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Yamaha Racing News

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Yamaha take final World Endurance victory and claim the Manufacturer’s Title

YART in action The Yamaha Austria Racing Team took yet another race win last weekend at the 8h of Doha, Qatar for the final round of the 2009 FIM World Endurance Championship. The impressive ride to victory by YART riders Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani, who led the entire race from the first lap, gave Yamaha enough points to claim the 2009 FIM World Endurance Manufacturer title. The Team had already sealed the championship title at the previous round in September but kept the pressure on for the final race to take a clean sweep for Yamaha to add to their already impressive list of world championship title wins this year. “We had some problems at the Bol d’Or round and Suzuki passed us in the manufacturer’s championship standings,” said YART Team Manager Mandy Kainz. “So we came here to Qatar to win. The race was perfect, there were no mistakes and it was a good weekend for us, as it was usually over the year! We also wanted to finish on the podium on Sunday, it was the best way to finish the year.”
Alex Asigno

Osborne set for Mallory Park return

Utag Yamaha.com’s Zach Osborne has made a startling recovery from the left radius bone he chipped in practice for the Grand Prix of Portugal two and a half weeks ago and is now return to return to MX2-GP World championship action for his team at Mallory Park for their home event this weekend. The British Grand Prix represents the seventh round of the series and the first of five events in the next six weeks. Osborne, who was originally given a recovery estimation of between 4-6 weeks, has regained enough strength and confidence in the wrist to mount his YZ250FM this week and attempt his first GP on UK turf for the English squad. The American and winner of the Turkish Grand Prix has been undergoing intense laser treatment and oxygen tank sessions to speed up recovery of the fracture. “Zach has kept his training up and has been having a lot of treatment,” said Team Principal Steve Dixon. “He feels his wrist is healing well but at the moment his movement is still restricted so we will have to see at the weekend about his manoeuvrability.” “Zach will ride a small amount on Thursday and then ride wisely on Saturday to build up for Sunday,” he continued. “He will push to do as well as he can but understands equally that two potential top 10 rides will help towards his final championship goal.” “After the British GP and then France there is a chance to miss the British championship round at Hawkstone to have another full two weeks off to be fully fit and repaired ready for the German GP. One thing for certain is that Zach is not a person to opt out at the first hurdle and he deserves full credit for putting himself back in contention.
Alex Asigno

Drama in Monza as Spies closes the championship gap

It was a dramatic race day in Monza today for the World Superbike Championship as Yamaha rider and pole position starter Ben Spies again suffered the two extremes of racing, the victory and victory snatched away. Race one only made it to the first chicane on lap 1 as the Superbikes compressed into the tight first chicane. Tamada fell just before the corner, his bike sliding down the grass and across the track, causing collisions with Corser, Hill, Roberts and Neukirchener in the ensuing carnage. A red flag was issued and the race restarted. The race then became a battle at the front between Haga, Fabrizio and Spies for the lead. By lap nine Spies had a one second advantage over the Ducatis as they fought for second, Fabrizio ending up the stronger and closing in. Three laps from the end Fabrizio drafted Spies on the main straight to take the lead going into the first chicane, only for Spies to take it back on the penultimate lap. The Yamaha rider then led convincingly and was looking a certainty for the win until running out of fuel as he took the Parabolica corner for the last time heading for the start finish straight.He managed to coast to the line but was in 15th position by the time he passed the chequered flag. Team-mate Tom Sykes started well from tenth on the grid and was eighth by the end of the first lap. Consistent race pace saw him take two more positions over the duration, crossing the line in sixth to take more points. Race two saw Spies hungry to make up the misfortune of race one. Off the line he slipped into second behind Haga briefly before moving into the lead when Haga was struck by a bird on the first corner. From this point his win was never in doubt as the Texan put his head down and laid down lap after lap of fast perfect lines, adding a second gap per lap between himself and second position Fabrizio. As the race tipped over halfway point Spies slowed to ensure the issue of race one was not repeated, taking the chequered flag over 2.6 seconds ahead of second placed Fabrizio. British rider Sykes had another consistent race in the second outing of the day, moving up from tenth to sixth position, but was unable to find the extra pace to pass fifth placed Biaggi by the end of the race. Ben Spies leaves Monza having closed the gap to championship leader Haga, he heads to Kyalami with 146 points, 54 behind the lead. Sykes heads to South Africa having moved up to fifth in the championship on 90 points and now trails Haslam by only 13. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (15th, 1st) "Race one was a tough pill to swallow, it was a hard one to get by but that's racing I guess. Race two I had a clear strategy and made sure I got into a really good rhythm in the first 12 to 14 laps to build a safety buffer. Obviously we had a problem at the end of race one which I didn't want to repeat so slowed a bit there and short shifted a bit to make sure everything was good to the end. The bike was good and could have run fast times all the way through but I wanted to make sure we got this one in the bag. The Yamaha team did great regrouping after race one and me too I think! Hopefully we can keep going and improving from here. I want to say congratulations for Michel in race one, but I couldn't give it to him so easily in race two." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (6th, 6th) "In race one I got away ok, but the problem was getting stuck in that first chicane as I was starting from row three. As soon as it bottled up everything got spread out and unfortunately the lead group spread a long way and was hard to catch. I got past a couple of people and to be honest I thought I was going to catch them but halfway through the race I suffered from some brake fading. It was very unfortunate. In race two I got off the line fairly decently and had good race pace, I was looking quite strong but not able to get that last little bit. I guess it was one of those weekends, I've been fairly fast and consistent but spoilt it a bit with the qualifying. I'm very confident in the bike and the team, especially for Kyalami and hope to have better memories after the race than when I tested there! All in all good weekend, two more scores on the board and moving up to fifth in the championship is great." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "The first race was very frustrating for us but I think Ben proved what he is capable of. A big thank you to him because he answered race one in the best possible way. We seem to have either 25 points or 0 in races at the moment! I am very optimistic about the next two races because in South Africa Ben was really fast with an almost standard bike, and now we know the performance of the R1 is better so we think we can do a really good job. Miller should also be good as it's a home track for Ben. In the end we have reduced the leadership gap to Nori which is good. Tom was really consistent today, he's coming better and better every race weekend and without making mistakes in the race. I think as the second part of the championship approaches he will get stronger and stronger. A big thanks to the team and also the suppliers who helped us to be ready with the new colours in time for this weekend." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.073 (Ben Spies, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 10/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     31'50.758 2     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     0'00.239 3     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'08.175 4     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     0'11.001 5     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'12.447 6     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'13.693 7     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'19.172 8     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     0'24.989 9     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'26.930 10     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     0'27.418 11     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'27.752 12     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'29.545 13     Shinya Nakano     Aprilia     JPN     0'30.952 14     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'31.414 15     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     0'36.998 22     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     0'58.214 Race 2 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     31'49.252 2     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'02.665 3     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'02.810 4     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'07.706 5     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'07.863 6     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'10.383 7     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'11.586 8     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'21.112 9     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'22.112 10     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'22.261 11     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     0'23.453 12     Shinya Nakano     Aprilia     JPN     0'32.956 13     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     0'37.166 14     Luca Scassa     Kawasaki     ITA     0'43.085 15     Matteo Baiocco     Kawasaki     ITA     0'43.088 19     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     1'17.915 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1'45.336 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    200 2.    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    146 3.    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    125 4.    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    103 5.    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    90 6.    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    81 7.    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    77 8.    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    77 9.    Max Neukirchner    Suzuki    GER    75 10.    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    65 11.    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    56 12.    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    53 13.    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    52 14.    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    41 15.    Ruben Xaus    BMW    ESP    40 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Ducati    225 2.    Yamaha    180 3.    Honda    141 4.    Suzuki    89 5.    Aprilia    84 6.    BMW    59 7.    Kawasaki    19 RACE REPORT     10/05/2009 Yamaha dominate the Supersport podium It was a fantastic race for the Yamaha World Supersport Team as both riders fought hard for the duration, taking well earned places on the podium at the chequered flag. Fabien Foret initially dropped to eighth place at the start but worked hard to make the places back up again. Cal Crutchlow was a constant presence in the top group, taking the lead from Laverty in a fast overtake on lap five at the Ascari chicane. Foret moved up swiftly behind him, taking second position. The two pushed on at the front until lap ten when a daring pass up the inside by Laverty at the Roggia chicane put him past both Yamaha riders and into the lead. Not content to sit back, Foret took the lead back as they turned through the Parabolica and headed out onto the straight. In a show of the incredible speed of the Yamaha R6 Crutchlow then came back to take both Foret and Laverty at the end of the start finish straight heading into lap 11. Lap 13 saw Foret run wide, allowing Laverty and Lascorz through, while Crutchlow began to extend his lead. Lascorz then made a crucial error on lap 14, sitting up and forcing Laverty wide, allowing Foret to get past. Foret then tussled with Lascorz but eventually accepted third position and a long awaited podium whilst his team-mate Crutchlow had put a definitive gap between him and the second placed Kawasaki rider for the chequered flag. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (1st) "it's going really good here at Monza and I'm really happy with the race. We came here looking to finish in the top five to be honest on a circuit I don't know. We did a good job this weekend at Yamaha so thanks to everyone who put a lot of effort in. we were never as fast as we could have been but we worked hard. When I got the break in the race today I went for it, I was willing to do anything to win, you could see by some of the passes I was taking no prisoners! It's all credit to the team who got me here so a great win for the team!" Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (3rd) "I'm pretty happy, I can clearly fight again now and I'm not injured anymore. I made a few mistakes in the race and someone hit my exhaust pipe which didn't help. It was a tough one but I enjoyed it and I think I'm back and definitely looking forward to the next one now." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "We are first and third, and for me the whole weekend was good, not just the race which can be a bit of a gamble as you saw with the Superbikes . You can easily make a mistake here and accidents can happen so I'm really happy nothing went majorly wrong in the supersport race. I'm really pleased to have both the riders on the podium, it's great we leave here extending our championship lead and with Fabien taking good points away as well." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.706 (Cal Crutchlow, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 10/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     29'34.605 2     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     0'02.660 3     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     0'02.716 4     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     0'02.780 5     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     0'09.270 6     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     0'09.332 7     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     0'20.178 8     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     0'20.221 9     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     0'22.681 10     Gianluca Nannelli     Triumph     ITA     0'26.993 11     Franco Battaini     Yamaha     ITA     0'31.343 12     Miguel Praia     Honda     POR     0'32.236 13     Barry Veneman     Suzuki     NED     0'32.695 14     Gianluca Vizziello     Honda     ITA     0'33.216 15     Alessandro Polita     Suzuki     ITA     0'33.652 17     Doni Tata Pradita     Yamaha     IDN     0'44.249 22     Jose Morillas     Yamaha     ESP     1'45.778 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'49.728 Rider Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    99 2.    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    81 3.    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    72 4.    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    54 5.    Anthony West    Honda    AUS    52 6.    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    47 7.    Fabien Foret    Yamaha    FRA    44 8.    Mark Aitchison    Honda    AUS    34 9.    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    33 10.    Barry Veneman    Suzuki    NED    28 11.    Matthieu Lagrive    Honda    FRA    25 12.    Robbin Harms    Honda    DNK    23 13.    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    23 14.    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    20 15.    Massimo Roccoli    Honda    ITA    20 20.    Franco Battaini    Yamaha    ITA    5 21.    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    1 Manufacturer Standings     10/05/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Honda    108 2.    Yamaha    99 3.    Kawasaki    58 4.    Suzuki    28 5.    Triumph    27
Alex Asigno

Spies scores more championship points in Assen

It was another mixed weekend's racing for the Yamaha World Superbike Team at the famous TT circuit in Assen. An incredibly close first race Saw Ben Spies take the chequered flag a mere 0.154 seconds ahead of Championship rival Noriyuki Haga. Although initially the race leader, the American Yamaha rider had struggled to find a good race pace for most of the race, dropping back from first to third position on lap 11 behind race leader Haga and second place Leon Haslam. Spies tucked in and followed the pair until the three laps from the end of the race when he and Haslam spent three corners abreast in a heart stopping battle for second position. There was no daylight between the bikes as they exited turn five, Spies coming out the victor and setting off after Haga as the penultimate lap drew to a close. He attempted a pass on the hairpin where Haga had passed him earlier but failed to take top spot, eventually pulling a daring pass on the last corner he shot through to take the chequered flag. Tom Sykes enjoyed a good first race, starting from eighth on the grid the British rider made a strong pass up the inside on the first corner to move up into sixth position. The back straight then offered the opportunity to pass again and move up to fifth. Two laps later and another clever move up the inside on turn one saw Sykes into fourth position. He hung on with good race pace and held fourth for the chequered flag. Race two saw a difficult start and a lot of work to do. Sykes fought hard to make up places and briefly fought with Rea for fifth before settling for a sixth position finish. Spies leaves Assen still second in the championship with 120 points, trailing leader Haga by 60. Team-mate Sykes heads to Monza in sixth place in the standings with 70 points. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st,dnf) "We got the win in race one and everything was pretty good with that. It took me a while to find a good race pace but as the tyres started to go off I found it and we managed to make some moves, it was pretty exciting at the end, really fantastic racing with both Haslam and Haga. Race two I was feeling good, the bike, even only a lap and a half in, felt better than with the tyres in race one. I was pushing and got out wide in turn one and touched the Astroturf piece and high-sided. It's a shame as I felt really good and the bike felt right. You never know if you can win the race but I felt we could have had a faster race than the first. We'll build on it though, we had a good test in Monza so we're set up for there and I haven't hurt myself today so it's ok." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (4th,6th) "The first race went ok, I was pretty pleased with the results. I managed to make a couple of passes early and move up but then lost some feeling in the front which held me back. Race two was not what I expected. I got a horrendous start and left myself a lot of work to do. I worked hard over the next few laps to make some passes but unfortunately let the front group get away. I was bitterly disappointed with that because I knew I could run with the front. I'd just like to thank all the boys for this weekend putting so much hard work in. We had two offs and I left them with some work to do but they came through and had my bikes ready for me to race." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "The first race was unbelievable, Ben was really impressive and deserved the win. In the second race he had a bad high-side, and unfortunately missed the opportunity to challenge Nori for the second win. Tom had a good fourth in the first race and a good sixth in the second. He's coming along really well. I think he'll get the podium he's chasing soon. We're ready for Monza and confident of success." Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'37.626 (Ben Spies, 26/04/2009) Last Years Winner: Troy Bayliss 2009 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 26/04/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     36'31.338 2     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     0'00.154 3     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'00.779 4     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'08.775 5     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     0'11.275 6     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'16.126 7     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'19.555 8     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     0'19.760 9     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'23.006 10     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     0'24.285 11     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'26.003 12     Karl Muggeridge     Suzuki     AUS     0'27.814 13     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     0'36.962 14     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'39.025 15     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     0'41.505 19     David Checa     Yamaha     ESP     0'56.425 Race 2 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     36'31.712 2     Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     0'02.678 3     Jakub Smrz     Ducati     CZE     0'04.603 4     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     0'08.981 5     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     0'12.104 6     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     0'14.575 7     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     0'17.449 8     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     0'17.729 9     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     0'18.167 10     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     0'25.056 11     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     0'32.617 12     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     0'32.688 13     Brendan Roberts     Ducati     AUS     0'37.415 14     Matteo Baiocco     Kawasaki     ITA     0'55.088 15     Luca Scassa     Kawasaki     ITA     0'55.325 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Leon Haslam     Honda     GBR     1'38.730 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    180 2.    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    120 3.    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    94 4.    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    80 5.    Max Neukirchner    Suzuki    GER    75 6.    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    70 7.    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    65 8.    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    64 9.    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    53 10.    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    44 11.    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    40 12.    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    39 13.    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    39 14.    Troy Corser    BMW    AUS    35 15.    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    33 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Ducati    180 2.    Yamaha    145 3.    Honda    109 4.    Suzuki    76 5.    Aprilia    68 6.    BMW    43 7.    Kawasaki    10 RACE REPORT     26/04/2009 Crutchlow maintains championship lead in Assen Yamaha World Supersport riders Cal Crutchlow and Fabien Foret got caught up in the closest race of the 2009 World Supersport Championship so far. Intense racing and constant battles for position were the mainstay of the Supersport action. After a bad start Crutchlow worked hard to move back up the field, closely followed by team-mate Foret behind him. By lap six Crutchlow had made it to fourth, taking Sofuoglu for the position whilst Foret pushed on from seventh place. Lap seven saw Foret move up again behind his team-mate and the two then fought a close battle for position as they moved through the ranks to the top spot before dropping back again. Laverty was a constant presence during the battles, eventually slipping through to take the lead spot. A near miss between the two Yamaha riders into turn four when Crutchlow missed a gear and went wide, causing Fabien to run wide as well. Pitt then tried to take them both on the inside, losing the front and crashing out. Crutchlow then displayed the incredible race pace the fans are used to seeing, and three laps to the end pulled the fastest lap of the race, with a 1.40.836 while he chased Laverty. The battle continued to the flag, two laps before the end the riders touched but managed to stay on, Laverty eventually taking the chequered flag with Crutchlow a mere 0.107 seconds behind. Foret kept up his pace to finish in fourth, 1.777 seconds behind the race leader. Crutchlow leaves Assen still leading the championship by six points whilst Foret moves up to seventh position with 28 points. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd) "I had a bad start, I don't really know what happened, it was just unfortunate I felt like I was in neutral gear. I worked my hardest to get back through. Unfortunately Fabien and I got caught up together and it held us up a bit. Team Yamaha did a great job for me, we're here again on the podium and still leading the championship so it's all good. It was a fantastic job by Eugene Laverty, so well done to their team as well." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team (4th) "I'm pretty happy and pleased to have got my confidence back. I had a good race, I'm just a bit disappointed with what happened with Cal, it was unavoidable but it held us both up and made it harder for me to challenge for a podium spot and a potential race win." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager It was a very, very exciting race I can tell you that! With a second and a fourth place we are still leading the championship by six points with Cal. Both riders fought really hard today, Cal was especially fast at the end and Fabien has definitely found more of his confidence and previous race pace. We go to Monza in a good position and looking forward to extending our championship lead." Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 2'08.865 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'40.313 (Cal Crutchlow, 26/04/2009) Last Years Winner: Andrew Pitt 2009 WSS The Netherlands - Assen 26/04/2009 Race 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     35'45.160 2     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     0'00.107 3     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     0'00.178 4     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     0'01.777 5     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     0'01.901 6     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     0'05.492 7     Anthony West     Honda     AUS     0'12.551 8     Barry Veneman     Suzuki     NED     0'12.841 9     Robbin Harms     Honda     DNK     0'13.567 10     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     0'19.657 11     Patrick Vostarek     Honda     ITA     0'24.316 12     Gianluca Nannelli     Triumph     ITA     0'25.803 13     Massimo Roccoli     Honda     ITA     0'26.255 14     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     0'26.439 15     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     0'44.902 19     Kevin Bos     Yamaha     NED     1'04.653 22     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1'08.389 23     Twan Van Poppel     Yamaha     NED     1'25.061 Best Lap Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'40.836 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    74 2.    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    68 3.    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    65 4.    Anthony West    Honda    AUS    52 5.    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    43 6.    Mark Aitchison    Honda    AUS    34 7.    Fabien Foret    Yamaha    FRA    28 8.    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    27 9.    Barry Veneman    Suzuki    NED    25 10.    Matthieu Lagrive    Honda    FRA    25 11.    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    24 12.    Robbin Harms    Honda    DNK    23 13.    Massimo Roccoli    Honda    ITA    20 14.    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    13 15.    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    12 20.    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    1 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Honda    95 2.    Yamaha    74 3.    Kawasaki    38 4.    Suzuki    25 5.    Triumph    19
Alex Asigno

Factory Yamaha Motocross team joins forces with Ohlins

Ohlins and YZ450F The Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team will be able to count on the technical expertise of renowned Swedish suspension specialists Ohlins for the 2010 FIM MX1 and MX2-GP World Championship after an alliance between the two parties was recently confirmed after successful initial tests. The new YZ450FM of David Philippaerts and 2010 revised YZ250F of fresh recruit Gautier Paulin will embrace the technology of the firm established in 1976. Testing will continue extensively with a view towards achieving optimum set-up for the beginning of the pre-season campaign in February and then the first Grand Prix of fifteen in Bulgaria on April 4th. For the Rinaldi Group a union with Ohlins will signify a return to earlier glory days in which Michele Rinaldi – then as Team Manager – grasped the first world titles for the squad and Yamaha in the early 1990s (1994, 125cc with Bob Moore, and 1992, 250cc with Donny Schmit). Ohlin and Rinaldi “I have pleasant memories of working with Ohlins and of course their reputation in the motorcycle sport world is very highly regarded,” commented Team Principal and Owner Michele Rinaldi. “We have two new motorcycles with the latest generation of the YZ450F and the 2010 YZ250F and we are confident that the support and knowledge of Ohlins will help us achieve our goals both on and off the track.” “This new co-operation is very exciting for us. We have a completely new damping system ready for the team along with our high level of technical service and support - we believe that a forceful combination has been created,” said Ohlins Racing Manager Mats Larsson. “The factory team has a fantastic racing history and we look forward to similar success in the future. We are also very much looking forward to being part of the competitive development for the new YZ450F and YZ250F.” Created by Kenth Ohlin in the mid-1970s, Ohlins won their first world championship in motocross in 1978; it would be the first of 200 titles gained across many disciplines of motorsport. Today the firm has three hubs, in Stockholm, Sweden, North Carolina and in Germany and employees more than 230 people. They have more than 30 employees dedicated to high-end racing support and service.
Alex Asigno

2009 Yamaha R1 sets the pace in the 2009 IDM Superbike Championship

The 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 is proving to be a formidable weapon in the hands of Yamaha Motor Germany rider Jörg Teuchert in the German IDM Superbike Championship. Teuchert put in a masterful display of riding at the season opener on 26th April at the EuroSpeedway, Lausitz circuit, dominating from the start to take the chequered flag in both heats. Round two at the Motorsport Arena, Oschersleben saw more of the same adrenalin fuelled racing with the German rider one step ahead of the competition for both races on the day. Teuchert now leads the championship with 100 points and an unblemished record heading into the next round. “Anyone who knows me and my team knows we are here to win,” said Jörg. “Obviously a second or third place is good, no doubt but I want to win the championship!” Team-mate and 2008 Women’s European Champion Nina Prinz is also adapting well to her new R1. Prinz continues to impress as the only woman in the IDM field, she scored a 17th and a 14th place finish at Lausitz and then improved to take an 8th and a 14th place finish at Oschersleben. The first race in particular saw an incredible start with Nina taking 13 places in the first lap. She currently sits 15th in the championship on 12 points. The following round at Nurburgring is a favourite for her, last year’s race was the first time she finished inside the top ten so she’s hopeful of good results. “The last race weekend was really good, Saturday was a little difficult as I crashed in the first qualifying after five laps,” said Prinz. “I lost both the tyres at same time, and touched the ground with the engine. Sunday was crazy, there were a lot of crashes in the first race and the start was stopped twice. The first race was great for me though, I started in 24th and got to 11th after one lap. I’ve also had new suspension since the last round, so the front forks are really comfortable now.” The German IDM Superbike Championship now moves to the famous Nürburgring circuit on 29th to 31st May.
Alex Asigno

Spies makes it five in a row in Monza

To the delight of The Yamaha World Superbike Team's home crowd rider Ben Spies effortlessly rode his R1 to take an incredible fifth consecutive Superpole of the year, again breaking the lap record in the process. Having spent the two qualifying sessions fine tuning his set up for race day, Spies took it relatively easy for the first two Superpole heats, ensuring he made it through to the final eight without using a qualifier tyre. As the final heat started, out came the new Pirelli qualifier tyre with its distinctive yellow stripe, and the lap time tumbled as Spies displayed what is now becoming almost expected, a scorching Superpole lap and a new lap record. Team-mate Tom Spies had a more frustrating Superpole experience, having started well on a qualifier in the first session he made it through safely to the second. The young British rider's flying lap saw him quick enough through the first two splits to go through to the final session, however he came up against another rider on a slow down lap halfway round the infamous Parabolica corner, losing nearly half a second in the process and sealing his fate outside the top ten for the final heat. Sykes will now start tomorrow's races from the third row of the grid. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team (1st, 1'44.073) "It's been really good here at Monza this weekend. The approach has been a bit different, we've kind of tried to sneak up on everyone and been working really hard on the race setup through the sessions. We've been working quietly away in the garage and I think the bike is going to be really good in the race. I really wanted to get this one for Yamaha on their home track so it was great to be able to take the Superpole for the team. It looks like it could be a bit of a dogfight tomorrow, hopefully we'll have some guys up there to mix it up and shake up the points a little bit." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team (10th 1'45.383) "Qualifying was a fairly steady session, we tried a couple more things to cross some boxes, so it was constructive. We got some more information out of it which helped towards the Superpole. We did the first Superpole heat ok, the aim of the game was to get into the top sixteen and we did that. I was fairly confident for the second one, I knew I was on a good lap and everything felt really nice and smooth but coming into the last corner, Kiyonari was in front of me. He was going pretty slowly and then sat up and we nearly came together. I lost half a second there and didn't have time to get back and change tyres for another go. I'm very disappointed as I feel that our race pace for tomorrow is quite strong and we are having to start from row three. Hopefully we can get a good clean start and get through the first chicane and try and go with the leading bunch as I know we can stay with them." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "After the pole position we are quite confident that tomorrow we can run a good race. Here in Monza the two races will be really close at the start with a lot of riders in a tight pack for the first half but I think after that just a few riders will fight for the win. I think tomorrow we will see two very good races." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.073 (Ben Spies, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 09/05/2009 Superpole Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Ben Spies     Yamaha     USA     1'44.073 2     Michel Fabrizio     Ducati     ITA     1'44.270 3     Ryuichi Kiyonari     Honda     JPN     1'44.642 4     Max Neukirchner     Suzuki     GER     1'44.900 5     Noriyuki Haga     Ducati     JPN     1'45.096 6     Jonathan Rea     Honda     GBR     1'45.170 7     Max Biaggi     Aprilia     ITA     1'45.605 8     Yukio Kagayama     Suzuki     JPN     1'45.861 9     Carlos Checa     Honda     ESP     1'45.166 10     Tom Sykes     Yamaha     GBR     1'45.383 11     Troy Corser     BMW     AUS     1'45.543 12     Regis Laconi     Ducati     FRA     1'45.663 13     Broc Parkes     Kawasaki     AUS     1'46.638 14     Ruben Xaus     BMW     ESP     1'46.571 15     Shane Byrne     Ducati     GBR     1'46.593 Qualifying 2 Pos.     Rider     Nat.     QUAL I     QUAL II 1     Michel Fabrizio     ITA     1'45.447     1'44.974 2     Max Neukirchner     GER     1'45.962     1'45.224 3     Jonathan Rea     GBR     1'45.919     1'45.373 4     Noriyuki Haga     JPN     1'45.790     1'45.448 5     Max Biaggi     ITA     1'46.054     1'45.748 6     Ben Spies     USA     1'46.013     1'45.755 7     Tom Sykes     GBR     1'45.758     1'45.941 8     Leon Haslam     GBR     1'46.208     1'45.919 9     Yukio Kagayama     JPN     1'45.985     1'46.069 10     Ryuichi Kiyonari     JPN     1'46.171     1'45.988 11     Regis Laconi     FRA     1'47.078     1'46.103 12     Carlos Checa     ESP     1'46.140     1'46.337 13     Shane Byrne     GBR     1'46.164     1'46.690 14     Jakub Smrz     CZE     1'46.363     1'46.264 15     Karl Muggeridge     AUS     1'46.690     1'46.319 25     David Checa     ESP     1'48.920     1'47.868 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT     09/05/2009 Crutchlow and Foret claim the front row Cal Crutchlow made it an incredible fourth consecutive pole position start in a row today. The Yamaha World Supersport rider and the R6 continue to be a devastating combination on any circuit. Crutchlow was on the pace from the word go and never ventured far from the top spot for the duration of the session. In taking pole position he also broke the lap record of 1'49.868 set here last year by Broc Parkes on the Yamaha R6. Team-mate Fabien Foret was also on top form, having won here at Monza last year, the French rider set out today to show he means business and wants the podium again on race day. A fast, consistent qualifying session ensured Foret starts on the front row with his team-mate tomorrow, in 3rd position. Foret also came in under last year's lap record set by his previous team-mate Parkes. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (1st, 1'49.706) "It was a good enough session, I wasn't really happy with the time at the end because I could have gone a lot quicker. We had a few problems with the bike throughout the session. We did our fastest time on the 14th lap of the tyre and then went slower on a brand new tyre so it was a bit weird how that worked. Race pace is good though, I'm looking forward to the race, I think we can hopefully win it tomorrow and gain a bigger lead in the championship." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (3rd, 1'49.803) "We have a few things we're trying to improve a little bit but I'm actually pretty happy with the package now and tyre wise it's also not too bad so it's looking good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I've started in fifth a few times now with hardly any time between me and the front row so this time I wanted to make sure I could finish in the front. For me though what is important is to finish on the podium tomorrow." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "it was a good qualifying heat. Fabien had a good session, he was happy and fast which was great. Cal is pole again which is fantastic, he still had some difficulties to solve but nothing major. They are both capable of doing a good race tomorrow and it's brilliant to have them both on the front row, the first time this year." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.706 (Cal Crutchlow, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 09/05/2009 Qualifying 1 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Cal Crutchlow     Yamaha     GBR     1'49.706 2     Joan Lascorz     Kawasaki     ESP     1'49.739 3     Fabien Foret     Yamaha     FRA     1'49.803 4     Eugene Laverty     Honda     GBR     1'50.006 5     Mark Aitchison     Honda     AUS     1'50.407 6     Kenan Sofuoglu     Honda     TUR     1'50.636 7     Andrew Pitt     Honda     AUS     1'50.733 8     Gianluca Nannelli     Triumph     ITA     1'50.798 9     Garry McCoy     Triumph     AUS     1'50.828 10     Katsuaki Fujiwara     Kawasaki     JPN     1'50.861 11     Matthieu Lagrive     Honda     FRA     1'50.907 12     Michele Pirro     Yamaha     ITA     1'51.281 13     Franco Battaini     Yamaha     ITA     1'51.429 14     Massimo Roccoli     Honda     ITA     1'51.517 15     Miguel Praia     Honda     POR     1'51.682 23     Doni Tata Pradita     Yamaha     IDN     1'53.025 27     Yannick Guerra     Yamaha     ESP     1'53.351 28     Jose Morillas     Yamaha     ESP     1'56.328
Alex Asigno

Fiat Yamaha seal incredible one-two in Japanese GP

After it looked at one point on race-day as if the Grand Prix of Japan would be a complete washout, the sun broke through the dark clouds and streamed onto the Motegi circuit as the Fiat Yamaha team enjoyed a clean sweep of the top two spots. With qualifying having been cancelled yesterday due to the heavy rain, both riders started the race from the front row of the grid according to their times from Friday's free practice. Following a stunning race, Jorge Lorenzo took the glory of standing on the top step of the podium, after coming through a brilliant scrap with his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who finished a close second. Starting from third on the grid Lorenzo briefly lost a position on the first lap, but was soon back up to his starting spot as they crossed the line for the first time. With a superior pace to his compatriot Pedrosa it seemed as though the Mallorcan was being held up, and sure enough on lap three the Spaniard edged into second place. Once there he had the unenviable task of closing a two-second gap to his team-mate Rossi, but gradually edged nearer his colleague. The two enjoyed a good head-to-head fight, swapping positions at the V-corner before Lorenzo finally found a way past Rossi. From that point there was no looking back, and as Rossi was entangled in the battle with Pedrosa behind, Lorenzo sealed a glorious second victory in MotoGP. Leading from the first corner, Rossi had opened up the gap on the Spaniards in the early stages, but once Lorenzo had found a way past, it was Pedrosa who caused the champion most problems. With Pedrosa attacking on several occasions, the Italian was forced to keep his wits about him, but always seemed to have enough edge to keep ahead. The killer move come heading into the tunnel at turn five, and the race was decided as Rossi pulled away from Pedrosa in the latter stages. With Lorenzo leading the championship on 40 points, one ahead of Rossi, the MotoGP World Championship moves on to his home race at Jerez in just a week's time. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 43'47.238 "First of all I just want to thank my team, my Mum, Dad and whole family, my friends and all the team workers. Also Yamaha, as it is their home race, it was a difficult race because I didn't really get a very good start, I think I even finished the first lap in third or fourth. After that I began to catch up the pace. I passed Valentino and opened up a little gap, about a second and a half, and he was following me very hard. I had to ride the best I can to get the victory." Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: + 1.304 "It was a great race, long, very difficult and also physical. I got a really good start from the front row, but there was a part of the race that I wasn't quite able to ride like I wanted, there was some kind of problem and I wasn't fast enough to pull away. I lost time from Jorge and then was involved in a battle with Dani and then in the last part of the race I was able to step up my pace and pick my lines, setting some good lap times. I tried to come back but unfortunately Lorenzo was too far away. It's a good race, second place is not a victory but it's still twenty points for the championship. I think the championship will become very interesting now because we have four riders ready to battle for wins at the end." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "I'm really happy about today's result, we didn't expect a victory, maybe we were just thinking about the podium, so I'm extremely happy. We did a great job on Friday and I think that was the key because we worked a lot around the harder tyre and in the end that was the good one. With the information and the data we collected, today we just had to do some fine-tuning to the bike and it has brought us this special victory, and we are able to show the world how strong Yamaha is. Jerez will be a great battle, like today it will be a big show and so i am looking forward to that event." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "First of all, congratulations to Jorge, who rode very well, and congratulations to Yamaha, because this result confirms the great job we have done in the last months. We are always very fast and for the second time this year we have two riders on the podium. Night or day, we are always there! Valentino took a very important second place, because our target is to be always there. Now we are looking forward to going back to Europe for a very important phase of the championship and it is crucial to start this time on top". Top ten for Toseland, Edwards fights back into points in Japan Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo James Toseland and Colin Edwards secured hard fought points-scoring finishes in Yamaha's home race at the Twin Ring Motegi today. British rider Toseland gave himself a welcome confidence boost with a determined ride to ninth place in the 24-lap encounter, which took place in windy but dry conditions after another weekend dominated by rain. Opting to run the softer compound Bridgestone tyre, Toseland made a storming start from the fourth row of the grid, crossing the line at the end of the first lap in seventh place. The 28-year-old secured his first top ten finish of the campaign with a superb attacking display in the final stages, holding off the persistent challenge of Chris Vermeulen and Randy de Puniet. American Edwards encountered a small problem in the early stages of the race but once he was able to demonstrate his true potential, the 35-year-old reeled off some blistering lap times. At times he ran the same pace as the top five as he fought his way through the field to a highly commendable 12th, setting the sixth fastest time in the race to miss out on a top ten finish by three seconds. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now heads to Jerez next weekend for the start of the European leg of the MotoGP world championship. James Toseland - Position: 9th Time: "I needed to be back in the top ten, so today was the step I've been looking for. We made a big step with the front-end setting on Friday in just the 45 minutes of dry track time we had this weekend and it helped me a lot. The comfort on the braking was much better and I was able to pass a couple of guys on the brakes today, which was good. I went for the soft rear tyre just because that's what I'd run most on Friday. We knew the soft one would go the distance, but it wouldn't be as strong in the latter stages of the race with the temperature being hotter today. But I didn't want to take any risks by running the harder compound, particularly as we knew it would take a couple of laps to get to temperature. In the early part of the race I had quite a bit more grip than some of the guys and I might have been able to pass (Casey) Stoner and (Loris) Capirossi) if I was more comfortable with the bike on a full fuel load. That would have pushed me a bit further up earlier in the race when I had an advantage with the softer tyre. It was a good battle on the last lap with Vermeulen. He passed me briefly at the end of the back straight, but I managed to keep him at bay. I'm happy for my team because they've stood behind me and everybody has kept their morale up, and now we've got a result we can build on." Colin Edwards - Position: 12th Time: "That was not at all what I expected but I can't turn the clock back. I wish I could because I believe I could have fought for the podium. We had a small issue at the start of the race and I simply couldn't ride how I wanted to. I kept my head down and persevered throughout and perhaps a few more laps I could have chased down the guys in front for a top ten. I couldn't have ridden any harder today and I did my absolute best for Yamaha. I was really confident going into the race because I was one of the few guys who had done a lot of laps on the harder compound tyre in the dry on Friday. So with the track temperature coming up a lot compared to how cool it was on Friday, I felt that experience we gained would really help. When I got going in the race my lap times were as quick as the top five, so it's a case of wondering what might have been today. We'll look to bounce back in Jerez next weekend because I feel like I'm riding really well." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "We obviously had higher expectations but I'm pleased that both James and Colin showed their determination throughout the race. It was good to see James fighting strongly in the top ten and this result will have given his confidence a big boost. He has had a difficult winter and first race, but he's remained incredibly focused and this is a good platform for him to build on for the rest of the season. I'd also like to thank Colin for his efforts today in difficult circumstances. He had a problem before the start and we are still investigating the cause with Yamaha. But his pace in the second half of the race was very impressive, so we know that Colin is in very good form heading into Europe. I'd like to say big congratulations to Yamaha for its one-two in front of the Japanese fans. It shows the YZR-M1 is a very strong package and that Yamaha is the brand to beat again in 2009." Circuit Length: 4801 Temp: 22 Weather: Dry Lap Record: 1'47.968 (Loris Capirossi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'45.543 (Jorge Lorenzo, 28/09/2008) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2009 MotoGP Japan - Motegi 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha     ESP     43'47.238 2     Valentino Rossi     Yamaha     ITA     0'01.304 3     Daniel Pedrosa     Honda     ESP     0'03.763 4     Casey Stoner     Ducati     AUS     0'05.691 5     Andrea Dovizioso     Honda     ITA     0'09.207 6     Marco Melandri     Kawasaki     ITA     0'30.555 7     Loris Capirossi     Suzuki     ITA     0'32.756 8     Mika Kallio     Ducati     FIN     0'39.416 9     James Toseland     Yamaha     GBR     0'43.106 10     Chris Vermeulen     Suzuki     AUS     0'43.245 11     Randy De Puniet     Honda     FRA     0'44.834 12     Colin Edwards     Yamaha     USA     0'46.540 13     Alex De Angelis     Honda     SMR     0'53.525 14     Niccolo Canepa     Ducati     ITA     1'21.804 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Jorge Lorenzo    Yamaha    ESP    41 2.    Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    ITA    40 3.    Casey Stoner    Ducati    AUS    38 4.    Andrea Dovizioso    Honda    ITA    22 5.    Daniel Pedrosa    Honda    ESP    21 6.    Colin Edwards    Yamaha    USA    17 7.    Mika Kallio    Ducati    FIN    16 8.    Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    AUS    15 9.    Alex De Angelis    Honda    SMR    13 10.    Marco Melandri    Kawasaki    ITA    12 11.    Randy De Puniet    Honda    FRA    11 12.    Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    ITA    9 13.    James Toseland    Yamaha    GBR    7 14.    Toni Elias    Honda    ESP    7 15.    Nicky Hayden    Ducati    USA    4 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    45 2.    Ducati    38 3.    Honda    27 4.    Suzuki    18 5.    Kawasaki    12
Alex Asigno

Coppins secures second podium of the season

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's Josh Coppins returned to the podium with second position overall at an overcast St Jean d'Angely for the Grand Prix of France and the seventh event of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship. Team-mate and series leader on the works YZ450FM, David Philippaerts, had a tough and unlucky day in front of 30,000 spectators and did not finish the second race to place 18th overall. The established and impressive circuit, located near La Rochelle on the west coast, offered its usual degree of difficulty thanks to the tough bumps of the hard-pack soil. The stony dirt also made the course slippery and many riders were trying different suspension and tyre combinations during practice on Saturday to find the best traction. Despite the presence of a special sandy-section to add an extra technical edge, the lap-times were all extremely close with Coppins taking 6th position in the gate and Philippaerts 10th but the top ten riders in Timed Practice were separated by just over a second. The team completed suspension and engine tests last week in Italy and the new settings were used by Coppins while Philippaerts made some further alterations to smoothen the power delivery of the YZ450FM during a sunny Saturday schedule. Both riders started excellently in the first race and circulated second and third behind leader Ramon. Philippaerts then suffered an unexpected and heavy crash on the landing of a jump and hurt his left hand and knocked his head. The Italian was able to continue, in some pain, to 13th place by the chequered flag. Coppins was flying behind Ramon and when the world champion made a mistake and crashed into the fence on one of the steep downhill sections, the New Zealander grabbed the lead for the first time this season. More drama was to continue for the team however as the 31 year old ran slightly wide in a turn shortly afterwards and caught a stretch of green plastic fencing in his rear wheel. He then had to ignore the close attentions of eventual Grand Prix winner Sebastien Pourcel for most of the race without a rear brake. Pourcel eventually found a way past with just three laps remaining. Second place still represented the highest finish yet for Coppins in 2008. The second moto saw the Kiwi again slot into a top three position on the second lap and from there he used 17 of the 21 circulations to close to the rear wheel of Ramon and push past his rival for another runner-up classification; guaranteeing his silverware and best result of the season (after taking third in Portugal). Philippaerts took a painkiller for his hand and attempted Moto2, slightly encouraged by the crashes suffered by Ramon (who finished only two places ahead in 11th) and also other title rival Ken de Dycker (who would be a reduced force in race two). The 24 year old was not in the top half of the pack around the first turn and needed several laps to get feeling and rhythm. He then again demonstrated his fine ability to cut through the pack to rise from 14th to 7th until he was inexplicably hit by Clement Desalle in the process of relegating the Belgian and moving up to 6th. The impact ripped the right footpeg off the bike and although he bravely tried to continue he was forced to retire with three laps remaining. It was the first time Philippaerts had missed the rostrum since the first round in April. As a consequence of the events at St Jean, the championship standings have become closer. Philippaerts' lead has shrunk to 6 points from Ramon, with Coppins now just 19 behind. The team will now travel back to the workshop in Italy and soon start preparations for round eight and the Grand Prix of Germany at the Teutschenthal circuit near the city of Halle. Coppins has plans to contest the Belgian championship at Kester next weekend. Philippaerts will have a scan tomorrow (Monday) to learn the extent of the damage to his hand. Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 2nd: "I went to Italy to make some tests and training this week and it definitely helped me this weekend. I like to work closely with my mechanic and the team so I will be heading back there in the next few days. I think I can take quite a lot from this result. I should have won the first moto if it wasn't for the problem with the fencing and in the second Sebastien was a little bit faster. To come from a 'low' like Mallory Park to be right at the front and on the podium was the response that I wanted. I can take a lot of motivation from the fact that I am back in the title chase." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 18th: "From fifteen races it is impossible to have a good result or good luck in all of them. I am disappointed but I also have to be realistic. In the first moto I don't know what happened. I did exactly the same line and approach as always but the bike slipped away. I think we made a mistake and picked a tyre that was too soft. I really banged my hand and had a lot of pain. For the first ten minutes after that I was seeing spots because I had also hit my head. Thirteenth was not ideal but I did not feel fit and I was determined to finish. I was fortunate that both Ramon and De Dycker also crashed. I wanted to see what points I could get in the second moto and took a painkiller. I did not have the best start but then I started to ride very well, very smooth and with good lines. Anyway I reached sixth and then passed Desalle on the inside of one corner but he did something crazy because I was ahead and he just rammed into the back of me. It was a big collision. The right footrest had gone so I tried to keep riding but once or twice I touched the ground with my foot and it was getting risky. My goal is still to look ahead and keep working each race. I am happy that the bike is really good and now I need to check I can have the best physical condition possible for Germany. I like Teutschental and I think it is possible that I can be very fast there." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: "Another strange GP for us but I am really happy for Josh. I could see from his work and riding last week in Italy than he was back on the pace and we hoped he would be back on the podium today. For sure if he had not picked up the green fencing then he should have won that first moto. It was a bad day for David. The first moto crash was unfortunate and he had a lot of pain in his hand but we were lucky that Ramon also went down. Due to the pain he was a bit slow at the start of the second moto but when he started riding really well it was good to watch until the collision with Desalle. The footpeg was completely gone so it was not safe or really possible for him to continue. The YZ450FMs worked well this weekend, so now we look ahead to Germany." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 40'9.573 2, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'1.852 3, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'12.558 4, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'24.687 5, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'30.167 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'36.921 7, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'38.867 8, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'41.501 9, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'42.356 10, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'42.965 11, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'0.740 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'6.258 13, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 1'20.482 14, Julien Vanni, KTM, FRA, 1'23.776 15, Steve Boniface, Yamaha, FRA, 1'24.158 16, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'26.123 17, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'36.120 18, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, 1'42.789 19, Cyrille Coulon, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 40'4.650 2, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'1.808 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'3.113 4, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'5.073 5, Steve Boniface, Yamaha, FRA, 0'25.684 6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'32.074 7, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'36.325 8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'39.053 9, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 0'41.808 10, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0'50.236 11, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 1'0.086 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'5.810 13, Cyrille Coulon, Honda, FRA, 1'20.009 14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'23.458 15, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'26.651 16, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'38.760 17, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'46.188 18, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'49.421 19, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, -1 Laps 20, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 231 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 225 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 212 4, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 201 5, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 200 6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 185 7, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 161 8, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 159 9, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 156 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 151 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 115 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107 13, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 104 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 95 15, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 76 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 71 17, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 65 18, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 60 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 40 20, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 27, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 269 2, Kawasaki, 257 3, Suzuki, 256 4, KTM, 241 5, Honda, 217 6, TM, 31 7, Aprilia, 1 ---------- RACE REPORT - 15/06/2008 Cairoli 10th after eventful day in France MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli could only finish tenth overall at a cloudy but warm St Jean d'Angely for the Grand Prix of France and the seventh round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM series. 30,000 spectators saw Tommy Searle take victory and the stylish Italian only able to score third place in the second moto on his YZ250F. After sealing his fifth consecutive pole position on Saturday, Cairoli seemed to have a firm hold on the track he dislikes, even if many stones were coming through the hard dirt made the terrain slippery and perilous. The 21 year old did not get the chance to show his speed in the first Grand Prix moto as a collision with Tyla Rattray on the opening corner left the Sicilian with a punctured fuel tank and he had to pull into the pitlane a lap later. Although Cairoli rejoined the fray, he was almost two laps behind and could not score any points. In the second race - keen to regain some ground to Searle, who had moved to the top of the standings - he survived a small spill in the opening stages while in second place to close to the back of his championship rival and take the lead on lap 8 of 21. Moments later he lost traction with his Red Bull Yamaha and hit the deck. Remounting in a solitary third position Cairoli would spend the rest of the race marking similar lap-times to the leader but unable to reduce the distance to the front. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin came into his home Grand Prix with a lot of expectation and a large proportion of the French crowd's noisy support. He was on the pace Saturday but would only register 5th and 10th in the two motos after a pair of bad starts cast him outside of the leading group. Aubin took part in tight scrap with three of his countrymen for second place in first race but crossed the finish line at the back of the French gaggle. A second corner crash in Moto2 meant that he had to ride hard to come through the field from 27th. Cairoli's team-mate in the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team, Matteo Bonini, was lucky to escape serious injury in the first moto when he was landed upon by another rider on the first lap of Moto1. The Italian was initially feared to have broken his wrist but his ailments were nothing more than severe bruising to his hand, fingers and also his neck. Yamaha Van Beers Racing's Evgeny Bobryshev was making his first appearance in three Grand Prix after visa problems. The Russian took his second best result of the season with 18th overall. Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri was expected to start riding the same weekend as the French Grand Prix. The Italian will attempt to win the MX2 title at Gazzane di Preseglie for the final round of the Italian championship next week and depending on his progress could make a GP return in two weeks. The standings show Cairoli now in third position and 20 points behind Searle. Aubin is fourth and 78 points adrift. Round nine of the world championship will take place at Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 10th: "This is not my favourite track! Last year it was much better, much softer but this time there were so many stones that I was actually quite afraid sometimes. On Saturday it was OK because the pace in the qualification heat was slower and I could be more cautious. The first heat was just bad luck and this type of incident can happen any time but I made two stupid mistakes in the second moto and this lost me any chance of a victory. I caught Tommy after crashing the first time and then had the lead when I went down again. I tried so hard to close the gap when I was third but the distance was too big and this track is not technical enough to be able to make big differences with the lap-times. I am 20 points behind now but the championship is long and we have many races ahead." Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 7th: "I am disappointed because I know the result could have been much better. I took a bad start in the first heat and was far back. I rode well but it was ruined by the first moments because I was too distant from the leaders. The second moto was the same. I went down on the second corner and came from last to tenth. It was a good race but not what I wanted. I cannot understand what happened and I am tired of these bad GPs. There is not much more I can say; the bike is good, my physical condition is OK I just need a decent start." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, DNF: "I got out of the gate badly and was around fifteenth. We came up to the jump and many riders in front of me did not do it, so neither did I but then someone landed on my back and sent me to the floor. It was a big crash but I think I am lucky because my injuries could have been worse. I hope I can ride in Germany." Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 39'12.650 2, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 0'5.359 3, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 0'7.497 4, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'9.622 5, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'12.952 6, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'24.987 7, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.222 8, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 0'38.869 9, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'42.134 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'45.600 11, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, 0'47.456 12, Loic Larrieu, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'48.192 13, Loic Rombaut, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'52.384 14, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'55.169 15, Luigi Seguy, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'57.940 16, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'58.827 17, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'2.077 18, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'8.520 19, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'23.661 20, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 1'31.909 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 40'3.228 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'0.635 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'14.234 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'54.544 5, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'55.787 6, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 1'26.744 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'30.453 8, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'32.218 9, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'35.106 10, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'36.873 11, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'38.820 12, Loic Larrieu, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'4.829 13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 14, Luigi Seguy, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps 15, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, -1 Laps 16, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, -1 Laps 17, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 18, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 19, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 20, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 283 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 279 3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 263 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 185 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 178 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 163 7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 151 8, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 151 9, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 133 10, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 126 11, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 120 12, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 99 13, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 14, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 15, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 92 16, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 89 17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 83 18, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 73 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 54 20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 24, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 28 25, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 28, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 17 44, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 325 2, Yamaha, 319 3, Kawasaki, 212 4, Suzuki, 192 5, Honda, 113 ---------- RACE REPORT - 15/06/2008 Prumm championship leader after second podium result Yamaha Van Beers' Katherine Prumm obtained the red plate as leader of the inaugural Women's World Championship after taking her second consecutive podium with runner-up position at the Grand Prix of France; round three of five in the 2008 competition. Double World Cup winner Prumm took her YZ250F to 3rd and 2nd positions in the two motos across the rocky terrain at St Jean d'Angely, watched by 30,000 spectators and now fronts the standings by two points with trips to Germany and Holland remaining. The 19 year old followed Stephanie Laier and Livia Lancelot in the first outing but battled with her French rival (and the many backmarkers) closely in the second moto to win the tussle for the second step. After injuring her knee before the start of the championship Prumm has steadily amassed points to reach the top of the table. Her French results were gained with the extra hassle of suffering a sprained wrist during practice. The ladies are back in action in a two weeks time at the Teutschenthal circuit. Katherine Prumm, Yamaha Van Beers Racing, 2nd: "It was good to go home and see my family after the last GP. I had spent two months largely on my own in Europe so I went to New Zealand and had some time there, won both motos in the Australian championship and came back ready for this GP. The extra training I had done paid off here. I have been trying to build up the muscles around my knee to compensate and felt more confident. I did not have the best start to the weekend on Saturday because I over-jumped a section and landed in the corner, pulling some ligaments in my wrist. I was wondering what else could go wrong this season! I got myself together and put it out of my head. I pushed hard during the races and although I made some mistakes that I shouldn't have, it was a good day and I am pleased to be leading the championship." Race 1 - 12 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 26'18.203 2, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'10.567 3, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'24.469 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'58.087 5, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 1'48.872 6, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'57.201 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 2'0.042 8, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 2'24.137 9, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps 10, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 11, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, -1 Laps 12, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 13, Kim Irmgartz, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 14, Alexandra Haupt, Kawasaki, GER, -1 Laps 15, Jenny Seidenberg, KTM, GER, -1 Laps 16, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 17, Sofia Sjoberg, Honda, SWE, -1 Laps 18, Sophia Paull, Honda, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Blandine Dufrene, Honda, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Natascha Fransoo, TM, GER, -1 Laps Race 2 - 12 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'52.269 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'3.515 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'15.085 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'21.191 5, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'52.615 6, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 1'23.138 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'31.766 8, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 1'42.372 9, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 10, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 11, Sofia Sjoberg, Honda, SWE, -1 Laps 12, Kim Irmgartz, Suzuki, GER, -1 Laps 13, Alexandra Haupt, Kawasaki, GER, -1 Laps 14, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 15, Natascha Fransoo, TM, GER, -1 Laps 16, Jenny Seidenberg, KTM, GER, -1 Laps 17, Justine Charroux, Yamaha, FRA, -1 Laps 18, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps 19, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 20, Silvia Santaga, Honda, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 122 2, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 120 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 102 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 101 5, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 100 6, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 92 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 82 8, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 80 9, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 78 10, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 63 11, Kim Irmgartz, Suzuki, GER, 49 12, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, 48 13, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 43 14, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 42 15, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 41 Manufacturer Standings 15/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 131 2, Kawasaki, 125 3, Yamaha, 122 4, Suzuki, 107 5, Honda, 102 6, TM, 19
Alex Asigno

Nina Prinz takes impressive win at Misano on YZF-R1

During the first round of the European Championship Road Racing Women’s 1000cc held at Misano Adriatico (Italy) last weekend, Nina Prinz (Team Yamaha Motor Germany) debuted on the R1 and took it to an impressive victory. The reigning European champion, from Mannheim/Leutkirch in Germany, had been consistently fast during all qualifying sessions and dominated throughout the weekend, even during qualifying where she competed against many men from the open class. Starting from pole-position in the Women’s round, Nina led the entire race lapping a considerable three seconds per laps faster than her rivals, some on 1000ccc machinery other on 600cc. Over the race distance of 10 laps she managed to create a comfortable 32 second gap and thus take victory with relative ease. Susie Grayson from Great Britain finished 3rd aboard her YZF-R1. With the first round completed in the women’s championship the team looks forward with confidence towards the remaining two rounds, the next being held in Assen (the Netherlands) on the 15th of June. A secondary championship that the team attends with riders; Jorg Teuchert, Andrzej Pawalec and Nina Prinz, is the German Superbike Championship (IDM) starting in two weeks time at the Lausitzring. Nina will be competing among 58 other (male) riders in a very competitive field. With the official support of the promising Nina Prinz, Yamaha is aiming to increase the popularity of female motorcycle riding and racing. Nina Prinz “This first race was really perfect! The bike worked great and we had no problems at all during any of the sessions. In qualifying it was quite difficult to put in a fast lap as it was busy on the track with 36 riders, of which only 10 were reasonably competitive. It was a nice experience to be the fastest one out there, even faster than the men in the open class. The woman’s championship is nice but the real challenge for me will be the IDM. I think I will be able to learn a lot there. I hope to score some points in IDM but it for sure will not be easy.”
Michael Galinski (Team Manager - Team Yamaha Motor Germany) “It is a great result for Nina and the team! The bike really worked perfect this weekend. During the sessions we have been working on the best set-up and it obviously worked out well, also thanks to the threaded Dunlop tyres that performed very well. Nina is very analytical and capable of setting her bike up, pretty amazing for a 25-year-old. We now look forward to the two remaining races in this class and of course the IDM Superbike races ahead. I think it will be possible for her to score some points in that class as well. We now have a three day test at Lausitzring with 30 other teams where she can get accustomed to the slick tyres for the next IDM Superbike race. We will do our very best to give Nina the best package possible.”
Alex Asigno

Corser on the podium in San Marino

Pole position starter Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) looked set for his first win of the 2008 season on two occasions at Misano but he had to settle for a second in race one and a good points score of fifth in race two after running off track and ultimately avoiding a crash. He also set a new lap record, 1'37.580, on lap two of race two, which he led for 10 laps. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) struggled hard in qualifying and the first race, finding himself only 19th after one lap. He recovered to gain six points for tenth. In race two Haga felt he had a better technical package and he made real progress from his grid position of 14th, to hold off his team-mate by just over a second. In the opening 24-lap race Corser looked on for his first win of the year in race until Max Neukirchner surprised the whole paddock by turning a tenth place in qualifying into a race win. Haga was struggling through the race and finished just behind Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) who had two great races in the points, ninth and then 15th. Race two was taken by Ruben Xaus, from Max Biaggi. In the championship itself, Haga is now fourth, on 191 points to championship leader Troy Bayliss's 259, while Corser is fifth, only six points from Haga. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) was 15th in race one and 16th in race two, while Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) just missed a point in race one and retired in race two. Troy Corser (2nd and 5th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Race one was looking really good until Max Neukirchner appeared and our whole weekend hasn't been bad in general. Our rear tyre moved about a bit more in the second race than the first, especially under braking. We had made a couple of little changes to the front suspension for the second one, but not enough to affect the rear in any way. I ran on when the bike jumped out of gear in the second and lost some time, and the chance of a second podium." Noriyuki Haga (10th and 4th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We got caught in race one when Laconi crashed and I had to avoid him so to come from so far back was not easy. Race two was better and I got good points, but it has been a very hard weekend for me. I have not been able to do the same running training I would do normally, because of my injury. In this heat it made a difference and I didn't have my normal strength." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We saw definitely that Troy is back. He had a good weekend. He worked hard and was rewarded with a Superpole win, and a good podium finish for his efforts. Nori didn't find the set up he was looking for until the 2nd race where he showed us that even when it wasn't possible to win he rode to get the best result, had he started further up the grid, the result would possibly have been more points. He is still always competitive. With six races still to run everything is still possible. Shinichi Nakatomi (9th and 15th - Team YZF Yamaha) "On Friday, we could not find the right setting, even if we tried many different possibilities. I did not have enough feeling. On Saturday, we had a much better set up. I had a good start on race and I could follow Lavilla, but I made some small mistakes. I pushed really hard. I am happy with race one. In race two, the temperature was hotter. It was difficult for me to follow the riders who have traction control, because I don't have any and I had to accelerate later than them. The tyres started to move a lot after 10 laps, front and rear. I am happy with race one because I had a lot of stress because of previous not-so-good results. Today, it was better."" Martial Garcia (Team YZF Yamaha Team Manager) "After difficult practice sessions, we found a good set up during the warm up. This result is fantastic! Shinichi finishes ninth only 19 seconds behind the winner, and in front of Noriyuki Haga. This is the opportunity to score seven points and to make a progression of one position in the championship. Shinichi had a good start in race two, but unfortunately it was black flagged because of Muggeridge's crash. At the restart, Nakatomi was blocked and it was difficult to pass. He still finished 15th, with one championship point. I am happy because everybody could see the progression we made this weekend." Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 39'27.918 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.542 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.249 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'3.028 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'5.408 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'5.518 7, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'6.202 8, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'18.279 9, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.072 10, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.132 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'28.098 12, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'34.385 13, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'34.572 14, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'34.902 15, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'39.979 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'44.669 17, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'49.290 18, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'59.304 Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 39'19.710 2, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'1.035 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'4.158 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'5.466 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'6.759 6, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'13.468 7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'15.221 8, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'16.687 9, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'17.030 10, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'17.681 11, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'21.356 12, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'28.676 13, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'31.304 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'32.339 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'33.716 16, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'34.171 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'40.638 18, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'41.136 19, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'49.699 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 1'37.580 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 259 2, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 210 3, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 207 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 191 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 185 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 151 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 148 8, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 117 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 111 10, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 94 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 82 12, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 80 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 75 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 72 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 59 19, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 24 23, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 7 24, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 7 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 323 2, Yamaha, 284 3, Suzuki, 257 4, Honda, 226 5, Kawasaki, 64 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Foret fights hard for fourth Despite finishing the first lap in 15th position, after being run wide in the first chicane by another rider, Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) battled back to finish fourth and retain his second place in the championship after seven rounds. Broc Parkes looked like a sure podium finisher until he lost the front end on lap nine of the Misano World Supersport race, dropping from second to 17th, before re-starting his stricken machine. Each of the two top Yamaha riders had started from the front row, but in a race littered with crashes and retirements, and conducted in temperatures of 33°C, few pre-race plans came to a satisfactory climax in the Misano cauldron. Parkes leaves the Misano round with both the circuit best WSS lap, set in qualifying, and the new official lap record, 1'40.187, set on lap three of the race. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had work to do after qualifying on the fourth row, but recovered his speed and composure in front of his home fans to record seventh in the race, and jump up to ninth in the championship. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) fell on lap three, after tangling with another rider. Fabien Foret (4th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I got pushed wide by another rider in the first corner and that put me way back in the order. Things could have been much better because I didn't come here to finish fourth. This morning our set-up was good but it was a little bit more difficult this afternoon. I think the bike may have been a bit more sensitive in the heat. I could not find the same rhythm after the first chicane incident. The biggest problem was at that point, but in the traffic you slow down and afterwards it was difficult to get a good rhythm again." Broc Parkes (10th -Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We got out of the gate good and put some laps together but I didn't want to keep pulling Andrew along. When I went into the last right on the ninth lap I crashed as I released the brake, and the bike was gone very quickly. I thought it was just a small front-end slide but when I got on the gas I was already on my way to the ground. I picked the bike up and the handlebar was out of position, but I continued to get as many points as possible." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "This is Misano, we know there is a narrow line here and a few people crossed it. Fabien was pushed wide by another rider in turn one after his start had been not that bad. Lascorz went into him and hit him really hard so Fabien was quite angry. I think he went to 15th place but he rode a good race from then on to get fourth. Fabien is second overall still and Broc third but it's hard to say anything about today except that we are disappointed with the results, after such good qualifying performances." Massimo Roccoli (7th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I had a hard time at the start because of my qualifying position, then getting involved in a fight with another rider. When I got past him I could make up ground. From a row further forward I really think I could have got a top five or maybe even top four finish today." David Salom: (DNF - Yamaha Spain) "I started quite good and in the second lap I was behind Foret, so I wanted to go with him. Suddenly Lagrive passed me, but he crashed and hit my bike.I couldn´t avoid crashing. It's a real pity because I am sure we could fight for a top ten finish. Luck is not with us this season." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 37'8.387 2, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'5.347 3, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'9.183 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'13.784 5, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'15.863 6, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'15.967 7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'21.689 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'24.070 9, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'26.075 10, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'30.387 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'32.578 12, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'34.648 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'36.040 14, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'37.896 15, Danilo Marrancone, Yamaha, ITA, 0'40.167 16, Roberto Lunadei, Honda, ITA, 0'40.841 17, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0'40.960 18, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.302 19, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'45.275 20, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'47.944 21, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 0'49.173 22, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0'49.431 23, Alessandro Brannetti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'51.984 24, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'52.547 25, Javier Hidalgo, Yamaha, ESP, 1'6.850 26, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 1'10.227 27, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'13.881 28, Attila Magda, Honda, HUN, 1'29.572 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'40.187 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 113 2, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 97 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 87 4, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 85 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 81 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 80 7, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 67 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 50 9, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 34 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 33 11, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 12, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 28 13, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 27 14, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 23 15, Mark Aitchison, Triumph, AUS, 20 24, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 165 2, Yamaha, 125 3, Triumph, 48 4, Suzuki, 36 5, Kawasaki, 35 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008 Pirro second at Misano Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) remains the top Yamaha YZF-R1 rider in the championship after a fine second place at his home round in Misano. He sits on 63 points, 21 points from leader Xavier Simeon. Race winner Alessandro Polita is only four points up on Pirro, who led the first lap and was always in contention for the podium places over all 14 laps. Claudio Corti Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was unable to match his set-up to the Misano circuit and thus finished 12th in the race, and is now 10th in the championship. Claudio Corti (12th - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I had real problems finding a set-up this weekend and that made things difficult for me today. I'm disappointed but I think there is nothing more I could have done today." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 23'37.092 2, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'1.471 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'2.382 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'5.234 5, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.999 6, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'7.826 7, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'11.349 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'13.493 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'14.110 10, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'15.238 11, Luca Verdini, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.081 12, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'17.546 13, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'18.799 14, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 0'23.705 15, Matteo Baiocco, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'23.818 16, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'25.024 17, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'29.595 18, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 0'30.075 19, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.504 20, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'38.389 21, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'38.575 22, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'39.211 23, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 0'40.034 24, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 0'49.273 25, Rene Mahr, Yamaha, GER, 0'49.442 26, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 0'50.200 27, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 0'51.785 28, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'52.191 29, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 0'59.213 30, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'12.140 31, Lorenzo Baroni, Ducati, ITA, 1'18.718 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'40.044 Rider Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 84 2, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 76 3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 67 4, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 63 5, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 59 6, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 48 7, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 40 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 29 9, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 28 10, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 25 11, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 24 12, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 24 13, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 20 14, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 15 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 14 25, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 4 Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 104 2, Suzuki, 92 3, Honda, 81 4, Yamaha, 75 5, Kawasaki, 17
Alex Asigno

Yamaha and Colin Edwards to race together for another year

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd is delighted to announce that it has signed a new one-year deal with current Tech 3 Yamaha team rider Colin Edwards. Edwards will continue to race with the Tech 3 Team alongside Briton James Toseland in 2009. The Texan has agreed the new one-year contract for the 2009 MotoGP World Championship after enjoying the best spell of his premier class career with Herve Poncharal’s Tech 3 Yamaha squad. The 34-year-old has already scored two podium finishes, four top five finishes and one pole position in 2008. He has been on the front row a further four times and is currently challenging for a top four position in the overall world championship standings. Next year will be Edwards’ fifth season with Yamaha in MotoGP, during which time he has been one of the most consistent performers in the championship, scoring points in all but ten of his 94 MotoGP races. Eight out of ten of Edwards’ MotoGP career podium finishes have been with Yamaha. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing commented “We are very happy to have been able to secure Colin as a Yamaha rider for 2009. We have been working to improve the quality of the total Yamaha package in the MotoGP class and in 2008 we have achieved the best combined results to date for many years. This comes down to the fact that in the Yamaha Factory Team and the Tech 3 Yamaha Team we currently have two excellent squads, with first-class technical partners, a great bike and four top class riders. Colin’s contribution to the improvement of results in the Tech 3 Team has been very important for the team and for the overall factory results. Colin has also played a very important role in the pre-season bike development for 2008 and we are very happy to have retained his skills and experience for the 2009 campaign. I hope Colin can celebrate this new contract this weekend with a top result here in front of his home fans at Laguna Seca!”
Alex Asigno

Haga Takes Second At Assen

Noriyuki Haga secured a second place for his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team after another unsettled race day for the Japanese star, with a crash in race one preventing him from a potential double points score at one his favourite tracks. In the first race Haga fell on lap two, after colliding with Ruben Xaus at the slow De Strubben left hand corner, while Corser went on to fight in the leading group for most of the race, only dropping back to fifth in the later stages and finishing 11 seconds from the win after 22 laps. The second race of the day was run in warmer conditions than the first, with a track temperature of 31 degrees, and it offered Haga a real chance to make up for his first race disappointments. He ran eventual race winner Troy Bayliss close, taking second place by a margin of 0.082 seconds. Corser experienced a drop in front tyre performance and slipped back from a possible podium finish to tenth. Bayliss won both races to extend his championship lead. Corser remains third in the championship standings, thanks to his Assen scores, on a total of 89 points. Haga holds on to sixth position, with 67 points, as thoughts now turn to the team's home race in Monza. Team YZF Yamaha rider Shinichi Nakatomi was 15th in each Assen race, scoring points both times as he battled hard in the midfield, finding a better race two set-up than he had in the opener. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) dislocated his hip after a heavy fall in race one. It is very likely he will need to sit out Monza race weekend and perhaps even the American round. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert was close to two points scores, but missed out by placing 17th in each event. Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 2nd - Yamaha Italy WSB Team) "When I overtook Ruben I touched with him and then we fell. In race two I pushed hard all through the race and when I was following Bayliss he tried to get away near the end. But I could stay with him and even caught back up with him. I was following, waiting to see where I could pass but in the last few laps he rode the corners on a tight line and had good acceleration. I am disappointed with the first race and satisfied with the second, but not satisfied enough." Troy Corser (5th and 10th - Yamaha Italy WSB Team) "Towards the end of race one the rear tyre, maybe after two-thirds distance, lost grip on the right hand side. On the long rights, onto the back straight, it was spinning but not pushing. In race two I struggled with the front tyre a bit and used it up. I had no front left at the end. It was a bit rough with a couple of riders at one point, but that's normal, just racing." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "After yesterday we were expecting really good results, but we did not have good fortune on raceday. Nori did a fantastic second race and he showed his true desire and ability to go for the win - and he was only 0.082 seconds away. Troy worked hard to find good settings all weekend, and he had issues with grip on race two. Now we go home and race at Monza next time. We would like to do what we did last year, take a double win…" Shinichi Nakatomi (15th and 15th - Team YZF Yamaha) "I had a front tyre problem after ten laps and it became impossible to push. For race two we fitted a different front tyre, and it was better, but some riders were difficult to overtake. Overall, not so good, but we took points in both races. Next event we will change the settings and go for a better position." Christophe Guyot (Team Manager Yamaha GMT94 Team) " A difficult weekend for us on balance after some high points. Davide Checa has dislocated his hip after his crash and we will have to see how he is before the next race at Monza. Sebastien rode as hard as he could but he just missed out on points." Round 4: Assen, Netherlands Track length: 4555m Opened: 1955 Fastest Superbike Lap: 1:38.355 (Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 2008) Lap record: 1'39.395 (Max Neukirchner, Suzuki) Last year's winners: Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and James Toseland (Honda) Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 36'50.907 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'2.132 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'2.179 4, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'10.919 5, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'11.051 6, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'11.979 7, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'15.184 8, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'18.395 9, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'18.634 10, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'20.699 11, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'25.759 12, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'26.064 13, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'35.582 14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'36.266 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'37.215 16, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'37.286 17, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'39.037 18, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'45.162 19, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'4.895 20, Arie Vos, Ducati, NED, 1'5.022 21, Loic Napoleone, Yamaha, FRA, 1'22.777 22, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, -2 Laps Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 36'46.238 2, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'0.082 3, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'6.336 4, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'7.575 5, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'8.011 6, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'13.999 7, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'15.215 8, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'16.376 9, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'17.269 10, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'18.380 11, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'18.926 12, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'21.452 13, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'23.794 14, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'29.847 15, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'30.252 16, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'31.249 17, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'31.328 18, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'39.814 19, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'49.956 20, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'51.554 21, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'51.642 22, Loic Napoleone, Yamaha, FRA, 1'2.682 23, Arie Vos, Ducati, NED, 1'2.729 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 1'39.395 Rider Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 178 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 108 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 89 4, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 85 5, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 81 6, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 67 7, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 66 8, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 54 9, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 48 10, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 42 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 41 12, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 39 13, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 37 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 35 15, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 28 21, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 9 22, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 5 23, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 3 Manufacturer Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 190 2, Yamaha, 126 3, Suzuki, 113 4, Honda, 109 5, Kawasaki, 37 ---------- RACE REPORT - 27/04/2008 Foret and Parkes Almost There At Assen Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes, both from the Yamaha World Supersport Team, were tantalisingly close to a podium finish apiece at Assen, after a classic high-speed multi-rider battle for the win, which finally went to Andrew Pitt. Foret was only 0.201 seconds from victory itself, in fourth place after 21-laps. He had fought through from a bad start, completing the first lap down in 13th place. Parkes finished only 0.283 seconds from the win and his fifth place means that both riders scored good points in the championship chase, after starting from the front row of the race. Parkes had to ride with a fractured left hand, after a Friday practice crash, and battled manfully in the first few places for almost the entire race, even after losing power from his left hand as the race progressed. In the championship Parkes is third on 49 points, Foret is fourth on 46 points, with leader Joan Lascorz on 70, after taking third place today. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) fell from his machine on lap two, while sitting inside the top ten places. Yamaha Spain riders Angel Rodriguez and David Salom left Assen without any points, as Rodriguez crashed on lap 9, while ranked 11th, and Salom just missed a point by finishing 16th. Fabien Foret (4th - +0'0.201 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I had another bad start and my fault, I don't know why. I had to push very hard and that made the tyres wear more. I don't think I found the perfect machine settings, and I am not sure if I made the right choice of front tyre. It may have been better with the other one I considered today, but it is always easy to speak about what could have been after the race. The fourth place is not so bad, and the championship is long. It will be better in the next tracks. No big drama today but I expected something better." Broc Parkes (5th - +0'0.203 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It was chaos out there today and everyone just wanted to go at each other. At one stage, lap ten maybe, I felt not too bad then after that my hand just started to get more and painful and once the tyres started to go I couldn't move around like I wanted to, I just had to sit on and ride it. Even with a painkiller you just can't use your hand properly when it's injured. The worst parts were during braking. I just couldn't do what I wanted to. A good race, but we always want to be on the podium. I actually thought there were a couple of more laps to go because everyone had their pit boards out at the same time, so I could hardly see my own one!" Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "Some race for sure, and a there was a big line up of riders fighting for the win. We are little bit disappointed not to be on the podium, but our main rivals were fast all the time in the whole race so we have to accept that we were fourth and fifth. Fabien still struggled a bit settings wise, and Broc with a broken hand, so what can we say about finishing so close to the podium places? A lot of good riders finished behind us. David Salom: (16th- +0'27.619 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) "In the start I´ve been beaten by two riders. It was like starting all over again from the 19th position. I didn´t feel comfortable during the race, I couldn´t find my rhythm. It´s a pity because this is my third race just out of the points" Massimo Roccoli (DNF - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I was happy with the way the bike was set-up after the warm-up this morning. I was running well after the first lap and feeling calm and ready for a long race. Then I lost the front on one of the fast right-handers and that was me finished, because the bike went ever and over in the gravel." Angel Rodriguez: (DNF - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) "My start was not so bad, I was fightingwith the riders ahead but in the final line I´ve braked too strong and I crashed. It´s a shame because I had a good rhythm and my bike, my tyres and team had worked very strong to achieved a better result" Round 4: Assen, Netherlands Track length: 4555m Opened: 1955 Fastest Supersport lap: 1:40.130 (Gianluca Viziello, Honda) Lap record: 1:42.096 (Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda) Last year's winner: Kenan Sofuoglu, (Honda) Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 36'10.751 2, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'0.014 3, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'0.150 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'0.201 5, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.283 6, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'0.447 7, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'2.050 8, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'2.346 9, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'2.714 10, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'3.073 11, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'4.070 12, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'4.863 13, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'5.088 14, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'16.644 15, Ilario Dionisi, Triumph, ITA, 0'21.630 16, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'27.619 17, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'27.773 18, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0'27.898 19, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 0'39.320 20, Mirko Giansanti, Honda, ITA, 0'39.321 21, Kev Coghlan, Honda, GBR, 0'41.111 22, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'46.341 23, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 0'48.878 24, Ron van Steenbergen, Honda, NED, 0'56.714 25, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 0'57.194 26, Jurjen Uitterdijk, Yamaha, NED, 1'7.115 27, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 1'8.851 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 1'42.130 Rider Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 70 2, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 50 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 49 4, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 46 5, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 43 6, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 41 7, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 39 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 28 9, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 26 10, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 20 11, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 20 12, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 19 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 17 14, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 16 15, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 15 19, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 95 2, Yamaha, 71 3, Triumph, 25 4, Kawasaki, 20 5, Suzuki, 19 ---------- RACE REPORT - 27/04/2008 Pirro scores first podium of the season Michele Pirro was second in today's race with an impressive ride on a Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni YZF-R1. It was his first podium for 2008 after strong performances and two podium finishes in the previous season. The young Italian was the top finishing Yamaha rider after Sylvain Barrier (YZF Yamaha Junior Team) crashed at post 15. Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team rider Claudio Corti looked set for this first race win of the season but finished the weekend on a low after crashing out on lap ten of the Assen circuit. Michelle Pirro (2nd - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I have to learn to start better and to take advantage of having a clear track in front of me because I can lap very fast and make it difficult for the guys to keep up. There is much risk in the field with lots of contact between riders. I'm very happy because I didn't make any mistakes and I've taken a very important podium for the championship." Claudio Corti (DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I'm sorry for the team as the bike was working perfect. It was the worst moment for the crash. I'm sorry I made the mistake but we will be in front at Monza on track." Race 1 - 13 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 22'24.450 2, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'0.904 3, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'2.848 4, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'4.811 5, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'5.481 6, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 0'9.544 7, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'16.932 8, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'17.289 9, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'17.672 10, Marko Rohtlaan, Honda, EST, 0'19.588 11, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'19.898 12, Matteo Baiocco, Yamaha, ITA, 0'23.074 13, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 0'25.288 14, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'25.595 15, Yoann Tiberio, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'29.279 16, Rene Mahr, Yamaha, GER, 0'30.097 17, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 0'31.915 18, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 0'37.255 19, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'38.303 20, Ronald ter Braake, Honda, NED, 0'40.461 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'42.076 Rider Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 34 2, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 32 3, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 30 4, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 28 5, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 26 6, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 25 7, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 11 8, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 11 9, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 10 10, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 10 11, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 9 12, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 8 13, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 7 14, Marko Rohtlaan, Honda, EST, 6 15, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 6 22, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 38 2, Suzuki, 36 3, Honda, 34 4, Yamaha, 31 5, Kawasaki, 2
Alex Asigno

Haga takes win number two

Noriyuki Haga overcame some early weekend set-up issues to power his way to a superb race two win for his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team at their home track of Monza. Having already scored second in the first race this was Haga's best weekend of the year so far and pushed him further up the championship table. He now sits third overall, on 112 points. In the first race Haga pushed hard in the early laps, taking the new lap record of 1'45.882, beating his previous 2007 recordas he brought himself forward to join what had been a breakaway trio of eventual winner Max Neukirchner, Yukio Kagayama and eventual third place rider, Troy Bayliss. Haga was in contention for race two almost from the start, taking the lead over the line on lap three, and after some close action riding with Neukirchner and Ryuichi Kiyonari, he held Kiyonari off over the line, with Neukirchner second, by only 0.009 seconds. Corser had a tough weekend at Monza, starting well in race one but slowly dropping back to 12th. In race two he was in more competitive form but a close moment under braking with another rider saw him run wide at the first chicane and lose places. He finished eighth, and is now sixth overall, on 101 points. Team YZF Yamaha rider Shinichi Nakatomi was 13th in race one and 12th in race two, in two 18-lap contests with a host of non-finishers. This was also Nakatomi's best race of the 2008 season so far. Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) scored points in each race, posting 15th and 14th places. The team's stand in rider Michel Beck acquitted himself well, finishing race one 19th and race two 15th, scoring a point in only his second ever WSB Championship race. Noriyuki Haga (2nd and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In the first race I tried to ride 100% but the feel was not really there. We had a team meeting and we altered the chassis settings and suspension for race two. We got a better feeling and I could push everywhere. I could not calculate for the last few laps I just knew I had to keep in front of everyone. On the last lap I tried to brake hard into the last corner and then passed Kiyonari. I am really happy today because everybody in the garage made a good job, so my thanks go to them." Troy Corser (12th and 8th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "I struggled to get a good set-up today and the bike didn't feel as fast as we hoped it would. The bike felt unbalanced so I found it difficult braking into corners, the tyre seemed to spin up more on exit making it harder to drive out. I just couldn't get comfortable with it. The bike was better in race two but it didn't really feel better." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "An unbelievable win for Noriyuki. His fender was touching his wheel and that was why we saw smoke coming from his machine a couple of times. We were all worried it was something else at one stage! We made the machine shorter between races and it seemed that the tyre was rubbing, but only sometimes. Nori rode really well today and we worked well to give him a winning bike. Troy had some problems that we could not get right for raceday. A huge thank you to everyone on the Yamaha team, we worked really hard at Monza this year, I'm very proud of the team." Shinichi Nakatomi (13th and 12th - Team YZF Yamaha) "We changed the settings on the bike to make it easier. I made a mistake and lost positions in race one. In race two I had a good start but after five laps the rear tyre started to drop off. So we need to work on the electronics and the suspension to balance this." Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 32'2.851 2, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'0.058 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'0.672 4, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'0.771 5, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'3.869 6, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'5.995 7, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'8.788 8, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'9.374 9, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'10.667 10, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'10.771 11, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'12.180 12, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'14.719 13, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'32.734 14, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'36.550 15, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'36.607 16, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'52.464 17, Luca Morelli, Honda, ITA, 0'56.929 18, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'27.543 19, Michael Beck, Yamaha, USA, 1'28.342 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 32'7.576 2, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'0.009 3, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'0.051 4, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'4.489 5, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'10.272 6, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'10.376 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'10.496 8, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'12.498 9, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'19.429 10, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'26.373 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'26.544 12, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'26.895 13, Russel Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'27.761 14, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'29.661 15, Michael Beck, Yamaha, USA, 1'29.001 16, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, -3 Laps Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'45.882 Rider Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 194 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 116 3, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 112 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 111 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 107 6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 101 7, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 90 8, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 65 9, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 65 10, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 59 11, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 55 12, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 54 13, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 49 14, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 41 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 35 20, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 16 23, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 6 24, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 5 Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 217 2, Yamaha, 171 3, Suzuki, 158 4, Honda, 135 5, Kawasaki, 44 ---------- RACE REPORT - 11/05/2008 Foret wins in style at Monza Both Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes posted heroic performances in race conditions at Monza, with Foret taking his first win of the 2008 season, by 1.199 seconds, and Parkes finishing third. Parkes was unsure if he could even ride at all on Wednesday, so his podium finish, his second of the year, was an impressive performance from the tough Australian rider. Foret pulled through from fifth after an imperfect start to overhaul early leaders Josh Brookes and Parkes, and after taking a firm grip on the lead on lap nine the winning result was never really in doubt. Parkes had a pretty lonely race after putting up a spirited defence of his early leading position, fighting with Brookes for much of the time. He finished only six seconds from victory, and five seconds ahead of the next best rider, Andrew Pitt. Foret's win places him second in the championship on 71 points to Joan Lascorz's 77, with Parkes third on 65. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a fighting ride at his home track, taking seventh after riding in a group of warring riders, looking for fourth place. Yamaha Spain rider Angel Rodriguez had a solid tenth place but his team-mate David Salom just missed out on a point again, going 16th for the second race in succession. Fabien Foret (1st - 29'38.261 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I am very pleased to win here. After a tough time in round one at Qatar, I needed points - but I also wanted to win. This was my race; I love this track. I was a bit nervous after problems with my start in previous races so I didn't push it for a bit, but then it started to happen for me. I tried to push every lap from then on. There is still a long way to go in the championship but I am very happy with the win. A big thanks to the team!" Broc Parkes (3rd - +0'6.736 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I had an accident on my mountain bike a short while ago and my arm's still quite sore. That made it very difficult today. It was good for the first half of the race, but then it just got harder and harder to push under braking and during changes of direction. Considering how things were a few days ago, I'm happy to take the points and move forward." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "We are very happy of course with Fabien's first win. He deserved it at the first race in Qatar, because he was fighting so hard for that first win in February, but it didn't happen. He had the whole package to win today and he made the most of it. We took lots of points from Lascorz and the championship is open again. Broc had a brave and fast ride. He tried to pull away to let him relax a little on the final laps but he couldn't, just because of his injured arm. A first and third today was a good result for the whole team." Massimo Roccoli (7th- +0'11.757 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "The race was not great and not bad, but for sure I could not get to the pace of the top three guys today, they were just too fast. I was a little disappointed not to get to the front of the group I was racing in at the finish." Angel Rodriguez: (10th - +0'15.175 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) "Since yesterday I started to feel pain in my forearms. During the race, 6 or 7 laps to go, it was painful again so I settled for the 10th position. I didn't want to risk another crash like Assen, today it was important to finish. I tried to follow Lascorz but he had a little more rhythm and escaped, but at the end we finished almost together. Everything has been OK, team and bike has worked well." David Salom: (16th- +0'46.152 - Yamaha Spain World Supersport Team) "I was fighting with a riders group and I couldn't escape them. The rear tire slid a lot and it was impossible to find a rhythm. But anyway I think it would have been difficult to escape. In the last laps I was very slowly because we were fighting with each other so much." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 29'38.261 2, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'1.199 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'6.736 4, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 0'11.398 5, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'11.477 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 0'11.716 7, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'11.757 8, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'12.186 9, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'14.847 10, Angel Rodriguez, Yamaha, ESP, 0'15.175 11, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'21.256 12, Cristiano Migliorati, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'24.899 13, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'25.077 14, Vesa Kallio, Honda, FIN, 0'25.160 15, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'26.429 16, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'46.152 17, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'46.160 18, Mirko Giansanti, Honda, ITA, 0'46.192 19, Danilo Dell'omo, Honda, ITA, 0'46.262 20, Kev Coghlan, Honda, GBR, 0'46.327 21, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'46.509 22, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 0'57.599 23, Gregory Leblanc, Honda, FRA, 0'58.057 24, William De Angelis, Honda, ITA, 0'58.415 25, Lorenzo Alfonsi, Honda, ITA, 1'11.614 26, Luka Nedog, Honda, SVN, 1'19.957 27, Gergo Talmacsi, Honda, HUN, 1'19.985 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 1'50.430 Rider Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 77 2, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 71 3, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 65 4, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 63 5, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 63 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 49 7, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 41 8, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 39 9, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 28 10, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 26 11, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 25 12, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 20 13, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 20 14, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 20 15, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 19 19, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 115 2, Yamaha, 96 3, Triumph, 30 4, Kawasaki, 24 5, Suzuki, 19 ---------- RACE REPORT - 11/05/2008 Yamaha contenders taken out at Monza A promising race at Monza for top Yamaha qualifier Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) and his fellow R1 runners was ended at the first chicane, in a double crash, which also put out Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni YZF-R1) and Sylvain Barrier (YZF Yamaha Junior Team). No fewer than 11 riders were halted by the results of these crashes, with Corti and Pirro hit by a bike that ran across the infield as another incident took place behind. Claudio Corti (DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I'm very depressed about this result because we were set for a good race until I got taken out. After a no score at Assen as well, the championship has become very difficult. We will try our best to get back into contention from Germany onwards." Michelle Pirro (DNF - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "After the first corner crash behind me I thought I had got away with it at the front, but then a Ducati came across the grass and knocked me off. The bike bashed into my groin and stomach very hard and that was it finished." A fantastic ride at Monza in the Superstock 600 European Championship for young YZF Yamaha Junior Team star Loris Baz. Having qualified on pole, the talented young rider went on to take the chequered flag at Monza in his debut season. This was his second win of the year, adding to his Valencia victory. Baz leads the championship with 61 points, a 19 point lead over second placed rider Daniele Beretta. Race 1 - 11 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 20'14.707 2, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'2.109 3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'2.147 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'6.656 5, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'10.849 6, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 0'11.070 7, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'11.143 8, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'14.501 9, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'15.802 10, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 0'16.593 11, Aldo Aldrovandi, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'19.172 12, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'19.315 13, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'28.267 14, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 0'28.874 15, Jonathan Gallina, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'29.029 16, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 0'39.472 17, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 0'41.145 18, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 0'43.629 19, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 0'44.176 20, Robert Gianfardoni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'44.609 21, Cameron Stronach, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'56.517 22, Denis Sacchetti, MV Agusta, ITA, 1'20.649 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 1'49.418 Rider Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 57 2, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 42 3, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 38 4, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 34 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 30 6, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 29 7, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 28 8, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 18 9, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 17 10, Fabrizio Perotti, Suzuki, ITA, 15 11, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 15 12, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 13 13, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 11 14, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 10 15, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 9 27, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 2 Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Suzuki, 61 2, Honda, 54 3, Ducati, 54 4, Yamaha, 42 5, Kawasaki, 7
Alex Asigno

Seventh heaven for Rossi as he takes runaway Mugello victory

Valentino Rossi brought the house down once again in Mugello today with an emotional seventh straight victory at his home track in front of 96,000 adoring fans. It was the Fiat Yamaha Team Rider's ninth win in total and fifth for Yamaha at this track and also his third win in a row this season, the first time he has won three consecutive races since 2005. His 91st victory is also a first for Bridgestone at this track. Starting from pole for the first time in almost a year, Rossi set nerves on edge when he slipped a few places at the start, exiting turn one in fourth. He soon passed his compatriot Loris Capirossi however and crossed the line for the first time hot on the heels of Stoner and Pedrosa. Lap three saw him pass Pedrosa and then Stoner next time around, leaving him in the lead. From then on it was the Italian's race and he stretched the gap to more than three seconds at one point, before rolling off slightly in the later stages as the temperature increased. He eventually crossed the line 2.201 seconds clear of Stoner, with his army of yellow-clad tifosi singing him home from the hillsides before invading the track, as is tradition here, and swarming under the podium. It was a day of contrasts for the Fiat Yamaha Team as Jorge Lorenzo, in his 100th Grand Prix, slid out of the race on lap seven when looking strong in sixth place. Rossi is now 12 points clear of Pedrosa at the top of the championship and Lorenzo is 16 points off him in third. The team now heads directly to Barcelona for the Catalunya Grand Prix in just seven day's time. Valentino Rossi 1st 42'31.153; "After winning the championship, winning at Mugello is the next best thing for me and once again today it was like a dream. There is no way to describe the feeling I have standing on the podium in front of all of my fans here and I am so happy that I could win once again today. To win for the seventh time running at my home track is amazing but I felt quite a lot of pressure about this, so it's a relief as well because I didn't want to disappoint everyone! It's been a hard weekend for everyone because of the bad weather and the lack of dry track time, but my crew have done a fantastic job with the bike and my M1 was wonderful today. Once I got to the front I was able to make a gap from the others but towards the end it was unbelievably hot and it became quite hard to ride. I wanted to ease off a bit but Casey was pushing hard behind so I had to keep going. Thanks to all of my team, to the engineers and of course to Bridgestone! I'm really glad that I've been the one to give them their first win at this track and they did a great job today because my tyre worked virtually the same from start to finish. It's been a fantastic day, it's always one of the best moments of the year for me and now we've made a bit more of the gap at the top of the championship so things couldn't be better. Honestly after this weekend I think I would like to go to bed for five days but now we have to go straight to Barcelona!" Davide Brivio Team Manager; "We did it! There has been a lot of pressure on us this weekend because everyone has been talking about Valentino's six wins in a row and expecting him to make it seven, and I think everyone in the team has felt it. Well done to all of them for keeping focused throughout and providing Valentino with the tools to do the job; what a job he did! It's wonderful to watch him ride like this at Mugello it seems no one can stop him here. We've had three wins in a row but there's no time to relax as now we go straight to Barcelona for what we know will be another big battle." Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo had a disappointing 100th Grand Prix today, crashing out of the Italian round of the championship on lap seven when running strongly in sixth place. Lorenzo, who is still not quite at 100% after suffering two fractured ankles in China one month ago, had struggled all weekend to find a good set-up, hampered by the lack of dry track time after losing Friday and Saturday morning to rain. Starting from seventh however he seemed to have found a better rhythm and was lapping as fast as the leaders when he made a mistake at turn ten, lost the front and slid into the gravel trap. It was a frustrating end to the weekend for the young Spaniard who was hoping for more after already having taken three poles, a race win and three podiums since he joined Yamaha at the start of the season. Jorge Lorenzo DNF; "We have had a lot of problems this weekend but today for the race I was feeling very motivated and I got a good start. I think I could have fought for the podium and I can only say sorry to my team and to all of my fans; it was my mistake. I shouldn't have tried to pass Dovizioso in this corner, it wasn't the right place and I will learn from it. I am not worried about my mental condition though and I am now focused on Catalunya. Montmelo is coming and this is a good thing because I only have to wait five days until I can ride the bike again. In China we had to make some changes to the bike to enable me to ride in my condition and since then maybe we haven't been exactly right with the set-up, but now we know where the problem is. Congratulations to Rossi, he was the best today!" Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager; "Unfortunately this weekend has been very difficult for us and we weren't able to improve the set-up of the bike enough. We made some changes in the warm-up however and it seemed Jorge had a better pace during the early laps than he has had all weekend. It's a pity that he crashed but these things happen! Now we have to analyse all of the data from this weekend in order to find the right set-up for Barcelona so that we can give Jorge a good package for his home race. Thanks to all the team for doing a great job in difficult circumstances, unfortunately it wasn't to be this weekend but we're going to try to make up for it in Montmelo." Masahiko Nakajima Team Director; "We have felt a lot of pressure here because we wanted Valentino to be able to continue his winning streak and we were worried that, if we lost, the Italians would be very angry with us! We made a huge effort and we are very happy because we have achieved one of the most important objectives of the early part of the season. Now we have many others to achieve and we have to find more energy for Catalunya next week. It's clear that the Bridgestone and Yamaha combination and cooperation is well matched now and we have a lot of confidence in our bike. On behalf of Yamaha I would like to congratulate Valentino and all of the team staff." "I am very sorry for Jorge's crash. We know that from Shanghai onwards he has had a very hard time, even if at the last two races he has been able to get great results, and due to this we've lost the direction for the bike setting a little bit. Also here in Mugello unfortunately we didn't have enough dry conditions to find the right set-up. Despite today however we believe that we can improve this situation and find the right way forward and I know that we will be able to give Jorge a very good bike for his home race in Barcelona next week." Tech 3 Yamaha celebrate double top six finish in Mugello Colin Edwards and James Toseland catapulted the Tech 3 Yamaha team into third place in the coveted Team World Championship standings today after both produced fantastic top six results in front of 96,252 fans at the Italian GP. Edwards produced by far his best Mugello result with fifth place, beating his previous best effort of ninth after he completed a terrific fightback from ninth place in the early stages. No less impressive was the performance of rookie James Toseland, who finished just one place further back in sixth on his first visit to the challenging Mugello circuit. Displaying his trademark aggressive riding style, Toseland's surge through the field was one of the highlights of the 23-lap encounter as he passed the likes of Shinya Nakano, Nicky Hayden, Andrea Dovizioso, Loris Capirossi and Edwards. From lap seven to 15, a fascinating inter-team battle ensued as Edwards chased Toseland, before the American made his decisive move to secure his third top five finish in the last four races. Toseland's heroics moved him back into the top eight in the overall rider standings and equalled his previous best MotoGP result. Colin Edwards 5th +12.530; "I didn't get a great start but it wasn't that bad but before I knew it I'd lost a couple of places. I didn't have the grip in the first two laps that some of the other guys did, so I couldn't stay with them off the corner. Once my tyres started to come in I really started to feel good, but I had to adjust my riding style with the temperature being so much higher than yesterday. The rear was coming round a bit on the entry of the corner and I started braking a lot harder, carrying less corner speed to try and conserve the tyre by picking the bike up and accelerating. It worked and I've got to say I'm happy with fifth. I'm happier with fifth here than I was with third in Le Mans to be honest. I expected to win at Le Mans, but my best result here has been a ninth. I'm not a guy that likes fifth, but on my biggest bogey track ever I'll take it. We just had to run a tyre that we thought would have good endurance because in a situation where there's hardly been any dry track time, you have to play safe. Nobody had done any endurance testing on tyres and I think the tyre I raced on I'd done about two laps on before the race! I have to say a big thanks to Michelin because they did a great job. We had no idea what the tyre would be like after 20 laps but to come from where I did showed we made a good choice. Tyre choice is critical at any track but here even more so because it is such an abrasive surface. It will destroy tyres if you are just a little bit off, so credit to Michelin. I had a good battle with James and its great to see him back in the top six. There were a couple of places like the two Arrabbiata corners where he could pull away. I felt like I could control him if I could pass him, and the key was getting by and being able to pull a gap so he couldn't slipstream back by me. It is another great result for the team today. I'm sure if you had said to Herve that our team would be third in the team points after six races he would have taken it." James Toseland 6th +13.806; "That was a really hard race and I've got to say a massive thanks to my guys at Tech 3 because we found a set-up this morning after losing so much time with the weather and it got me in the top six. Considering the lack of dry time track time my Michelin tyres held up fantastically well too, so a big thanks to them as well. I couldn't have done anymore. I was really close to Shinya Nakano in the first corner and that picked me up and I lost quite a few places. I kept my calm because I knew it was a long race and I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did in Le Mans. I just had to settle down and I didn't do anything stupid. It's nice to follow Colin home on the same package. Colin did a great job as well. I passed him early on but he found his pace. I held him towards the end but he just found those extra few tenths a lap and that was enough for him to pass me. You can tell he has got a lot of experience on these bikes and his bike doesn't do move so much. I feel like I'm wrestling mine a bit too much but I'm still learning. With the setting I had the bike wasn't so stable on the faster corners but my bike is one of the best out there and thanks to Yamaha. I rode hard in that race and if I was riding this hard and finishing fourteenth my morale would be seriously dented, but when I'm riding really well and the package is working well, I'm back in the top six again and this is where I need to be." Herve Poncharal Team Manager; "I am very pleased with today and I couldn't have asked for more from Colin and James. Mugello has been a tough track for Colin and this was his best result by far. The first two laps he lost a few positions but he regained them and he rode a really clever and consistent race. I think honestly today fifth and sixth were the best results we could have reached. I'm even happier about James because he's had some problems in the last couple of races. We never lost confidence in him because he is so motivated and you could see he was not happy with his results. We saw his fighting spirit at the start of the race and his very strong point, which is his aggressive passing, came to the fore again. At the end we were a bit scared when we saw Loris catching up but he kept concentrated and didn't make any mistakes. We leave Mugello with a really strong and positive spirit. Now we are third in the team championship, which is a great achievement for all of the guys.Only two factory teams are in front of us and this is very encouraging for us because we had a lot of pressure here. A lot of current sponsors and potential future sponsors were here, so I think we did a great job to show our potential. Congratulations to Yamaha again for winning that race and for being that strong, they have been magnificent this season." Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 42'31.153 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 0'2.201 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'4.867 4, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'6.313 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'12.530 6, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'13.806 7, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'14.447 8, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'15.319 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'15.327 10, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'30.785 11, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'39.621 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'50.021 13, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'50.440 14, Tadayuki Okada, Honda, JAM, 0'58.849 15, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'0.736 Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 122 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 110 3, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 94 4, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 76 5, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 58 6, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 51 7, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 44 8, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 43 9, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 40 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 35 11, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 31 12, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 26 13, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 24 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 24 15, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 24 Team Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 216 2, Repsol Honda Team, 150 3, Tech3 Yamaha, 101 4, Ducati Marlboro Team, 100 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 82 6, Honda Gresini, 59 7, JIR Scot Team, 44 8, Team Alice, 36 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 32 10, Honda LCR, 18 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 140 2, Honda, 110 3, Ducati, 81 4, Suzuki, 54 5, Kawasaki, 29
Alex Asigno

Knee injury curtails 2008 campaign for Cairoli

MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli has undergone surgery on his left knee after scans yesterday in Belgium revealed a damaged ACL. Renowned specialist Dr Claes performed the successful procedure and the repercussions of the injury sustained last weekend in South Africa and the subsequent recovery period mean that the 2008 series is over for the unlucky Sicilian. Cairoli twisted his knee trying to keep control of his YZ250F after being touched negotiating a crowded fourth turn on the first lap of round ten in Nelspruit last Sunday. Despite a lot of pain, early signs appeared not to be too bad with little inflammation around the joint; the reigning number one and winner of four Grand Prix this season showed immense courage to even attempt the second moto but ultimately had to pull into the pits, unable to continue. Upon returning to Europe Cairoli had an MRI which revealed the ligament damage and immediately made a decision together with Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team principal Claudio de Carli to go under the knife and begin the rehabilitation process of between 3-4 months, with an aim to be fully fit over the crucial winter period where he will begin preparations for his assault on the MX1-GP class in 2009. “I was frustrated and disappointed after the accident with my knee in South Africa. The championship is so tight that I knew even missing just one moto was an advantage I could not give to Tommy and Tyla,” the 22 year old said. “I thought I might have some problems with the meniscus and hoped I could come back in Lommel as I did not want to surrender the title but after the scan I knew that the championship had gone for sure. Instead of trying to ride in pain or not being at 100%, I made the decision to have the surgery now and get the recovery out of the way as soon as possible.” Cairoli should be able to start walking with crutches very soon and will have a check-up next week. In less than a month he will be able to start training with a bicycle. In addition to capturing the MX1 Italian championship Cairoli has won the most Grand Prix this year and also tied with title rival Tyla Rattray for most moto victories (7 each). He is currently third in the championship, 70 points ahead of Shaun Simpson in fourth place. Cairoli joined the Yamaha De Carli Team in 2004, and he is the most successful motocrosser in the MX2 class for the last five years taking 24 GP wins and 54 moto victories on his Yamaha YZ250F, not forgetting hisMX1-GP andmoto triumph on the Yamaha YZ450F in Great Britain, 2007. In the past three years (2005, 2006, 2007) he claimed two MX2 world titles, scoring 21 wins from the 46 GPs he rode and 47 moto chequered flags from 92 appearances. He also won two European Supercross titles (UEM SX) in 2006 and 2007.
Alex Asigno

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