for Yamaha and in 1996 completed a full season, finishing 9th. He raced as a wild card once in MotoGP in 2002, finishing 12th. Since then he has been heavily involved as a test rider for the Yamaha MotoGP programme, giving him an in-depth knowledge of the YZR-M1.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Double podium for Yamaha and first win for De Dycker

German MX1-GP podium The 2010 Grand Prix of Germany, the eighth round of the FIM MX1-GP World Championship, has been a memorable one for Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross teams and the venerable YZ450FM as the motorcycle toasted its second victory in succession, this time in the hands of Ken De Dycker, and filled two positions in the top three with David Philippaerts defying the effects of a cold to place third overall. De Dycker was in imperious form across the rough and rutted hard-pack. The fast and undulating terrain of the Talkessel circuit at Teutschenthal, west of the city of Halle, was surrounded by 35,000 spectators who created a noisy and bustling atmosphere. The crowd braved cloudy and cool conditions to see the Belgian (celebrating his 26th birthday on race-day) seal his first double of the year and become just the second rider this season to go 1-1. De Dycker headed Philippaerts for a superb formation-finish for the innovative and rear-slanting fuel-injected engine YZ450FM in the first moto. The result said a lot for the performance of the machine to dominate rivals negotiating the speedy bumps of the course. De Dycker's charge to the front and last lap defence of the lead in the second moto from Tony Cairoli not only gave him his first spoils in Yamaha colours but also delivered the Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team their first triumph in the premier class. DP Philippaerts, who won two weeks ago at the Grand Prix of France, was 5th in the second race and physically drained after trying to recover from his illness during the week. His third step of the podium represented his second consecutive appearance in the top three and his fourth trophy of the season. The 25 year old Italian is 3rd in the world championship standings and 9 points behind Clement Desalle. De Dycker gained a lot of ground with his perfect 50 point haul and is fourth, 16 behind his brand-mate. There is little time to pause at this stage of the campaign with Grand Prix events in Latvia and Sweden occurring in the next two weekends. De Dycker style Ken De Dycker, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 1st: "I always expect to do well and hope for a good result and it came here because of hard work after the Grand Prix of France when we tested a lot and now we seem to be going in the right direction. This was the best birthday present I could give myself! Both motos had some good racing and Tony came close to me at the end of the second one. I was feeling tired at that moment and wanted the race to be over when I jumped past and saw '3 minutes' on the clock! I knew I would have to dig deep. He couldn't get near enough and it was exciting. The track was not easy but I tried to stay relaxed and saw a few places where I could overtake; my goal then was to get close enough to be able to attack in those places. I hope this is the point that my season will turn around and although the next GPs won't be easy I can now feel more confident and want to be strong until the end of the season." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 3rd: "In the first moto I had a good feeling with the bike and the track but I have not slept well for the last four days because of a cold and really felt tired in the second race. It was hard to pass out there with really only one fast line, the rest of the track was so bumpy, and I lost time and energy stuck behind Nagl. To finish on the podium after feeling sick is very positive. Now I will go to Belgium and recover fully before doing some training in the build-up to Latvia." Circuit Length: 1780 Crowd: 35,000 Weather: Cloudy
Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2010 GP of Germany 20/06/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 40'39.611 2 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'09.467 3 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'20.240 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'22.112 5 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'23.556 6 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'24.725 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'29.662 8 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'32.723 9 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'35.193 10 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0'35.686 11 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0'53.082 12 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 0'59.410 13 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1'08.442 14 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 1'15.537 15 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 1'32.178 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 40'07.513 2 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'00.252 3 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'13.132 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'27.811 5 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'34.169 6 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0'38.707 7 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'41.813 8 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'46.007 9 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'48.659 10 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 0'50.042 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'50.753 12 Tanel Leok Honda EST 1'18.656 13 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 1'37.408 14 Dean Ferris Honda AUS 1'47.263 15 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 1'47.876 17 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 2'07.313 Rider Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 341 2. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 276 3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 267 4. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 251 5. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 248 6. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 237 7. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 217 8. Tanel Leok Honda EST 182 9. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 165 10. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 149 11. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 121 12. Anthony Boissière TM FRA 116 13. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 113 14. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 111 15. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 92 20. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 46 26. Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 23 27. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 20 28. Alvaro Lozano Yamaha ESP 14 29. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 12 31. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 11 Manufacturer Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 370 2. Suzuki 326 3. Yamaha 320 4. Honda 249 5. Kawasaki 244 6. Aprilia 116 7. TM 116 8. CCM 11 9. Husqvarna 4 RACE REPORT 20/06/2010 Third podium in a row for Osborne after German GP Osborne again in top three The 2010 YZ250F again showed its agility across another fast, demanding and rut-strewn track and gained its third podium in succession at Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany as Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne lifted his third trophy on the spin with 3rd place overall. The vibrant American scored 4th and 3rd positions in a cloudy and chilly eighth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP series watched by 35,000 spectators. The 20 year old was the highest ranked YZ250F runner on a difficult terrain that was not simple for overtaking. Osborne started a first blustery moto trying to find optimum grip on the German soil and building up his race speed to 4th. A stronger second outing saw the American running alone in 3rd with an effective pace. His achievement matches other notable results in USA and France and brings Osborne up to 5th in the championship. In 7th overall was 2009 European Champion Christophe Charlier for Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi who put aside discomfort and apprehension from a sprained left thumb sustained on Saturday to go 12-6 and really shine at the front of the pack for the first time in 2010 during the second sprint. Paulin in Germany Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Gautier Paulin was 9th. After taking his time to find an effective rhythm in the first moto (scoring 7th) the Frenchman slipped off the factory machine on the first lap of the second race and rode in decisive fashion to rise from the rear of the field to 11th. Charlier's team-mate Harri Kullas was 11th overall and continues to take positive points-scores in his first GP season, only posting one '0' on his season-tally so far. Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Alessandro Lupino was 17th and Loic Larrieu 19th in the final GP classification. The 2010 Women's World Championship entered its fifth round at Teutschenthal and Chiara Fontanesi won her second moto from two events. The teenage Italian grasped the second race on her agile YZ250F by the narrowest of margins from overall winner Larissa Papenmeier. Her 5th position from Saturday combined with another set of 25 points meant a second podium on the trot with the runner-up step. Fontanesi now holds 4th in the standings with the penultimate meeting occurring at the Grand Prix of Czech Republic in August. Chiara Fontanesi Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha, 3rd: "I think I have come to a peak in my fitness and my riding abilities are where they should be. I am happy with the way things are going with the team and the bike and I am enjoying the races. I was struggling to come through in the first moto and got lucky when Ken Roczen had to throw away his goggles. I did not quite gel with the track this weekend but overall it was a good GP and to have another podium." Christophe Charlier, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 7th: "I strained my left thumb on the start-finish jump during free practice and I was worried about what I could do. My good starts helped and I was around the top five. I overtook Herlings but could not go with the speed of Frossard. I had a small crash but to finish 6th was very good and not something I would have expected after Saturday. I feel confident for the next races now." Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 9th: "I felt great on the bike this weekend. In the first moto I had a good start but made some mistakes before finding a fast rhythm in the last part of the race. I crashed in the fifth corner of the second moto because I hit a softer part of the track and the front wheel dug-in and I lost balance. It was a shame because my start was pretty good. I was really far behind and it was difficult to pass on this track so I had a similar style of race to the first and built-up my speed. I made my best times towards the end and I know I must work on being aggressive in the first ten minutes to stay at the front of the pack and get some good results." Chiara Fontanesi, 2nd: "After the last GP when I made the podium I took a lot of confidence that I could be among the top three riders and brought that into this weekend. In the first moto it was really hard to make up ground but the second was perfect with a great start. I hope I can continue this speed and form." Circuit Length: 1780 Crowd: 35,000 Weather: Cloudy
Last Years Winner: Marvin Musquin 2010 GP of Germany 20/06/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 40'44.108 2 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0'04.645 3 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'12.812 4 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'31.456 5 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'35.632 6 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0'41.892 7 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 0'43.478 8 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'44.200 9 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'03.398 10 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'03.791 11 Khounsith Vongsana KTM FRA 1'18.591 12 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'22.488 13 Martin Michek TM CZE 1'26.607 14 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'32.090 15 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 1'41.988 17 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 2'04.714 18 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 2'15.526 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 40'06.652 2 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 0'26.568 3 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'36.614 4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'47.311 5 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1'00.947 6 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'06.656 7 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 1'16.155 8 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 1'18.283 9 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'20.736 10 Michael Lieb Kawasaki USA 1'21.304 11 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 1'22.025 12 Khounsith Vongsana KTM FRA 1'33.732 13 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'38.501 14 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 2'00.290 15 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 2'02.427 18 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA -1Laps 19 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps Rider Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 365 2. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 288 3. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 268 4. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 241 5. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 233 6. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 225 7. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 214 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 209 9. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 183 10. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 158 11. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 158 12. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 130 13. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 127 14. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 111 15. Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 100 20. Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR 36 22. Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 25 27. Travis Baker Yamaha USA 15 31. Max Anstie Yamaha GBR 9 33. Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED 9 34. Vince Friese Yamaha USA 8 38. Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA 5 42. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 2 44. Ed Allingham Yamaha GBR 2 Manufacturer Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 392 2. Suzuki 305 3. Yamaha 277 4. Kawasaki 276 5. Honda 65 6. TM 18
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Lorenzo storms to stunning Silvestone victory

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

Yamaha riders fastest at Misano test ahead of next week’s San Marino races

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team completed a two-day test this afternoon at the San Marino circuit ahead of next week’s eighth round of the World Championship in Misano. At the close of the test riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland were the fastest riders on the board. The team spent the two days testing some different linkages on the bikes along with various electronic settings and also a new radiator design to aid cooling. The first day started well with both riders posting competitive times, James Toseland in particular ending the morning session second fastest with a 1”36.7 and team mate Cal Crutchlow not far behind in fourth with a 1”36.8. The afternoon saw rainfall which disrupted the test and made the track conditions slower this morning. The day gave very hot temperatures for most of the session, but cooled towards the end allowing the riders to post their fastest times. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1”36.2 90 laps) “It’s been a pretty good test for us, the weather’s been difficult, either really hot or wet which has been challenging. Still, we managed to get down to the fastest time here and I did that on a used tyre which should stand us in good stead for next week’s races. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it again.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1”36.3, 90 laps) “We tried a lot with the electronics, all in all it’s been a good test for Yamaha. I’m putting a lot of time into the bike to try and find some extra time in the second half of the race and be more consistent. Everyone is doing a great job but we’re busy trying to catch up with the Aprilia.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “I am satisfied as the riders made their best times with used tyres. If the race was tomorrow we are ready. I’m looking forward to the race weekend, it has been a very productive test and we are optimistic that we can build on this and produce some good results.”
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Agostini back on track at Assen to celebrate the 80th TT

Giacomo Agostini On the 26th of June the legendary Assen circuit will witness the 80th edition of the famous TT race. To celebrate the event in style the Yamaha Classic Racing Team will be present and will be displaying iconic Yamaha race bikes from across the decades of the manufacturer’s racing history. The Team will be joined by living legend Giacomo Agostini who will ride the circuit on a classic Yamaha racer. Racing fans visiting the TT paddock area will be able to get up close and personal with historical GP machines raced to glory from 1964 to 1985 including: 125cc 1 cylinder, 350cc 3 cylinder, 750cc 4 cylinder and all two stroke machines. Added to the line up this year is the 1965 125cc V4 (RA31A) machine that delivered a 1, 2 world championship victory to riders Bill Ivy and Phil Read and the manufacturer’s title to Yamaha in 1965. Another new iconic bike present will be the 350cc twin (OW16) that Agostini raced to world championship victory with in 1974 in the 350cc class. Agostini rides again In homage to the Assen TT Agostini will ride his celebrated 1975 YZR500 OW23 racebike on the circuit. This is the original machine that he rode to his last ever world title victory in 1975 and has special significance as it was also the machine he rode to victory on at the Assen TT in that year. This rare and historically important racebike is being flown over by Yamaha from Japan for this occasion, and is a rare opportunity to see and hear it being ridden by Agostini on track as he did 35 years ago. For more information on Agostini’s victories with Yamaha and the build up to the 80th Assen TT please click the following link to enjoy the Yamaha video: “I am very happy to see that the interest for our classic racing activities is growing and growing,” said Yamaha Classic Racing Team Manager, Ferry Brouwer. “One thing that the public generally appreciates is that the historical machines as well as the racing legends can be approached quite easily, although depending a bit on the venue that we're at. I'm very proud that Giacomo Agostini is participating on the major events this year and we are very grateful that the Yamaha headquarters in Japan have given Ago the opportunity again to ride on his original and legendary machine that he steered to his final word title in 1975.” The Yamaha Classic Racing Team will return to Assen later this year for a second iconic event, the Centennial Classic TT on the 18th and 19th September. Agostini will again ride for the team at this event and will be joined by other iconic riders from the golden years of racing including: Rodney Gould (1970 250cc world champion with Yamaha), Dieter Braun (1973 250cc world champion with Yamaha), Chas Mortimer (1973 125cc vice champion with Yamaha), Bruno Kneubühler (1974 125cc vice champion with Yamaha) and Steve Baker (1977 500cc vice champion with Yamaha). The Yamaha Classic Racing Team calendar for 2010 includes the following dates: 26 June - Assen, Netherlands 24,25 July - Imatra, Finland 14,15 Aug - Schotten, Germany 22 Aug - Eext, Netherlands 18,19 Sept - Assen, Netherlands 2,3 Oct - Imola, Italy
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Q&A - Valentino Rossi on his release from hospital

1. Vale, first question: how are you and are you still in pain? "The positive thing is that the worst is past and that the two operations went well, so everything is okay. Now I am expecting a difficult period, in which I have to be aware of the risk of infection and in which I must remain with the leg constantly elevated. Then there will come a second key period, when I will be able to start my rehabilitation and, with support on the leg, will be able to start to walk around with crutches." 2. Dr. Buzzi talked about a rehabilitation period of about five or six months, what do you think? "It's to be expected that Dr. Buzzi has been very cautious in his prognosis. I want to heal the injury; that is the only thing I'm interested in. If I miss four races or six races, it doesn't make any difference. The right time to return could be Brno, but it won't necessarily be like this." 3. Do you remember the accident? "I remember everything perfectly. I didn't hit my head, I didn't hit anything else. The airbag in my leathers worked very well and my helmet was just slightly scratched. I don't have a single bruise! The problem was that I landed on my leg, and it was stuck under my body. If I had landed on my back it would have been different. I had a new tyre and I'd done two laps, then I slowed down because I had Barbera behind me. When I came back onto the racing line Pedrosa arrived and I didn't want to cause a problem for him so I moved again but then when I reopened the gas, it happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Seven seconds were enough to make the tyre drop temperature dramatically. The error was mine." 4. Who would you like to thank? "First of all I want to thank Professor Buzzi of the CTO Careggi in Florence and all of his staff, because they were brilliant. Fortunately, doing it at Mugello meant I wasn't far from the Careggi and this was very lucky. I also want to thank everybody else at the Careggi and all the nurses because they treated me so well, then the staff at the Clinica Mobile and the marshals and officers at the Mugello circuit. Finally, a big hello and particular thanks to all the fans because never, not even for a second, have they let me forget their affection and support. The messages I saw on Sunday on television from the circuit were beautiful."? 5. At any time since the accident has there been a moment when you have said "stop racing motorcycles"? "Sincerely, I haven't felt any fear. I was a bit horrified when I saw the leg, yes...but the thing I dislike the most is to miss so many races! I will take all the time I need and be sure not to do anything stupid because I want to return quickly, but only if my condition allows it. I know I have a bike for next year and I don't need to rush my return to demonstrate anything. I could miss just four races but I still wouldn't come back to win the championship. It's better to be careful, finish the rehabilitation in the best way and come back to race for many more years. I've heard of many other sportsmen, a lot in fact, who have had the same problem as me. One example for everyone: Mark Webber called me and he has had an exposed fracture of the right leg. He told me to be very patient and that I would have some moments of discomfort, but that in the end recovery was guaranteed." 6. Now you have some time at home to rest and to think... "Yes, now I have a lot of time at home to rest, to recover and to think. Firstly, I want to use this time to improve some things. I want to improve my English, learn something new, read a lot. Basically, I want to improve and learn. This I will do for sure. If your question instead is referring to 2011, this incident will not influence my choices for next year in any way. Last Saturday hasn't changed anything. I just have one broken leg extra! The result of 2010, therefore, has never been relevant to my decisions for the future." 7. During your enforced rest, will you also be working on your injured shoulder? "Definitely, yes. This is one of the few positive things about this incident; finally I can work on the rehabilitation of the shoulder, in no hurry, without operations and without races. From tomorrow I will restart the exercises, lying on my bed, and I am certain that when I return the shoulder will be completely recovered. When I come back I will be in perfect shape, although it won't mean that I can win straight away. When you return after an enforced break you not only have to think about the body, but also the mind. I won't be able to come back and win immediately.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi released from hospital

At 1530 CET today Valentino Rossi was released from the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence, Italy, where he has been recovering following surgery last Saturday to mend his broken right leg. He was taken by ambulance to a helicopter and is now being flown to a hospital in Cattolica, close to his home, where he will meet with doctors to discuss the next stage of his recovery. More information and details about his condition will be sent later today.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi update from Dr. Buzzi

Dr. Roberto Buzzi, head of Trauma at the CTO Careggi (Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico) in Florence, Italy, made the following statement about Valentino Rossi today: "Today Valentino underwent another small operation to close the wound, which is looking good. We closed it with 15 stitches and our overall medical judgement is positive. We used a short general anaesthetic and when he woke up he was in good shape. The healing process of the injury is going well and as expected in Valentino's condition." Rossi crashed on Saturday in practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, breaking his lower right leg.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Lorenzo extends title lead with second place in Mugello

Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo gave the Fiat Yamaha Team a reason to smile in Mugello this afternoon as he brought his M1 home in second position, extending his Championship lead after two wins and two seconds so far this season. Lorenzo took to the podium wearing a yellow number 46 shirt as a nod to his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who watched the race from his hospital bed after breaking his leg in practice yesterday. Lorenzo got a good start behind Dani Pedrosa but soon realised he was not able to keep yesterday's blistering pace, quickly losing ground to his fellow Spaniard as he became embroiled in a fight with Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian passed Lorenzo on lap three but the Mallorcan got his nose back in front three laps later, the pair then remaining locked closely together until three-quarter race distance, when Lorenzo managed to stretch his lead to over half a second. By then Pedrosa was several seconds clear and the 23-year-old had no choice but to settle for a safe runner-up spot, meaning he has taken an impressive 90 points from a possible 100 so far this season. His lead is now 25 points over Pedrosa in the championship, with the injured Rossi in third. This was the first time Rossi has not started a race since he began his illustrious career over fourteen years ago in Malaysia at the age of 16, and the Italian holds the record of 230 consecutive starts. He is currently recuperating at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence following surgery yesterday to repair his broken right leg. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2ndTime: +4.014 "Unfortunately my pace today wasn't as good as yesterday and I could only finish second; something happened and I couldn't ride in the same way but in the circumstances I am happy with my result. Anyway Dani had a perfect race today; he had an amazing pace and I don't know if I could have beaten him even if I had been as fast as yesterday! To take 90 points from 100 is great and I am leading the championship, so I cannot ask for more. I need to make some improvements to my riding style and Yamaha needs to try to improve the power of the bike a bit so we have some things to work on, but I am confident about the next weeks. It was very strange today without Valentino, I am so glad the fans honoured him so well. I wanted to win to dedicate the victory to him but that wasn't possible so all I can do is say 'get well soon!'" Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager "After the weekend our team has had with what happened to Valentino this was a good result for us, we have 90 points, two wins and two seconds and we are happy with our season so far. Jorge had some issues today and we need to analyse why it happened and why he couldn't keep the same pace, but we are not too worried and he rode a good race today. We are 25 points clear in the championship which is great but we all know why, because Valentino isn't here, and it's a sad situation. We all wish him the best." Ben Spies battles hard for seventh at majestic Mugello Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Ben Spies got his 2010 world championship campaign firmly back on track with a battling seventh place finish in today's Italian MotoGP race at Mugello. Spies showed his failure to finish the previous two races had done little to dent his confidence as he made a stunning start from the third row of the grid. The 25-year-old slotted into a brilliant fourth place before he slipped back to seventh in a hectic opening few laps. He briefly moved back into the top six with an overtake on Randy de Puniet on lap six but spent the remainder of the 23-lap encounter giving his maximum effort to try and clos e in on captivating battle for fourth position. Spies brilliantly hunted down Casey Stoner, de Puniet and Marco Melandri but despite launching a persistent challenge he was never able to get sufficiently close to mount an attack. The Texan's morale-boosting result though moved him back into the top ten in the world championship standings on 20-points with four of the 18 rounds completed. American team-mate Colin Edwards finished in a brave 13th place despite having to race in extremely difficult circumstances. Edwards suffered a mystery fatigue issue in this morning's warm-up session and it was obvious from the start of the race that his physical condition would prevent him from showing his true potential as he dropped from fifth to 11th. Despite feeling well below his best, Edwards bravely rode to 13th to collect three valuable po ints and preserve his 100 per cent points-scoring record this season. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now embarks on a new adventure when MotoGP visits the Silverstone circuit in England for the first time since 1986. Ben Spies Ben Spies - Position: 7thTime: +28.806 "The goal was top ten, so to be eighth I'm pretty happy with, especially leaving here with solid points after the disappointment of the last two races. I got a great start and felt like I rode as hard as I could and didn't make too many mistakes but I just couldn't quite get up close to the battle in front of me and that was a little frustrating. I found myself right on the tail of that pack with Randy, Marco and Casey but I wasn't going to be able to pass them on the straight. I just tried to stay as close as I could for as long as I could in case something happened with them but everybody kept it upright. I was just hoping that the pack was going to break open and I could pick one of them off but they stayed together. It was a good race and what I needed to build my confidence and experience and now I'm looking forward to Silverstone. That's a level playing field with nobody knowing the track, so I'll have less of a disadvantage." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - Position: 13thTime: +1'14.393 "I'm really disappointed and a bit mystified because I've felt good all weekend and we got the bike working really well again after we switched back to the setting we had at Mugello last year. But it was a struggle from the off and I didn't feel great at all. The bike was working well. It goes round the corner good, it brakes good and has good traction but I can't ride in that condition. I felt fatigued really early in the race and was really struggling to change direction with the bike. And at this track you have got a l ot of fast changes of direction that are crucial to help you flow and set good times. I've had a bit of an arm pump issue all weekend for the first time in my career and needed quite a few injections to ease that. But I was way below my best physical condition and not just because of that. All I can do is apologise to Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and I wish I knew what was going on. I'll try and figure it out and be ready to come out fighting strong in Silverstone." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a mixed day for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because we had high hopes after qualifying. Ben did a great job and it was a shame that he could not really force his way into that exciting fight for fourth place. He did everything he could and he never gave up to show how determined he is to achieve a better result. But I think it was obvious that he had a speed issue on the straight a nd that didn't help him. But it was a race that will be good for his confidence though and he showed that he is capable of easily challenging for the top places. It was a big shame for Colin because it is clear he was not able to ride at his usual level. Colin showed his potential in qualifying with fifth but in the race his physical condition never allowed him to fight at his maximum potential and I feel for him because he too never stop trying to improve his situation. We now look forward to the new challenge of Silverstone hopeful of a positive result." Circuit Length: 5245 Temp: 32 Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1'50.117 (Max Biaggi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'42.837 (Valentino Rossi, 04/06/2006) Last Years Winner: Casey Stoner 2010 MotoGP Italy - Mugello 06/06/2010 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 42'28.066 2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 0'04.014 3 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'06.196 4 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'25.703 5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'25.735 6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'25.965 7 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'28.806 8 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'40.172 9 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'41.394 10 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 0'42.107 11 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 0'43.095 12 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'43.363 13 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'14.393 14 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 1'24.389 Rider Standings 06/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 90 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 65 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 61 4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 58 5. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 39 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 36 7. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 32 8. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 24 9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 23 10. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 20 11. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 19 12. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 19 13. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 18 14. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 16 15. Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 13 Manufacturer Standings 06/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 95 2. Honda 77 3. Ducati 52 4. Suzuki 19
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Brayton makes 5th in championship as SX ends in Vegas

Cunningham The 2010 AMA SX series/FIM World Championship came to an end with the seventeenth and final round of the year taking place at the Sam Boyd stadium in Las Vegas last weekend. Kyle Cunningham was the surprise top runner on the Valli Motorsports YZ450F with 4th position but Muscle Milk Joe Gibbs Racing's Justin Brayton finished 8th and was able to rise into the top five of the season standings. Texan Cunningham had a career-best race in just his third event in the premier class since taking the vacated seat of the injured Ivan Tedesco. The 21 year old, who had secured 8th place in the East Coast Lites series, had scored 13th and 11th in his two previous outings before coming to Nevada. "I knew I could ride the 450, I just hadn't put a whole race together," he said. "Something just kept happening. Plus, the other two races [seattle and Salt Lake City] were just crazy conditions. But here, with normal conditions, I felt great. I caught a flow about halfway through and I just rode it on in to the finish. I'm pumped." Kyle Chisholm was 7th ahead of Brayton and Michael Byrne managed 11th. Josh Hill was able to score two points more than his two previous outings with 17th place and end a nightmare-ish second half of the campaign in which a rib injury has affected his race stamina. Four Yamaha's finished in the final top ten of the standings with Brayton 5th, Hill 6th, Tedesco in 9th and Kyle Chisholm claiming 10th. 2009 champion James Stewart etched the sole victory for Yamaha at Anaheim 1 but has been out with a broken scaphoid since round four. The AMA Motocross Nationals will now begin in two weeks with the first event taking place at Hangtown in Sacramento, California. Circuit Length: n/a Crowd: NA Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 0'52.030 (Kevin Windham, 01/01/2004) Last Years Winner: Ryan Villopoto 2010 AMA-SX Las Vegas, NV 10/05/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 20'54.883 2 Chad Reed Kawasaki AUS 0'05.034 3 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'20.098 4 Kyle Cunningham Yamaha USA 0'25.155 5 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'27.330 6 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'28.730 7 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 0'33.921 8 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0'35.887 9 Thomas Hahn Suzuki USA 0'49.306 10 Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 0'51.067 11 Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 0'53.306 12 Matt Boni Honda USA -1Laps 13 Chris Blose Honda USA -1Laps 14 Josh Demuth Honda USA -1Laps 15 Weston Peick Yamaha USA -1Laps 17 Josh Hill Yamaha USA -1Laps 19 Jake Anstett Yamaha USA -3Laps Rider Standings 08/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 363 2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 293 3. David D Millsaps Honda USA 268 4. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 266 5. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 238 6. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 233 7. Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 197 8. Thomas Hahn Suzuki USA 186 9. Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 183 10. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 177 11. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 170 12. Andrew Short Honda USA 150 13. Chris Blose Honda USA 120 14. Trey Canard Honda USA 103 15. Jason Thomas Suzuki USA 79 18. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 67 19. Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 62 20. James Stewart Yamaha USA 51 23. Kyle Cunningham Yamaha USA 36 26. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 30 27. Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 25 38. Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 7 45. Jake Anstett Yamaha USA 2 46. Josh Grant Yamaha USA 1 Manufacturer Standings 08/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 367 2. Honda 357 3. Kawasaki 341 4. Yamaha 323 5. KTM 3
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

MX-GP: De Dycker and Philippaerts log Portuguese top three finishes?

De Dycker in Portugal The Grand Prix of Portugal took place at a challenging Agueda circuit in front of 14,000 spectators as rain on Saturday turned into sunshine on Sunday and Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Ken De Dycker grabbed his first top three finish of the season on the new YZ450F with 3rd place in the second moto. Yamaha Monster Energy David Philippaerts was the highest-placed Yamaha runner with 5th overall and aced a rostrum slot in the first race. On Saturday, after refining his set-up with the help of the Ohlins technicians, Philippaerts was able to make a great start in the Qualification Heat and lead world champion Tony Cairoli to the finish line for his second pole position of the season. Showers that lasted most of the day on Saturday caused the track to soften and become rutty and bumpy. As the terrain dried and offered more grip on Sunday more racing lines appeared in the second moto. DP at Agueda 2008 world champion Philippaerts was chasing Clement Desalle hard for second place in the first moto when he inexplicably fell on the landing of a long jump adjacent to the start-straight. The Italian was able to quickly remount and although he secured 3rd was left nursing a painful left hand. The complaint would bother him in the second race and he was unable to run at a similar pace through the rough bumps, eventually finishing 8th. Ahead De Dycker was battling with Evgeny Bobryshev, Max Nagl and Desalle. The Belgian was in a resolute mood after a first lap crash in the opening race had forced his retirement with a damaged radiator and broken front brake. The DNF meant that the 25 year old was 10th by the end of the day although he was pleased with his fight to 3rd. Philippaerts is 3rd in the world championship standings, 28 points from second while De Dycker is 6th. The team will head east across Portugal and into Spain arriving at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Catalunya next week and round five of the series. In other news Spain's Carlos Campano still leads the MX3 World Championship after his second win of the season at round three in Argentina last week. In front of a decent 20,000 crowd the former Spanish Champion went 2-1 at La Rioja to clinch his spoils and edge a 6 point lead in the standings. "I am very happy," he said. I won in front of so many spectators and I am still leading the Championship." Ten rounds remain in the contest that is held in conjunction with the MX2 European series. Philippaerts after Moto1 David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 5th: "In the first moto I was following Desalle and my speed was good but on the third lap I had a big crash. I don't know the reason for it, similar to what happened in Mantova, and it was just one second in which my race was decided. I hurt my hand and that affected my feeling on the bike in the second moto. I did not have quite as much control or strength as before and it was not good for my corner speed because the bike was moving around a lot because of the bumps and I needed to hold on. Yesterday was very good but our races are being hit by some surprises. My lap-times are good and I am keeping consistent and now we must all work on getting our set-up right and the results we deserve." Ken De Dycker, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 10th: "I had some bad luck in the first race. I came into the rut and jumped it a little bit but the bike went sideways in the second part and I could not keep it up. The radiator was bent and the front brake was poking into the front wheel so it was not possible to go on. The second moto was better but hard work, and I lost the rhythm in some places. I am quite happy with how it went." Crowd: 14,000 Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2010 GP of Portugal 09/05/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 40'37.687 2 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'14.633 3 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'17.055 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'18.870 5 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'20.685 6 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0'22.020 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'45.869 8 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'53.096 9 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1'04.235 10 Marc De Reuver Suzuki NED 1'06.660 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'09.663 12 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'10.618 13 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 1'11.406 14 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'25.652 15 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 1'32.088 16 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 1'32.561 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 39'57.508 2 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'02.809 3 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 0'04.569 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'06.537 5 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'09.288 6 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0'12.826 7 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'23.894 8 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'28.727 9 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'51.791 10 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0'52.578 11 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 0'53.484 12 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'56.710 13 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'13.304 14 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'16.923 15 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 1'26.064 Rider Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 179 2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 161 3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 133 4. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 124 5. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 123 6. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 114 7. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 106 8. Tanel Leok Honda EST 96 9. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 79 10. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 75 11. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 73 12. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 63 13. Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 59 14. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 57 15. Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 56 17. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 46 21. Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 19 Manufacturer Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 197 2. Suzuki 169 3. Yamaha 156 4. Kawasaki 118 5. Honda 113 6. Aprilia 63 7. TM 37 8. CCM 11 RACE REPORT 09/05/2010 Osborne so close to Portuguese MX2-GP podium Osborne at Agueda The fourth round of the FIM MX2-GP World Championship saw Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne miss a first podium result for the 2010 YZ250F - with increased agility due to a new chassis - by just one point as the American gets closer and closer to his first silverware of the season. Agueda hosted the Grand Prix of Portugal and thanks to copious rainfall on Saturday the course with many jumps, drops and climbs was a rougher prospect than usual for race-day. 14,000 spectators attended the event despite the changeable climate for the first of two back-to-back meetings on the MX-GP schedule. Osborne set a decent pace across a wet and slick layout in practice and qualification and was not far off the speed marked by the leaders in the motos themselves. The 2009 Turkish GP winner chased Shaun Simpson to finish 5th in the first moto and was exercising a degree of caution at the venue where he broke his scaphoid and ended his season twelve months ago. In the second moto Osborne gelled with the track and enjoyed a lengthy skirmish with Dutch GP victor Jeffrey Herlings, only losing out to the teenager after some fraught run-ins with backmarkers. With 3rd position by the flag Osborne gained his first entry into the top three and missed the podium by a single point. Kullas in Portugal Elsewhere Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi's Harri Kullas was 8th overall with a promising start and decent ride to 7th in Moto1. The Finn was slower getting away in Moto2 but persisted to the finish to gain 13th. Team-mate Christophe Charlier steered the third YZ250F into the top ten with 10th place overall. The 2009 European Champion was competing with an injured right hand after damaging thumb ligaments in a mid-week training crash. He defied the pain to reach the flag ahead of Kullas in Moto1 for 6th but a crash at the beginning of the second race dropped him to 15th. Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Loic Larrieu crashed in the Qualification Heat and had to enter the gate down in 33rd limiting his options at the start of the motos. The Frenchman also hit the ground during Sunday. Eventually he managed two points for 19th in the second sprint. Alessandro Lupino was 17th and 11th for 14th overall and his best points haul of the season, despite a sore right wrist. Osborne is currently the highest-placed Yamaha rider in the MX2-GP table with 6th position and 2 points from the top five. Kullas and Charlier are 9th and 10th. Yamaha 3C Racing's Chiara Fontanesi was 5th overall in the second round of the FIM Women's World Championship courtesy of two 6th positions and holds 4th in the seven-race series, the third edition of the competition, on the YZ250F. Round five of the world championship will take place at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Catalunya next week. Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha, 4th: "I am a little disappointed that I did not make the podium because it would have been sweet revenge after getting hurt here last year. However a 5th and a 3rd and some good points mean that it has been a good weekend. I think I am catching those guys slowly but surely. My first race was not my best of the year but it was still solid, and in the second I held it out as long as I could up there but ran into some lappers and Herlings passed me. I gained some ground on him a little bit but again got mixed up with slower riders. I enjoyed the rough circuit. It was a GP track; gnarly, rough, hard to predict. It was definitely good. I am so happy with the way things are going with the team. Everyone is pulling together and it is such a joint-effort." Harri Kullas, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 8th: "Overall I had one good, one bad. In the first race I had a good start and when Roelants crashed in front of me I had 7th. I could see Christophe in front of me but when I pushed he would do also and I could not get close enough. I was happy with 7th though. In the second moto I started badly and struggled to wake-up and this is something I need to work on. I rode smart but spent too much time behind Karro and Tonkov. Near the end I pushed as hard as I could. 8th overall was a good result for the day and I feel it is progress." Christophe Charlier, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 10th: "I did the best I could today but it was definitely hard with my hand. I had a crash at the start of the second moto but the first one was pretty good in the circumstances. I just have to let my hand heal and hope it is a bit stronger for Spain." Crowd: 14,000 Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Rui Goncalves 2010 GP of Portugal 09/05/2010 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 39'09.201 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'03.389 3 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0'03.997 4 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'02.518 5 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'17.802 6 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'20.932 7 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'23.221 8 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'24.333 9 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1'47.796 10 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 1'50.706 11 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA -1Laps 12 Nikolai Larsen Honda DNK -1Laps 13 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps 14 Aleksandr Tonkov Suzuki RUS -1Laps 15 Petr Smitka KTM CZE -1Laps 17 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 40'09.015 2 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0'08.230 3 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'14.284 4 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0'20.023 5 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'32.628 6 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'50.167 7 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0'51.004 8 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'03.928 9 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'05.055 10 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 1'16.926 11 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 1'19.092 12 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 1'20.792 13 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'22.165 14 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 1'45.346 15 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'46.923 18 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps 19 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA -1Laps Rider Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 179 2. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 167 3. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 164 4. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 133 5. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 116 6. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 114 7. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 105 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 101 9. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 83 10. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 81 11. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 80 12. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 76 13. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 60 14. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 45 15. Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 40 17. Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR 29 20. Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 16 29. Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA 5 30. Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED 4 31. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 2 32. Ed Allingham Yamaha GBR 2 Manufacturer Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 200 2. Suzuki 167 3. Kawasaki 135 4. Yamaha 123 5. Honda 40 6. TM 9
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Guarnoni takes the R6 to victory in the Superstock 600 race at Monza?

MRS Racing rider Jeremy Guarnoni took his second race victory of the year today at Monza on his Yamaha YZF-R6. The legendary Monza circuit provided an action packed race for the European Superstock 600 class, of the 20 riders who started on the grid only nine made it to the finish line. Guarnoni spent the eight lap race in close battle for a podium position until a last minute crash from his closest rivals on the final corner put him in front through Parabolica and across the line to claim the chequered flag. Team mate Romain Lanusse didn’t fair so well, crashing out after five laps, he was uninjured in the fall. Guarnoni now heads to the next round in Misano having stretched his lead in the championship to 88 points, 20 ahead of second placed rider Florian Marino. Team mate Lanusse sits in sixth, on 30 points.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno