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Yamaha Racing News

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Yamaha Sterilgarda Team get set for the first European round of 2010 at Portimao

The World superbike paddock sets down in Portimao this week for the first of the European rounds of the 2010 season. This will be the third outing for Superbikes at the Portuguese circuit, and the first race there for the Yamaha team since they secured the 2009 World Superbike Championship title at the end of last season with rider Ben Spies. The track also has a special significance for Cal Crutchlow as it was here at the end of the season last year that he crossed the line to take the World Supersport Championship title for Yamaha on his R6. The team also enjoyed a very positive test here in January, wrapping up with Cal Crutchlow fourth fastest and James Toseland sixth, both delivering fast, consistent and competitive lap times. After solving unexpected chatter problems in the race weekend during the first round, the team then also found difficulties in the electronics area in combination with the increased power found during the winter and low grip levels at the Phillip Island circuit. The team have continued to work hard to further develop the 2010 R1 including a short test at the Misano circuit in San Marino last week. Riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow are now keen to get straight onto the track and close the points deficit to current championship leader Leon Haslam. Round one at Phillip Island saw both riders fall in the first race, regrouping for race two with Crutchlow scoring a ninth place finish and Toseland right behind in tenth. The month break following has given Toseland's hand injury, sustained in Phillip Island, a chance to recover ahead of Friday's first sessions on track. "I'm really keen to get to Portugal and get back on the bike," said Cal Crutchlow. "Last time I raced here I won the world title in Supersport so I have good feelings for the track. I'm going to put 100% into my efforts this weekend as always and we'll see what happens with the progress the guys have made over the last couple of weeks." "I'm really looking forward to it," said James Toseland. "We had a tough time in Australia but I believe the team has been working really hard in the meantime and the test went well in Misano. My hand is nearly back to normal although there's still a bit of pain. I'm basically looking forward to getting out on track and seeing what progress we've made to catch up." Portimao technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland's Crew Chief "Portimao is a very challenging circuit to set-up for. It requires good handling in the middle section, but also a very good stable and braking bike in the first sector. From a chassis point of view, we are very close to where we need to be. The biggest area the team have been working on is the electronics and smoothening the power delivery to make it more user friendly for James. This will also help the tyre life for the latter part of the race. The team have worked hard since Philip Island to find solutions for the areas that needed improving. Hopefully we can be challenging for the podium positions." Portimao technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow's Crew Chief "Portimao is a track with three distinct characters, the long straight with hard braking, the mid-part with enormous altitude changes and the last part, especially the last corner with a long sweeping radius. So the key point for us with Cal is to find the right balance of setup to suit major areas of the circuit. We will start with one bike on the setup from the test that worked well and one with some new ideas to match it better with Cal's needs. The main concentration is on the electronic side to improve ride ability and also endurance of the tyres. As with all races it depends on the weekend conditions how much we will be able to do. We will work hard to challenge the podium!" Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "It hasn't been a perfect start to the season for us, but as always with new bike developments it can take some testing to get the best results. During the Portimao circuit test in January we did not have the problems that haunted us in Phlillip Island. The team has worked incredibly hard this month and we have achieved positive results in our Misano test. We go to Portimao confident that we can achieve good results with both riders. I'm happy that James's hand is much better so he can concentrate on riding without pain."
Alex Asigno

Philippaerts and Paulin ruthless again in Italian championship

DP at Cast.Del Lago The second round of the 2010 Italian championship at Castiglione Del Lago has fallen to the works YZ450FM and YZ250FMs of David Philippaerts and Gautier Paulin as the Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team dominated both MX1 and MX2 classes at the former GP venue last Sunday. Across grippy and reasonably soft track conditions, Philippaerts was particularly impressive as he twice defeated MX1-GP world champion and fellow countryman Antonio Cairoli; the first time the Sicilian has been beaten in three race appearance so far in 2010. 25 year old Philippaerts – fresh from the official team photoshoot and further tests at the Mantova circuit during the week – further refined his 2010 race-bike with now just four weeks until the first Grand Prix of fifteen in Bulgaria. ‘I am happy with this win,’ he said. ‘It proves that we are continuing to work well and that I feel better and faster all the time. It was good to race and beat Antonio and we have collected some more information before moving to Belgium.’ The 2008 MX1-GP World Champion now has a perfect set of results in the four motos run so far and a healthy lead of 23 points over Davide Guarneri although he won’t be contesting the full series. Paulin wins MX2 Mirroring his new team-mate’s classification on the day and in the campaign so far was Gautier Paulin. The Frenchman rode practically unchallenged for his third and fourth victories on Italian soil and beat European Champion and Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi racing’s Christophe Charlier into second place on both occasions. ‘Again this was a good result for us,’ he said. ‘My starts were pretty good and Charlier came with me for pace at some stages. We have done some good work in Italy in the last couple of weeks and now we will go to Belgium and see what we can get done on the sand.’ Other results of note included Ken De Dycker’s first podium for his Italian Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team in the national championship with 3rd overall behind Philippaerts and Cairoli. The Belgian went 3-5 for his result. Team-mate, but in the MX2 category, Alessandro Lupino, was a decent 4th after having recovered from a sore wrist. In the UK the first round of eight in the British Championship took place at Little Silver in southwest England. Bike It Cosworth Yamaha UK’s Zach Osborne – winner of the 2009 MX2-GP Turkish Grand Prix – took his new YZ250F to the top of the podium in his first competitive showing of the season. The American was 4th, 1st and 1st in the three motos. ‘This weekend was really good for me,’ he reflected. ‘I still have a lot of work to do before the first Grand Prix but this win is definitely something to build on. I’m happy with the team and the way things are going. I am really enjoying myself right now and I think it shows. I want to say a big thanks to the team and all the people who are supporting me behind the scenes.’ Philippaerts and Paulin will now head to northern Europe this week to begin a period of training and riding in the Belgian sand. The team will test in the terrain the following week before again switching their attentions to Italy and some hard-pack tracks similar to the surface that will be found at Sevlievo in Bulgaria on Easter weekend.
Alex Asigno

Tough start for Yamaha in Valencia

It wasn't the easiest start to the Spanish race weekend for Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland today. The unforgiving Ricardo Tormo circuit proved challenging for both British riders with low grip on the track surface. Crutchlow made several changes to the bike during the qualifying session, leaving little time for an unbroken run to fully test the changes, ending the heat in ninth. Team-mate James Toseland had found a set-up to test, but then suffered a small crash as he settled in for some quick laps at the end of the session. Although uninjured and able to continue, it left not enough time to improve on his 12th place time. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1'35.052) "Today wasn't easy. We made good progress up to Portimao, unfortunately we are now at a track with much less grip which makes it again more difficult for us. Hopefully we can make improvements over the evening and into tomorrow. I look forward to getting started again in the morning and seeing how it goes." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (12th, 1'35.203) "A frustrating session for me today. I'd just put the softer tyre in at the end of the session, I came out of turn one really well but unfortunately I got my finger stuck under the brake lever and couldn't stop in time. I only just got the bike stopped right up by the barrier and then tipped it over. Luckily no damage to me or the bike so I got back on but by the time I'd cleaned all the dirt off them the performance of them had just dropped slightly. I was three tenths quicker than this morning and the time was there to be had but I ran out of time, frustrating as it was my error. We've got a lot of information from today so I'm looking forward to tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "A difficult day, but it seems for many of the 4 cylinder machines it wasn't easy to get good grip here. With chassis set up changes and adjustments in the electronics area we hope to improve this for tomorrow and also help to reduce tyre wear. I'm confident we will be more competitive tomorrow in the next session."

Circuit Length: 4005 Weather: Hot and Sunny
Lap Record: 1'35.007 (Neil Hodgson, 23/04/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'33.270 (Ben Spies, 05/04/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga
2010 WSB Spain - Valencia 09/04/2010 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'34.220 2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'34.502 3 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1'34.690 4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'34.771 5 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 1'34.780 6 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'34.886 7 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 1'34.935 8 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'35.049 9 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1'35.052 10 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1'35.132 11 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 1'35.189 12 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 1'35.203 13 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'35.232 14 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1'35.279 15 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 1'35.467
Alex Asigno

Three Yamahas in Atlanta top six

Josh Hill in Atlanta Yamaha LandM San Manuel's Josh Hill finished 6th at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for round eight of seventeen in the AMA Supercross/FIM World SX Championship and keeps within 20 points of the 2010 title chase. The 20 year old was one of three YZ450F riders in the top six of the 32nd Main Event to be run in the Georgian capital. The highest finisher Saturday night in front of more than 69,000 spectators was Valli Motorsports Ivan Tedesco; the veteran taking his second best result of the year with 4th spot. The day started in a tough way for Hill who suffered a crash in which he bent his handlebars with his chest in the final timed period and negotiated the 20 lap Main Event in some discomfort. 'That was the hardest race I've ever had,' he said. 'I wasn't even going to race until about 6:30, and I started feeling a little better. But 20 laps out there in my condition, that was so hard. At least I'm still there in the points, but I'm just going to go home and try to heal-up for next week in Daytona." Justin Brayton 20 seconds in front of the youngster was Joe Gibbs Racing's Justin Brayton, who was hunting a way past Tedesco but ultimately had to settle for 5th in what is becoming a very solid campaign for the 2009 Bercy SX winner. Tedesco was the first of six 2010 YZ450Fs on the leader-board that filled positions down to 9th place. After Hill followed Michael Byrne, Jason Lawrence and Grant Langston. Hill is now back to second place in the championship behind Ryan Dungey as the winner of the last two rounds, Ryan Villopoto, could only cross the line in 19th in Atlanta after a mistake caused a crash and necessitated a visit to the pits. Brayton's excellent consistency, which has seen three top five finishes in the last four events, means he is 5th and 13 points away from moving up another spot. Round nine takes place next Saturday as the series move to Daytona on the east coast. Crowd: 69, 182 Weather: Dry

Lap Record: 0'52.919 (Ricky Carmichael , 01/01/2006) Last Years Winner: James Stewart
2010 AMA-SX Atlanta, GA 28/02/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 18'38.901 2 Trey Canard Honda USA 0'10.976 3 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'13.239 4 Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 0'16.672 5 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0'17.157 6 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'37.668 7 Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 0'41.606 8 Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 0'45.254 9 Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 0'47.817 10 Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 0'49.766 11 Chris Blose Honda USA -1Laps 12 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA -1Laps 13 Matt Boni Honda USA -1Laps 14 Kevin Windham Honda USA -1Laps 15 Jason Thomas Suzuki USA -1Laps 17 Weston Peick Yamaha USA -1Laps 18 Dan Reardon Yamaha USA -1Laps  
Rider Standings 27/02/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 170 2. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 150 3. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 147 4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 134 5. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 121 6. Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 115 7. Kevin Windham Honda USA 113 8. Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 85 9. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 71 10. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 69 11. Andrew Short Honda USA 69 12. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 66 13. Thomas Hahn Yamaha USA 61 14. Chris Blose Honda USA 60 15. James Stewart Yamaha USA 51 18. Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 28 19. Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 25 28. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 7 35. Josh Grant Yamaha USA 1  
Manufacturer Standings 27/02/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 170 2. Yamaha 169 3. Honda 161 4. Kawasaki 156 5. KTM 3
Alex Asigno

Rossi and Lorenzo conclude pre-season with second and sixth in Qatar

The Fiat Yamaha Team riders concluded their pre-season preparation this evening with another strong performance in the humid Qatar night, Valentino Rossi finishing second and Jorge Lorenzo sixth. This was the last time the riders will be on track before the first race, back at the same circuit in three weeks time. Rossi concentrated largely on finalising his race preparation today, also finding time to try a new tyre compound for Bridgestone. The Italian completed 20 laps in a long run late in the evening with the aim of gathering more information for the race, which will help the team during the practice sessions when they return here. He set his best time of the day earlier in the evening, slightly slower than his time from yesterday, and finally had to settle for second behind Casey Stoner. The Italian has been fastest on five out of six test days this year however and he and his crew are now looking forward with confidence to the first race. Lorenzo continued to make progress and to push as hard as his injured hand would allow, the Spaniard managing to test some new electronic settings amongst other things and improve on his time from yesterday. He still felt some pain in the hard braking areas and needed to take a painkilling pill, but he was happy to finish sixth in the circumstances and is confident that he will be back to full strength in time for the race. The first race of the 2010 MotoGP season takes place at Losail, Qatar on 9th, 10th and 11th April. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 1'55.860 Laps: 57 "This has been another good day. We've concentrated mostly on the race preparation and it feels like we're now ready for the first race. We did a long run at the end of the session and we got some good information, which will help us in the race. Now that testing is over I am very excited about the season. We've been strong throughout the six days of practice and it feels good to have been fast here also, where we have struggled in the past. We have only tested at two tracks so we need to wait for another different one to fully understand the new bike, but we're in good shape. My M1 feels great and I'm looking forward to racing!" Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 6th Time: 1'56.504 Laps: 44 "Today my hand felt okay, maybe a bit worse than yesterday. Of course it's not as good as before the accident but this is to be expected! It's hard for me in the braking areas and I can't push any harder than I have been today at the moment, but I hope it will have improved a lot by the time of the first race. Our bike is great, Yamaha have done a fantastic job and you can see this from the strong performance of all the Yamaha riders. We've done a lot of work and tried many things, so I hope that these will help us when we come back here in three weeks. I will keep working to strengthen my hand and I hope to be in much better condition by then." Davide Brivio - Team Manager We're really happy about this final test. Although we were fast in Sepang we didn't know what to expect here but we found that we were quick here as well - more than a second faster than last year in fact and this is encouraging! We've done some more work on the setting during this test and then today concentrated on race preparation, including doing a long run and trying some different combinations of bike and tyres. The waiting is nearly over now and we're ready!" Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager "We have been happy here to see that Jorge feels better than expected, even if his thumb is still not perfect. To be able to finish in the top six when he's not in the best shape is a great achievement. We know there is improvement to make but considering the situation we can be happy with this test. Jorge feels good on the bike and we have made some good steps forward in these two days; he can feel the difference already. At the moment these tiny steps are very important. Now we have almost three weeks until the race and this gives Jorge time to improve further, so hopefully we will be in good shape when we return." Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team end 2010 preparations in Qatar The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team end its pre-season preparations for the 2010 MotoGP world championship in high spirits on a hot and humid night at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. With humid conditions reducing grip levels from the opening night, both Colin Edwards and Ben Spies were unable to improve their times tonight. The Texan pair were still able to carry out some valuable testing on the set-up of their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines and also assess a range of soft and hard compound front and rear Bridgestone tyres ahead of the first race under Qatar's spectacular floodlights on April 11. Edwards ended tonight's six-h our session with the eighth fastest time, a best lap of 1.56.722 less than 0.5s away from the top five. Spies was just two places further back in 10th with a best lap of 1.56.780. That was less than 0.1s away from Edwards' pace. Spies' best lap of 1.55.954 from the opening night was still good enough to secure him a top five place on the overall timesheets and boost his confidence ahead of his much-anticipated debut for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team next month. Both Edwards and Spies escaped injury in identical crashes at Turn Two tonight. Colin Edwards - Position: 8th Time: 1'56.722 Laps: 48 “It wasn't the ending to testing I was looking for but it wasn't too bad. I just didn't really have a great feeling with the bike tonight and we need to have a think about things before we come back for the race next month. We've got some work to do because I just didn't feel as comfortable on the bike as I did last year, mainly with the front-end. And I know I go good at this track because I had a good race last year and finished fourth. I'm not sure what happened with the crash but I did exactly the same as Ben. I was on the soft front tyre that I'd not really run that much on the first night. But I was on my sixth lap on the tyre, so it should have been ready to push. But I was down before I knew it and it is a fast crash, even if you're only in second gear. I'm just glad I didn't get hurt so close to the first race because that was a fast crash. I'm really excited about going racing now. It seems like a long time since Valencia and I'm sure we can have another great year with the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team." Ben Spies - Position: 10th Time: 1'56.780 Laps: 44 “I didn't have a great night really but that can happen. Everything that could go wrong went wrong tonight. But I've have had a great winter and this was the first session where it didn't go the way we wanted it to. I'd had some small issues early on and went into Turn Two again and just lost the front. I wasn't really sure what happened but then four people crashed in the next 30 minutes so it must have got really humid really quick because something wasn't right with that many people going down in the same place. I did a few more laps to clear my head and got down to some decent times and I'm happy I did that. But it was still a successful test and I leave confident that I'll be competitive for the race next month. I want to thank my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 for all their effort in the winter. We've done a good job and I feel we're in a position to have a competitive start to the season.” Test Times 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'55.353 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'55.860 3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1'55.879 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'56.115 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'56.195 6. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'56.504 7. Randy de Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'56.504 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'56.722 9. Mika Kallio (FIN) Pramac Green Team 1'56.767 10. Ben Spies (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'56.779 11. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Pramac Green Team 1'56.897 12. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'56.898 13. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 1'56.935 14. Marco Melandri (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'57.222 15. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 1'57.223 16. Hiroshi Aoyama (JAP) Interwetten-Honda MotoGP 1'57.251 17. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'57.379 Losail: Record Lap C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'55.153 Losail: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'53.927
Alex Asigno

Double Dutch for Toseland with two podiums at Assen

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider James Toseland made every lap count in Assen today, storming to two podium finishes and claiming hard earned points which move him up the championship table. The first race saw the British rider tear through the pack from his tenth place grid start position, making short work of his competitors with clean decisive overtakes, making up eight places to sit in second by just past mid-race point behind leader Jonathan Rea. An inspired overtake three laps to the end on the penultimate corner saw him temporarily lead the race, however Rea was able to get past at the end of the start straight, securing the win just 1.1 seconds ahead of Toseland. Team-mate Cal Crutchlow had a great start, making it up to sixth on the first corner before a bunched up pack of riders pushed him wide, dropping him to 13th initially. He fought back with a determined push and was the fastest lapping rider mid way through. He finally crossed the line in eighth having made up five positions on the tricky to overtake circuit. Race two and again Toseland charged through the pack, making fifth position by lap seven. He spent several laps following a furious battle in the top four between Haslam, Rea, Corser and Camier before slipping through and fighting his own battle to take third. Positions changed several times in the tightly bunched pack however he held onto third over the line for his second podium of the day. Team mate Crutchlow had a less fortunate race, with a technical issue with the rear suspension forcing an early retirement. Toseland now heads to the next round in Monza having climbed to fifth position in the standings on 86 points, just 17 behind Carlos Checa in fourth. Team-mate Crutchlow remains in tenth position just four points behind Michel Fabrizio in ninth. James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, 3rd) "We've had another tough weekend, especially Friday and Saturday, but we've pulled through. Once again the team has worked fantastically well, especially this morning, we had a new linkage system on the rear end just to try and sort some issues and it seems to have worked. It's been a long weekend but to come from tenth on the grid and get a second and a third, two podiums is just a great result for me and the team. It's been coming slowly, we've come from far behind in the first two races so it's fantastic to be up there at the front and fighting. There are a lot of Brits out there, and we're all racing at the front and doing a great job, everybody deserves to be in it. I've had great support from my family and friends and want to thank everyone for supporting me in getting back to where I should be." Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (8th, DNF ) "It's been a very frustrating end to the weekend for me, I know I had the pace to achieve really good results and be up there fighting with the front guys in both races. I made a good start in the first but lost a lot of places on the first corner when the pack pushed me wide, but fought back and was one of the fastest riders on the track mid-race. Race two was even more frustrating as I was determined and ready to fight for a podium. Unfortunately the technical issue was out of my control so there was nothing I could do." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "We had a great result today, especially considering how we got it, after a lot of challenges over the last two days. James also put all his heart into his racing today. I'm sorry for Cal, I think he had the ability to have a great two races, especially in the second one. Unfortunately we had a technical issue, we don't know what yet but we will figure it out. We've made big advances with our electronics and also with our chassis which could be seen with James's performance. We are now getting to a point where we have a very competitive bike with a set up that works on different tracks, but obviously we will continue to work for the next level. We head to Misano for testing next week motivated to keep on improving. A big thank you to all the team and the riders who worked so hard this weekend." In the European Superstock 600 Championship MRS Racing rider Jeremy Guarnoni took an impressive second place podium finish, less than two hundredths of a second off the front and earning 20 championship points on his Yamaha R6. He maintains his position as the championship leader, 11 points ahead of his closest rival after three rounds. Circuit Length: 4542 Temp: 20 Crowd: 78000 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'34.944 (Jonathan Rea, 25/04/2010) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2010 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 25/04/2010 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 35'38.483 2 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'01.106 3 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'01.249 4 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'01.548 5 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'02.738 6 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'02.813 7 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'06.296 8 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'12.022 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'12.146 10 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'19.753 11 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'22.204 12 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'22.282 13 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'22.780 14 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'23.364 15 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'37.097 Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 35'43.137 2 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'01.942 3 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'03.928 4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'04.067 5 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'04.176 6 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'04.525 7 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'04.682 8 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'07.698 9 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'09.903 10 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'11.465 11 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'15.489 12 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'23.604 13 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'29.085 14 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki AUS 0'35.401 15 Matteo Baiocco Kawasaki ITA 0'44.330 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'36.413 Rider Standings 25/04/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 148 2. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 128 3. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 110 4. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 103 5. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 86 6. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 85 7. Troy Corser BMW AUS 68 8. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 55 9. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 53 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 49 11. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 48 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 48 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 38 14. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 26 15. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 25 Manufacturer Standings 25/04/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 148 2. Aprilia 134 3. Ducati 130 4. Honda 111 5. Yamaha 93 6. BMW 69 7. Kawasaki 19
Alex Asigno

Yamaha Monster Energy Army now online!

Gautier Paulin The official 2010 photoshoot for the factory Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team and the Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi Team took place recently at the Mantova circuit in Italy. The host venue for the second round of the 2010 MX-GP FIM World Championship - that starts on April 3rd-4th in Bulgaria - saw David Philippaerts and Ken De Dycker flick the ’10 YZ450F across the sandy jumps while the new YZ250F was handled to dazzling effect by Gautier Paulin while other MX2-GP riders Loic Larrieu, Alessandro Lupino, Christophe Charlier and Harri Kullas also demonstrated their skills. To see a gallery of the Yamaha Monster Energy collective and download some impressive photographs please click on this link: http://www.yamaha-racing.com/Racing/mx1/photo/
Alex Asigno

Crutchlow and Toseland get set for round three in Valencia

Valencia circuit After an exciting second round in Portimao which saw both Yamaha Sterilgarda WSB riders make good progress on their bike set up and development, the team are now gearing up for round three in Valencia this weekend. Moving forward from a difficult first round in Australia, round two saw big improvements in the 2010 bike with both riders making good use of the increased power available. Crutchlow caught the attention of the paddock, impressing with a new Best Lap record in Superpole, knocking nearly half a second off last year's time set by Ben Spies. The 25yr old British rider also took the first podium finish of the year for the team in the second race. Team-mate James Toseland made up for a less than perfect grid start position in both races, starting from 15th he pushed hard to break the top ten, delivering a 7th and then a 6th place finish. The Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia is known to both riders, and with Toseland getting back to full fitness as his hand recovers, the weekend has the potential to deliver great results for the team. "After my podium at Portimao I'm keen to get to Valencia," said Cal Crutchlow. I think we can continue our good streak. I don't know how the bike will be there as we used the 2009 bike in our winter test but I'm optimistic. Lots of the teams have tested there recently so we've got some work to do, but hopefully we'll be up there and have a good result." "We've made massive improvements from Australia to Portugal," said James Toseland, "which obviously the podium from Cal proved. The second race in Portimao was particularly good for me, I had a really good race pace but couldn't get to front which was disappointing as I started from too far back. The Valencia test went well in the winter and I've done a lot on the Spanish track compared to Portugal so I'm looking forward to getting out there and getting stuck in, being able to concentrate on the bike set up without having the added focus of learning the circuit." Valencia technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow's Crew Chief "Valencia is one of the WSB circuits with the most stadium character, the track is flat and has some banked corners. The track conditions vary a lot so it is never certain what it will be. The infield is technical and physical for the riders, the last corner is particularly hard for the tyres over race distance so the track is more difficult than it appears. We made some adjustments to the bike in Portimao which Cal really liked, adding weight to the rear to improve the balance for him. We hope that we can find some new improvements again for the coming round." Valencia technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland's Crew Chief "We had a successful test over the winter. We have continued to work extremely hard since Portimao to continue improving the electronics on the bike. Valencia is a very challenging circuit, a good front fork setting is important, and a good handling bike, as a lot of corners link together. We will start on a very similar setting to race two in Portimao, with the biggest change coming from a new electronic strategy for corner exit. James will be one step closer to full fitness, and hopefully with another step of improvement from the bike, we can be challenging at the front!" Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "Our test at Valencia over the winter went well. Following Portimao we will bring some more electronic updates for the bikes to the Spanish circuit in order to continue the progress we made from the first two rounds and be as competitive as possible. The electronics are our focus for development at the moment so these updates will include new maps for both James and Cal. Unfortunately the time is very short between these races but I am confident that we will get more improvements this weekend again."
Alex Asigno

Philippaerts decent 4th in Bulgaria

DP19 David Philippaerts tied on points for 3rd position and had to accept 4th overall on the 2010 YZ450FM at the Grand Prix of Bulgaria at Sevlievo for the first round of fifteen in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team rider was 2nd and 7th across a difficult circuit in two hot motos. Rain early on Saturday caused the soft track to become even rougher and the ruts to carve deeper. The terrain mixed slippery hard-pack sections with heavy bumps and was a real test of concentration and physical endurance. 2008 world champion Philippaerts made two impressive launches from the start gate on the new rear-slanting fuel-injected YZ450F and held second position from start-to-finish of the first moto. In the second race the Italian was again maintaining a consistent pace in 3rd place until he lost traction on a downhill section and briefly hit the floor. Remounting he had lost ground but embarked on a brave charge and was crawling over the rear wheel of Clement Desalle for 5th on the final lap. The Belgian held firm and Spaniard Jonathan Barragan caught Philippaerts unaware on the last charge down to the finish line, relegating the 25 year old to 7th mere metres from the flag. Despite the late surprise and misfortune of missing the podium, Philippaerts could gather 36 points and is just 11 behind winner and series leader Max Nagl. De Dycker Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Ken De Dycker made his world championship debut for the Italian team and although the Belgian made mistakes and could not find his desired rhythm across the course was able to take 6th overall, with his finish of 4th in Moto1 beating his run to 8th in Moto2. Round two will take place next weekend for the Grand Prix of Lombardia at Mantova, Italy. The event will be the home meeting for the team and the scene of victory for them in 2007. David Philippaerts, 4th Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team: "It was not a bad weekend and we have a lot of points but I am disappointed with how it finished. I just misjudged the last lap and did not know Barragan was so close. This is only the first race and we have fourteen more to go. It was a hard weekend; the track was fast with a lot of bumps but I liked it. In the first moto my riding was good but I made a stupid crash in the second. Without that mistake for sure I would have had the podium. The bike was great and the Ohlins suspension worked so well; I really like what they have given us. The difference in the points with the leaders is small so we will look ahead to the next GP and we only have a few days before Mantova." Ken De Dycker, 6th Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team: "It was a difficult day. The first moto was OK. I had a pretty decent start but was caught in the backmarkers and made mistakes. The track was very different to past years. It was good but demanding. I had a bad start in the second moto. I could not find good lines and was making a lot of mistakes. I don't have any excuses, I train really hard but I could not get going for the second moto." Circuit Length: 1530 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Jonathan Barragan 2010 GP of Bulgaria 04/04/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 40'45.442 2 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'08.599 3 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'14.666 4 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 0'18.117 5 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'22.864 6 Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 0'38.625 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'45.541 8 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'52.209 9 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 0'58.900 10 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 1'05.657 11 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1'09.725 12 Tanel Leok Honda EST 1'18.168 13 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'27.741 14 Marc De Reuver Suzuki NED 1'39.375 15 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'42.729 18 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE -1Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 41'06.743 2 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'03.685 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'07.060 4 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'12.869 5 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'15.479 6 Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 0'16.441 7 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'16.619 8 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 0'48.535 9 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'51.452 10 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 0'58.843 11 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 1'09.907 12 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 1'17.109 13 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1'22.731 14 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'32.458 15 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1'36.296 Rider Standings 04/04/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 47 2. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 41 3. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 36 4. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 36 5. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 34 6. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 31 7. Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 30 8. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 25 9. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 23 10. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 20 11. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 18 12. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 18 13. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 15 14. Tanel Leok Honda EST 13 15. Anthony Boissière TM FRA 10 23. Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 3 Manufacturer Standings 04/04/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 50 2. Suzuki 40 3. Yamaha 36 4. Kawasaki 33 5. Aprilia 23 6. Honda 20 7. TM 10 8. CCM 4 RACE REPORT 04/04/2010 Osborne rides to 7th in Bulgarian sun Zach Osborne The wide, fast, rippled and bumpy circuit of Sevlievo was surrounded by 20,000 spectators for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the first round of fifteen in the FIM MX2-GP World Championship. Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne gave the new YZ250F, with its agile new handling courtesy of the revised frame, a decent run to 7th position overall in some demanding weather and track conditions. The American, riding after recent recovery from bronchitis, was part of a four way fight for 7th in the first race and ended the 35 minute and 2 lap foray with 8th. The 20 year old found a more effective rhythm in the second outing across a testing terrain and under the warmest sunshine of the day to reach 7th. Osborne - already a Grand Prix winner after just one season with the British team - was Yamaha's best MX2-GP representative and the first of three in the top eleven. Chiara Fontanesi Yamaha Gariboldi Monster Energy's Harri Kullas was 10th on his Grand Prix debut with the squad. The Finnish teenager was 11th and 12th and pushed up to decent speed after sluggish starts. Team-mate Christophe Charlier finished 11th in the final classification. The 18 year old opened his maiden world championship campaign in fine fashion with a solid run to 7th position in the qualification heat on the 2010 YZ250F. The Frenchman then suffered a crash on the second lap of Moto1 which dropped him far down the field but he rode with aplomb to grab 14th. In the second race a more conventional opening phase delivered a 10th position result. Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Alessandro Lupino took his time to find his way around the layout and was hindered by a lowly gate position after a DNF in Saturday's qualification heat. The Italian rode to 16th and 15th for 14th at the end of the day. Gautier Paulin is undergoing daily treatment on his broken left leg in a race to be fit for round three at Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands. Loic Larrieu was unable to compete due to a broken toe and fractured collarbone but the team are hopeful he will also be able to return in Holland. The first round of seven in the FIM Women's World Championship saw Yamaha 3C Racing's Chiara Fontanesi grabbed a pair of 2nd positions to be runner-up on her first Grand Prix flight with the YZ250F. The Italian teenager superbly followed her maiden podium secured on a YZ125 in the sand of Lierop for the final round of 2009. Round two of the MX2-GP calendar will take place next weekend at Mantova, Italy for the Grand Prix of Lombardia. The ladies competition is reactivated at the GP of Portugal on May 9th. Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha, 7th: "The first race did not go so well. I did not get the best start and had a bad spell in the middle of the moto where I dropped back to 12th from 6th or 7th. I fought back to 8th and put what I had learned from the first race into the second. I got a decent start but it seemed like wherever I went someone was stopped on the track or had a problem. I was 15th but pushed on for a strong race. Overall this was a much better start than last year at Faenza. To take two solid finishes and improve through the weekend is a good way to start the season." Harri Kullas, Yamaha Gariboldi Monster Energy, 10th: "First Grand Prix of the year and I am pretty happy with the result. I started well in the first moto but I have this problem at the moment where I don't wake-up at the beginning! This was pretty bad in the second race as well. When I found my rhythm I could make some good speed. I tried to pass as many riders as possible. I am pretty satisfied with 11th and 12th and I'd like to thank the team." Chiara Fontanesi, Yamaha 3C Racing, 2nd: "I am very happy and very satisfied. I worked hard over the winter and it is great to see that the effort is all worth it. I hope the season can continue in this way. Some of the other girls are very fast but I am learning what I can to try and win a round soon. The YZ250F worked very well. It was better for me to start with the YZ125 to learn my way around but the YZ250F is what I needed to be competitive." Circuit Length: 1530 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Steven Frossard 2010 GP of Bulgaria 04/04/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 40'41.977 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'12.318 3 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'51.161 4 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0'57.920 5 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 1'07.267 6 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 1'35.476 7 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'44.309 8 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'45.037 9 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'49.656 10 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'51.883 11 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 2'01.491 12 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL -1Laps 13 Nick Triest KTM BEL -1Laps 14 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA -1Laps 15 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps 16 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps 17 Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED -1Laps 19 Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED -1Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 39'22.409 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'07.389 3 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0'19.178 4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'26.325 5 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0'31.223 6 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0'48.410 7 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'05.621 8 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'16.934 9 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'32.164 10 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'34.215 11 Nick Triest KTM BEL 1'38.380 12 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'43.373 13 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'48.212 14 Nikolai Larsen Honda DNK 1'59.987 15 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps 16 Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA -1Laps 18 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps Rider Standings 04/04/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 50 2. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 44 3. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 38 4. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 35 5. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 34 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 31 7. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 27 8. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 26 9. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 24 10. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 19 11. Nick Triest KTM BEL 18 12. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 18 13. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 12 14. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 11 15. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 11 17. Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR 9 19. Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA 5 21. Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED 4 23. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 2 Manufacturer Standings 04/04/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 50 2. Suzuki 44 3. Kawasaki 38 4. Yamaha 27 5. Honda 10
Alex Asigno

Crutchlow and Toseland take ninth and tenth on the grid at Assen for raceday

Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland made it through the first Superpole heat this afternoon to secure ninth and tenth place on the third row of the grid for tomorrow's two World Superbike races at the Assen TT circuit. Both riders had spent the previous qualifying sessions working on their set ups for the afternoon's Superpole heats and had headed in to the Superbike shootout with confidence. They both made it through the first heat comfortably on race tyres, then switched to qualifiers midway through the second session. Crutchlow struggled to improve on his time in the second session leaving him just outside the top eight at the end. Team mate Toseland was on form and had nearly completed a hot lap which would have taken him through to the final eight when a violent wheelie three corners from the end at high speed disrupted his time. Cal Cruchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1'36.027) "I struggled with my qualifier tyre in the second Superpole heat, and couldn't make it through to the third. Both James and I are still working on some stability issues which could be seen on track as well. We need to work hard in tomorrow morning's session to see what we can change in the set up to make another step forward. We're all working really hard, and on the positive side the electronics issues we've had in the past are now working very well for us." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1'36.061) "Frustrated is the word! It was a real surprise for the bike to do that in a place where I've never had that before, it kicked up and wheelied at over 180mph in fifth gear, it was a bit touch and go there but luckily I was able to save it. The lap was good up to that point, I only had two corners left to go and would have been through to the top eight and the third session. We've had so much work to do to get where we are, the team has done a great job trying to get the bike to work here. Tenth on the grid is not ideal and we're not sure about tyre life, depending on temperature tomorrow we might not be able to use the softer race tyre, everyone is waiting to see how warm it will be. I'm not too worried about race pace, it's all about what happens in those first few laps. The new fast section has effectively deleted a passing place so I'll have to get off the line well and see how we go." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "We still have one practice session left tomorrow morning, for sure we will never give up so we will spend the session working hard to make more improvements ahead of the two races. We will definitely find something to help us. James was very unlucky on his hot lap in the second Superpole session, it was good he managed to save it safely. He's got a good race pace so needs a good start tomorrow and we will see what he can do. Cal has shown this weekend that he also has a competitive pace, especially on worn tyres so we are confident both riders can perform tomorrow."

Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'34.944 (Jonathan Rea, 25/04/2010) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga
2010 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 24/04/2010 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'34.944 2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'35.062 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1'35.306 4 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 1'35.330 5 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1'35.633 6 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'35.892 7 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1'35.909 8 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'36.405 9 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1'36.027 10 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 1'36.061 11 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'36.069 12 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 1'36.094 13 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 1'36.327 14 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 1'36.348 15 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 1'36.574
Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Nat. QUAL I QUAL II 1 Troy Corser AUS 1'36.489 1'35.621 2 Jakub Smrz CZE 1'36.041 1'35.939 3 Jonathan Rea GBR 1'36.339 1'36.211 4 Carlos Checa ESP 1'36.805 1'36.447 5 Leon Camier GBR 1'37.064 1'36.588 6 Leon Haslam GBR 1'36.618 1'36.891 7 Noriyuki Haga JPN 1'37.462 1'36.644 8 Shane Byrne GBR 1'37.081 1'36.655 9 Cal Crutchlow GBR 1'36.752 1'36.685 10 Michel Fabrizio ITA 1'37.165 1'36.689 11 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA 1'37.344 1'36.774 12 Sylvain Guintoli FRA 1'37.684 1'36.829 13 Max Neukirchner GER 1'37.453 1'36.859 14 Ruben Xaus ESP 1'37.685 1'36.872 15 Luca Scassa ITA 1'37.506 1'36.898 17 James Toseland GBR 1'37.166 1'37.084
Alex Asigno

Yamaha YZF-R1 sets a blistering pace with pole position in Australia

Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Ben Spies, a World Superbike rookie and three-time AMA champion, has secured the first Superpole of the 2009 season in an incredible display of speed and skill on the new Yamaha YZF-R1 superbike at the Phillip Island circuit with a time of 1.31"069. Team-mate Tom Sykes put in an impressive display in the new format Superpole, a mere 0.8 of a second behind Spies with a time of 1.31"881, he will start the race tomorrow on 12th position on the grid. Equally impressive as the riders performance was that of the all new 2009 YZF-R1, the M1 GP inspired bike has proved to be incredibly quick and stable straight out of the box, the crossplane crank shaft and uneven firing order giving both Spies and Sykes the right tools to get the power down fast and hard through the corners and take the fight to the top of the table. Spies ended the first day of qualifying in 9th position, before moving up to 8th on the second session, improving his time by nearly half a second while he focused on consistent lapping. His final Superpole time was nearly a second and a half faster than his first qualifying session. Sykes also improved from the first session, taking nearly half a second off his first qualifying session. Both riders go into tomorrow's races confident in their speed and consistency. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team "For the first two qualifying sessions, we were taking it very steady, we only used one set of tires each session, looking to be consistent and doing some more laps. We turned up the heat in Superpole and found some more time and in the final lap we pulled the pin and went for it. It was tricky as the track was pretty windy so maybe we could have got a bit faster. It's the first pole position for the new Yamaha and for me too. Now the focus is totally on having a good race package and good race pace, I think it's going to be great racing tomorrow. The bike is incredible, I'm feeling really confident in its abilities, I can't wait to race tomorrow!" Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team "For me things have been good out here. We've been making steady progress all weekend and we've found the direction we need to be going in. I don't feel we've got where we need to be yet, perhaps where we should be but we're getting there. Overall it's looking pretty good, we seem to be able to do the times, unfortunately in Superpole we got caught out with a tire which wasn't as consistent as it should have been forcing a switch and costing time. So we've had a bit of bad luck, on the plus side I'm confident of getting on the pace and fighting for the podium in the race tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team manager "I think we have done a good job so far and the test last weekend helped us. The bike set up is good, and the tire life is as well. If everything stays the same I think we are in a good position. Ben did a perfect lap in Superpole and has been very consistent through all the sessions, I'm very happy. Tom was also really good, good in practice and qualifying, he's on the third row but he has good pace and with a good start he can fight with the pack and make it in the race. We're all ready for tomorrow and really excited about the potential of our riders to go out and race." Superbike Qualifying - First session 1 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.312 2 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'32.569 3 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.623 4 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.673 5 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.704 6 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'32.928 7 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.932 8 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.939 9 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.971 109 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.991 113 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'32.995 12 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 1'33.202 13 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.206 147 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.224 15 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'33.317 16 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.377 17 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.418 18 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.709 19 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.911 20 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'34.080 21 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'34.123 22 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.487 23 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'35.123 24 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'35.716 25 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'35.759 26 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'36.103 27 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'36.514 Superbike qualifying - Second session 1 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.161 2 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'32.306 3 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'32.312 4 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'32.377 5 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.397 6 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'32.491 7 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.500 8 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 1'32.508 9 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.509 10 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.525 11 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.602 12 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.623 13 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.704 14 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'32.708 15 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.884 16 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'32.928 17 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.947 18 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.992 19 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.055 20 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.104 21 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'33.588 22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.709 23 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.174 24 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.194 25 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'34.341 26 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.390 27 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.767 28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'36.363 Superbike - Superpole 1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.069 2 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 1'31.402 3 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.596 4 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'31.600 5 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'31.837 6 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.112 7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.537 8 55 Laconi R. (FRA) Ducati 1098 RS 09 1'32.649 9 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 1'31.843 10 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.860 11 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'31.867 12 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.881 13 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'31.907 14 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'31.916 15 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'32.119 16 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'32.719 17 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'32.873 18 44 Rolfo R. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.997 19 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'33.152 20 33 Hill T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.363 21 24 Roberts B. (AUS) Ducati 1098R 1'33.588 22 100 Tamada M. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'33.709 23 86 Badovini A. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.174 24 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.194 25 31 Muggeridge K. (AUS) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'34.341 26 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'34.390 27 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'35.767 28 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'36.363
Alex Asigno

Stewart close to title after penultimate win

Yamaha's James Stewart stands on the brink of capturing the 2009 AMA Supercross and FIM World Championships after clinching his eleventh win of the season and the thirty-sixth of his career at the Rice-Eccles Stadium and watched by 40,612 spectators in Salt Lake City for the penultimate round of the campaign. The 23 year old guided his YZ450F - a motorcycle that has owned 12 of the 16 races run thus far - to the chequered flag ahead of main title rival Chad Reed and now holds a 6 point advantage with just one meeting remaining. Stewart became the first rider to give Yamaha eleven victories in a season and have increased the manufacturer's total to 67 triumphs since the turn of the century, more than a third more than their nearest competitor. "My biggest thing is just to try to stay away from the drama because at the end of the day, you want to race a guy and go to sleep knowing that you raced him as hard as you could, and clean, and didn't take anybody out," said Stewart on the tense situation between himself and Reed. "He wanted to win tonight, and I wanted to win tonight, and I think I just got lucky enough and I was able to pull it off, so I feel great," added the LandM San Manuel rider who won the sixth main event to take place in Utah and became the first rider to gain victories in both classes at the venue. Stewart dealt Reed a swift blow as the reigning champion gained the holeshot but was unable to sprint away from the challenger. With half the Main Event gone, Stewart pounced for the lead and defeated the Australian in a straight shoot-out. Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant was sixth and now stands a good chance of confirming 4th place in the championship thanks to a 5 point gap over Kevin Windham. The season curtain closer will fittingly take place on a spectacular stage with the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas hosting round seventeen this weekend. Circuit Length: NA Crowd: 40,612 Weather: Dry 2009 AMA-SX Salt Lake City, UT 27/04/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     James Stewart     Yamaha     USA     17'39.037 2     Chad Reed     Suzuki     AUS     0'03.732 3     David D Millsaps     Honda     USA     0'31.107 4     Ryan Villopoto     Kawasaki     USA     0'35.629 5     Andrew Short     Honda     USA     0'42.756 6     Josh Grant     Yamaha     USA     0'46.607 7     Kevin Windham     Honda     USA     0'50.524 8     Matt Boni     Honda     USA     0'51.605 9     Thomas Hahn     Kawasaki     USA     0'54.277 10     Ivan Tedesco     Honda     USA     0'55.365 11     Paul Carpenter     Kawasaki     USA     -1Laps 12     Nicholas Wey     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps 13     Billy Laninovich     Kawasaki     USA     -1Laps 14     Heath Voss     Honda     USA     -1Laps 15     Broc Hepler     Yamaha     USA     -1Laps 20     Kyle Chisholm     Yamaha     USA     -20Laps Rider Standings     25/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    James Stewart    Yamaha    USA    357 2.    Chad Reed    Suzuki    AUS    351 3.    Andrew Short    Honda    USA    257 4.    Josh Grant    Yamaha    USA    223 5.    Kevin Windham    Honda    USA    218 6.    Ivan Tedesco    Honda    USA    210 7.    David D Millsaps    Honda    USA    208 8.    Ryan Villopoto    Kawasaki    USA    208 9.    Mike Alessi    Suzuki    USA    203 10.    Josh Hill    Yamaha    USA    146 11.    Heath Voss    Honda    USA    102 12.    Tim Ferry    Kawasaki    USA    100 13.    Matt Boni    Honda    USA    96 14.    Nicholas Wey    Yamaha    USA    89 15.    Paul Carpenter    Kawasaki    USA    88 16.    Kyle Chisholm    Yamaha    USA    80 17.    Broc Hepler    Yamaha    USA    76 20.    Jason Lawrence    Yamaha    USA    43 31.    Nathan Ramsey    Yamaha    USA    15 38.    Sean Hamblin    Yamaha    USA    3 Manufacturer Standings     25/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    388 2.    Suzuki    355 3.    Honda    300 4.    Kawasaki    253 5.    KTM    73
Alex Asigno

Gentleman theif to race with Lorenzo in Motegi

To celebrate the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi this Sunday, Jorge Lorenzo’s no. 48 Fiat Yamaha will race with an unusual and original livery. The Spanish rider’s YZR-M1 will carry the image of comic-book hero Arsenio Lupin III, the celebrated ‘Gentleman Thief’ made famous in the Japanese Manga series created by Kazuhiko Kato, or ‘Monkey Punch’. The celebratory fairing is the creation of the team’s title sponsor Fiat and the image will also appear on a limited series of Fiat 500 cars, due in the second half of 2009. Lorenzo’s M1 will be unveiled in Pit Lane of the Motegi circuit at 0930 Japanese time on Sunday, 28th September 2008.
Alex Asigno

Rossi roars through the field to take second on the island

Fiat Yamaha rider and 2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi recovered from yesterday's mishap to charge through the field from the fourth row at Phillip Island today, eventually taking second behind Casey Stoner. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo took a second consecutive fourth place after a race long battle with several other riders. A mistake during qualifying yesterday had left Rossi with strained neck muscles and a grid position of 12th, but the Italian relishes a challenge and he was already up to eighth by the end of the first lap, despite narrowly missing a collision when Alex de Angelis crashed out in front of him. On lap four Rossi found himself the back marker of a Yamaha trio, behind his team-mate Lorenzo and Tech 3 rider James Toseland. He despatched the Spaniard within two laps and got by Toseland soon after but the Briton put up a spirited challenge, wresting third back and hanging on for five more laps until Rossi eventually got the better of him. With a podium place secure the eight-time champion could have been forgiven for coasting home but he is never one to take the easy option and, with clear air and his M1 and Bridgestone tyres working perfectly, he gradually began to close on Nicky Hayden, who was nearly six seconds ahead. Little-by-little he made up the gap until he was within striking distance, making his move on the very last lap to take second and his 14th podium of the season. After an intense two weeks the MotoGP paddock now has a two week rest before the penultimate round in Malaysia on 19th October. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: +6.504  "That was a very exciting race for me, from start to finish! Unfortunately I made a small mistake yesterday and I paid a high price for it - both with my starting position and with my body! This morning my neck was okay but I had a lot of pain in my head, so I have to say thank you to Dr. Costa and the Clinica Mobile because they gave me a lot of massage and some medicine and I was in better shape for the race. I got a good start and I was lucky to miss de Angelis by just a couple of centimetres, and then I arrived to Lorenzo and Toseland. The first time I passed James I thought I would be able to go but then he passed me back and I realised that his pace was not so bad, and we had a great battle! He was very strong and difficult to pass but once I did get by I was able to go and then I just kept pushing and gradually Nicky got bigger and bigger. It was fun to keep fighting till the last lap and I am very happy with this second position because it's always a great emotion to be on the podium here. Thanks to my team and to Bridgestone, with Casey as strong as he was I think this was the best we could have done today and I really enjoyed the race." Davide Brivio - Team Manager  "We didn't win but this was another incredible performance from Valentino, demonstrating once again how he never gives up. The championship is secure, he was starting from the fourth row and the podium would have already been a good achievement but he still pushed at the maximum and was able to come second! He wasn't in perfect shape but the Clinica Mobile helped him a lot and he was able to do his best once again. We're racing to have fun now and we had a lot of fun today in a race that was exciting from start to finish." Fourth place for Lorenzo after island battle  Jorge Lorenzo was disappointed to miss out on the podium at Phillip Island today, despite prevailing in a race-long battle for fourth place. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi stormed through the field after starting 12th to finish second behind Casey Stoner. Lorenzo started from second on the grid but he did not quite have the outstanding rhythm he had yesterday and he slipped to fourth on lap one. He then traded places with Tech 3 Yamaha rider James Toseland a couple of times before settling in behind the Briton as Rossi loomed behind. By lap 13 of 27 Lorenzo's world champion team-mate had dispatched his Yamaha compatriots and was disappearing off and it then became a battle for fourth between the Spaniard, Toseland, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano with the foursome trading passes at times more reminiscent of a 125cc race. In the last few laps Lorenzo was able to take control of proceedings somewhat and he was able to hang on to fourth, just ahead of Nakano with Toseland in sixth. The rookie is 27 points off third in the championship and also has a mathematical chance of second, with two rounds remaining. The next battle comes in two week's time at Sepang in Malaysia. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4th Time: +11.500  "I'm not very happy with the race because I know I should have been able to fight for the podium today. I didn't ride like I know I can, Toseland was in front of me many times and I couldn't pass him, and then I couldn't follow Valentino when he came through. I think I had the rhythm to have been with Valentino but it didn't work today. Even though it's mathematically still possible, I think that the second and third places in the championship are probably lost to me now. I think that the most important thing now is to get good results in Malaysia and Valencia so that we finish the season in the right way. The team, the tyres and the bike are all working well, we're getting good results but we know they can be better. I like Malaysia a lot, I rode there in the winter and I think it will be good for Michelin, so I'm looking forward to it." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager  "We're a bit disappointed about today's result because we definitely had the potential to be on the podium and that's what we were hoping for. We had a few more problems than yesterday with grip in the rear and in the hard braking areas we weren't as good as the others, so we suffered for this. Aside from this it was a good race and Jorge had a great battle for fourth, so despite the result we've enjoyed it and now we're looking forward to the next one." Birthday boy Toseland celebrates in style at Phillip Island  James Toseland celebrated his 28th birthday in fantastic fashion today, the Tech 3 Yamaha rider equalling his best MotoGP result in a pulsating Australian MotoGP race. Toseland played a starring role from the start of an enthralling 27-lap race as he charged into third place on the first lap. He briefly surrendered third to fellow Yamaha YZR-M1 rider Jorge Lorenzo on lap three, but retaliated superbly with a bold move at the first corner on lap five. Toseland then led a three-way Yamaha dice that included a hard-charging Valentino Rossi as he rode magnificently to keep the world champion at bay for six laps. Twice Rossi passed Toseland in quick succession, only for the British rider to respond with inch-perfect moves to reclaim third in what proved to be the battle of the race. Toseland's determined pursuit of Rossi thrilled a large Australian crowd, but as he lost touch with the Italian on lap 13, he was then locked in another terrific battle with Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano. Just when it looked like his faultless display would be rewarded with his career best result, he dropped from fourth to sixth on a frantic lap 25. Toseland continued to push hard but was unable to improve on sixth, but his performance was arguably the outstanding ride of the day. Colin Edwards also made a great start from the third row of the grid as he tried to mark his 100th Grand Prix appearance with a top six. Fifth on the first lap, he quickly encountered some traction issues, and his reward for a hard fought race was a battling eighth place. Today's result saw the Tech 3 Yamaha team move back into fourth place in the Team World Championship standings. James Toseland - Position 6th - 100 points  "That was an unbelievable race. I got a really good start but Casey and Nicky were incredibly fast at the start. They really put the hammer down and I was wary that I needed to save my tyre for the last few laps, which are always difficult on this track with so much wear on the left side. I just wanted to stay out of trouble but I had some incredible battles out there. The one with Valentino was something special. When he passed me I knew I had to get straight back by him. If I had let him go I knew I'd have to push right at the limit and that would wear my tyre too quickly. The rear was already spinning at that point and I tried everything I could to keep him behind me. When he did pass me and he pulled a gap, I did push a bit too hard and that cost me towards the end of the race. But it was an honour to be racing with Valentino and passing him. In the last three laps I'd just lost a bit of grip and that was crucial because it probably cost me those two places. I knew fourth was up for grabs so I tried to pass Andrea at Honda Hairpin on the last lap. We ran a bit wide and Andrea seemed a bit upset but I passed him without touching him. I am sorry if he is upset, but he is upset for no reason. I was fighting for the best result of my MotoGP career so I had to try something. Shinya came by as I ran wide but I passed him back at Siberia, only for him to come right back underneath me because I ran a bit wide again. I am just happy with the way I rode. I rode hard and I am really pleased that on my birthday I put a good show on and I could enjoy it. I was riding my heart out and when I have a ride like that and I pass Valentino it encourages me even more." Colin Edwards - Position 8th - 126 points  "I got a really good start and I thought I could hang in with the battle for third and fourth, but pretty much from the first couple of laps I knew it was going to be a really difficult race. I couldn't even keep them close to me because I couldn't get in the corner and I couldn't get out of the corners. Quite early on I had a moment on the front-end and that hadn't happened all weekend. After that I just couldn't push and I just stayed at the same pace. I couldn't really do more than a 31.5 and it didn't matter what I did I kept falling back. Right at the end I could see de Puniet was running into a few problems with his rear tyre and I was slowly reeling him back in. I managed to pass him and make it stick. It is severely disappointing because I really believed that I could run up close to the podium today. I was riding really hard so to finish eighth is frustrating. I felt like I was on the absolute limit at the pace I was running and it wasn't good enough. This isn't the way I wanted to celebrate my 100th Grand Prix, but congratulations to James. He rode a great race and I'll be looking for a lot more in Malaysia." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager  "James was absolutely incredible today and he could not have done anymore to get his best result of the season. It was a shame he was sixth again, but again he showed what a true fighter he is. We were quietly confident going into the race after we had a very strong qualifying session with James fifth and Colin seventh on the grid. James made an incredible start and when we saw him fighting in third we couldn't believe it because we weren't sure whether he could maintain the pace knowing how tough this track is for the tyres. But he kept his pace and that was impressive. He also fought very hard with some of the top guys in this championship. His fight with Valentino was extra special and terrific to watch. Not a lot of guys get passed by Valentino and then pass him straight back, so it was incredible to see him do this. We were dreaming of a podium at one point but the way he rode, I think he gave the fans a really special show. It was a great way to celebrate his birthday and I think he gave himself a good present with that ride. Colin didn't finish where we expected but he fought hard to the end and his result has helped us move back into fourth in the Team World Championship, which is very important for us. I'd also like to congratulate Mike di Meglio for winning the World 125 Championship. As a French team it is special to see home grown talent succeed on the world stage." Race 1  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 40'56.543 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'6.504 3, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'7.205 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'11.500 5, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'11.914 6, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'12.243 7, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'12.780 8, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'25.920 9, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'26.037 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'26.799 11, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'27.027 12, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'47.808 13, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'48.333 14, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'48.899 15, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'48.935 16, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'11.767 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'28.665 Rider Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 332 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 245 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 209 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 182 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 145 6, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 131 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 126 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 118 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 106 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 102 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 100 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 91 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 60 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 55 15, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 54 Team Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 514 2, Repsol Honda Team, 340 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 296 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 226 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 222 6, Honda Gresini, 161 7, Team Alice, 151 8, JIR Scot Team, 145 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 96 10, Honda LCR, 54 Manufacturer Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 361 2, Ducati, 286 3, Honda, 275 4, Suzuki, 165 5, Kawasaki, 81
Alex Asigno

Rossi rounds out world championship season with 16th podium

Valentino Rossi brought the curtain down on a spectacular season with a third place in Valencia today, his 16th podium from 18 races in a year which saw him win his eighth world title. The 29-year-old Italian has taken nine wins, five seconds and two thirds this year, surpassing the all-time premier class win record and the record for the most points in a season in the process. His outstanding performances this season also helped the Fiat Yamaha Team to secure the Teams' title and Yamaha the Manufacturers' title. Rossi had struggled to find a good set-up for his M1 during yesterday's qualifying and he started from 10th on the grid. However some last-minute changes paid dividends and he was able to get a good start, climbing to seventh in the first lap and then making a characteristic charge through the field to move into third on lap six. Unfortunately from then on he was unable to make a dent in the gap to second-placed Dani Pedrosa and he had to settle for the final podium position, 12 seconds off winner Casey Stoner. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo secured the Rookie of the Year title with eighth place today, rounding off an eventful but impressive season for the 21-year-old. Both riders will be in action tomorrow as work for the 2009 season gets underway immediately with a two-day test at Valencia. Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rdTime: +12.194 "I don't think that was so bad today! Unfortunately we had some problems yesterday and that meant we had to start from the fourth row, which left us with a very difficult task. As always though we found a way and my team gave me a good bike, which meant I was able to get a great start and then have some fun passing people. Once I got to third there was no way to catch Dani and so it wasn't such an exciting race from then on. This has been an amazing season for us and to finish with another podium, the 16th, is great and we cannot complain. I am so happy with what we have done this year, as I said it's definitely one of my greatest championships and I want to thank everyone once again - Yamaha, my team, the engineers, Bridgestone and everyone who helped us to get this result. Tomorrow we will try the new bike which means we can't have as big a party as we would like, but it is important to try to find a base for it so I am looking forward to it." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "I think it would have been difficult to have done more than this today, because we were starting from the fourth row and the setting still wasn't perfect. Anyway it was a great end to the season and we scored another podium, making 16 in total, nine of the them wins. We have the triple crown and this all makes it a fantastic season. Thank you very much to Valentino first of all and then all the engineers in Japan, who have worked so hard, and to all the team members for this huge effort. Luckily we had a big party in Japan because tomorrow we start to think about 2009 and start to test, and it's going to be important to make the most of it and to give good information to the engineers about the new bike. But we will still have some celebrations tonight so let's all enjoy ourselves! Thanks again to everybody, it's been a wonderful season." Lorenzo secures Rookie Of The Year at season finale Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo took a deserved Rookie of the Year title by finishing eighth at Valencia today, his fourth position in the championship the highest finish for a premier-class newcomer since the advent of four-stroke MotoGP. The Spaniard's first season in MotoGP has seen him win a race and take a further five podiums and four pole positions, helping Yamaha to secure the Team and Manufacturers' titles to add to his team-mate Valentino Rossi's World Championship. After struggling for grip yesterday Lorenzo started from seventh on the grid and things got worse as the race got underway. He was unable to find a rhythm and slipped to11th until mid-race distance. From then on he began to improve and he was able to make up three places, finishing strongly to set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. The team gets straight back to work tomorrow with the very first test of the 2009 season, during which Lorenzo will have his first chance to try the new prototype 2009 YZR-M1. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 8thTime: +35.661 "I feel a bit disappointed with this result today because I really wanted to finish the season with a podium, but in the end we couldn't manage it here. We had some problems though so I have to be happy that I was able to finish the race strongly, passing people and doing my best lap of the race on the last lap, especially when you consider that yesterday in qualifying I was the slowest on race tyres! The best thing about today is that I am the leading rookie, so I get a trophy all the same and this makes me very proud of my first season in MotoGP with Yamaha. I want to thank all of my team, engineers and everyone who has helped us. I also have to say a special thank you to Michelin for their work this season because this is our last race with them. I am very proud that I was able to win my first MotoGP race with them. Tomorrow we begin straight away to work on the 2009 bike and I am very excited to try it." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We expected to finish in a better position for this last race, but unfortunately the problem we had in qualifying persisted, although we were able to improve it somewhat from yesterday. Jorge was able to keep a good pace during the second half of the race and he was able to finish strongly and make his best lap on the very last lap. This has been a fantastic year for us because we were able to make four pole positions, win a race and take five more podiums, helping Yamaha to win the triple crown, and Jorge is the year's leading rookie. I want to thank Yamaha very much for the huge effort they made in order to give us such a competitive machine, and I also want to thank Michelin for their support - we wish them all the best for the future. Finally thanks to everyone in our team for doing a fantastic job all year and we look forward to coming back even stronger next year." Fantastic finale for Tech 3 Yamaha in Valencia claimed a superb fourth place in the Team World Championship standings in today's Valencia MotoGP race. The 15-point haul collected by Edwards and Toseland in today's 30-lap battle saw the Tech 3 squad seize fourth position by a single point from Suzuki's official factory team, ending the 18-round campaign as the highest placed independent team. American Edwards played a starring role in the success, his superb start from the second row of the grid giving him the perfect platform to mount a bid for his first top six finish since he took third in Assen back in June. Edwards quickly claimed third from Nicky Hayden on the first lap to settle in behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. But with minimal dry set-up time after another weather-hit weekend, Edwards quickly encountered some rear grip issues to find himself back in sixth on lap six. He quickly adapted to the decreasing grip and crucially began to pull away from Suzuki's Loris Capirossi, maintaining a constant pace to the end. Toseland also played a critical role in today's fantastic finale as he closed his rookie campaign with a hard fought 11th position. The British rider shadowed fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo for the opening fifteen laps in a close dice for 11th place, twice passing the Spaniard momentarily. Toseland also ran into grip issues in the closing stages, but he rode a brilliant final three laps to fend off Sylvain Guintoli, John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen. Colin Edwards - Position: 6thTime: +32.209 "It has been a while since I finished in the top six and for this result to help the team finish fourth in the Team World Championship makes it extra rewarding. I'm pleased for Herve Poncharal and the team because they deserve it. We had a couple of races where we gave a lot of points away, but for an independent team we have done a fantastic job together and it was a year to remember. I got a great start and rode around the outside of Nicky at the first corner to slot in behind Casey and Dani. I actually felt pretty comfortable at that point. Nicky passed me though down the front straight and I started to spin the rear tyre a bit just as the other guys started to get into the groove. The next thing I know, everybody was disappearing up the road and there was nothing I could do. With so little dry track time we gambled with the setting and I ran a softer tyre and at the end I was having a few problems. My bike felt great but I just didn't have a lot of grip and this isn't the best track for Yamaha. We don't have the initial raw grunt that you need on a tight and twisty track like this with a lot of low speed acceleration points. I'd like to thank all my guys for their hard work throughout the season and to Yamaha for their continued support. Finally I'd like to say a big thanks to Michelin. I had the greatest moments of my career with them and I've enjoyed our time together. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break now before coming back in Jerez next month to begin working as hard as ever for 2009." James Toseland - Position: 11thTime: +52.107 "It was a hard race to finish a pretty hard season and while it wasn't how I wanted to finish on a personal note, it was great that I contributed to the team getting fourth by a point. I'm glad I managed to hang on at the end there because I was coming under a lot of pressure. In the first half of the race I was probably a bit quicker than Jorge but I just couldn't make a pass on him stick. I got him a couple of times but I made mistakes and let him back through. One time I put my hand in the air to apologise for a close move going into the first corner, and as I put my hand back for the second corner I missed my braking marker. So I'm annoyed with myself about that. I was in a real fight at the end and I was just struggling for a bit of grip. We tried quite a big change on the set-up and it worked well for the first half of the race, but towards the end I had to ride a bit defensive and make sure I didn't lose too many places. The team deserve to be fourth in the championship this year and I was determined to help them achieve it. Tech 3 and Yamaha have given me unbelievable support in my rookie year and I was pleased to battle right to the last lap to get that result for them. I have learned a lot in 2008, and I'm looking forward to working hard in the winter and making a big impression next season." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a fantastic way for us to end the season and I really want to thank Colin and James for their effort. It was a tough weekend with the weather conditions but it was very important to end on a positive note and we were reasonably confident when both of them qualified on the second row. Colin made a great start and he did a good race, keeping a really good rhythm. In the first half of the race, James looked even a little bit quicker than Jorge but he couldn't quite pass him. He pushed really hard throughout even though he didn't have 100 per cent confidence, but it was a strong result and by hanging on at the end under a lot of pressure he helped us get fourth in the Team Championship and we beat two full factory teams. That was our target before this weekend and we achieved it. I'd like to congratulate Yamaha again for an incredible season. They gave us a great bike in 2008 and I'd also like to say a big thanks to Michelin for their support. Thanks to them and Yamaha we had one pole position and two podium finishes. We will miss Michelin but we now must look forward to a new era. Everyone at Tech 3 is now looking forward to a quick break and we will be back raring to start our 2009 preparations in Jerez at the end of November." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 46'46.141 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'3.390 3, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'12.194 4, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'24.159 5, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'26.232 6, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'32.209 7, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'34.571 8, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'35.661 9, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'38.228 10, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'47.583 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'52.107 12, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'52.350 13, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'52.833 14, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'53.227 15, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'53.411 16, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'8.387 17, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'11.181 18, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 1'37.055 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'32.582 Rider Standings 26/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 373 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 280 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 249 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 190 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 174 6, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 155 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 144 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 128 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 126 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 118 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 105 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 92 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 67 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 63 15, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 61 Team Standings 26/10/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 563 2, Repsol Honda Team, 404 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 331 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 249 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 248 6, Honda Gresini, 189 7, JIR Scot Team, 174 8, Team Alice, 159 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 107 10, Honda LCR, 61 Manufacturer Standings 26/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 402 2, Ducati, 321 3, Honda, 315 4, Suzuki, 181 5, Kawasaki, 88
Alex Asigno

Prumm suffers back injury

Double Women’s World Cup winner Katherine Prumm will undergo surgery in the coming days after a practice crash in her native New Zealand left the 20 year old with several broken vertebrae.   The YZ250F rider, who led the 2008 FIM Women’s World Championship before her season was curtailed by a broken collarbone, over-jumped a triple step-down and in the ensuing tumble caused damage to her spine with the T6, T9 and T12 most affected.   Prumm who was training in preparation for attempts at the 2009 title as well as national success both in New Zealand and Australia was naturally shell-shocked with the injury set-back. Until the exact date and nature of surgery is known the duration and form of rehabilitation is difficult to determine.   A further update will be issued next week.
Alex Asigno

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