Jump to content

Yamaha Racing News

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

Passing Away of Norifumi (Norick) Abe

On Behalf of Yamaha Motor Corporation Co. LTD
About the Passing Away of Norifumi (Norick) Abe
It is with great sadness that we learn of the death of Norifumi (Norick) Abe (32) on October 7, 2007, following a traffic accident. Norick Abe, as he is fondly known by motorcycle race fans around the world, was competing this season in the JSB1000 class of the All-Japan Championships from the “Y'S GEAR Racing” team. Norick was riding a motorcycle in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Pref. when he met with an accident at about 6:20 pm and he was pronounced dead at 8:50 pm at the hospital where he was taken for treatment.
In 1993, Norifumi Abe became the youngest rider ever to win the pinnacle 500cc class of the All Japan Road Race Championships. The following year he was competing in the All Japan Superbike Championship when he joined the Yamaha camp and started competing in the World GP500cc class. From 1995 he began competing full-time in the World GP500cc class, where he eventually compiled a record of three wins, four 2nd places and 10 3rd places in his GP career. This year he returned to the All Japan Championships and also competed in the Suzuka 8 hours World Endurance Championship race in July. During his career Abe was widely known and loved by the fans as a leading figure in the domestic race scene as well as abroad.
Comment from Takashi Kajikawa, President, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. “I am deeply saddened to hear this tragic news. Loved by fans in Japan, Europe and the Americas and throughout Asia, Norifumi Abe was an irreplaceable ambassador of motor sports worldwide. Here in Japan the fans were especially excited to see Abe return to the All Japan circuit after 14 years of international competition, and certainly their sense of loss at his passing is great. We pray that his soul rests in peace and we send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
Norifumi Abe Profile Place of birth: Tokyo, Japan Born on Sept. 7, 1975 2007 team: Y'S GEAR Racing
Career: 1993: Champion of All Japan GP500 class 1994: World Road Race Championships GP500 class debut 1995: 9th in World GP500 class 1996: 5th in World GP500 class (won Japan GP) 1997: 7th in World GP500 class 1998: 6th in World GP500 class 1999: 6th in World GP500 class (won Rio GP) 2000: 8th in World GP500 class (won Japan GP) 2001: 7th in World GP500 class 2002: 6th in MotoGP 2003: 16th in MotoGP (spot participation) 2004: 13th in MotoGP 2005: 13th in World Superbike Championship 2006: 13th in World Superbike Championship 2007: Ranking 3rd in All Japan JSB1000 class (at the end of round 6)
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha Keeps Championship Hopes Alive

In a day of dramatic racing, Yamaha came away with both their rider and manufacturer championship still hopes alive. Haga came third and fourth in today's races with Corser finishing in fifth in the second race after a DNF in race one. Race one had a spectacular start as Corser lost the front and crashed out on the first lap while Haga almost crashed but managed to move into third in front of Toseland. He then proceeded to take the fastest lap three times to catch Bayliss and Biaggi who were battling for first. Having caught Bayliss, Haga tousled and swapped places with him many times before Bayliss made it stick on lap 17. The battle up front had given Toseland the chance to catch up and challenge Haga for third position; a challenge which he eventually won. Race two was equally exciting with the usual suspects of Bayliss, Biaggi, Haga, Toseland and Corser up front and challenging for position. Bayliss took an early lead but Haga was quick to chase, along with Biaggi. Corser, in fifth, fought to get past Toseland until Toseland crashed allowing Corser to get on with catching the front runners up. The fight for first place turned into a three-way battle between Bayliss, Haga and Biaggi until Biaggi squeezed past the Yamaha rider for second place on lap 13. From there on the positions remained the same until the chequered flag. Shinichi Nakatomi had one of the best rides of his WSB career today, taking a pair of ninth place finishes. He made a good start in race one to move up to ninth, where he finished. Race two's start wasn't as good as he went down to 15th but he focused on the job in hand and managed to claim ninth by the end of the race. The outcome of today's races is that Haga now lies third in the championship, 4 points behind Biaggi and 33 points behind Toseland. With 50 points still up for grabs at the final round next weekend all three riders will be looking for the all-important win. Yamaha lies second in the manufacturer championship but only 3 points adrift of Honda. Both championships will be decided next weekend at Magny-Course.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Aubin helps France to second place at Motocross of Nations

Team Yamaha Ricci’s Nicolas Aubin ended an impressive breakthrough season in which he won his first Grand Prix, finished a career-best sixth in the MX2 World Championship and by assisting France to second place in front of a huge 74,000 crowd packed into the impressive Budds Creek circuit, Maryland USA for the 61st Motocross of Nations.
On a typically American track that was quick, technical, lined with jumps and blessed with hot sunshine. The temperatures in the mid 30’s gave the racing an extra physical edge and tested the best riders (three per Nation with one representative each in MX1, MX2 and MX Open classes) from around the globe with twenty countries entering the gate for the three 30 minute and 2 lap motos mixing the categories. The scoring system worked in reverse compared to a Grand Prix with the first classified participant taking one point, second position two points and then continuing down the order to last place. The Nation will the lowest score from five accumulated results (the worst finish can be discarded) earned overall victory. On this occasion it was the USA for the third year in a row.
Aubin was making his Nations debut for 2001 winners France and gave his country their third share of silverware since that historic day at Namur six years ago. The youngster rode to results of tenth and sixth in the two motos against the larger machines of the MX1 and MX Open fields. He was third overall in the MX2 class and provided an exciting piece of action in the first race when he clashed with Tommy Searle, only losing out on ninth by a fraction of a second at the finish line.
With the USA dominating each moto thanks to Ryan Villopoto and Ricky Carmichael it was left to the rest of the world to fight for podium slots. France beat Belgium by just one point and Italy were some way adrift in fourth. MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli was unlucky to take only fourteenth and a DNF. Cairoli was originally on the point of being unable to compete as his YZ250F arrived just in time for practice on Saturday having been held up through US customs. The 21 year old Sicilian struggled on the rough and bumpy track. He had his line cut by another rider in the first moto versus the MX1 machines and crashed, damaging his front brake and forcing a retirement. In the second race he had to enter the pits with a badly buckled front wheel as a result of a collision on the second lap. He re-entered the race but could not break into the top thirteen. USA for the third year in a row.
Team-mate Davide Guarneri was also feeling the demands of the surface with his first outing on the YZ450F in the Open category. He was fifteenth and sixteenth. USA for the third year in a row.
2007 AMA Motocross Champion Grant Langston had a tough day for South Africa. His first moto was wrecked by a spate of crashes and a problem with his rear brake. He then rode better in Moto2 to finish third and give the team their highest result. With Gareth Swanepoel crashing and breaking his foot South Africa was twelfth in the closing ranking. USA for the third year in a row.
Former World and American Supercross Champion Chad Reed posted the best race classification on YZ machinery across the classes at Budds Creek with a decent ride to second position in the opening moto, beating Carmichael. The Australian was luckless in the next race as he became caught up in a second turn pile-up and then retired as he could not shift gears. Australia were plagued with ill fortune and finished last as Andrew McFarlane was hit on the start straight of the first moto and pulled out of the event in pain while Michael Byrne had technical problems.
Credit must be given to Bike it Yamaha Dixon’s Carlos Campano who enjoyed his best race meeting of 2007 with fourth position overall in MX2 and was Spain’s most consistent rider with fourteenth and seventh. The Spanish national champion has struggled with a knee injury this season. Jubilo Yamaha’s Akira Narita was thirty-sixth and twenty-third on the YZ450F as Japan finished seventh in the final ranking.
The Motocross calendar is not quite over for Cairoli and Guarneri with two races of the Italian Championship remaining in October and then the six-round European Supercross Championship also to contest. Nico Aubin will be part of the French team for the prestigious Bercy Supercross.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Title bid over for Rossi but sensational fourth place for Dunlop Yamaha

Weather and tyre issues brought about an end to Valentino Rossi's slim title chances today, as he finished 13th in Motegi despite a heroic ride which saw him lead the race at one point. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards suffered similar problems in what was an extraordinary race, finishing one place behind Rossi in 14th. With the asphalt still wet after a morning of light rain, the riders started with wet-weather tyres on a fast-drying track. Rossi got a poor start from second on the grid and crossed the line for the first time in seventh place, with Edwards behind him in eighth. An outstanding ride from the seven-time World Champion then saw him fight his way back to the front, making up five seconds on the leaders and taking the lead on lap 14. The racing line by now was almost completely dry however, and behind him most riders had already opted to pit and change onto their second bikes with slick tyres. When Rossi eventually came in to change one lap later he had built up such a lead that he was able to re-join the race in second place, behind eventual winner Loris Capirossi, but Yamaha's jubilation was short-lived as Rossi immediately ran into serious issues with his front tyre and was forced to pit again. He rejoined the race in 15th but was able to make up only two places to the finish as he struggled with grip. Edwards, who was in third place when Rossi came in for the first time, rejoined in eighth but had similar tyre problems and also dropped back through the field to cross the line two seconds behind his team-mate. Casey Stoner took sixth place, which was enough to secure him the World Championship title. Rossi remains second and 26 points clear of Dani Pedrosa, who failed to finish the race, while Edwards drops two places down the standings to ninth, with three races remaining
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha has today confirmed that Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga will remain with the Yamaha Motor Ital

Yamaha has today confirmed that Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga will remain with the Yamaha Motor Italia World Superbike Team in 2008.
A flamboyant and much-loved character, Haga has worked with Yamaha for many years and his WSB career highlights include second in 2000 and third title position in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Currently Haga is fighting for the 2007 title with only 41 points separating him in second place from front man Toseland, having caught up 25 points at the last round in Lausitz. With only two rounds remaining on 30th September (Vallelunga, Italy) and 7th October (Magny Cours, France) Haga is taking the fight for WSB crown all the way to the wire. So far this season he has already won four races, including taking the double win at the team’s home circuit of Monza.
This year has been Corser’s first season with the Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team but it has been a fruitful one, with him gaining eight podium positions so far this season. Corser has also had a good and close working relationship with Haga, with the two riders working together to help develop a championship winning machine in the YZF-R1. The two-times World Superbike Champion has 13 years of experience in the class, including 40 pole positions and an impressive 114 podium positions, 33 of which have been race wins.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha GMT94 Win the Bol d’Or 24hrs

French-run Team Yamaha GMT94 took the chequered flag in the famous but also grueling Bol D’Or 24hrs Endurance race this weekend, completing 801 laps on their YZF-R1 machine and beating second place by five laps. The race took place at the circuit of Magny-Cours (France) in front of almost 100,000 spectators; it started at 15.00 hrs on Saturday and ran through the night to finish at 15.00 hrs on Sunday afternoon.
The three riders were Sébastien Gimbert, David Checa, who both also ride for Team Yamaha GMT94 in World Supersport, and Olivier Four. From the start Team Yamaha GMT94 were in the thick of the action but held their nerve to take the lead with a tight margin of 30 seconds back to second place. But, with only four hours to go the second placed Suzuki team crashed out, giving Team Yamaha GMT94 a ten lap lead. Keen to avoid anything that could lose them the lead, the team maintained their focus to take the win. This win is made all the sweeter as this is their first win at the Magny-Cours race.
Permanent World Endurance Championship entry Yamaha Phase One Endurance team finished fourth (with riders Warwich Nowland, Glen Richards and Pedro Valcaneras Flores) with Yamaha teams Acrapolis Moto Expert fifth and Endurance Moto 38 finishing seventh. Currently 4 Yamaha teams are in the top 7 of the Endurance World Championship standings.
Team Yamaha GMT94, run by former rider and passionate sportsman Christophe Guyot, operate on a strategy focused on two different race programs. They are permanent entries in the World Supersport Championship with riders David Checa and Sébastien Gimbert mounted on Yamaha R6 machinery. In addition, they enter the two most demanding Endurance races in the world on the Yamaha R1, both run in France - the Le Mans 24hrs and the Bol d’Or 24hrs.
David Checa (Team Yamaha GMT94) This race has been excellent; the bike and the tyres worked perfectly together and the team has just worked as one to get on the top of the podium. The last four hours were the easiest, after the Suzuki team crashed; it was just about keeping the pace up and not making any silly mistakes. I’d like to thank Yamaha and Team GMT94 for all their support and efforts.”
Sébastien Gimbert (Team Yamaha GMT94) “What can I say? To win feels very satisfying! Everything came together well and the race was perfect for us.”
Olivier Four (Team Yamaha GMT94) “The bike was set-up well and Sébastien, David and I all worked well together. It feels great to win here! I’d like to thank the team for getting us here.”
Christophe Guyot (Team Manager, Team Yamaha GMT94) “I’d like to thank everyone for all their hard work. I’m so happy with the result; it’s just fantastic to win here this weekend! It was a big fight from the beginning of the race and, although we got the lap record we were only leading by 30 seconds at 10.30am on Sunday morning. Then, the Suzuki which was in second place crashed, meaning we were in the lead by ten laps. From then on it was down to the riders to just ride carefully and not risk any crashes. This result is a great proof of the power and reliability of the Yamaha R1.”
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi takes outstanding victory after stunning ride in Portugal

Valentino Rossi made a triumphant return to the top step of the podium in Estoril today, sealing his fourth victory of the season with a masterful ride to victory in front of Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner. Rossi's eighth consecutive podium finish at this circuit was his first in six races, since his last victory at Assen back in June. Colin Edwards was unable to match his team-mate's pace today and slipped back through the field, eventually finishing in tenth.
With 41,566 spectators looking on, Rossi made a poor start from the outside of the front row and slipped to fifth around the first corner, before making up one place and crossing the line first time around behind Nicky Hayden in fourth. He quickly began to put the pressure on Hayden and passed him on lap three, whilst Pedrosa in the meantime picked off Stoner to take the lead. Lap-by-lap Rossi closed the gap and he showed the improved level of his new Yamaha engine when he passed his championship rival on the straight going into lap nine. From then on the race turned into a nail-biting head to head between Rossi and Pedrosa, the pair evenly matched on pace but faster in different areas of the track. With four laps to go Pedrosa ran wide and Rossi came through, only to make a similar mistake moments later, letting the Spaniard back past him. With Pedrosa beginning to slide and Stoner looking menacing in third, Rossi made his move with an inch-perfect pass on the penultimate lap but was forced to keep pushing at the limit to hold on until the end, crossing the line just 0.175 seconds ahead of Pedrosa.
Edwards meanwhile suffered with grip issues throughout, finding himself as far down as 17th at one point. The Texan did not give up however and battled back past several riders to finish tenth, taking six points and holding onto seventh in the championship. Rossi's maximum-points haul today means he clo ses the gap to Stoner to 76 points with five races remaining, the next of which comes at Motegi in Japan in one week's time.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 1stTime: 45'49.911 "First of all I want to dedicate this victory to Colin McRae, who sadly died yesterday. Colin is one of my idols from when I was very young and it's because of him that I have my passion for rally. It's a very sad day for motorsport and I am glad that I could win for him today. This is a very important victory for us in every way, it's the fourth one of the year so the numbers are starting to look a little bit better, and it's a great, great emotion to win again after so long without even a podium. Today my Yamaha and my tyres worked very well. Our new engine is better and today I was able to keep in the slipstream of the Honda and the Ducati on the straight, and even to go alongside them at some points, so this is very important. Michelin have done some good work on the tyres and today we were maybe stronger than our rivals. Once again we've shown that when the tyres are working well we can fight at the top. I had a great battle with Casey but most of all with Dani and it was fantastic fun to ride like this again, at the maximum and with a lot of good passes. When I passed Dani for the first time I tried to go but he was too good so I knew it was going to come down to the last few laps. At the end Dani started to slide a little and I knew I was stronger on the brakes than him in some places, so I was able to make a good pass. When I came out of the last corner on the second to last lap I could only think about how I lost the championship there last year so I knew I had to be far enough ahead next time around! I want to thank Yamaha, Michelin, my team and everyone around me, this is a great day and it's given us a lot of confidence to keep fighting to the end of the season."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha on Every Step of the Podium

The weather was kind to the World Superbike Championship today as the rain disappeared and the sun came out while Haga and Corser took three podiums between them; one on each step of the podium. Haga took the win in race one and rounded it up with a second place in race two, while Corser finished third in the first race and fifth in the second.
Race one started well for Haga as he went from eighth to second in the first few laps. Undeterred by the gap that Bayliss had created between first and second, Haga just put his head down and reduced the margin lap by lap until the two riders were tyre to tyre on lap 14. Haga made his move on the next lap with a traditional Haga-style close pass and then just kept going. He finished the race a clear 11 seconds ahead of the rest of the field; his fourth win of the season.
Corser got off to a poor start in race one, almost high-siding in the second corner, and he slid back to ninth before turning the power back on and making way up through the field again. By lap eight he had made his way to fourth position and was hunting down Biaggi 6.2 seconds ahead in third. By lap 18 the gap had reduced to nothing and Corser tried valiantly to pass Biaggi In the end he had to settle for third as his tyres wore off.
The second race of the day got off to a mixed start with Corser dropping to sixth and Haga climbing to fifth. Haga wasted no time in passing through the field to once again chase down lead-man Bayliss. Corser meanwhile was challenging Xaus for fifth; a challenge he won going into the first turn. He then focused on finding a way past Toseland for fourth place; a battle which was to last the rest of the race with the riders in the order in which they had begun.
By lap nine Haga and Bayliss were dicing with each other and, on lap 14, a mistake by Bayliss gave Haga the chance he was looking for and he grabbed it to take the race lead. But, four laps from the end Bayliss managed to get past Haga, who was forced to settle for second.
Team Yamaha YZF rider Shinichi Nakatomi had a good day's racing taking 11th in race one and 15th in race two. Race one was the highlight of the day for the young Japanese rider and he takes six points away with him.
Today's results have boosted Haga's second place standing; he is now only 41 points behind first with two rounds still to go.
Noriyuki Haga (1st and 2nd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "I feel happy with my result in both races today. The first race was the perfect result; even though my tyre started to wear off I was able to take the win. I made a minor suspension change for race two but then didn't get as good a start as I wanted because of a small mistake. This meant I had to use more rear tyre during the race to chase and challenge Bayliss. Towards the end the tyre started sliding and I just couldn't keep up the pace with Troy.
Today has reduced the margin on my championship challenge; it has given me more potential to win and I'm now feeling more focused than ever and I'm going to push right to the end for the title. I'd like to thank the team and Öhlins for all their efforts in getting the bike working right this weekend."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha World Supersport Team 2008 Rider Line up

The Yamaha World Supersport Team is pleased to announce their rider line up for 2008, ahead of next weekend’s race at Lausitz in Germany. Australian Broc Parkes will remain with the team and he will be joined by the French former Supersport world champion Fabien Foret.
2008 will be Broc’s sixth year challenging in the World Supersport Championship and his fourth with Yamaha. 25 year-old Parkes plans to fight for the world title this year were hampered by injury early on in the season when he broke his collar bone at Donington in April. In spite of this, Parkes has been in contention for top positions at each of the other events this year. Following his first win of the season at Brands Hatch last month, he is now looking to finish the year on a high and is targeting third position in the championship and still has a mathematical chance to finish 2nd.
Fabien Foret, aged 34, joins the Yamaha World Supersport team with a good pedigree behind him. He was World Supersport Champion in 2002 and is currently second in the championship, having won this year’s Philip Island round. The Frenchman, who is known for being a hard charger on the track, has ten race wins and twelve more podiums to his name in addition to the title. Foret is no stranger to Yamaha, having ridden in the Supersport championship for the Yamaha Motor Italia team in 2004 and he rode for the German-based team at Lausitz last year as a stand-in rider, where he made a strong impression on the team by finishing third without any prior testing time on the bike. He brings with him a wealth of experience covering entries in Superstock, Supersport and Superbike championships.
The 11th round of the 2007 World Supersport Championship will take place this coming weekend in Germany.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Edwards ninth and Rossi forced to retire as bad luck strikes in Misano

Valentino Rossi's hopes of a glorious homecoming to Misano ended after just five laps today, when an engine problem forced the Fiat Yamaha Team rider to retire when running strongly in fourth position. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile struggled with rear grip in the later stages and was only able to bring his YZR-M1 home in his starting position of ninth.
With thousands of passionate Italian fans looking on, Rossi started the San Marino Grand Prix from second on the grid with high hopes of an exciting podium battle with chief rival and pole-sitter Casey Stoner. He dropped one place at the start and another a few turns later as first John Hopkins and then Chris Vermeulen came through, but never got the chance to fight back as he lost power in his engine on lap five of 28 and was forced to coast home to the pits. Edwards got a good start and rose to sixth at one point, but a lack of grip on the left side of his rear tyre meant he was unable to make any further headway through the field, eventually slipping to ninth behind Anthony West.
With Stoner the eventual winner, today's result sees Rossi's dream of a late-season championship revival slip further away as he now sits 85 points adrift in second, with a possible 125 points left available from five races. Edwards remains seventh with 100 points. The Fiat Yamaha Team will have a one-day test here tomorrow, before heading to Portugal in ten days time for round fourteen.
Colin Edwards - Position: 9thTime: +47.146 "I got a good start and managed to miss the big melee with Hayden and de Puniet. Then Checa almost took me out a couple of times and the second time I had to run wide and West and a couple of others came through. Once I'd got sorted again I had my work cut out getting back by West, but then I just got my head down and got going. Unfortunately however, the left-hand side of my tyre then started to give me trouble and I had no grip from then on. There are a lot of quick changes of direction here, turns one-two and four-five for example, and every time I had to flick it left it felt pretty scary. I had to adjust my pace accordingly and from there on in it was just survival and looking to salvage what points I could. It wasn't fun out there today to be honest!"
Valentino Rossi - Position: DNFTime: "At the start I felt I was lacking some temperature in my tyres and so I slipped back a little from my starting position. However apart from this I felt quite good, stable, with a good rhythm and confident that things would continue to improve as the temperature in my tyres increased. However on lap five, when I was braking hard, I suddenly felt something go and that was the end of my race. The engine was the same one that I used at the Brno test and also here in practice and it felt quite good; we don't yet know what the problem was today so we will have to wait until our engineers have had time to examine the situation.
"It would have been great, and very useful, to have a good result here in Misano today. I like the track a lot and I really wanted to do well in front of all the fans; it was a great emotion for me to see so many people in yellow. Unfortunately this wasn't the case today and now we know that the championship will be very, very difficult. Breaking down after just a few laps is frustrating and unlucky, especially because today we had good expectations and we had been fast during practice. But when bad things like this happen you have only two choices; give up or come straight back and start working again even harder than before. This is what we will do at Yamaha; me, my team, the engineers - everyone involved. We still have five races left and we will keep trying to get the result we deserve. Once again Stoner deserved to win today, so well done to him. We have a lot of work to do before Estoril."
Davide Brivio - Team Director "We used the new engine today and unfortunately something went wrong. We don't know yet exactly what, we won't be able to tell until our engineers have had a lot more time to look at it. It might not have been anything to do with the new technology, we need to check but this can happen and this is racing. It's just very disappointing for everyone and especially all the thousands of fans who came today to cheer Valentino on. Colin had some rear grip issues and he tried his best but unfortunately he too was not able to get the result he deserved. We have to look forward to Estoril now and keep working; we know that all the Yamaha engineers are very busy trying to improve our situation and we have confidence in them. Thanks to everyone for their hard work; we know we are capable of winning and so we will just keep trying."
Misano disapointing for Dunlop Yamaha Tech3
After an absence of 14 years Grand Prix racing returned to the re-vamped Misano circuit where Dunlop was victorious in the last premier 500cc class race to be held at the circuit with Luca Cadalora on the Marlboro Yamaha. History was not to be repeated for the Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team as Sylvain Guintoli and Makoto Tamada finished in 12th and 14th positions respectively.
The weekend had a silver lining however as Sylvain repeated his qualifying performance of the previous race in Brno to start from 11th on the grid. With the first day of practice a washout when the circuit was flooded by devastating rains that caused the abandonment of the day, this ensured that with limited track time, set-up and tyre selection would play an even more important role than usual. Due to a first corner incident that eliminated Dani Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden and Randy De Puniet and then the unfortunate retirement of Valentino Rossi the race was not the spectacle we have come to expect of the MotoGP class.
Sylvain Guintoli (12th - Fastest lap 1'36.560) This race was similar to Brno as I think we proved we have a good qualifying package but we expected to struggle during the race because we couldn't find a rear tyre with good enough grip and endurance. The race was ok. The start was good and the first 12 laps I had a good battle with Nakano and we caught the group in front but after 12 laps the rear grip level started to drop away and I lost touch with the group. The second half of the race was not so much fun. I had a 12 second lead over the riders behind me and I just carried on with a fast enough rhythm so I could not be caught. One thing I am happy with is how much I am learning every time I ride the bike and what is needed in qualifying to get a good lap. I hope we can find something for Portugal so that we can fight for the entire race.
Makoto Tamada (14th - Fastest lap 1'36.645) The race wasn't so good for me. I had a good feeling for the first 12 laps and was able to keep a pretty good pace but then I had trouble with the rear. The performance stayed the same for a few laps but towards the end it dropped off again so all I could hope to do was ride the bike to make sure I finished. It's been a hard season so I hope we find something for the last races so that I may be able to battle with a few riders for the whole race and not just wait for something to happen.
Herve Poncharal - Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3 Team Manager Firstly I would like to apologise to all the fans that turned up as after the incident on the first lap and with Valentino retiring so early in the race it wasn't much of a spectacle when so much was expected of this race on its return to Misano. As for our weekend, this has been another race that has not gone the way we wanted. We have a good qualifying package but we are missing something in the race. We couldn't find a tyre that we were confident that would last us the entire race so we set everything up the best we could. Hopefully we can find some improvement in the race package to compliment the good work we do in qualifying and all the hard work the team is putting in trying to get the results we desire.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha wins in MX1 but looses grip on championship at British GP

Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins made a brave comeback to the FIM Motocross World Championship despite sustaining a two inch break to his left shoulder only four weeks ago but could not prevent his lead in the standings being lost to rival Steve Ramon. Meanwhile MX1 debutant Antonio Cairoli marked a new highlight in a truly wonderful season of success as the MX2 world champ won his first ever outing in the premier class with a 2008 production YZ450F in front of 28,000 spectators.
Coppins was back in action for the first time in two Grand Prix but completed few fast laps and took things easy on Saturday. The New Zealander commented that he was fighting pain in the joint but had medical attention and took to the line on Sunday to attempt to defend the 12 points he held in defiance of Ramon. The many jumps and rough ruts of the track were not ideal for the Kiwi.
The first moto at the new track inside the Donington Park MotoGP complex started perfectly as the 30 year old holeshotted on the YZ450FM. However he was unable to keep pace with the leaders and tried his best to remain as high in the classification as possible but was swamped by a group in the final laps and took fourteenth.
With the gap down from 12 to 4 points for the second race, Coppins tried again to fight his corner but had to pull into the pits after one lap as the former championship runner-up had no strength in his upper limb and could not control the bike properly.
His eighteenth position overall means that he lost the red plate for the first time this year to Ramon and now faces a tough job at Lierop to regain his status. The deserving champion and winner of five Grand Prix this year will need to obtain 14 points or more over Ramon (who is racing with a small fracture in his scaphoid) to claim his first world title.
Marc de Reuver was unable to make an impact on proceedings. The Dutchman retired from the first race and did not feel comfortable on the bike or the track. He did not take to the gate for the second moto.
2007 MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli could not have done a better job in the MX1 class to give Coppins support and also assist Yamaha's effort to retain the manufacturer's title. The Italian admitted that riding the production 2008 YZ450F after steering his YZ250F to nine Grand Prix victories this year was 'different' and placed more demands on his muscle groups. but still managed an incredible debut triumph by taking second and first positions in the two motos in his usual flamboyant style. He walked the top step with hardly any preparation to riding the 450 and leaving the factory bikes of Kevin Strijbos and Ken de Dycker behind on his production machine.
The World Championship will now face a tense and exciting conclusion. The final round of fifteen will take place next week in the deep and rough sand of Lierop for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Fiat Yamaha complete testing programme in Brno

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards rounded off two days of intensive work at Brno today, following Sunday's Czech Grand Prix. After heavy rain yesterday evening the track was still damp this morning, which delayed the start of action, but conditions improved throughout the day and both Rossi and Edwards managed to complete their planned testing programmes.
Once again both riders concentrated mainly on tyre testing, trying a variety of new material with Michelin. Rossi also put in laps with the new-specification engine, which he tried for the first time yesterday. The team now have a week's break before they head to Misano for the San Marino Grand Prix.
Colin Edwards - Position: 7th Time: 1'58.86 Laps: 50 "It was all about tyres again today and we actually found a front that I'm pretty happy with. It's something of a different theory to what we've been using before but it seems to work so I think we've gained something in that area. We also found something for the rear which we think could be good if we have a little more time to work on it and evolve it. Based on that I think we've definitely made some progress today. It's not going to change overnight but we've just got to go step-by-step, put in the laps and see how we go. I tried a couple more starting maps as well which I'm really happy with. I'm heading home now for a few days rest before Misano and we'll see how we get on there!"
Valentino Rossi - Position: 11th Time: 1'59.35 Laps: 69 "We continued today to test many tyres with Michelin, different components and different compounds. We haven't found a miracle tyre yet but we gave a lot of information to Michelin which will hopefully help them in their work for the next races. We used the new engine again for some of the day and found it a little bit better, although we need more time to work on it. Anyway we've given some important information to our engineers so they can continue with the development for the future. We've done a lot of work these two days and I know that Yamaha and Michelin will now do as much as possible with what we've found out here, and we will be ready to try again next week in Misano."
Davide Brivio - Team Director "We've worked a lot these two days and both riders have done a lot of laps, which is hard after an intensive race weekend. This is always a very important test, before the last part of the season, and this year has been no different. We've checked many options, especially with Michelin, and we hope that this information will help them to continue to improve the situation in the near future. We know that both Yamaha and Michelin will be working very hard over the next week and we will see how we get on in San Marino!"
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Fiat Yamaha Team push on with intensive day's testing in Brno

After the disappointment of yesterday's Czech Grand Prix, it was back to the drawing board today for Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards as they embarked on the traditional two-day test at Brno, alongside almost the entire MotoGP paddock. The sun shone until mid-afternoon when it clouded over, eventually giving way to rain at about 4.30 pm.
The main focus of the test for both riders is tyre testing with Michelin and they worked through a variety of new material today as they seek to find a better package for the remaining six races, following recent issues. Rossi also got the chance to complete some laps with a new-specification engine, with which he will continue working tomorrow.
Colin Edwards - Position: 6th Time: 1'58.81 Laps: 51 "Michelin brought a lot of new stuff for us to try here today and I think, in total, I tried about four fronts and maybe five rears before the rain came. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like we've found a miracle yet! We're in a difficult situation but I am determined to give 110% to help Michelin get back to where they should be. I tried a new shock for Ohlins as well and some starting maps and electronics and everything else seems to be feeling pretty good. We've got another day tomorrow so let's hope it stays dry so we can get through the remainder of our testing programme."
Valentino Rossi - Position: 10th Time: 1'59.20 Laps: 66 "We tried a new engine today and I completed about 25 laps with it. Initially we haven't found that it's a lot faster, but anyway this is only the very first step so we need some more time to understand it better and to see how it can help us. Tomorrow we will continue to work with it again, for part of the day at least. We also did some work with tyres, but so far we haven't found anything special. We tried some new fronts but then, when we started to work with some new rear tyres it started to rain and so we weren't able to finish our work. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to use the whole day, because we still have a lot of work to get through and this is a very important test for us."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Dismal day for Yamaha as Rossi finishes seventh and Edwards slides out

The wooded hills of Brno, thronged by 141,632 spectators, proved a less than happy hunting ground for the Fiat Yamaha Team at today's Czech Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi was dogged by traction problems almost from the start and was only able to hang on for seventh, whilst Colin Edwards slid out of the race on the second lap.
Starting from sixth, Rossi slipped one place at the start but regained his starting position by the end of lap one, behind Loris Capirossi. The Italian then spent several laps on his fellow countryman's tail before he was able to pass him on lap eight of 22, but by then Rossi was suffering from grip problems and was unable to push on and clear a gap from the chasing pack. A few laps later he was passed by Chris Vermeulen and then by Capirossi, before Randy de Puniet began to threaten him in the closing stages and he was forced to use all his skills to keep the Frenchman behind him to the line. Edwards meanwhile failed to finish a race for only the third time in his Yamaha career, making a rare mistake on lap two and losing the front. He rejoined the race briefly but was unable to continue, coming into the pits on the next lap.
The race was won by Casey Stoner, who extends his championship lead over Rossi to 60 points. Edwards remains seventh with 93 points. The MotoGP paddock now has one weekend off before the San Marino Grand Prix, when Grand Prix motorcycle racing returns to Misano for the first time in 14 years.
Valentino Rossi - Position: 7thTime: +22.485 "We expected a difficult race today because we knew our potential here wasn't very high after the last two days. However it was even worse than we expected! I tried to keep my rhythm going but, after only seven or eight laps, the tyre started to slide a lot on the right side and from then on I wasn't able to open the throttle.
"Throughout the weekend we have done everything to try to find more traction. We have changed the setting a lot to try to find a way to make the tyre work, but unfortunately during the race we had no grip. Also, with the setting we had to use, we had to sacrifice some of our corner speed and this also slowed us down. It was very difficult today. I was able to do 1.59s to start with but after a few laps the tyre made a big step down and then I just had to wait for the end of the race.
"I had a hard time with Capirossi at the start; in some parts I was faster than him but I couldn't overtake him because he was pulling away from me on the straights. Eventually I got past him but he stayed with me and I couldn't pull clear. I pushed as hard as I could; at that time I wasn't too fast but not too slow either, but after that my tyre was finished and then Vermeulen came, then Loris again...I am sad because I wasn't even able to try to fight with them today. Towards the end I had to push at the limit to stay in front of de Puniet and luckily I managed, but we were a very long way from a good performance. I tried to change my style, to ride in a different way to help the situation, but it was no good.
"We have a test now but in reality our situation is quite bad and we have a few different problems to deal with. We will try to make the best of the next two days of work and to try to find something different for the next few races. We have to wait and see what we find, but for sure it's going to be very difficult. This is a very hard moment that we're in. We have six races to go and we just have to work as hard as we can to try to find a way to make some good results."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Cairoli seals second title while Coppins still tops MX1

Josh Coppins still leads the world championship despite missing his second Grand Prix in a row. The New Zealander has seen his advantage narrowed from 77 to 43 and now to 12 as main rival Steve Ramon could only finish fifth. Yamaha Motocross Team's Marc de Reuver was seventeenth after scoring points in just one moto in front of 18,500 people.
De Reuver started the third-to-last meeting of the year in sixteenth position after riders of both classes on a wet Saturday had only 45 minutes to practice and qualify on the brand new course created for this Grand Prix and with a view towards the 61st Motocross of Nations in September 2008. The heavy rain on Friday and Saturday meant that the track was deep and swampy and could not cope with a full practice programme. The schedule was vastly reduced and thankfully the showers stayed away from Sunday even though a chilly wind swept the open circuit.
The track itself drew compliments from most of the paddock for its challenging layout and big array of jumps, but the riders were not able to really test the terrain until good work had been carried out by the circuit staff to prepare the course for Sunday. The landings and take-offs were still dangerous and difficult due to the softness of the mud. De Reuver rode his own pace to pick up nine points for twelfth position in race one but did not look capable of breaking into the top ten. The second outing was not positive for the Dutchman as he simply could not get to grips with the track from the rear of the field and retired from the moto.
Joshua Coppins is hopeful of being able to ride for the first time this week since fracturing his shoulder in the Czech Republic. The British Grand Prix will take place next Sunday at Donington Park - another new racing course - before the Grand Prix of the Netherlands wraps up the season at Lierop in two weeks time.
Kenneth Gundersen took his first steps towards a return to the MX1 by entering the premier category with a view towards assisting Yamaha's plight to retain the manufacturer's title and gained two points for 19th in the first moto but crashed out of the second.
Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Practice and qualifying was OK but there was not much time on the track and it was really muddy. I was sixteenth, which was nothing special. In the first heat I was twenty-third at the start and I came up to twelfth but I had a really bad start in the second heat and could not get a rhythm. I wasn't jumping anything and could not get into it today."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Josh still has a twelve point lead so it could have been a lot worse today and we are happy about that but we are really disappointed for Marc. We expected a quite good race at least. He had two very bad starts but there was no reaction afterwards."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Grand Prix of Northern Ireland comes too early for Joshua Coppins

Joshua Coppins is recovering well from his left shoulder injury sustained at round 11 of the MX1 World Championship held at Loket (Czech Republic) on the 29th of July, but unfortunately his present condition does not permit him to enter the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland held coming weekend at the Moneyglass Demense circuit. Coppins missed the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago and now had to decide to cancel his participation in round 13 of the championship as well.
Joshua does the very maximum to speed up his recovery, traveling between Belgium, Germany and the UK to seek specialist treatment. The extensive medical attention to the small crack in the neck of the glenoid of his left shoulder is having the desired healing effect, as confirmed by a CT scan made earlier this week which showed good progression of the bone coming back together. At his home base in Belgium, Dr. Claes has been consulted on the therapy which includes the use of a new magnetic 'ortho-pulse' device, massage and acupuncture given by a German naturopath improving blood flow and other advanced medical techniques.
Josh has also started with an intense physiotherapy program including a lot of swimming to improve movement in his shoulder, recently he expanded his training with road cycling and mountain biking, but he won’t ride his YZ450FM just yet. Expectation is that after another positive CT scan scheduled for next week Tuesday, Joshua can start riding his bike again to prepare for the British Grand Prix held on the 26th of August. He hopes to enter that race still leading the world championship. Before his crash at Loket Coppins held a very comfortable advantage of 107 points, but prior to this weekends Grand Prix of Northern Ireland his buffer has diminished to 43 points on second placed Steve Ramon with Sebastian Pourcel also still in contention with 83 points behind Coppins. Most likely the MX1 World Championship will go down to the wire until the last race of the series held at Lierop (NL) on the 2nd of September.
While Coppins is on his way to return to racing, Yamaha Team Ricci rider Kenneth Gundersen will enter the MX1 class at Moneyglass Demense. The 25 year old Norwegian is considering a move to this class for 2008 and considers his entry as a good test to see how competitive he can be. He hopes for good results that will contribute to Yamaha’s position in the manufacturers standing in MX1, which has shrunk to just one point over Suzuki. He will race on a YZ450F machine with YRRD kit (Yamaha Rinaldi R and D) prepared by his own team.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno