Jump to content

Yamaha Racing News.

Get the latest Yamaha Racing News with the Yamaha Owners Club
Show all categories
Alex Asigno
Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts continued his victorious pre-season form by taking another overall triumph at the Valance International in France yesterday. The Belgian and reigning MX1 World Champion has won every major 'warm-up' event since the motocross calendar cranked into life at Mantova, Italy in February. His fifth success in as many weeks arrived thanks to another 1-1 set of results. He holeshotted both motos and enjoyed a tussle with KTM's Mickael Pichon in the first race before defeating his great rival. In the second sprint he controlled the heat from the first turn until the chequered flag. "In the first race I holeshotted but I had a small crash after a few laps and that put me back to fourth," he said. "Two laps later I had worked my way back to second and was attacking Pichon. It was a difficult track to pass and we had a tough battle; it must have been quite spectacular for the fans! Towards the end I was able to make a pass and won the heat." "In the second moto my start was again very good," he added. "Another holeshot meant that I was able to lead from start to finish. After fifteen minutes I already had a small gap over the others." Everts has now guided the YZ 450FM to the top of the podium in Belgium, Italy, France (twice) and the United Kingdom and is perfectly placed to stretch the run into the first round of the 2006 FIM World Championships that will take place on April 1st/2nd at Zolder in Belgium for the Grand Prix of Flanders. "This was my last race until Zolder and the whole pre-season period has left me with a great feeling," he concluded. "I will train hard for another few days and then take a small break before the first Grand Prix so that my body is fresh. To start so well in Valance was something incredible. Half of the race is won with a holeshot. In the past I have been struggling but we have worked on the bike and hopefully we will have a hard package to beat for the GPs." Cedric Melotte is still recovering from his injured wrist but was able to post results of 16th and 10th. Bike it Yamaha's Julien Bill grabbed a decent 6th position in the second moto. MX1 Moto1 1 Everts 2 Pichon 3 Tortelli 4 T.Leok 5 Leuret 6 Demaria 7 S.Pourcel 8 Friebergs 9 Martin 10 Theybers 16 Melotte MX1 Moto2 1 Everts 2 Tortelli 3 Pichon 4 S.Pourcel 5 Leuret 6 Bill 7 Demaria 8 Breugelmans 9 Martin 10 Melotte
Alex Asigno
UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert finished the opening round of the 2006 World Enduro Championship with two impressive third place positions in the competitive Enduro 2 class. Making his WEC debut at the Swedish event, the former motocross rider showed that not only is he a fast learner, but that he has the speed to challenge the series' more established riders for podium positions. Placing less than one-minute behind class winner Samuli Aro on day one, Aubert managed to win one of the day's special tests while remaining smooth, aggressive and consistent. On day two the Frenchman again rode well finishing just 37 seconds behind Aro, who again claimed the class win. In finishing in third position on both days Johnny is currently in third position in the E2 world championship standings, just 10 points behind Aro and four points behind runner-up Mika Ahola. Disappointingly the season opener wasn't a good one for Australian Stefan Merriman. After injury wrecked his 2005 season the former world champion hoped to get his 2006 campaign off to a strong start but struggled to master the challenging conditions in Sweden. Placing fifth on day one Merriman faired even worse on day two and despite not making any serious mistakes on either of the event's motocross, enduro or extreme tests he placed in sixth. Johnny Aubert "It's been a great weekend for me. Finishing third on day one was incredible for me, a great surprise. I hoped to learn during the race and before the race I hoped to finish inside the top 10. I am not sure why I was so fast because I didn't make so much training in these conditions. I enjoyed day one but it is so difficult adjusting to the conditions. "Although I finished third again on day two I didn't feel as good as I did on day one. I rode consistently all day, which I think really helped me. I didn't make any big mistakes and managing to finish on the podium again is great - a perfect start to my first world championship enduro season." Stefan Merriman "The best part of this weekend for me has been the finish of the race because I have had two very disappointing days. I really struggled on both days to be honest, I couldn't ride like I wanted to on day one and just paddled my way around the tests as best I could. It feels to me like you have to ride almost out of control, with little control of the front wheel. I like to ride knowing exactly what the front wheel of my bike is doing. If I don't have a good, positive feeling from the front wheel I don't have the confidence to push hard. That's exactly what has happened this weekend, I haven't had the confidence to push hard. "I didn't have any crashes on the tests but I had several in the checks. I did try making some changes to my bike for the second day but they didn't make any real difference. No, it's not been the best of weekends for me." David Knight claimed top honours on both days in the Enduro 3 class finishing ahead of Finn Marko Tarkkala with Sweden's Bjorne Carlsson claiming third on both days. Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 1 - Sweden Circuit: Östersund Lap Record: 60' 51.650 (Samuli Aro, 2006) Race: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Aro KTM  FIN  64' 53.340  2   M. Ahola Honda  FIN  +26.720  3   J. Aubert Yamaha  FRA  +59.600  4   V. Salonen HusaBerg  FIN  +2' 9.090  5   S. Merriman Yamaha  AUS  +2' 37.550  6   F. Planet KTM  FRA  +3' 5.130  7   P. Silvan KTM  FIN  +3' 8.870  8   P. Wicksell KTM  SWE  +3' 54.350  9   R. Rihelainen HusaBerg  FIN  +3' 59.640  10   C. Guerrero GasGas  ESP  +4' 8.510  11   E. McConnell TM  GBR  +4' 15.130  12   X. Galindo KTM  ESP  +4' 25.500  13   T. Klutz Sherco  BEL  +4' 28.500  14   A. Beconi Beta  ITA  +4' 46.540  15   F. Dini Yamaha  ITA  +5' 35.980  16   G. Canova Husqvarna  ITA  +5' 58.040  17   CJ. Bjerkert KTM  SWE  +6' 16.600  18   P. Nurminen HusaBerg  FIN  +6' 31.740  19   T. Burman HusaBerg  SWE  +7' 0.020  20   A. Botturi Aprilia  ITA  +7' 4.090  Race 2: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Aro KTM  FIN  60' 51.650  2   M. Ahola Honda  FIN  +44.700  3   J. Aubert Yamaha  FRA  +1' 9.740  4   F. Planet KTM  FRA  +3' 2.580  5   V. Salonen HusaBerg  FIN  +3' 12.570  6   S. Merriman Yamaha  AUS  +3' 14.860  7   P. Silvan KTM  FIN  +3' 41.160  8   C. Guerrero GasGas  ESP  +3' 44.220  9   T. Klutz Sherco  BEL  +4' 16.860  10   X. Galindo KTM  ESP  +4' 44.310  11   A. Botturi Aprilia  ITA  +4' 53.120  12   F. Andersson KTM  SWE  +4' 54.450  13   F. Dini Yamaha  ITA  +4' 56.260  14   R. Rihelainen HusaBerg  FIN  +5' 0.860  15   A. Beconi Beta  ITA  +5' 5.890  16   E. McConnell TM  GBR  +5' 30.070  17   P. Nurminen HusaBerg  FIN  +5' 57.470  18   CJ. Bjerkert KTM  SWE  +6' 7.660  19   P. Wicksell KTM  SWE  +6' 11.240  20   G. Canova Husqvarna  ITA  +6' 18.390  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Aro KTM  FIN  60' 51.650 Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Samuli Aro KTM  FIN 50  2   Mika Ahola Honda  FIN 44  3   Johnny Aubert Yamaha  FRA 40  4   Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg  FIN 34  5   Fabien Planet KTM  FRA 33  6   Stefan Merriman Yamaha  AUS 31  7   Petteri Silvan KTM  FIN 28  8   Cristobal Guerrero GasGas  ESP 24  9   Xavier Galindo KTM  ESP 20  10   Thierry Klutz Sherco  BEL 20  11   Riku Rihelainen HusaBerg  FIN 19  12   Euan McConnell TM  GBR 15  13   Patrik Wicksell KTM  SWE 15  14   Fabrizio Dini Yamaha  ITA 14  15   Andrea Beconi Beta  ITA 13  16   Alessandro Botturi Aprilia  ITA 11  17   Fritz Andersson KTM  SWE 9  18   Carl Johan Bjerkert KTM  SWE 7  19   Pentti Nurminen HusaBerg  FIN 7  20   Giuseppe Canova Husqvarna  ITA 6  Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 50  2  Honda 44  3  Yamaha 40  4  HusaBerg 34  5  GasGas 24  6  Sherco 20  7  TM 15  8  Beta 13  9  Aprilia 11  10  Husqvarna 6  Enduro 1 : Sixth for Micheluz Round: 1 - Sweden Circuit: Östersund Date: 19 March 2006 Crowd: 4500 Temp: 5ºC Weather: Sunny With UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Arnau Vilanova unable to compete in Sweden due to having injured his ribs while training for the event Italian Maurizio Micheluz competed as the team's only E1 rider. Having never raced in winter conditions before Maurizio placed in sixth on both days showing that despite feeling far from at home in the cold, slippery conditions he was able to produce consistent results and finish both days comfortably inside the top 10. Finn Petri Pohjamo and Spaniard Ivan Cervantes claimed a day win each in Sweden with Cervantes claiming the lead in the E1 championship standings ahead of Pohjamo and Sweden's Peter Bergvall. Having finishing in sixth on both days Maurizio currently lies in sixth position in the E1 standings with seven rounds remaining.    Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 1 - Sweden Circuit: Östersund Lap Record: 62' 47.770 (Ivan Cervantes, 2006) Race: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   P. Pohjamo TM  FIN  66' 46.540  2   I. Cervantes KTM  ESP  +14.870  3   S. Albergoni Honda  ITA  +18.540  4   P. Bergvall Suzuki  SWE  +23.870  5   B. Oblucki Husqvarna  POL  +1' 12.150  6   M. Micheluz Yamaha  ITA  +1' 38.910  7   A. Belometti KTM  ITA  +1' 51.230  8   R. Carlsson Yamaha  SWE  +2' 0.710  9   H. Rodrigues Yamaha  POR  +2' 12.900  10   F. Georgsson KTM  SWE  +2' 15.440  11   M. Hartmann KTM  GER  +3' 35.200  12   P. Olsson Yamaha  SWE  +5' 19.130  13   L. Holm KTM  FIN  +5' 2,704.000  14   F. Blanc KTM  FRA  +6' 51.960  Race 2: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   I. Cervantes KTM  ESP  62' 47.770  2   P. Bergvall Suzuki  SWE  +26.490  3   B. Oblucki Husqvarna  POL  +27.690  4   P. Pohjamo TM  FIN  +44.910  5   S. Albergoni Honda  ITA  +48.440  6   M. Micheluz Yamaha  ITA  +1' 17.840  7   A. Belometti KTM  ITA  +1' 29.690  8   R. Carlsson Yamaha  SWE  +1' 47.640  9   F. Georgsson KTM  SWE  +2' 27.580  10   H. Rodrigues Yamaha  POR  +2' 57.330  11   P. Olsson Yamaha  SWE  +3' 43.390  12   M. Hartmann KTM  GER  +3' 48.620  13   M. Andreasson Suzuki  SWE  +4' 10.180  14   L. Holm KTM  FIN  +4' 47.360  15   F. Blanc KTM  FRA  +6 ' 11.310  16   M. Wiberg Honda  SWE  +8' 53.100  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   I. Cervantes KTM  ESP  62' 47.770  Championship standings Enduro 1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Ivan Cervantes KTM  ESP 47  2   Petri Pohjamo TM  FIN 43  3   Peter Bergvall Suzuki  SWE 40  4   Simone Albergoni Honda  ITA 36  5   Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna  POL 36  6   Mauricio Micheluz Yamaha  ITA 30  7   Alessandro Belometti KTM  ITA 28  8   Robert Carlsson Yamaha  SWE 26  9   Frederik Georgsson KTM  SWE 23  10   Helder Rodrigues Yamaha  POR 23  11   Mike Hartmann KTM  GER 19  12   Pär Olsson Yamaha  SWE 19  13   Leit Holm KTM  FIN 15  14   Freddy Blanc KTM  FRA 13  15   Matts Andreasson Suzuki  SWE 8  16   Mikael Wiberg Honda  SWE 5  17   Arnau Vilanova Yamaha  ESP 0  18   Giuseppe Gallino Yamaha  ITA 0  19   Philip Powderly TM  IRL 0  20   Emilio Comotti Honda  ITA 0  Manufacturers standings Enduro 1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 47  2  TM 43  3  Suzuki 40  4  Husqvarna 36  4  Honda 36  5  Yamaha 30
Alex Asigno
Camel Yamaha Team ready to begin title defence at Jerez The Camel Yamaha Team returns to southern Spain next weekend to begin the defence of its MotoGP World Championship titles. With Valentino Rossi taking the riders' crown for the fifth successive season, adding to both the team and manufacturers' titles in the year of Yamaha's 50th Anniversary, the factory outfit faces a tough challenge to live up to its 2005 success but the team is approaching the new campaign with optimism and fresh motivation. This will be the 20th consecutive Grand Prix at Jerez since the circuit was first used in 1987 - Assen and Donington are the only other current venues boasting a longer association with the series - and this year's opening round sees Rossi hunting for his seventh win there in all classes. Victory next Sunday would be his fifth in the premier-class and make him the most successful MotoGP rider ever at Jerez; with one more win than the legendary Mick Doohan. Colin Edwards has enjoyed limited success at the Andalucian track since racing there for the first time in 2003. His best result is a seventh-place finish two years ago but an encouraging pre-season with the 2006 version YZR-M1 has given the 'Texas Tornado' realistic hopes of producing his best form this time around. Valentino Rossi: New arrivals and new rivals Valentino Rossi defends his MotoGP title from a host of new riders this year after an influx of young talent from the 250cc and World Superbike categories. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), Casey Stoner (Honda), Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) have all demonstrated rapid progress during the pre-season tests and Rossi is looking forward to the fresh challenges they will present. "This year my main rivals have changed and the average age is much younger, so I will have to work out their strengths and weaknesses," said Rossi. "I have watched the career of Dani Pedrosa very closely since he was in 125cc and I have always been impressed by him and I expect him to be strong from the first race. Besides him, there are many different riders, manufacturers and teams that have been fast at different times throughout the pre-season so I hope that we can have some really good battles for the fans!" If Rossi needs further motivation to open his fifth consecutive title defence with a victory, he has the added target of protecting an impressive record of opening-round successes in recent years. The Italian has been victorious in round one of each of the last five seasons, all of which have ended with championship success, but he says that work must be done to improve the performance of his 2006-specification YZR-M1 at Jerez after recent tests at the same circuit. "We need to find more grip when the tyre is on the side," he explains. "At the test our speed in the corner was down considerably in some places so, where we usually have an advantage with the Yamaha, we were behind. Anyway, now the Yamaha engineers understand what has happened and they have a lot of data and information to fix it for the race. I have confidence in them, in Jeremy Burgess and in Michelin and I know that when we can use our bike at 100%, as we showed in Barcelona, it is the best bike on the grid. I love racing in Spain and I have many fans there, so I always look forward to the race in Jerez!" Colin Edwards: Driving towards success Colin Edwards is entering his second season with Yamaha, the first for him in MotoGP without a switch of team and bike during the winter. Lengthy pre-season tests, as well as valuable data gathered last year, have given the American a crucial platform for the new campaign - as evidenced by his form at the Official Test in Barcelona two weeks ago when he set the fastest time in the 'Qualifying' practice and drove away with the prize of a new car. "It's been a pretty intense few months testing and I am really happy that we've finally made it to the first race - this is where the fun starts!" smiled Edwards. "The great result at the Barcelona Test was a massive confidence boost to me and a validation of all the hard work that everyone's put in, but we have to use it as a trampoline to bigger and better things. As everyone knows, we had a bit of a setback at the Jerez test but I've said from the first time I rode the new M1 that it's a great bike and pretty much better in every way to the old one, so I have confidence that we will be okay come the race. "Jerez is a great race, it's a fantastic place to kick off the season and the atmosphere is always something special. As for the season in general, I have said that I am ready to win races and I stand by that. Of course, I've got to beat my team-mate and that's the hardest part! This is the first time in MotoGP that I've begun the season on the same bike and with the same team so I'm way ahead of where I have been every other year. I'm really looking forward to the new season!" Davide Brivio: Motivated and excited Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio has enjoyed a busy winter, with new title-sponsor Camel coming on board as well as an intense pre-season testing schedule in Malaysia and Qatar. The Italian has been pleased with the form shown by his riders despite recent problems at Jerez and says he is expecting another exciting and successful season. "Our winter programme went quite well, apart from the most recent session at Jerez when we faced a few problems," admits Brivio. "We weren't able to use the bike to its full potential but, thankfully, that was only a test and we were able to collect a lot of data that will be useful to us as we try to iron out those problems for the race. We have some ideas so hopefully they will turn into solutions on Friday morning. In any case we are very aware that this is just the first race of seventeen and it will be another long season. "As far as the team is concerned I would say they are even more motivated than last season. Obviously Valentino wants to win the title again and Colin is also very happy with the way the bike has performed in the winter. It is his second year in the team and we all want to take advantage of that. I would say that altogether the team is motivated, excited and very much looking forward to the start of the new season next weekend." Technically speaking: Daniele Romagnoli on Jerez With few hard braking points and little opportunity to fully open the throttle, the key to Jerez is about the rider's skill in picking the most effective racing line. The 4.423km track features five left and eight right hand corners with regular and quick changes in direction, meaning that the rider requires a responsive overall package and, above all, precise chassis set-up. "The most important and difficult aspect of set-up at Jerez is the chassis," explains Daniele Romagnoli, Chief Mechanic to Colin Edwards. "It is a particular circuit because the bike spends a lot of time at maximum lean and there are very few points that require maximum throttle, so the engine and the gearbox settings are not as important here as they are at other tracks. There are many high-speed corners with fast entry so the chassis has to be good, as do the suspension and the tyres. The riders need good grip at maximum lean so we work on the weight balance, spring rates and finding a good tyre." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 81 (42 x MotoGP, 13 x 500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 157 (65 x MotoGP, 32 x 500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 49 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike
Alex Asigno
World Champion Stefan Everts continued his excellent run of results in the build-up to the 2006 Grand Prix season by dominating the first round of the Belgian Championship yesterday in a soggy Moerbeke-Waas. The Belgian guided his factory YZ450FM to first position in all three motos and led the last race from start to finish. It was another confident display from the 33 year old who has now won all of the four events he has contested (the first three being the Internationals in Italy, France and Britain) since the motocross calendar cranked into life during February. Riding the new version of the YZ, Everts has already stated how comfortable he feels on the 450 and is happy with the testing programme and modifications carried out by the Rinaldi team. Combined with this recent sizzling form Everts is a sure-fire favourite going into the first round of the World Championships that will take place in three weeks time at the Zolder circuit in Belgium for the Grand Prix of Flanders. "It went well and the conditions improved during the day," he said regarding his latest success. "It had been raining before the meeting and the temperatures dropped the eve of the race so the track was frozen in the morning. It started to melt however and this meant that it was very soft and became rough. The jumps were very rutty so it was a very technical course." "Except for the first race I was happy with my riding. We made some suspension changes after that first moto and everything was great; I just got stronger. Strijbos pushed hard and then Ramon was there also, but I led the last moto from start to finish." It was a busy weekend for national motocross as most domestic series commenced their 2006 campaigns. Reigning MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli was only able to score 3rd and 7th positions at Gallarate, Malpensa for the third round of the Italian series. The De Carli Yamaha rider lies second in the standings behind KTM's David Philippaerts, but was forced to concede the runner-up spot yesterday to Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri. The young Italian's team-mate, former World Champion Alessio Chiodi, was fourth overall. In Britain Billy Mackenzie was second to Marc de Reuver (making a one-off appearance in the series) at the Cadders Hill circuit in Norfolk with results of 4th and 2nd. The Bike it Yamaha representative negotiated a bumpy track in cold conditions for a positive start to the first of eight races in the typically action-packed British competition. "At every first round of the British Championship I have either won or crashed so I was determined that I would leave with a couple of good races this time," the 21 year old Scotsman said. "I was only worried about Carl Nunn and the options for the Championship as he will be the one to beat. Overall it was not a bad weekend," he summarised. "For once it was a steady performance and taking De Reuver out of the equation I am leading the series so in that respect it was positive."
Alex Asigno
Pre-season testing draws to a close in Jerez   Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed their final pre-season test in Jerez today in front of hordes of Spanish fans, after riding thousands of kilometres during a total of fifteen days' testing since January. Following a strong showing at the Barcelona Test last week, the Camel Yamaha Team's preparations have suffered something of a set back here and both riders have been hampered by vibration problems throughout the three days of this test. Despite not making as many improvements as they had hoped today, important information has been gathered over the three days which will hopefully enable the Yamaha engineers and Michelin to come up with a solution for the impending race. The time-sheets were topped today by Ducati duo Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau, with Capirossi lapping under Rossi's pole-time from 2005 with a lap of 1'39.411. Rossi, Edwards and the Camel Yamaha Team now have the chance to relax at home for ten days before they return to this circuit for the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix on 26th March. COLIN EDWARDS (7th, 1'40.721, 82 laps) "It would be nice if I could say that we've solved all our problems today, but sadly it's just not the case and we're still struggling a bit. I think we've really gone in circles a bit here. We've changed a lot of things and we haven't really concentrated on a race simulation or the endurance of the tyre, we've just been trying to find ways to dial out the problems we have. To be honest our pace isn't bad but it's certainly not a winning pace, which is frustrating when we saw in Barcelona last weekend how great our package is when it's all working! Yamaha and Michelin have more than enough information after three days and I am confident that they will come back with something to solve our problems. Anyway, that's it for testing! I'm heading home for ten days to chill out a little bit and let's hope that the new stuff we have when we come back for the race will help us out so we can challenge for a win." VALENTINO ROSSI (10th, 1'40.907, 83 laps) "There were so many people here today, it was like a race! Of course it's really nice to have so many spanish fans, but today it's been quite difficult for me even to go from the hospitality to the team truck! Yesterday I was confident that we could find some big improvements today but honestly that hasn't happened and now I am quite worried. The vibration has remained and at the moment we don't know how to solve it. Yamaha and Michelin have done a lot of good work today and we've tried many different tyres and settings, but we are still slow. This is the last test and throughout the whole pre-season period we've always been fast and the bike has felt good, but this test has been completely different. At the moment I am not sure what will happen in the race, we'll have to wait and see. I hope that Jeremy, together with the Japanese engineers and the Michelin technicians, can use all the data they have now to understand the problem and see how to solve it." DAVIDE BRIVIO - CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR "After this test we don't know how the race will go, but it's been very important to have this chance to test before it. As the riders say, we've tried many different things and collected a lot of information. Now our engineers will have ten days to work on this and come up with some new ideas and solutions. This is the end of winter testing and we've seen that our bike can work very well at different tracks. We need to understand why this hasn't been the case here, but we're convinced we can find a way forward and we know that we still have a very good package." Like the factory team the Yamaha Tech 3 squad also had tough times in Jerez compared to the previous tests in Barcelona and Qatar. When Checa looked to challenge the top five times he crashed on a hot lap. He was taken to hospital for x-rays just to confirm he did not suffer any serious injuries. Team mate Ellison experimented with his riding style and tyres. Although he managed to eliminate chatter problems, he still needs to find a way to use his qualifying tyres come the race in less then two weeks time. CARLOS CHECA (11th - 1'41.134) "We're still improving a lot but we have a long way to go with the endurance of the tyre. It's hard to know at the moment what will happen over race distance. We've had a lot more problems here than in Qatar or Barcelona and of course this is disappointing, but we need to stay calm about this and remember that it's very early days. The bike is working well but there is a lot of work to do on the package. For now we can all relax for a short while and then finally start racing!" JAMES ELLISON (18th - 1'42.686) "It's been slow, steady progress. Every time I get to a new circuit it's taking me longer than everyone else to get comfortable on the bike and so I'm not making progress as quickly as I should, but I am getting there. The first couple of days I tried to follow Carlos and see how and learn something from him. I've been trying to copy his riding style but to be honest it wasn't really working for me. This morning I went back to riding how I've always ridden and I went second quicker straight away. Now the bike isn't moving around so much and I'm feeling more comfortable. On race tyres my pace isn't so bad, I'm feeling okay. On the qualifiers I'm three seconds down, and they're not really making much difference to my times. I don't have much experience with them and so it's taking me time to learn. I'm not that worried. It seems that I got rid of the chatter today, going back to my old riding style, so it's just the durability of the tyres that we have to worry about now. I'm looking forward to the race, I love the track, although it's been difficult to get used to with this bike because everything happens faster! It's my first race with the Yamaha and I've got to take things slowly, but I would like top ten or at least top 15. I know I am nowhere near the peak of my capabilities yet and I know I can keep improving as the season goes on. HERVE PONCHERAL - TEAM MANAGER YAMAHA TECH 3 "Unfortunately Carlos had a crash when he went out at the end of the day on a qualifying tyre. He was very fast and it was looking like a top five lap, but then he fell. The most important thing is that he's been checked out by the doctors and he's okay. We've been to four different tracks and for sure here we've had the most problems. However we're still not too unhappy because we've done a lot of laps and the pace hasn't been so bad. James has improved every day - from .44 to .42s consistently, and he's more comfortable and confident. He needs more miles before he can really start to push. I want to thank everyone for their hard work over the winter and Carlos especially for everything he's brought to the team. He's done a great job and he's pushing every step of the way. He's a huge help to the Yamaha/Dunlop project." Lap Times: 1.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'39.411 2.Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'39.663 3.Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'39.776 4.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.416 5.Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'40.468 6.Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.570 7.COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.721 8.Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'40.732 9.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'40.750 10.VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.907 11.Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'41.134 12.Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.208 13.John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.208 14.Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'41.380 15.Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'41.673 16.Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'41.761 17.Alex Hofmann (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'42.034 18.James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'42.686 19.Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'42.759 20.Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1'43.513 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'39.419
Alex Asigno
Camel Yamaha Team positive despite problems in Jerez   Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards both improved considerably on yesterday's lap times in Jerez today, but are still hard working hard with Michelin to find a way to rid the M1 of the vibration problems that they are both experiencing here. A new batch of Michelin tyres and some set-up changes brought some improvements to the package today, but the riders are still not able to use the M1 at its full capacity and are still further down the time sheets than in Barcelona last weekend, when they were both consistently fast. Shinya Nakano showed his 2006 potential on the Kawasaki by topping the time sheets with a lap of 1'40.047, nearly half a second faster than second-placed Loris Capirossi (Ducati). Tomorrow's final day of testing concludes the pre-season MotoGP programme, ahead of the first race here in two weeks time.  Valentino Rossi (6th, 1'40.915, 67 laps) "We still have quite a few problems with the vibration and this means that we can't use the bike to its full potential and make fast lap times. We've tried lots of changes to the set-up today - balance, suspension, but the problem remains. In some of the fast corners my speed is down by as much as 15 or 20kms. The good thing is that we're much better than yesterday and we've done some really good work within the team to make these improvements, but it's still not enough and some other riders are looking very strong. Luckily we still have tomorrow to try to find the solution and I am not so worried. If we still have this situation on the Saturday afternoon of the first race, then maybe we can worry but for now I have 100% confidence in Yamaha and Michelin. For tomorrow we will have some new tyres to try and then for sure Michelin will work very hard between now and the first race so that we're in a better position when we come back here."  Colin Edwards (9th, 1'41.105, 62 laps) "Yesterday we thought that the new tyres today would make all the difference. The situation is a bit better and I'm faster today, but the improvements really aren't as big as we had hoped. Basically the chatter that both Valentino and I are experiencing is acting as a speed limit to our bike - we can push so far but no more. We didn't want to turn the bike upside-down yesterday before we'd tried the new stuff from Michelin, but after today it's pretty clear that's just what we're going to need to do tomorrow. It's frustrating after last weekend to have spent two days here without making any real steps forward, so we need to make the most of tomorrow! I am sure that Michelin are going to bring some more new stuff, we'll fiddle with the settings and hopefully together we can figure it all out."  Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "We still have tomorrow left to try to find some new solutions for our problem and we're analysing all the information that we have to find a way forward. Our engineers will make some new plans for tomorrow and we will see how the situation is. Hopefully we can leave here having made some more improvements."  Lap Times: 1. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'40.047 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.544 3. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'40.791 4. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'40.839 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.859 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.915 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'40.943 8. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.954 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.105 10. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.110 11. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.254 12. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'41.561 13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'41.745 14. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'42.127 15. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'42.593 16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'42.636 17. Alex Hofmann (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'42.647 18. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'43.797 19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'43.846 20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1'45.622 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'39.419
Alex Asigno
Camel Yamaha Team begin final race preparations at Jerez test   Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their final three days of pre-season testing at Jerez de la Frontera in Southern Spain today. The 4.423 km Jerez circuit, which will play host to the season-opening Grand Prix in two weeks time, provides the last chance for the World Champion and his team-mate to perfect the set-up of their YZR-M1s before the curtain goes up on the new MotoGP season. Following last weekend's test in Barcelona, where Rossi consistently topped the time sheets and Edwards drove away with a new car after winning Sunday's wet 'qualifying' shoot-out, both riders were faced with some traction problems today and are now focused on finding a solution with tyre manufacture Michelin and the Yamaha engineers over the next two days. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was the only rider to lap under the circuit record, setting a time of 1'40.910. Edwards (1'41.730) and Rossi (1'41.861) set the sixth and ninth best times respectively. Colin Edwards (6th, 1'41.730, 68 laps) "After the highs of last weekend, today has shown us that we still have a bit of work to do before the first race. We started with 99% of the same settings that we had in Barcelona and we've only made some small changes; the bike is still working great. However we're missing traction with the tyres and now we need to get that sorted out with Michelin. We need to find the right tyre for our bike at this track, but they're working hard to do just that and tomorrow we should have something new to try. I think everyone's a bit 'tested-out' now so it's just a case of making one last big effort here, then we can all finally concentrate on the first race!" Valentino Rossi (9th, 1'41.861, 73 laps) "It's quite a big change coming here after last weekend as we have some problems and the vibration that we had in Malaysia and Qatar has returned. The problem is that the tyres that we have available to us here are not working correctly with our bike, so now we're waiting for some new race tyres for tomorrow and Sunday. We hope that with this we can fix the problem. We've worked a lot on settings and other things today in order to find a way to improve the traction, but in reality we can't do anything until we have a different tyre. We're ninth so we're not very fast! Now we have just two days to prepare before we come back here for the first race so we're going to work very hard with Yamaha and Michelin to solve the problem." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "We had some problems today to make our package work like it did last week in Barcelona, but both riders have the same problem so this make it's easier to work on the situation. We exchanged a lot of information between Yamaha and Michelin and in the next two days we will work together to find the right solution. I am confident that with the full cooperation of everyone involved, we can overcome the problem." Official lap times: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.910 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'41.176 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'41.477 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'41.499 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.680 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.730 7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'41.732 8. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.740 9. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.861 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'41.915 11. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'41.984 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'42.106 13. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'42.328 14. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'42.558 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'42.938 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'43.274 17. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'43.417 18. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'44.501 19. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'44.953 20. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) HRC, 1'45.930 Jerez Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'40.596 Jerez Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'39.419
Alex Asigno
Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts claimed his third victory in four weeks after winning both MX1 heats of the Hawkstone Park International in Shropshire, England. The nine times World Champion dominated the first of two heats in bright and sunny but cold conditions. A packed crowd attended one of the more prestigious pre-season events of the winter calendar and the dark Hawkstone sand was in its usual rough and demanding state. The circuit is dwarfed by the large hill section that sees the riders climb a near-vertical 100m slope and the gradient caught out a number of top riders as the International once again boasted an array of Grand Prix stars. For the third time since the motocross schedule began to crank into life during February, Everts beat the likes of the factory backed Honda team and the works Suzuki and KTM efforts, all housing his main rivals for the 2006 MX1 World Championship. Everts escaped the clutches of fellow Belgian Kevin Strijbos in the opening sprint and was just as masterful in the second heat as he glided past Strijbos and his team-mate Steve Ramon. A mistake on the last lap gave Strijbos more impetus to close the gap but the race was already won. A 'hatrick' could not be taken later in the afternoon as a rare fall in the 'Grand Final' (mixing the best finishers from the MX1 and MX2 classes) allowed Yamaha MX2 representative Billy Mackenzie to streak head on the YZ250F. Although he fronted the pack for the majority of the distance Mackenzie was slowed by backmarkers with just two laps to go and was caught by Strijbos and a charging Everts who plagued the Suzuki rider to the flag and was only a second behind over the finish line. Contrary to reports stating that he would miss the pre-season race programme Cédric Melotte took to the line at Hawkstone. The Belgian is still recovering from an injured wrist, but was able to wrestle the YZ450FM over the sandy terrain for eigth and fifth positions. He picked up a DNF in the Final after a collision with another rider robbed him of his rear brake.   Bike it Dixon Yamaha's Billy Mackenzie produced a good performance in his first race meeting of the season. The 21 year old slipped from second place to third in the first heat after suffering some arm-pump but confidently claimed the next heat by over twelve seconds from main British Championship rival Carl Nunn. Only a hold-up with backmarkers prevented the Scot from marking a historic triumph over the 450s in the 'Grand Final'. Stefan Everts: "I will miss this place. It is the sixth year in a row I have come to Hawkstone. I've had some great moments here and unfortunately I never got the chance to ride in the Grand Prix. I think it is a great track with a lot of potential. I enjoyed the races today and it was difficult to make the lap of honour for the last time." Cédric Melotte: "The result is not so bad because I wasn't expecting to finish all three races. In the last heat I hit someone else's wheel and the brake pedal bent under the footpeg so I could not continue. I am quite satisfied. I could not push too hard because my wrist was giving me trouble but I am confident and now need to go step by step to reach my best level. We are still working on the bike because I missed a lot of testing time." Billy Mackenzie: "I feel like I have an overall win because I managed to produce that good last race. That heat was awesome; it was such a buzz to be leading those guys. With two laps to go I was thinking about what celebration I could do over the finish line, but it never comes that easy when you are racing against the best! Just to be in front of them for that length of time felt good. I also set the fastest lap. This meeting will keep me going for a few weeks. The first race was pretty muddy and I got some arm-pump, but it was the first one of the year so that was expected. I got a top three though and I know I need to work on my consistency so I am pleased. We tweaked the bike and got rid of some of the niggly problems we would have had at Lyng for the British Championship next week." MX1 Race 1 1. Stefan Everts 2. Kevin Strijbos 3. Ken de Dycker 4. Mickael Pichon 5. Josh Coppins 6. Tanel Leok 7. Steve Ramon 8. Cédric Melotte 9. James Noble 10. Mark Hucklebridge MX1 Race 2 1. Stefan Everts 2. Kevin Strijbos 3. Steve Ramon 4. Mickael Pichon 5. Cédric Melotte 6. Josh Coppins 7. Tanel Leok 8. James Noble 9. Ken de Dycker 10. Gordon Crockard MX1 Grand final result 1. Kevin Strijbos 2. Stefan Everts 3. Josh Coppins 4. Mickael Pichon 5. Tanel Leok 6. Steve Ramon 7. Sebastien Tortelli 8. Mark Jones 9. Yoshitaka Atsuta 10. Gordon Crockard MX2 Race 1 1. Carl Nunn 2. Tommy Searle 3. Billy Mackenzie 4. Brad Anderson 5. Steven Clarke 6. Lewis Gregory 7. Jason Dougan 8. Wayne Smith 9. Oliver Sandiford Smith 10. Alex Snow MX2 Race 2 1. Billy Mackenzie 2. Carl Nunn 3. Tommy Searle 4. Wayne Smith 5. Brad Anderson 6. Shaun Simpson 7. Jim Murro 8. Jamie Law 9. Ray Rowson 10. Alex Snow MX2 Grand final result 1. Billy Mackenzie 2. Lewis Gregory 3. Tommy Searle 4. Oliver Sandiford Smith 5. David Willet 6. Ben Saunders 7. Alex Snow 8. Carl Nunn 9. Ashley Greedy 10. Dan Johnson
Alex Asigno
WSB : Two fourths for Haga in Australia Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 5 March 2006 Crowd: 55000 Temp: 25ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga battled traction problems to grab a brace of fourth places at round two of the Superbike World Championship at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. The popular Japanese rider rode hard in the day's two 22-lap races to score 26 valuable points over the two races. Haga had run at the front of the day's opening race but faded when his rear traction reduced at around half-distance. Despite running a somewhat lonely fifth for most of the race, the 31-year-old continued to ride hard to pass a fading Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and fend off a late charge from Roberto Rolfo (Ducati). Race two saw Haga make some further suspension changes to lead a thrilling battle at the front with Bayliss, James Toseland (Honda), Alex Barros (Honda), Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt. A nasty crash for Corser saw the Yamaha riders take avoiding action and let Bayliss and Toseland build a gap. The Yamaha pair was able to stay in touch with Barros in the battle for third but the lack of traction saw them settle for fourth and fifth place at the flag. Pitt was made to pay for an incorrect tyre choice in race one. The Australian chose a harder compound Pirelli tyre, which stopped him running at the same pace as the leaders in the opening laps. Stuck in a thrilling mid-pack battle for most of the race, he ended the race a subdued ninth. For race two he chose the same softer compound tyre as his rivals and was able to run with the leaders, eventually finishing fifth, just behind Haga. The Yamaha Motor France squad had a difficult weekend in Australia. Still running their 2005-specification engines, the team's only points came from former MotoGP rider Norick Abe, who took 12th in race two. Fellow Japanese rider Shinichi Nakatomi crashed out of race one, before continuing his world superbike education with 19th in race two. The team's third rider, Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert, retired from the opener with set-up problems before following home Nakatomi in 20th place in race two. Race one was won by Corser after a race long fight with Barros. Toseland finished third. Bayliss had led the opener by six seconds after obliterating the lap record on lap two. However, the Australian dropped back to eventually finish six, behind Haga and Rolfo. He gained revenge in race two, winning comfortably from Toseland, with Barros taking another podium in third. Bayliss now leads the championship on 75 points, one ahead of Toseland. Pitt leads the Yamaha riders, in fifth place with 45 points, with Haga sixth on 42 points. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I tried to push hard in both races but unfortunately at the end the tyre is gone and this means I cannot open the throttle and turn the bike properly in both races. The performance of the bike is very good at the beginning of the race but unfortunately after seven or eight laps the performance drops off quite a lot." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the first race I used a different type of rear tyre to most of the other riders and it did not work all that well in the early stages of the race. We used a different compound rear tyre for the second race and this meant that I was at least able to get away at the start, although the consistency is still not there over the race distance." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "From race one to race two we got on a little bit better, because we changed a lot of settings. We had no grip at the end of race one, sliding all the time, and lots of chatter as well. My lap times were into the 1:36s; slower than I expect. In the second race it was better but our engine was not fast this weekend so I could only follow other riders and had to catch up in the corner entries. Finally I got a 12th in race two, so we scored some points." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "We did not have the grip from the rear we wanted and that held my lap times back. It was a very difficult weekend. I pushed hard in the first race and lost the front end trying to pass another rider. We finished race two, but to score no points is disappointing." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "It has not been an easy weekend for us but in the end we have scored some good points for the championship. There is less grip here than in Qatar and both our riders have struggled for traction all weekend. We did not test at Phillip Island over the winter and although we found a little bit more today, it wasn't quite enough to allow us to run at the very front. There are a few other low grip circuits like this and we must work hard to improve our performances at these kind of tracks." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Italia) "A very bad day. We had many chassis set-up problems, and we did not find the same grip we had in January, when we were very happy with the settings. I think we did not make a good job, because we did not find a good solution. Phillip Island is a special circuit and a lot depends on weather. We have some tests before the next race and we will use our new engine, which is more powerful. Abe is mentally very strong and I know that he can come through this difficult period strongly. The others we must help to build their confidence." Race classification WSB Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1' 32.402 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 32.081 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Race: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Corser Suzuki  AUS  34' 33.545  2   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +0.450  3   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  +7.974  4   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +15.121  5   R. Rolfo Ducati  ITA  +16.292  6   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  +17.120  7   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +17.192  8   F. Nieto Kawasaki  ESP  +22.457  9   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +22.490  10   C. Walker Kawasaki  GBR  +23.176  11   L. Lanzi Ducati  ITA  +28.347  12   Y. Kagayama Suzuki  JPN  +28.413  13   R. Laconi Kawasaki  FRA  +28.833  14   S. Martin Petronas  AUS  +28.977  15   M. Fabrizio Honda  ITA  +29.122  17   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +30.955  Race 2: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  34' 33.803  2   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  +5.528  3   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +14.312  4   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +16.208  5   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +17.656  6   Y. Kagayama Suzuki  JPN  +20.832  7   R. Rolfo Ducati  ITA  +21.130  8   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +25.224  9   F. Nieto Kawasaki  ESP  +25.638  10   C. Walker Kawasaki  GBR  +26.007  11   M. Fabrizio Honda  ITA  +32.867  12   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +33.171  13   M. Neukirchner Ducati  GER  +33.211  14   P. Chili Honda  ITA  +34.314  15   S. Martin Petronas  AUS  +34.467  17   S. Gimbert Yamaha  FRA  +49.214  19   S. Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN  +49.120  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  1' 32.402  Championship standings WSB Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Troy Bayliss Ducati  AUS 75  2   James Toseland Honda  GBR 74  3   Troy Corser Suzuki  AUS 63  4   Alex Barros Honda  BRA 55  5   Andrew Pitt Yamaha  AUS 45  6   Noriyuki Haga Yamaha  JPN 42  7   Roberto Rolfo Ducati  ITA 32  8   Michel Fabrizio Honda  ITA 25  9   Ruben Xaus Ducati  ESP 24  10   Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki  ESP 19  11   Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati  ITA 15  12   Norick Abe Yamaha  JPN 14  13   Yukio Kagayama Suzuki  JPN 14  14   Chris Walker Kawasaki  GBR 12  15   Karl Muggeridge Honda  AUS 11  21   Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha  FRA 3  Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 78  2  Ducati 76  3  Suzuki 73  4  Yamaha 58  5  Kawasaki 22  6  Petronas 3  WSS : Double podium for Yamaha Motor Germany Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 5 March 2006 Crowd: 55000 Temp: 24ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes took their first double podium finish of the year at round two of the Supersport World Championship in Philip Island. The Australian riders were involved in a race-long battle with world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), with the two R6 riders breaking the lap record in the opening stages as they applied pressure to the Frenchman. Parkes demonstrated the new R6's speed by setting a new lap record on lap three, just minutes after Curtain had lowered Katsuaki Fujiwara's three year old record. Curtain passed Charpentier at MG corner to take the lead on lap five. However the two Yamaha riders succumbed to rear end traction problems in the later stages of the race, allowing Charpentier to take the win, while the Yamaha men rode sensibly to bring their machines home for valuable championship points.  Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello brought their R6s home in tenth and 13th places respectively. FIM Superstock 1000 Cup champion Didier van Keymeulen finished 14th, with Javier Fores gaining a point for 15th. Former world superbike race winner Anthony Gobert ran as high as fifth on his GMT94 entered R6 but retired with set-up problems. Charpentier's win extends his championship lead to 10 points over second placed Curtain. Parkes' 16 points for third place moves him to fifth in the standings with two of the 13 races gone. Round three of the race takes place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit close to Valencia in Spain on April 23. Prior to that, the Yamaha Motor Germany squad will undertake tests in Misano and Valencia, where they plan to have new parts to increase the competitiveness of their machines. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) I got in front of Charpentier a couple of times but every time I thought I could get a break on him, he came past again. It was close racing but always fair, because Sebastien and I trust each other. It's the first stage of race development for our new R6. So after Qatar and here, I think we can say that the first stage is going pretty well. I can't wait for the second stage - can't wait to get to Valencia now." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It's not my best result but I'm really happy to be on the podium here, because it's my first one in Australia. Having only done a lap last week this was really my first race of the season. I struggled to get my lines flowing today and I probably geared the bike a bit too low. I was able to run with Kevin and Seb in the opening laps, but when I was in the slipstream the bike was hitting the rev-limiter, which I knew wasn't good. I tried to stay with them but in the end it was better to take the third than try anything silly. I'm looking forward to Valencia as it is a track that suits my style." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am quite satisfied to finish in the top 10 in my first race at this circuit. I had a small problem with my braking, which meant that I could not brake as hard as I like into the hairpin but we have no problem with the traction and otherwise the bike was very good." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am happy to get some points today. The front of the bike was sliding quite a lot and this meant I could not push as hard as I liked in the fast corners. So, some points are definitely better than none!" Anthony Gobert (Yamaha GMT94) "I had excessive chatter in the front, but I felt like I could still get into the top five. It got so bad I had to stop. We looked at the bike and everything seemed OK, but the chatter just continued and I had to retire." Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "The early season results have gone well for us. Always our plan was to get as many points as possible in these opening races so to get three podium finishes is as good as we can expect. We expect to have our next performance step for the Valencia race and as the championship goes to Europe we must now target race wins." Race classification WSS Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1' 36.399 (Broc Parkes, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 35.291 (Chris Vermeulen, 2003) Race: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Charpentier Honda  FRA  34' 1.822  2   K. Curtain Yamaha  AUS  +1.361  3   B. Parkes Yamaha  AUS  +7.796  4   Y. Tibero Honda  FRA  +16.788  5   R. Harms Honda  DNK  +16.798  6   J. Brookes Ducati  AUS  +21.250  7   J. Stigefelt Honda  SWE  +21.344  8   D. Thomas Kawasaki  AUS  +26.309  9   C. Zaiser Ducati  AUT  +26.515  10   M. Roccoli Yamaha  ITA  +26.515  11   S. Le Grelle Honda  BEL  +29.839  12   M. Sanchini Yamaha  ITA  +34.988  13   G. Vizziello Yamaha  ITA  +36.328  14   D. Van Keymeulen Yamaha  BEL  +37.402  15   X. Fores Yamaha  ESP  +38.574  19   V. Ivanov Yamaha  RUS  +1' 15.849  20   C. Peris Yamaha  CAN  +1' 23.477  21   D. Garcia Yamaha  ITA  +1' 29.998  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   B. Parkes Yamaha  AUS  1' 36.399  Championship standings WSS   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Sebastien Charpentier Honda  FRA 50  2   Kevin Curtain Yamaha  AUS 40  3   Robbin Harms Honda  DNK 21  4   Johan Stigefelt Honda  SWE 20  5   Broc Parkes Yamaha  AUS 16  6   Kenan Sofuoglu Honda  TUR 16  7   Joshua Brookes Ducati  AUS 16  8   Massimo Roccoli Yamaha  ITA 15  9   Christian Zaiser Ducati  AUT 15  10   Xavi Fores Yamaha  ESP 14  11   Yoann Tibero Honda  FRA 13  12   Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha  ITA 10  13   Sebastien Le Grelle Honda  BEL 10  14   Dean Thomas Kawasaki  AUS 8  15   Mauro Sanchini Yamaha  ITA 4  20   Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha  BEL 2  21   Gianluca Nannelli Yamaha  ITA 1  Manufacturers standings WSS   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 50  2  Yamaha 40  3  Ducati 18    4  Kawasaki 8
Alex Asigno
Yamaha men continue to dominate on second day at Catalunya Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi clocked the fastest time once again on the second day of MotoGP Official Test at the Catalunya Circuit in Spain, after another encouraging session for Yamaha. With Rossi again setting the pace for much of the day, closely followed by his team-mate Colin Edwards, the pair took advantage of the warm afternoon conditions to continue to run through their pre-season testing programme at an impressive rate. Edwards ended the day with the fourth fastest time after briefly leading the time sheets in the closing stages, shaving seven tenths of a second off his best time from yesterday and making continued progress with the race set-up of his YZR-M1 machine. Rossi lapped 1.2 seconds faster than he had managed yesterday, closing in on lap record time as both riders prepare an assault on tomorrow's timed 40-minute session, which will reward the fastest lap with the prize of a new car. Meanwhile, Yamaha Tech 3 rider Carlos Checa continued his impressive pre-season form with the second fastest time of the day.  Valentino Rossi (1st, 1'42.477, 72 laps) "To go so fast so early in the test yesterday was the big surprise to us, so today we have just built on that and continued to make improvements. We completed some more important tests and the base setting is good now - we had a few problems with chatter earlier in the pre-season but we seem to have solved those now and today the lap times became faster and faster. I'm also really happy because, to me, this bike feels like my daughter and now I can see it is going well for other riders - Colin and Carlos both love it. Looking at the time sheets this evening of course I am in with a good chance for the new car, but tomorrow is another day and we will have to see what happens. Hopefully the weather will stay as it has done for the last couple of days and we can complete the whole programme we had planned for this test in a positive way."    Colin Edwards (4th, 1'43.388, 65 laps) "We had a few things to test today and every step we made seemed to take us in a positive direction, so I couldn't be happier really. The bike is getting better and better and we just keep improving so that is all I can ask for. The cool track temperatures mean that we can't do much for Michelin here so we're just focusing on the bike and refining the setting as much as we can before Jerez. We played with the suspension and the engine mapping a little today but we had no major dramas and the 65 laps went by really quickly. Right now I feel we're ready to go racing so it's just a case of adding the finishing touches." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Another good day for Yamaha! It is nice to see our bikes at the top end of the time sheets - the riders are doing a great job and the team are able to stick closely to the testing programme. We had some items to test for Michelin and Yamaha today - mainly with the chassis setting to try and improve the variables of the bike. We got some good information together and now we're ready for the challenge tomorrow. Really the car is not so important but it would be nice to start the year in a positive way and both our riders are ready to compete for it." Official lap times: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'42.477 2. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'43.142 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'43.245 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'43.388 5. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'43.784 6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'43.847 7. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'43.970 8. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'44.029 9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'44.246 10. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'44.369 11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'44.407 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'44.512 13. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1'44.581 14. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'45.001 15. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'45.488 16. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'45.582 17. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'45.782 18. Alex Hoffman (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'46.185 19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'48.205 Catalunya Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'43.195 Catalunya Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005 - 1'42.337
Alex Asigno
WSB : Second row for Yamaha Motor Italia pairing Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 4 March 2006 Temp: 37ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Italia duo Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga bagged second row starts during today's superpole qualifying session for round two of the Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island in Australia. Having ended combined qualifying with Haga third and Pitt sixth, the pairing was a little disappointed at being unable to maintain their positions on the soft tyres used for superpole but satisfied with their performances in race trim. After struggling to find a good balance for his R1 in yesterday's opening qualifying session, Pitt's crew completely revised the machine's settings for today's practice. Their work paid dividends with the Australian carving a massive 1.3 seconds from his Friday time in the Saturday afternoon, lifting him from 16th to sixth in the timesheets with a 1:33.567 lap time. However, on his grid deciding superpole lap, Pitt was one of the few riders not to better his time from the two one-hour sessions, losing one place with a fractionally slower 1:33.598. Team-mate Haga was another rider unable to improve his lap. His 1:33.631 superpole lap was two-tenths of a second slower than his time from regular qualifying, dropping him five places on the grid - from third to eighth. The Japanese rider had made many changes to the rear suspension on his machine in a bid to improve traction in the sweltering conditions and, despite his team working late into the night and trying many different shock and swingarm combinations, Haga was unable to find a perfect setting for his qualifying lap. The team is expected to make further adjustments this evening ahead of tomorrow's two 22-lap races. Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe starts tomorrow's races from 17th position after missing out on superpole by less than a tenth of a second. The Japanese rider continued to experience set-up problems, as did team-mates Sebastien Gimbert and Shinichi Nakatomi. Gimbert ended the day 21st after being baulked on his flying lap, while world championship rookie Nakatomi took over a second off his Friday time to end the day in 24th.   Troy Bayliss (Ducati) took pole position with a 1:32.159 lap time. Troy Corser (Suzuki), James Toseland (Honda) and Steve Martin (Petronas) complete the front row. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We've improved a lot today although we're still not quite there yet. It'll be a hard race as we're struggling for traction but, with the exception of Bayliss and Corser, I think everyone's in the same boat. We can do six or seven quick laps and then it drops off, so we'll try to improve it further overnight. I thought I did a pretty good lap, so I was a bit disappointed when I saw my time. It could be a lot worse though. Second row's not the end of the world and we can get a good start from there." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We did a good job today. We tried many different things today although the feeling is still quite similar to yesterday and we couldn't quite get a good setting for the superpole. I made a small mistake on my superpole lap but it is ok. Tomorrow we will try a few more things. It will be hard but I know that we are always stronger in the race than in qualifying." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We have less grip than when we tested here in January. Probably this is down to the increased temperature but it means that we must change the settings of the bike. We are still looking for grip. I am disappointed to miss out on superpole for the second week in a row. We are a little down on power and must try to find some improved settings overnight." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "I am not happy because 21st is not my normal position. A rider exited the pits and cut in front of me as I attacked my fastest lap and this probably cost me about four-tenths-of-a-second, so I am sorry to be so far back on the grid. We made some improvements today. We changed the brake discs and this was better, and we managed to reduce the chatter. We have to work and improve the set-up overnight though, as we have still to match our performance from our test here. The front is still moving around a lot and I am down on top speed compared to the fastest riders." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I'm not happy to end the day so far down. We have a problem with chattering, as well as some other small things. We changed the settings in the afternoon and I hope we can find some more improvements this afternoon." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "After our strong performances in Qatar we have found it a little bit more difficult than expected here. I am still confident about tomorrow though. We know what Nori can do in the race while Andrew will have a boost from riding at his home track." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "When we tested here in January we were using the 2005 tyres and although the new specification Pirellis perform better, they also create more chatter with these settings. As a result we have been almost able to match our performances with from the test but not improve on them. Because of the early start to the season we have had to use 2005-specification engines and because the level is much higher this season we have not been able to make the superpole today."    Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1' 33.019 (Troy Corser, 2001) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 32.193 (Troy Corser, 2001) Date: 4 March 2006 Temp: 37ºC Session 2 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying  2nd Qualifying   Superpole  1  T. Bayliss  Ducati  AUS   1' 33.387     1' 32.321     1' 32.321  2  T. Corser  Suzuki  AUS   1' 33.868     1' 32.991     1' 32.373  3  J. Toseland  Honda  GBR   1' 33.851     1' 33.548     1' 33.003  4  S. Martin  Petronas  AUS   1' 34.501     1' 33.566     1' 33.206  5  A. Barros  Honda  BRA   1' 33.790     1' 33.749     1' 33.373  6  K. Muggeridge  Honda  AUS   1' 34.756     1' 33.702     1' 33.571  7  A. Pitt  Yamaha  AUS   1' 34.863     1' 33.658     1' 33.598  8  N. Haga  Yamaha  JPN   1' 34.577     1' 33.441     1' 33.631  9  L. Lanzi  Ducati  ITA   1' 35.202     1' 34.174     1' 33.791  10  C. Walker  Kawasaki  GBR   1' 34.589     1' 33.945     1' 33.928  11  P. Chili  Honda  ITA   1' 34.601     1' 34.132     1' 33.998  12  Y. Kagayama  Suzuki  JPN   1' 34.461     1' 34.158     1' 34.111  13  F. Nieto  Kawasaki  ESP   1' 34.618     1' 33.784     1' 34.158  14  R. Laconi  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 35.033     1' 34.182     1' 34.492  15  R. Rolfo  Ducati  ITA   1' 34.644     1' 33.658     1' 34.719  16  I. Clementi  Ducati  ITA   1' 34.708     1' 34.089     1' 35.032  17  N. Abe  Yamaha  JPN   1' 35.010     1' 34.269       21  S. Gimbert  Yamaha  FRA   1' 34.832     1' 34.666       24  S. Nakatomi  Yamaha  JPN   1' 36.080     1' 35.039       WSS : Front row for Curtain and Parkes Round: 2 - Australia WSS Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 4 March 2006 Temp: 36ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes will start tomorrow's second round of the Supersport World Championship from the front row of the grid after a strong showing at Phillip Island today. The Australians, who ride for the Yamaha Motor Germany squad, changed the set-up of their YZF-R6s to improved their times from Friday's session and maintain the important front row starts. Curtain posted a best of 1:36.436 to end the day second, just ahead of Parkes, who was just over a tenth of a second slower than his team-mate. After experimenting with the settings during yesterday's session, the squad reverted to the data gained during January's Phillip Island test for today's final qualifying. Both riders declared themselves happier with the machine today and confident that they can run with pole position man Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) during tomorrow's 21-lap race. A third R6-riding Australian featured heavily in qualifying, with Anthony Gobert posting the seventh fastest time on the Yamaha GMT94 machine. A five-time world superbike winner at the venue, Gobert was in impressive form in his second stand-in ride for the injured David Checa. FIM Superstock 1000 Cup champion Didier van Keymeulen ended the day 19th on his R6, ahead of Yamaha Team Italia riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello. They continued to experience set-up problems and ended up 21st and 24th on tomorrow's grid. Round: 2 - Australia WSS Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1' 36.642 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 35.291 (Chris Vermeulen, 2003) Date: 4 March 2006 Temp: 36ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying  2nd Qualifying  1  S. Charpentier  Honda  FRA   1' 35.869     1' 35.616   2  K. Curtain  Yamaha  AUS   1' 36.772     1' 36.436   3  B. Parkes  Yamaha  AUS   1' 36.758     1' 36.548   4  R. Harms  Honda  DNK   1' 37.997     1' 36.672   5  C. Zaiser  Ducati  AUT   1' 38.428     1' 36.741   6  K. Sofuoglu  Honda  TUR   1' 37.586     1' 36.865   7  A. Gobert  Yamaha  AUS   1' 38.499     1' 36.929   8  Y. Tibero  Honda  FRA   1' 37.691     1' 36.992   9  M. Berger  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 38.730     1' 37.147   10  J. Stigefelt  Honda  SWE   N/A     1' 37.190   11  B. Veneman  Suzuki  NED   1' 38.452     1' 37.311   12  T. Lauslehto  Honda  FIN   1' 38.779     1' 37.405   13  J. Brookes  Ducati  AUS   1' 39.010     1' 37.533   14  D. Thomas  Kawasaki  AUS   1' 38.241     1' 37.587   15  K. Andersen  Suzuki  NOR   1' 39.464     1' 37.682   16  M. Sanchini  Yamaha  ITA   1' 37.865     1' 37.701   17  X. Fores  Yamaha  ESP   1' 38.380     1' 37.701   19  D. Van Keymeulen  Yamaha  BEL   1' 38.559     1' 37.769   20  G. Nannelli  Yamaha  ITA   1' 39.239     1' 37.857   21  M. Roccoli  Yamaha  ITA   1' 39.449     1' 37.869   24  G. Vizziello  Yamaha  ITA   1' 39.885     1' 38.219   25  C. Peris  Yamaha  CAN   1' 40.276     1' 38.785   27  V. Ivanov  Yamaha  RUS   1' 40.543     1' 38.991   29  J. Enjolras  Yamaha  FRA   1' 39.947     1' 39.161   30  D. Garcia  Yamaha  ITA   N/A     1' 39.439
Alex Asigno
Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards made their first formal track appearances of the year today as the MotoGP Official Tests got underway at the Montmelo circuit in Catalunya. The traditional pre-season curtain raiser runs for three days, with a timed 40-minute session determining the winner of a new car in an exciting climax to the action on Sunday afternoon at 1405h. Sporting their new bright-yellow Camel livery, both Rossi and Edwards were in sparkling form throughout the day, dominating the time sheets and ending the session with the quickest times. With barely any changes made to the base set-up of their 2006 version YZR-M1 machines following recent tests, the Italian and the American were quickly on the pace despite brisk morning temperatures, backing up impressive results in contrasting conditions at Sepang and Qatar. A positive first day for Yamaha was completed by Carlos Checa (Tech 3 Yamaha), who sealed the third fastest time on only his third appearance for the team. Valentino Rossi (1st, 1'43.608, 54 laps) "The first day here in Catalunya has been very positive. The weather has been better than we expected, especially in the afternoon, so the tyres were running at the right temperature to be enable us to understand the performance of the bike. The data we are gathering will not be much use for the race here in May because it will be so much warmer, but at least we are moving forward with the setting of the bike. I'm pleased because the lap times have been very fast - this is the third track we have ridden at with the 2006 machine and we have been very competitive at all of them. Since 20th January we have been thinking exclusively about race one on 26th March and we will continue with this attitude for the rest of the test." Colin Edwards (2nd, 1'44.063, 66 laps) "We didn't change too much with the bike today - just rolled out what we had at Sepang to see how it worked. It was freezing this morning but we did some tests for Michelin and things just got better and better for the rest of the day. I'm happy with the bike, I'm happy with everything really, but as good as it looks and feels we still have a lot of work to do. It's nice to be running up at the top from the start and I must admit it's hard not to have one eye on the car on Sunday! I don't know what I would do with it if I won but we'll figure that out when it comes!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is a positive surprise to see three Yamahas at the top of the time sheets and of course we are all very pleased. It's only the first day of a long test but we hope it is a good sign of things to come. Things ran very smoothly today, we continued working to our testing programme, on the setting and on the tyres. The base setting seems to work well - this is the third circuit with this bike and it's encouraging that it has worked so well in so many different conditions. Both riders look relaxed and concentrated on the job at hand so let's just keep working this way!" 
Lap Times: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'43.608 2. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'44.063 3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'44.070 4. John Hopkins (USA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'44.197 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'44.209 6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'44.399 7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'44.556 8. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'44.672 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'44.702 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'44.721 11. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1'44.868 12. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'45.011 13. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'45.111 14. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1'45.253 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'45.968 16. James Ellison (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1'46.217 17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) D'Antin Pramac, 1'46.603 18. Alex Hoffman (GER) D'Antin Pramac, 1'46.606 19. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati, 1'47.379
Catalunya Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'43.195 Catalunya Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005 - 1'42.337
Alex Asigno
WSB : Haga seventh in first qualifying Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 3 March 2006 Temp: 36ºC Weather: Sunny Noriyuki Haga was the fastest of the Yamaha men in today's opening qualifying session for round two of the Superbike World Championship, held at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia. Haga, who yesterday celebrated his 31st birthday, ended the day seventh fastest, just over a second behind provisional pole sitter Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Having chosen to test in Qatar rather than Australia in the winter break, both Haga and his Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt struggled to find ideal settings for their YZF-R1s. Haga complained of a lack of rear traction, while Pitt started off using the same settings that took him to a podium finish in Qatar six days ago. The local rider, who this weekend is wearing a new helmet design based on that of 1987 500cc Grand Prix world champion Wayne Gardner, also had the added disadvantage of carrying a 'flu virus. Despite this he still managed to make the top 16 in a time less than one and a half seconds from pole. Sandwiching Pitt on the provisional grid are Yamaha Motor France duo Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe. Having tested at the circuit in January, the squad came to Phillip Island with a good base setting for their machines - although they were unable to match their testing times in the scorching weather. Yamaha Motor France's third rider, Japanese newcomer Shinichi Nakatomi was able to set a personal best time around the circuit to end the day 24th, despite an off-track excursion. All three suffered chatter problems but are confident of finding an improvement for tomorrow morning's final qualifying session. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We need to try and find more rear traction tomorrow. We tried many things today but couldn't quite find the correct setting. I think that it will be better tomorrow. We have a good idea of what we must do and the team will change many settings overnight. It is not so bad though. We did not test here, so we are starting from zero with the settings. Considering this we are quite close to the fastest times."   Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "When we came here at the start of the year I was able to do 1:34.6 lap times, so although we are close I am still two tenths of a seconds slower than at the test. I had some problems with chatter today but we have some ideas on how to improve this. The times are very close but I am confident we can make some improvements and make the superpole." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We are still trying to find a good balance around here. We tried the Qatar settings but they are just not working around here. I think we have found a good direction though. This is a more demanding circuit and we need to get more weight over the front to make it more stable. We'll make a few changes overnight and see how things go in the morning." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I came here with different settings on my two bikes: one set-up as we used it in Qatar and the other with the settings we finished our test around here. I preferred using the settings from the test, although we weren't able to match our testing times. In the afternoon we changed the settings and I think we went too soft as we had a chatter problem and traction was not as good. We went back to a harder setting at the end and were able to do a 1:35 lap, which was better but not good enough. We have found a good direction though, and I think tomorrow will be much better." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "After Qatar last weekend it has been good to come to a track I know from our test. I was not fully fit when we were here in January so already we are going faster and finding things we have to change. I also had some problem with chatter and if we can fix this I can go faster tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Nori needs more rear traction but he has had a long discussion with his crew chief and suspension technician and they have a good plan tomorrow. Andrew has found it difficult here today but I am sure that he can turn it around and put in a good qualifying display in front of his home fans."    Round: 2 - Australia Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1' 33.019 (Troy Corser, 2001) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 32.193 (Troy Corser, 2001) Date: 3 March 2006 Temp: 36ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  T. Bayliss  Ducati  AUS   1' 33.387   2  A. Barros  Honda  BRA   1' 33.790   3  J. Toseland  Honda  GBR   1' 33.851   4  T. Corser  Suzuki  AUS   1' 33.868   5  Y. Kagayama  Suzuki  JPN   1' 34.461   6  S. Martin  Petronas  AUS   1' 34.501   7  N. Haga  Yamaha  JPN   1' 34.577   8  C. Walker  Kawasaki  GBR   1' 34.589   9  P. Chili  Honda  ITA   1' 34.601   10  F. Nieto  Kawasaki  ESP   1' 34.618   11  R. Rolfo  Ducati  ITA   1' 34.644   12  I. Clementi  Ducati  ITA   1' 34.708   13  K. Muggeridge  Honda  AUS   1' 34.756   14  M. Neukirchner  Ducati  GER   1' 34.822   15  S. Gimbert  Yamaha  FRA   1' 34.832   16  A. Pitt  Yamaha  AUS   1' 34.863   17  N. Abe  Yamaha  JPN   1' 35.010   24  S. Nakatomi  Yamaha  JPN   1' 36.080   WSS : Provisional front row for Yamaha Motor Germany duo Round: 2 - Australia WSS Circuit: Phillip Island Date: 3 March 2006 Temp: 36ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Germany riders Broc Parkes and Kevin Curtain go into tomorrow's final qualifying session on the provisional front row after ending today's opening session second and third respectively. The Australian pair have been consistently at the top of the timesheets during the day's two 45-minute practice sessions, bested only by qualifying king Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) in the afternoon's qualifying practice. Having tested at the circuit in January, the Yamaha Motor Germany squad came to Phillip Island with a good base setting for their new-for-2006 R6s. Having found a set-up that they believe can help them challenge for honours on Sunday, the team will try to further improve their race set-up and maintain the crucial front row starts during tomorrow's grid-deciding qualifying session. In a good day for Yamaha runners, Italian privateer Mauro Sanchini finished sixth, with Spaniard Xavi Fores ninth. Local hero Anthony Gobert, a winner here in the superbike class, came 12th in his second ride for the Yamaha GMT94 team, while FIM Superstock 1000 champion Didier van Keymeulen ended the day 13th on his R6. Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello of the Yamaha Team Italia squad ended 21st and 23rd respectively as they looked to find a good set-up for their machines.   Round: 2 - Australia WSS Circuit: Phillip Island Circuit Length: 4448 Lap Record: 1' 36.642 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 35.291 (Chris Vermeulen, 2003) Date: 3 March 2006 Temp: 36ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  S. Charpentier  Honda  FRA   1' 35.869   2  B. Parkes  Yamaha  AUS   1' 36.758   3  K. Curtain  Yamaha  AUS   1' 36.772   4  K. Sofuoglu  Honda  TUR   1' 37.586   5  Y. Tibero  Honda  FRA   1' 37.691   6  M. Sanchini  Yamaha  ITA   1' 37.865   7  R. Harms  Honda  DNK   1' 37.997   8  D. Thomas  Kawasaki  AUS   1' 38.241   9  X. Fores  Yamaha  ESP   1' 38.380   10  C. Zaiser  Ducati  AUT   1' 38.428   11  B. Veneman  Suzuki  NED   1' 38.452   12  A. Gobert  Yamaha  AUS   1' 38.499   13  D. Van Keymeulen  Yamaha  BEL   1' 38.559   14  M. Berger  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 38.730   15  T. Lauslehto  Honda  FIN   1' 38.779   16  W. De Angelis  Honda  ITA   1' 38.836   20  G. Nannelli  Yamaha  ITA   1' 39.239   21  M. Roccoli  Yamaha  ITA   1' 39.449   23  G. Vizziello  Yamaha  ITA   1' 39.885   25  J. Enjolras  Yamaha  FRA   1' 39.947   26  C. Peris  Yamaha  CAN   1' 40.276   27  V. Ivanov  Yamaha  RUS   1' 40.543
Alex Asigno
With exactly one month to go before the first race of the new MotoGP season, the Camel Yamaha Team today celebrated the start of its 2006 campaign with a Team Presentation in Milan, in front of 300 guests and international media. World Champion Valentino Rossi and his American team-mate Colin Edwards, who was celebrating his 32nd birthday today, were joined on stage by VIP guests from Yamaha and Japan Tobacco International, as well as Italian TV presenter Marco Mazzocchi, who compered the presentation. The bikes were uncovered by the Festi group of acrobats, who descended from the roof to reveal the M1s of Rossi and Edwards in their final 2006 livery. Mazzocchi then welcomed Masao Furusawa, Executive Officer for Engineering Operations at Yamaha Motor Company and Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, onto the stage. "Even though the basic M1 concept for 2006 is the same", commented Furusawa, "this is a more sophisticated bike, especially with the increasing RPM of the engine. It is very important for the progression of the bike to keep Valentino and Colin together, as they are not just riders for us, but a key part of the development of the M1." "Last year we got everything right with this team," added Jarvis. "The rider combination, the bike and every other element. Now our goal with our new title sponsor Camel is to achieve all this once again and win the championship." Roberto Zanni, European Regional President for Japan Tobacco International, spoke about the exciting new partnership between Camel and Yamaha. "The feeling has been very good with Yamaha right from the beginning. Everything is very professional but also very friendly, it's a good atmosphere. I expect that the passion this year within this team will be very great and with two riders as successful as Valentino and Colin, we can expect great things."
Davide Brivio, the Team Director for the Yamaha Factory Team for the fifth year running, then took to the stage to talk about his goals for the season. "I think that everybody will really like the new livery, and especially the riders' numbers on the white squares. We needed to come up with something original for the livery without moving away from the Camel yellow, which we all really like, and now I think this final livery is going to look really spectacular on track. For the season, we're ready! We've done some important and successful tests, and now we will just make the most of the six remaining days of testing before the first race to make some final improvements to the new M1." The audience was then treated to a spectacular video of the team and riders, before Rossi and Edwards mounted the stage together for their part in the day. "This new bike is really beautiful!" exclaimed Rossi, who this season aims to win a sixth consecutive World Championship title. "It's exciting to be starting another season with Yamaha; these last two seasons together with them have probably been the best of my career. It's also nice to be with Colin again, we're very close in our team. The new M1 is already very good and we've been working very closely to develop it with Yamaha. Yamaha has done a very good job. This year I have many new young adversaries who will be challenging me, and I think there is going to be some spectacular racing!" His team-mate Edwards, seeking to improve on his fourth-place in the championship last year, said "I really like the new bike design, it looks really great. I had the retro-style number five like this on the bike at Laguna Seca last year and I've used it again for this year. The new bike in general has been fantastic throughout the winter tests, I'm really excited. Yamaha has done a great job and everything about it feels better than last year. I honestly can't wait to get back on board this week in Barcelona, we have a few things to work on still but we're in good shape. My promise for the year is to win at least a few races and have a one-two for the Camel Yamaha Team at the end of the year!"
Alex Asigno
Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts clinched his second victory of the 2006 pre-season motocross period last weekend with a comprehensive display at the Pernes Les Fontaines International meeting in France. Under sunny skies and good racing conditions the nine times world champion and factory Yamaha star claimed both MX1 motos onboard his 2006 spec YZ450FM, defeating a number of his world championship peers including Honda's Josh Coppins, KTM's Mickael Pichon and Sebastien Tortelli and Suzuki's Steve Ramon. The 33 year old has won the MX1 World Championship for the last two seasons and will be pushing for a tenth career title in his final Grand Prix campaign this term. Everts hole-shotted the first race and kept a healthy distance over Coppins. The Belgian was forced to hold off Pichon in the second moto and also overtook Coppins who had started very quickly. A battle raged until the flag with Everts able to defeat the 2005 MX1 runner-up by less than three seconds at the finish. After his triumph at Mantova in Italy two weeks ago Everts will now try for a 'hatrick' by travelling to Hawkstone Park in England for another star-studded meeting. The first Grand Prix of fifteen in the 2006 FIM World Championship is now a month away and is scheduled to take place at Zolder in Belgium on April 1st/2nd.
 
Results MX1 Moto1: 1. Everts, Yamaha 2. Coppins, Honda 5.055 3. Pourcel, Kawasaki 5.985 4. Demaria, KTM 8.278 5. T. Leok, Kawasaki 26.743 6. Sword, Kawasaki 33.103 7. Bill, Yamaha 45.117 8. Ramon, Suzuki 47.994 9. Ristori, Honda 48.701 10. Strijbos, Suzuki 51.887 Results MX1 Moto2: 1. Everts, Yamaha 2. Coppins, Honda 2.233 3. Pichon, KTM 4.855 4. Tortelli, KTM 18.055 5. Demaria, KTM 43.741 6. De Dycker, Honda 52.211 7. Sword, Kawasaki 55.164 8. T. Leok, Kawasaki 59.411 9. Strijbos, Suzuki 1'02.96 10. Leuret, Honda 1'03.127 Overall standings: 1. Everts 50 2. Coppins 44 3. Demaria 34 4. Sword 29 5. T. Leok 29 6. Bill 24 7. Pichon 23 8. Strijbos 23 9. Ramon 22 10. Leuret 21 11. Pourcel 20 12. Tortelli 18 13. De Dycker 15 14. Martin 15 15. Priem 13
Alex Asigno
Superbike World Championship: round two - Phillip Island Phillip Island, Australia 27/2/2006 Track length: 4448 m, Opened: 1956 Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 32.193 (Troy Corser, 2001) WSB lap record: 1' 33.019 (Troy Corser, 2001) Last year WSB winner: Troy Corser, Troy Corser Circuit tel: +61 3 59522710; Circuit web site: http://www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au After a sensational weekend of racing in Qatar, round two of the Superbike World Championship takes place coming weekend at the Phillip Island circuit, located a little more than an hour's drive south of Melbourne. The track is a favourite with most of the riders and one that holds good memories for both Yamaha Motor Italia's riders, Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt. They go to the Island on a high after playing a starring role in the Middle Eastern thriller. Each rider ran at the front of the pack and scored a podium finish at the Losail circuit, leaving them in a positive mood ahead of this weekend.Fresh from his first ever podium in the class, Pitt in particular is looking forward to racing at his home circuit. "As with many riders, Phillip Island is my favourite circuit," says Pitt. "It's a fast and flowing circuit and it's always good to go back home and race. I enjoy the home support and generally I go quite well there. Winning the world supersport race there in 2002 is probably still my best moment in racing and as a rule I go better on fast circuits rather than your slower Valencia type circuits. It can be a bit tricky with the high winds so I hope the weather will be good. Most riders will say it is the best circuit in the world and certainly you can expect great racing there. I was stoked to get on the podium in Qatar at the weekend and that will certainly let me go to Australia feeling much more relaxed." Pitt's podium at Losail came thanks to the hard work of the Yamaha Motor Italia squad, who have transformed the YZF-R1 over the winter break. "The bike is so much easier to ride," confirms Pitt. "We understand the bike a lot better now and there's still a lot of potential that can be unlocked. In Qatar Nori (Haga) and I were able to run at the front, only to fall back when the tyres went off. That's something we need to work on, transferring the power to the track while being more sympathetic to the tyres is our next big goal". Haga also has good memories of the circuit having won there in 1998 - his first race win outside of Japan. "I am looking forward to going back to Phillip Island. It is a very challenging circuit and a beautiful country with many excellent golf courses! I am spending a few days back in Japan this week, but I still hope to arrive soon enough to play a round or two!" The Japanese lies seventh in the championship after scoring a podium in race two, but failing to score in the opening race in Qatar. Challenging for the win, Nori-chan crashed while attempting to pass his friend Yukio Kagayama - taking them both out in the process. Despite this, Haga was still happy with his day in the Middle East. "We were very competitive," he says. "Our bike has improved a lot over the winter and it was good to see that we are much closer to our rivals compared to last year." Also looking forward to the trip Down Under is the Yamaha Motor Germany world supersport squad. Their Aussie riders had contrasting fortunes in Qatar. Kevin Curtain took a fine second place, while Broc Parkes did not finish. The two riders spent three days testing at the circuit last month and having achieved a good base set-up they are looking forward to returning for what is their home race.
Alex Asigno
WSB : Podium for Haga and Pitt in Qatar thriller Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 25 February 2006 Crowd: 1000 Temp: 30ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt took a podium finish apiece as the 2006 Superbike World Championship fired into life with two sensational races at the Losail circuit in Qatar. The duo each took a third place finish, although Haga could well have stood on the top step of the podium had he not crashed on the final lap of the opening race. The Japanese star led for most of the race, hotly pursued by fellow countryman Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki). Kagayama took the lead going into the last lap but typically the Yamaha man would not settle for second. Haga tried to repass Kagayama at the left handed turn six but asked too much of the front end of his machine and slid into the gravel. Kagayama was the unfortunate victim of Haga's crash, allowing James Toseland (Honda) to take the win, with Pitt promoted to third behind Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Race two was similar to the first, with the two red Yamahas racing into the lead. Haga set a new lap record on lap two, but both he and Pitt slipped back when their front tyres wore later in the race. That allowed Australians Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Troy Bayliss (Ducati) to fight out a dramatic last few laps, world champion Corser taking the flag after a slight error from his countryman. Haga held onto third by the narrowest of margins, crossing the line one thousandth of a second ahead of Toseland, with Pitt in fifth. Yamaha Motor France trio Norick Abe, Sebastien Gimbert and Shinichi Nakatomi had a tough start to the season but were able to record valuable points. Abe was forced to switch bikes for race one after finding a technical fault on the sighting lap. He came from dead last to finish 11th place, a performance he repeated in race two. Frenchman Gimbert scored three points for 14th and 15th places, while Nakatomi took 16th and 17th places in what were his first races outside his native Japan. After today's two exciting races, Bayliss leads the championship with 40 points to Corser and Toseland's 38. Pitt is fourth on 27 points, with Haga's 16 points in race two putting him seventh in the overall standings. Round two takes place at Australia's Phillip Island circuit next Sunday and if the racing proves half as good as that in Qatar then the fans are in for a treat. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The second race was very close with Toseland. He passed me going into the chicane but I could not close the door as my tyres were gone. I was able to get into his slipstream though and thankfully my bike was quicker than his. The first race crash was 100 percent my fault. On the last lap every rider pushes hard and I just braked harder than before and I lose the front end. I crashed and I am sorry that my bike hit Yukio and made him crash too. I saw the 600 race and our friend Katsuaki Fujiwara also crashed there. Maybe it is special unlucky corner for Japanese riders!" Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm delighted to get that first podium and I can go to Australia a lot more relaxed now that I've reached that target. The overall package is just so much easier to ride this year and there's still a lot more potential in the bike. We've still got a bit of work to do in making our tyres last a bit longer because you could see both Nori and I were sliding around a bit at the end when the others still had a bit left. I went for a different front tyre in the second race, the same as the other guys had, and it definitely allowed me to run a lot more consistent lap times. We used the same rear though and I still lacked some side grip, so we will work on that and hopefully find some improvements in the coming races." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I had a broken bike in the warm up lap (of race one) so I had to use the spare machine and start form the back of the grid, so I had to work hard to get through. I changed my setting from first to second race, and the lap time was a bit better, better than qualifying. At this point I am happy but it was difficult to pass the top riders."   Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "It was much better than last year, because I made many laps faster than before. Unfortunately I lost time at the start so my main work is to learn how to start well, because my lap times were not so bad." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Compared to where we were this time last year we have improved a lot. Our riders led 21 of the 36 laps here this weekend and although we were not able to lead at the flag we were able to take a lot of confidence from the performances. I believe that our performances prove that the direction we are taking with the bike development is the right one and I am sure that we will see the benefits of this in the coming season. The whole team has done a fantastic job this weekend and the riders have repaid them with good results." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Some points, so not so bad for the first race of the year. Everyone came home OK in the races and we had only two sessions of dry set-up on a track we do not know so well. It was also more difficult for our beginner (Nakatomi) because of this."   Race classification WSB Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 0.061 (Noriyuki Haga, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  2' 0.061 (Noriyuki Haga, 2006) Race: 18 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  35' 31.339  2   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  +0.088  3   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +2.390  4   T. Corser Suzuki  AUS  +2.599  5   M. Fabrizio Honda  ITA  +6.999  6   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +14.717  7   R. Rolfo Ducati  ITA  +15.224  8   P. Chili Honda  ITA  +21.183  9   M. Borciani Ducati  ITA  +22.450  10   M. Neukirchner Ducati  GER  +23.932  11   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +24.816  12   K. Muggeridge Honda  AUS  +25.643  13   R. Laconi Kawasaki  FRA  +29.139  14   S. Gimbert Yamaha  FRA  +29.977  15   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +36.675  16   S. Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN  +37.495  21   T. Al Naimi Yamaha  QAT  +1 lap(s)  Race 2: 18 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Corser Suzuki  AUS  36' 20.395  2   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  +1.025  3   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +3.462  4   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  +3.463  5   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +4.350  6   L. Lanzi Ducati  ITA  +19.610  7   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +20.548  8   M. Fabrizio Honda  ITA  +21.183  9   K. Muggeridge Honda  AUS  +23.198  10   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +26.533  11   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +26.854  12   F. Nieto Kawasaki  ESP  +28.132  13   R. Rolfo Ducati  ITA  +28.135  14   M. Borciani Ducati  ITA  +34.176  15   S. Gimbert Yamaha  FRA  +35.395  17   S. Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN  +50.906  21   T. Al Naimi Yamaha  QAT  +1 lap(s)  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  2' 0.061   Championship standings WSB Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Troy Bayliss Ducati  AUS 40  2   James Toseland Honda  GBR 38  3   Troy Corser Suzuki  AUS 38  4   Andrew Pitt Yamaha  AUS 27  5   Michel Fabrizio Honda  ITA 19  6   Alex Barros Honda  BRA 19  7   Noriyuki Haga Yamaha  JPN 16  8   Roberto Rolfo Ducati  ITA 12  9   Karl Muggeridge Honda  AUS 11  10   Norick Abe Yamaha  JPN 10  11   Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati  ITA 10  12   Marco Borciani Ducati  ITA 9  13   Pierfrancesco Chili Honda  ITA 8  14   Ruben Xaus Ducati  ESP 7  15   Max Neukirchner Ducati  GER 6  17   Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha  FRA 3  Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Ducati 40  2  Suzuki 38  2  Honda 38  4  Yamaha 32  5  Kawasaki 7  WSS : Curtain second on R6 debut Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 25 February 2006 Crowd: 1000 Temp: 30ºC Weather: Sunny Kevin Curtain gave the 2006 Yamaha YZF-R6 a promising debut, taking second place in today's opening world supersport round in Qatar. The Yamaha Motor Germany rider rode a cautious race to take the flag behind world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). Although despite having only had 90 minutes dry weather practice at the circuit, Curtain was still able to run under lap record pace to start the season with 20 valuable points. Charpentier had made a good start to lead from the line and pull away in the opening laps, while the Australian rider endured some inimical moves from Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda). Curtain was able to break away from his young Turkish opponent, running several laps on record pace to close right up with the champion. But Charpentier was able to increase his pace and build a gap over Curtain, who decided discretion was the better part of valour. Unsure of the endurance of his front tyre, he decided to bring his R6 home in a safe second place, five seconds behind Charpentier but a similar distance ahead of third placed Sofuoglu. Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes' Qatar outing was a short one, ending in the gravel on lap two. The Australian burnt the clutch out on the startline but continued anyway, only to be caught out by a lack of engine braking caused by the slipping clutch. The new R6 is powering the bulk of riders in this year's championship with Spanish privateer Javier Fores showing the potential of the machine with a fine fourth place. Italian riders Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello also finished in the top 10 on their Lorenzini by Leoni entered R6s. Anthony Gobert's world supersport debut saw him end up 12th on the Yamaha GMT94 machine. Round two takes place in eight days' time at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia, Curtain and Parkes' home race. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "We're not that far off for the first time in a race with the new bike. We have a little bit to go yet but I'm really happy we can just about match them, especially in top speed. It was close but not close enough. Sebastien ran a fast race today, and the opposition has shown that they are still strong this year. But I am happy that the new R6 has performed this well this quickly so it can only get even better. We didn't have much time in the dry and I wasn't sure if the front tyre could last the distance. In the end it was fine but I didn't want to risk a DNF at this stage. Now it's off to Phillip Island, where we've already tested and have a good set-up, so that's something to look forward to." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I burned the clutch on the start line and I could feel that after a few corners it was not right, but I decided to continue anyway. As I went into one corner it was just slipping all the way, no engine braking at all, and then I ran into the gravel and couldn't save it. Of course, it's a disappointing start to the season but there's a long way to go and I'm looking forward to racing at Phillip Island next weekend." Javier Fores (SLM Racing) "I thought I would get fifth but then Fujiwara crashed, so it was a bonus to get fourth. I didn't know that there was a rider closing on me until near the end, but I managed to hold the gap to him. The bike was revving to the red line even in the top gears so I think we could have done something else with the gearing and gone even faster." Anthony Gobert (Yamaha GMT94) I struggled a bit at the start but once I got going and into the groove of it, it went better. There were so many things different today, the suspension, the gearing shorter and so on. By the time I had adjusted to the new settings I was 24th but then worked my way back up to 12th at the finish." Race classification WSS Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 3.921 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  2' 3.921 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Race: 18 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Charpentier Honda  FRA  37' 30.955  2   K. Curtain Yamaha  AUS  +5.396  3   K. Sofuoglu Honda  TUR  +11.657  4   X. Fores Yamaha  ESP  +38.142  5   J. Stigefelt Honda  SWE  +39.168  6   K. Andersen Suzuki  NOR  +45.547  7   M. Roccoli Yamaha  ITA  +47.631  8   C. Zaiser Ducati  AUT  +47.682  9   G. Vizziello Yamaha  ITA  +48.575  10   J. Brookes Ducati  AUS  +49.814  11   S. Le Grelle Honda  BEL  +54.509  12   A. Gobert Yamaha  AUS  +54.702  13   W. De Angelis Honda  ITA  +57.362  14   T. Tunstall Honda  GBR  +1' 3.436  15   G. Nannelli Yamaha  ITA  +1' 5.482  16   D. Van Keymeulen Yamaha  BEL  +1' 7.541  18   C. Peris Yamaha  CAN  +1' 14.340  19   M. Sanchini Yamaha  ITA  +1' 14.556  20   V. Ivanov Yamaha  RUS  +1' 14.876  21   A. Velini Yamaha  ITA  +1' 44.747  22   D. Garcia Yamaha  ITA  +1' 46.385  23   J. Enjolras Yamaha  FRA  +1' 46.500  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Charpentier Honda  FRA  2' 3.921  Championship standings WSS   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Sebastien Charpentier Honda  FRA 25  2   Kevin Curtain Yamaha  AUS 20  3   Kenan Sofuoglu Honda  TUR 16  4   Xavi Fores Yamaha  ESP 13  5   Johan Stigefelt Honda  SWE 11  6   Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki  NOR 10  7   Massimo Roccoli Yamaha  ITA 9  8   Christian Zaiser Ducati  AUT 8  9   Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha  ITA 7  10   Joshua Brookes Ducati  AUS 6  11   Sebastien Le Grelle Honda  BEL 5  12   Anthony Gobert Yamaha  AUS 4  13   William De Angelis Honda  ITA 3  14   Tom Tunstall Honda  GBR 2  15   Gianluca Nannelli Yamaha  ITA 1  Manufacturers standings WSS Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 25  2  Yamaha 20  3  Suzuki 10  4  Ducati 8
Alex Asigno
WSB : Pitt on front row for Qatar opener Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 24 February 2006 Temp: 30ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Motor Italia rider Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow's two 18-lap races from the front row of the grid after an impressive superpole lap saw him set the third fastest time. Team-mate Noriyuki Haga also put in a strong qualifying performance and will start from the second row, in sixth position. Rule changes for this season means that special soft qualifying tyres are not used during the two one-hour sessions, only in the one-lap superpole and preceding practice, Both the Yamaha riders looked strong during the morning qualifying session, occupying top five places on their race rubber and giving them optimism for tomorrow's races.  Both riders took advantage of the latest R1's increased controllability to take their place at the head of the timesheets during qualifying, Pitt ultimately ending the one-hour session third and Haga in fifth. Both were able to find further improvements in the afternoon's free practice session, although a small mistake from Haga saw him go slightly slower on his grid-deciding superpole lap. Pitt however achieved his target of a personal best lap in superpole, his 2:00.110 being bettered only by factory Ducati team-mates Troy Bayliss and Lorenzo Lanzi. Both riders have declared themselves happy with the race settings ahead of tomorrow's races, which could well be a close affair if today's times are anything to go by: just a second-and-a-half separates the top 13 riders from today's superpole session. The Yamaha Motor France squad had a tough day in Qatar with all three riders missing out on superpole. Fifth fastest in yesterday's wet qualifying, Losail lap record holder Sebastien Gimbert was again the fastest of the trio in combined qualifying, despite problems with his front brakes overheating during second qualifying. He will start the race from 18th on the grid after posting a best of 2:02.710. Team-mate Norick Abe will start one place further back after experiencing some problems with his favoured machine during the morning session. He was forced to switch to his spare machine during the morning session but found the set-up unsuited to the circuit. The third Yamaha Motor France rider, superbike debutant Shinichi Nakatomi, continued to learn both the circuit and his Pirelli-shod R1 retaining his 24th place from the overnight standings. All three riders were able to improve their lap times in the afternoon free practice session, although these would not count towards the grid position for tomorrow's races.   Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "It's always good to get a front row start, especially around here as it is pretty dirty off the racing line. The bike has been working really well. The team has worked hard just to make it that bit easier to ride. We've got a much better understanding of the bike this year and hopefully that can pay off with some good results." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The bike is working well here and I am looking forward to the races. I did my best qualifying lap on the soft race tyre and that seemed to work better for me than the qualifier I used in my superpole lap. Our race set-up is good and the times are close. I think we will have some great racing tomorrow." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "It is disappointing miss out on superpole, especially considering I was on the front row here last year. I had a problem with the braking on my bike. The front discs were getting too hot and I couldn't brake as hard as I liked to." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "In the morning session I had a technical problem with my number one bike. I switched to my number two machine but it had a different set-up and I could not go as fast as I like to. We went faster in the afternoon but by then it was too late to make the superpole." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I am making improvements in each session but still I am learning the circuit. It has been difficult as there has not been much time to ride in the dry, but I am now looking forward to my first ever world superbike races." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the end the feedback we had from our test here last month has been confirmed. We were satisfied with the results of our test but we had been testing on our own. Today was our first time on the track with our rivals and I think we can confirm the improvements we have made over the winter. I'm pleased for Andrew getting on the front row, while Nori lost some time through a small mistake on his superpole lap. I think we can do a good job tomorrow. Andrew did a lot of laps on the race tyre today and was still able to put in good lap times while with Noriyuki the most important thing is that he has a good set-up. If he is happy with the bike then you know that he is capable of good results."  Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 1.852 (Sebastien Gimbert, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 1.244 (Troy Corser, 2005) Date: 24 February 2006 Temp: 30ºC Session 2 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying  2nd Qualifying   Superpole  1  T. Bayliss  Ducati  AUS   2' 17.326     2' 0.639     1' 59.696  2  L. Lanzi  Ducati  ITA   2' 26.171     2' 1.369     2' 0.028  3  A. Pitt  Yamaha  AUS   2' 19.991     2' 0.818     2' 0.110  4  J. Toseland  Honda  GBR   2' 21.732     2' 1.692     2' 0.112  5  T. Corser  Suzuki  AUS   2' 19.614     2' 1.008     2' 0.206  6  N. Haga  Yamaha  JPN   2' 20.164     2' 1.314     2' 0.613  7  Y. Kagayama  Suzuki  JPN   2' 21.234     2' 1.579     2' 0.895  8  K. Muggeridge  Honda  AUS   2' 21.152     2' 0.745     No time  9  S. Martin  Petronas  AUS   2' 21.505     2' 1.613     2' 0.940  10  A. Barros  Honda  BRA   2' 19.834     2' 1.953     2' 0.960  11  R. Rolfo  Ducati  ITA   2' 21.233     2' 2.020     2' 1.072  12  C. Walker  Kawasaki  GBR   2' 19.684     2' 1.975     2' 1.137  13  F. Nieto  Kawasaki  ESP   2' 20.469     2' 1.809     2' 1.155  14  P. Chili  Honda  ITA   2' 20.695     2' 1.781     2' 2.038  15  M. Fabrizio  Honda  ITA   2' 22.655     2' 2.437     2' 2.596  16  M. Borciani  Ducati  ITA   2' 21.778     2' 2.449     2' 3.150  18  S. Gimbert  Yamaha  FRA   2' 19.687     2' 2.710       19  N. Abe  Yamaha  JPN   2' 20.720     2' 3.026       24  S. Nakatomi  Yamaha  JPN   2' 24.788     2' 3.741       28  T. Al Naimi  Yamaha  QAT   2' 46.833     2' 9.934        WSS : Curtain third on Qatar grid Round: 1 - Qatar WSS Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 24 February 2006 Temp: 23ºC Weather: Sunny Having never run the latest R6 at the Losail circuit, the Yamaha riders were disappointed to find wet conditions for yesterday's opening practice sessions - restricting their set-up time ahead of Saturday's 18 lap race. Dry conditions also meant that yesterday's world supersport qualifying times were redundant by the very first lap of today's session, although in the end the expected names would be topping the leaderboard. After ending yesterday's wet first session in second place, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain again led the hordes of riders running the new YZF-R6. The multiple Australian champion, second in last year's series, recorded a 2:04.741 to end the day in third place despite crashing late in the session. Team-mate Broc Parkes will start tomorrow's race from the second row of the grid, in fifth place, after recording a best of 2:05.082. Spanish Yamaha privateer Xavi Fores of the SLM Racing team confirmed the R6's potential by recording the sixth fastest time, with Italian Gianluca Nannelli another R6 runner in the top ten. Reigning world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) will start tomorrow's race from pole position. His team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu starts alongside him with Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda) completing the front row in fourth place. Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 4.686 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 3.747 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Date: 24 February 2006 Temp: 23ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying  2nd Qualifying  1  S. Charpentier  Honda  FRA   2' 27.755     2' 3.093   2  K. Sofuoglu  Honda  TUR   2' 21.890     2' 4.089   3  K. Curtain  Yamaha  AUS   2' 23.872     2' 4.741   4  K. Fujiwara  Honda  JPN   2' 27.615     2' 4.756   5  B. Parkes  Yamaha  AUS   2' 24.757     2' 5.082   6  X. Fores  Yamaha  ESP   2' 26.887     2' 5.415   7  K. Andersen  Suzuki  NOR   2' 25.853     2' 5.924   8  M. Berger  Kawasaki  FRA   2' 30.213     2' 5.994   9  G. Nannelli  Yamaha  ITA   2' 24.021     2' 6.183   10  B. Veneman  Suzuki  NED   2' 26.770     2' 6.227   11  C. Zaiser  Ducati  AUT   2' 26.945     2' 6.265   12  M. Sanchini  Yamaha  ITA   2' 26.670     2' 6.362   13  G. Vizziello  Yamaha  ITA   2' 27.690     2' 6.447   14  W. De Angelis  Honda  ITA   2' 29.724     2' 6.647   15  C. Peris  Yamaha  CAN   2' 30.164     2' 6.734   16  M. Roccoli  Yamaha  ITA   2' 29.666     2' 6.818   17  A. Gobert  Yamaha  AUS   2' 28.284     2' 6.872   26  D. Van Keymeulen  Yamaha  BEL   2' 30.832     2' 7.972   28  A. Velini  Yamaha  ITA   2' 30.150     2' 8.219   29  D. Garcia  Yamaha  ITA   2' 28.596     2' 8.921   30  V. Ivanov  Yamaha  RUS   2' 30.250     2' 9.142
Alex Asigno

Yamaha Fazer Owners Club

By Alex Asigno in Archives

Yamaha Fazer Owners Club
The 2006 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer was designed for the all round rider who wants everything possible out of a 600 – the heart pumping fun of the R6-based fule injected engine, excellently responsive handling from the flawlessly tuned cast alloy frame and box section swingarm.
The 2006 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer comes with a wide 180 cross section rear tyre, plus heaps of cool street style and everyday usability. The FZ6 mixes it all up for an exhilarating ride anytime, anywhere.
Whether you have an owner of a 2003 Yamaha Fazer FZ6 600, or an owner 2005 FZS Fazer 600 this is a fun club to be a member of. Why don’t you let us know all about your new Yamaha Fazer at our Fazer Owners Club Forums. Here are the Yamaha Fazer 600 Owners Club Forums
2006 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer Technical specifications
Engine Engine type 4-stroke, forward-inclined, in-line 4-cylinder, DOHC, 16 valves Engine cooling Liquid cooled Displacement 600cc Bore x stroke 65.5 x 44.5mm Compression ratio 12.2:1 Maximum power 72kW (98 HP) @ 12,000rpm Maximum torque 63.1Nm (6.4 kg-m) @ 10,000rpm Lubrication system Wet sump Carbutator Grouped injected fuel injection Clutch type Wet, multiple-disc
Ignition system TCI Starter system Electric Transmission system Constant mesh, 6-speed Final transmission Chain Fuel tank capacity 19.4 litres (3.6 litres) Oil tank capacity 3.4 litres
Chassis Front suspension system Telescopic fork Front travel 130mm Rear suspension system Swingarm (Linkless type Monocross) Rear travel 130mm Front brake Double discs, Ø 298mm Rear brake Single disc, Ø 245mm Front tyre 120/70 ZR17 (58W) Rear tyre 180/55 ZR17 (73W)
Dimensions Length (mm) 2,095mm Width (mm) 755mm Height (mm) 1,085mm Seat height (mm) 795mm Wheel base (mm) 1,440mm Minimum ground clearance (mm) 130mm Dry weight (kg) 180 kg
 So why not choose the Yamaha Owners Club to be your new Fazer Owners Club!
Alex Asigno
WSB : Yamaha makes a positive start at wet Qatar Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 23 February 2006 Temp: 22ºC Weather: Wet Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga got their seasons underway by posting the seventh and eighth fastest times in today's first qualifying session for round one of the 2006 Superbike World Championship at the Losail circuit in Qatar. For the second year in a row, riders arrived at the Losail circuit to find themselves faced with a wet opening practice, ironic considering that the country's annual rainfall is less than 130mm per year. The rain stopped prior to the timed afternoon session and, although the track was to dry out in places the Yamaha Motor Italia riders opted to save their tyre allocation and run just one set of wet-weather tyres each throughout the day. Having tested at the circuit just over two weeks ago, Haga sat out of the wet morning free practice session with Pitt completing just a handful of laps. With teams restricted to just nine front and 13 rear tyres throughout the weekend, the squad decided to preserve their rubber allocation for tomorrow's expected dry session. Even so, both riders were able get their first feel of the 2006-version YZF-R1 in wet conditions and carry out further work on the new engine management system. Yamaha Motor France rider Sebastien Gimbert, fastest of the 17 riders who ventured out in the soaked morning practice, continued his record strong performances around the Middle Eastern venue in today's opening practice. The Losail lap record holder ended the day in fifth position and keen to replicate the front row start he gained in Qatar last year during tomorrow's superpole session. Team-mate Norick Abe took no risks to end the day in 12th place while Shinichi Nakatomi was probably the rider most badly affected by the morning wash out. One of seven championship rookies this year, the Japanese newcomer is one of only three riders never to have ridden at the Losail circuit. The 27-year-old clocked 35 laps over the two sessions, making him the day's most active rider. He ended the day 24th in the overnight standings. Former world champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was the fastest man on track today, setting a 2:17.326 lap late in the session. Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) was second on 2:19.064 with Pitt and Haga less than a second behind, recording 2:19.991 and 2:20.164 respectively.   Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "This has been a good track for me in the past. I was on the front row here last year and also got the lap record, so I know that I can be strong. I am usually quite good in these wet conditions but I hope that it is dry tomorrow and we can get a good setting for the race." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We learned a lot today. This year's bike is definitely much better to ride in the wet (compared to last year's version) and we were able to work on the electronics again today and make some further improvements there. If the session had gone on for another 10 minutes then we could have gone out on intermediates but as it was we just used the one set of tyres for the morning and afternoon sessions. Even with a fresh set of wets I could have gone quicker but we didn't want to use up a set of tyres unnecessarily." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We did what we could to improve the bike in the conditions but really I wanted it to be dry today. We already have a base from our test here but I want to work a little bit more on improving the set-up and choosing our tyre for the race." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Twelfth is neither bad nor good, in fact it's not really important. Tomorrow the conditions will change and everyone will go faster, so today I treated qualifying as a warm-up session for my body and to get a feel for riding the bike again." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "Today is my first visit to this circuit so I had to make as many laps as possible to learn the layout. I hope that it is dry tomorrow and we can make some faster lap times." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Overall it has been a positive day for us. We had no problems and both riders are happy with the bike in wet conditions. We decided not to use up any more of our tyre allocation than necessary in these conditions. Hopefully it will be dry tomorrow and we can work on finding the best tyres for the race. Pirelli has brought along one option which is new to us, so we must try this out in the dry."     Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 1.852 (Sebastien Gimbert, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 1.244 (Troy Corser, 2005) Date: 23 February 2006 Temp: 22ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  T. Bayliss  Ducati  AUS   2' 17.326   2  R. Laconi  Kawasaki  FRA   2' 19.064   3  T. Corser  Suzuki  AUS   2' 19.614   4  C. Walker  Kawasaki  GBR   2' 19.684   5  S. Gimbert  Yamaha  FRA   2' 19.687   6  A. Barros  Honda  BRA   2' 19.834   7  A. Pitt  Yamaha  AUS   2' 19.991   8  N. Haga  Yamaha  JPN   2' 20.164   9  F. Battiani  Kawasaki  ITA   2' 20.200   10  F. Nieto  Kawasaki  ESP   2' 20.469   11  P. Chili  Honda  ITA   2' 20.695   12  N. Abe  Yamaha  JPN   2' 20.720   13  K. Muggeridge  Honda  AUS   2' 21.152   14  R. Rolfo  Ducati  ITA   2' 21.233   15  Y. Kagayama  Suzuki  JPN   2' 21.234   16  M. Neukirchner  Ducati  GER   2' 21.491   24  S. Nakatomi  Yamaha  JPN   2' 24.788   29  T. Al Naimi  Yamaha  QAT   2' 46.833   WSS : Three R6s provisional front row at rainy Qatar Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Date: 23 February 2006 Temp: 19ºC Weather: Wet Yamaha riders occupied three of the top four places in today's wet first qualifying session for Saturday's opening round of the Supersport World Championship. With rain falling just before the start of the 45-minute session, riders remained cautious in the wet and humid conditions - valuing circuit and machine time ahead of ultimate speed. Despite taking it easy, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain found himself at the top of the leader board until the dying moments of the session, when young Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) pushed hard to set a time almost two seconds quicker than his opponents. Curtain remained second by the chequered flag with another R6 rider, Gianluca Nannelli of the new Kopron Edo Racing squad third. Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes completed the provisional front row on a promising start to what will be the third generation YZF-R6's first competitive race meeting. Final qualifying for Saturday's race takes place tomorrow and, with improved weather forecast, today's times are expected to be irrelevant in deciding the final grid. Round: 1 - Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 4.686 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 3.747 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Date: 23 February 2006 Temp: 19ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  K. Sofuoglu  Honda  TUR   2' 21.890   2  K. Curtain  Yamaha  AUS   2' 23.872   3  G. Nannelli  Yamaha  ITA   2' 24.021   4  B. Parkes  Yamaha  AUS   2' 24.757   5  K. Andersen  Suzuki  NOR   2' 25.853   6  M. Sanchini  Yamaha  ITA   2' 26.670   7  B. Veneman  Suzuki  NED   2' 26.770   8  X. Fores  Yamaha  ESP   2' 26.887   9  C. Zaiser  Ducati  AUT   2' 26.945   10  K. Fujiwara  Honda  JPN   2' 27.615   11  G. Vizziello  Yamaha  ITA   2' 27.690   12  S. Charpentier  Honda  FRA   2' 27.755   13  A. Gobert  Yamaha  AUS   2' 28.284   14  J. Brookes  Ducati  AUS   2' 28.508   15  D. Thomas  Kawasaki  AUS   2' 28.542   16  D. Garcia  Yamaha  ITA   2' 28.596   20  M. Roccoli  Yamaha  ITA   2' 29.666   23  A. Velini  Yamaha  ITA   2' 30.150   24  C. Peris  Yamaha  CAN   2' 30.164   26  V. Ivanov  Yamaha  RUS   2' 30.250   27  D. Van Keymeulen  Yamaha  BEL   2' 30.832
Alex Asigno
Round 1: Losail, Qatar Track length: 5400m Opened: 2004 Fastest superbike lap: 2:01.244 (Troy Corser, Suzuki) Lap record: 2:01.852 (Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha) Last year's winners: Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama (both Suzuki) The 2006 Superbike World Championship gets underway this weekend at the Losail circuit in Qatar with Yamaha Motor Italia looking to build on a race-winning debut season in 2005. Having tested twice at the Middle Eastern circuit during the winter break, riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt are more than familiar with the characteristics of the modern 5.4km circuit. The team has worked hard over the winter to increase the competitiveness of the YZF-R1. Most of the focus has gone into improving traction and rideability of the bikes over race distance. The new engine management system from Magneti Marelli has been well received by the riders, who commented on the improved power delivery and engine braking characteristics. "I'm happy with the bike," explains Pitt. "The R1 is really feeling more comfortable now and it's about evolution as much as anything else. Everything is looking good, we made some good progress at our December test in Qatar and I think that the team is well equipped to take on any problems that arise. The important thing is that I have a lot of confidence in the bike and that I really enjoy riding it now. The new electronics make it much easier to ride and we've pretty much found a good set-up for the race. The main thing we need to work on is finding a front tyre that will do the race distance. That was our big problem here last year, although it was our first race with the R1 and hopefully it won't be a problem this year." Having won two races and having outscored eventual champion Troy Corser over the second half of last year, Haga will undoubtedly be among the favourites for the 2006 title. It's a challenge the popular Japanese rider is relishing as he looks to win the title that has so far eluded him. "I don't feel any pressure," he says. "It is hard for me to say if I can win the title or not because we have still not tested with our rivals. We have made some good tests in Qatar and the bike is stronger than last year. It looks like Yamaha has been able to make the improvements I asked for at the end of last year so for now I am happy with progress. It is still my target to win the title. Every year I am close: second position, fourth position, third position... but never number one. I will always try my best at each race but only when we race with the others can I know how strong we are. All I can say now is that the championship is the one thing that I have never achieved. Every year I always go in with the attitude and focus to win it and this year is no different." Yamaha will be represented by a second distributor-backed squad in 2006. Yamaha Motor France will enter a three-rider team with Japanese rider Shinichi Nakatomi joining the incumbent Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert for his world superbike debut. In the world supersport race, Yamaha riders will make up the lion's share of the grid, with 15 riders aiming for glory on the new YZF-R6. Expected to lead the Yamaha charge is the officially-supported Yamaha Motor Germany squad of Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes. The Australians were consistently among the front runners in the 2005 campaign and despite the early start to the season the German squad is as well prepared as possible, having tested successfully with the new bike at Valencia and Phillip Island.
Alex Asigno

Gobert joins Yamaha GMT94

By Alex Asigno in Archives

Yamaha GMT94 has signed Australian rider Anthony Gobert to ride its YZF-R6 in the opening rounds of the Supersport World Championship. The eight-time world superbike race winner will substitute for the injured David Checa. Checa crashed in testing last week and broke his arm, forcing him out of the opening races in Qatar and Australia. After undergoing a successful operation on Friday the Spaniard is expected to return to the saddle by the end of March, leaving the team needing a replacement rider for the opening two races. Gobert, who celebrates his 31st birthday on the day of the Phillip Island race, rocketed onto the world superbike scene at the end of the 1994 campaign - taking pole position and a win at the Australian round. After three years in the championship 'The Go-Show' moved to 500cc Grands Prix before returning to the world superbike series in which he made his name in 2000. His win on the underpowered Bimota, again at Phillip Island, was as memorable as the race six years earlier and showed his undoubted natural talent as he won by almost 30 seconds in a wet race. His last world championship outing came in October 2000 when he rode a Yamaha YZF-R7 at Brands Hatch. In the intervening years he faced well-documented personal problems while racing in American and Australian national championships, but Anthony says he is fit and ready to race in what will be his debut world championship supersport races. "I'm really happy to have the opportunity to get back into the world series with a good team and bike," he said. "I took a few years out to work out what I wanted to do and I've realized that it is to get back into racing. I raced in Australia last year and it looked like I might be doing that again, until this offer came to ride in the first few races. At first I was approached for the Phillip Island race but I really wanted some time on the bike beforehand, so the team invited me along to Qatar as well. "The first race will really be a test for us. I raced supersport for Yamaha US in 2001 and 2002 but the bikes have changed a lot since then. It's a new track, team, tyres and bike for me and I haven't ridden for five months, so the goal in Qatar to get a good set-up and hopefully a top ten. If we can get into the groove in Qatar then there's no reason why we can't be aiming at the top five in Phillip Island." Round one of the Supersport World Championship takes place at the Losail circuit in Qatar this Saturday with round two at Phillip Island taking place eight days later.
Alex Asigno
Yamaha GMT94 rider David Checa will miss the opening rounds of the 2006 Supersport World Championship after breaking his wrist in a testing accident on Wednesday.   The Spaniard had only completed a few laps at the Albacete circuit in his homeland when he crashed the YZF-R1 he is due to race at the Le Mans and Bol d'Or 24 hours endurance races alongside his supersport commitments.   "David is very disappointed," commented team owner Christophe Guyot. "He can't understand why he lost the bike but he has kept his iron will. He knows that even if he has to miss a few races there will be a lot more opportunities to prove how well he can race with GMT throughout the season."   With doctors recommending a four-week lay-off, Checa will miss the Qatar and Australian rounds of the Supersport World Championship, due to take place on February 25 and March 5 respectively. David is planning to return to the saddle for the Le Mans 24 hours race on 22-23 April. As this clashes with round three of the Supersport World Championship, Checa's first race outing on the R6 is expected to be at the Monza race on May 7.
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Sepang test day 3

By Alex Asigno in Archives

Rain interrupts Camel Yamaha Team test on Rossi's birthday   Bad weather again today meant that track time for Yamaha duo Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards was severely limited on their last day of testing in Sepang. The riders were unable to complete their planned long-runs but Rossi, who turned 27 today, made the most of the inactivity and celebrated with a large birthday cake in the team garage. Despite the rain the riders declared the test valuable and now head back to Europe looking forward to the final stages of preparation, before the first race in Jerez on 26th March. With track conditions patchy throughout the day, times were slightly slower across the board than yesterday. Rossi and Edwards only completed 34 and 28 laps respectively, Rossi setting the second fastest time of 2'02.06 and Edwards the fourth fastest with a lap of 2'02.33. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was quickest in a time of 2'01.92. The Camel Yamaha Team now return home for a short holiday before they reconvene at the Montmelo circuit, outside Barcelona, for the Official MotoGP Tests on 3rd, 4th and 5th March.  Valentino Rossi (2'02.06, 34 Laps) "27 years is quite a lot and I am definitely getting old, although most of the time I still feel like I am only 16! Today we couldn't do much because of the weather but overall it's been a very interesting test. I am especially happy because we have made some good progress to solve the problem with the vibration. We have some new data now and we understand better why it's happening, and how to finally fix it. We're not yet at 100% and I think we can go faster, but I am feeling confident. Before the Jerez GP we might receive a small improvement for the engine, and hopefully we will have a bit more power. The test in Barcelona isn't so important for us but the final one in Jerez is very useful, as it's just a week before the first race and the conditions will be similar. Now we're close to the start of the season and it's already becoming clear who the main challengers will be; Melandri and Pedrosa especially are looking very fast and it also seems like Ducati are strong. I think it's going to be a very exciting year with some wonderful races!" 
Colin Edwards (2'02.33, 28 Laps) "Today was a bit of a wash-out for me! This morning we only tested a couple of tyres and then it looked like it might rain, so we decided to get started on our long run. Unfortunately I only had time for my warm-up and half a lap before it rained, so that was kind of it for the day! Anyway it's been a good test, we've learned a lot more about the bike and we've been able to try quite a lot of new things which seem to make sense. We're definitely not chasing our tails anymore and the bike is better than it was on Tuesday when we started; that's the most important thing. In general the new bike is great, pretty much everything is better than last year and now I am just counting down the days to the start of the season." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director We have concluded our overseas testing sessions and now we're going back to Europe for the final two tests. The conditions in Barcelona won't help us so much with the bike development but anyway we will try to make the most of it. The important test will be Jerez, which will be the final opportunity for some key preparation before the first race. At the moment we still have a small problem to solve with vibration but apart from that everything is going well. Now we have to work in cooperation with Michelin to find the best combination between the new bike and the new tyres, because both have great potential." The Yamaha Tech 3 outfit again surprised with very competitive times of Carlos Checa, who seems to have made the chance to Yamaha and Dunlop effortlessly. Yamaha debutant James Ellison however could not progress on the strong last day test results he achieved in Qatar. He will need some time to digest the input of the last tests to recalibrate himself for the Barcelona IRTA test starting on March 3. Carlos Checa (2'02.66) "The times have been really good this week and I am quite happy and surprised with the progress we have made so far. We didn't know what would happen coming here after the good first test we made in Qatar and we were prepared to have some problems, but things have been better than we expected and I am happy. The new bike is excellent, as I said before, and now we're starting to understand more about the tyres with Dunlop and how to work together with what we have. We have tried quite a lot of new things with Dunlop this week and there are some good improvements; we have found much better grip here which is helping me to have more confidence. "Anyway despite all this and the times we have set, I don't want to be overconfident or to start to think that things are going to be easy. We have only done two tests and, although the initial signs are good, we can't afford to relax. We have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. The conditions here have been quite strange and now we go to Barcelona, which is a very different track and with much colder weather. Let's wait and see what happens there. Of course it's my home track so it's always nice for me to ride there, but we have a lot of hard work ahead of us so I won't let anything distract me." James Ellison (2'05.70) "This test has really been one that I would like to forget! We started with the settings we had in Qatar because everything felt good there, but they were a mile off for this track so we gradually started to go back to what we had here in January. We got the times back to what they were then but I couldn't go any faster. My riding style is all wrong for here, comparing the data with Carlos' it's clear that I am still carrying way to much corner speed - a hang-over from my Superbike days - and I am having a real problem to make the change. I need to be running in fast on the brakes, stopping the bike, turning it and then firing it out, but it's not easy at this circuit, which I find very difficult. The encouraging thing is that I have been losing all my time on just three corners, so if I can crack my corner style, which I know I can, then I believe I can start to be more in touch with Carlos. "We've been pretty unlucky with the weather as well. Most of the time I spent on the old tyres, and then when we put some new stuff in yesterday it immediately started to rain! Exactly the same thing happened today; we tried some of the good tyres and the grip was much better straight away, but then we needed to change the bike at the front and as soon as we did that it started to rain again. "Anyway, I think I've just been thinking about everything too much! Now I am going to go home and spend some time mountain-biking - my second passion after riding motorcycles and my best form of training. I hope that I can clear my head a bit and go to Barcelona in a new frame of mind. I think I just need to just go there, ride the bike, trust in my ability a little bit and stop trying to think about too many things at once! I really like Barcelona so I hope it will be a big improvement there." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "We are really happy and pleasantly surprised with the performance of Carlos this week. He was fast in Qatar, but it was only the first test and we knew that Qatar has always been a good track for Dunlop. We didn't know what would happen here, since Sepang has always been one of the more difficult tracks for Dunlop. Anyway, Carlos has been fast all week and it's looking very promising, we're very pleased with the situation with him. We certainly didn't expect this level of results that quickly so well done to Yamaha, Dunlop and Carlos for the work they've done together in a short space of time. "With James things have been more difficult and we haven't made as much progress as we had hoped. He's done a lot of laps but we haven't been able to find the right way forward for him. This is a difficult track for him and I think, after three tests here, he needs a break and a change of scenery. I hope that a bit of time to rest now will help him so that we can make a new start in Barcelona. "Overall it's been an important test and once again we've learned a lot. We also got the chance to do a couple of runs in the rain which was good. The most important thing is that we're leaving with bikes and riders in good shape for the tests in Spain and we're looking forward to the start of the season." Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 2'01.92 2. Valentino Rossi(ITA) Yamaha, 2'02.06 3. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 2'02.20 4. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 2'02.33 5. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2'02.34 6. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki, 2'02.47 7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 2'02.65 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 2'02.66 9. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 2'02.70 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2'02.86 11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 2'02.87 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 2'03.00 13. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2'03.64 14. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati, 2'04.18 15. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda, 2'04.30 16. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati, 2'04.82 17. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 2'05.70 Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 2'02.993 Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 2'01.731 Ambient temperature: 33 degrees Track temperature: 48 degrees Humidity: 74%
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Sepang test day 2

By Alex Asigno in Archives

Rain shower calls early halt to second day of Sepang test   Work ended early for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards today when day two of the Camel Yamaha Team's Sepang Test was cut short by a mid-afternoon rainstorm. The Team spent the morning working on different settings and testing tyres with Michelin, looking to eliminate the vibration that the riders have been experiencing lately, before the rain came down after lunch. Both riders ventured out in the wet on the 2006-spec M1, the first time they have been able to see the performance of the new bike in these conditions, but the track soon started to dry out in patches and they decided to call it a day after just a few laps. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 2'01.80, followed by Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 2'01.87). Rossi, who celebrates his 27th birthday tomorrow, was close behind him with a time of 2'01.89 after 47 laps, whilst team-mate Edwards completed 57 laps and set the seventh fastest time with a lap of 2'02.20. The Camel Yamaha Team has one final day of testing remaining tomorrow.  Valentino Rossi (2'01.89, 47 Laps) "This morning we did quite a lot of laps and we were quite fast and consistent, so I was happy. We worked very well with Michelin and with one or two new tyres that they brought we made some good improvements to the vibration. Unfortunately in the afternoon it rained and we couldn't go on as we wished. We made a few laps in the rain just to see how the new bike was in the wet; we had some new things to try with the electronic mapping in these conditions, but we needed more time. After a few laps the track started to dry and then with the conditions half wet and half dry, we had to stop. Tomorrow we might do a long run and we will also continue with the work we started today."  Colin Edwards (2'02.20, 57 Laps) "The weather was a real disappointment today because we had a lot of work to do and we weren't able to complete as many laps as we had hoped. Anyway in the morning we concentrated on a new front fork setting and generally played around, looking for some improvements to the chatter issue. We didn't have enough time to do everything but we definitely made some steps in the right direction. We tested a couple of tyres for Michelin but then the rain came down. We did a few laps in the rain, just to check some settings and try out a couple of new things for Yamaha, and everything seemed okay in that area. Tomorrow we're going to get started nice and early as we've got a lot still to do; I really hope the weather is better!"    Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Unfortunately the rain stopped us from completing all the work we wanted to do, but anyway we tried to use these conditions as best we could to check some things with the new bike. Tomorrow is our final day of testing in warm conditions before we return to Europe and we have to try to use all the time we have available to us." Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki, 2'01.80 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 2'01.87 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 2'01.89 4. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2'01.90 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Honda, 2'01.93 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 2'02.06 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 2'02.20 8. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki, 2'02.37 9. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2'02.62 10. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, 2'02.65 11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, 2'02.66 12. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati, 2'02.87 13. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2'02.93 14. Kenny Roberts (USA) KR Honda, 2'02.95 15. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2'03.18 16. Alex Hofmann (GER) Ducati, 2'04.23 17. Jose Luis Cardoso (SPA) Ducati, 2'04.65 18. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 2'05.08 Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 2'02.993 Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 2'01.731 Ambient temperature: 31 degrees Track temperature: 45 degrees Humidity: 74%