News - Page 45

More twists expected at roller-coaster Sachsenring

Yamaha Team this weekend at the vertigo-inducing Sachsenring circuit in Germany, host to the tenth round of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. One of the tightest and most undulating tracks in the world welcomes the most unpredictable season in recent history, with Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards both having played their part in a dramatic campaign that has seen five different race winners, nine different riders on the podium and thirteen different front row starters. A roller-coaster season continues for the Camel Rossi added to his season-tally of three victories with a stunning second place in the last round at Donington Park, where he rode through the pain of hand and ankle injuries to put his YZR-M1 machine back on the podium and cut the gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) to 35 points. That memorable performance at his talisman track was the 121st time that Rossi had stood on a Grand Prix podium - the same number as Phil Read and a figure bettered only by the legendary Giacomo Agostini and Angel Nieto. Rossi has now also scored a total of 2977 points in all classes and victory in Germany would make him the first rider in history to pass the 3000 mark. Sixth place for Colin Edwards at Donington was the 30th successive race at which he has scored points, a record made all the more remarkable by the drama of the previous round at Assen, when he crashed out of the lead in the final corner only to remount and bravely struggle across the line in thirteenth place. The only rider with a longer sequence of successive point scoring finishes is Mick Doohan, who managed it for 37 races, but the more pressing issue for Edwards now is a return to the form that saw him fighting for victory in that breathtaking Dutch TT two weeks ago. Valentino Rossi: Back to fitness Valentino Rossi arrives in Germany with the benefit of an extra weekend to recover from the hand injuries he sustained in the middle of a Grand Prix triple-header at Assen. After struggling through the discomfort to score valuable points in Holland and Great Britain, he is now hoping to be fit enough to fight for his fourth win of the season and his fourth in all classes at the Sachsenring circuit. "I am very confident that by Sachsenring my hand will be back to 100%, or near enough," says Rossi, who won the German Grand Prix for Yamaha last year to add to previous MotoGP and 250cc successes in 2002 and 1999. "I have been working hard with my physiotherapist Marco Montanari and Dr Costa and hopefully it will continue to improve at this rate. It's really nice to have had time for a rest now after three very hard weeks, even if it's not so long. I spent some time in Italy and then a few days at home in London, relaxing and seeing friends. "The important thing for Sachsenring is that we come out of the box on Friday morning ready to make the most of every available minute of practice time. We can't afford to lose time in practice with set-up problems like we had in Donington, and I am sure that Yamaha has been working at the maximum over the break so we will be ready to be competitive from Friday morning. Sachsenring is quite a different track, very tight and twisty, but last year our bike worked very well there, we were able to win and hopefully that will be the case again this year." Colin Edwards: To Japan and back Whilst his team-mate and most of their rivals have had time to rest this week, the relentless pursuit of speed has continued unabated for Colin Edwards, who has been out in Japan completing testing work for Yamaha ahead of the Suzuka 8-Hour race. Edwards was at Suzuka for two days as he prepares to compete in the prestigious event on 30th July alongside Yamaha Superbike rider Noriyuki Haga, but he is already back in Europe and gathering his strength for another important weekend of MotoGP action. "It was hard to go straight out to Japan after such a long run of races but I'm quite excited about doing the 8-Hour again, especially as it's ten years since Nori and I won it together before," reflected Edwards, who will ride for the Yamaha Blue Racing Team aboard a specially prepared YZF-R1 SP. "Testing has gone quite well this week, just getting used to being back on a Superbike again and getting reacquainted with the track. We've got a competitive package so hopefully we're going to be in a position to really go for it when we go back for the race after Laguna. "Obviously there's a lot of work to do before then and the small matter of two GPs in two weekends, including my home race! Sachsenring will be really important because we had a lot of problems with the bike at Donington that we didn't solve and we can't afford to lose any more time. The track itself has two different parts - one where it's very difficult to overtake and another which requires a massive physical effort because it works the left-hand side of your body really hard The tyres are under a lot of strain and it's vital to make the right choice so they don't overheat on the left-side. Generally I get along pretty well with the layout and there are always a lot of fans so it should be a good weekend." Davide Brivio: Still enough time Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is hopeful that a fully fit Valentino Rossi will appear at the Sachsenring on Thursday afternoon in readiness for a renewed assault on the championship standings when the action gets underway on Friday morning. Rossi's recent progress has been hampered by his injuries but with the benefit of a brief rest behind him Brivio remains confident that the World Champion has enough races to turn the situation around and successfully defend his title for the fifth time. "Now it's funny because we almost consider a weekend off as a break!" smiles Brivio. "Anyway we are hoping that this week gives Valentino a chance to recover and arrive at the Sachsenring with his injury troubles behind him. We are expecting him to be fit from Friday morning so we are hopeful of a 'normal' weekend for both him and Colin. The situation with Valentino has delayed our recovery in the championship over the past couple of rounds but there are eight races left and we still have enough time. "Our aim is to close the gap even further before the summer break so this race and the next one at Laguna Seca are very important. As far as the Sachsenring is concerned we had some problems with our bike there the first season with Valentino but we found a good setting last season and he was able to win the race. Sincerely I think the track suits the characteristics of the 2006 version M1 but we will have to wait and see on Friday morning. I hope so!" Technically speaking: Sachsenring according to Mike Norton Located in the heartland of the former East Germany's once glorious motorcycle racing industry, the Sachsenring is built right next to the old road course, a characteristic the track shares with Brno in the nearby Czech Republic. The current circuit could not be more different, its ultra-modern nature showing in its relatively slow lap times, with slow corners juxtaposed with some dazzlingly fast ones - including a super fast downhill right hander which was added in 2003. It is this that provides the circuit's biggest challenge, for riders and technicians alike. "The Sachsenring is a difficult track - it's quite short and it's not one of Valentino's favourites," explains Mike Norton, Öhlins Suspension Technician for Valentino Rossi. "It's one of my busiest weekends because the set-up of the bike is all about finding a compromise between braking for that monstrous downhill section and handling through the slow sections. It's a bit of a trade-off really between getting Valentino good through the slow part and good enough to stop the bike at the bottom of the hill. Valentino often wins races on the brakes so he's a little bit different to most riders and you always have to have some margin in the front fork. "You also spend a lot of time on the edge of the tyre at Sachsenring, right on the angle, and again that causes us an imbalance in the bike compared to normal. But Valentino's feedback is very good compared to other riders I've worked with. You can give him a change and be miles off centre but he'll ride around it and you'll either see a good lap time or a bad one, which then gives us an idea of where to go. From that point of view he's very good to work with and he always gives you 100%." Valentino Rossi: information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 82 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 166 (106 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 41 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: 57 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Sachsenring Lap Record: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005, 1'23.705 Sachsenring Best Lap: Max Biaggi (Honda) 2004, 1'22.756 2005 German Grand Prix Results: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 35'04.434 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Honda, +0.685 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, +885 8. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +14.849

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Alex Asigno

July 12, 200618 yr

Rossi and Edwards encounter second day problems at Donington

Camel Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will both start from the fourth row of the grid in tomorrow's British Grand Prix, after running into set-up problems during the second day of practice at Donington Park. Whilst Rossi continued to ride through the pain from the ankle and wrist injuries he sustained at Assen nine days ago, he also struggled to adapt his machine to the demands of the British track, where he has taken victory for five of the last six seasons. Edwards was equally baffled by the lack of progress he made today after making positive initial steps yesterday. The base setting of the YZR-M1 machine has adapted swiftly to the fast and flowing nature of recent circuits such as Assen and Catalunya, but with only the morning warm-up remaining before tomorrow's 30-lap race the team still have plenty of room for improvement. A small consolation for Rossi was that Nicky Hayden (Honda), the current series leader, was also unable to challenge for a top grid position and will start in between the Yamaha pair on the fourth row in 11th spot. Colin Edwards (10th - 1'28.481; 30 laps) "The bike is really not working as well as we would like and to be perfectly honest we're not sure why. The things that worked so well last weekend don't seem to be having the same effect here and we're struggling to come up with an alternative at the moment. It's not for a lack of trying because my crew have worked really hard all day - we played about with the springs and the ride height but kept running down a blind alley. This is one of my favourite tracks and I'm used to turning up here and being in the top three from the first session - like I have for the past two years. In theory it should have been the same today but it's just not happening. Now we have to hope we can find something good in the morning, make a great start and just fight our way through!" Valentino Rossi (12th - 1'28.808; 28 laps) "We didn't expect to have so many problems here in Donington because last year our bike worked really well. It's a track where I've always been able to be really fast and go very well from the start, so it's quite disappointing. The situation with the wrist isn't so bad, but I've got some problems in the hard braking areas. For sure I can't ride how I would like to; we're not at the maximum. We've been quite confident because, since the new chassis in Le Mans, the bike has worked very well and been fast from the start, but here we can't find a good setting for some reason. Tomorrow we will try to find a way to make the situation a little better. Today with Dr Costa I decided to try with some painkillers, to understand better what we need to do for the race tomorrow. With these painkillers it seems I can ride more or less normally. Tomorrow me and my team will try to find the best possible setting to enable me to ride a good race and I will also do some more work with Dr Costa after warm-up in order to be in the best possible shape to ride." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is a strange grid because nobody expects to see Colin, Valentino and Nicky all together on the fourth row. For sure the starting position will be the first problem for our riders to overcome tomorrow. I think with Colin has shown that he has the possibility to run a good race pace if we can just refine the setting a little more, and for Valentino we need to analyse things tonight and see if we can make it a little more comfortable - especially for his wrist. Today he was feeling stronger but he is clearly not at 100% yet so we will have to wait and see how he is tomorrow. But his problem is not just the injury - the bike setting is not where it should be yet and we are still unclear about the tyre choice for the race." The primary aim of the Tech 3 Yamaha Team is to improve at every outing and the solitary MotoGP qualifying session provided another encouraging result as Carlos Checa and James Ellison lowered their respective lap times in the battle for tomorrow's Gas British Grand Prix at the picturesque Donington Park circuit. Carlos's qualifying performance mirrored yesterday's practice sessions to be in 13th position, right behind world champion Valentino Rossi, as he spent the majority of the one-hour opportunity to concentrate on a race setup. Meanwhile, James who is keen to impress his legion of fans at his home Grand Prix, lowered his lap time from yesterday by a further second to be 16th on the grid. Carlos Checa (13th, 1'29.294, 31 laps) "We expected to do a little bit better but we are struggling at the end of the lap. We are very fast in the flowing part of the track - as fast as the leaders - so we still have a little work to do on the setup to get the Yamaha around the slower section as it is a combination of trying to get the bike to grip and steer at the slow part of the track so we will try something different for tomorrow. On the race tyres we are a lot closer than what our qualifying position indicates and we know that Dunlop are working very hard to improve the qualifying tyres so that we can get better grid positions. I'm confident that the changes we make over night will help in the area of the track we need to improve and this will assist in hopefully giving us a good result at the end of the race. After the last few races we know we have the consistency in the Dunlop tyres to race the distance and I think that some other riders on another brand of tyre will struggling to do 30 laps at the same pace in the heat. James Ellison (16th 1'30.382, 28 laps) "It hasn't been the best day for me after what has happened in recent weeks but I've taken two seconds off since yesterday morning and we are finding a pretty good setup on race tyres. We haven't finalised our setup but it has been gradually been getting better and better as front end feel is so important around here... I'm going quicker all the time I have made a good leap considering we haven't quite found that window but we're working on it. I'm one second off Carlos on race and qualifiers so that's encouraging because I know when we get that setup sorted I'll be right on him. This is also my home grand prix and I'm overwhelmed by the support I'm seeing around the track. I've spent a lot of time with the crowd this weekend and I've had nothing but loads of great support. They know I'm riding hard and trying 100% and that really means a lot to me. It's like playing football in front of a home crowd; you really want to do well, so I'm aiming to pay them back with a decent result. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "It was another quite good day today. The qualifying position is not as good as Assen but it is very close to the other Yamahas of Rossi and Edwards. We are not so bad on race tyres so it will be another interesting weekend. Of course, it is very important for James as it is his home Grand Prix and he wants to shine. It won't be easy but we know he will push hard all day and his lap times have improved considerably from when he took to the track yesterday morning. Our lap times to the fastest four or five are quite close on the Dunlop race tyres so if we can stay with some other factory bikes during the race we will learn even more in relation to them That is why we are here. Dunlop sent a lot of new stuff from Japan along with one of their senior engineers as this is an important race for them and an important time of the year. Everybody is already talking about next year and it is important for Dunlop to show what they can do, to show they are committed and to show where they want to go. But we will be aiming to improve our performances from today and continue to be more competitive in the race as we have proven in the last two races. We have shown that we are improving all the time in the performance of the entire package and we aim to keep that momentum going with a good result tomorrow. Round: 9 - British Grand Prix Circuit: Donington Circuit Length: 4023 Lap Record: 1' 29.973 (Colin Edwards, 2004) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 27.676 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Date: 1 July 2006 Temp: 29ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 27.676 2 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 28.158 3 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 28.205 4 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 28.252 5 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 28.394 6 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 28.428 7 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 28.431 8 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 28.447 9 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 28.473 10 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 28.481 11 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 28.509 12 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 28.808 13 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 29.294 14 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 29.362 15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 29.479 16 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 30.382

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Alex Asigno

July 1, 200618 yr

Everts excellent again this time at Sweden

The 'Stefan Everts and YZ450FM show' rolls on unabated within the 2006 MX1 World Championships as both the rider and motorcycle of the Yamaha Intur Sports team gained their ninth consecutive victory this weekend at Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden. The Scandinavian circuit had been reversed and some of the sections converted into more technical challenges but the hard and dusty terrain remained. 19,000 fans turned out in hot and sunny weather conditions. The 33 year old took his fifth pole position of the season (and third in a row) yesterday and did not hide his lack of fondness for the Uddevalla undulations, stating that the venue was one of his 'least favourites' of the calendar; hardly surprising as the Belgian has not won in Scandinavia since 2003. In the first moto Everts enacted a now familiar routine for his many fans by seizing the lead on the first lap and controlling the race from his pursuers. The Belgian notched his fourteenth moto win in a row despite the moto-long presence of Jonathan Barragan and a distance between the pair that fluctuated between one and three seconds for the total of a very hot 35 minute and 2 lap duration. On the last two laps it was the Intur Sports team rider who was more decisive through a pack of backmarkers and the first step in his 96th victory was complete. As in the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, Everts gave himself a harder job in the second sprint when he crashed on the first lap and had to work the entire race to catch his main rivals. Finally a fantastic performance was rounded off by overtaking leader Steve Ramon with one circulation remaining to notch his 15th moto win in succession. He now holds a career tally of 96 and is drawing ever closer to the big 'ton'. Cedric Melotte crashed in the morning warm-up period and jarred his hip. The Belgian needed painkillers to finish 11th in the first moto and pulled out of the second sprint unable to complete the distance. Everts' domination of the MX1 series can be seen in the World Championship standings. His points lead has stretched to 114, more than four motos, over Kevin Strijbos. Melotte is ninth. Livia Lancelot has taken third position in the Women's World Cup riding a YZ250F. The French youngster led the first moto until a heavy crash knocked her back to fourth. In some discomfort she made another mistake while out front in the second affair and claimed 10th. The teams can now enjoy another free weekend but machinery and spares will be packed and crated for the lengthy trip to the southern hemisphere and the Grand Prix of South Africa at the Sun City complex on July 16th. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "This is not my favourite track here in Sweden so I knew it would be tough because in the past two years I had been struggling. However I took a good pole when everybody was close together and the first race went OK. Barragan kept close and I had a three second lead but I made a mistake in the whoops and he caught up, then we were into the lappers. It was tight at the end and I felt a bit tired because of the heat. I rested in between the races and then the second one was better. After the mistake the first few laps were pretty hard because everyone was going fast and it was not easy to pass. I saw the Suzuki guys pull away and I thought second might be possible but first was a long shot. At one stage Steve stopped gaining seconds on me and then started to lose them; that gave me some wings! I pulled harder and it was close. It was exciting for the crowd." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I had a stupid crash this morning and needed to take some painkillers to enter the first race. Every time I sat down on the bike I had a lot of pain in my back and around my spine. I found it difficult to use my feet and I was fighting too much with the bike today. I preferred to stop in the second race because the pain was too much." Michele Rinaldi, Team Manager: "It was not an easy weekend for Stefan on this track and he was not the clear fastest. The first heat was OK and he made a very exciting race in the second one. He looked to have reached a highest position of third but Ramon slowed down and he picked up his speed and took a fantastic result for him, us and for Yamaha." Race classification MX1 Round: 9 - 2006 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden Circuit: Uddevalla Circuit Length: 1750 Race 1: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 38' 45.263 2 J. Barragan KTM ESP +4.324 3 J. Coppins Honda NZL +14.111 4 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +23.370 5 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +24.941 6 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +54.231 7 G. Crockard Honda GBR +59.603 8 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 8.611 9 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 13.560 10 J. Noble Honda GBR +1' 18.441 11 C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +1' 24.967 12 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1' 30.351 13 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 34.027 14 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 38.964 15 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 40.610 16 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1 lap(s) 17 K. Nemeth Suzuki HUN +1 lap(s) 18 J. Lindhe KTM SWE +1 lap(s) 19 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s) 20 M. Kovalainen Honda FIN +1 lap(s) Race 2: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 39' 54.109 2 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +3.881 3 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +17.410 4 G. Crockard Honda GBR +22.967 5 J. Coppins Honda NZL +30.702 6 K. Nemeth Suzuki HUN +38.034 7 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +59.738 8 J. Noble Honda GBR +1' 7.798 9 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 15.851 10 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 18.647 11 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 21.586 12 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 27.213 13 M. Kovalainen Honda FIN +1' 30.737 14 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 36.841 15 N. Bradshaw Suzuki GBR +1' 37.859 16 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 44.060 17 T. Allier Kawasaki FRA +1' 55.534 18 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s) 19 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1 lap(s) 20 A. Bobkovs Honda LVA +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 442 2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 328 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 294 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 294 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 292 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 212 7 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 165 8 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 159 9 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 157 10 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 146 11 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 145 12 James Noble Honda GBR 132 13 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 14 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 127 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 106 16 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 17 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 86 18 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 84 19 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 72 20 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 55 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 442 2 Suzuki 369 3 Honda 317 4 Kawasaki 298 5 KTM 267 6 TM 106 MX2 : Cairoli not rewarded for challenging ride in Sweden Round: 9 - 2006 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden Circuit: Uddevalla Date: 2 July 2006 Crowd: 19000 Temp: 30ºC Weather: Sunny World Champion Antonio Cairoli played a fundamental part in a fantastic first MX2 moto at Uddevalla today for the Grand Prix of Sweden but his runner-up position was tempered by two crashes in the second outing of round nine that lowered him to sixth overall. The Uddevalla course was perhaps at its toughest for the MX2 events. Watered and very slick before the first race of the day and then worn and bumpy starting the second sprint after lunch, the terrain was far from easy and physically demanding for the riders. Cairoli wowed the 19,000 attendance, bathed in 30c plus temperatures, with a re-enactment of his electric battles from Italy and Great Britain with his countryman David Philippaerts. The De Carli Yamaha representative pulled through from a mediocre start to pass Philippaerts and Christophe Pourcel and lead but could not escape the attentions of Philippaerts. The entertaining dice - with the riders using different lines and aggressive styles - went down to the last lap and the final corner when Philippaerts charged around the outside of the banked right hander to snatch victory by a tenth of a second. Later in the day Cairoli went down on the first lap and had to dispel a lot of energy to move up to the tenth. The Italian was fatigued by the end of the twenty two laps and made another mistake less than two minutes from the finish for a final standing of twelfth. Kenneth Gundersen demonstrated he was on good form by winning the second qualification heat yesterday. However the Norweigan, cheered on by many fans, family and friends, was unable to find the same speed in both of the motos as his stamina mysteriously deserted him. The Ricci Racing rider was eighth overall with eighth and tenth positions despite some decent starts. Team-mate Alessio Chiodi was eighth and thirteenth for a final standing of ninth in one of the former triple World Champion's less effective weekends. 'Chicco' is still feeling the effects of his harsh Japanese crash and subsequent knee injury and adopted a cautious approach on a tricky Scandinavian surface. Bike-it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Billy Mackenzie was trawling through the lower half of the top ten in the opening throes of the first moto until a small slip halted his progress by three positions. Several laps later he had to retire with a technical problem. Mackenzie again went down in the second moto but grabbed ninth position for minor consolation. The World Championship picture shows Cairoli in third trailing Pourcel by 48 points. Mackenzie is sixth and some distance away from Tyla Rattray in fifth. The tenth round of the series will be enacted at the plush Sun City complex for the Grand Prix of South Africa in two weeks time. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "The first moto was really good but I did not have the energy to make a gap over Philippaerts. I have been training in the sand this week and I felt some arm-pump at this track; it was hard going over the bumps. After fifteen minutes I felt better and set a good rhythm over the others. On the last corner he went very fast on the outside and won by less than a second. I thought I had the race because he went crazy and straight on into the green fence. I don't think it was correct but Philippaerts is a very strong and fast guy. It was OK for the Championship but the second moto was a disaster. I started badly and then crashed on the first lap. I recovered to tenth but then crashed again with two laps to go because I was so tired and could not see the line. Pourcel winning that second heat was not good for the Championship. I want this title and must train harder to make it happen." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "Everything felt so good yesterday and today I had no energy at all. I was completely empty and it is so frustrating because I had some good starts but I was finished. I don't know what it is but I am not feeling good. I think I have some allergy. I will go home now and see the doctor. I was also training pretty hard these last two weeks and it may have affected me today. I will get some rest before South Africa." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I didn't have a good feeling on the track mainly because of my knee. I was being too cautious and I felt like I didn't have complete control. The knee still hurts so I am afraid of catching it again. My start was good in the first moto but in the next race I crashed after ten minutes and my confidence slipped. It is not a good day but I feel like my condition is slowly getting better." Race classification MX2 Round: 9 - 2006 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden Circuit: Uddevalla Circuit Length: 1750 Race 1: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA 39' 17.217 2 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +0.108 3 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +9.254 4 M. De Reuver KTM NED +18.357 5 T. Rattray KTM RSA +23.307 6 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +39.353 7 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +48.095 8 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +56.679 9 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 2.049 10 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +1' 3.657 11 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 14.223 12 A. Leok Yamaha EST +1' 21.815 13 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +1' 21.903 14 E. Remes Honda FIN +1' 37.414 15 J. Wing KTM SWE +1' 46.161 16 C. Campano KTM ESP +1' 51.872 17 J. Dougan Honda GBR +2' 0.809 18 A. Pellegrini Suzuki ITA +1 lap(s) 19 J. Tarroux Kawasaki FRA +1 lap(s) 20 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1 lap(s) Race 2: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40' 13.934 2 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +11.074 3 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +33.578 4 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +34.886 5 M. De Reuver KTM NED +40.170 6 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +43.236 7 C. Nunn KTM GBR +48.102 8 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +51.551 9 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +52.057 10 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1' 6.734 11 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 9.925 12 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +1' 13.686 13 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +1' 14.994 14 C. Campano KTM ESP +1' 35.092 15 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +1' 47.862 16 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 53.417 17 T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) 18 J. Wing KTM SWE +1 lap(s) 19 E. Remes Honda FIN +1 lap(s) 20 X. Boog Yamaha FRA +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 350 2 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 304 3 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 302 4 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 284 5 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 261 6 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 213 7 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 205 8 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 196 9 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 194 10 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 181 11 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 180 12 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 169 13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 164 14 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 127 15 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 99 16 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 17 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 87 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 73 19 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 69 20 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 56 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 412 2 Yamaha 388 3 Kawasaki 367 4 Honda 139 5 Suzuki 16

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Alex Asigno

July 2, 200618 yr

Rossi takes sensational second at Donington

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi produced one of the performances of his life today as he rode through the pain of hand and ankle injuries to take a simply sensational second place in the British Grand Prix. Roared on by a partisan local crowd, who have taken the Italian to their hearts after a string of victories at this circuit, Rossi started steadily from twelfth on the grid but soon got into his rhythm and began passing riders with the flamboyance and determination that has already taken him to five consecutive MotoGP World Championship titles. With the series leader before today's action, Nicky Hayden (Honda), struggling to seventh place today, Rossi's incredible charge comes into sharper focus with a glance at the championship standings. With eight rounds remaining the Yamaha man trails the American by just 35 points and the destiny of the title is now back in his hands. Rossi remains in third place overall, however, after a second victory of the season for Dani Pedrosa (Honda) saw the Spaniard consolidate second spot. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards also produced a determined ride as he made up four places from his qualifying position to take sixth despite also struggling to find the correct set-up for his machine during practice. The American now heads to Japan to prepare for the Suzuka 8-Hour race he will contest on 30th July, before returning for the next round of the MotoGP season at Sachsenring, Germany, two weeks from now. Valentino Rossi (2nd; + 3.864) "That was an amazing race and a very important result for me. I am in a better position as far as the points are concerned and that is more important than winning the race. To be honest after Assen I wasn't sure if it would be possible to fight for a top result here but I wanted it so much because Donington is a very special place to me and the fans give me such incredible support every year. We were really surprised that the bike didn't work on Friday but the whole team worked really hard to find the right setting and the right tyre. After qualifying we decided we would try some new things this morning but the wet warm-up meant we had no chance to do that so we just took a gamble with the setting and it worked. It took me eight laps to understand just how good my pace could be and from that point I realised that my goal had to be the podium. I had some hard battles along the way but when I got up to Melandri it got even harder! We had real fun and neither of us wanted to back down. He was faster than me in some places and I was faster than him in others. In the end it came down to the last hairpin and we both braked around 20 or 30 metres deeper than normal. We both ran wide but luckily Marco went even wider than me and I was able to get in from of him. I finished second but today it felt like a win." Colin Edwards (6th; + 21.710) "It just hasn't clicked for us this weekend and I'm really disappointed, even though sixth place brings in a few decent points. Last year everything came easily here but from the first practice it was clear that it wasn't going to be the case this time around and we never really found our way, it was as simple as that. The bike wasn't too bad for the race and I could catch other riders easily but we didn't have the set-up to get past people on the brakes. That made life really difficult and the race was a struggle from start to finish. It's been a hard few weeks but now I have a bit of a change of scenery as I will head out to Japan to prepare for the 8 hour. I hope we'll be in better position to fight at Sachsenring in a couple of week's time." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "This was a very important race because despite Valentino's injury we have been able to close the gap to Nicky Hayden in the championship. Valentino said it was more like a victory and the feeling in the team is the same because of the physical condition he was in and the fact he started from so far back on the grid. There was never any doubt about Valentino's qualities but he has performed like a true World Champion over a difficult few weeks and he deserves a rest now. Our engineers also did a great job to put everything together in time, they have also been working hard and will enjoy a couple of days off before the next race. Now we have eight races left and 35 points to make up before Valencia." Under a blazing summer sun, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team continued the positive progress of the last three weeks to claim some more points with another impressive result to add to the encouraging race finishes of the previous three meetings. Carlos Checa fought hard throughout the race to claim 10th after 30 gruelling laps while team mate James Ellison, who was keen to impress his supporters, also picked up a few confidence-inspiring points as he finished 14th. With the inspiring results of the last few weeks, due in part to the improved consistency of the Dunlop tyres, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team has more than doubled its points haul from the first six races of the year. Carlos Checa (10th, Fastest lap 1'30.496) "It was a very hard race and I was pushing all the time. We changed some things from yesterday but in the warm up we couldn't test them because of the wet track. At the start of the race with the different settings it took a few laps before I could get the good feeling from the front and rear tyres but then I got the confidence to start pushing the pace. It was not easy to pass Tamada at first, but when I got the rhythm my pace was a bit faster than him and I was able to overtake him and get away. This was a good feeling for me to pass a factory Honda and then to be able to catch De Puniet and pass him as well. It was a question mark for me to know the endurance of the tyre because of the changed settings but basically we've been growing and learning more about the set-up with the tyres as the Dunlops improve. We must be satisfied with the result as the starting point here wasn't easy. We made good progress through the weekend and I'm happy with the job that the mechanics and the team did, as well as the performance of the Dunlop tyres. I wish, I hope and I want to keep going like this and improve overall to get even better results in the next races." James Ellison (14th Fastest lap 1'31.402) "I got a good start but after that it all went a bit downhill. We made a few changes after qualifying so we didn't get a chance to test them in the morning warm up because of the rain so as a result during the race we didn't have any grip in the rear. Once we got a bit of wear on the edge of the tyre we started dropping back which was disappointing as I was running wide everywhere. Early in the race I was in front of Carlos and I wanted to stay there to have a good fight with him but it didn't happen. On the positive side I think we have learnt a lot more about the setup that will help us in a couple of weeks with the nature of the Sachsenring track where we go to next. I was happy to have raced and finish in the points in front of the British crowd but I wish I could've done better Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "This was another good weekend after Catalunya and Assen and for sure these three races have been the best since we started the season. Carlos had a good pace in the race. He passed Tamada on a factory Honda with Michelins and De Puniet on a factory Kawasaki with Bridgestones, which is good for us. The last 10 laps he was lapping quicker than Hopkins and Capirossi in front of him so we are happy with the consistency and durability, but definitely we have to qualify better, because the gap we have after five laps - even though we are lapping the same as the guys in front - if we are seven or eight seconds behind them, we know there is no way we can catch them in a class like MotoGP. I'm very happy with Carlos as he was pushing 100% from the first lap to the end. It was really good for him to beat the Honda and come back on De Puniet, who was more than five seconds away at one stage, and put him behind us. It's another top 10 finish that was almost impossible to dream of at the start of the year. I'm also happy to see James in the points. For sure he is little disappointed about not doing better in his home grand prix but he also had quite a stable pace but it's altogether a good result and it's a good way to end these three races in a row that have been tough for everybody. We got some good points and now Carlos is equal with Vermeulen so the championship is now halfway through and I think if we can continue the way we have been in the last few races and reduce the gap to the leaders a bit more the second part of the championship will be quite exciting." Race classification MotoGP Round: 9 - British Grand Prix Circuit: Donington Circuit Length: 4023 Lap Record: 1' 28.714 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 27.676 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Race: 30 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 44' 54.878 2 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +3.864 3 M. Melandri Honda ITA +4.016 4 C. Stoner Honda AUS +5.776 5 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +9.596 6 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +21.710 7 N. Hayden Honda USA +25.764 8 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +29.034 9 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +35.606 10 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +40.442 11 M. Tamada Honda JPN +41.062 12 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA +42.197 13 A. Hofmann Ducati GER +51.454 14 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1' 17.804 15 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1 lap(s) 16 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +1 lap(s) Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 28.714 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 153 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 127 3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 118 4 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 114 5 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 107 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 91 7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 73 8 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 66 9 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 59 10 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 58 11 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 57 12 Toni Elias Honda ESP 53 13 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 44 14 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 37 15 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 37 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 14 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 201 2 Yamaha 147 3 Ducati 116 4 Suzuki 72 5 Team Roberts KR 66 6 Kawasaki 61 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 280 2 Camel Yamaha Team 191 3 Fortuna Honda Team 167 4 Ducati Marlboro Team 158 5 Rizla Suzuki 95 6 Honda LCR 91 7 Kawasaki Racing Team 74 8 Team Roberts KR 66 9 Konica Minolta Honda 59 10 Tech3 Yamaha 51 11 Pramac D'Antin 18

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Alex Asigno

July 2, 200618 yr

Rossi recovering speed and strenghts at Donington

After five days of intense physiotherapy on cracked bones in his right wrist and left foot, Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to MotoGP action for the first true test of his fitness since the Dutch TT in today's free practice sessions for the British Grand Prix. Rossi took to the Donington Park circuit with heavy strapping on his wrist but was able to complete 43 laps over the two sessions, running consistently at the top end of the timing screens before settling for the seventh fastest lap overall. With Rossi focusing on adapting the bike both to the demands of the circuit and the diminishing limitations of his physical condition, his team-mate Colin Edwards worked diligently beside him on the set-up of his own YZR-M1 machine. With his last-corner battle for victory at Assen still fresh in the mind, today represented a perfect opportunity for the Texan to turn the page and focus on another podium assault in Sunday's ninth round of the season. Edwards lapped fourth fastest in the morning session and slipped to sixth in the afternoon, but after completing 53 laps he has plenty of crucial data to work from ahead of tomorrow's single qualifying session. COLIN EDWARDS (6th - 1'29.379; 53 laps) "To be honest my pace today wasn't quite as good as I had expected but we're still looking for a few things from the set-up that we'll work on tomorrow. We had a couple of problems today but by the end of the second session it was starting to come. Basically we need to get it turning into the corners a little better and there are some sections of the track where we're getting some vibrations, but it is nothing major. We played around with the tyres a little today but we've got plenty still to do and need to get our heads down in the morning before chasing a lap time in qualifying." VALENTINO ROSSI (7th - 1'29.416; 43 laps) "I'm happy to be riding again and enjoying myself on the bike. Assen was a very tough weekend for me but my physiotherapist has done a good job and I feel better, although still not at 100%. I still have some pain, especially under braking, but the mobility is much better and this is important. There are three hard braking areas at this track where I am struggling and to be honest I don't know how this will be in the race; I was losing strength towards the end of the afternoon session today and this could be a problem. As far as the lap time is concerned we need to make up a few tenths in certain areas but I think we can do this with a few changes to the bike. I will get some more treatment tonight and keep some ice on my wrist and we will see tomorrow." DAVIDE BRIVIO - CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR "We're still working with both riders on the setting of the bike and it has been good to have a 'normal' first day - gathering data without anything spectacular happening and no dramas to worry about either. The good news is that Valentino can ride without too much pain or discomfort and he is trying his best to manage his condition and set fast laps. We know we have to be faster but we are still fine-tuning the set-up and have plenty of room for improvement tomorrow. The only question mark is how Valentino can hold up over the course of a race but we can't know that until Sunday. We'll just set up the bike and let the Clinica Mobile set up the rider!" The British Grand Prix at the historic Donington Park circuit is the third race in successive weekends for the MotoGP competitors and while it may be tiring, it has resulted in a steady progress of improved performances for the French Tech 3 Yamaha Team. Carlos Checa's overall lap times continue to get closer to the leaders and he is 12th fastest after the opening two free practices and in front of factory riders Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) and Alex Hoffman (Ducati). At present less than a second separates the top 13 riders. His team mate, James Ellison, is also continuing down his own development path with the Tech 3 Yamaha and a new generation of Dunlop tyres to be in 17th position at his home race. Carlos Checa (12th, 1'29.842, 48 laps) "This track is quite difficult as it is very different from the beginning to the end and we seem to be having our biggest problems at the end of the lap. We have been testing a few different rear tyres and by the end of the session I think we have found a pretty good pace to work on. On the bike we started the day using pretty standard base settings like we used in Assen but it is not working here so we will have to be making a few changes and try something a bit different. We have to get some more weight over the front. It is getting better but it is still not enough as it is difficult to get it to steer quick enough. We have some things to try tomorrow and I am quite confident that we can improve. It is also a little hard having different tyres to test as we have to keep the same bike settings so we can tell the difference in the tyres. James Ellison (17th 1'31.306, 49 laps) "We have made a few more changes to the frame as we continue to make the bike better to ride but today I spent all of my time on it to compare it to the bike that I have really settled into. It has given us a few things to work on and a new direction to go, to compare to what I found at Barcelona and Assen and the feeling I'm getting from my preferred bike. I'm feeling pretty good after the crash I had last week. I thought my ankle might play up a bit but while I'm on the bike I'm fine, it's only when I rest and start to think about it that I feel anything. We have certainly learnt a few things today. My aim was to get into the 1'30 second bracket. We didn't get quite there but we were working on other things so I can't be too disappointed. I improved my morning time by well over a second so no doubt we will be making a few changes overnight to get an even quicker time and move up the grid like we did last week. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "This is a very special weekend for many reasons for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team. The first one is that it is the third race in just over two weeks so I think everyone is feeling a little tired. The second reason is that it is the home Grand Prix for James and also for Dunlop our tyre supplier and major partner this year. The entire team, including Carlos and James, went to visit the Dunlop facility in Birmingham on Tuesday and we were all quite impressed by what we saw with the factory and the speed at what they're putting into MotoGP tyre development. It was good for all of us to see how difficult their mission is and how much they are involved in the project. We have quite a few Japanese here from Dunlop this weekend to get a feel for the paddock and this will no doubt help things as well. This is good as we haven't seen this since the winter test and confirms to the team the efforts that Dunlop are endeavouring to accomplish with this MotoGP project. It's been a good day in practice as well as Carlos is within 0.8 sec of the fastest lap time and both riders took a second of their morning's time. We are losing most of our time in the fourth split at the end of the lap so we have to discover why this is happening because in the other three splits we are less than a third of a second off the leading riders. So far we are quite happy. We have been able to do quite a few laps and the weather looks very good for the weekend so -unlike other races - it will allow us to use all the time possible to work. James seems to be having a bit of difficulty understanding the bike during the sessions but I'm sure we have found the reasons now after speaking with him and he will have a much better time tomorrow. We really want him to do well in his home grand prix. Round: 9 - British Grand Prix Circuit: Donington Circuit Length: 4023 Lap Record: 1' 29.973 (Colin Edwards, 2004) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 27.897 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Date: 30 June 2006 Free Practice : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 28.970 2 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 29.025 3 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 29.064 4 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 29.196 5 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 29.275 6 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 29.379 7 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 29.416 8 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 29.544 9 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 29.557 10 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 29.806 11 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 29.842 12 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 29.941 13 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 30.342 14 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 30.387 15 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA 1' 30.762 16 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 31.306

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Alex Asigno

June 30, 200618 yr

Camel Yamaha Team seeks Donington retribution

The Camel Yamaha Team head for the third race in as many weekends looking to end a gruelling run of races on a high as the MotoGP World Championship arrives in Great Britain this weekend. Following on from the elation of victory at Catalunya and the double disappointment of an injury for Valentino Rossi and a final-bend crash for Colin Edwards at Assen, the Donington Park race represents an ideal opportunity for both riders to bounce back before a well earned two-week break. Rossi, in particular, is in desperate need of a boost after conceding further ground to Nicky Hayden (Honda) at the top of the World Championship standings. The Italian fought bravely to eighth place despite riding with cracked bones in his hand and foot at the Dutch TT, but crucially he now trails the American by 46 points in the championship. Rossi has won seven times in all classes at Donington Park, one of his favourite MotoGP circuits, but a return to the top step of the podium will be a huge challenge as he battles to recover his fitness and as many points as possible. Edwards is sure to be given a hero's welcome by his army of British fans, thousands of whom cheered him to the verge of his first MotoGP victory just across the North Sea at Assen last Saturday. The British Grand Prix ranks equally with the Dutch TT as Edwards' most successful event in the premier-class, having finished second there two years ago and narrowly missing the podium last year, so he has high hopes that he can bounce back from that disappointment with another top performance. There is a slight change to the order of the races this weekend, with the main event taking place after the 250cc race but before the 125cc race. The red lights will go out for the MotoGP riders at 1pm local time, although this will not affect the regular schedule for fans around the world since it still coincides with the standard starting time of 2pm CET. VALENTINO ROSSI: A RACE AGAINST TIME MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi returns to his country of residence this weekend keeping the fingers on his good hand crossed that he will be in sufficiently good shape to challenge at the front of the field once again. The Italian left Assen on Saturday evening with his physiotherapist Marco Montanari, who will remain by his side for the rest of the week as he tries to recover as much strength as possible before the crucial ninth round of an intriguing championship. "We have a lot of work to do to improve the situation with my wrist and try to reduce the swelling and heal the bone as much as possible," explains Rossi. "It would be better to have a month now to recover but we are racers and we have to go straight to the next race, which is a pity. Anyway I hope we can improve it as much as possible so that I can ride well at Donington. For sure I won't be at full fitness, but we have five days to improve. Colin showed that the bike is working really well so hopefully it will be like this at Donington also for both of us. "Donington is like a second home Grand Prix for me and I hope the fans give me all the usual support because I need all the help I can get right now. It has been one of my favourite tracks ever since I rode the 125 there for the first time in 1996 and I have a lot of good memories - especially my first win with the 500 in 2001 and victories with Yamaha for the last two years. It's going to be a big challenge for me to stand on the top of the podium on Sunday, but as long as my hand continues to improve throughout the week, then I think we can try!" COLIN EDWARDS: A CHANCE FOR REVENGE The British Grand Prix can't come soon enough for Colin Edwards, who heads to another of his favourite tracks looking to bury his Assen nightmare with that elusive first MotoGP win. The amiable American refuses to dwell on the final corner calamity that denied him a visit to the top step of the podium in Holland as he looks on the positive side of a weekend that should provide the platform to another bid for the winners' champagne in England. "I can't deny that I'm still disappointed after what happened at Assen, but now I have to put that behind me and focus on Donington, which is one of my best tracks and a place I have always gone well," says Edwards. "I have to forget about what happened at the end of the race in Assen and focus on the fact that my bike worked perfectly all weekend, I was consistently fast and I was able to do a really great race up to the last chicane. "Now we have to hope that the situation is the same at Donington because my aim is to go out there and get my revenge! I want to make up for the disappointment for the team and my fans, and give them something to cheer about again. I always have loads of fans in the UK, a lot of them were there for me at Assen so let's hope they're all back to cheer me on again this weekend." DAVIDE BRIVIO: A LONG BATTLE AHEAD Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is also in good spirits despite a weekend of drama and ultimate disappointment in Holland. The Italian knows that he could not have asked for much more from his riders on Saturday and he is confident that a similar level of effort from the whole team this weekend will finally reap the rewards they deserve. "Hopefully this week before Donington will be enough time for Valentino to make a decent recovery and we all hope to see him in better shape when he comes into the garage for practice on Friday morning," says Brivio. "Assen was a big disappointment for us in lots of ways but with Valentino in better shape and Colin in good form we have a chance to put things right at a circuit both riders like and in a country where they are both very popular. "Whatever progress Valentino makes this week we know he will not be at 100% but we expect him to show the same fight and determination that took him into the points at Assen. It was important he did that but the gap to Nicky Hayden at the top of the championship is significant and we can't afford to let him get too far ahead. He is a strong rider and I think it will be a hard push now until the final race of the season at Valencia." TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: DONINGTON ACCORDING TO MATTEO FLAMIGNI A dramatic viewing experience, Donington Park sits inside an amphitheatre style setting, with the spectator bankings ringing around the outside. The prevalent off-camber nature of the track is one of the main factors at play during the British Grand Prix, with a large tendency for the front tyre to push, making the right, left, right flick down the Craner Curve section something of a high tension rollercoaster ride. This sequence of sweeping corners is one of the fastest in the world and, according to Valentino Rossi's Data Technician Matteo Flamigni, it is a place the top riders can really make the difference. "I don't know of any other circuit in the world with a series of corners as fast as Craner Curves," says Flamigni. "The rider is more important than the machine here because it takes a lot of courage and skill to make up time through the first section of the track. In any case the bike setting must be stable enough to give the rider confidence at speeds of around 200km/h and agile enough to cope with the quick changes of direction. "Donington is like two circuits in one. After the fast opening two sections the second half of the lap is much slower because of the last section, which has two hard braking zones. Turn nine in particular is crucial because the riders go from something like 280km/h to around 60km/h, so the bike has to be good under braking - especially because these are key points to overtake at the end of the race. Setting up a motorcycle is always a question of making the right compromises but at Donington Park this is particularly true. The best bike out there will have the most accurate balance between performance in these two contrasting halves of the track." VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 82 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 165 (105 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 41 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: 56 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Donington Lap Record: Colin Edwards (Honda) 2004, 1'29.973 Donington Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1'27.897 2005 Results (Wet Race): 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha, 52.58.675 2. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki, +3.169 3. Alex Barros (BRA) Honda, +4.006 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +10.292

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Alex Asigno

June 27, 200618 yr

Edwards and Haga reunite for Suzuka 8-hour

Yamaha has finalized its plans for round five of the 2006 Endurance World Championship, the Suzuka 8-hour race held at the Japanese circuit on 30 July. A three-team entry will be headed by the YAMAHA BLUE RACING team, which will feature riders Colin Edwards and Noriyuki Haga riding a specially prepared YZF-R1 SP. The event will mark a reunion of the rider pairing which won the event in 1996, when they rode a Yamaha YZF750SP. Edwards is currently riding a Yamaha YZR-M1 for the factory's MotoGP team and is seen as one of the most consistent riders in the class. The American has won the Suzuka 8-Hour three times and the Superbike World Championship in 2000 and 2002. Haga is currently second in the Superbike World Championship, where he competes on a Yamaha YZF-R1 for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad. It will be Haga's first entry in the 8-hour since 2001. The other two factory-supported entries are the YSP Racing Team sponsored by PRESTO Corporation and Team Cha-llenger. The YSP Racing Team sponsored by PRESTO Corporation will enter the pair of Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who is competing this season in the JSB1000 class of the All Japan Championships, and Shinichi Nakatomi, who rides for Yamaha Motor France in the Superbike World Championship. Team Cha-llenger will enter with riders Norihiko Fujiwara, who has ridden in the 8-hour almost every year since 1992, and Nobuyuki Osaki, a Japanese supersport championship competitor. Many of the Endurance World Championship regulars will also make the trip to Japan, including Yamaha Austria Racing Team and Yamaha Phase One Endurance, who are currently second and fifth in the championship.

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Alex Asigno

June 26, 200618 yr

Pitt takes first superbike win as Haga moves second

Andrew Pitt took his first ever win in the Superbike World Championship at Misano today as team-mate Noriyuki Haga gave the Yamaha Motor Italia squad its first ever double podium finish in the class. After colliding with another rider and failing to score in the opening race, the Australian rode intelligently to win race two while many top riders crashed out behind him. Making his intentions clear from the start, Pitt set the fastest lap of race two as he pulled away from the pack with world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki). When Corser crashed out on lap eight, Pitt found himself out in front of former world champions James Toseland (Honda) and Troy Bayliss (Ducati). When both Toseland and Bayliss made mistakes the Yamaha Motor Italia rider was able defend a five second lead over the battle for second, contested by Haga, Alex Barros (Honda) and Chris Walker (Kawasaki). Pitt rode sensibly to finish over two-and-a-half seconds ahead of Barros to give his team their first win of the season. Barros eventually took second place in what was a ferocious race long battle, with Haga getting the final podium spot from Walker on the last lap. Earlier in the day Haga finished fifth, his 27 point haul moving him up to second place in the championship. There were more mixed fortunes in the Yamaha Motor France camp. Norick Abe turned around a horrific qualifying session to score tenth and 13th place finishes from 22nd on the grid. Team-mate Sebastien Gimbert was 12th in race one but retired in race two, while Shinichi Nakatomi was unable to capitalize on his 13th place qualifying. The Japanese rookie crashed out of the opener and finished outside the points in the second heat.
With half of the season gone, Bayliss continues to lead the championship, 94 points ahead of Haga. Pitt's win sees him remain sixth in the championship but moves Yamaha into third place in the manufacturers standings. Round seven of the series takes place at Brno in the Czech Republic on July 23. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "It feels incredible to get that first win. I saw that Troy (Corser) was making some mistakes so I tried to keep the pressure on him. When he went down I saw that the lead was about 1.3 seconds over the next guy. For all I knew there was a big line of guys behind me so I tried to concentrate as there were a lot of laps to go. When I went past and saw 'six seconds' on my pit board I thought the mechanics had made a mistake and it was 0.6 seconds. Then, when we got down to the last five laps I knew that I could take it easier and enjoy things a bit more. It's a great feeling and I really have to thank my team. We did a lot of testing on used tyres because we knew that it was important to be consistent throughout the race. In the first race the bike was running wide on a full fuel load but for the second we completely changed the front end and run harder springs which made a big improvement." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Two very hard races. It was so hot and the tyre was gone after about five laps. I pushed very hard and spent the last 20 laps of each race fighting with the bike as well as with the other riders. I am very happy with the result though as it moves me to second in the championship. We had a good test at Brno recently so I am looking forward to riding there next month." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "To me this is the worst track! Until this morning I was so bad, always 20-something! We tried a few different settings for the race and they worked a bit better. In the first race a lot of riders fell and I gained some positions, but I think I passed about ten riders. I was losing the rear a lot in race one so we adapted the settings again for race two and in the beginning the lap times were better. In the hotter conditions in the afternoon, towards the end of the race, I was having lots of slides again and pushing the front. Compared to qualifying, it was much better." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "A very hot race but in race one I made a mistake and fell. I had a better rear tyre choice of race two and felt better in this one but did not score any points. My injuries did not give me any real problems in the race." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "A great day for us as a team and individually for our riders. I am very happy to see Andrew take his first win in superbike and I am sure this will be so important for his confidence. Nori has moved into second place in the championship and this is the first time that our team has had two riders on the same podium in superbike. I'm very proud of the progress we have made, because at the start of the season I would have said that this would be one of the worst tracks for our bike. Now our target is to ensure we maintain these results at every track between now and the end of the season." Race classification WSB Round: 6 - Misano Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 34.913 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.525 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Race: 25 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 40' 6.480 2 J. Toseland Honda GBR +6.493 3 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +10.141 4 A. Barros Honda BRA +15.017 5 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +15.376 6 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +16.763 7 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +23.857 8 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP +34.167 9 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +35.254 10 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +35.335 11 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +39.423 12 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA +39.609 13 F. Foret Suzuki FRA +39.755 14 V. Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA +44.065 15 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA +48.495 16 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +48.587 Race 2: 25 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 40' 18.671 2 A. Barros Honda BRA +2.717 3 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +6.559 4 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +7.100 5 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN +7.276 6 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA +13.916 7 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +14.148 8 J. Toseland Honda GBR +15.065 9 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +15.434 10 F. Foret Suzuki FRA +20.579 11 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP +21.440 12 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS +23.417 13 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +25.602 14 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +26.088 15 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA +26.712 16 V. Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA +33.556 17 S. Martin Petronas AUS +34.766 18 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN +37.406 19 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +40.146 20 I. Clementi Ducati ITA +47.341 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 35.123 Championship standings WSB Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 254 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 160 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 157 4 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 149 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 146 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 128 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 80 8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 70 9 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 64 10 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 61 11 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 60 12 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 56 13 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 52 14 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 52 15 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 48 18 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 18 19 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 11 Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Ducati 260 2 Honda 196 3 Yamaha 189 4 Suzuki 188 5 Kawasaki 98 6 Petronas 4 WSS : Roccoli gives Yamaha breakthrough win at Misano Round: 6 - Misano Circuit: Misano Date: 25 June 2006 Crowd: 61000 Temp: 31ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Team Italia youngster Massimo Roccoli took his and the latest Yamaha YZF-R6's first world supersport win in a tough round six at Misano today. In blisteringly hot conditions, the boy from nearby Rimini held his nerve to fend off compatriot Simone Sanna (Honda) for an emotional win. The 21-year-old former Yamaha R6 cup champion led the race from lap three and showed maturity beyond his years to withstand intense pressure from the former 125cc Grand Prix winner who remained just centimetres from the Yamaha's rear wheel throughout the race. Polesitter Broc Parkes ended the race third on his Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6. The Australian run set a new lap record on lap two and ran with the leading duo for much of the race, only to slip back as he struggled for rear grip in the closing laps due to selecting a different rear tyre option to the majority of the grid. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa recovered from a poor start to gain his best result in the class. The Spaniard started from the front row but found himself swamped going into the first corner but fought through from tenth to take fourth at the chequered flag. Kevin Curtain had a tough weekend on the other Yamaha Motor Germany machine. Last year's runner-up was forced to start from the fourth row of the grid after being plagued by set-up problems during qualifying. The Australian was further hampered by a bout of sickness on race day but he was still able to ride a gritty and professional race to sixth place, keeping his hopes of lifting the championship well and truly alive. In a good day for the R6 riders, Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello ended the race seventh after being passed by Curtain on the final lap. Spanish privateer Xavi Fores made it six Yamahas in the top ten and continued his fantastic season with tenth position on his SLM Racing-entered machine. World champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) retains his place at the head of the leader board, despite missing the race at Misano through injury. He leads Curtain by the reduced gap of 30 points. Parkes is third, 12 points behind his team-mate, with Roccoli a further three points behind in fifth. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "It's incredible. My bike was perfect today. I went fast from the first lap and pushed hard for the whole race. I had no problems with arm pump like in previous races and I knew from Friday that I could have a good race here. I hoped for a podium but I did not expect to win. I was not sure if Sanna could pass me on the last lap so I just pushed as hard as I could. I'm very happy for the team and my fans and want to thank them for their support." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "That was such hard work it feels like I've ridden about three races out there! I just struggled for rear grip today. I knew after about four or five laps that it was going to be tough and I had a lot of slides and big moments. I could see that Roccoli and Sanna had a lot more grip than me and I just had to settle for third. Maybe we could have chosen a different rear tyre and that would have improved things. Third is not a bad result, but I felt that we could have got more than that today." David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) "I am still too used to the bigger bikes I race in endurance. I was fifth into the first corner but then I got pushed wide by Harms, then I was pushed wide by Sofuoglu, so I decided that I should keep my tyres and get by those guys later. I had a soft front set-up to conserve the tyre in this heat. If there were more laps left I would have caught up with Broc in front, because he had killed his tyre at the end." Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "We have had problems with the front this weekend, and we thought it was one thing, but it wasn't so we went the wrong way with set-up for two days. We had a bit of a change of set-up overnight and things seemed better, but by this time we had not had a chance to test which tyre was going to go the distance for the race. I ran out of rear grip and I think Broc was in the same boat. I woke up this morning and I wondered who was rocking the motorhome! I went to the Clinica Mobile and I was all right before the race - and when you get on the bike you forget everything anyway." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I did my best today. I had a good start but when I pushed hard the bike started sliding and I lost the riders in front of me. With seven laps to go tyre was really finished so I decided to stay in my position and score some good championship points." Race classification WSS Round: 6 - Misano Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 37.628 (Broc Parkes, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.846 (Simone Sanna, 2003) Race: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 37' 55.059 2 S. Sanna Honda ITA +0.242 3 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +4.936 4 D. Checa Yamaha ESP +6.492 5 R. Harms Honda DNK +9.805 6 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS +10.147 7 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA +13.168 8 K. Sofuoglu Honda TUR +14.740 9 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE +16.107 10 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +19.665 11 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA +19.835 12 W. De Angelis Honda ITA +24.121 13 M. Lagrive Honda FRA +24.221 14 A. Vos Honda NED +25.557 15 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA +26.474 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1' 37.628 Championship standings WSS Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 116 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 86 3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 74 4 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 74 5 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 71 6 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 50 7 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 45 8 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 42 9 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 35 10 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 26 11 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 22 12 David Checa Yamaha ESP 21 13 Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21 14 Simone Sanna Honda ITA 20 15 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 15 32 Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 2 Manufacturers standings WSS Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 145 2 Yamaha 118 3 Ducati 34 4 Kawasaki 32 5 Suzuki 10 Superstock : More points for Corti in Misano Round: 4 - Misano Circuit: Misano Date: 25 June 2006 Crowd: 61000 Temp: 28ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti brought his YZF-R1 SP home fifth in a dramatic fourth round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Misano. Starting from the front row, the 18-year-old Italian led briefly in the opening stages before slipping back as he struggled with set-up problems. After crashing in the morning warm-up, the current European Superstock 600 Champion was forced to race with his spare bike and was unable to exactly replicate the settings of his preferred machine. Corti spent most of the race battling for third with Luca Scassa (MV Agusta), Brendan Roberts (Suzuki) and Riccardo Chiarello (Kawasaki) but looked set for sixth until picking up a position on the final lap, when Chiarello slid off. The Yamaha rider took to the grass but stayed upright to gain 11 championship points. Corti now lies fourth in the championship, on 50 points. The championship top three was reflected in today's race. Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) was the runaway winner and now leads the championship by 27 points from today's second placed rider, Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta). Scassa eventually claimed the third spot on the Misano rostrum to move one point ahead of Corti in the championship standings, in third. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I had a big crash in the morning practice and although I was ok the bike was very badly damaged. We didn't have enough time to repair the bike, so we had to use a spare. We didn't have enough time to set it up properly and I didn't have the same speed I had the rest of the weekend. Fifth is not so bad in the circumstances but I had wanted to do better at this circuit." Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Round: 4 - Misano Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 37.526 (Alessandro Polita, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 37.526 (Alessandro Polita, 2006) Race: 15 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Polita Suzuki ITA 24' 48.301 2 A. Badovini MV Agusta ITA +6.602 3 L. Scassa MV Agusta ITA +9.519 4 R. Roberts Suzuki AUS +10.777 5 C. Corti Yamaha ITA +18.127 6 E. Rocamora Yamaha ESP +19.192 7 S. Saltarelli Kawasaki ITA +31.703 8 M. Smrz Honda CZE +31.965 9 R. Cooper Honda GBR +32.011 10 R. Chiarello Kawasaki ITA +33.028 11 A. Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP +34.306 12 M. Baiocco Yamaha ITA +35.749 13 C. Tangre Suzuki FRA +36.451 14 M. Jerman Suzuki SVK +37.936 15 D. Dell'omo Suzuki ITA +43.021 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Polita Suzuki ITA 1' 37.526 Championship standings FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 95 2 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 68 3 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 51 4 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 50 5 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 39 6 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 33 7 Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 29 8 Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 27 9 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 23 10 Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 20 11 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 19 12 Simone Saltarelli Kawasaki ITA 18 13 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 18 14 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 14 15 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 14

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Alex Asigno

June 25, 200618 yr

Front row for Pitt, Haga ready to race

Andrew Pitt will start tomorrow's two-race sixth round of the Superbike World Championship from the front row of the grid after qualifying his Yamaha Motor Italia YZF-R1 third in today's superpole session at a hot Misano. The Australian set his best lap of the weekend in the one-lap qualifying run to the delight of his Yamaha Motor Italia squad. The former supersport world champion has run strongly throughout the practice sessions and was able to make minor improvements to give greater feedback from the front tyre. The Australian was able to do a race simulation in the afternoon session, running consistent times over 20 laps in preparation for tomorrow's two races. The superpole result sees Pitt equal his best qualifying position in the class. Having started third on the grid at this year's opening race in Qatar, where he went on to secure his first podium finish in the class. Pitt's team-mate Noriyuki Haga made big improvements with the set-up of his machine to go into the superpole session as the sixth fastest rider in regulation qualifying. After ending Friday practice in 12th, the Yamaha Motor Italia squad changed the geometry and gear ratios of Haga's YZF-R1 to improve the acceleration and steering of the machine. Although the Japanese star could not improve his grid position in the one-lap shootout, he is confident of challenging at the front in tomorrow's races - having completed a successful race simulation in the practice sessions. There were mixed fortunes for the Yamaha Motor France squad in Misano. Shinichi Nakatomi had his best qualifying of the season, ending regular qualifying in 16th place to make superpole for the first time. The Japanese rider put in his best lap of the afternoon on his flying lap - moving him up to 13th on tomorrow's grid. Team-mate Sebastien Gimbert will start one row behind his Japanese team-mate after ending qualifying 20th. Norick Abe again struggled at a circuit he openly dislikes. He ended the day a further row behind, in 22nd, although if there is any consolation for the former Grand Prix rider then it is that he starts three places higher than in last year's Misano races, where he managed to fight through to make the top 15. Pole position for tomorrow's two 25-lap races goes to James Toseland (Honda) who set a time of 1:33.833 on his qualifying run. World champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Steve Martin (Petronas) make up the front row alongside Pitt. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I was actually a little bit surprised at how good the lap time was in superpole because I made a small mistake and that must've cost me a little time. The bike has been working really well all weekend so to get a front row start really tops things off and puts us in good shape for the race tomorrow. We've made a few improvements to the bike today to improve the feeling and give better tyre life. Pirelli has brought along a wider rear tyre for this race and although it seems to work on our bike and gives more grip, it does work the front tyre more. We'll decide in the morning if this is our best tyre option." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Second row is ok. The bike is working better today and is much easier for me to ride over the race distance. I was able to do a good race simulation and I'm confident that we're ready for the fight tomorrow!" Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I am very happy to have made superpole and I think that it shows the progress we have made. I didn't really notice the pain in my arm today as I was so focused on my riding, although I think that it will be hard for me to be at 100 percent throughout both races tomorrow. It is important that I do not crash and make the injury worse but I will be trying hard in the races to get the best result possible." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "We had some front end grip problems which seems to be caused by the set-up of the front fork. We made some improvements in the afternoon and hopefully we can find more for the races. I had a crash in the afternoon session and have hurt my ankle, although nothing is broken." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "It's the same problem for me, I just can't seem to get any traction. I tried hard to make a better lap time but it just didn't happen. We will try a few things tonight and I hope that I can get some good starts in the races." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm quite satisfied with how things have gone so far. I'm pleased with Andrew's performance and not just with the fact that he has got on the front row. His time was very impressive and close to Toseland's pole time, which will give him a lot of confidence. He's in good shape for the race, as is Nori. He was able to do a good race simulation with 10 or 11 laps very similar to what Bayliss and Toseland were doing. Second row is ok for Nori as we know what he is capable of doing in the race." Round: 6 - Misano Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 34.913 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.525 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Date: 24 June 2006 Temp: 30ºC Session 2 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 2nd Qualifying Superpole 1 J. Toseland Honda GBR 1' 35.553 1' 35.199 1' 33.833 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1' 35.016 1' 34.572 1' 33.866 3 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 35.448 1' 35.013 1' 34.031 4 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1' 35.313 1' 34.900 1' 34.178 5 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1' 35.255 1' 35.299 1' 34.472 6 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1' 35.816 1' 35.115 1' 34.487 7 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 1' 34.903 1' 34.494 1' 34.523 8 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1' 35.851 1' 35.146 1' 34.556 9 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1' 35.166 1' 34.843 1' 34.648 10 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1' 35.561 1' 35.304 1' 34.685 11 A. Barros Honda BRA 1' 35.858 1' 35.312 1' 34.707 12 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA 1' 35.466 1' 35.356 1' 34.814 13 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1' 36.111 1' 35.593 1' 35.003 14 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1' 35.667 1' 35.245 1' 35.007 15 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA 1' 35.682 1' 35.590 1' 35.410 16 M. Neukirchner Ducati GER 1' 36.091 1' 35.222 19 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1' 36.144 1' 35.781 22 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1' 36.625 1' 36.061 WSS : Yamaha takes pole in Misano Round: 6 - Misano WSS Circuit: Misano Date: 24 June 2006 Temp: 35ºC Weather: Sunny Broc Parkes demonstrated why Misano is one of his favourite circuits by taking pole position for tomorrow's sixth round of the Supersport World Championship, held at the Italian seaside venue. With reduced grip levels, due to the warm temperatures, all of the supersport riders struggled to match their times from April's test at the same venue. Parkes had been the fastest rider on display in April, posting a 1:36.411 lap time, although he was unable to go faster today. The 24-year-old Yamaha Motor Germany rider was one of only two riders to break the 1:37 barrier, setting a best time of 1:36.876 to take the second pole position of his career. Simone Sanna (Honda) will start from second on the grid. Confirming the latest YZF-R6's performance at Misano, Yamaha riders filled the next three positions on the grid. Local rider Massimo Roccoli and Yamaha GMT94's David Checa both topped the timesheets during the afternoon session but ended the day third and fourth respectively. Roccoli's Yamaha Team Italia colleague Gianluca Vizziello will lead the second row, in fifth, with Spanish YZF-R6 privateer Xavi Fores making it five Yamahas on the first two rows. Kevin Curtain will start from an uncharacteristically low fourth row on the grid after ending the day down in 14th position. The experienced Australian, who currently lies second to the absent Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), in the championship crashed mid-session and was forced to use his spare machine, which had different suspension settings and did not allow him to push as hard as on his preferred machine. Round: 6 - Misano WSS Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 37.924 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.846 (Simone Sanna, 2003) Date: 24 June 2006 Temp: 35ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 2nd Qualifying 1 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1' 37.407 1' 36.876 2 S. Sanna Honda ITA 1' 38.626 1' 36.999 3 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1' 37.601 1' 37.096 4 D. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 38.578 1' 37.263 5 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1' 37.515 1' 37.288 6 Y. Tibero Honda FRA 1' 37.555 1' 37.473 7 X. Fores Yamaha ESP 1' 38.663 1' 37.589 8 C. Zaiser Ducati AUT 1' 38.183 1' 37.769 9 K. Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1' 39.756 1' 37.824 10 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA 1' 38.947 1' 37.841 11 R. Harms Honda DNK 1' 38.450 1' 37.976 12 W. De Angelis Honda ITA 1' 39.284 1' 37.993 13 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE 1' 38.555 1' 37.998 14 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS 1' 38.157 1' 38.013 15 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA 1' 39.440 1' 38.137 16 M. Lagrive Honda FRA 1' 39.399 1' 38.143 18 B. Martinez Yamaha ESP 1' 39.101 1' 38.260 21 V. Ivanov Yamaha RUS 1' 39.888 1' 38.650 22 A. Corradi Yamaha ITA 1' 39.795 1' 38.687 24 S. Zerbo Yamaha ITA 1' 38.875 N/A 27 A. Velini Yamaha ITA 1' 39.985 1' 39.524 28 A. Berta Yamaha ITA N/A 1' 39.621 31 J. Enjolras Yamaha FRA 1' 39.816 N/A

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Alex Asigno

June 24, 200618 yr

Edwards misses out on first win as Rossi brings home the points

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards came within metres of his first MotoGP World Championship victory today after dominating the Dutch TT until a breathtaking finale at Assen. Starting from the front row of the grid Edwards led the way from the first turn and set an electrifying pace that only American compatriot Nicky Hayden (Honda) was able to follow. With two laps remaining Hayden closed in and made his first lunge for the lead, forcing Edwards off the track and onto the escape road. The 'Texan Tornado' looked consigned to second place but he produced a stunning fight-back to pull level with Hayden on the final lap and retake the lead with just a few corners to go. When Hayden launched one last attack into the final chicane, only to run straight onto the gravel, Edwards seemed certain to win but there was one final twist in the tale as he ran onto the grass on the exit from the corner and lost control of his YZR-M1 machine, which threw him into the air. As Edwards slid to the ground within touching distance of the finish line Hayden returned to the track to snatch his first win of the season, leaving the Yamaha man to pick his bike up and limp across the line in 13th place. Edwards' Camel Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi also produced one of his best rides of the season so far as he battled through the pain of cracked bones in his hand and ankle to take the flag in eighth place. Rossi started from the very back of the grid after struggling to qualify with the injury he picked up during Thursday morning's free practice session. However he made up ten positions in a brave ride to seal eight valuable championship points. Valentino Rossi (8th; +23.591) "That was a really hard race for me but Doctor Costa, Marco Montanari and the entire Clinica Mobile team did a great job on my hand and I was able to race until the end. I was in some pain, especially at the start and I wasn't able to ride at 100% of my ability, but it was okay. At the start I was worried how it would go, but when the adrenalin kicked in I started to feel like I could race and by the time we got to the midway point I was feeling much better and having some fun. I lost strength in my hand over the last three laps but I was able to hang on and we picked up some decent points in eighth place. The team have done a great job this weekend in difficult conditions. I wasn't able to do many laps in practice so they didn't have much data but the bike and the tyres felt great so I have to say a big thanks to everybody. I feel very sorry for Colin - he rode a great race and he was unlucky to make the mistake at the end because he deserved to win." Colin Edwards (13th; +40.412) "What can I say? Obviously I'm really disappointed because I know I should have won that race. The bike felt great from the start and I was really enjoying riding it out there. I knew my pace in practice would be hard for the other guys to cope with and that's how it proved to be. I got the start I wanted and just kept my head down, doing those times. When Nicky came up inside me two laps from the end he left the pass pretty late and there was nowhere for me to turn the bike into. I had to go straight and luckily it was at a point of the track where I could run back on again. I was determined not to lose hold of him and just gave it everything to give myself a chance on the last lap. I got past him and then tried to keep a really defensive line out of the final corner - I had no idea Nicky had run onto the gravel otherwise I wouldn't have needed to do it. Unfortunately I ran it a bit too tight onto the grass and the rear just spun up as I opened the throttle and it threw me off. I'm gutted but fair play to Nicky, it was a great race." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It was a great race and Colin missed out on the win by just a few metres. It's disappointing because we could already taste the victory champagne and we didn't expect that final twist. He made some wonderful moves on the last lap and he didn't deserve to go down like that, but that's racing! Valentino also rode brilliantly today, surprising everybody once again with his mental and physical strength. As a team we are very proud of both our riders today." Another top 10 result for Tech 3 Yamaha Team at Assen The evolution of Tech 3 Yamaha Team continued at the A-Style TT Assen as Carlos Checa furnished the team with another milestone when he climbed into the Top 10 for the second time in a week to finish in ninth position. Nicky Hayden (Honda) was the one to claim the win. Tech 3 team-mate, James Ellison didn't fair as well, crashing at the start of the fourth lap while in 12th place - right behind Carlos. It's a disappointing result for James who now heads to his home Grand Prix at Donington next week (July 2) suffering an ankle injury. With the improved results of the last two races, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team has doubled its points haul in the championship, inspiring the entire team to reach new heights in the upcoming Grands Prix to compliment the solid progression of recent weeks. Carlos Checa (8th, Fastest lap 1'38.119) "This is a very satisfying result for all of us as now we are in a fight with other riders. In the beginning of the race I tried to follow Melandri and Pedrosa but they started going away and I couldn't stay with them. It was better to stay with my pace as the feeling from the front wasn't so good. I caught and passed Tamada then step by step I also got by Vermeulen. I saw Rossi coming and by that time the chatter from the front increased. I also tried to stay with him but as the chatter was quite bad at that stage it was better to finish than risk a crash after all the hard work the team has done. We have to learn now where that is coming from as now we are going faster but we are also much closer to the front than at the beginning of the year. Dunlop has been putting in a very good effort and it is not easy from inside the box, I can tell you, but we have improved to be fighting with very strong rivals. We have made many steps in the last two races and now we are just one second off the top guys so this is the next step we have to work on. I am now able to fight and this is a lot more fun for me. When we compete with other riders it is much better than just trying to be the first Dunlop rider home. Now we hope that the improvements get us even closer in the next races. James Ellison (DNF Fastest lap 1'39.002) "Obviously I'm very disappointed but there are positives to take out of this weekend. I had a pretty good start as I've got a little trick I've been working on. I feel really comfortable on the bike and am able to be a bit more aggressive if anyone tries to get past and have the confidence to throw it back in front of them without hesitating when I see a front wheel coming alongside. I got in a pretty good position and stayed with Carlos but, going into Turn One I went in a little too hot and lost the front. I was trying real hard because I was comfortable and that's what you do. This is one meeting where I wanted to do really well as things are progressing nicely now and I wanted to use this as a springboard for Donington next week but now I've done a bit of damage to my ankle. It's pretty hard to walk on but with a week off some physio and ice packs I hope to be right. Besides being pretty mad at myself, I'm sorry for the team because they have been working non stop all year and they deserved to get a half decent result as well. Hopefully we can do something next week" Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "We are very happy. Happy with the race result and also happy with the qualifying. We have made another step from Barcelona. We may have finished ninth instead of eighth like last week but we are closer to the front which is the most important thing. We are definitely now racing, as we have Vermeulen on the factory Suzuki and Bridgestones as well as Tamada on a factory Honda and Michelins behind us. We are now in the mid field so it proves we have made big improvements. I'm disappointed for James because he was going very well and was right with Carlos when he lost the front end. Otherwise I think he would have had a very encouraging result for him too. Both riders were quick in qualifying and both riders were strong in the race. We had stable tyres until the end of the race and the lap times are very consistent. Apart from the first four we had similar lap times to many others so that is very encouraging. We now go to Donington where normally Dunlop tyres perform well. We are looking for an improvement in all areas again next week and keep the progression going." Race classification MotoGP Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: 1' 37.106 (Nicky Hayden, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.411 (John Hopkins, 2006) Race: 26 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 N. Hayden Honda USA 42' 27.404 2 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +4.884 3 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +7.525 4 C. Stoner Honda AUS +7.555 5 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +8.078 6 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +17.065 7 M. Melandri Honda ITA +18.090 8 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +23.951 9 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +29.027 10 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +31.627 11 M. Tamada Honda JPN +32.841 12 A. Hofmann Ducati GER +34.143 13 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +40.412 14 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA +1' 3.648 15 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +1' 17.303 16 I. Silva Ducati ESP +1 lap(s) 17 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +3 lap(s) Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 37.106 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 144 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 102 3 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 100 4 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 98 5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 98 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 78 7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 63 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 57 9 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 55 10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 54 11 Toni Elias Honda ESP 53 12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 50 13 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 44 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 37 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 31 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 12 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 176 2 Yamaha 127 3 Ducati 109 4 Suzuki 64 5 Kawasaki 57 6 Team Roberts KR 55 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 246 2 Camel Yamaha Team 161 3 Fortuna Honda Team 151 4 Ducati Marlboro Team 148 5 Rizla Suzuki 87 6 Honda LCR 78 7 Kawasaki Racing Team 70 8 Team Roberts KR 55 9 Konica Minolta Honda 54 10 Tech3 Yamaha 43 11 Pramac D'Antin 17 Race classification GP250 Round: 8 - GP250 Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: 1' 40.500 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 40.007 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2006) Race: 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 40' 30.770 2 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +8.168 3 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA +8.241 4 A. Debon Aprilia ESP +31.875 5 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +34.686 6 Y. Takahashi Honda JPN +39.326 7 M. Simoncelli Gilera ITA +39.383 8 A. West Aprilia AUS +45.104 9 H. Aoyama KTM JPN +47.526 10 M. Poggiali KTM SMR +59.296 11 A. Baldolini Aprilia ITA +1' 4.424 12 S. Aoyama Honda JPN +1' 5.827 13 F. Battiani Aprilia ITA +1' 14.392 14 A. Tizon Honda ESP +1' 21.750 15 A. Espargaro Honda ESP +1' 21.763 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 1' 40.500 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 149 2 Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 133 3 Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 99 4 Hiroshi Aoyama KTM JPN 92 5 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 91 6 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 91 7 Hector Barbera Aprilia ESP 78 8 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 51 9 Marco Simoncelli Gilera ITA 49 10 Anthony West Aprilia AUS 42 11 Shuhei Aoyama Honda JPN 38 12 Alex Debon Aprilia ESP 35 13 Martin Cardenas Honda COL 28 14 Manuel Poggiali KTM SMR 28 15 Jakub Smrz Aprilia CZE 27 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Aprilia 176 2 Honda 154 3 KTM 96 4 Gilera 49

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Alex Asigno

June 24, 200618 yr

Edwards seals front row start as Rossi struggles for fitness

Camel Yamaha Team team-mates Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi will start from opposite ends of the grid in tomorrow's 76th edition of the Dutch TT after enjoying contrasting fortunes in qualifying practice. Whilst Edwards was consistently amongst the fastest riders on track throughout the day, topping the time sheets in morning free practice before clocking the third quickest time to seal a front row start in the decisive afternoon session, Rossi continued to suffer from the effects of a heavy crash yesterday and was only able to complete fourteen laps in qualifying. The Italian's best effort was almost four seconds off the pole position time of 1'36.411 set by John Hopkins (Suzuki) and he now faces an anxious wait to see if he will be able to take his place at the very back of the grid for the eighth round of a luckless season. Rossi will undergo further therapy this evening but his participation in the event will not be 100% confirmed until after tomorrow's morning warm-up, when he will make a final assessment of his fitness along with the Clinica Mobile doctors. Colin Edwards (3rd - 1'36.755; 27 laps) "Obviously I would have liked to be on pole position and I felt with the pace we were setting that we had a good shot. I went out there at the start of the session and ran a couple of tyres. On my final race tyre I was really happy with the pace and then we started throwing some qualifiers on but I don't know if I had a 1'36.4 in my bag. I was pretty happy with 36.7 that I did but for Hopkins and Nakano to do a 36.4 was pretty impressive so it would have been a case of taking my brain out and setting it on one side to try and match that! Anyway, right there at the end Stoner and Pedrosa were just sitting in the middle of the track on my last lap so we'll never know. As I say my race pace is good so I'm looking forward to tomorrow and I just hope Valentino can make the best possible recovery overnight to try and salvage something from the weekend." Valentino Rossi (18th - 1'40.298; 14 laps) "This afternoon I tried using some painkillers but the fracture in my right wrist hurts a lot. Truly it was very difficult to ride - the hand is very swollen and I don't have much strength. Together with Marco Montanari and Doctor Claudio Costa we have done the best that was possible, I've had a lot of treatment and I was able to ride for a few laps, but the strong pain stopped me from finishing the qualifying session. Tomorrow we will see how I am and, depending on what happens in the warm-up, we will decide whether I will ride or not. Anyway it's going to be very difficult. We tried to move the brake lever a little bit down and we're now looking at the possibility of making a bigger brake lever to see if this is better for me." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Colin did a good job - he was consistently fast in every practice session and qualified on the front row so we couldn't ask for much more. The omens are good for the race for him and starting from the front row makes him one of the contenders to win the race. Unfortunately that is not the case for Valentino. He had to be very strong just to complete a few laps this afternoon and now it is just a case of letting him rest and seeing how his condition develops overnight. Obviously we want him to race but our first concern is his physical condition. Thankfully the Clinica Mobile is doing a fantastic job, as always, and we know he is in good hands." Tech 3 Yamaha Team on form in Assen Qualifying The improved performance of the Tech 3 Yamaha Team continued at the "A-Style" Assen TT when the experienced Carlos Checa gave the team it's most superb qualifying result of the 2006 season to place himself eighth on the grid for tomorrow's race. Additionally, team mate, James Ellison continued his climb through the ranks and will start from 14th position after recording his best time of the year to be just over half a second behind Checa These ever improving results are a fitting reward for the concentrated efforts and dedication that the team and tyre manufacturer, Dunlop have maintained since the season started and auger well for even more impressive results during the rest of the year. Carlos Checa (8th, 1'37.378, 31 laps) "This is our best qualifying position and the result makes me and the team very happy. We have improved our time from yesterday so tomorrow we start from the third row where we have never been before this year. .We have good pace and hopefully we can stay with our rivals that have been close to my lap times and have similar pace to me... We have confidence that we can keep the same lap times and this will give us a good chance tomorrow. In Barcelona we found the consistency and here it looks like we are even faster and closer to the lap times of our rivals. Hopefully, from our pace on race tyres not many riders can run at that. We have made another step and tomorrow I hope we take another one as we get closer and closer. I will be trying as hard as I normally do but now I am more confident, I feel fast and I believe in myself. James Ellison (14th 1'38.005, 28 laps) "We did pretty well. My aim today was to get into the '37 second bracket and I only missed out by less than a tenth of a second. Plus I'm well within range of Carlos so I'm happy. It should be good tomorrow because we have a good race tyre as Carlos and I have been doing laps on race tyres and we have a good setup and consistency. There's also been something found with the qualifying tyres and proves that Dunlop are always progressing and always looking for something better. We're improving bit by bit each weekend as we are learning and considering it is the first year for Dunlop with a team like this I think we are making pretty good progress now. The last few weeks have been great as since we have made the adjustments to the frame I can ride the bike like I want to. It makes it so much more enjoyable to ride and go out and have fun as well. Things are looking up all the time as morale has been boosted in the team by what is happening. We still need to progress but in a way the season started for us last weekend. Tomorrow I don't want to make any predictions as I just want to try my best, run a good race, be consistent with the times and stick with Carlos for the entire race. It should be good and I'm really looking forward to it. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "This is by far the very best qualifying position we have had so far and together with Marco (Melandri) and Alex (Hoffman) we are on the third row of the grid.. We are very happy because we have a race tyre that is good on performance and durability. We also have found something interesting now with the qualifying tyres to get a good grid position. The result of James is also very good as this is his best qualifying position. It is also the best lap time he has done with a race tyre and is closer to the leading guys. We know this is going to be a tough race and we have some good points that we can grab. It's still only the early part of the championship and we are very happy with the progress we are now making. I definitely think we are now heading in the good direction we have been striving for and hopefully we can continue in this direction at Donington and beyond. We are very happy. Also, I want to say that I am very sorry to see what has happened to Valentino and the team and I wish him all the best for tomorrow's race. Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: new track Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.411 (John Hopkins, 2006) Date: 23 June 2006 Temp: 20ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 36.411 2 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 36.424 3 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 36.755 4 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 36.758 5 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 36.993 6 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 37.077 7 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 37.332 8 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 37.378 9 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 37.399 10 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 37.528 11 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 37.556 12 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 37.660 13 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 37.676 14 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 38.055 15 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 38.060 16 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP 1' 39.406 18 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 40.298

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Alex Asigno

June 23, 200618 yr

Pitt sixth fastest in first qualifying

Yamaha Motor Italia warmed up for their second home race of the season with a productive day of practice in Misano today. Andrew Pitt spent the day's two one hour sessions working on finding good race settings for his Yamaha YZF-R1 in the hot conditions. The Australian was able to try out all the Pirelli tyre options at his disposal and settle on his likely choices for the race. Pitt posted the sixth best time of the session, a 1:35.448, despite being held up in traffic. With track temperatures of over 50°C, grip levels proved significantly lower than at April's test at the same venue. Noriyuki Haga struggled to find as good a setting as he would have liked on his YZF-R1. The Japanese star, who lies third in the championship, plans to make changes to his machine overnight to improve the handling and traction of his machine. Like Pitt he worked exclusively on finding settings for Sunday's two 25-lap races, ending the day less than a second from provisional pole - in 12th place with a best of 1:35.816. Yamaha Motor France riders Norick Abe, Sebastien Gimbert and Shinichi Nakatomi all fought problems during the session. Nakatomi was the fastest of the trio, ending the day 19th despite riding with an arm injury sustained during the last round in Silverstone. Gimbert experienced set-up problems and ended the day in 20th with Abe complaining of a lack of traction as he ended the day an unusually low 24th. Championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was the fastest man on show today, recording a 1:34.903 on his final lap of the day. Troy Corser (Suzuki), Regis Laconi (Kawasaki) and Chris Walker (Kawasaki) complete the provisional front row. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I was surprised at how well the bike has gone in these hot conditions. We did a lot of laps and have tested all our tyre options, so we know what we'll be using for the race. At the end we put the best settings on and I was able to do a good lap, even though I got held up in traffic a bit. Tomorrow it's about trying to refine the package further so that we can be in the best possible shape for the race." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The traction levels are a lot lower now than when we tested in April so we still have to improve the balance of the bike. I want to be able to change direction of the bike more easily and generally make the bike easier to ride. We'll look at the suspension and gearing tonight and I think we can find some progress for tomorrow." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "We had some problems with the chassis settings today so I think that we can make some big improvements tomorrow. The times are very close with just over a second between me and Bayliss in pole so I know that we can be close to superpole tomorrow." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I was able to do many laps today and my arm did not hurt too much, so this is promising for the race. I am glad to be coming to a circuit I know, because we have already tested here and I am pleased to be faster than my team-mates." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "For me it is the same as last year's race here. I have no grip and the back wheel is just sliding around. I tried very hard to make a good lap time, especially in those last three laps, but I could not make the improvement. We are already looking at the data to see what improvements we can make to try and find a solution for tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm quite satisfied. Obviously you want to be right up the front but Andrew has had a good day and was able to find a setting that works well. He's already found a tyre that works for the race and tomorrow we'll make a few changes to try and give him more front end feeling. Nori is still looking for the best set-up but I am not too worried as he is often wanting to make big changes to the bike on the Friday night but we usually find a solution for Saturday." Round: 6 - Misano Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 34.913 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.525 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Date: 23 June 2006 Temp: 25ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 1' 34.903 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1' 35.016 3 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1' 35.166 4 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1' 35.255 5 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1' 35.313 6 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 35.448 7 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA 1' 35.466 8 J. Toseland Honda GBR 1' 35.553 9 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1' 35.561 10 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1' 35.667 11 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA 1' 35.682 12 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1' 35.816 13 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1' 35.851 14 A. Barros Honda BRA 1' 35.858 15 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS 1' 35.965 16 F. Foret Suzuki FRA 1' 36.037 19 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1' 36.111 20 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1' 36.144 24 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1' 36.625 WSS : Yamaha dominant in first practice at Misano Round: 6 - Misano WSS Circuit: Misano Date: 23 June 2006 Temp: 31ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha enjoyed a dream start to qualifying for Sunday's sixth round of the Supersport World Championship at Misano, with YZF-R6 riders occupying four of the top five places in first qualifying today. Yamaha Motor Germany's Australian rider Broc Parkes topped the timesheets with a time half-a-second under Katsuaki Fujiwara's three-year-old lap record. The 24-year-old had slipped off uninjured in the morning warm-up but fought back to set a best of 1:37.407, one-tenth-of-a-second faster than Gianluca Vizzello on the Yamaha Team Italia YZF-R6, in the afternoon's timed practice. Local rider Massimo Roccoli ended the day fourth on the other Yamaha Team Italia entry. The 21-year-old, who hails from nearby Rimini, posted a fastest time of 1:37.601 to complete the provisional front row. Young French rider Yoann Tibero is the odd man out on the provisional front row, taking third on his Honda. Parkes' team-mate Kevin Curtain had been at the top of the timesheets when his bike developed a minor technical fault with 15 minutes of the session remaining. The Australian was able to return to the pits and rejoin using his spare machine, but with his second bike using different settings he was unable to improve his time and slipped back to fifth. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa ended the day ninth to give the YZF-R6 five of the top 10 places on the grid. Grid positions for Sunday's 23-lap will be decided by in tomorrow afternoon's final qualifying session. Round: 6 - Misano WSS Circuit: Misano Circuit Length: 4060 Lap Record: 1' 37.924 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.846 (Simone Sanna, 2003) Date: 23 June 2006 Temp: 31ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1' 37.407 2 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1' 37.515 3 Y. Tibero Honda FRA 1' 37.555 4 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1' 37.601 5 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS 1' 38.157 6 C. Zaiser Ducati AUT 1' 38.183 7 R. Harms Honda DNK 1' 38.450 8 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE 1' 38.555 9 D. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 38.578 10 S. Sanna Honda ITA 1' 38.626 11 X. Fores Yamaha ESP 1' 38.663 12 S. Zerbo Yamaha ITA 1' 38.875 13 A. Vos Honda NED 1' 38.879 14 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA 1' 38.947 15 G. Leblanc Honda FRA 1' 39.005 16 B. Martinez Yamaha ESP 1' 39.101 20 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA 1' 39.440 26 A. Corradi Yamaha ITA 1' 39.795 27 J. Enjolras Yamaha FRA 1' 39.816 28 V. Ivanov Yamaha RUS 1' 39.888 30 A. Velini Yamaha ITA 1' 39.985

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Alex Asigno

June 23, 200618 yr

Edwards on top but Rossi injured on eventful first day at Assen

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning. The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards' team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries. The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane. After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage. He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort. Colin Edwards (1st - 1'38.144; 28 laps) "The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track. Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here. I've ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike - we've barely had to touch it today. I've always gone well here and it's a circuit I've always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track. I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don't think we can call this 'The Cathedral' of MotoGP anymore - certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate. I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow." Valentino Rossi (12th - 1'39.458; 23 laps) "I'm okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it's been quite hard for me to ride! I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it's really hard. I don't have much power or feeling. Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn't breathe well for a long time. I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon. The problem this morning was that we started with a tyre that was a bit too hard on the left. When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn't have enough grip on the left side. I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air! It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard. It's a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown. The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it's not so bad. I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "I suppose it is fair to say that was a different day to normal! On one hand it was very positive because Colin was fast throughout and both he and his bike look good around this circuit. Of course Valentino had a big problem this morning but it was amazing to see him back out on track in the afternoon after such a heavy fall. Despite the pain he was in he managed to complete some laps and also gave us some feedback so let's just hope his condition improves. If Colin can continue like this and Valentino can get back to a decent level of fitness, then we should see them both on top on Saturday." Tech 3 Yamaha Team second fastest in opening practice The Tech 3 Yamaha Team proved today that persistence, hard work and dedication are rewarded as Carlos Checa finished the initial practice sessions in second fastest position for the A-Style Dutch TT on the new look Assen circuit. Checa's superlative time was just over a tenth of a second behind fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards who was fastest. Team mate, James Ellison also scored his most impressive practice time of the year to date to be only 1.5 seconds behind Edwards in 13th position, marginally behind number one Yamaha rider and multiple world champion, Valentino Rossi. As the season approaches the half-way point, the results confirm the ongoing improvement of the Dunlop race tyres, reflected in the ever decreasing gap to the top of the leaderboard. Carlos Checa (2nd, 1'38.259, 39 laps) "This is an excellent result for myself and the team and confirms all the hard work we have been doing. I now have the feeling with the Dunlop tyres that I can push more. I can go into the turn and exit the turn faster as rear stability and grip has been improving all the time. Of course we are always looking fro more but the question now is to get the endurance to last the entire race. There has been nothing changed on the bike since Barcelona and there we had improved a lot to give a better feeling but 85% of the improvement is all down to the tyres. It has been awhile since I have been in this position and sure I am happy but as a rider this is what I expect and desire. Sometimes you can't always be in front but I know the limitations and what we have We are racing in the top level with one of the best bikes in the world and I always have tried to be happy no matter how difficult the situation. This situation is getting better every race as since the tests at Le Mans and Mugello there has been a very big improvement so I feel that we a re getting closer Tomorrow, we need to make sure that we can qualify well to stay near this position and make sure we have a good tyre to do the job. We also need to find the suitable race tyre as today with the conditions and learning the new track we did not have enough time to do a proper distance but we have a good idea of which direction to go. I feel confident that after Barcelona we are closer now than we have been all year. James Ellison (13th 1'39.645, 35 laps) "This is definitely the happiest I have been all year. We just got pipped in the last few moments by Rossi and Pedrosa so maybe the position could have been even better but I'm not worried about that at the moment as we're still progressing. We're all very happy. We knew that once we could get the bike set up properly with the tyres I would be able to ride the bike the way I want to. I still don't feel like I'm right on the limit but it's the first time I'm riding like I was riding last year. It's been frustrating in the earlier races not being able to move around on the bike and use the bike aggressively. I've just had to sit on top of it and the bike was riding me. I feel a lot better on it now and I'm having fun every time I go out. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed on it, letting the bike move underneath me instead of fighting it, I'm telling it where to go and the improvements are coming now. The tyres are always improving. To be only 1.5 seconds off is a huge boost to me and a great inspiration to the team. We've been getting better every weekend and this has been a great improvement. Hopefully tomorrow is like everywhere else where the leading guys don't improve that much and I can narrow the gap a bit more because my aim this weekend is to be within a second of pole position because we always seem to be able to run quite a good race pace but we start too far back. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "This has been a very good day today after the great weekend we had in Barcelona. We have continued to work hard with Dunlop and in the end it shows that what we are doing is paying off. Both Carlos and James had a really good race in Barcelona and that has been an inspiration to keep on pushing harder here. Dunlop has always been quite good here in Assen, so hopefully this will continue. The weekend has started in a really positive way for us and it is very satisfying to see Carlos in second position and show what the Yamaha and the Dunlop tyres can do. For sure James is also a lot better than he has ever been. Ok, it is only day one but so far we have started the weekend well and we hope we can continue in this way for qualifying and the race. It is not only just one fast lap either as both riders are putting in the consistent lap times now as they both did a lot of fast laps s o naturally we'd really like to be in this same position tomorrow afternoon We knew from the start of the year it would take time to get the results. We will test the qualifying tyres tomorrow morning to see what works and I know both riders will be endeavouring to set even faster times and hopefully we have qualifying tyres that can do the job. The only real concern is the weather forecast as we will be hoping for the dry conditions to for the weekend. Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: new track Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.144 (Colin Edwards, 2006) Date: 22 June 2006 Temp: 18ºC Free Practice : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice 1 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 38.144 2 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 38.259 3 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 38.416 4 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 38.510 5 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 38.610 6 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 38.659 7 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 38.720 8 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 38.921 9 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 38.965 10 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 39.142 11 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 39.166 12 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 39.458 13 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 39.645 14 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 39.647 15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 40.248 16 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 40.688

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Alex Asigno

June 22, 200618 yr

Edwards on top but Rossi injured on eventful first day at Assen

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning. The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards' team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries. The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane. After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage. He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort. Colin Edwards (1st - 1'38.144; 28 laps) "The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track. Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here. I've ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike - we've barely had to touch it today. I've always gone well here and it's a circuit I've always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track. I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don't think we can call this 'The Cathedral' of MotoGP anymore - certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate. I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow." Valentino Rossi (12th - 1'39.458; 23 laps) "I'm okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it's been quite hard for me to ride! I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it's really hard. I don't have much power or feeling. Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn't breathe well for a long time. I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon. The problem this morning was that we started with a tyre that was a bit too hard on the left. When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn't have enough grip on the left side. I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air! It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard. It's a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown. The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it's not so bad. I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "I suppose it is fair to say that was a different day to normal! On one hand it was very positive because Colin was fast throughout and both he and his bike look good around this circuit. Of course Valentino had a big problem this morning but it was amazing to see him back out on track in the afternoon after such a heavy fall. Despite the pain he was in he managed to complete some laps and also gave us some feedback so let's just hope his condition improves. If Colin can continue like this and Valentino can get back to a decent level of fitness, then we should see them both on top on Saturday." Tech 3 Yamaha Team second fastest in opening practice The Tech 3 Yamaha Team proved today that persistence, hard work and dedication are rewarded as Carlos Checa finished the initial practice sessions in second fastest position for the A-Style Dutch TT on the new look Assen circuit. Checa's superlative time was just over a tenth of a second behind fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards who was fastest. Team mate, James Ellison also scored his most impressive practice time of the year to date to be only 1.5 seconds behind Edwards in 13th position, marginally behind number one Yamaha rider and multiple world champion, Valentino Rossi. As the season approaches the half-way point, the results confirm the ongoing improvement of the Dunlop race tyres, reflected in the ever decreasing gap to the top of the leaderboard. Carlos Checa (2nd, 1'38.259, 39 laps) "This is an excellent result for myself and the team and confirms all the hard work we have been doing. I now have the feeling with the Dunlop tyres that I can push more. I can go into the turn and exit the turn faster as rear stability and grip has been improving all the time. Of course we are always looking fro more but the question now is to get the endurance to last the entire race. There has been nothing changed on the bike since Barcelona and there we had improved a lot to give a better feeling but 85% of the improvement is all down to the tyres. It has been awhile since I have been in this position and sure I am happy but as a rider this is what I expect and desire. Sometimes you can't always be in front but I know the limitations and what we have We are racing in the top level with one of the best bikes in the world and I always have tried to be happy no matter how difficult the situation. This situation is getting better every race as since the tests at Le Mans and Mugello there has been a very big improvement so I feel that we a re getting closer Tomorrow, we need to make sure that we can qualify well to stay near this position and make sure we have a good tyre to do the job. We also need to find the suitable race tyre as today with the conditions and learning the new track we did not have enough time to do a proper distance but we have a good idea of which direction to go. I feel confident that after Barcelona we are closer now than we have been all year. James Ellison (13th 1'39.645, 35 laps) "This is definitely the happiest I have been all year. We just got pipped in the last few moments by Rossi and Pedrosa so maybe the position could have been even better but I'm not worried about that at the moment as we're still progressing. We're all very happy. We knew that once we could get the bike set up properly with the tyres I would be able to ride the bike the way I want to. I still don't feel like I'm right on the limit but it's the first time I'm riding like I was riding last year. It's been frustrating in the earlier races not being able to move around on the bike and use the bike aggressively. I've just had to sit on top of it and the bike was riding me. I feel a lot better on it now and I'm having fun every time I go out. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed on it, letting the bike move underneath me instead of fighting it, I'm telling it where to go and the improvements are coming now. The tyres are always improving. To be only 1.5 seconds off is a huge boost to me and a great inspiration to the team. We've been getting better every weekend and this has been a great improvement. Hopefully tomorrow is like everywhere else where the leading guys don't improve that much and I can narrow the gap a bit more because my aim this weekend is to be within a second of pole position because we always seem to be able to run quite a good race pace but we start too far back. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "This has been a very good day today after the great weekend we had in Barcelona. We have continued to work hard with Dunlop and in the end it shows that what we are doing is paying off. Both Carlos and James had a really good race in Barcelona and that has been an inspiration to keep on pushing harder here. Dunlop has always been quite good here in Assen, so hopefully this will continue. The weekend has started in a really positive way for us and it is very satisfying to see Carlos in second position and show what the Yamaha and the Dunlop tyres can do. For sure James is also a lot better than he has ever been. Ok, it is only day one but so far we have started the weekend well and we hope we can continue in this way for qualifying and the race. It is not only just one fast lap either as both riders are putting in the consistent lap times now as they both did a lot of fast laps s o naturally we'd really like to be in this same position tomorrow afternoon We knew from the start of the year it would take time to get the results. We will test the qualifying tyres tomorrow morning to see what works and I know both riders will be endeavouring to set even faster times and hopefully we have qualifying tyres that can do the job. The only real concern is the weather forecast as we will be hoping for the dry conditions to for the weekend. Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: new track Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.144 (Colin Edwards, 2006) Date: 22 June 2006 Temp: 18ºC Free Practice : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice 1 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 38.144 2 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 38.259 3 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 38.416 4 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 38.510 5 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 38.610 6 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 38.659 7 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 38.720 8 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 38.921 9 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 38.965 10 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 39.142 11 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 39.166 12 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 39.458 13 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 39.645 14 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 39.647 15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 40.248 16 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 40.688

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Alex Asigno

June 22, 200618 yr

Fresh challenge awaits Camel Yamaha Team at historic Assen

The MotoGP World Championship returns to its oldest venue this weekend with a fresh new challenge awaiting it at the legendary Dutch TT. With major changes having taken place at the Assen circuit since last season, the whole of the Northern Loop section making way for a new car park and expanded viewing areas, the Camel Yamaha Team venture into the unknown this weekend as they look to extend their winning run to three straight races. The 76th edition of the Dutch TT welcomes MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi in top form, the Italian having taken consecutive victories at Mugello and Catalunya in the last two rounds to put his title defence firmly back on track. Rossi has won at Assen for three of the last four editions of the world-famous race and nothing less than another success will do as he aims to cut back a 29-point deficit to current series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), who has yet to win a race this year. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards himself took three victories at Assen in the World Superbike series, including a double win on his way to the title in a gripping climax to the 2002 season. Last season he joined Rossi on the MotoGP podium after finishing in third place and, after continuing set-up work on the new version YZR-M1 chassis at Catalunya, he is confident of rejoining the battle for a top three position in Holland. Valentino Rossi: A great emotion Valentino Rossi is looking forward getting back out on track just five days after the 56th victory of his illustrious career in Barcelona. Despite his opposition to such a hectic run of races, which will almost certainly see some of the riders injured last Sunday missing at least one round, the Italian sees the next two weekends as a valuable opportunity to maintain his momentum and pull even closer to the championship lead. "Having three consecutive races is a problem because if you are injured in the first then you risk not being able to ride for two more races," comments Rossi. "By the third race the riders are also tired and begin to lose concentration so it's very tough for everyone. In the past Assen was one of my favourite tracks and it was always a great, great emotion to ride a MotoGP bike at the limit there. Sadly the track has been changed so I am not as excited about it as usual, because it seems from reports that some of the 'Assen magic' has gone. Anyway, I hope that it's still a good track and I know it will still be fun to race there; it always has a fantastic atmosphere and the Dutch fans are wonderful. "We have now won two races in a row and if we hadn't had the problem in Le Mans then that would be three, which means we are now more or less at the same level that we were at this time last year. These races are really important so I hope that we can manage to win as many as possible. I have moved up to third in the championship now but I still only took five points from Hayden in Barcelona and he is 29 points ahead of me, so we need to keep winning because he is a consistent podium finisher and he always fights to the end." Colin Edwards: Familiar Territory Colin Edwards returns to one of the most successful circuits of his career this weekend but, like Rossi, he is concerned that some of the natural character will have been lost with the recent modifications. After picking up a solid fifth place in the last round at Catalunya the American is now targeting a return to podium form as he heads into three important races at Assen, Donington and Laguna Seca. "I grew up on the next three tracks and I've finished on the podium at all of them in MotoGP so hopefully this can be a good spell for me," says Edwards. "On paper the Yamaha should work well at the new track and some more time with the new chassis will help us get up to speed. We know that what Valentino is using works so it's a case of adapting it to me, making a few small changes and getting as close to his pace as possible - if not improving on it. "Like a lot of the riders I have a lot of affection for the old Assen circuit and I hope it hasn't lost too much of its character. Whatever the track is like you can bet that the atmosphere is going to be just as crazy as ever and I always have a lot of fans there - especially some of the Brits who come over for the party. Hopefully I can give them something to shout about on Saturday afternoon." Davide Brivio: A team effort Such a hectic schedule of races is a major strain on any team and Camel Yamaha is no different. It requires a special effort from the riders and engineers right through to the catering staff and it is a point of the season where every member of the workforce plays a crucial role. Team Director Davide Brivio says everybody has a major part to play as the points quest continues with a second race in the space of just six days. "It was amazing watching the boxes being packed up in the pit garage and the hospitality unit being dismantled on Sunday night to think that in just two days' time they would all be put back together at a circuit 1800 kilometres away," says Brivio. "It is a huge challenge for the whole team and a lot of pressure but it is another example that shows how a rider cannot be successful on the track unless he has the right staff behind him to put everything in place. "Our target before Mugello was to win the next four races so now you could say the job is half done. We want the same level of performance at the next two rounds and the same result, although we know it will be difficult. Assen will be a very interesting challenge because it is virtually a new track - like going to China, Laguna Seca or Turkey last year - but the base setting of our bike has improved vastly and we hope it can be adapted quickly." Technically speaking: Assen according to Andrea Zugna Despite the dramatic changes to Assen's unique layout over the winter, it still promises to be one of the most technically and physically demanding circuits on the calendar for the MotoGP riders. With barely a straight piece of tarmac in sight, handling remains a major focal point due to high-speed chicanes and dramatic camber changes - the latter, in some places, resembling the profile of the public roads that the original circuit was based around 76 years ago. Andrea Zugna, Data Engineer for Colin Edwards, says the information gathered last season will still be highly valuable. "It will be interesting to see how the track is without the Northern Loop because that was a very characteristic section of the circuit, with high camber and left-right switches," says Zugna. "I suppose the first section of the circuit will now be similar to China, with a series of tight right-handers from turns one to four causing strain on the right hand side of the tyre, and that will also make it physically demanding on the riders. "As far as the setting is concerned we will still start with the same as last year because we know it works for around 90% of the track. On Friday morning we will analyse the data from the final 10% and the engineers will be able to make the adjustments based on that information. We expect Assen to be more like a 'normal' circuit now. It has always required only partial throttle and that will still be the case, so it is not too critical on gearbox and engine settings but does require a good compromise to cope with the fast direction changes and the slow chicane which was modified last year. Our setting worked well last year and we finished on the podium so hopefully that can be the case for both riders again." Valentino Rossi: information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 82 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 164 (104 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 41 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: 55 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Assen Lap Record: New Track 2006 Dutch TT Results: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 38'41.808 2. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, +1.583 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +7.643

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Alex Asigno

June 20, 200618 yr

Tough weekend for Aubert

Coming into the fourth round of the '06 World Enduro Championship leading the highly competitive Enduro 2 class French UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert started the GP Valli Bergamasche suffering with Influenza. Disappointingly for Aubert things were to get worse rather than better as a crash in the closing stages of day one resulted in him failing to start day two. Unable to perform at his best due to feeling far from 100 per cent Aubert still managed to push reigning Enduro 2 world champion Samuli Aro hard for much of the day one but crashed heavily on the last special test of the day, which dropped him to third. Managing to fit new tyres to his Yamaha in readiness for day two Aubert was advised my event medical staff to go to hospital prior to the start of the second day as he was suffering with pain in his chest, which was feared might be blood clot. Aubert's pain was diagnosed as being a broken rib but having travelled to hospital he was unable to start day two. With Aubert placing in third on day one his UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Stefan Merriman claimed the runner-up spot with Finn Samuli Aro topping the class. On day two Aro again claimed the E2 class win with Merriman second and Finn Mika Ahola third. By placing in second on both days in Italy Merriman, who scored poorly at the first round of the series in Sweden, lifted himself to the runner-up spot in the E2 championship standings, just 11 points behind class leader Samuli Aro. Despite being unable to match the pace of Aro, Merriman performed consistently on both days having not wanted to take any risks in the dry and rocky conditions. With four rounds of the WEC series remaining Stefan is now looking forward to the first ever WEC events to take place outside of Europe when the world champion ship travels to Canada and the States for rounds five and six. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: third, Day 2: DNS "Day one was going really well for me but it was hard for me because I was suffering with Influenza before the race. I pushed as hard as I could but I wasn't going to beat Samuli. I think that second should have been my place on day one. But I crashed really hard on the last lap and dropped to third, which was disappointing. It was still a good result though but I could have been second. When I crashed I hurt my ribs so I went to the doctor before the start of day two. I wasn't in so much pain but I was blue and there was one place that hurt a lot. They told me to go to the hospital to get checked out properly, which I did, because they were afraid that I might be a blood clot. Thankfully I wasn't but I had broken some ribs. Because I went to the hospital I was not able to make the start of day two." Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: second, Day 2: second "If my team-mate Johnny Aubert hadn't of crashed on day one then I would have been third, so I guess his mistake was good for me and bad for him. Both Samuli Aro and Johnny were really fast on day one but I was happy to have finished in second. It was too easy to get injured here or to DNF because there were so many rocks. I wasn't prepared to take any risks.I made a few mistakes on both days but I didn't have any really big crashes. It would have been nice to have won but finishing second on both days is good for my championship. It was an extremely difficult race and it's frustrating that the organisers only made changes to the race during the race because it was clear that four laps on both days was going to be too difficult before the start of the event." Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 4 - Bergamo, Italy Circuit: Valli Bergamasche Race 1: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Aro KTM FIN 83' 3.690 2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +1' 46.720 3 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +1' 55.720 4 M. Ahola Honda FIN +2' 13.980 5 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +3' 48.200 6 X. Galindo KTM ESP +3' 57.970 7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +4' 0.090 8 F. Planet KTM FRA +4' 8.010 9 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +4' 54.290 10 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +4' 58.770 11 K. Caselli KTM USA +5' 30.780 12 A. Beconi Beta ITA +5' 32.860 13 S. Tonelli Honda ITA +5' 34.050 14 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +5' 40.450 15 A. Toresson Suzuki SWE +6' 38.020 16 E. Albepart Honda FRA +6' 38.050 17 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +7' 1.950 18 J. Curvalle Kawasaki FRA +7' 12.230 19 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +8' 21.350 20 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +9' 11.400 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Aro KTM FIN 85' 44.810 2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +24.010 3 M. Ahola Honda FIN +1' 42.480 4 A. Belotti KTM ITA +2' 9.930 5 X. Galindo KTM ESP +2' 12.030 6 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +2' 51.210 7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +2' 57.570 8 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +3' 11.140 9 F. Planet KTM FRA +3' 15.080 10 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +4' 5.860 11 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +4' 15.290 12 K. Caselli KTM USA +4' 38.410 13 S. Tonelli Honda ITA +5' 7.390 14 E. Albepart Honda FRA +5' 25.050 15 A. Beconi Beta ITA +5' 56.630 16 A. Toresson Suzuki SWE +6' 58.340 17 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +7' 1.240 18 G. Falgari Kawasaki ITA +7' 28.290 19 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +8' 6.920 20 F. Mancinelli Beta ITA +10' 52.500 Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 178 2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 167 3 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 160 4 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 150 5 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 109 6 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 108 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 104 8 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 74 9 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 73 10 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 72 11 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 70 12 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 62 13 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 61 14 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 45 15 Euan McConnell TM GBR 44 16 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 39 17 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 28 18 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 21 19 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 20 20 Kurt Caselli KTM USA 19 Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 184 2 KTM 178 3 Honda 160 4 GasGas 113 5 HusaBerg 73 6 Aprilia 72 7 Beta 67 8 Husqvarna 53 9 TM 43 10 Sherco 31 11 Suzuki 24 12 Kawasaki 16 Enduro 1 : Micheluz produces his best ever result & Vilanova back in Championship Round: 4 - Bergamo, Italy Circuit: Valli Bergamasche Date: 18 June 2006 Crowd: 28500 Temp: 28ºC Weather: Sunny Italian UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz produced his best ever World Enduro Championship result at the 40th GP Valli Bergamasche finishing in third place in the Enduro 1 class on day one. Having performed consistently in the first three rounds of the '06 WEC series Maurizio claimed his first ever world championship podium aboard his WR250F placing behind reigning E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes and countryman Simone Albergoni. Winning the first test of day one in the E1 class, and then going on to perform well throughout the day, Maurizio again rode well on day two to finish fourth. Despite not managing to place on the podium for a second time Maurizio's results lifted him to fourth in the Enduro 1 world championship standings where he lies just nine points adrift of third. The fourth round of the '06 World Enduro Championship saw Spaniard Arnau Vilanova make his debut ride for the UFO Corse Yamaha team having been forced to sit out the first three rounds of the WEC series due to injury. Disappointingly for Arnau a lack of race pace and fitness resulted in him placing in 11th on day one. With day one having taken its toll on Arnau he opted not to start day two. Claiming a double class win in Italy was reigning Enduro 1 world champion Ivan Cervantes. With his team-mate Alessandro Belometti having set the pace for much of day one Ivan inherited the lead when Belometti bent his rear sprocket and dropped seven minutes. Joining Cervantes on the podium on day one were Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz while on day two it was Belometti and Albergoni who stood either side of Cervantes on the rostrum. Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: third, Day 2: fourth "I am really happy with my weekend because I finished in a good position on both days. I am really happy with my result from day one because I claimed my first ever world championship podium. Finishing on the podium for the first time at my home GP is great. It was a really difficult race though, especially because of the heat and the dust. It was really physical on both days. Although it was a difficult race we have to remember that this is enduro. But I hope that the races don't get any harder than this." Arnau Vilanova (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 11th, Day 2: DNS "It was a really difficult race to start my '06 world championship. Since I injured my foot I have been training at home but that is very different to racing at world championship level. I struggled a little bit but I didn't make any big mistakes. I need to work on my speed because the other riders have been racing all season." Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 4 - Bergamo, Italy Circuit: Valli Bergamasche Race 1: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 84' 21.040 2 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +6.790 3 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +1' 51.530 4 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +2' 17.810 5 R. Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA +2' 29.000 6 F. Blanc KTM FRA +4' 8.760 7 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +4' 56.750 8 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +5' 9.630 9 J. Gauthier Honda FRA +5' 49.710 10 M. Pievani KTM ITA +6' 15.740 11 A. Vilanova Yamaha ESP +7' 6.700 12 F. Georgsson KTM SWE +9' 5.270 13 N. Nicoli KTM ITA +9' 44.670 14 N. Joye KTM CHE +11' 0.710 15 A. Belometti KTM ITA +21' 21.230 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 85' 0.410 2 A. Belometti KTM ITA +40.500 3 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +1' 31.020 4 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +3' 21.490 5 R. Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA +4' 46.090 6 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +5' 12.850 7 M. Hartmann KTM GER +5' 35.200 8 M. Pievani KTM ITA +6' 30.140 9 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +6' 44.330 10 F. Scovolo Suzuki ITA +7' 46.440 11 F. Blanc KTM FRA +9' 54.470 12 F. Georgsson KTM SWE +11' 1.650 13 N. Nicoli KTM ITA +11' 27.800 14 N. Joye KTM CHE +14 ' 25.940 15 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +20' 47.250 Championship standings Enduro 1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 194 2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 165 3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 138 4 Mauricio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 129 5 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 127 6 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 105 7 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 97 8 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 75 9 Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 74 10 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 70 11 Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 52 12 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 43 13 Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 41 14 Roberto Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA 32 15 Joan Jou Yamaha ESP 27 16 Robert Carlsson Yamaha SWE 26 17 Manuel Pievani KTM ITA 24 18 Andre Raphael Kawasaki FRA 24 19 Pär Olsson Yamaha SWE 19 20 Evrard Gutkin TM FRA 18 26 Fernando Ferreira Yamaha POR 13 27 Alexandre Mendes Yamaha FRA 12 30 Arnau Vilanova Yamaha ESP 10 32 Andre Fernandez Yamaha POR 6 34 Santos Helio Yamaha ESP 4 Manufacturers standings Enduro 1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 194 2 Honda 165 3 Husqvarna 137 4 Yamaha 134 5 TM 105 6 Suzuki 77 7 Kawasaki 24

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Alex Asigno

June 18, 200618 yr

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