Jump to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.
Yamaha Owners Club

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Yamaha Racing News

Get the latest Yamaha Racing News with the Yamaha Owners Club
Show all categories

Upgrade your Membership

We are writing to you about some important changes to your free Basic membership level during this new year. These changes reflect our community's adjustment to current supporting expenses and are designed to continue our goal of offering the best possible services and benefits while maintaining our status as a not for profit community.   The following changes will be enacted on March 1st, 2009 at 00:00 GMT:   1) Access to the Yamaha Club Photo Gallery, Bike Garage and for sale/wanted sections will be exclusive to paid professional members.
  2) Users with free membership will have limited access to the Yamaha forums, e.g. not having access to the for sale/wanted sections.  
Why you should upgrade your membership:
 
50% OFF Limited time offer:
During the next 4 weeks existing users with free membership will be able to upgrade to Professional registration for only £5.00.
 
Additional benefits for Professional users: It may be important for your decision to know that we are providing additional benefits to contributing members, among those benefits is receiving discounts from suppliers and manufacturers, free classified posting in forums, private forums etc. Right now Professional members can take advantage of:
 5% Off EveryAccessory.co.uk
10% Off Wilbers 10% Off Opie Oils 20% Off VEYPOR Digital Dashes
Further benefits (Functionality, services & products) will be introduced soon. We are currently having talks with other companies such as Busters and M&P Direct and hope to have a solid proposition in the next few days. You can upgrade at any time by going to “My Controls > Options > Purchase Paid Subscriptions”
From the 1st April Professional membership will cost £10.00
If you decide _not_ to take advantage of this discount upgrade offer before the expiration date, you can always reactivate your account at a later time.   As a Professional member you support the community and you have access to additional features and we recommend you to upgrade today. You can do so by going to “My Controls > Options > Purchase Paid Subscriptions”
Thank you for participating in the Yamaha Owners Club Community.
Alex Asigno

Crutchlow shines in the wet and windy Portimao test

World Supersport rookie Cal Crutchlow performed brilliantly at his second ever test ride on the Yamaha World Supersport machine. The young British rider battled high winds and adverse weather conditions to finish the three day test an impressive second place overall, less than a tenth of a second off fastest rider Lascorz with a time of 1’45.214. French team mate Fabien Foret proved that any demons from his crash in 2008 had been put firmly to rest, finishing the test with a competitive time of 1’46.036, less than a second from his new team mate.  Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team “I enjoyed the test although I was a little bit disappointed with the weather. We wanted to get quite a lot done but didn’t manage to get as much as we would have liked due to the changing conditions. We won’t be out testing again now before Australia so the final test there will be a crucial one for us. Our time here in Portugal has proved we’re up there in the championship and highly competitive. The team are working really well with me, we understand each other really well and I’m working well with the R6 too. It’s been good for me and I’m looking forward to the next session.”   Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team "It’s been wet in the mornings and half dry in the afternoon, for me it’s pointless to push too hard in these conditions. We tried to work as much as possible on the second day and we found a pretty good bike for me. I was getting the confidence back, it was getting easier to relax on the bike and I got up to fourth until a few minutes before the end when the other riders switched to fresh tires for a fast lap. My speed is back and my confidence too, I am back to how I was before my crash last year. I’m very happy, not just about the tests but about myself. I knew I would get my speed back and I was sure I would be fine but it’s good to actually see it for real!”  Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager “Of course we were not really pleased with the weather, we had only 70 or 80 laps for both riders over the three days. We are quite pleased with the final results though. Fabien improved a lot over the last test in Portimao, in the first three splits he was as fast as the top guys. We are really pleased as we know after a big crash you have to see if everything is ok, but he’s able to give 110 percent. Cal was consistently fast,there are no technical problems at all. I think it will be close racing this year but I’m confident we can fight for the championship. We have a very competitive package and we’re looking forward to the season. There are some very strong riders but we have two of them!”
Alex Asigno

Yamaha unveils Ben Spies’ livery for Valencia

The Sterilgarda Yamaha Team have unveiled the special one-off livery for 2009 World Superbike Champion Ben Spies ahead of his wildcard ride at the final MotoGP race in Valencia this weekend. Spies will be riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 prior to joining the Tech3 Yamaha Team next Monday to start testing for the 2010 season. The American rider has achieved astonishing success in his rookie year in World Superbike, bringing the first ever World Superbike Championship victory for Yamaha. Over the 2009 season he scored 14 race wins and 11 pole position starts in the class, becoming the all-time greatest rookie in the process. “I’m really excited for the opportunity to race at Valencia this weekend,” said Spies. “I’m fully aware that MotoGP is a big step up from World Superbike and realize it’s not going to be possible to achieve the same results in my first year there. I see this weekend as an opportunity to spend some time on the bike and start learning it for next season, and to have some fun as well!”
Alex Asigno

Oo la la! Rossi woos Paris ahead of Le Mans

It wasn’t quite a romantic stroll, by the Seine but there was definitely something memorable about MotoGP World Champion, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi’s first blast past the Eiffel tower and Champs-Élysées with an YZF-R1. The Italian was taking in the tourist hot-spots of Paris ahead of pushing for his 99th career victory this weekend at Le Mans. Rossi was the draw for hundreds of MotoGP fans and curious onlookers as the 30 year old carefully steered a special edition Monster Energy- livered R1 by the Arc de Triomphe, through nearby streets to a press conference and then – despite the rain – managed a burn-out in front of the French capital’s famous sky-line form. “It was quite slippery out there with the rain, but I managed to do a little burn-out by the Eiffel Tower,” said Rossi who leads the current MotoGP standings by 11 points on his YZR-M1 and won the Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez two weeks ago he said. “It’s my first time to the Eiffel Tower so I was pleased to do that, we all had some fun out there. I’m looking forward to this weekend at Le Mans now.” Success at the short and twisty circuit of Le Mans on Sunday could set-up a momentous weekend a fortnight later with the chance to reach 100 triumphs in front of his tifosi at Mugello
Alex Asigno

Rossi romps home to win Spanish thriller

Valentino Rossi took a stunning win in Jerez today, his first of the season and the 98th of his career taking him 11 points clear at the top of the championship. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had a disappointing home race, crashing out on lap 24 when closing on the final podium position. The reigning World Champion had looked in trouble yesterday but an overnight set-up change saw him fastest in warm-up and he lined up confident that he would be able to mount a challenge. Starting from fourth on the grid, Rossi held his position at the start and managed to pass Lorenzo on the final turn of the second lap. Casey Stoner was the next target and the Italian quickly began to close the gap, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap four. Rossi and Stoner exchanged a couple of entertaining passes in the next few laps before the Yamaha rider made it stick at the end of the seventh lap, with the gap to Dani Pedrosa in the lead then standing at 1.2 seconds. The middle section of the race saw Rossi making little headway into the Spaniard's lead but at two-thirds distance he suddenly found a new rhythm and started shaving tenths off the gap, making the definitive move and claiming the lead with 10 laps to go. From then on there was only one winner and the irrepressible 30-year-old brought his M1 home 2.7 seconds clear of second-placed Pedrosa. Ever the joker, Rossi took advantage of the moment to replicate one of his most famous post-race stunts ten years on, making a stop on his victory lap to pop into a track side portable toilet, to the delight of the 120,000-strong crowd. After his dazzling pole position Lorenzo was fully expecting to challenge for the win but the higher track temperature today caused problems and he lacked the grip and pace of yesterday. The Mallorcan, who turns 22 tomorrow, spent most of the race in a lonely fourth position but in the final stages began to close on Stoner and looked like he might have a podium chance. With the gap down to under half a second the excitement began to build in the 99 side of the garage but with just four laps to go he lost the front and went down, emerging unhurt from the gravel trap but with damage to his foot peg and throttle meaning there was no chance to finish the race. Rossi now leads Stoner by 11 points in the standings, whilst Lorenzo slips to third, 13 points adrift of the Australian. The MotoGP paddock will reconvene on French soil in ten days time for round four in Le Mans. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1stTime: 45'18.557 "This is a wonderful victory because yesterday we were really quite worried! I couldn't ride how I wanted to and it was very hard. We had to work all together to understand how to fix the problem and finally we made a big change to try to make the bike feel how I like in the corner, which worked, so I have to say a huge thank you to Jeremy and all my guys. This morning we could tell immediately that things were much better and then we made a couple more small changes after warm-up, which made my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres feel even better. The race was long and quite hard - I lost some time getting past Lorenzo at the start and then I had a good battle with Stoner, which I enjoyed. After that I wasn't so fast and I couldn't close the gap to Pedrosa for a while; he was very quick but finally things improved and I was able to catch and pass him. It's great to win again and especially here in Jerez, which I love. It's ten years since I made the joke with the toilet here and so I thought it would be funny to do it again if I won - I liked that a lot! Now I hope that the changes we've made here will help us for the rest of the season. Thanks again to everyone!" Jorge Lorenzo - Position: DNF "I am very sad, because I was so fast all weekend and on pole position. Unfortunately today the temperature meant that our setting did not work in the same way and at the moment we don't understand why. This is really more disappointing than the actual crash. Fourth position wouldn't have been so bad but when you're in front of your fans, at home with so much adrenalin on the bike of course you try to do the maximum. I could see that the podium was possible and maybe the right thing would have been to go more gently and not push so hard in that moment, but I always want to do my best. Then I made a mistake and I threw all my good work away. We have to try to forget this and wake up feeling positive tomorrow because Le Mans is near. I'm sorry to all the fans who came to see me, to my team, family and to everybody!" Davide Brivio - Team Manager "This is a very important victory and after two second places everyone in the team was waiting for it and really wanted it. To win like this is something special; after being in trouble and quite sad on Saturday there was a lot of effort, long meetings, hard work by all the engineers, mechanics and technicians and finally we were able to give a good package to Valentino. If you can make Valentino feel happy on the bike then he will always give you this kind of performance and today it was wonderful to watch. This has to be our target every time. I am very happy and proud of all our guys, and of course of Valentino!" Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We're very disappointed for today's result. After excellent practice and qualifying sessions we expected to be on the podium but with the warmer temperature Jorge lost grip on the rear. At the end he was catching Stoner but then he lost the front and that was that! Now we need to make a deep analysis of why we had these unexpected problems and make sure they don't happen again. It's bad luck but now we will look forward to Le Mans, where we had a great result last year." Seventh for Edwards in scorching Spain, Toseland battles to 13th The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team ended a scorching hot Spanish MotoGP race with hard fought points scoring finishes for Colin Edwards and James Toseland. Texan Edwards starred in one of the most fiercely contested battles of the 27-lap encounter, dicing throughout with Italian duo Marco Melandri and Loris Capirossi in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 123,340 fans. Edwards expertly moved his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine by Capirossi to take seventh on lap ten, and four laps later he passed Melandri to set about securing his second top six in the opening three races. Small issues with his rear suspension setting though saw Edwards lose a superb last lap battle with Capirossi that left him only 1.3s away from a superb top five finish. Today's result though keeps Edwards in the top six in the championship standings and leading non-factory rider. British rider Toseland rode a determined race to finish 13th, the 28-year-old unable to progress any further through the field as he never found a comfortable set-up on his YZR-M1 machine. He showed his battling qualities though to fend off a persistent challenge from Alex de Angelis. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now takes a deserved break before its home race at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans on May 17, with expectations high after Edwards finished third in 2008. Colin Edwards - Position: 7th Time: +0'34.421 "I got a really good start but right from the first lap I knew I wasn't going to be able to run the pace I needed. The guys in front just gapped me immediately and I couldn't get the bike to turn. We went in the wrong direction yesterday when it was hot, so for the race we went back to the setting I'd had in the morning when the track temperature was a bit cooler. In the cooler temperatures that setting was fine, but once the temperature goes up I just couldn't get into the rhythm I want and know I was capable of. I wanted to be smooth and precise but I couldn't do that. I was having to adjust my style to get some weight on the rear to help the bike turn, but it wasn't enough for me to get into the top six and that's a bit frustrating." James Toseland - Position: 13th Time: +0'53.683 "It has been a tough weekend and we have got some issues to sort out. We're still trying a few things on the bike and I'm still searching for a comfortable setting over a race distance. I still need a second or so on race pace but I need to sort out qualifying too. I can do the same times as four or five guys in front of me, but when you're all lapping at the same pace, it's hard to come through. I'm giving myself too much to do from qualifying and being too far back. You don't need to be too far off but if you start at the back you stay at the back in a competitive class like this. It has not been a great start to the season but I don't feel we're that far away. We've got a lot of information from this weekend and we're eliminating things that we know don't work. I'm confident we're close to finding the setting I need and working hard with my guys to find it." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a difficult race and in the first two races I have to say we were a little bit closer to the front. It's a shame that Colin wasn't quite comfortable enough with the setting to fight closer with (Loris) Capirossi and (Marco) Melandri at the end. A top six would have been well deserved for his hard effort and maybe fifth was achievable. It was also a tough weekend for James. His lap times in the race were not too bad but it is clear he must improve in qualifying. He is capable of a much stronger performance, but it is difficult when you don't qualify well. The start of the race now is crucial and qualifying is something that he will work on with his team. Everybody at Tech 3 is now looking forward to our home race. We know Le Mans is very good circuit for Yamaha and last year Colin was on the podium behind Jorge (Lorenzo) and Valentino (Rossi). I'd also like to thank Mark Hall from Monster Energy for his support this weekend. The Yamaha Tech 3 team is delighted to have Monster Energy as our title sponsor, and I'm sure our partnership will bring success in the future." Circuit Length: 4423 Temp: 27 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'38.189 (Jorge Lorenzo, 30/03/2008) Last Years Winner: Daniel Pedrosa 2009 MotoGP Spain - Jerez de la Frontera 03/05/2009 Race 1 - 27 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Valentino Rossi     Yamaha     ITA     45'18.557 2     Daniel Pedrosa     Honda     ESP     0'02.700 3     Casey Stoner     Ducati     AUS     0'10.507 4     Randy De Puniet     Honda     FRA     0'31.893 5     Marco Melandri     Kawasaki     ITA     0'33.128 6     Loris Capirossi     Suzuki     ITA     0'34.128 7     Colin Edwards     Yamaha     USA     0'34.421 8     Andrea Dovizioso     Honda     ITA     0'34.625 9     Toni Elias     Honda     ESP     0'42.689 10     Chris Vermeulen     Suzuki     AUS     0'45.183 11     Sete Gibernau     Ducati     ESP     0'48.192 12     Yuki Takahashi     Honda     JPN     0'51.875 13     James Toseland     Yamaha     GBR     0'53.683 14     Alex De Angelis     Honda     SMR     0'53.941 15     Nicky Hayden     Ducati     USA     1'01.237 Rider Standings     03/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    ITA    65 2.    Casey Stoner    Ducati    AUS    54 3.    Daniel Pedrosa    Honda    ESP    41 4.    Jorge Lorenzo    Yamaha    ESP    41 5.    Andrea Dovizioso    Honda    ITA    30 6.    Colin Edwards    Yamaha    USA    26 7.    Randy De Puniet    Honda    FRA    24 8.    Marco Melandri    Kawasaki    ITA    23 9.    Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    AUS    21 10.    Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    ITA    19 11.    Mika Kallio    Ducati    FIN    16 12.    Alex De Angelis    Honda    SMR    15 13.    Toni Elias    Honda    ESP    14 14.    James Toseland    Yamaha    GBR    10 15.    Sete Gibernau    Ducati    ESP    8 Manufacturer Standings     03/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    70 2.    Ducati    54 3.    Honda    47 4.    Suzuki    28 5.    Kawasaki    23
Alex Asigno

Yamaha 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

2010 AMA Supercross spectacle to start this weekend

Stewart This weekend the sensational show that is the AMA Supercross/FIM Supercross World Championship gets underway at its spiritual home of the Angel Stadium, Anaheim in Los Angeles for its 37th edition. The first visit of three to the venue in the 17-race 2010 schedule will see defending champion James Stewart of the L and M Team wield the new Yamaha YZ450F into its maiden major international campaign. Stewart will be backed by new team-mate and Yamaha mainstay Josh Hill while also being supported by brand-mates Josh Grant and Bercy SX winner Justin Brayton as members of the Joe Gibbs Racing squad. Yamaha clinched the AMA/FIM title in 2008 and 2009 and with Stewart’s undoubted status as the fastest rider of the Indoor discipline they will be aiming for a hat-trick come the final round in May in Las Vegas. The Floridian missed the podium only twice from seventeen occasions in 2009 and collected 11 wins setting a new record in Blue colours. The story of last season was the current-24 year old’s duel with Chad Reed, and the arch-rivals are set to clash again on Saturday as the series then heads from West to East coasts with a visit to Toronto, Canada also part of the calendar. With a total of 36, Stewart is presently third in the all-time winner’s list, needing two more victories than Reed for further promotion and has to accumulate thirteen triumphs to hit the number one spot ahead of Ricky Carmichael. Yamaha has a long standing association with Supercross as Pierre Karsmakers won the inaugural championship on a DT250 in 1974, Jeremy McGrath ruled the class for three years in succession from ‘98 to ’00 and Doug Henry famously took the YZ400F to four podiums in 1998 introducing the wave of four-stroke technology that dominates the sport today. A pacy track awaits the riders in Los Angeles and the priority for Stewart surely has to be to improve on his 2009 result in which he tangled with another rider and crashed out of the Main Event. Josh Grant was the surprise victor twelve months ago and the 23 year old followed up his achievement with some decent speed and a rack of top-five finishes. The opening round of the championship will also witness the first competitive outing for Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s new rider Gautier Paulin. The French teenager – who finished 3rd in the 2009 FIM Motocross MX2-GP world championship – plans to contest the initial three meetings of the West Coast Lites series for further experience in the sport.
Alex Asigno

Yamaha defend King of Bercy title

Yamaha conquered an eventful weekend of Supercross at Bercy, Paris to stand atop the podium for the second year in succession. San Manuel Yamaha rider James Stewart had won Friday and Saturday evenings of the three night affair in the French capital but withdrew from Sunday’s final showdown after complaining of sickness and dizzy spells. The overall crown was therefore won by American and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Justin Brayton who had played second fiddle to AMA and FIM World Supercross champion all weekend. After winning the US Open in Las Vegas last month 23 year old Stewart was peerless on the new YZ450F on Friday and Saturday, only a small slip in the first heat on Saturday prevented the Floridian from extending his 100% record. Surprisingly, after winning the first two outings on Sunday, he was not able to complete the final sprint and Iowan Brayton (who won the last AMA Motocross National moto of 2009 and participated in one Supercross round this year) was able to scoop the prestigious ‘King of Bercy’ title by finishing 5th. In another interesting development for Yamaha, new San Manuel rider Josh Hill was able to take the chequered flag in the very last heat of the evening, the one in which Stewart was absent. Prior to his visit to the medical centre on Sunday evening Stewart was in electric form and clearly enjoying his second visit to Paris and the event that he dominated in 2008. "It's always great to come to Bercy, the crowd is awesome and they treat me so well over here,” he said. “Last year I just changed to Yamaha and I wanted to prove for myself the Yamaha was the right pick, I was still getting used to the bike and it was more a matter of having fun and enjoying the show. This year there is no pressure for this race, I even started too relaxed in the practice. After I got back to business and it went a lot better from then on.” “The new Yamaha is awesome, it is very different but I had a good feeling since the first day and we have already found some comfortable base settings for the bike,” he added. “I'm working to get ready for Anaheim 1 in January now; we still have a long way to go but we will be ready." The 17 round 2010 AMA Supercross series (also and FIM World Championship) starts on January 9th at the Angel Stadium, Anaheim in Los Angeles.
Alex Asigno

Tech 3 celebrates 20th birthday in Le Mans

The French MotoGP race at the iconic Le Mans circuit provides a fitting venue for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to celebrate a special milestone in its history this weekend. Formed by Herve Poncharal and Guy Coulon, 2009 marks the 20th year of Grand Prix world championship competition for the French-based squad. Testament to the passion and devotion of Poncharal and Coulon, the landmark anniversary means Tech 3 has supported the Grand Prix series for almost a third of its history - the premier motorcycle championship commemorating its 60th campaign in 2008. As well as being a mainstay of the Grand Prix arena since 1989, Tech 3 has played an important role in contributing to France's rich motorsport heritage. The high point for Tech 3 was undoubtedly Olivier Jacque's success in the 2000 world 250cc championship – the last time a French rider has won a world title representing a French team. That memorable season was the second year of a successful collaboration between Tech 3 and Yamaha, which remains stronger than ever today. And under Poncharal's inspirational leadership the Tech 3 Team has become established as one of the most high profile and respected in world motorcycle racing. To commemorate the 20th anniversary celebrations, the Grand Prix de France organisation will be paying its own tribute to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Le Mans. Herve Poncharal - Team Manager “It's appropriate that Tech 3 celebrates its 20th birthday in our home race in Le Mans this weekend. It's incredible to think when Guy and I first set out on this amazing adventure that Tech 3 would be going stronger than ever as we eagerly anticipate our third decade of racing at world championship level. We could never have imagined when we started back in 1989 that we would be a leading team in the premier motorcycle racing world championship class. What seemed a distant dream then is now reality, thanks to the hard work and commitment of many people who have shown unbelievable dedication to make the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team what it is today. I thank each and every person who has helped us since 1989 and it has been an honour and a pleasure to manage such a great team. We can look back at the last 20 years with immense pride. We have had some truly unforgettable experiences and we've been fortunate to have some of the world's best talent riding for Tech 3. Olivier's victory in the 250cc championship in 2000 will be etched in my mind forever. We always had a dream for a French team to win a world title with a French rider. Accomplishing that mission with OJ is something I will always cherish. We can also look forward with great optimism to the future. Racing is our passion and I hope we have made a small contribution to the huge success that MotoGP now is. I hope too that we have been a team fans around the globe have enjoyed following and will continue to do so. Here's to the next 20!”
Alex Asigno

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

Stewart makes it two in a row with YZ450F

James Stewart scored his second win from three races in the seventeen round 2009 AMA Supercross series (also an FIM World Championship) onboard his San Manuel LandM YZ450F by owning the 50th meeting to be held at the Anaheim Stadium in Los Angeles last Saturday.   The AMA Motocross Champion took Yamaha's 17th success at the venue and also increased his personal triumph tally to 27; equalling Bob Hannah in 5th place on the all-time victory roll.   Despite the impressive numbers Anaheim II was a hard meeting for the 23 year old. He collided with Travis Preston during practice and badly cut his hand, he then admitted that he made mistakes and wasn't riding well during the race that was watched by over 43,000 people.   On a track that was not easy for overtaking Stewart needed half of the 20 laps to pass Ivan Tedesco, Ryan Villopoto and then impressive Rookie and fellow Yamaha rider Josh Grant. Two circulations later and he demoted Kevin Windham for the lead and would hold the advantage to the chequered flag. Chad Reed had recovered from a first corner crash to make his way to second place, therefore limiting Stewart's points gain in the standings. Grant held on for fifth place and has yet to drop out of the top five in the first three events.   "It was a tough weekend for me as far as getting adjusted to the track," Stewart admitted. "Also, physically, it was definitely tough for me. But if we can get wins like this, I can't imagine what it will be like when things go smoothly; maybe we can do even better."   Stewart is now up to fourth in the series, 12 points from the top, while Grant is second and just 3 points from reigning champion Reed.   Round 4 takes place next Saturday at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.     Race 1 - 20 Laps                  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   1, James Stewart, Yamaha, USA, 20'57.778 2, Chad Reed, Suzuki, AUS, 0'3.540 3, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 0'4.189 4, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, USA, 0'10.181 5, Josh Grant, Yamaha, USA, 0'16.036 6, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 0'21.941 7, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 0'31.473 8, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, 0'41.525 9, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, 0'45.931 10, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 0'47.333 11, Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki, USA, 0'49.146 12, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, 0'51.536 13, Nicholas Wey, Yamaha, USA, 0'53.474 14, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, 0'91.522 15, Troy Adams, Honda, USA, -1 Laps 16, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 17, Benjamin Coisy, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 18, Sean Hamblin, Yamaha, USA, -1 Laps 19, Robert Kiniry, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps 20, Matt Boni, Honda, USA, -18 Laps     Rider Standings 17/01/2009   Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Chad Reed, Suzuki, AUS, 64 2, Josh Grant, Yamaha, USA, 61 3, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 53 4, James Stewart, Yamaha, USA, 52 5, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, USA, 48 6, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 47 7, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, 43 8, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 41 9, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, 32 10, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 31 11, Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki, USA, 29 12, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, 27 13, Nicholas Wey, Yamaha, USA, 26 14, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, 21 15, Benjamin Coisy, Honda, FRA, 17       Manufacturer Standings 17/01/2009   Pos., Manufacturer, Points   1, Yamaha, 75 2, Suzuki, 64 3, Honda, 60 4, Kawasaki, 50 5, KTM, 10
Alex Asigno

Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike riders wrap a successful test in Valencia

The all British line up of Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland wrapped up a successful final day of testing in Valencia this afternoon. Both Crutchlow and Toseland had spent the two day test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit working through electronic and chassis settings on their R1 superbikes ahead of the 2010 season next year. Day two saw big improvements from both riders as the times came down, covering some 60 laps each, despite neither of them getting the opportunity to take advantage of the faster tyres towards the end of the day. They will now head home for Christmas before joining up with their new team again in Portugal in January for the first test of 2010 at the Portimao circuit in the Algarve. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1’34.0) “Today was even better than the first day, we worked through a lot more settings in the sessions. I’m disappointed with my final time though as I think I could have been fastest at the end of the day but I didn’t get a chance to use the fastest tyre. I’m happy enough with my overall pace and consistency. We’ve still more to do so I’m looking forward to getting back on the bike in January and keeping up the development.” James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1’34.3) “A really encouraging test for me, again I’m happy being on a track I know so I can concentrate on the bike set up. I feel we’ve come on quite a bit with the bike over the last two days. I didn’t utilize the quick tyre to its full potential as I got held up which is a shame as I was quite confident of getting into the 33s. I ended up on 34.3, which was a good pace. I’m getting used to the way of riding the bike and getting confident with the team as well. I think if we had a race tomorrow we’d be in with a shout!” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “For the second test for both riders and last test of the season I’m very satisfied. We’ve made some good improvements to the feel of the electronics and suspension, with some very useful feedback from the riders. We’ll take a break now and come back to it in January in Portimao and I think we will achieve even more.”
Alex Asigno

Register today

Register Now with the Yamaha Owners Club, view the benefits below you will have with your new membership.
Benefits for joining the Yamaha Owners Club Free Member £0
YamahaClub Sponsor £5
Professional Member £10 Corporate Member £50 Access our free forum areas. Learn, share and participate in lively discussions. Personal avatar image in the forums   Send private mail to another member   Access to our classifieds section, where you find many good parts to buy and friendly, quality minded members interested in buying your bike or parts   Personal signature image in the forums   Receive a special Membership status located beside your user name in the community   Access to to special offers and discounts     Access to the Garage, where you can showcase your pride and joy     Your own image Gallery to upload and manage your images and create your own public and private albums.     Upload and store images in forums     Show personal gallery images in forums     Access to Members only forums     Membership valid for 12 months     Post corporote advertisements in the classifieds       Post corporote discounts in the offers forums       Click here to Register Now
Alex Asigno

Cairoli superb for Portuguese victory

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli has claimed his second win of the season and second double moto set of 2009 after an entertaining afternoon of racing at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal and the fifth event from the calendar of fifteen races in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The Sicilian captured two chequered flags to win his fourth Portuguese GP in five years, his first in MX1-GP and with the YZ450F, and extend his immaculate record at Agueda to nine triumphs from ten motos. Cloudy but warm conditions, with a light shower coating the second MX1-GP race, graced the weekend in Agueda. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) surrounded the hard and rough red soil that proved to be harder and more slippery compared to previous years and forced the riders to consider several tyre options on Saturday. A bumpier surface on Sunday was physically tough. The YZ450F - that was used so effectively by James Stewart to obtain the AMA Supercross Championship in Las Vegas last week - was also an effective tool in the hands of Cairoli who was nothing short of superlative across the Agueda slopes. He fought back from a good start (top five) in Moto1 and a mediocre launch (eighth) in Moto2 to enjoy superior speed over his rivals and twice deny Ken De Dycker victory. A key moment took place in the second race when the former double world champion was fighting for second position with reigning MX1-GP title holder, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts, and Clement Desalle. Holding the inside line on a fast downhill Cairoli missed the rut and collided with Philippaerts, forcing a retirement. Philippaerts - who had led the first third of the opening race until a crash dropped him to 5th place - later went to hospital with a painful left hand and was diagnosed with a broken index finger that will mean he travels to Spain next week far from 100% fit.
Josh Coppins rode consistently to score 4th overall, after almost grabbing pole position on Saturday. The Kiwi was adrift of the battle for the lead but his finishes of 7th (a consequence of a fall) and 4th in the motos represented an improvement over his last GP in Holland and demonstrated a recovery from the low energy levels he has recently suffered. Tanel Leok was 6th in the final classification after circulating on the fringes of the top five; recording a 5th position in Moto1 and 6th in Moto2, despite a small technical problem that interrupted his power supply. Cairoli now has a full 'race' lead in the championship standings of 25 points over De Dycker. Coppins is 4th, 2 points ahead of Leok, while Philippaerts' DNF has proved costly and he has dropped to 6th place. Yamaha front the Manufacturer's title chase by 37 points. The YZ450F motorcycle now has claimed four of the five GPs run so far. Yamaha's MX1-GP fleet will now spend the week travelling across the border and through Spain to the Bellpuig circuit and the Grand Prix of Catalunya for round six. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "This is a lucky and special track for me because I have won nine of the last ten motos here and this year it was unbelievable. In the second moto I did not expect to be able to catch everyone, especially Ken, like that and win the GP. My first lap was really bad but then I could find some good passing places. I am sorry about the contact with David. I did not expect him to be there and it was not my intention to touch. These things happen and they are not nice. After that I could overtake Desalle and was able to focus on catching Ken for the lead. I am really happy with this win. I thought before the season that I might be able to be in the top five by this stage but to be leading the championship is something very special. I am enjoying my riding and this is the important thing."  
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 4th: "I'm still not quite strong enough and my mind is saying 'go faster' but my body cannot keep up. I am riding smooth and easy with consistent laps and a stupid crash in the first moto was the only real black mark. In the second race I rode pretty well but nothing special and did what I had to do. I pushed at the end to try and pass Desalle but ran out of time. I know that there is better to come. I am doing the best I can, which is not bad but it is just off where I want to be. My starts were alright and overall the weekend was not bad; not as good as the first two GPs but better than the last two." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th: "The result is good; the top six is where I should be every week. I was struggling a little bit in the first moto and wasn't feeling so good but the second race was better until we had some bad luck with that small problem with the bike and I was losing drive in sections and overshooting berms in others. I am being consistent with my motos and I know that on a normal day I am fighting for the podium." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 13th: "Of course I am worried about my finger. We have the confirmation that it is broken and now we will just have to try and see what we can do next week in Spain. In the incident with Antonio, well, there were two lines and he wanted the first and also the second and came across me. This is part of motocross and not a big problem but it had a big price for me. I think now it is difficult to win the title but there are many races ahead and of course bad luck can still hit the others; everything is possible. I am pleased with the small changes we made to the bike and there is reason to feel positive but I have a lot of pain at the moment and just want to heal from this as fast as I can." Crowd: 25,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Sébastien Pourcel 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     39'32.718 2     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'07.035 3     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'12.446 4     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'14.608 5     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'16.374 6     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'21.134 7     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'50.988 8     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     0'54.914 9     Gregory Aranda     Kawasaki     FRA     0'58.430 10     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     1'11.378 11     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     1'23.735 12     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'32.244 13     Manuel Priem     Aprilia     BEL     1'41.152 14     Fabien Izoird     Suzuki     FRA     1'58.572 15     Tom Church     CCM     GBR     2'13.666 20     Carlos Campano     Yamaha     ESP     -1Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     40'13.107 2     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'10.571 3     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'18.792 4     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'20.312 5     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'40.474 6     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'49.212 7     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'58.709 8     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     1'09.139 9     Gregory Aranda     Kawasaki     FRA     1'15.733 10     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     1'31.163 11     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'44.257 12     Carlos Campano     Yamaha     ESP     1'52.586 13     Manuel Priem     Aprilia     BEL     1'54.589 14     Luis Correira     Suzuki     POR     -1Laps 15     Fabien Izoird     Suzuki     FRA     -1Laps 20     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     -1Laps Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    193 2.    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    168 3.    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    152 4.    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    144 5.    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    142 6.    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    134 7.    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    126 8.    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    119 9.    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    100 10.    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    82 11.    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    73 12.    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    67 13.    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    67 14.    Marc De Reuver    Honda    NED    45 15.    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    42 24.    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    13 26.    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    12 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    216 2.    Suzuki    179 3.    KTM    166 4.    Honda    158 5.    Kawasaki    87 6.    TM    67 7.    Aprilia    51 8.    CCM    27 RACE REPORT     10/05/2009 Guarneri 4th through Agueda bumps Guarneri      Guarneri The Grand Prix of Portugal represented the fifth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship and the warm Agueda circuit was the stage for Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri to fight off the effects of a stomach sickness to take 4th position; his fourth top five finish of the season so far on the YZ250FM. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the Italian tussling for positions inside the top three of both motos across a slippery and very bumpy terrain. He placed 5th in Moto1 and was running as high as 2nd for a long part of Moto2 before succumbing to his low stamina and slipping one place to 3rd. The 24 year old still managed to demonstrate decent consistency and was just 4 points from his first podium appearance of the campaign.     Larrieu Larrieu Team-mate Loic Larrieu took an excellent qualification position with third spot on Saturday. The French teenager repeated his bright starts from the gate to ride to 6th and 5th despite a sore foot and record his highest finish of his rookie season so far with 5th overall. The third member of the team, Nico Aubin, had been suffering during the week with a virus and finished a course of antibiotics on Saturday. The Frenchman could take 8th place in Moto1 but a first lap crash in Moto2 left him at the back of the field and he retired, exhausted after six laps. Saturday's activities were unlucky for the Utag Yamaha.com team and Zach Osborne in particular. The American had set the seventh fastest lap-time in the first practice session but then had a mechanical problem and crashed in the pre-qualification. The Grand Prix of Turkey winner chipped his left radius bone and is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks. Agueda saw the second round of the Women's World Championship but the weekend did not last long for Tarah Geiger as the American clipped a post and crashed on the first lap of the first moto and broke her right wrist. Guarneri is now 3rd and 24 points from the lead in the world championship standings. Osborne is 7th and 2 points in front of Aubin, while Larrieu is 11th. Round six takes place at the Bellpuig circuit next week for the Grand Prix of Catalunya. Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th: "Today was good. My speed was at the top and only 0.1 or 0.2 away from these French riders! The fast guys all started at the front and it was a good battle at times. I have been feeling sick since yesterday and although this did not affect how fast I can go, it did mean my energy was low and the last ten minutes of both motos were very hard. I had two good starts and that was important for me. The results are consistent but I am trying each GP to reach the podium." Loic Larrieu, Utag Yamaha.com, 5th: "It was a good weekend for me. It started well in qualifying and I could finish 3rd. Today was more difficult because I missed a rut and hit my foot but I could make two good starts in the top two positions and I finished 6th and 5th; that's good result and very positive for my confidence." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 14th: "I have been sick again and was taking antibiotics for five days before this GP. I thought I had got rid of this problem after Turkey and now I just hope that in the next two to three days my body will be clear of it. I started in the top ten of the first moto and did my own race and speed. Things were not too bad, eighth is not great but acceptable because I felt low on energy. In the second moto I had a crash on the second lap and when I restarted I managed one lap before feeling completely empty; there was no way I could do any more." Crowd: 25,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     39'53.534 2     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     0'02.587 3     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     0'02.923 4     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'21.629 5     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'29.869 6     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     0'33.387 7     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'40.667 8     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'43.076 9     Ken Roczen     Suzuki     GER     0'47.651 10     Alessandro Lupino     Yamaha     ITA     0'50.485 11     Joel Roelants     KTM     BEL     0'53.004 12     Evgeny Bobryshev     Yamaha     RUS     0'55.186 13     Stephen Sword     KTM     GBR     1'19.580 14     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'26.841 15     Yohei Kojima     Suzuki     JPN     1'31.021 16     Cedric Soubeyras     Yamaha     FRA     1'37.165 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     39'10.794 2     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     0'07.812 3     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'10.843 4     Ken Roczen     Suzuki     GER     0'13.149 5     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     0'15.004 6     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     0'25.511 7     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     0'27.974 8     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'33.318 9     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'47.567 10     Marcus Schiffer     KTM     GER     1'00.810 11     Alessandro Lupino     Yamaha     ITA     1'07.748 12     Jeremy Van Horebeek     KTM     BEL     1'13.836 13     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'18.882 14     Evgeny Bobryshev     Yamaha     RUS     1'36.007 15     Stephen Sword     KTM     GBR     1'44.852 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    171 2.    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    165 3.    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    147 4.    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    125 5.    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    108 6.    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    105 7.    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    100 8.    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    98 9.    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    97 10.    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    72 11.    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    70 12.    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    67 13.    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    66 14.    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    61 15.    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    56 19.    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    38 27.    Cedric Soubeyras    Yamaha    FRA    15 34.    Deny Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    6 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Kawasaki    191 2.    KTM    180 3.    Yamaha    177 4.    Honda    171 5.    Suzuki    128 6.    TM    5
Alex Asigno

Stewart shares AMA series lead after sixth win

Stewart shares AMA series lead after sixth win After a first round DNF, LandM San Manuel Yamaha rider James Stewart has cut back a 23 point deficit and now joint-leads the 2009 AMA Supercross series (also an FIM World Championship) after recording his sixth consecutive victory in San Diego last Sunday.   The 23 year old Floridian notched his 31st career AMA success at the Qualcomm Stadium in southern California and thanks to Joe Gibbs Racing's Josh Grant's win at Anaheim I in early January, the YZ450F remains unbeaten after seven meetings in the seventeen race competition. Stewart - competing at the scene of his first of his 31 triumphs in 2002 - grabbed the holeshot and proceeded to establish a margin over reigning champion Chad Reed, who would go on to finish second to the Yamaha rider for the sixth time.   "I think a lot of people wouldn't have thought, after Anaheim I, that I could be leaving California for the east coast tied for the points lead, but it's a testament to my team and the work they put in every week," said Stewart. "They worked their butts off to make me comfortable, and I really do feel comfortable now. The track was definitely tough. I just had some good luck. The track was slick, but, man, this San Manuel Yamaha was awesome. I can't wait for Atlanta!" Yamaha are the most prolific manufacturer at the San Diego meeting, having claimed 13 of the 26 main events held so far in the city.   For the first time this season Josh Grant was not able to finish in the top five. The rookie slipped off in the first corner and was recovering positions through the pack when he 'cased' a jump and hit his throat on the bars, forcing his retirement.   Round eight will take place in the confines of the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. If Stewart or another YZ450F racer takes the chequered flag then Yamaha will equal their streak of eight successive wins record in 2000.  
Alex Asigno

Grant scores debut win in AMA opener

Yamaha continued their streak of victories in the AMA Supercross Championship (also an FIM World Championship) as Joe Gibbs RacingTeam's Josh Grant surprisingly took his YZ450F to first place at the opening round of seventeen in the 2009 campaign at Anaheim in Los Angeles last Saturday. 2008 champion Chad Reed clinched the last race of 2008 and Grant beat both the Australian, and pre-event favourite - and new Yamaha recruit - James Stewart to the chequered flag.   It was a dramatic first AMA outing for Stewart as part of the title-winning L and M San Manuel squad. In front of a bumper collective of 42,309 spectators, the 23 year old took the holeshot in the main event and pull away from the pack with Reed in pursuit. The pair swapped the lead before a collision caused both to hit the dirt. Stewart's bike was hit by the pursuing Kevin Windham and he was unable to restart, pulling out of the sprint after just six laps.   Grant was running in third position prior to the Stewart-Reed incident and fronted the pack for the rest of the race for a sensational debut result in his first meeting in the Supercross category since joining Yamaha during the winter.   "I just kept plugging away and I didn't even look at the board or the laptimes or how many laps were left. I just kept going and when it felt like halfway I looked up and it said '18 laps' and I was like, 'Thank God!' said the young Californian, who had to nurse his machine across the line after catching a trackside banner in his rear wheel with two laps remaining. 'I'm just so pumped, and I didn't want to take too many chances with the banner in the wheel, so I just kept riding and it came through.'   After winning the US Open in Las Vegas and then at Paris, Bercy, it was a disappointing night for Stewart who classified 19th after his retirement.   'I got the holeshot and uncharacteristically I let him (Reed) go by. I was making a few mistakes in the beginning and I wasn't really comfortable yet. He ended up getting by me and actually pulled away,' he said. 'I found my rhythm and came back up and he might have started fading a little bit - I don't know what he was doing - but I went past him pretty quick and then I came into that corner and I missed a shift. Once I clicked back in, all I know is - just like Toronto in 2006 - I was getting hit from the rear. He took me out and I was down and out, and couldn't start my bike again.'   In the Lites category reigning champion Jason Lawrence recovered from his involvement in a first lap pile-up to guide his YZ250F to 4th place.   Round two will take place next Saturday at Chase Field in Phoenix.     Race 1 - 20 Laps                   Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time   1, Josh Grant, Yamaha, USA, 22'4.768 2, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 0'6.718 3, Chad Reed, Suzuki, AUS, 0'10.433 4, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, 0'19.648 5, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, USA, 0'22.814 6, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 0'26.118 7, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, 0'39.522 8, Benjamin Coisy, Honda, FRA, 0'43.099 9, Nicholas Wey, Yamaha, USA, 0'48.068 10, Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki, USA, 0'49.372 11, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, 0'57.609 12, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 0'58.348 13, Cole Siebler, Honda, USA, 1'13.225 14, Matt Boni, Honda, USA, -1 Laps 15, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, -1 Laps 16, Josh Hill, Yamaha, USA, -1 Laps 17, Steve Boniface, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 18, Robert Kiniry, Kawasaki, USA, -1 Laps 19, James Stewart, Yamaha, USA, -14 Laps 20, Charles Summey, KTM, USA, -14 Laps     Rider Standings 03/01/2009   Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Josh Grant, Yamaha, USA, 25 2, Andrew Short, Honda, USA, 22 3, Chad Reed, Suzuki, AUS, 20 4, Tim Ferry, Kawasaki, USA, 18 5, Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, USA, 16 6, Ivan Tedesco, Honda, USA, 15 7, Heath Voss, Honda, USA, 14 8, Benjamin Coisy, Honda, FRA, 13 9, Nicholas Wey, Yamaha, USA, 12 10, Paul Carpenter, Kawasaki, USA, 11 11, Mike Alessi, Suzuki, USA, 10 12, David D Millsaps, Honda, USA, 9 13, Cole Siebler, Honda, USA, 8 14, Matt Boni, Honda, USA, 7 15, Kevin Windham, Honda, USA, 6 19, James Stewart, Yamaha, USA, 2       Manufacturer Standings 03/01/2009   Pos., Manufacturer, Points   1, Yamaha, 25 2, Honda, 22 3, Suzuki, 20 4, Kawasaki, 18 5, KTM, 1
Alex Asigno

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