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Alex Asigno
Former double world championship runner-up Josh Coppins will enter a third year with Yamaha and the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team after putting pen to paper to extend his current deal this week. The popular New Zealander, who presently sits third in the 2008 FIM MX-1 series as the calendar reaches its tenth stop this weekend in South Africa, has won six Grand Prix in a potent combination with the YZ450FM, including a memorable debut success at Valkenswaard for the opening round of 2007 and almost clinching the ’07 title before an unfortunate injury halted his progress deep into the season. The 31 year old has walked the podium 12 times and won 11 motos in the space of a year and a half and 21 Grand Prix with the factory team. His alliance with the YZ has proved incredibly effective and he topped charts of: Moto wins, Grand Prix wins, Podiums accumulated and rounds led (13) in 2007. He dominated the Grand Prix of Germany several weeks ago and is just 16 points behind team-mate David Philippaerts. Thanks to his efforts and that of the Italian alongside him – who is already confirmed for 2009 - Yamaha lead the Manufacturers’ standings and retain a realistic and viable chance of world championship success this year. “Once I had made the decision I wanted to race another season and another world championship there was no other option in my mind than to continue with Yamaha,” said the Kiwi. “We have had success in a short period of time and that is partly due to the excellent way the team work. The world championship was so close for us last year and we are right there for the 2008 title. I know that the team and Yamaha are right behind me and I could not wish for a more professional set-up. Signing the new deal was pretty quick, I’m glad to get things sorted out early so we can push on with doing the business this season.” “For Yamaha it isa very logical decision to continue with David and Josh next year as we are very happy with the current rider line up,” said Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “Josh is a very experienced rider with an amazing fighting spirit and dedication for the sport and that is very valuable for Yamaha. I am confident that he will be a title contender both this year and the next. The aim for 2008 and for 2009 is to win the Rider and Manufacturer’s title, and have both riders at the top of the ranking..”
Alex Asigno
Valentino Rossi took the runner-up spot in the German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring today and moved back to the top of the championship, after Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the lead on lap five. Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was another victim of the first fully wet race of the season, sliding out of the race on the third lap. This morning's practice was run on a damp track but the weather worsened through the middle part of the day and the MotoGP race began in heavy rain. Rossi, starting from seventh on the grid, was caught up in the first lap confusion and lost some time but then made up two places on the second lap, before being elevated to fourth when Pedrosa went down. In the next few laps the Italian passed first fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards and then Andrea Dovizioso, which left him in second behind Casey Stoner. Rossi did his best to close the gap to the Australian but with the pair clocking similar lap times he was unable to make any headway into a deficit of more than three seconds, settling for second place and 20 points. Chris Vermeulen loomed behind him at mid-race distance but Rossi's M1 and his Bridgestone tyres were working well in the wet and he was able to step up the pace somewhat, eventually crossed the line 3.708 seconds behind Stoner and more than 14 ahead of third-placed Vermeulen. Today's result sees Rossi back at the top of the standings, 16 points clear of Pedrosa and 20 ahead of Stoner, whilst Lorenzo holds on to fourth despite taking no points today. The MotoGP paddock now packs up and makes the transatlantic trip to California for the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca in a week's time. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: +3.708 "I'm really happy with this result, even if racing in the rain today wasn't quite as much fun as I've had in some of my past races here! For the championship this is very, very important; I made a mistake last week in Assen and today Dani did the same. It's unlucky but this is racing and now we are back in front and this is a very good feeling. Dani is tough and we know he will be back fighting at the front, but sincerely at the moment we need to think about how to catch Casey because he has been very fast now for a few races. Once again here we lost some time during the practice trying to find the right setting and we can't afford to keep doing this. Today we started from the third row and this meant that I had to deal with some confusion at the start and lost some time on the front riders. By the time I got behind Casey my M1 was working very well and I had very good grip with my Bridgestone rain tyres; I felt very confident and I tried hard to push but there was no way to catch him at that stage, so our aim must be to start at the front from now on. Thanks to all my team and engineers; now we have to try to extend this lead in Laguna." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "This was a very positive race for us because this result takes us back to the top of the championship standings. I hope that Pedrosa's condition is not too serious and that he will be back at Laguna to fight as he has been doing so far. Today we have seen that we have a good set-up for the wet conditions and this is good news for us, as this was the very first full wet race since the beginning of the championship. Valentino pushed hard till the end of the race and the second place today was the maximum we could do, starting from the third row. Now we go to Laguna Seca, where we will launch another attack!" Unlucky Lorenzo slides off in rainy Germany Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo was one of four riders who failed to finish the German Grand Prix today, falling victim to a soaking track on the third lap of a rainy race at Sachsenring. His team-mate Valentino Rossi meanwhile regained his championship lead by way of an important second place, after series-leader Dani Pedrosa crashed out of the lead early on. Lorenzo had lacked rear grip all weekend but was hopeful that the rain might improve the situation today. Unfortunately however the reverse was true and he was thrown from his M1 when his rear tyre spun up on the exit from turn four, on lap three of 30. The Mallorcan was luckily completely unhurt this time and will not have to wait long to get over his disappointment, as his first competitive visit to Laguna Seca beckons in just a few day's time. The Michelin-shod rider holds onto fourth in the championship despite taking no points today. Jorge Lorenzo - DNF "I felt good this morning because I though that I would have a chance to do a good race in the rain. On the warm-up lap however I felt that something wasn't quite right; I didn't have enough grip and I lost some confidence then. I made a good start and passed two riders in the first corner, but then I ran too deep and lost the places so I had to push to try to make them up again. The crash happened when I opened the gas coming out of turn four and I lost the rear. It was a pity but I didn't hurt myself this time and I am not feeling sad for myself tonight, I just feel very bad for the team because they worked too hard all weekend for a result like this. The positive thing about today is that at each race I am feeling better in myself, even though we're having some problems getting our package work correctly, and now I am just looking forward to racing for the very first time at Laguna.' Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "Today it was very difficult to find enough grip on the rear, in fact it seems like our problems became bigger in the wet. The rear tyre was spinning a lot under acceleration and Jorge was not able to control the rear grip. We did not have the chance to test in full wet conditions during the weekend and this played an important role for us, because it meant that it was impossible to be completely prepared for a wet race like this. We hope for better weather next week in Laguna Seca so that we can sort out all of our problems, because we absolutely want to come back to the level we know Jorge is capable of." Toseland 11th, Edwards crashes at soaked Sachsenring Today's 30-lap German MotoGP race ended below pre-race expectations for Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland at a rain-soaked Sachsenring. Making his wet race debut on board the Yamaha YZR-M1, Toseland gained valuable experience in full rain conditions on his way to a battling 11th place. Edwards' bid though to extend the best run of form in his MotoGP career ended with a crash out of fifth place on lap 21. Toseland made a stunning start from the fourth row to claim fifth by the first corner, but he was unable to match the fast pace of the leaders as he faced the tough task of mastering the conditions, while also adapting to his YZR-M1 machine in the wet. Edwards' crash ended his valiant attempt to claim a sixth successive top five finish in front of a 98,000-strong crowd. Having started from the front row for the fifth time in 2008, he seemed certain to be Michelin's best finisher when he slipped off at the seventh corner while holding off Andrea Dovizioso. Fortunately, Edwards escaped injury and is looking forward to a return to form in his home race at Laguna Seca next weekend. James Toseland 11th - 65 points "That was my first wet MotoGP race and I've got to admit that while I feel I've learned a lot, it was a difficult afternoon. I got an unbelievable start and at the first corner I was fifth and nearly took fourth. I thought I was in business but pretty much straightaway I knew it was going to be difficult to try and go away with the leading group. I had a couple of moments on the opening lap and I started losing places quite quickly. The frustrating thing was I couldn't do anything to respond. I didn't want to push too hard because I'd seen Jorge Lorenzo crash in front of me, so I knew I wasn't the only one struggling for rear grip. I think that coupled with a lack of experience of riding this bike in the rain made it tough. I kind of just got stuck at the pace I was running and couldn't really go any faster. I'm not going to blame anybody because I'm having a bit of a bad period but a positive from the weekend is I feel we have taken some big strides with the set-up of the bike. I was only halfa- second off the front row and I was fourth in the warm-up, so it has not been a bad weekend. We have eliminated a lot of problems and the team has done a great job, so I am looking forward to getting back closer to where I know I am capable of being and the team is capable of being at Laguna Seca. It is a track I know well, and I go there in a positive frame of mind as always despite having this tough run." Colin Edwards DNF - 98 points "All I can is it was a very tough race right from the start. The conditions were not easy but I got a reasonable start and just wanted to get into a steady pace. But it was obvious from quite early on that it was going to be difficult. I didn't have a lot of feel from the rear tyre and I tried everything I could to hang in there and keep a top five finish for the team, who have been great all weekend. It would have also kept my own personal good run going. But as the race wore on it wasn't getting any better and I lost the rear at the downhill left-hander. I had no warning at all and I didn't feel I was particularly pushing too hard because by that stage a podium had already gone. I was trying to keep Dovizioso behind me to at least finish top Michelin rider. I'd tried to follow Casey and Valentino but I just didn't have anything for them. Fifth was going to be the best result I could have managed today and that's a bit disappointing because in the dry I think I could have been fighting for a podium. I'm just grateful I didn't get hurt in the crash because I've got my home race coming up and I desperately want to put on a good performance for the American fans, Tech 3 and Yamaha at Laguna Seca. After this disappointment I'll be looking to bounce straight back." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was obviously not what we expected. We were not too confident for a wet race even though Colin had done another fantastic job to get on the front row again. We also know that Colin is very fast in the rain and the race started quite well and Colin and James were both right up with the leaders. But unfortunately we could easily see that it was difficult for Colin to follow the leaders from very early on and a podium was going to be difficult to achieve. Colin tried his absolute maximum to stay close and he was the first Michelin rider before he crashed. This can happen in such tough conditions and I don't blame him at all. He was trying very hard with a package that wasn't competitive enough to get a podium. Luckily he is okay because he has a very important race for him, the team and Yamaha next weekend in Laguna Seca. James also had some problems and I'm thankful he managed to bring it home and get a few points in such tough conditions in what was his first wet race. We have been on a good run of results and we might have closed on Jorge in fourth in the championship but it didn't happen. Hopefully in Laguna we won't have any rain and I hope Colin and James can be up front and they will only have issues with the heat and not the rain." Race 1 - 30 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 47'30.057 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'3.708 3, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'14.002 4, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'14.124 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'42.022 6, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'46.648 7, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 1'4.483 8, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 1'4.588 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 1'16.773 10, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'29.275 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, -1 Laps 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, -1 Laps 13, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, -2 Laps Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'32.749 Rider Standings 13/07/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 187 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 171 3, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 167 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 114 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 98 6, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 90 7, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 73 8, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 73 9, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 65 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 64 11, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 60 12, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 38 13, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 37 14, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 34 15, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 32 Team Standings 13/07/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 301 2, Repsol Honda Team, 244 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 199 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 163 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 135 6, Honda Gresini, 102 7, JIR Scot Team, 90 8, Team Alice, 71 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 54 10, Honda LCR, 30 Manufacturer Standings 13/07/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 216 2, Honda, 184 3, Ducati, 172 4, Suzuki, 96 5, Kawasaki, 47
Alex Asigno
Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) used their two days of official testing time at the Vallelunga circuit to prepare for the next races, and came away from Vallelunga with positive results all round. The sessions were a combined official FGSport outing and a Development Teams Test for Pirelli, and both Noriyuki and Troy found some advantages in the latest specification of control tyres. With track temperatures climbing to over 60°C on the final afternoon most riders set their best times during the final day’s morning session. Over the two days, Corser finished top Yamaha rider, with a 1’36.770. Noriyuki had set his fastest lap of 1’37.115 on the afternoon of the first day, which was generally cooler than day two. Despite the incredibly hot track temperatures, each rider found great improvements in the duration of the latest rear tyres during their long runs. The Vallelunga race itself, scheduled for September, is expected to be considerably cooler than it was during this test, but the team learned many valuable lessons for immediate and long-term use. Each rider tried out Öhlins electronic suspension units, which were being tested for the first time in public at this event and despite having limited track time in which to try them out, initial results were declared positive by each rider. The team also ran their latest exhaust developments, which made for a better engine response and slightly more power through the rev range. Troy Corser (5th - 1’36.770 - 127 laps - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I was happy enough with that test. We tried lots of different things with the suspension and the new things we worked with seemed pretty good. Overall the bike was working well and the new tyres they brought seemed to give us more life. They were not that much different in single lap times but they just lasted longer. We did a long run and from the first to the last lap the lap time was pretty good. I think there was more time to come off if we had pushed harder but we are testing, not qualifying. The temperature going up didn’t offer us much grip at all and there seemed to be less track grip than at Misano, which is unusual. It doesn’t feel as hot here but the tarmac obviously holds more heat. The test has been good, no silly mistakes or crashes, so it’s been positive all round.” Noriyuki Haga (8th - 1’37.115 - 131 laps - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) “I’m happy with the test and we did most of our work on our normal suspension set-up because that is what we will be using in real race conditions. We had a little problem finding a good final set-up to go faster than we did on day one, and we could not improve today. But in our long run the lap times were good, consistent and we had the same experience as Troy with the development tyres. They lasted longer than the regular ones. In this regard we are happy and the important thing is that the track temperature may be different for the race in two months, but we hope to use a similar machine set-up September.” Silvano Galbusera (Technical Chief, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We tested the electronic suspension for the first time and it seems to have good possibilities. Troy was happy with it, and we used it with Nori for a short time. We found a good solution from Pirelli for the races and both riders’ long runs were very good, and maybe Nori was slightly longer. I think he did 20 laps, with good results. Some riders could push harder for a single lap today, and because of that they set a better time, but we are happy with the work we did to make sure we will be ready for the races. Our new exhaust design was a small improvement in all areas. It is hard to do that at this stage of the season so the final result was good all round.”
Alex Asigno
The Yamaha World Supersport Team arrived in Vallelunga with a clear aim in mind and after exhaustive tests in high temperatures, both Broc Parkes and Fabien Foret found real improvements in the real-world race set-up of their Yamaha YZF-R6 machines. Parkes finished the test outright second fastest but more importantly he found an improved base set-up, even in the hot conditions of a Roman summer. The Qatar race winner also made good work in evaluating Pirelli’s latest batch of development tyres. Foret, who is not a fan of the Vallelunga circuit because it features contrasting fast and ultra-slow sections, made a set-up breakthrough on the final day, after working through several options during this test. Despite punishing track temperatures in the last session, both Foret and Parkes improved on their previous best laps times at the end of two hard days of action. Parkes was only 0.018 seconds from the fastest rider, with Foret only just over a tenth behind his team-mate, making him third quickest of all 17 riders. Broc Parkes (2nd - 1’39.523 - 96 laps - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It’s been a good test for us over two hard days and the new tyres worked well on our bike. We came with a target to make the bike more secure and still fast and we found a set-up that let us do that. The boys in the garage worked really hard so big thanks to them. We went faster at the end and I was on course to make an even better lap until I made a mistake and lost that last chance. But the test was very good, despite the heat on the track, and I hope we can take the things we found here forward to other races.” Fabien Foret (3rd - 1’39.653 - 101 laps - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "In the end we made what felt like a small change but it had a really big effect. We found that the new tyres were working better and towards the end we tried something new, which worked straight away. I was more than half a second faster! This is not a track I enjoy so much, especially the very slow parts, but we found something good and it is been useful to have lots of new information.” Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We got to where we wanted to be in the end but this morning we struggled a bit. Fabien had a different problem from Broc so we adjusted the bikes of each rider. Fabien is still looking for something more but in the set-up we took the bike to a place where we have never been. It seemed to work for him, even though it was quite a big jump. It was very interesting for Fabien to improve his previous best time by eight tenths of a second, so we are pleased to have actually found something new. But that is what testing is for. The track temperature was unbelievable, more than 60°C to start the session. The new tyres were good and we were happy with them.”
Alex Asigno
There are few more historic and scenic motorsport circuits in the world than Spa Francorchamps, situated in the depths of southern Belgium. The venue was an appropriate setting for the 2008 Bikers’ Classics, an event attended and enjoyed by 40,000 people over three days that saw a glittering and nostalgic array of machinery and former world champions, Grand Prix victors and racers from a by-gone era turn back the clock. The Bikers’ Classics is unique and nowhere is there such a gathering of motorcycles and riders able to offer such a splendid visual reminiscence of a very different racing age. From the immaculate gleam of the restored and preserved engines to the black leathers and the polished ‘pudding bowl’ helmets, Spa seemed to revel in the echo of the past and brought ‘black and white’ images to life for new generations. Like all those years ago Yamaha was at the core of the paddock and was present through the Yamaha Classic Racing Team with 26 vintage machines, most of which were steered by their original pilots. The team was born from the vast tradition and success of the manufacturer throughout the classes since their entry into world championship racing in the 1960s. One of Yamaha’s star attractions was Giacomo Agostini, winner of the most premier class world titles and Grand Prix, on his Yamaha 500cc 0W23 with which he claimed the 1975 title; the first two-stroke to do so, and the bike which signalled the end of an Italian era of technical dominance. Other Yamaha legends included Christian Sarron (500cc winner in 1985), Steve Baker (world championship contender in 1976), Chas Mortimer (up until recently the last British winner of a 125cc GP), Carlos Lavado (former 250cc champion), Kel Carruthers (250cc champion and the technical force behind names such as Kenny Roberts and Eddie Lawson), Rodney Gould (250cc number one in 1970) and Dieter Braun (250cc and 125cc champion) to name but a few. Fans were able to see the stars up close, take the opportunity to chat with them and the mechanics, relive old race memories and complete autograph collections. When the hallowed relics and examples of former cutting edge motorcycle racing technology were not the on track then a slew of privately owned machines carefully prepared and lovingly presented by a vast crowd of enthusiastsenjoyed the Spa asphalt. On Sunday the meeting culminated in a parade, a procession that started from the grid and although not competitive still saw heroes of the past such as 65 year old Gould hurtle around famous corners such as La Source and Eau Rouge with fearless abandon. Manager of the Yamaha Classic Race Team Ferry Brouwer, proud owner of most of the machines, commented: “It was a great event and I am very proud to bring Yamaha’s enormous racing heritage to this wonderful circuit again. We have shown what Yamaha stands for, and seeing the faces of all those fans when the bikes were started and passed through corners like Eau Rouge makes it all worthwhile.” The team are due to turn out again in a matter of weeks with the Salzburgring in Austria hosting the next date on July 19/20th.
Alex Asigno
25,000 spectators scaled the rocky hill beside the Uddevalla circuit to watch Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts take third position and extend his lead in the series at the Grand Prix of Sweden and the ninth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM Motocross World Championship. Frequent light rain covered the venue and the slippery conditions did not prevent the Italian registering his sixth podium finish from a possible nine on his works YZ450FM. Team-mate Josh Coppins, winner of the last round in Germany, did not enjoy good starts but rode well to claim 10th overall. The climbing undulations of the Scandinavian track provided a small headache for teams and riders across the weekend as the fast curves - newly mixed with sand and a softer soil - was a hard and slippery test on Saturday but with arrival of rain during the night and dark skies on Sunday provided a more technical and slick prospect for the races. 24 year old Philippaerts started poorly in the first moto and was lucky not to crash on the straight as he was clipped when the pack narrowed down to the opening turn. The one-line layout made overtaking very difficult but the red-plate holder slowly worked his way up from 12th place to capture 4th behind Steve Ramon. Winner of the Grand Prix, Jonathan Barragan, sealed his second victory of the year with the runner-up position in the second moto and Philippaerts rode a smart race to take another 4th and the bottom step of the podium behind the Spaniard and Ramon. Josh Coppins was luckless in Moto1 as a bad launch become worse when he could not avoid a fallen Loic Leonce and crashed on the first lap. The New Zealander then had to find and maximise the few overtaking places on the track to grab as many points as possible. He rode to 13th by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps and was satisfied with his efforts. Sadly his getaway from the gate could not be improved in Moto2 and another slip relegated him to near the bottom of the top twenty. He then provided one of the highlights of the race as he charged from mid-pack obscurity to pass Billy Mackenzie on the last lap for 5th. Philippaerts now has more podium finishes than any other rider and his total score so far has helped Yamaha to a 19 point lead in the Manufacturer's standings. He has fronted the rider's table since round three and stretched out his margin of 4 points last week to 12, over Ramon. Coppins is third and 16 adrift. UTag Yamaha.com's Kenneth Gundsersen was in attendance at his 'semi-home' Grand Prix and confirmed that he has started exercising as part of his rehabilitation after a knee reconstruction and expects to begin riding again mid-September. After back-to-back events the World Championship now stops for one week before the series moves continents and to the new circuit of Nelspruit next to Kruger Park for the Grand Prix of South Africa. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 3rd: "I am very happy to be back on the podium. Physically I have had some problems, with my hand and my rib, but I am getting better and chose to ride a smart race today. The ground behind the gate was very soft and I lost time with my starts; I had to close the gas at the start of the first moto because I did not want to crash but afterwards I could make some good laps. I tried in both races to pass Steve but there was only really one line. It was a good GP for the championship and now I hope I can start training normally again because it has been a hard couple of weeks since the GP of France." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 10th: "I was around 11th in the first race when Leonce made a mistake in front of me and I went into the back of him. I restarted more or less last and came back to 13th. It was a tough race, really hard to pass and very tricky with just one single fast line. In the second moto I made a better start but I went a little wide and into the soft mud where they had scraped the mud across the holes. I went down on the fourth corner trying to make a pass and get to the front too fast. I made my way to fifth purely on determination. I am pretty disappointed overall because my riding was good enough to be at the front end of the field. I knew the starts would be difficult with the soft gravel behind the gate; you need a little bit of luck and just have to drop the clutch and go for it, there is no real technique. I lost some points today and need to keep focussing on my riding not the championship; today I was thinking too much about winning instead of trying to have a good GP." Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager: "David is back on the podium after two GPs and a few little mistakes. He was looking good today and he is learning when to push and when to concentrate on not making a mistake; this is the system for a good season. He now has a lead of 12 points although we have seen how easy it is to lose any advantage! Josh was set-back by his starts and small crashes. He did not make a fantastic result but his speed looked very good in both races and he was unfortunate in that it was so hard to pass here. We tried another new pipe with David, there was no big difference but we made a test; overall the bikes were very good this weekend." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 39'23.245 2, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'5.231 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'7.373 4, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'9.689 5, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'16.662 6, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 0'22.169 7, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'28.086 8, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'29.184 9, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'30.064 10, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'36.017 11, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'37.062 12, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'43.785 13, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'50.734 14, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'54.043 15, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 0'58.888 16, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'0.653 17, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'5.335 18, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'24.686 19, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'33.887 20, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'36.268 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 40'23.192 2, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'16.793 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'26.090 4, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'34.407 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'38.064 6, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'40.896 7, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'52.771 8, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 1'1.706 9, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'4.476 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'5.532 11, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 1'21.000 12, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'24.515 13, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'27.118 14, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'36.377 15, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, 1'39.962 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'48.027 17, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'50.676 18, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'55.016 19, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps 20, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, -1 Laps Rider Standings 06/07/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 302 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 290 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 286 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 266 5, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 241 6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 239 7, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 213 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 209 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 205 10, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 178 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 162 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 137 13, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 131 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 115 15, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 97 17, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 79 18, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 77 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 55 20, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, 47 24, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 31 Manufacturer Standings 06/07/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 355 2, Suzuki, 340 3, KTM, 319 4, Kawasaki, 315 5, Honda, 284 6, TM, 31 7, Aprilia, 5 ---------- RACE REPORT - 06/07/2008 Cairoli celebrates fourth win of 2008 Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli kept his hand firmly in the game for the 2008 MX2-GP World Championship by enacting a skilful and impressive performance at a wet Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden to take his fourth victory of the year. The Sicilian scored 2nd and 1st positions in the two motos of the ninth round of fifteen in the series and currently rests 2nd in the standings. The world champion gained his seventh Lovemytime qualification heat award on Saturday in hot and sunny conditions. The 25,000 spectators saw temperatures plummet and light rain soak the soft terrain of the circuit on Sunday. The track was slippery, technical and overtaking was difficult due to a pre-dominantly fast single racing line. Cairoli did not get the best of starts and had to chase title rivals Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle in the first moto. Shaun Simpson was leading but was soon overtaken by the South African. Cairoli went for the same piece of track as Searle in a battle for third spot and the Briton crashed. The incident did not disrupt the YZ250F rider as he passed Simpson to finish runner-up to Rattray. With 22 points in the bag Cairoli knew a decent start was imperative for any chance of Scandinavian spoils and duly broke free with the same three protagonists for company. After yet more dicing with Searle the 2005 and 2007 champion unveiled a lightning series of laps, and also considerable guile, to demote Rattray and then Simpson. His seventh moto win ensured his fourth overall triumph, making the 22 year old the most successful rider so far this season. Cairoli's second consecutive Swedish victory means that he lies 14 points behind Rattray in the championship standings (his rival was second overall with Simpson third). Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin looked a little more like the rider who won the 2007 Czech Grand Prix after a difficult time last week in Germany when he could not get on the pace. The Frenchman was luckless in Saturday qualification when he was felled by another rider and was forced into the Last Chance session, from which he posted the quickest lap-time and was 25th in the gate. The 20 year old performed decently to take 5th place in the opening moto but a poorer start for race two meant he had to pit for goggles and lost time and positions. 20th by the chequered flag he ended the day 11th overall. Team-mate Davide Guarneri also felt an improvement across the greasy Swedish mud even if - like Aubin - his results did not reflect as much. Still riding with a weak knee, the Italian was impressive in a dry and hot Saturday programme where he took third in the first heat. He rode to a creditable 10th in the first GP moto but suffered with fatigue in the second race and emerged from a heavy crash to take 17th for 13th position overall. 3C Racing's Italian MX2 Champion Manuel Monni obtained 12th spot with moto results of 11th and 16th. Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini did not participate in the Grand Prix after a scan during the week revealed that the Italian had fractured a metacarpal in his left hand. He is expected to be out of action for three to four weeks. Round ten of fifteen will take place in two weeks time at the Nelspruit circuit for the Grand Prix of South Africa and the sole non-European event on the 2008 calendar. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "I am very happy with this race. My start was not good in the first moto and when I had to pass some riders the track was so slippery and I had to take care not to make a mistake, but second place was possible. The second moto was a strange race. The four of us were close for the lead but then Tommy tried to take my front wheel and I was a bit surprised about what he tried to do. I like to race with him and he is a really good rider and I think he can be better about what he does sometimes. This championship is very hard and a big challenge but it will be more rewarding if I can win it. I have a great feeling on the bike and I want to fight with all the KTM guys. I do not want to make any more mistakes and my goal is now to put Tyla under pressure and catch him." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 11th: "My place behind the gate meant that today was always going to be tough. I started well in the first moto and came quickly up to 6th. Searle went down and I was 5th but too far from the rest of the other riders. The race was still good for my confidence andespecially to come back from what happened in Germany. The second moto start was worse and by lap two I had to throw away the goggles as it was impossible to follow anyone and actually see. After some time I had to come in and get some more goggles. It was not a good GP for me but my speed is back and I feel happier than last week." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 13th: "This was a little bit better than last week. I felt good and fast on Saturday and took third. My starts were not so good today and maybe this was to do with my concentration. I was well outside the top ten in the first moto but took tenth position and I was quite fast; at least better than I have been. In the second moto I found my way to twelfth but then started to feel quite tired after twenty minutes and had a little pain in the knee. In one corner I lost control and crashed quite heavily and could only take 17th after that. I finished the day on a low point but I feel there has been an improvement with my speed and now I plan to go to South Africa to see what I can do." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 39'20.658 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'8.094 3, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'9.872 4, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'14.416 5, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'22.044 6, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'24.014 7, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'56.202 8, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 1'0.788 9, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'6.988 10, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 1'11.844 11, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'12.287 12, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'19.940 13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'21.990 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'27.184 15, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, 1'34.802 16, Filip Thuresson, Suzuki, SWE, 1'37.915 17, Yauheni Tyletski, Suzuki, BGR, 1'43.262 18, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 1'44.200 19, Jake Nicholls, Suzuki, GBR, 1'45.455 20, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'45.942 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 39'11.405 2, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'2.757 3, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'3.980 4, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'7.080 5, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 0'40.019 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'40.785 7, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'48.751 8, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 0'57.949 9, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 0'59.507 10, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'3.677 11, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'7.621 12, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 1'21.783 13, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 1'22.825 14, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'25.188 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'27.331 16, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'30.692 17, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 1'31.503 18, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'41.615 19, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, 1'52.714 20, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 2'9.143 Rider Standings 06/07/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 371 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 348 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 251 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 227 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 205 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 182 8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 172 9, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 170 10, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 160 11, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 151 12, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 146 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 146 14, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 127 15, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 114 16, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 99 17, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 94 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 73 20, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 56 22, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 42 26, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 28, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 19 48, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 06/07/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 419 2, Yamaha, 413 3, Kawasaki, 280 4, Suzuki, 230 5, Honda, 167
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's Josh Coppins emphatically aced his first victory of the 2008 MX1-GP World Championship with a double moto sweep at a sun-drenched and packed Talkessel circuit in Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany. The eighth round of fifteen in the series saw the Kiwi take his first spoils since Bulgaria 2007 and his first double since Mantova 14 months ago; rising to second position in the standings as a consequence. David Philippaerts was fourth and keeps the championship lead, meaning both YZ450FM riders are now 'one and two' and Yamaha head the manufacturer's table by 19 points. The old Talkessel layout provided its usual mix of elevation changes and cambered turns. The majority of the soil of the fast course had been ripped and prepared and grew rougher in places but the grey hard-pack dirt remained slippery and stony in others. 34,000 spectators enjoyed some excellent weather. Philippaerts and Coppins were both on the pace throughout practice. The championship leader even posting the quickest time in the second Free session. For Timed Practice the two YZ450FMs were constantly among the leading group with Coppins eventually sealing fourth place and Philippaerts in seventh, just over half a second away from the pole position time. Coppins started well in both motos and ran in the top three in the formative stages both times. The 31 year old pursued Billy Mackenzie as the Scot broke free twice but the leader tired with after recently recovering from a shoulder injury. Coppins, who finished as runner-up at the previous round in France, bided his time to seize control in Moto1 and Moto2 and comfortably maintained his advantage once ahead. Local favourite Max Nagl was close to within two seconds in the second sprint but the former world championship runner-up was peerless; a new exhaust pipe proving a useful assistance on the speedy curves. Philippaerts had a complicated set of races. The first moto saw an average start that meant he had to work hard to overtake riders in the bottom half of the top ten. Thanks to the mistakes of several others and his improving lap-times he arrived to third place and was pressurising Steve Ramon for second in the last two circulations. A slow start once again in Moto2 was a small handicap but the Italian also had another problem in that a damaged rib from his fall in France two weeks ago worsened and left him struggling for breath. Sixth position meant that he just missed the top three but scaled the podium for the sixth time this season to collect his red-plate. A crash and 18th place finish by Steve Ramon was also positive for the title chase. Yamaha Van Beers' Aigar Leok scored his best result of the year with 7th position overall courtesy of 9th and 8th slots in the races. UTag Yamaha.com's Kenneth Gundersen has begun cycling and light training after recovering from an operation on the knee injury sustained in practice for the opening round in April. The Norwegian could possibly return to action before the end of the season. With Philippaerts leading the championship by 4 points from Coppins, and Ramon 16 points behind in third, the series now moves to Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden and round nine next week. Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 1st: "There is a lot of emotion for me with this win and I am very happy today. I would like to thank all the people who have supported me. The results were not what we all expected and there have been some hard times. We knuckled down to work and I knew the results would come; I promised them to the team in fact. My last double was at Mantova in 2007 but to be honest even my last victory feels like a long time ago. It is nice to get that feeling back again and it makes the training tomorrow a lot easier. The championship now looks a lot different. I think only two races ago I was 54 points behind. The important step I made was in my training and approach; working closely with my mechanic, doing the right training at the right tracks.About today, they watered the track a lot and it was really slippery, even dangerous in fact. Billy Mackenzie went into the lead but I knew he did not have the condition after his injury to run that pace the whole time. Sebastien was there also but I thought I could deal with him. My main concern was Max, because he had not done the first moto and it was pretty hot out there; the crowd were obviously with him also. I was thinking about my own race and things went well. We had a new pipe this weekend with a bit more power, which I was happy about." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 4th: "The track was difficult, certainly for passing, and it was also very hot so I am quite pleased with the result. I started the first moto too slowly but got a lot better and was riding well. I pushed hard to get Ramon but it was too tricky to overtake. I had a similar start in the second moto but after two or three laps I had a lot of pain in my rib. I think it might be a fracture or something from the crash in France. I had some discomfort before this GP but I think I made it worse in the race and need to see if I can get some treatment. Pourcel was a little too fast and I settled for the points because I knew I could not increase my speed. Josh is now up to second in the championship and feeling 100%. He will be very competitive now but we still have a lot of races and points to go. It is great for Yamaha and the team that we are both up there. I really like the bike and for sure it is one of the best out there because it is so easy to ride it fast. Yamaha have helped me so much and I feel very happy where I am right now." Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager: "A great win for Josh this weekend and of course to be first and second in the championship is fantastic for the team, we don't mind which order for either Josh or David but we are happy to be there! Josh continued his improvement from France and I am really happy for him because he has continued to work really hard. David struggled in the beginning to pass other riders because it was not easy but then he made the best lap-time and to finish third was very good. In the second moto he had another start that was not the best and he felt a little tired and had some pain in his rib. The result was not bad and he still leads the championship. We tried a new pipe this weekend to give more power and the response from the riders was positive." Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 39'32.337 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'3.070 3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'6.896 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'11.101 5, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'14.773 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'25.707 7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'41.215 8, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'43.714 9, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'47.859 10, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'53.196 11, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'55.972 12, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 0'59.697 13, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, 1'1.435 14, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 1'10.148 15, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 1'11.334 16, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'18.406 17, Cedric Melotte, Aprilia, BEL, 1'22.257 18, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'24.362 19, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'38.600 20, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'52.977 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 40'27.188 2, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'7.806 3, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'10.916 4, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'18.247 5, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'28.423 6, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'31.971 7, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'37.039 8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'44.990 9, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'51.781 10, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 1'1.592 11, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'10.237 12, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'16.744 13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'21.679 14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'26.075 15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'35.770 16, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, 1'39.564 17, Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, 1'42.011 18, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'46.550 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'56.662 20, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'59.599 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 266 2, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 262 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 250 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 240 5, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 231 6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 192 7, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 186 8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 179 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 176 10, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 156 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 134 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 129 13, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 14, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 106 15, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 106 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 85 17, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 77 18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 65 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 43 20, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 37 23, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 30 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 319 2, Suzuki, 300 3, Kawasaki, 292 4, KTM, 269 5, Honda, 247 6, TM, 31 7, Aprilia, 5 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Cairoli runner-up at German Grand Prix With a moto victory and second position in front of 34,000 spectators and under hot sunshine at Teutschenthal, Antonio Cairoli took the same points as the winner of the MX2-GP Grand Prix of Germany but walked away from round eight of fifteen in the world championship as runner-up due to the second moto ranking. The fast and hard Talkessel circuit benefitted from bright conditions and warm temperatures as the biggest crowd for more than ten years at the venue close to the city of Halle filled the grassy banks. Cairoli earned his sixth pole position of the season on Saturday after chasing and then easing past Rui Goncalves for victory in the first qualification heat. The Red Bull De Carli rider looked back to his dominant best in the first GP moto as he hunted down early leader Goncalves and proceeded to establish a comfortable distance over Tyla Rattray; it was his sixth chequered flag of the year. The Sicilian entered the gate for the second outing hoping to repeat his double moto victory of 2007 but a mediocre start and some curious lethargy in the first three laps meant that Rattray had long-gone at the front of the field by the time the 22 year old arrived to second place. The South African clinched his second success of 2008 while Cairoli gained some precious points on his other title rival Tommy Searle who finished fifth overall. Still third in the championship standings the world champion is now just 16 points from Rattray at the peak of the table and 5 behind Searle. One week after winning the Italian MX2 Championship Manuel Monni posted good results of 8th and 10th to finish 9th overall and was the second best YZ250F pilot on the day. Yamaha Van Beers' Evgeny Bobryshev was 15th overall, and with 11 points registered his second highest haul of the season so far. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin had a forgettable weekend. The Frenchman had to qualify through the Last Chance session on Saturday after two crashes in the Heat race. Down in 26th position he could not find a good rhythm across the dry and hard German mud and was only able to score points in one moto, finishing 20th overall. He has now slipped to sixth in the championship and is 21 points from his former standing of fourth. Team-mate Davide Guarneri made his Grand Prix comeback after falling and injuring his right knee in practice for the Italian Grand Prix in May. The winner of the Spanish round was lacking confidence on the turns and took only two points in the first moto. Matteo Bonini tried to compete after coming through qualification yesterday but had too much pain in the left hand he injured in France. Although an x-ray confirmed that there was no break, the Italian could not properly hold the bike and pulled out of the first moto. He will now go for a scan to check for possible ligament damage. Round ten takes place next weekend at the Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd: "After three or four laps in the first moto I got the lead and found a good rhythm. I made a gap over Tyla and the rest was quite easy. In the second moto my start was not the best and after a mistake on the first lap and taking too long to pass Shaun and Steven I had lost too much time to Tyla; he was uncatchable. Tommy is a very fast rider and a good one but Tyla has more experience and I think he is the bigger threat for the title; he makes less mistakes. I lost a lot of points in France so it was important to take a good result here. It will be hard to get the red-plate back because the three of us are so close each week but we still have plenty of races to go." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 20th: "Today is a real low point for me. I lost fourth place in the championship and a lot of ground. I wish I could explain why. The weekend began badly with two stupid mistakes in the qualifying heat and I was then right on the outside of the gate. I tried as hard as I could to find a good level of speed but it would not come. It has been a terrible GP and I hope I can ride better in Sweden." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 22nd: "I knew it would be hard this weekend. I crashed in the qualification heat which made things even more difficult. To be honest I struggled in the right-hand corners because I don't have the confidence with my knee, even if I have been building up the muscles around the joint. I want to try again in Sweden and then make a decision about the rest of the season. If I can do well with my condition then I will continue, if not then maybe surgery is the best option." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 41'35.030 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'6.618 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'28.061 4, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.506 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'40.131 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'42.339 7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'51.463 8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'59.353 9, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 1'7.135 10, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'8.823 11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'9.320 12, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'16.561 13, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 1'19.762 14, Pascal Leuret, Suzuki, FRA, 1'22.335 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'26.042 16, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'31.146 17, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'33.854 18, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, 1'39.830 19, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 1'41.996 20, Nikolaj Larsen, Suzuki, DNK, 1'42.724 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 40'17.024 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'16.362 3, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'21.554 4, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'26.046 5, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 0'31.408 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'32.562 7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'41.856 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'46.653 9, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'55.759 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'58.704 11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'0.063 12, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 1'7.513 13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'10.506 14, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'11.585 15, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'13.246 16, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, 1'15.379 17, Pascal Leuret, Suzuki, FRA, 1'20.441 18, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'30.940 19, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'35.960 20, Cedric Soubeyras, Yamaha, FRA, 1'46.760 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 326 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 315 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 310 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 209 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 198 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 188 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 173 8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 157 9, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 151 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 148 11, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 134 12, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 128 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 126 14, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 103 15, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 99 16, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 17, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 93 18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 83 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 65 20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 22, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 39 25, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 27, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 19 44, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 372 2, Yamaha, 366 3, Kawasaki, 248 4, Suzuki, 214 5, Honda, 141
Alex Asigno
Pole position starter Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) looked set for his first win of the 2008 season on two occasions at Misano but he had to settle for a second in race one and a good points score of fifth in race two after running off track and ultimately avoiding a crash. He also set a new lap record, 1'37.580, on lap two of race two, which he led for 10 laps. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) struggled hard in qualifying and the first race, finding himself only 19th after one lap. He recovered to gain six points for tenth. In race two Haga felt he had a better technical package and he made real progress from his grid position of 14th, to hold off his team-mate by just over a second. In the opening 24-lap race Corser looked on for his first win of the year in race until Max Neukirchner surprised the whole paddock by turning a tenth place in qualifying into a race win. Haga was struggling through the race and finished just behind Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) who had two great races in the points, ninth and then 15th. Race two was taken by Ruben Xaus, from Max Biaggi. In the championship itself, Haga is now fourth, on 191 points to championship leader Troy Bayliss's 259, while Corser is fifth, only six points from Haga. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 15th in race one and 16th in race two, while Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) just missed a point in race one and retired in race two. Troy Corser (2nd and 5th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Race one was looking really good until Max Neukirchner appeared and our whole weekend hasn't been bad in general. Our rear tyre moved about a bit more in the second race than the first, especially under braking. We had made a couple of little changes to the front suspension for the second one, but not enough to affect the rear in any way. I ran on when the bike jumped out of gear in the second and lost some time, and the chance of a second podium." Noriyuki Haga (10th and 4th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We got caught in race one when Laconi crashed and I had to avoid him so to come from so far back was not easy. Race two was better and I got good points, but it has been a very hard weekend for me. I have not been able to do the same running training I would do normally, because of my injury. In this heat it made a difference and I didn't have my normal strength." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We saw definitely that Troy is back. He had a good weekend. He worked hard and was rewarded with a Superpole win, and a good podium finish for his efforts. Nori didn't find the set up he was looking for until the 2nd race where he showed us that even when it wasn't possible to win he rode to get the best result, had he started further up the grid, the result would possibly have been more points. He is still always competitive. With six races still to run everything is still possible. Shinichi Nakatomi (9th and 15th - Team YZF Yamaha) "On Friday, we could not find the right setting, even if we tried many different possibilities. I did not have enough feeling. On Saturday, we had a much better set up. I had a good start on race and I could follow Lavilla, but I made some small mistakes. I pushed really hard. I am happy with race one. In race two, the temperature was hotter. It was difficult for me to follow the riders who have traction control, because I don't have any and I had to accelerate later than them. The tyres started to move a lot after 10 laps, front and rear. I am happy with race one because I had a lot of stress because of previous not-so-good results. Today, it was better."" Martial Garcia (Team YZF Yamaha Team Manager) "After difficult practice sessions, we found a good set up during the warm up. This result is fantastic! Shinichi finishes ninth only 19 seconds behind the winner, and in front of Noriyuki Haga. This is the opportunity to score seven points and to make a progression of one position in the championship. Shinichi had a good start in race two, but unfortunately it was black flagged because of Muggeridge's crash. At the restart, Nakatomi was blocked and it was difficult to pass. He still finished 15th, with one championship point. I am happy because everybody could see the progression we made this weekend." Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 39'27.918 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.542 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.249 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'3.028 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'5.408 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'5.518 7, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'6.202 8, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'18.279 9, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.072 10, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.132 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'28.098 12, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'34.385 13, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'34.572 14, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'34.902 15, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'39.979 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'44.669 17, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'49.290 18, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'59.304 Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 39'19.710 2, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'1.035 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'4.158 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'5.466 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'6.759 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'13.468 7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'15.221 8, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'16.687 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'17.030 10, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'17.681 11, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'21.356 12, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'28.676 13, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'31.304 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'32.339 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'33.716 16, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'34.171 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'40.638 18, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'41.136 19, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'49.699 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1'37.580 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 259 2, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 210 3, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 207 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 191 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 185 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 151 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 148 8, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 117 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 111 10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 94 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 82 12, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 80 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 75 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 72 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 59 19, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 24 23, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 7 24, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 323 2, Yamaha, 284 3, Suzuki, 257 4, Honda, 226 5, Kawasaki, 64 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Foret fights hard for fourth Despite finishing the first lap in 15th position, after being run wide in the first chicane by another rider, Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) battled back to finish fourth and retain his second place in the championship after seven rounds. Broc Parkes looked like a sure podium finisher until he lost the front end on lap nine of the Misano World Supersport race, dropping from second to 17th, before re-starting his stricken machine. Each of the two top Yamaha riders had started from the front row, but in a race littered with crashes and retirements, and conducted in temperatures of 33°C, few pre-race plans came to a satisfactory climax in the Misano cauldron. Parkes leaves the Misano round with both the circuit best WSS lap, set in qualifying, and the new official lap record, 1'40.187, set on lap three of the race. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had work to do after qualifying on the fourth row, but recovered his speed and composure in front of his home fans to record seventh in the race, and jump up to ninth in the championship. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) fell on lap three, after tangling with another rider. Fabien Foret (4th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I got pushed wide by another rider in the first corner and that put me way back in the order. Things could have been much better because I didn't come here to finish fourth. This morning our set-up was good but it was a little bit more difficult this afternoon. I think the bike may have been a bit more sensitive in the heat. I could not find the same rhythm after the first chicane incident. The biggest problem was at that point, but in the traffic you slow down and afterwards it was difficult to get a good rhythm again." Broc Parkes (10th -Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We got out of the gate good and put some laps together but I didn't want to keep pulling Andrew along. When I went into the last right on the ninth lap I crashed as I released the brake, and the bike was gone very quickly. I thought it was just a small front-end slide but when I got on the gas I was already on my way to the ground. I picked the bike up and the handlebar was out of position, but I continued to get as many points as possible." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "This is Misano, we know there is a narrow line here and a few people crossed it. Fabien was pushed wide by another rider in turn one after his start had been not that bad. Lascorz went into him and hit him really hard so Fabien was quite angry. I think he went to 15th place but he rode a good race from then on to get fourth. Fabien is second overall still and Broc third but it's hard to say anything about today except that we are disappointed with the results, after such good qualifying performances." Massimo Roccoli (7th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I had a hard time at the start because of my qualifying position, then getting involved in a fight with another rider. When I got past him I could make up ground. From a row further forward I really think I could have got a top five or maybe even top four finish today." David Salom: (DNF - Yamaha Spain) "I started quite good and in the second lap I was behind Foret, so I wanted to go with him. Suddenly Lagrive passed me, but he crashed and hit my bike.I couldn´t avoid crashing. It's a real pity because I am sure we could fight for a top ten finish. Luck is not with us this season." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 37'8.387 2, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'5.347 3, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'9.183 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'13.784 5, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'15.863 6, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'15.967 7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'21.689 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'24.070 9, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'26.075 10, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'30.387 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'32.578 12, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'34.648 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'36.040 14, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'37.896 15, Danilo Marrancone, Yamaha, ITA, 0'40.167 16, Roberto Lunadei, Honda, ITA, 0'40.841 17, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0'40.960 18, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.302 19, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'45.275 20, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'47.944 21, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 0'49.173 22, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0'49.431 23, Alessandro Brannetti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'51.984 24, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'52.547 25, Javier Hidalgo, Yamaha, ESP, 1'6.850 26, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 1'10.227 27, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'13.881 28, Attila Magda, Honda, HUN, 1'29.572 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'40.187 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 113 2, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 97 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 87 4, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 85 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 81 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 80 7, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 67 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 50 9, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 34 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 33 11, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 12, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 28 13, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 27 14, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 23 15, Mark Aitchison, Triumph, AUS, 20 24, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 165 2, Yamaha, 125 3, Triumph, 48 4, Suzuki, 36 5, Kawasaki, 35 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Pirro second at Misano Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) remains the top Yamaha YZF-R1 rider in the championship after a fine second place at his home round in Misano. He sits on 63 points, 21 points from leader Xavier Simeon. Race winner Alessandro Polita is only four points up on Pirro, who led the first lap and was always in contention for the podium places over all 14 laps. Claudio Corti Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was unable to match his set-up to the Misano circuit and thus finished 12th in the race, and is now 10th in the championship. Claudio Corti (12th - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I had real problems finding a set-up this weekend and that made things difficult for me today. I'm disappointed but I think there is nothing more I could have done today." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 23'37.092 2, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'1.471 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'2.382 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'5.234 5, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.999 6, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'7.826 7, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'11.349 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'13.493 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'14.110 10, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'15.238 11, Luca Verdini, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.081 12, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.546 13, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'18.799 14, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 0'23.705 15, Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'23.818 16, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'25.024 17, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'29.595 18, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 0'30.075 19, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.504 20, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'38.389 21, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'38.575 22, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'39.211 23, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 0'40.034 24, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 0'49.273 25, Rene Mahr, Yamaha, GER, 0'49.442 26, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 0'50.200 27, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 0'51.785 28, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'52.191 29, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 0'59.213 30, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'12.140 31, Lorenzo Baroni, Ducati, ITA, 1'18.718 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'40.044 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 84 2, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 76 3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 67 4, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 63 5, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 59 6, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 48 7, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 40 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 29 9, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 28 10, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 25 11, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 24 12, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 24 13, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 20 14, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 15 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 14 25, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 4 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 104 2, Suzuki, 92 3, Honda, 81 4, Yamaha, 75 5, Kawasaki, 17
Alex Asigno
Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards was involved in more late drama at Assen today as a stunning surge from the back of the field was rewarded with third place. For the second time in three years, Edwards was involved in dramatic incident at the final chicane with Nicky Hayden as he snatched third from his fellow American just metres from the finish line. Fourth at the start of the last lap, Edwards produced a brilliant display of overtaking to come from dead last on the opening lap as he narrowly avoiding an early tangle between Valentino Rossi and Randy de Puniet. Producing lap times close the formidable pace set by eventual winner Casey Stoner, Edwards fought his way back into seventh when he passed Jorge Lorenzo on lap 10. He then quickly closed on an exciting battle for fourth that included Chris Vermeulen, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano. Reeling off a succession of personal best laps, Edwards passed Nakano at the start of lap 13 and a lap later claimed fourth with brilliant moves on Vermeulen and Dovizioso. Trailing Hayden by over seven seconds on lap 15, Edwards halved the deficit by the last lap, but having settled for fourth, he grabbed third with Hayden encountering machine problems exiting the final corner. Today's result was Edwards' second podium of 2008 and moved him to within 16-points of Lorenzo in fourth place in the championship standings. James Toseland made a welcome return to the top ten today despite encountering some small front-end set-up issues during the 26-lap encounter. His points though helped the Tech 3 Yamaha team consolidate fourth in the Team World Championship standings. Colin Edwards - Position: 3rd - 98 points "Third is never a win, but this feels as good as one. I remember how disappointed I was with third in Le Mans and I feel much better with this after what happened. I thought I had a good start and was fifth or sixth when Valentino got tangled with Randy de Puniet and he crashed. I might have gone left but I knew Valentino was on the ground and I didn't want to run over him or his bike and I just stopped. The next thing I know is I'm dead last and then Alex de Angelis went down soon after and I lost a bit more ground. I just decided to get my head and push. I thought I'd rather be in the gravel than riding round for eighth or ninth. I started picking guys off and before I knew it I was on the back of the group fighting for fourth. I just kept pushing myself to go faster and the next thing I'm fourth. I could see Nicky and Dani in the distance and all I did was ride as hard as I could and my Tech 3 guys gave me a great bike today. Michelin had some great tyres so I started to hammer away at Nicky. I thought if I kept applying pressure he might make a mistake and if I hadn't kept pushing as hard as I did then I might not have been close enough to pounce on Nicky. I'd settled for third but as I came out of the chicane he was sat up, and I couldn't believe it. I guess that's karma corner after 2006. This place owed me something after I crashed a couple of years ago with my first win in sight, and I'm really happy with third just because in the way I achieved it. It's hard to get on the podium at any time in MotoGP, so to do it from last is a great feeling." James Toseland - Position: 9th - 60 points "We tried a completely different setting on the front and we had quite a few problems because riding was just not that comfortable for me. It is nice to get a finish under my belt and get a top ten to build on from here because there is no doubt we have got some work to do and we need to find a direction with the bike. The shorter bike seems to be a lot more sensitive to changes but the mixed weather is really killing us at the moment as we try and make some big progress. With all the wet time we are not moving forward in the dry. In the last six races there's been a wet day and to only have one day to get the bike dialled in is difficult, even on tracks that I know. It is frustrating to watch and frustrating for me to be down in ninth position and I know I have got work to do. We are quite a way off with the setting and it is up to me to make it better. I'm not riding any worse than I was before but we have hit a bit of a brick wall. Sachsenring is another new track and I'll have a think about where we are at over the next few days, watch some videos of the races so far and try and work out where we can improve." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "Colin was incredible today. I was really upset after what happened on the first lap because he has always been very fast this weekend and we were convinced with the pace he had shown that he could have challenged for the podium. This is racing but Colin was last and we thought it was over. When we saw his pace we had even more regret, so we were just thinking about what might have been. But he made an incredible recovery and we can't believe this podium. When I saw him come out of the chicane and pass Nicky it was an incredible emotion. His lap times were very impressive and close to Casey's, which was not easy to achieve this weekend, so I think he deserved this. Nobody wants to see what happened to Nicky but today it was Colin's turn to have the luck after what happened in 2006. I am really happy for the team and I'm also pleased for James because he has been riding at a competitive pace and he was fast in all conditions. After the disappointment of Donington it was important for him to get a solid result and both have helped us stay close to Ducati in the team championship." Lorenzo hoping for more next time after sixth place in Assen Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took sixth place for the second Grand Prix running in the 60th Dutch TT today, the youngest rider in the class making up one place on his grid position. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made an uncharacteristic mistake and crashed out on the first lap, although he was able to remount and finish in 11th to take valuable championship points. Yamaha's record of having at least one rider on the podium at every race so far this season was kept alive by Tech 3 pilot Colin Edwards, who took third. Lorenzo held onto his seventh grid slot at the start but he was unable to find his rhythm and go with the leading riders, gradually tailing off on his own. On lap ten Edwards passed him on his charge through the field and Lorenzo spent the middle part of the race a lonely eighth. In the later stages he began to feel more confident in his Michelin-shod bike and his lap times improved, enabling him to catch first Chris Vermeulen and then Shinya Nakano to take sixth. Ten points for the Spaniard today means he holds onto fourth place in the championship but the gap to Casey Stoner, today's winner, is stretched to 28 points. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 6th Time: +28.608 "I said yesterday that the most important thing for me today was to finish after everything that's happened recently, so this is a good thing. However I am not happy about the race because it wasn't fun today and I had some problems, although, as in the last few races, my bike became easier to ride towards the end of the race. I must just take comfort now in the fact that we have two weeks until the next round, and hopefully by then I will be feeling a lot better. We are trying to go step-by-step but of course I want to do better than this. Valentino was not so lucky today but I want to say well done to him for finishing and taking some important points." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "It has been a difficult race weekend for us, we weren't able to find a good race pace in the practices and today Jorge wasn't able to fight for the top positions. We have some problems on the rear and the bike is very nervous under acceleration. The team have worked very hard to improve it but we still have some more work to do. Overall however we are quite happy because our aim for these two races was to finish without any more crashes, and we have been able to do this. We are confident that in Sachsenring we will be able to be back in the fight." Rossi battles on after crash to take valuable title points A rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on the podium by taking third. Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider. He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap by lap until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually passing him on lap 19 of 26.Four laps later he passed Toni Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing 46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner. With Rossi's closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa finishing second, his gutsy ride could prove crucial in the championship race. The Italian's first non-podium finish since the opening race of the season means he has surrendered his title lead to Pedrosa but he is adrift by only four points, the pair on 171 and 167 respectively. Valentino Rossi - Position: 11th Time: +46.025 "After seven podiums in a row I made a mistake today - this is racing! I am very disappointed because we made a change to the set-up of the front and it worked very well, and I could tell from the warm-up lap that my bike was very good today. Unfortunately I made a mistake at the first left; I arrived too fast when the tyres were still cold, I was too hard on the brakes and I lost the rear. I am sincerely sorry to Randy de Puniet and all of his team. After the crash I had a bent handlebar and no gear shifter, but despite this I was able to do the third fastest lap time, 37.1! I know I could have been faster than Pedrosa today and, although it's easy to say now, I think I could have fought with Stoner for the win. I am glad for these five points and although we have lost the lead we are not far behind Pedrosa. I am looking forward now to some more technical improvements for my bike and being fast, together with Bridgestone, at every track." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "This was a good race for Valentino, except for the first lap! The crash was unfortunate and we're very sorry to Randy de Puniet and the LCR team; we apologise to them all and we hope that Randy is okay. Once Valentino remounted what he did was simply amazing, especially without a gear-shift and with a bent handlebar! For several laps he was the fastest rider on the track, which shows once again his spirit and determination, although it's also disappointing because it's clear that we could have done a good race today. These five points today are incredibly important because they have kept the gap to Pedrosa to just four points, with half of the season still remaining. Now we will just have to start again in Sachsenring and hope for a better weekend!" Race 1 - 26 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'12.337 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'11.310 3, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'17.125 4, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'20.477 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'27.346 6, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'28.608 7, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'32.330 8, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'34.892 9, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'38.566 10, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'38.817 11, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'46.025 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'48.213 13, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 0'59.594 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 41'36.738 Rider Standings 28/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 171 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 167 3, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 142 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 114 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 98 6, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 79 7, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 70 8, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 60 9, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 57 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 57 11, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 51 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 33 13, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 32 14, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 32 15, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 25 Team Standings 28/06/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 281 2, Repsol Honda Team, 241 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 174 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 158 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 110 6, Honda Gresini, 82 7, JIR Scot Team, 79 8, Team Alice, 57 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 48 10, Honda LCR, 22 Manufacturer Standings 28/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 196 2, Honda, 171 3, Ducati, 147 4, Suzuki, 80 5, Kawasaki, 41
Alex Asigno
Yamaha kicked off the Misano racing weekend with a very different sport in the San Marino sunshine yesterday. Yamaha riders Troy Corser, Noriyuki Haga, Fabien Foret, David Checa and Shinichi Nakatomi were found not on the race track, but up in the Italian hills at the Vallugola Golf Club. A new initiative, the Yamaha Champions Challenge, took to the greens to confirm to people that the Yamaha brand is also successful away from the racetrack. The Yamaha riders, a group of lucky racing fans and a mix of both motorsport and golf journalists split into mixed groups for the challenge. The groups made up four teams, rated by handicap, playing a leisurely nine holes at the Parco di San Bartolo, in the hills above Pesaro. The game offered riders Corser, Haga, Nakatomi, Foret and Checa the chance to show a whole new range of talents. Taking top honours for the day was full-time golfer Mark Spratt, representing the Burning 2 Learn charity; the next best on the day was Mauro Rossi, who played the course with Fabien Foret and Marco Sebastiani. Fabien proved to be the top rider away from the track and managed to keep out of the bunkers all day. Mark commented, “I normally find golfersvery serious and not so interactive during a game, it was really refreshing and enjoyable to take part in something where everyone was so friendly. I had a fantastic time!” At the end of the afternoon’s competition the players gathered at the clubhouse for a buffet to relax and talk over an enjoyable day’s sport. They were joined by members of both the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB squad and the Yamaha WSS Team. In an unusual twist, the golfers started their event in the pitlane at the Misano track, a unique place for a first tee-off. The assembled journalists and racing fans looked on as the riders took their first shots of the day on specially laid astroturf in front of the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB pitbox before transferring to the Vallugola Golf Club to play the remaining holes. Yamaha’s motorcycle and golf industries are more closely linked than many realise, with several motorcycle components being used under the skin of Yamaha’s golf cars as well. The cars themselves also share the Yamaha motorcycle legendary reputation for reliability andthat is an important reason why Yamaha’s presence on the European golf courses continues to grow strongly. Whilst some people would say that golf and racing don’t mix, Yamaha firmly believe that golfers can be at home on the track as well and motorcycle riders and racers can be comfy on the green too, just ask Fabien or Troy!
Alex Asigno
Double Women’s World Cup winner and current leader of the inaugural FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship, Yamaha Van Beer’s Katherine Prumm, will miss this weekend’s Grand Prix of Germany at Teutschenthal after breaking her left collarbone while training in Belgium on Tuesday. The 20 year old suffered a relatively slow speed tumble on her YZ250F but the impact was enough to force a complicated fracture to the collarbone and the New Zealander underwent surgery immediately to have a plate inserted and fragments of bone cleaned from the break. “Naturally I’m upset and disappointed,” she said. “The back wheel just stepped-out for a moment and I went down but I landed awkwardly and knew I had done some damage. The x-ray showed that the bones were quite badly displaced so I had the operation right away. The plate should help my recovery. Luck has not been with me this season. I want to thank the Van Beers team, Yamaha and everyone in Europe for their support so far.” Although it is early to assess the exact period of rehab needed before Prumm can return to action, her chances of competing at the fifth and final round of the world championship in Holland on September 7th remain in the balance. Prumm will travel to Germany this weekend to talk to the press and also lend her comments to the release of the provisional 2009 Women’s World Championship schedule that sees the series increase from five to ten rounds.
Alex Asigno
Valentino Rossi finished a worthy runner-up at Donington Park today, unable to catch Casey Stoner on this occasion but surviving a mid-race battle with Dani Pedrosa to extend his lead at the top of the championship. Today was Rossi's 200th Grand Prix and this his 142nd podium since he opened his account with a third place at the 1996 Austrian GP in the 125cc class. It was also a good day for Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who put his recent injuries and yesterday's poor qualifying behind him to come through from 17th on the grid to take sixth. Rossi's recent work in testing on improving his starts paid off today and the Italian held onto his second place at the off. He tried to stay with Stoner but the Australian was too quick in some parts of the track today and Rossi knew that second was going to be as good as it got. Midway through the 30-lap race Pedrosa loomed and twice passed Rossi into turn one, but both times the multiple-champion took him back and over the final stages he was able to create a safe cushion from the Spaniard, crossing the line just under six seconds behind Stoner and 2.558 ahead of Pedrosa, who is his closest championship rival. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: +5.789 "I am quite happy about this result, although of course I would have preferred to have been fighting with Stoner for the win! I got a good start today and I tried to stay with Casey, but in some corners he was faster than me and it was impossible to keep up with his pace as the race went on. I knew that second place was important because of the points so I had to win my fight with Pedrosa in the middle of the race! Luckily we took second and now I have extended my lead by four points, which is very important for our championship. Unfortunately this weekend we made some mistakes when it was dry on Friday, and then because of the wet yesterday we weren't able to work on them until today, when it was too late to make things perfect. Anyway we did the best we could so thanks to all my guys. We are leading the championship but Stoner showed his potential today so I think that this hard battle between us all is going to continue race by race. I am glad we only have a few days to Assen and I am looking forward to doing better there." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "Today it was difficult to do better than this but if you think about the championship it has been a very important result and we have increased our lead on Pedrosa by four points. We're not quite at the half-way point of the championship yet - one more week - but we're pretty happy with our season so far and the important thing is that we're leading the championship. We have no time to rest before Assen but we will be going there with the aim of getting back to the top step of the podium."
Lorenzo storms to sixth with superbDonington ride Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo wrote another impressive chapter in his rollercoaster rookie story today with an outstanding ride to sixth from 17th on the grid in the British Grand Prix. After suffering a string of crashes and injuries over the last seven weeks and missing the last round in Catalunya, his aim today was simply to come home in one piece but the determined 21-year-old did considerably better, passing a host of riders to make up 11 places from his grid position. In dry but windy conditions, Lorenzo lived up to his nickname 'Por Fuera' at turn one by overtaking around the outside of several riders and coming out of the first corner melee in 13th position. He continued with more of the same throughout the lap and crossed the line for the first time in tenth. As his confidence grew he found the rhythm he had been lacking during the rest of the weekend and passed Anthony West to take ninth on lap 13. A consistent pace throughout the middle part of the race, matching that of the leading riders, brought him to Shinya Nakano on lap 20 and, once past him he succeeded in closing a three second gap to Chris Vermeulen and Nicky Hayden in just four laps. He dispensed with these two in turn and then set off after Andrea Dovozioso, however with only five laps remaining time ran out for the Mallorcan and he crossed the line just under a second adrift of the Italian, despite setting a personal best time on the final lap of the race. Lorenzo now sits 13 points adrift of Stoner in fourth place, whilst Rossi extends his lead over Dani Pedrosa to 11 points as they approach the half way point in the championship, which comes at Assen in just six days time. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 6th Time: +15.690 "I'm very happy with this result, because this was a very hard weekend for me and for my crew. I don't want to think about the past, or think about what might have been if I'd started in the front rows, I only want to think about the present and my ride today. The number one aim was to finish the race without crashing or hurting myself, because at the end of the day your health is the most important thing! After the start however I started to feel more and more confident and found I was able to ride better and better, then I realised that I actually had the chance to do a very good race. I had fast pace throughout and my bike and my Michelin tyres worked very well, so thank you to all my team. Sometimes lately it has been hard to stay optimistic, motivated and happy, even though I have always tried to go out smiling and with a good attitude, but this race today was great and I am very happy tonight." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We have achieved the goal for this race; it was very important that Jorge found a good feeling with the bike and started to enjoy riding his M1 again and today this happened. He was able to ride a beautiful race and come back from a difficult grid position to take a brilliant sixth. Today he impressed us once again and it was also a great feeling for everyone to see him making eleven overtakes! The team did a fantastic job because they were able to put him in a position to be this fast. We are very confident now that in Assen Jorge will be back to his best." Masahiko Nakajima - Team Director "We were struggling all weekend in order to try to find the right set-up to fit these tricky conditions. At the end we found a good setting, which enabled Valentino to be fast, but unfortunately one of our rivals was still faster than us today! Anyway we were able to secure important championship points and we are satisfied about this. Now our aim is to get back to the top of the podium next week. We are all very happy with Jorge's race today because he came through to a good finishing position from the back of the grid. Unfortunately starting from 17th meant it was very difficult to come all the way to the front but he did a fantastic job in the circumstances. We're pleased because we have seen once again the impressive riding that he showed us before his accident. Now we will continue to try to improve his bike set-up even more, with the aim of seeing him back on the podium as soon as possible." Edwards fourth for Tech 3 Yamaha, Toseland frustrated The Tech 3 Yamaha team had another day of contrasting fortunes at a blustery Donington Park today, with Colin Edwards claiming a hard fought fourth place in the British GP. But there was bitter disappointment for James Toseland and a record British GP crowd of nearly 90,000 fans as the 27-year-old finished 17th following a crash at the first corner. Seventh at the end of the first lap, Edwards started to make his charge through the field on lap 14 when he passed Chris Vermeulen at Coppice. Just three laps later he claimed fifth with an overtake on compatriot Nicky Hayden before he took fourth place from Andrea Dovizioso on lap 18. For most of the second half of the race, Edwards was able to run the pace of podium finishers Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, but despite some aggressive riding he was unable to fight his way back into contention for a second successive podium. It was a day of frustration for Toseland, who determined to make a strong start from 16th on the grid, crashed at the first turn having gained several places. Despite a nasty bang to his right hand and the loss of his right footpeg, Toseland rallied himself to complete 30 tough laps at a fast pace. Despite his disappointing result, Toseland still got a rousing reception from British fans appreciative of his efforts. Colin Edwards - Position: 4th Time: + 12.678 "I'm a bit cross even though fourth is still a good result. In the dry on Friday it was so good and I was really happy with everything. But with the rain yesterday I got thrown a bit. The geometry of the bike is quite a bit different and the weight bias quite a bit different compared to last year. So riding in the rain threw me a bit today when it was dry. Even this morning I went out and I came in and I started complaining about all these problems with the front end, yet it was exactly the same bike that I had on Friday. I got out in the race and in the first few laps I was struggling. I was riding hard but I couldn't get into the low 29s like I was doing on a tyre that had done 24 laps on Friday. And then it kind of clicked what I needed to do but it took too long to adjust. I kept letting the front pop up and kept running wide and running wide and then I figured it out. Now you have to brake a lot deeper, harder and longer on this year's bike with the geometry and I just got my head around it too late. Once I did that I got into the low 29s and started moving through the field. As far as lap times there was not much between me, Valentino, Dani and Casey. I kept seeing them at the same spot on the track and they weren't pulling away. If anything I was gaining a little bit on them. I might have fought with them had I come through a bit quicker but we still did a fantastic job this weekend. The team and Michelin did a great job and I just wish I could run the race again." James Toseland - Position: 17th Time: +1 lap "It is hard to explain just how disappointed how I am. I really wanted to get a good result for my home crowd but it was always going to be difficult after the problems of yesterday. Starting from 16th was always going to be tough but I decided to attack from the start. I made a good start and passed a few people and didn't think I was too fast into the first corner but the rear end came round and I was down. I could have just cruised back to the pits but a lot of people had come to see me ride. I was hurting because I hit my head pretty hard and I smacked my right hand down on the tarmac. And the right footpeg had snapped off, but I soldiered on because I wanted to get to that chequered flag more than anything. I was going to finish for all those fans, who have been unbelievable supporting me since I arrived here. I will bounce back from this but it has got to be one of the biggest disappointments of my career. It is not in my nature to give up and I didn't today, and I know my turn will come. I am obviously disappointed, but I have to congratulate Scott Redding. He did an amazing job and it was great for the British fans to see him do that. Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "Firstly I really want to thank Colin because again he did another great race. He qualified on the second row in the rain and although he lose some time in the early part of the race he was running the same times as Valentino and Dani and he was catching them later on. Seeing Colin do that today proves what a competitive package we have got. Of course I am very sorry and disappointed for James. I think he really wanted to do well but the rain on Saturday meant he was always racing against the clock to improve. From then he was always trying to recover. He made a mistake but I have nothing but huge admiration for what he did afterwards. It took a lot of courage for him to carry in the circumstances and it showed that he really wanted to repay the British fans for their support. He wanted to do well for them and I don't think they can be disappointed with his effort. The good news is we have a race next week and he can show what a strong character he is by bouncing back." Race 1 - 30 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 44'44.982 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'5.789 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'8.347 4, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'12.678 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'14.801 6, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'15.690 7, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'18.196 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'21.666 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'29.354 10, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'41.030 11, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'44.426 12, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'46.199 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'48.731 14, Ben Spies, Suzuki, USA, 0'49.591 15, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 1'22.186 16, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'30.021 17, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, -1 Laps Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'28.773 Rider Standings 22/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 162 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 151 3, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 117 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 104 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 82 6, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 68 7, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 57 8, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 53 9, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 51 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 49 11, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 48 12, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 32 13, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 29 14, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 29 15, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 25 Team Standings 22/06/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 266 2, Repsol Honda Team, 208 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 146 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 135 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 99 6, Honda Gresini, 74 7, JIR Scot Team, 68 8, Kawasaki Racing Team, 48 9, Team Alice, 47 10, Honda LCR, 22 Manufacturer Standings 22/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 180 2, Honda, 151 3, Ducati, 122 4, Suzuki, 71 5, Kawasaki, 41
Alex Asigno
The 2008 World Enduro Championship will be the last for the decorated UFO Corse Yamaha Racing Team as they plan to stop racing activities at the end of this season. After ten years including four world titles, seven honours at the ISDE and four consecutive Italian championships, the Italian crew will pull out of competitive commitments at world level as team owners. The squad are one of the powerhouses of World Enduro backed, by Yamaha Motor Europe and Yamaha Motor Italia. They earned three 250cc four-stroke world championships (now the E1 class since 2004) in 2001, 2002 2003 and then the inaugural E1 world crown in ’04. Riders such as Stéphane Peterhansel, Peter Bergvall and Stefan Merriman have all worn the distinctive colours of the team and been world champions with WR machinery. The 2008 line-up is also formidable, with new star Johnny Aubert currently leading the E2 series on the WR450F, allied with Fabrizio Dini, and then Simone Albergoni, Christobal Guerrero and Maurizio Micheluz all high up the rankings in the E1 category. “It is a sad and regrettable decision but with the unstable commercial market, in particular in the US which is one of our main markets, UFO PLAST cannot sustain the competitive schedules of the team anymore,” commented Vito Consoloni owner of UFO Plast SRL. “For sure I know that I will miss a big part of my life but the decision has been inevitable. I would like to say a big thanks to all involved for so many years of support, but also for the large satisfaction we have been able to take due to victories and success all over the world.” “We would like to make our final season a good one, and with Johnny Aubert and Simone Albergoni pushing for both the E1 and E2 titles we hope that we can finish on the best note possible,” he added. “We are very sad that Vito had to take this decision,” said Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager. “They have been partners with Yamaha Motor Europe and Yamaha Motor Italia for many years and they have a very successful record with Yamaha WR machinery. But we respect their decision, knowing the difficulty their company is facing in the highly competitive market.” “We will do our best to give them the support during the remainder of this season to try and end with the world title,” he continued. “I cannot understate Yamaha's appreciation for the Consoloni family, and the friendship between us will always remain special to Yamaha.” E2 WEC Standings after 4 of 8 rounds 1. Johnny Aubert, Yamaha WR450F (FRA): 183 2. Juha Salminen, KTM (FIN): 164 3. Alessandro Belometti, KTM (ITA): 135 7. Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha WR450F (ITA): 105 E1 WEC Standings after 4 of 8 rounds 1. Mika Ahola, Honda (FIN): 186 2. Ivan Cervantes, KTM (ESP): 176 3. Simone Albergoni, Yamaha WR250F (ITA): 165 4. Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha WR250F (ESP): 118 5. Marc Germain, Yamaha WR250F (FRA): 115 7. Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha WR250F (ITA): 103
Alex Asigno
In the second round of the Women’s Road Racing European Championship at the TT circuit of Assen Nina Prinz again showed her class leading abilities on her Yamaha YZF-R1. As with the first round, there was no real competition for the German Yamaha rider. The reigning European champion from Mannheim / Leutkirch was quickest all weekend, and never looked as if she was going to struggle with the competition. In the qualifying sessions, the Superstock Yamaha YZF-R1 proved it’s superior abilities in the hands of the German rider, she went on to set a new women’s record with an impressive 1’44.2. time, setting her up for pole position for the race. On race day Nina dominated from the start, leaving the pack behind and running her own race from the front.The Yamaha rider went on to take the win with a comfortable 20 second lead over second place rider Italian Lara Cordioli (MV Augusta). Third place went to Dutch rider Bernice Sangers (Ducati). The final round will be held on the 12th October in Albacete, Spain. Nina Currently leads the championship with 50 points, followed by second ranked Lara Cordioli on 33 points. Michael Galinski (Team Manager – Team Yamaha Motor Company) “Nina is exceptional and for sure the fastest woman on two wheels. She finds her Yamaha R1 easy to handle, we know that she can keep winning races in the future. It was a perfect weekend, with pole in qualifying and a perfect win in the race. We are happy that she’s riding for our team!” Nina Prinz “The meeting at the TT-Circuit in Assen was again very successful for me. The weather was nice and we were able to find a good setup quite fast, so we could concentrate on trying different race tyre compounds afterwards. In the second qualifying we found a tyre I felt very confident with and that helped me take the pole-position very easily. The weather on Sunday wasn’t as nice as on Saturday and 15 minutes before the race a short rain-shower came up. Luckily with the start of the race the track was dry again and we could go on dry-tyres.I had a really good start and could go in front from the first corner. With a row of fast laps I could reach a gap of about 15 sec, which I kept until the end of the race.The team and I are very happy with the result and we hope to continue like this!”
Alex Asigno
Italian Simone Albergoni once again led the UFO Corse Yamaha team's Enduro 1 class assault of the World Enduro Championship where at the Grand Prix of Poland he finished in 4th and 3rd places aboard his WR250F. With a break of just over two months since the third round of the series was held in Spain Albergoni was determined to maintain his good run of results in this year's WEC series and despite missing out on a podium result on Day1 claimed a well deserved 3rd place on Day2 to maintain his 3rd position in the Enduro 1 world championship standings. No fewer than four Yamaha mounted riders finished inside the top six on both days in Poland. Yamaha France rider Marc Germain placed 3rd on Day1 but dropped to 6th on Day2. With conditions extremely dry and dusty in Kwidzyn the fourth round of the '08 WEC series proved to be an extremely demanding one. A long, hard day lay ahead on Saturday, and a shorter but equally as challenging prospect on Sunday. Yamaha France rider Marc Germain emerged as the highest placed Yamaha rider on Day1 claiming 3rd place alongside Mika Ahola and winner Ivan Cervantes. For UFO Corse Yamaha riders Simone Albergoni, Cristobal Guerrero and Maurizio Micheluz the opening day brought mixed fortunes as Albergoni wasn't quite able to find the speed he had produced at earlier rounds of the championship, and as a result was unable to challenge for a top three result. Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero saw much of his hard work undone when he crashed in the final enduro test. In contention for a podium result up until the time of his spill, the former Enduro Junior world champion then fell again on the final extreme test, which well and truly ended his chances of a top-three. Cristobal eventually placed 5th, sandwiched between Albergoni and the UFO Corse Yamaha team's third E1 class rider Maurizio Micheluz. On Day2 Albergoni returned to the podium but for reasons he wasn't able to explain could not challenge Ahola and Cervantes for the win. Consistent throughout the day Albergoni only finished lower than 4th in the class on two occasions, but was frustrated with having not been more competitive. Nevertheless the Italian remains a strong third in the Enduro 1 world championship standings. Just 10 seconds behind Albergoni on Day2 Guerrero avoided the mistakes he made 24 hours earlier and placed a solid 4th. Performing well on both the technical extreme test and long motocross test the Spaniard showed that he is now fully over his early season shoulder injury and that it won't be long until he is challenging for the E1 class podium. One place behind Cristobal, but over one-minute adrift, Maurizio Micheluz finished Day2 in 5th with Yamaha France rider Marc Germain 6th. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1, 4th, Day 2, 3rd: "Finishing on the podium on the second day was good but I'm not really pleased with the way I rode this weekend. The frustrating thing is that I'm not really sure why I wasn't able to be as fast as I needed to be to fight for victory. I had a few small crashes but that wasn't my main problem. I guess I just wasn't fast enough. I hope that in Wales I'll be able to ride like I did in Portugal." Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1, 5th, Day 2, 4th: "I'm pleased with my results from day two but not really happy with the way things finished on day one. The first day was going really well until the last lap, and then I had a really bad final enduro and extreme test. I lost a lot of time in the enduro test and then fell on the extreme. I still finished fifth but I was a long way behind Albergoni. The second day wasn't too bad as I was fourth and only 10 seconds behind Albergoni. I had a good second day really but I was a little bit slow on the first enduro test." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1, 6th, Day 2, 5th: "Day one didn't start so well because I didn't feel good in the dusty, sandy conditions. I crashed twice, which didn't help my result, but I just didn't feel good. The second day was better because I finished fifth - I rode some better special tests so I was happier about that. I caught up to one or two riders on the special tests on day two, which slowed me a little bit because of the dust, but probably didn't change my result too much. It's not been the best of races, but also not too bad." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 79'58.500 2, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 0'15.410 3, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 1'9.610 4, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'29.090 5, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 2'24.300 6, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 3'17.620 7, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 3'53.080 8, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 4'42.190 9, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 5'1.370 10, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 5'38.060 11, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 5'38.520 12, David Cadek, KTM, CZE, 7'11.530 13, Gonzalo Reis, KTM, ITA, 8'34.790 14, Frederik Georgsson, KTM, SWE, 9'56.610 15, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 10'56.630 16, Waclaw Skolarus, Yamaha, POL, 13'16.320 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 65'39.040 2, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 0'23.480 3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'40.610 4, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 1'50.890 5, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 3'0.470 6, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 3'58.710 7, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 4'16.180 8, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 4'24.260 9, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 4'34.400 10, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 5'54.380 11, Sandro Marcos, Suzuki, POR, 6'11.420 12, David Cadek, KTM, CZE, 6'43.780 13, Gonzalo Reis, KTM, ITA, 8'21.050 14, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 8'24.000 15, Frederik Georgsson, KTM, SWE, 9'42.690 Rider Standings 14/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 186 2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 176 3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 165 4, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 118 5, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 115 6, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 112 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 103 8, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 86 9, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 75 10, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 68 11, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 63 12, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 58 13, David Cadek, KTM, CZE, 45 14, Gonzalo Reis, KTM, ITA, 42 15, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 40 Manufacturer Standings 14/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 186 2, KTM, 181 3, Yamaha, 167 4, Husqvarna, 87 5, Suzuki, 86 6, TM, 63 7, Kawasaki, 47 ---------- RACE REPORT - 16/06/2008 Aubert maintains E2 lead after Polish podium double Arriving at the Grand Prix of Poland as leader of the Enduro 2 world championship Frenchman Johnny Aubert hoped to repeat the double E2 class victory he scored at the third round of the series in Spain. Looking forward to competing in the dry conditions and well rested ahead of the fourth event of the season, Aubert would go on to take 2nd on both days in Kwidzyn, finishing behind Finn Juha Salminen. Unable, like many riders, to really get to grips with the extremely dry, dusty conditions, Aubert nevertheless remains at the top of the E2 championship standings. Aubert's team mate Fabrizio Dini suffered two big crashes on Day1 and placed 9th in both outings. Beginning Day1 by finishing 10th following a crash on the opening extreme test, wasn't the start world championship class leader Aubert had hoped for. Having made a small but costly mistake on the first timed special test of the event, that's exactly how the fourth round of the '08 WEC series began for the Yamaha mounted Frenchman. Thankfully his form would pick up markedly as Aubert bounced back to win the very next special test before going on to claim a solid runner-up result to seven-time world champion Juha Salminen. On Day2 the 28 year old made a much better start but after more than one-hour of special test action, again placed second to Salminen. Avoiding big mistakes and riding well aboard his WR450F, Aubert wasn't able to get into a rhythm across the dry, dusty Polish terrain. Winning one of the day's three timed motocross tests, Johnny finished comfortably ahead of third placed E2 class rider Simo Kirssi and claimed two runner-up results overall from what the Frenchman openly admitted wasn't a particularly good weekend. With the '08 WEC series now passing the halfway point Aubert still remains comfortably ahead in the Enduro 2 class. Italian Fabrizio Dini - like Aubert - also crashed on the opening day's special, placing 23rd in the class at the end of the opening extreme test on day one and then spent the rest of the course working his way up the leader-board. Performing consistently well on the motocross test Dini was unable to reproduce his speed on the enduro and extreme test sections but succeeded in fighting his way back to 9th in the class. On Day2 Dini again posted impressively quick times on the motocross test but was unable to improve on his day one result, again finishing 9th. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1, 2nd, Day 2, 2nd: "I don't know why but this weekend wasn't good for me. My riding wasn't as good as it should have been and I just didn't have a good feeling on the special test. I just didn't feel comfortable. I still managed to get two second place results despite this, which isn't too bad for the championship, but Juha was too fast. I crashed once on the extreme test on day one, and after that nothing I attempted helped me go faster. Like I said this is not what I wanted but it still wasn't so bad. I just hope that things will be better in the UK." Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - day 1 Ninth, Day 2 Ninth: "Day one didn't go well for me. I made mistakes and stopped my bike in both the first and second extreme tests and I was last in the E2 class after the first extreme test. Things improved after that but because I made such a bad start to the day I was just trying to make back as many positions as I could. I didn't have such a good opening lap on day two. Things improved but, well, it wasn't so bad. It was a hard race though, especially on day one because it was so long." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 79'25.500 2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'1.830 3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 3'33.610 4, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 3'34.210 5, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 3'45.860 6, Aaron Bernandez, Husqvarna, ESP, 4'13.020 7, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 4'36.610 8, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 4'40.600 9, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 5'9.150 10, Hans Vogel, KTM, NED, 5'35.380 11, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 5'35.450 12, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 5'52.040 13, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 5'55.600 14, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 7'59.740 15, Daniel Persson, HusaBerg, SWE, 8'24.090 16, Amel Advokaat, KTM, NED, 9'1.880 17, Felipe Zanol, Yamaha, ESP, 9'22.250 18, Peter Kralik, KTM, SVN, 11'15.600 19, Nicolas Joye, HusaBerg, CHE, 12'49.760 20, Sebastian Adielsson, Beta, SWE, 13'30.000 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 65'52.950 2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'41.530 3, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 2'42.930 4, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 2'44.720 5, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 2'58.180 6, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 3'28.620 7, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'38.070 8, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 3'49.080 9, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'54.360 10, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 3'59.520 11, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 4'48.180 12, Hans Vogel, KTM, NED, 5'3.030 13, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 5'52.550 14, Felipe Zanol, Yamaha, ESP, 6'27.530 15, Daniel Persson, HusaBerg, SWE, 6'32.560 16, Andrea Belotti, KTM, ITA, 7'59.010 17, Amel Advokaat, KTM, NED, 8'9.000 18, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 8'28.310 19, Peter Kralik, KTM, SVN, 8'47.270 20, Mario Patrao, Suzuki, POR, 9'28.580 Rider Standings 14/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 183 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 164 3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 135 4, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 126 5, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 110 6, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 107 7, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 105 8, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 91 9, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 78 10, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 77 11, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 76 12, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 62 13, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 59 14, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 58 15, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 37 Manufacturer Standings 14/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 184 2, Yamaha, 183 3, HusaBerg, 147 4, Husqvarna, 116 5, TM, 110 6, Honda, 106 7, BMW, 95 8, Aprilia, 62 9, GasGas, 58 10, Suzuki, 26 11, Beta, 21
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's Josh Coppins returned to the podium with second position overall at an overcast St Jean d'Angely for the Grand Prix of France and the seventh event of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship. Team-mate and series leader on the works YZ450FM, David Philippaerts, had a tough and unlucky day in front of 30,000 spectators and did not finish the second race to place 18th overall. The established and impressive circuit, located near La Rochelle on the west coast, offered its usual degree of difficulty thanks to the tough bumps of the hard-pack soil. The stony dirt also made the course slippery and many riders were trying different suspension and tyre combinations during practice on Saturday to find the best traction. Despite the presence of a special sandy-section to add an extra technical edge, the lap-times were all extremely close with Coppins taking 6th position in the gate and Philippaerts 10th but the top ten riders in Timed Practice were separated by just over a second. The team completed suspension and engine tests last week in Italy and the new settings were used by Coppins while Philippaerts made some further alterations to smoothen the power delivery of the YZ450FM during a sunny Saturday schedule. Both riders started excellently in the first race and circulated second and third behind leader Ramon. Philippaerts then suffered an unexpected and heavy crash on the landing of a jump and hurt his left hand and knocked his head. The Italian was able to continue, in some pain, to 13th place by the chequered flag. Coppins was flying behind Ramon and when the world champion made a mistake and crashed into the fence on one of the steep downhill sections, the New Zealander grabbed the lead for the first time this season. More drama was to continue for the team however as the 31 year old ran slightly wide in a turn shortly afterwards and caught a stretch of green plastic fencing in his rear wheel. He then had to ignore the close attentions of eventual Grand Prix winner Sebastien Pourcel for most of the race without a rear brake. Pourcel eventually found a way past with just three laps remaining. Second place still represented the highest finish yet for Coppins in 2008. The second moto saw the Kiwi again slot into a top three position on the second lap and from there he used 17 of the 21 circulations to close to the rear wheel of Ramon and push past his rival for another runner-up classification; guaranteeing his silverware and best result of the season (after taking third in Portugal). Philippaerts took a painkiller for his hand and attempted Moto2, slightly encouraged by the crashes suffered by Ramon (who finished only two places ahead in 11th) and also other title rival Ken de Dycker (who would be a reduced force in race two). The 24 year old was not in the top half of the pack around the first turn and needed several laps to get feeling and rhythm. He then again demonstrated his fine ability to cut through the pack to rise from 14th to 7th until he was inexplicably hit by Clement Desalle in the process of relegating the Belgian and moving up to 6th. The impact ripped the right footpeg off the bike and although he bravely tried to continue he was forced to retire with three laps remaining. It was the first time Philippaerts had missed the rostrum since the first round in April. As a consequence of the events at St Jean, the championship standings have become closer. Philippaerts' lead has shrunk to 6 points from Ramon, with Coppins now just 19 behind. The team will now travel back to the workshop in Italy and soon start preparations for round eight and the Grand Prix of Germany at the Teutschenthal circuit near the city of Halle. Coppins has plans to contest the Belgian championship at Kester next weekend. Philippaerts will have a scan tomorrow (Monday) to learn the extent of the damage to his hand. Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 2nd: "I went to Italy to make some tests and training this week and it definitely helped me this weekend. I like to work closely with my mechanic and the team so I will be heading back there in the next few days. I think I can take quite a lot from this result. I should have won the first moto if it wasn't for the problem with the fencing and in the second Sebastien was a little bit faster. To come from a 'low' like Mallory Park to be right at the front and on the podium was the response that I wanted. I can take a lot of motivation from the fact that I am back in the title chase." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 18th: "From fifteen races it is impossible to have a good result or good luck in all of them. I am disappointed but I also have to be realistic. In the first moto I don't know what happened. I did exactly the same line and approach as always but the bike slipped away. I think we made a mistake and picked a tyre that was too soft. I really banged my hand and had a lot of pain. For the first ten minutes after that I was seeing spots because I had also hit my head. Thirteenth was not ideal but I did not feel fit and I was determined to finish. I was fortunate that both Ramon and De Dycker also crashed. I wanted to see what points I could get in the second moto and took a painkiller. I did not have the best start but then I started to ride very well, very smooth and with good lines. Anyway I reached sixth and then passed Desalle on the inside of one corner but he did something crazy because I was ahead and he just rammed into the back of me. It was a big collision. The right footrest had gone so I tried to keep riding but once or twice I touched the ground with my foot and it was getting risky. My goal is still to look ahead and keep working each race. I am happy that the bike is really good and now I need to check I can have the best physical condition possible for Germany. I like Teutschental and I think it is possible that I can be very fast there." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: "Another strange GP for us but I am really happy for Josh. I could see from his work and riding last week in Italy than he was back on the pace and we hoped he would be back on the podium today. For sure if he had not picked up the green fencing then he should have won that first moto. It was a bad day for David. The first moto crash was unfortunate and he had a lot of pain in his hand but we were lucky that Ramon also went down. Due to the pain he was a bit slow at the start of the second moto but when he started riding really well it was good to watch until the collision with Desalle. The footpeg was completely gone so it was not safe or really possible for him to continue. The YZ450FMs worked well this weekend, so now we look ahead to Germany." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 40'9.573 2, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'1.852 3, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'12.558 4, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'24.687 5, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'30.167 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'36.921 7, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'38.867 8, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'41.501 9, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'42.356 10, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'42.965 11, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'0.740 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'6.258 13, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 1'20.482 14, Julien Vanni, KTM, FRA, 1'23.776 15, Steve Boniface, Yamaha, FRA, 1'24.158 16, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'26.123 17, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'36.120 18, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, 1'42.789 19, Cyrille Coulon, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 40'4.650 2, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'1.808 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'3.113 4, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'5.073 5, Steve Boniface, Yamaha, FRA, 0'25.684 6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'32.074 7, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'36.325 8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'39.053 9, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 0'41.808 10, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0'50.236 11, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 1'0.086 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'5.810 13, Cyrille Coulon, Honda, FRA, 1'20.009 14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'23.458 15, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'26.651 16, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'38.760 17, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'46.188 18, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'49.421 19, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, -1 Laps 20, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 231 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 225 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 212 4, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 201 5, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 200 6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 185 7, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 161 8, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 159 9, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 156 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 151 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 115 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 13, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 104 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 95 15, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 76 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 71 17, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 65 18, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 60 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 40 20, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 27, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 269 2, Kawasaki, 257 3, Suzuki, 256 4, KTM, 241 5, Honda, 217 6, TM, 31 7, Aprilia, 1 ---------- RACE REPORT - 15/06/2008 Cairoli 10th after eventful day in France MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli could only finish tenth overall at a cloudy but warm St Jean d'Angely for the Grand Prix of France and the seventh round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM series. 30,000 spectators saw Tommy Searle take victory and the stylish Italian only able to score third place in the second moto on his YZ250F. After sealing his fifth consecutive pole position on Saturday, Cairoli seemed to have a firm hold on the track he dislikes, even if many stones were coming through the hard dirt made the terrain slippery and perilous. The 21 year old did not get the chance to show his speed in the first Grand Prix moto as a collision with Tyla Rattray on the opening corner left the Sicilian with a punctured fuel tank and he had to pull into the pitlane a lap later. Although Cairoli rejoined the fray, he was almost two laps behind and could not score any points. In the second race - keen to regain some ground to Searle, who had moved to the top of the standings - he survived a small spill in the opening stages while in second place to close to the back of his championship rival and take the lead on lap 8 of 21. Moments later he lost traction with his Red Bull Yamaha and hit the deck. Remounting in a solitary third position Cairoli would spend the rest of the race marking similar lap-times to the leader but unable to reduce the distance to the front. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin came into his home Grand Prix with a lot of expectation and a large proportion of the French crowd's noisy support. He was on the pace Saturday but would only register 5th and 10th in the two motos after a pair of bad starts cast him outside of the leading group. Aubin took part in tight scrap with three of his countrymen for second place in first race but crossed the finish line at the back of the French gaggle. A second corner crash in Moto2 meant that he had to ride hard to come through the field from 27th. Cairoli's team-mate in the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team, Matteo Bonini, was lucky to escape serious injury in the first moto when he was landed upon by another rider on the first lap of Moto1. The Italian was initially feared to have broken his wrist but his ailments were nothing more than severe bruising to his hand, fingers and also his neck. Yamaha Van Beers Racing's Evgeny Bobryshev was making his first appearance in three Grand Prix after visa problems. The Russian took his second best result of the season with 18th overall. Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri was expected to start riding the same weekend as the French Grand Prix. The Italian will attempt to win the MX2 title at Gazzane di Preseglie for the final round of the Italian championship next week and depending on his progress could make a GP return in two weeks. The standings show Cairoli now in third position and 20 points behind Searle. Aubin is fourth and 78 points adrift. Round nine of the world championship will take place at Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 10th: "This is not my favourite track! Last year it was much better, much softer but this time there were so many stones that I was actually quite afraid sometimes. On Saturday it was OK because the pace in the qualification heat was slower and I could be more cautious. The first heat was just bad luck and this type of incident can happen any time but I made two stupid mistakes in the second moto and this lost me any chance of a victory. I caught Tommy after crashing the first time and then had the lead when I went down again. I tried so hard to close the gap when I was third but the distance was too big and this track is not technical enough to be able to make big differences with the lap-times. I am 20 points behind now but the championship is long and we have many races ahead." Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 7th: "I am disappointed because I know the result could have been much better. I took a bad start in the first heat and was far back. I rode well but it was ruined by the first moments because I was too distant from the leaders. The second moto was the same. I went down on the second corner and came from last to tenth. It was a good race but not what I wanted. I cannot understand what happened and I am tired of these bad GPs. There is not much more I can say; the bike is good, my physical condition is OK I just need a decent start." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, DNF: "I got out of the gate badly and was around fifteenth. We came up to the jump and many riders in front of me did not do it, so neither did I but then someone landed on my back and sent me to the floor. It was a big crash but I think I am lucky because my injuries could have been worse. I hope I can ride in Germany." Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 39'12.650 2, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 0'5.359 3, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'7.497 4, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'9.622 5, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'12.952 6, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'24.987 7, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.222 8, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 0'38.869 9, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'42.134 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'45.600 11, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, 0'47.456 12, Loic Larrieu, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'48.192 13, Loic Rombaut, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'52.384 14, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'55.169 15, Luigi Seguy, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'57.940 16, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'58.827 17, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'2.077 18, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'8.520 19, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'23.661 20, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 1'31.909 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 40'3.228 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'0.635 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'14.234 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'54.544 5, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'55.787 6, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 1'26.744 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'30.453 8, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'32.218 9, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'35.106 10, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'36.873 11, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'38.820 12, Loic Larrieu, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'4.829 13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 14, Luigi Seguy, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps 15, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, -1 Laps 16, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, -1 Laps 17, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 18, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 19, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 20, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 283 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 279 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 263 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 185 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 178 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 163 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 151 8, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 151 9, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 133 10, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 126 11, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 120 12, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 99 13, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 14, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 15, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 92 16, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 89 17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 83 18, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 73 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 54 20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 24, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 28 25, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 28, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 17 44, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 325 2, Yamaha, 319 3, Kawasaki, 212 4, Suzuki, 192 5, Honda, 113 ---------- RACE REPORT - 15/06/2008 Prumm championship leader after second podium result Yamaha Van Beers' Katherine Prumm obtained the red plate as leader of the inaugural Women's World Championship after taking her second consecutive podium with runner-up position at the Grand Prix of France; round three of five in the 2008 competition. Double World Cup winner Prumm took her YZ250F to 3rd and 2nd positions in the two motos across the rocky terrain at St Jean d'Angely, watched by 30,000 spectators and now fronts the standings by two points with trips to Germany and Holland remaining. The 19 year old followed Stephanie Laier and Livia Lancelot in the first outing but battled with her French rival (and the many backmarkers) closely in the second moto to win the tussle for the second step. After injuring her knee before the start of the championship Prumm has steadily amassed points to reach the top of the table. Her French results were gained with the extra hassle of suffering a sprained wrist during practice. The ladies are back in action in a two weeks time at the Teutschenthal circuit. Katherine Prumm, Yamaha Van Beers Racing, 2nd: "It was good to go home and see my family after the last GP. I had spent two months largely on my own in Europe so I went to New Zealand and had some time there, won both motos in the Australian championship and came back ready for this GP. The extra training I had done paid off here. I have been trying to build up the muscles around my knee to compensate and felt more confident. I did not have the best start to the weekend on Saturday because I over-jumped a section and landed in the corner, pulling some ligaments in my wrist. I was wondering what else could go wrong this season! I got myself together and put it out of my head. I pushed hard during the races and although I made some mistakes that I shouldn't have, it was a good day and I am pleased to be leading the championship." Race 1 - 12 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 26'18.203 2, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'10.567 3, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'24.469 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'58.087 5, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 1'48.872 6, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'57.201 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 2'0.042 8, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 2'24.137 9, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps 10, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 11, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, -1 Laps 12, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 13, Kim Irmgartz, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 14, Alexandra Haupt, Kawasaki, GER, -1 Laps 15, Jenny Seidenberg, KTM, GER, -1 Laps 16, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 17, Sofia Sjoberg, Honda, SWE, -1 Laps 18, Sophia Paull, Honda, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Blandine Dufrene, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Natascha Fransoo, TM, GER, -1 Laps Race 2 - 12 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'52.269 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'3.515 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'15.085 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'21.191 5, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'52.615 6, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 1'23.138 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'31.766 8, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 1'42.372 9, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 10, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 11, Sofia Sjoberg, Honda, SWE, -1 Laps 12, Kim Irmgartz, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 13, Alexandra Haupt, Kawasaki, GER, -1 Laps 14, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 15, Natascha Fransoo, TM, GER, -1 Laps 16, Jenny Seidenberg, KTM, GER, -1 Laps 17, Justine Charroux, Yamaha, FRA, -1 Laps 18, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps 19, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 20, Silvia Santaga, Honda, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 122 2, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 120 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 102 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 101 5, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 100 6, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 92 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 82 8, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 80 9, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 78 10, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 63 11, Kim Irmgartz, Suzuki, GER, 49 12, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, 48 13, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 43 14, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 42 15, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 41 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 131 2, Kawasaki, 125 3, Yamaha, 122 4, Suzuki, 107 5, Honda, 102 6, TM, 19
Alex Asigno
Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) stormed to a superb double win at the Nürburgring in Germany today, winning back-to-back 20-lap races to re-ignite his championship challenge. He also takes away the new lap record, thanks to a blistering 1'56.892, set on lap 11 of race two. His team-mate Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) was unlucky not to score a podium in race one but was battling for the outright win with Haga in an unbelievable race two, before the threatening rain fell and the race was stopped for reasons of safety. Many fans held their breath for most of race as Hager and Corser swapped places repeatedly with inches to spare between their bikes. By midway they were riding their own race, locked into a Yamaha duel for the chequered flag. The first race was delayed for 20 minutes because of a late fall of rain but it was declared dry and indeed the sun came out in force as the race started. In the first race Haga took the win after an intense battle at the front throughout, finally overcoming Troy Bayliss after pressurising the Australian rider into a mistake on lap 19 Of 20. Corser was a close fourth making it a successful first outing for the official Yamaha team. Race two was halted early by a light fall of rain on lap 15, and with 14 tours completed the race result was called from that lap, giving the win to Haga even though Corser was in the lead when the race was stopped. Each Yamaha Motor Italia rider delivered awesome entertainment to the 41,000 weekend crowd, particularly in a tough and fully competitive race two, and each was rewarded with strong points scores as a result. Haga is now fourth overall, on 172 points, with Corser only just behind, on 154 at the midpoint of the 14-round season. Noriyuki Haga (1st and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "During the race the collarbone was no problem, just some muscle pain. I had a great fight with my team-mate Troy in the second race, it was very exciting, fun and fair, I really enjoyed it. I want to thank Dr Ting for the operation on my collarbone, a big thank you to all the fans and congratulations to Troy for a great race. I'm so happy for the win, and it's fantastic to go forward to Misano having closed the championship gap a bit. Time to celebrate!" Troy Corser (4th and 2nd- Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "With the weather conditions the way they were it was completely dry at the top, and it was raining down at the bottom for the last two laps before I put my hand up, it was getting wetter and wetter. Although I wanted to win the race I just wanted to stay on the bike as well. Thanks to the boys on the team, and thanks to Nori there as well, I had an amazing race with him, fantastic riding. We're getting the bike better and better, hopefully we can get some more great results before the end of the year." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "It's almost impossible to do better. We saw that even on Friday we could get good results from both riders and after yesterday I was sure the podium was possible for both riders. We got a double win from Nori and first and second in race two; a fantastic achievement for the whole team. I am lost for words about Nori, he is even better than before and Troy is really back to his very best. Thanks to all the team because they did a really good job here." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 39'19.427 2, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.025 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'2.792 4, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'5.458 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'10.225 6, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'10.462 7, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'17.018 8, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'20.520 9, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'21.162 10, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'22.650 11, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'22.845 12, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'25.555 13, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'25.879 14, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'26.288 15, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'32.824 16, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'42.157 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'42.486 18, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'52.232 19, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'52.387 20, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'0.099 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 27'26.594 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.150 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'5.316 4, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'7.651 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'7.951 6, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'9.027 7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'9.420 8, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'9.916 9, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'12.862 10, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'13.559 11, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'13.960 12, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'16.172 13, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'17.946 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'22.815 15, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'23.758 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'24.127 17, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'24.421 18, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'25.356 19, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'25.729 20, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'28.846 21, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'33.107 22, Loic Napoleone, Yamaha, FRA, 0'54.255 23, Jason Pridmore, Honda, USA, 1'4.877 24, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, -1 Laps Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'56.892 Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 227 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 188 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 176 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 172 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 154 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 141 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 110 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 106 9, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 97 10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 89 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 73 12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 65 13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 60 14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 59 15, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 56 20, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 16 23, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7 24, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 6 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 282 2, Yamaha, 251 3, Suzuki, 223 4, Honda, 207 5, Kawasaki, 64 ---------- RACE REPORT - 15/06/2008 Parkes on the podium after class leading ride Yamaha World Supersport Team rider Broc Parkes came within a few laps of winning the twice delayed and once restarted WSS race at the Nürburgring in Germany, as the Australian rider led for 15 of the 19 laps, running a pace none could match for long periods. He was forced to slow in the final few minutes of the race, and went from a win to a third place finish as a result. His team-mate Fabien Foret, who had started tenth on the grid, ran out a comfortable fourth after a fight with Craig Jones, having lost contact with the leading group in the early laps. In the championship standings the German race weekend has brought all the top contenders for the crown within a few points of each other. Foret is second behind race winner Andrew Pitt, only four points adrift, while Parkes is now equal fourth, only seven points from Pitt. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) crashed at post five on lap 16 and David De Gea (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) could not make the race restart as he was hurt in the first corner crash that caused the main delay to the start of the race. De Gea has re-broken his lower leg in the same place as recently and will undergo surgery as soon as possible. Jeremy Crowe (Yamaha Spain) scored a point as a stand-in for regular rider David Salom, in 15th place. Broc Parkes (3rd - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I set a very good pace through the race and I felt I could have had something in reserve at the end but we had two starts on the clutch today and it just started to give a bit in the end and I couldn't get come of the corners as strongly. I was happy to finish and settle for third and the points that go with it." Fabien Foret (4th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "My start was just OK and I did my best to push in the race. I think I lost a bit of feeling on Saturday after my fall and this weekend maybe fourth was the best I could do. If I had a better start them maybe I could have been with the guys at the front, but I am not sure. The weekend could have been better but it really could have been worse. The championship is very close and good for the spectators. I don't mind the pressure now we are all so close." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We are of course a little disappointed to be leading the race and then having to finish third with Broc, but there were some technical problems on the last few laps and he couldn't ride then as he wanted to do. The speed was there but he lost some feel going into the corners and on the exit, so he couldn't keep up the pace for the last few laps. We were third and fourth, so it was a good team performance. I'm disappointed not to win here but the championship is so close now it is almost like starting the season again. We didn't win the race but we didn't really lose anything either." Massimo Roccoli (DNF -Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "The bike felt better today compared to the first two days of qualifying and I was able to lap well. I was making up ground to the riders in front but I just pushed my luck a little too far trying to catch some of them." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 38'26.584 2, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'387.000 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'1.379 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'10.279 5, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'11.624 6, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'19.211 7, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'28.775 8, Arne Tode, Triumph, GER, 0'28.890 9, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'28.990 10, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0'37.853 11, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'43.101 12, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'51.843 13, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'54.459 14, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'54.653 15, Jeremy Crowe, Yamaha, AUS, 0'54.705 16, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 0'54.818 17, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0'58.623 18, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 1'3.132 19, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 1'8.323 20, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 1'8.443 21, Attila Magda, Honda, HUN, 1'25.250 Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 88 2, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 84 3, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 83 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 81 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 81 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 60 7, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 51 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 39 9, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 28 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 28 11, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 27 12, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 25 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 20 14, Mark Aitchison, Triumph, AUS, 20 15, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 19 23, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 140 2, Yamaha, 112 3, Triumph, 38 4, Kawasaki, 31 5, Suzuki, 28 ---------- RACE REPORT - 15/06/2008 Pirro The Top Yamaha finisher Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) was unable to get with the leading group at the Nürburgring today and therefore had to settle for fourth place, in the fourth round of the 2008 season. He now sits fifth overall in the standings, the top YZF-R1 rider in the rankings. Claudio Corti Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) struggled to get into contention this weekend and finished the race a battling sixth, ten seconds from the win. Sylvain Barrier was one of three riders off in a crash on the approach to the first hairpin on lap one, and no-scored. The next round takes place at Misano, in two weeks' time. Superstock 600 European Championship Loris Baz continues to bring the points home after a brilliant ride at the Nurburgring. Baz scored another podium, finishing the race in second place. He stays ahead in the championship with 81 points, leading second place Vostarek on 60 points. Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 22'17.805 2, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'0.307 3, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'0.444 4, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'8.763 5, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'9.786 6, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'10.713 7, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'13.766 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'18.348 9, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'19.419 10, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'22.772 11, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'23.827 12, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'23.962 13, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'25.179 14, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'25.778 15, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 0'25.924 16, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'27.910 17, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'29.311 18, Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.642 19, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'33.424 20, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'34.341 21, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 0'42.169 22, Oliver Skach, Suzuki, GER, 0'44.654 23, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 0'44.894 24, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'45.219 25, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'45.379 26, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 0'47.406 27, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 0'47.573 28, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 0'48.312 29, Tommaso Lorenzetti, Suzuki, ITA, 0'50.950 30, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 0'51.219 31, Cameron Stronach, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'52.173 32, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'57.482 33, Rene Mahr, Yamaha, GER, 1'16.859 34, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'33.598 Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 73 2, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 63 3, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 48 4, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 43 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 43 6, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 42 7, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 40 8, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 24 9, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 21 10, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 21 11, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 18 12, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 18 13, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 15 14, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 13 15, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 11 27, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Suzuki, 81 2, Ducati, 79 3, Honda, 65 4, Yamaha, 55 5, Kawasaki, 16
Alex Asigno
Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo returned to the Dexeus Institute in Barcelona this lunchtime for a check-up on the skin graft to the fourth finger of his right hand, which was carried out on Tuesday. Dr Xavier Mir confirmed that the graft had bonded well and that the injury was healing in a satisfactory manner, as the 21-year-old battles to be fit in time for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park next week. Lorenzo will undergo a further check-up on Monday before hopefully traveling to his home in London and beginning preparations for the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship.
Alex Asigno
Valentino Rossi put yesterday's poor qualifying behind him today with a characteristic charge through the field from ninth on the grid to take second in the Grand Prix of Catalunya. By the time Rossi made it through the pack the race-winner Dani Pedrosa was already some way off in front, but Rossi had a lively battle with Casey Stoner over the last few laps, a replay of last year's race but with the Italian prevailing this time. After some hard work by his team and engineers overnight, it was clear from this morning's warm-up that Rossi was in better shape and the Italian began his race with the podium as his target. Starting form ninth, he gained one place on the first lap when he passed James Toseland and then made his way steadily through the field, out-braking several riders into turn one on consecutive laps and eventually passing first Andrea Dovizioso and then Stoner to take second on lap nine. Rossi tried to leave Stoner behind but the Australian remained in touch and passed him back on lap 17, sparking an entertaining battle for second spot over the closing stages of the race. Rossi eventually made the decisive move at the start of the penultimate lap and held on to cross the line just over half a second ahead of his rival, with Pedrosa 2.806 seconds in front. An important 20-point haul sees Rossi hang on to his championship lead, seven points ahead of Pedrosa, whilst Lorenzo is still just ahead of Stoner in third despite having to miss today's race while he recovers from Friday's crash. It was another double top-six finish for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team meanwhile, with Colin Edwards and James Toseland finishing in their grid spots of fifth and sixth. Valentino Rossi 2nd +2.806; "I think that this was quite a good race! It's a long time since we've had a good fight for the top positions like that and today it was like last year with Stoner, but for second instead of first place! I was able to come out on top this year and I am honestly very happy with today's result. After three almost perfect races, yesterday was a very hard day for us but last night we had a very good meeting and today we were able to be much more competitive. My target was the podium so to come second is excellent. I want to watch the race on TV now because I had a lot of fun today and made some good overtakes, with my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres working very well to the end. Once I passed Stoner I tried to go away from him but it wasn't possible, so then I knew it would be a great battle to the end. Pedrosa was incredibly strong today and I think it's impossible to say whether or not I could have gone with him even if I had started from the front. As it was we were penalised by our grid position and, with Pedrosa as fast as this, from the third row it was impossible. In these circumstances I am very happy that we only lost five points to him, we're still leading the championship and I had a great race, so I am content! Tomorrow we will have a test and I think it will be quite interesting to see what we can find out about what happened this weekend and how we can improve for Donington. Thanks to all my team and congratulations to Dani." Davide Brivio Team Manager; "We're very happy about this result today because we struggled a lot over the weekend. The team and the engineers did a great job however to find a way to improve the setting in such a short amount of time, and we could see from the warm-up this morning that we had a chance to be competitive. Of course our starting position left us with a hard job to do and, with Pedrosa as fast as he was today, we are just happy to have taken 20 points! We only gave away five and the championship is long; our target is to be on the podium every time and today we've done that. Tomorrow we have a test and we will analyse the data from this weekend and try to learn more about our Yamaha-Bridgestone package, so that we can try to go one better in Donington. It was sad to make today's race with half of our team missing and one side of the garage empty, and on behalf of all the team I would like to wish Jorge all the best and we look forward to having him back very soon." Masahiko Nakajima Team Director; "This is a satisfying result for all of the team and Yamaha staff because we had a problem to find the right set-up here all weekend. Last night the engineers were working until midnight to try to fix the problem and their hard work paid off because the bike felt much better this morning. Of course we're always disappointed not to win but in the circumstances this is a very good result for us." Jorge Lorenzo on the mend after another day's rest Two days after the accident that forced him to miss today's Catalan Grand Prix at Montmelo, Jorge Lorenzo's recovery is progressing well at the Institut Dexues in Barcelona. The 21-year-old sustained head trauma and damage to his right hand in Friday's crash but is improving, although Dr. Xavier Mir confirmed tonight that he will need a small skin graft to replace the skin he has lost on his hand. "After further observation we are pleased to say that the cranial trauma that Jorge suffered on Friday has improved without any further complications," commented the Doctor. "This still needs to be verified with another CAT scan, however, and for this reason we have moved Jorge to another part of the hospital this afternoon. Regarding other injuries, we have evaluated the abrasion on his right hand and we can confirm that he has more than two centimetres of skin missing from his fourth finger. For this reason we have decided that it will be necessary to make a skin graft, which will probably take place tomorrow morning." Top six finish for both Tech3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland handed the Tech 3 Yamaha squad a well deserved second successive double top six finish in today's Catalunya MotoGP race. A fantastic start thrust Edwards right into the heat of the battle for second in the early laps as he pursued reigning world champion Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. He managed to hold off Valentino Rossi until lap eight, and proving he is one of the most consistent performers in 2008, he comfortably scored a third successive top five finish. Fifth place equalled his previous best result at the Montmelo circuit as the Texan maintained his best start to a season in his MotoGP career. James Toseland treated a record crowd of 113,150 to another stunning exhibition of overtaking after he dropped to 11th on lap eight. Once he'd got comfortable with a revised front-end setting, Toseland passed Chris Vermeulen, Nicky Hayden, Alex de Angelis and Loris Capirossi.Only Valentino Rossi made more passes in the 25-lap encounter, and Toseland's fourth top six finish in just seven races drew special praise from the seven-times world champion, who has been impressed with the British rider's rapid progress in his rookie campaign. Colin Edwards 5th +16.426; "I got a fantastic start and thought 'brilliant here we go.' But from the second corner I had a problem and to be honest we are scratching our heads a little bit. I struggled because early on I was doing low 43s but then I just couldn't maintain that pace. I'd throw the bike in on the brakes but it would be sideways and I found myself having to change my style like I did in Mugello to help. I'd stop it hard on the brakes, turn it into the corner and then pick it up to accelerate, but in some places where I would normally use second gear I was using third to baby it out of the corners. I did everything I could possibly do too hang in with the group but Andrea just seemed to have a bit more grip than me on the rear. He was able to pull away a little bit on every lap. I could catch him on the brakes but then I'd lose that crucial bit of time on the exit. What we ran in the warm-up was going to be too soft for the race with the temperature but I'm still happy with fifth. It's one of the best results I've had here and now we go to Donington and Assen. They are two tracks I love and I'm sure I'm going to be fighting for the podium again. We kept third in the team championship, which is great for the Tech 3 team, Yamaha and Michelin. James Toseland 6th +21.482; "I'm a little bit mad with myself because like in Mugello, I believe there was a fourth here. I got an okay start and was about seventh but Valentino came by in the first corner. It was a clean move but he left it late, so we were side-by-side going in and there was no way I could turn in because he was there. There was nothing wrong with the pass but I had to go straight on and that lost me the gap. Whether you are doing the same times as the rest of them or not, you can only pull back small amounts of time. We changed the bike this morning and it took a couple of laps to get used to the feel of it. I'd been running soft tyres most of the weekend doing good lap times but going a bit harder for the race, I just didn't have as much grip at the start and it took me a couple of laps to get used to it and I didn't push it hard enough. At this point I'm content with where I am but I'm getting impatient because I feel I can do better, so that's why I'm a bit disappointed with sixth. If I finish sixth and know I couldn't do anymore I'm happy, but now I feel there is more in the bag. But we have really got this new setting working well and it will be a really good package at Donington where I can't wait to go. It's my first home Grand Prix and it feels a long time since I've been to a track I know. I'm getting regular top six finishes but the target at Donington will be to finish much higher and I'm confident with Tech 3, Yamaha and Michelin I can do it." Herve Poncharal Team Manager; "After the warm-up, if somebody said we would be fifth and sixth I'd have said we were looking for better based on practice, but looking at the race that was a very positive result and I'm very happy. Once again Colin and James put in their maximum effort and both have finished in the top six. Dani was on another planet today so congratulations to Michelin, but in the early laps Colin was able to run a strong pace and was right in contention, but at one stage he decided to secure a well deserved fifth place. James lost quite a lot of ground at the start but as usual, once he found his pace he was as quick as the group in front of him and was able to fight his way back. Mugello and Barcelona are two very difficult tracks but Colin and James have scored top six finishes in both, so a big thanks to Yamaha and Michelin. We have scored another big haul of points to keep Tech 3 third in the team world championship, and that is a great achievement after seven races. Now we go to James' home race with a strong and positive feeling, confident we can continue this good run of results. Donington and Assen are also good tracks for Colin, so we have a lot to look forward to." Race 1 - 25 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 43'2.175 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'2.806 3, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 0'3.343 4, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'10.893 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'16.426 6, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'21.482 7, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'21.548 8, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'22.280 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'22.375 10, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'46.835 11, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 0'57.991 12, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'59.168 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 1'0.779 Rider Standings 08/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 142 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 135 3, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 94 4, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 92 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 69 6, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 57 7, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 53 8, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 51 9, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 48 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 42 11, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 40 12, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 32 13, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 29 14, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 24 15, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 24 Team Standings 08/06/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 236 2, Repsol Honda Team, 183 3, Tech3 Yamaha, 122 4, Ducati Marlboro Team, 121 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 91 6, Honda Gresini, 66 7, JIR Scot Team, 57 8, Kawasaki Racing Team, 42 9, Team Alice, 39 10, Honda LCR, 18 Manufacturer Standings 08/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 160 2, Honda, 135 3, Ducati, 97 4, Suzuki, 63 5, Kawasaki, 35
Alex Asigno
Valentino Rossi’s YZR-M1 will carry a one-off livery for the Grand Prix of Catalunya this weekend in celebration of the European Football Championships, which begin on Sunday. The championship leader’s bike has been specially painted in the style of the shirts of the Italian national team, the ‘Azzurri’, ahead of their opening game against Holland on Monday. Rossi will also wear leathers designed in the same vein and even his famous number 46 has undergone a change for the weekend. The special livery of the Fiat Yamaha Team star was officially unveiled at 09.50 in the pitlane of the Montmelo cicruit just before first free practice this Friday.
Alex Asigno
Following a painful crash last weekend at the Salt Lake City circuit, Noriyuki Haga went on to astound doctors and race fans by climbing back on his R1 and taking a ten point chunk out of Troy Bayliss’s championship lead. Yamaha Motor Italia rider Haga fell heavily on the Saturday morning practice session, coming off after a collision with another rider at the Black Rock hairpin. After an examination by the circuit doctor it was revealed he had broken his collarbone in no less than three places and was advised that it was unlikely he would be able to manage any more than one or two laps in the next free practice session. In a clear demonstration not only of Haga’s commitment to the championship and determination to win, but also the outstanding support of the Yamaha Motor Italia Team, Haga went on to not only ride Superpole but also race on the Sunday and take points away with him from round 06. Haga flew to California on the Monday for an operation by Doctor Arthur J. Ting. The operation was successful, Doctor Ting used a plate and eight screws to secure the break, ensuring that with a week of rest Haga will be a little sore but fighting fit to take on the WSB pack in round 07 at the Nurburgring in Germany. Haga now sits 5th in the championship standings, 72 points behind leader Troy Bayliss with a further eight rounds to race. Troy Corser sits just one point behind Haga in 6th place with 121 points so far this season. Having found his form at the Salt Lake City circuit, both Corser and Haga are placed to challenge for the championship.
Alex Asigno
41,000 spectators, the largest attendance to see the FIM MX1-GP World Championship so far this season, followed Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts take his fifth consecutive podium with third position on his YZ450FM. A busy and demanding Mallory Park hosted the British Grand Prix under grey skies for the sixth round of fifteen in the 2008 campaign. The brand new track provided riders with an unseen challenge and while the layout generally got a 'thumbs up' from the majority of the MX1 field, the new dirt was soft (from days of rain beforehand) and very rough; making overtaking a hard task. The course, built alongside - and using vast sections - of the historic road racing facility that used to entertain such luminaries such as Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood and Barry Sheene, was inaugurated with some fantastic scenes. Philippaerts was at the heart of the action in an eventful outing for the team. The Italian, and world championship leader, crashed on the third corner of the first lap of Moto1 after being hit by another rider, an incident similar to his accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix last month. Despite a damaged silencer Philippaerts embarked on an incredible comeback, again akin to his situation and flight in Mantova. The 24 year old raced from 19th place to reach 2nd position behind title rival Steve Ramon. The Belgian's team-mate Ken De Dycker was also close in third. With the trio running close together in the final laps and the crowd sensing a grandstand finish, Philippaerts lost traction on a damp part of the circuit deep into the penultimate circulation and again hit the floor. He recovered to take 5th position as De Dycker won metres from the flag. In the next race the Tuscan, who started from 14th in the gate, his lowest position this season after failing to find a fast lap on Saturday, completed the first lap without incident and although he was nursing a painful rib from his last excursion he passed several riders, one of whom was a fading Ramon, to move into 2nd position. Crashes by Marc de Reuver and Julien Bill assisted his cause and although Jonathan Barragan ran away with the race to gain his maiden overall victory, Philippaerts was able to secure 3rd (a fresh Seb Pourcel took 2nd after failing to complete a single lap of Moto1) and the same overall ranking. Josh Coppins, who tried some different front forks and adopted some suspension settings taken from tests in the UK during the week, qualified in 10th position and was handicapped with crashes on the first laps of both motos. The Kiwi started badly and was clipped on the first corner of race one and then went down twice more as he tried to come back from the rear. He eventually worked hard to manage 11th. In Moto2 he was held up by a fallen Lauris Freibergs on turn two and went down again. A result of 12th was the best he could manage on an even rougher track for 11th overall. Yamaha Van Beers Racing's Aigar Leok was just behind Coppins with 12th place. The Estonian took his YZ450F to 8th spot, equalling his season's best so far, in Moto1 and then was 15th later in the afternoon. Philippaerts increased his advantage in the MX1-GP world championship standings by one point and he now fronts the pack by 28. Coppins is now fourth and 55 from his team-mate. Yamaha head the manufacturer's table by 4 points. The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team will now have another free week before travelling to St Jean d'Angely for the Grand Prix of France and round six on June 15th. Both riders will be using the break for further tests in Italy. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 3rd: "My goal in the winter was to finish each GP in the top five and I'm happy because since Valkenswaard and round one I have been on the podium each time. I was 14th in Timed Practice but Saturday was a different day to Sunday! In the warm-up I changed the bike a little bit and it was great for the races. It was a little bit like Mantova for me! I crashed in the first corners and then pushed so hard to come back. The crash was stupid and ruined any chance of a top three, maybe even the win but I was pleased with the top five after being so far back. I just hit some water with my back wheel after the jump and it put me off the bike. I was happy with my riding though. The track was more difficult for me on Saturday than today and I could see from my pit-board that my times were fast. I had some pain from my ribcage in the second race and took things a little easier. I got faster with each lap although I only passed two riders, Mackenzie and Ramon. I really like the next track in France, it was where I took my first Grand Prix win and I hope we continue with the good results." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 11th: "A day of bad luck. I had a bad jump in the first moto and then someone on a Kawasaki went a bit wide and pushed me out. I was about 15th and then crashed. I started from last and then hit a false neutral; going down again. I worked my way back to 11th. In the second race I got away OK but then Freibergs had crashed just over the little jump of the second corner. I was already committed and jumped straight into the back of him. I had to stop to take off the fork-guard because it was in the front wheel and I did not want to go over the big triple like that. I went from last to 14th. Overall there was not much I can do; it was a terrible day and I am disappointed. Realistically I need to qualify better to get a better start but I was unlucky. I just need to keep working." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager: "It was a hectic day! David made a good race in the first moto, he was almost last but he was faster than the others and rode well. In the final two laps he pushed to pass Ramon and win but he changed his line and crashed. He was not quicker than Pourcel in the second moto but the result was good for the championship. Josh was unlucky and it took him some time to get going after the crashes. The results were not good but there was not much more he could do." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 39'43.553 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'1.776 3, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'6.692 4, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'28.122 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'35.264 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'36.634 7, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.035 8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'44.071 9, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'45.624 10, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'46.513 11, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'49.738 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'23.247 13, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'30.365 14, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'34.509 15, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'37.176 16, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'39.220 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'40.147 18, Wayne Smith, Honda, GBR, 1'40.579 19, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'41.588 20, Cedric Melotte, Aprilia, BEL, 1'45.867 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 40'29.703 2, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'5.567 3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'6.502 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'7.528 5, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'8.843 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'34.239 7, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'40.069 8, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'43.855 9, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0'47.748 10, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 0'54.614 11, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 1'9.203 12, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 1'13.595 13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'14.849 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'16.290 15, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'23.886 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'34.583 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'42.204 18, Jordan Rose, Honda, GBR, 1'46.801 19, Wayne Smith, Yamaha, GBR, 1'50.483 20, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'53.675 Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 223 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 195 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 175 4, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 168 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 159 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 151 7, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 150 8, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 138 9, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 132 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 129 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 95 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 87 13, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 83 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 80 15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 71 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 60 17, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 51 18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 48 19, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 20, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 25, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 225 2, Suzuki, 221 3, Kawasaki, 207 4, KTM, 206 5, Honda, 188 6, TM, 27 7, Aprilia, 1 ---------- RACE REPORT - 01/06/2008 Second victory in a row for Cairoli MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli entertained the vast crowd of 41,000 people at Mallory Park and the British Grand Prix by guiding his nimble Yamaha Red Bull De Carli YZ250F to a second victory in a row and his third of the season. The sixth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX2-GP series took place under grey skies and among the rough and tricky terrain of the brand new venue but the Sicilian was able to shine brightly to regain the red number plate as world championship leader. Mallory Park is steeped in road racing and motorsport history and can now add GP motocross among its chronicles. The course boasted some of the biggest jumps seen so far this year, although the new dirt cut up quickly the resulting deep ruts and single line in many places meant that overtaking was not easy. Cairoli began the weekend in fine fashion with his fourth consecutive pole position and a comprehensive triumph in his qualification sprint. An average start, caused when he mistimed the gate, meant that he circulated in fourth and then third position for long periods of Moto1. Eventually he was able to increase his pace to catch Tommy Searle and a block-pass saw him rise into second even though Searle did not read the move and fell to the floor. Cairoli raised the temperature of the race in the closing stages as he drew to the back of Rattray and looked poised to strike for the lead until he was baulked by a back-marker on the last lap. Building on his second position and judging the gatedrop better for Moto2 the defending number one went to lead through the first few corners and then never looked back. Searle attempted to follow the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli representative but Cairoli remained mostly undisturbed to collect his fifth win from twelve motos. He also took possession of the red plate and helped give Yamaha an 8 point lead in the manufacturer's standings. Second highest YZ250F rider on the day was 3C's Manuel Monni, who scored 8th place overall for his second best finish of 2008 thus far. The Italian rode to 7th position in Moto1 which was his finest effort since the rain-hit Spanish GP, where he made the podium for the first time. In the second race he was involved in a multi-rider crash at the start and also fell again in the formative stages. He nevertheless came back to a respectable 13th. Nico Aubin had a hard weekend and never really found an effective speed or rhythm around the circuit. The Frenchman tried to push and gave maximum effort but his pace was not enough for the top five. A crash saw him lose a mid-top ten position but he recovered for 8th. A mechanical problem curtailed his involvement in Moto2. Cairoli's team-mate, Matteo Bonini, had a decent first race with 8th place; his best finish of the season to-date. Sadly he was caught in the same incident as Monni at the commencement of Moto2 and a damaged front brake meant that he tried but ultimately could not make the points. The Italian was 15th overall. Utag Yamaha.com's Martin Barr was back in action after recovering from a broken collarbone but lacked race fitness and was not inside the points. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri received some positive news last week. The Italian was initially feared to be out for a sizeable part of the season with broken ligaments in his right knee. Further examinations revealed that he has actually strained two ligaments and could even be on the entry list for the Grand Prix of France in two weeks time. Cairoli is leading the championship by one point from Rattray. Aubin is fourth but 75 points from the top three. St Jean d'Angely, near the west coast of France, is the venue for round six in a fortnight. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "It was a good weekend for me, I just had a bit of trouble at the start and this is something I will work on. I was lucky in the first moto because I found a hole in the pack in the first corner and then could get back to fourth from seventh place. When Shaun crashed I pushed hard to pass Tommy and then again to catch Tyla, but he rode really well and I had a problem with a lapped rider. I saw the door was open when I overtook Tommy. He did not slow when I went through, we touched and he went down. For sure it was not my intention to hit him. The second race was really good and I take confidence from a good start like that. We are very close together in the championship now and it will be a hard season ahead but I am enjoying it." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 16th: "I felt better than I did yesterday and my bike worked really well but for some reason I could not get going in the motos. I had two good starts but I was too slow at the beginning of the first heat and I crashed down to 12th before finding a way back to 8th. It was not good but the best I could do. In the second race I felt I had better speed and better lines but when I started to push I had a little problem with the bike and the exhaust. It was a mistake and I am disappointed but these things happen. I have pushed a lot with the training and now I feel tired so I think I will make a blood test in Belgium this week because the team is working hard but I can't give them the result." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 15th: "I made a bad start in the first moto but afterwards my rhythm was very good and to finish eighth was a decent result. In the second race I crashed at the start and lost a lot of time to recover and restart the bike. The front brake was broken so it was difficult to ride fast, so I just aimed for some points and could not make it. I am disappointed because I was quick on this track but I feel my level is improving each GP." Manuel Monni, 3CRacing, 8th: "I'm quite satisfied with the result and I liked the track today. In the second moto I had my line cut at the start by Rattray and crashed and also stopped when there were many riders in a group stationary in front of me. I pushed back to 13th. The first moto was pretty good, I made some decent points." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 39'19.887 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'0.558 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'41.901 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'53.881 5, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 0'58.662 6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'4.178 7, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'12.700 8, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 1'16.956 9, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'23.438 10, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'25.627 11, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 1'26.937 12, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'27.688 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'30.534 14, Shannon Terreblanche, Suzuki, RSA, 1'32.180 15, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'32.354 16, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'33.738 17, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'36.546 18, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'37.561 19, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 2'59.301 20, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, -1 Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'4.833 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'5.609 3, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'37.874 4, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'50.806 5, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'52.032 6, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'0.405 7, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'2.484 8, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'3.046 9, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'12.706 10, Mickael Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'13.814 11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'15.004 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'31.857 13, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'34.266 14, Julien Vanni, KTM, FRA, 1'39.689 15, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'41.157 16, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'42.272 17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'47.964 18, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'49.847 19, Neville Bradshaw, Honda, RSA, 1'55.799 20, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 243 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 242 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 233 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 158 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 156 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 148 7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 144 8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 119 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 119 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 109 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 91 14, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 76 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 68 16, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 63 17, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 59 18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 56 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 54 20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 23, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 25, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20 29, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 13 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 283 2, KTM, 275 3, Kawasaki, 182 4, Suzuki, 160 5, Honda, 88
Alex Asigno
Troy Corser secured his fourth podium of the 2008 season after scoring second in race one, while his team-mate Noriyuki Haga overcame the pain and weakness of his multiple right collarbone fracture to take sixth place in race two, despite suffering yet another crash in the opening race at Miller Motorsports Park. In the first event, delayed by a starting grid mix-up between a few riders, Corser was only 2.8 seconds from his first win in Yamaha race colours, pushing hard once settled into position behind eventual leader Carlos Checa. He was a strong podium finisher, almost four seconds ahead of third placed rider, Michel Fabrizio. Haga's bravery was rewarded for a time with a strong top five position, but he fell on lap six, luckily on the other side from his broken right collarbone. Shortly after, championship leader Troy Bayliss also fell, causing the following Corser to take sharp avoiding action. In the second race, again won by Checa, Haga was running fifth for much of the time, but got passed by Yukio Kagayama on the last lap. Corser was lying third until he fell on lap 17, losing the front on a fast left-hander, and he was unable to restart his machine. Bayliss had to withdraw from race two, scoring no points and throwing the championship wide open again. Haga is now fifth overall, on 122 points, with Corser one place back, on 121.
Team YZF Yamaha rider Shinichi Nakatomi posted a 16th place finish in race one, just missing points, while Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) was 18th in race one, 17th in race two. David Checa was forced to retire on lap seven of race one and did not race in the second outing due to his recent injury. Troy Corser (2nd and DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "The first race was pretty good and even the second one was going well although I was having to ride hard in the corners to make up the time. So I pushed a bit too hard. We changed the fork settings between race one and race two and it was better, but it gave a bit less warning. I felt I could have had another podium in that race. Race one was a good confidence booster but I just made a slowish start." Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 6th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In race one I lost grip in the same corner as I did on Saturday. I think I opened the throttle a bit too much at maximum lean angle. In the end it was impossible for me to do more than I did in the second race. I scored ten points more than Troy Bayliss so that is the most important thing. Now I will have an operation to pin my collarbone and be ready for the next race. I was happy to race today because nobody thought I would be able to." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "What Noriyuki did was like a miracle; I don't remember anything like it. Probably he will go to California tomorrow to get an operation on his collarbone. Now we are waiting to see if we can schedule in the operation. Today we saw the Troy that we saw in the first two races of the year and I am very pleased about that. He really deserved his podium in race one. The championship is still open and we will start to make up more ground from the next race." Martial Garcia (Team Manager Team YZF Yamaha) "Our choice of tyres was optimistic in race two and after ten laps it was finished. This tyre would have been good if the temperature was higher. We tried an 'A' solution and it was a gamble - but we lost. The bike was good and the top speed was fine, but we tried to make a jump and it was too much." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 37'4.991 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'2.809 3, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'6.546 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'7.764 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'16.475 6, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'17.126 7, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'17.284 8, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'17.416 9, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'18.117 10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'20.467 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'21.742 12, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'27.533 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'32.609 14, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'33.165 15, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'34.182 16, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'34.500 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'36.155 18, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'41.685 19, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'43.579 20, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'54.195 21, Jason Pridmore, Honda, USA, 1'0.388 22, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'2.104 23, Scott Jenson, Suzuki, USA, 1'9.953 24, Loic Napoleone, Yamaha, FRA, 1'12.258 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 38'44.105 2, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'3.547 3, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'6.613 4, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'7.878 5, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'10.568 6, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'11.539 7, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'18.381 8, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'20.646 9, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'21.264 10, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'24.863 11, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'25.672 12, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.711 13, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'35.628 14, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'42.816 15, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'45.034 16, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'50.220 17, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'50.653 18, Jason Pridmore, Honda, USA, 0'51.188 19, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'4.533 20, Scott Jenson, Suzuki, USA, 1'12.049 21, Loic Napoleone, Yamaha, FRA, 1'19.221 Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 194 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 166 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 144 4, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 126 5, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 122 6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 121 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 92 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 87 9, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 85 10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 80 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 73 12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 63 13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 60 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 51 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 49 20, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 16 23, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 6 24, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 5 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 249 2, Yamaha, 201 3, Suzuki, 191 4, Honda, 185 5, Kawasaki, 51
Alex Asigno
Valentino Rossi brought the house down once again in Mugello today with an emotional seventh straight victory at his home track in front of 96,000 adoring fans. It was the Fiat Yamaha Team Rider's ninth win in total and fifth for Yamaha at this track and also his third win in a row this season, the first time he has won three consecutive races since 2005. His 91st victory is also a first for Bridgestone at this track. Starting from pole for the first time in almost a year, Rossi set nerves on edge when he slipped a few places at the start, exiting turn one in fourth. He soon passed his compatriot Loris Capirossi however and crossed the line for the first time hot on the heels of Stoner and Pedrosa. Lap three saw him pass Pedrosa and then Stoner next time around, leaving him in the lead. From then on it was the Italian's race and he stretched the gap to more than three seconds at one point, before rolling off slightly in the later stages as the temperature increased. He eventually crossed the line 2.201 seconds clear of Stoner, with his army of yellow-clad tifosi singing him home from the hillsides before invading the track, as is tradition here, and swarming under the podium. It was a day of contrasts for the Fiat Yamaha Team as Jorge Lorenzo, in his 100th Grand Prix, slid out of the race on lap seven when looking strong in sixth place. Rossi is now 12 points clear of Pedrosa at the top of the championship and Lorenzo is 16 points off him in third. The team now heads directly to Barcelona for the Catalunya Grand Prix in just seven day's time. Valentino Rossi 1st 42'31.153; "After winning the championship, winning at Mugello is the next best thing for me and once again today it was like a dream. There is no way to describe the feeling I have standing on the podium in front of all of my fans here and I am so happy that I could win once again today. To win for the seventh time running at my home track is amazing but I felt quite a lot of pressure about this, so it's a relief as well because I didn't want to disappoint everyone! It's been a hard weekend for everyone because of the bad weather and the lack of dry track time, but my crew have done a fantastic job with the bike and my M1 was wonderful today. Once I got to the front I was able to make a gap from the others but towards the end it was unbelievably hot and it became quite hard to ride. I wanted to ease off a bit but Casey was pushing hard behind so I had to keep going. Thanks to all of my team, to the engineers and of course to Bridgestone! I'm really glad that I've been the one to give them their first win at this track and they did a great job today because my tyre worked virtually the same from start to finish. It's been a fantastic day, it's always one of the best moments of the year for me and now we've made a bit more of the gap at the top of the championship so things couldn't be better. Honestly after this weekend I think I would like to go to bed for five days but now we have to go straight to Barcelona!" Davide Brivio Team Manager; "We did it! There has been a lot of pressure on us this weekend because everyone has been talking about Valentino's six wins in a row and expecting him to make it seven, and I think everyone in the team has felt it. Well done to all of them for keeping focused throughout and providing Valentino with the tools to do the job; what a job he did! It's wonderful to watch him ride like this at Mugello it seems no one can stop him here. We've had three wins in a row but there's no time to relax as now we go straight to Barcelona for what we know will be another big battle." Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo had a disappointing 100th Grand Prix today, crashing out of the Italian round of the championship on lap seven when running strongly in sixth place. Lorenzo, who is still not quite at 100% after suffering two fractured ankles in China one month ago, had struggled all weekend to find a good set-up, hampered by the lack of dry track time after losing Friday and Saturday morning to rain. Starting from seventh however he seemed to have found a better rhythm and was lapping as fast as the leaders when he made a mistake at turn ten, lost the front and slid into the gravel trap. It was a frustrating end to the weekend for the young Spaniard who was hoping for more after already having taken three poles, a race win and three podiums since he joined Yamaha at the start of the season. Jorge Lorenzo DNF; "We have had a lot of problems this weekend but today for the race I was feeling very motivated and I got a good start. I think I could have fought for the podium and I can only say sorry to my team and to all of my fans; it was my mistake. I shouldn't have tried to pass Dovizioso in this corner, it wasn't the right place and I will learn from it. I am not worried about my mental condition though and I am now focused on Catalunya. Montmelo is coming and this is a good thing because I only have to wait five days until I can ride the bike again. In China we had to make some changes to the bike to enable me to ride in my condition and since then maybe we haven't been exactly right with the set-up, but now we know where the problem is. Congratulations to Rossi, he was the best today!" Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager; "Unfortunately this weekend has been very difficult for us and we weren't able to improve the set-up of the bike enough. We made some changes in the warm-up however and it seemed Jorge had a better pace during the early laps than he has had all weekend. It's a pity that he crashed but these things happen! Now we have to analyse all of the data from this weekend in order to find the right set-up for Barcelona so that we can give Jorge a good package for his home race. Thanks to all the team for doing a great job in difficult circumstances, unfortunately it wasn't to be this weekend but we're going to try to make up for it in Montmelo." Masahiko Nakajima Team Director; "We have felt a lot of pressure here because we wanted Valentino to be able to continue his winning streak and we were worried that, if we lost, the Italians would be very angry with us! We made a huge effort and we are very happy because we have achieved one of the most important objectives of the early part of the season. Now we have many others to achieve and we have to find more energy for Catalunya next week. It's clear that the Bridgestone and Yamaha combination and cooperation is well matched now and we have a lot of confidence in our bike. On behalf of Yamaha I would like to congratulate Valentino and all of the team staff." "I am very sorry for Jorge's crash. We know that from Shanghai onwards he has had a very hard time, even if at the last two races he has been able to get great results, and due to this we've lost the direction for the bike setting a little bit. Also here in Mugello unfortunately we didn't have enough dry conditions to find the right set-up. Despite today however we believe that we can improve this situation and find the right way forward and I know that we will be able to give Jorge a very good bike for his home race in Barcelona next week." Tech 3 Yamaha celebrate double top six finish in Mugello Colin Edwards and James Toseland catapulted the Tech 3 Yamaha team into third place in the coveted Team World Championship standings today after both produced fantastic top six results in front of 96,252 fans at the Italian GP. Edwards produced by far his best Mugello result with fifth place, beating his previous best effort of ninth after he completed a terrific fightback from ninth place in the early stages. No less impressive was the performance of rookie James Toseland, who finished just one place further back in sixth on his first visit to the challenging Mugello circuit. Displaying his trademark aggressive riding style, Toseland's surge through the field was one of the highlights of the 23-lap encounter as he passed the likes of Shinya Nakano, Nicky Hayden, Andrea Dovizioso, Loris Capirossi and Edwards. From lap seven to 15, a fascinating inter-team battle ensued as Edwards chased Toseland, before the American made his decisive move to secure his third top five finish in the last four races. Toseland's heroics moved him back into the top eight in the overall rider standings and equalled his previous best MotoGP result. Colin Edwards 5th +12.530; "I didn't get a great start but it wasn't that bad but before I knew it I'd lost a couple of places. I didn't have the grip in the first two laps that some of the other guys did, so I couldn't stay with them off the corner. Once my tyres started to come in I really started to feel good, but I had to adjust my riding style with the temperature being so much higher than yesterday. The rear was coming round a bit on the entry of the corner and I started braking a lot harder, carrying less corner speed to try and conserve the tyre by picking the bike up and accelerating. It worked and I've got to say I'm happy with fifth. I'm happier with fifth here than I was with third in Le Mans to be honest. I expected to win at Le Mans, but my best result here has been a ninth. I'm not a guy that likes fifth, but on my biggest bogey track ever I'll take it. We just had to run a tyre that we thought would have good endurance because in a situation where there's hardly been any dry track time, you have to play safe. Nobody had done any endurance testing on tyres and I think the tyre I raced on I'd done about two laps on before the race! I have to say a big thanks to Michelin because they did a great job. We had no idea what the tyre would be like after 20 laps but to come from where I did showed we made a good choice. Tyre choice is critical at any track but here even more so because it is such an abrasive surface. It will destroy tyres if you are just a little bit off, so credit to Michelin. I had a good battle with James and its great to see him back in the top six. There were a couple of places like the two Arrabbiata corners where he could pull away. I felt like I could control him if I could pass him, and the key was getting by and being able to pull a gap so he couldn't slipstream back by me. It is another great result for the team today. I'm sure if you had said to Herve that our team would be third in the team points after six races he would have taken it." James Toseland 6th +13.806; "That was a really hard race and I've got to say a massive thanks to my guys at Tech 3 because we found a set-up this morning after losing so much time with the weather and it got me in the top six. Considering the lack of dry time track time my Michelin tyres held up fantastically well too, so a big thanks to them as well. I couldn't have done anymore. I was really close to Shinya Nakano in the first corner and that picked me up and I lost quite a few places. I kept my calm because I knew it was a long race and I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did in Le Mans. I just had to settle down and I didn't do anything stupid. It's nice to follow Colin home on the same package. Colin did a great job as well. I passed him early on but he found his pace. I held him towards the end but he just found those extra few tenths a lap and that was enough for him to pass me. You can tell he has got a lot of experience on these bikes and his bike doesn't do move so much. I feel like I'm wrestling mine a bit too much but I'm still learning. With the setting I had the bike wasn't so stable on the faster corners but my bike is one of the best out there and thanks to Yamaha. I rode hard in that race and if I was riding this hard and finishing fourteenth my morale would be seriously dented, but when I'm riding really well and the package is working well, I'm back in the top six again and this is where I need to be." Herve Poncharal Team Manager; "I am very pleased with today and I couldn't have asked for more from Colin and James. Mugello has been a tough track for Colin and this was his best result by far. The first two laps he lost a few positions but he regained them and he rode a really clever and consistent race. I think honestly today fifth and sixth were the best results we could have reached. I'm even happier about James because he's had some problems in the last couple of races. We never lost confidence in him because he is so motivated and you could see he was not happy with his results. We saw his fighting spirit at the start of the race and his very strong point, which is his aggressive passing, came to the fore again. At the end we were a bit scared when we saw Loris catching up but he kept concentrated and didn't make any mistakes. We leave Mugello with a really strong and positive spirit. Now we are third in the team championship, which is a great achievement for all of the guys.Only two factory teams are in front of us and this is very encouraging for us because we had a lot of pressure here. A lot of current sponsors and potential future sponsors were here, so I think we did a great job to show our potential. Congratulations to Yamaha again for winning that race and for being that strong, they have been magnificent this season." Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 42'31.153 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.201 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'4.867 4, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'6.313 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'12.530 6, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'13.806 7, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'14.447 8, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'15.319 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'15.327 10, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'30.785 11, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'39.621 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'50.021 13, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'50.440 14, Tadayuki Okada, Honda, JAM, 0'58.849 15, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'0.736 Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 122 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 110 3, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 94 4, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 76 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 58 6, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 51 7, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 44 8, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 43 9, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 40 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 35 11, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 31 12, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 26 13, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 24 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 24 15, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 24 Team Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 216 2, Repsol Honda Team, 150 3, Tech3 Yamaha, 101 4, Ducati Marlboro Team, 100 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 82 6, Honda Gresini, 59 7, JIR Scot Team, 44 8, Team Alice, 36 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 32 10, Honda LCR, 18 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 140 2, Honda, 110 3, Ducati, 81 4, Suzuki, 54 5, Kawasaki, 29
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts was not able to win his home Grand Prix at a wet Mantova circuit but certainly captured the admiration and attention of the 29,000 spectators with a captivating flight from last position to fifth spot in the first moto. The performance on his YZ450FM was backed-up by a strong second place in the following race to allow the series leader to tread the third step of the podium and increase his advantage in the standings even further. Josh Coppins was content with sixth position overall. Usually a safe bet for reliable weather the Italian round of the series, on this occasion hosting the fifth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship, was wet and overcast for both days. Frequent light rain tested the resolve of the sandy all-weather venue and the Monster Energy-backed riders had to contend with both dry and wet motos during Sunday. A slippery, rough and rutted terrain provided a formidable prospect. Philippaerts, winner of the Starcross International here in February - an event that represented his race debut for the team - was just over half a second from his first pole position on Saturday but second place still marked his best qualification performance in MX1-GP. Coppins had a difficult time on the first day. Set-up issues caused him to lose track time and then he was unable to post a satisfactory lap in qualification. The New Zealander was unable not to get into a groove with the track, of which he openly professes a dislike, but also admitted that the slower, more technical conditions thanks to the rain were more to his benefit. Nevertheless he went to the gate in sixteenth. Considering his handicap Coppins produced two excellent starts. The 31 year old almost had the holeshot in Moto1 and actually accomplished the honour in Moto2. Philippaerts' was holding third position approaching the fourth turn of the opening lap in Moto1 when a rider fell in front of him. The pack was still very congested and the hold-up caused another person to hit the Italian and put him on the ground. Restarting from last the 24 year old took almost two laps to steady himself but then exploded on a 30 minute whirl of lap-times and overtaking moves that saw him pass 16 riders and arrive to fifth position behind his team-mate. His progress was cheered by the crowd on virtually every lap and he deservedly earned plaudits from the team and his followers. Coppins hit the front in Moto2 but was passed by eventual winner Max Nagl. Philippaerts, in third spot and through the first turns safely this time, gave chase to the German but it wasn't until the final circulations that he was able to break down a barrier of some five seconds to the back wheel of the leader. Coppins took another top-five finish with a relatively lonely ride but was satisfied with his day's work. Van Beers'Aigar Leok obtained his best moto result of the season with a decent eighth place in the first moto but the Estonian was unable to finish the second outing. The points table makes favourable reading for the team and also for Yamaha. In just his second season in the category Philippaerts is already setting a high pace for the title. With 28 points advantage over world champion Steve Ramon Philippaerts has a gap of just over one moto. Coppins is keeping close and is only 10 points adrift of the Belgian. Yamaha head the manufacturer's standings by 8 points. The world championship now pauses for a week before the series reconvenes at the new Mallory Park circuit for the British Grand Prix on June 1st. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 3rd: "Someone went down in front of me and when I was hit from behind I went over the bike that was lying on the ground. It was a big crash and also disappointing because I knew it would be hard to win the GP after that. I tried as hard as I could. I was watching my lap-times and I knew they were fast; I did the best lap of the race near the end and that was a good thing. In the second moto I pushed to get near to Nagl so that he would see me and maybe make a mistake but it was raining a lot and I did not want to make a mistake. I thought of the points and did not take any risks. I wanted to win here but to be on the podium is OK. The bike and the team are so good and this is a big reason why we have this lead in the championship." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 6th: "It is quite close at the front of the championship and we saw another new winner this weekend. I am the only guy from the first few in the standings who has not won yet, but it will come. I think everyone knows that I have had a hard couple of weeks and I am not riding as well as I would like, so I think we did a good job in the motos; I believe fourth and fifth was not too bad. I closed some points to Ramon and pulled away from Mackenzie. I was pleased with my starts today even if I did ride badly in the first ten minutes of both motos; I was just too slow. In the last ten minutes I am as fast as the leader but I am too stiff and not relaxed in the first moments of the races. My confidence is getting better though. I don't like this track and it is the only one of the fifteen that I struggle with, so that's another reason why I am pleased with the result. I am looking forward to England now; that is like a home GP for me. I like to think I have a chance to win there." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager: "This was good for us because from a bad day David still make a positive result. After the first two laps his speed was fantastic in the first moto. Josh was a different rider to the one we saw on Saturday so we are happy for him. He is still third in the championship but gained some points on Ramon." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 41'10.667 2, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.173 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'8.384 4, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'10.939 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'20.259 6, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'24.082 7, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'26.078 8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'39.106 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'41.779 10, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'45.875 11, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 0'49.613 12, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'51.609 13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'1.909 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'25.208 15, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'30.363 16, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'37.412 17, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'40.828 18, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'44.755 19, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'55.139 20, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 2'13.916 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 40'35.621 2, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'5.258 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'29.696 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'36.498 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'40.720 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.055 7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'43.392 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'3.004 9, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'5.679 10, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'25.490 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'39.479 12, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'47.193 13, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'51.099 14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'57.335 15, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 2'6.591 16, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 2'9.944 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 2'11.116 18, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 2'12.155 19, Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, 2'14.916 20, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 187 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 159 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 149 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 135 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 130 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 129 7, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 116 8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 114 9, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 105 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 98 11, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 74 12, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 73 13, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 70 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 67 15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 59 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 41 17, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 38 18, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 20, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 29 25, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 189 2, Suzuki, 181 3, Kawasaki, 170 4, KTM, 161 5, Honda, 158 6, TM, 26 ---------- RACE REPORT - 18/05/2008 Cairoli lights-up Mantova with second 2008 victory MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli bounced back from his mishap in Bulgaria, defied two injured ribs and also recovered from a second corner crash - similar to countryman David Philippaerts in MX1-GP - to win his second Grand Prix of the season at Mantova. The fifth round of fifteen in the 2008 series was again cursed by rain; bad weather has now affected four of the five events run so far. 29,000 people still braved the damp conditions to watch the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider take his second success in a row after victory in 2007 at the Italian Grand Prix. Despite the grey clouds and rain overnight the MX2-GP motos were thankfully devoid of showers. Cairoli started the weekend positively with a strong performance in his Heat race to earn his third consecutive pole position. The Sicilian needed a pain-killing injection for both days of action but even the rutted and rough Mantova sand did not seem to put him off his stride. The first race started dramatically as the reigning number one - using special colours on his kit and helmet - was felled by Erik Eggens in the second corner. Retrieving his YZ250F Cairoli began one of his 'comeback specials' and over the course of the next 35 minutes and 1 lap passed more than 20 riders to reach an incredible fourth place. The only chance of triumph in front of his many fans lay in his capabilities to own the second moto and the double world champion duly obliged. He set a distance from the pack almost immediately and clinched his fourth race win of the year, and fourth from the last six. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin was unfortunate not to take his first podium finish of the season after he rode brilliantly to celebrate his first chequered flag by beating Tommy Searle in Moto1. The Frenchman led the opening stages of the race before the Briton took control. Aubin was able to keep in his rival's wheel tracks and on lap 14 of 18 regained the advantage. The next sprint was a different affair as Aubin could not find sufficient speed to enter the top five and ended up sixth, for fourth place overall. The top four were separated by only three points in the closest GP ranking of the season. Team-mate Davide Guarneri was disappointed to have to withdraw from the Grand Prix. The Italian suffered a slow but awkward crash on Saturday and immediately feared he has broken a ligament in his right knee. Although the extent of the damage will not be known for a few days and when the Spanish GP winner has a scan, Guarneri - who has already suffered a similar type of injury - was understandably feeling low after this latest set-back. The rest of the De Carli team made the qualification cut. Matteo Bonini, still finding his way back to full speed after recovering from a dislocated shoulder, endured a hard day of work. He was out of the points in Moto1 but rallied to take fifteenth for six points in Moto2. Alessandro Lupino finished in the points on both occasions for the first time in 2008. The teenager was twentieth in each moto. The MX2-GP stars, like their MX1-GP counterparts, will be in action again in two weeks time when the British Grand Prix, at a new track within the Mallory Park motorsports venue, hosts the sixth stop in the 2008 FIM competition. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "For sure I wanted to win both races but the second corner was a big problem. Out of the gate I started well but then I had some contact with Tommy. I tried for a good line in the second corner but Eggens was on the inside of me and decided to come across to the outside and hit my front wheel. I lost time taking and restarting the bike but then I pushed hard. I thought that it might still be possible to win the GP so I gave it everything I had. I put my head down and concentrated on good lap-times and catching the next rider. We have had a lot of wet races now and these are not my favourite conditions; although the track was not as slippery as Bulgaria!" Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th: "I was very happy with that first moto. When Tommy passed me he was very fast but he was attacking so much and I could still follow him. I knew he would not be able to do that the whole race so I kept close and picked the right moment. I don't know what happened in that second moto. I did not get the start I wanted but it was not that bad. I just could not find the same speed as the first heat. I tried some new lines but it wouldn't come. It was positive to get that win but my goal right now is to make good results in both races." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 21st: "During the week I could not train well because I was very tired after Bulgaria, which was my first GP of the year. I did not get a good start in the first moto and there were a lot of problems in the second corner that held me up. I tried hard to push and regain positions but I felt short of breath and had to lower my rhythm. Things were better in the second moto, including my start but after 20 minutes I felt tired and then just looked to getting as many points as I could. I took one more position on the last lap which was good but overall I still frustrated because I worked very hard in the winter and because of the injury it is like I am starting at zero. At least it can only get better." Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 39'32.202 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'0.972 3, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'22.192 4, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'40.411 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'52.926 6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'16.135 7, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'20.448 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'24.259 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'30.111 10, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'31.529 11, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'39.228 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'45.136 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'45.719 14, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'49.505 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'56.218 16, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'56.758 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 2'3.286 18, Kounsith Vongsana, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'8.805 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 2'12.605 20, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'31.009 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'18.667 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'23.490 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'8.418 5, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'10.863 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'21.967 7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'36.613 8, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 1'55.742 9, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'1.461 10, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 2'7.780 11, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, -1 Laps 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 14, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, -1 Laps 15, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 16, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps 17, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 18, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 199 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 196 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 191 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 146 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 132 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 124 7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 113 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 109 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 99 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 97 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 86 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 63 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 55 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 54 16, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 17, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 50 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 48 19, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 46 20, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 43 23, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20 28, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 12 29, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 10 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 236 2, KTM, 228 3, Kawasaki, 147 4, Suzuki, 138 5, Honda, 67 ---------- RACE REPORT - 18/05/2008 Prumm makes the podium in Italy Double FIM Women's World Cup number one Katherine Prummtook her Van Beers Racing YZ250F to second position for her first podium result of the season at Mantova for the Italian Grand Prix and the second round of five in the first ever FIM Women's World Championship. The 19 year old underwent a scan during the week that confirmed the ACL in her right knee has detached but made the decision to compete in Mantova regardless and aim for her first podium. After taking third position in a wet practice - indeed the whole weekend would be hit by rain, creating a rougher and slower sandy terrain - Prumm launched out of the gate inside the top four of both motos. The first race saw her trailing winner Stephanie Laier for second place and she enjoyed a brief but entertaining tussle with series leader Livia Lancelot in the second moto until the French rider stalled her machine. Prumm, naturally, still lacks a little confidence and speed in the corners but took another runner-up position to Laier to strengthen her position in the standings. The points table has narrowed and Prumm lies just two behind Lancelot. Prumm heads back to her home this week and will begin a programme of physical work to build-up the required muscles in her knee to help compensate for the missing ligament. She will not be in Europe again until mid-June to prepare for round three of the series which will take place at the Teutschenthal circuit for the Grand Prix of Germany. Katherine Prumm, Yamaha Van Beers Racing, 2nd: "It was good to make the podium this weekend but to be honest I am not so happy with my riding. My confidence had taken a hit in Bulgaria and while things were better this weekend I still did not find the speed I know I am capable of and that I do in practice. I fought with Livia and she did not have the best day so it is positive that I am back in the championship hunt. Despite the knee I want to be here fighting for the championship. I will work the muscles I need to and I hope I can build my confidence to get faster. It is good to see how the championship is progressing. I was surprised when I came over for the first GP and found a lot of the girls are now members of teams and it is great that the manufacturers are supporting us. It was a big change for me to switch to Yamaha but I love the engine of the YZ and every weekend I am learning something new about the bike with the different conditions that we find." Race 1 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'52.655 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'22.005 3, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'31.040 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'39.712 5, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'44.853 6, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'53.707 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'34.577 8, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'43.842 9, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'46.214 10, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 2'4.474 Race 2 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'39.392 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'17.045 3, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'22.528 4, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'25.084 5, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'25.835 6, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 1'32.232 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 1'36.685 8, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'49.657 9, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'51.538 10, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'53.496 Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 82 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 80 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 72 4, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 61 5, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 58 6, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 53 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 51 8, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 50 9, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 45 10, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 37 11, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 30 12, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 12 13, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, 11 14, Niki Scott, Kawasaki, NZL, 11 15, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 11 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Kawasaki, 85 2, KTM, 81 3, Yamaha, 80 4, Suzuki, 76 5, Honda, 72