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Superbike World Championship preview: Misano

The Superbike World Championship makes its second visit of the year to Italy this weekend, when the Misano Adriatico circuit plays host to round six of what is proving to be an exciting championship. The question on everyone's lips is who can stop Ducati's Troy Bayliss from extending his run of seven consecutive race wins. The man most likely to break that domination looks like being Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga. Haga has been supremely consistent this season, failing to finish just one race and never coming lower than fifth in the other nine races. He has been Bayliss' main challenger since the start of the European season in April, outscoring all but the Australian over the last three rounds to go to Misano third in the championship. The Japanese rider returns to Italy on the back of three consecutive podium finishes and a successful test in Brno. His Yamaha Motor Italia squad have worked hard to make the 2006 YZF-R1 easier to ride than last year's model and with every lap bringing a greater knowledge of the complex electronics systems used to manage the power, the team goes to Misano in good spirits.   "Last year we had a big traction problem in Misano," says Haga, who qualified a lowly 21st on the grid but still scored a pair of sixths at the seaside circuit last year. "My target for Misano is the same as at all races: to fight for the win. This year the bike is much better on this type of track and we had a good test at Misano in April, when I set the third fastest time and was able to do a good race simulation. I think that the conditions will be much hotter for the race and that this will change the grip levels but we now have a good base setting for the bike and it means that we do not have to make such big changes between each circuit." As an official Pirelli tyre test team, Haga and his team-mate Andrew Pitt spent their three days in the Czech Republic last week evaluating the latest products from the tyre company as well as trying out a host of new settings and development parts on their YZF-R1s. Running in hot temperatures as expected in Misano, Pitt set the second fastest time on race tyres with a 2:01.2, Haga was third fastest with a best of 2:01.5. Bayliss was the fastest rider on show with a 2:00.8. Showing the considerable improvements made to the bikes and tyres over the past year, all of the top riders were well under Haga's 2:03.747 lap record from last year's race. Pitt currently lies sixth in the series and has been a regular challenger at the front of the field this season. The Australian is in good form, having taken a pair of top five finishes in Silverstone. As always he goes into this weekend's race with a target of a podium finish. Like Haga, he was able to complete a full test programme in Brno and is looking forward to Misano. He says: "Misano is a circuit that I enjoy going to. It's normally very hot there, which along with the fact that you're on the left side of the tyre so long, means that it's a hard track on the tyres. It's mostly left hand corners around here and you're on the side of the tyre for a big part of the lap. There are only one or two right handers and a couple of chicanes. The most critical part at Misano is the triple left hand corner leading into the back straight. You need to get that right to get a good run onto the back straight, because in the race that's really the only chance you get to overtake. Our test went well there but we expect it to be hotter this weekend, so the grip levels are likely to be different for the race." Having spent two days testing in Lausitz last weekend, Yamaha Motor France will go to Misano hoping to recapture the form that saw Norick Abe take two fourth places in Valencia, a track with some similarities to this weekend's venue. The Japanese star currently lies ninth in the championship and, with last year's races and some valuable testing time around the venue, he will be expected to better the solitary point he scored in last year's races, even though Misano is one of his least favourite tracks. By contrast team-mate Sebastien Gimbert rates Misano as one of his favourites. He missed the race through injury last year but rode strongly to set the 11th fastest time in April's test. The team's third rider, Shinichi Nakatomi, could miss the race due to the arm injury he sustained in Silverstone. A decision will be made later this week as to whether the Japanese star will ride or not. As always, the event will also feature a round of the Supersport World Championship, where Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain will look to take advantage of the absent championship leader Sebastien Charpentier. The Honda rider crashed at the Brno test and will miss the Misano race. Curtain currently lies second in the championship on his new-for-2006 YZF-R6, 40 points behind Charpentier. Curtain set the fastest supersport time at the Brno test, his 2:06.0 being over a second under the lap record. "The Brno test went real well," explained Curtain. "The bike is improving every time we get out on it. Pirelli brought along a lot of tyres to test and we've found some that work well with the R6. Misano should suit us. We've got to try and pull some points back on Charpentier and keep applying the pressure to him. There's still a long way to go in the championship and I've always maintained that nothing would be decided in the opening races. I had some bad luck in Monza but we will keep focussed and try not to make any mistakes." Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes is a Misano specialist, having won an Italian championship race there last year and setting the fastest ever world supersport lap of the circuit in April's official test. Parkes was just one tenth of a second slower than his team-mate in Brno and will be looking for a good result in Misano to elevate him from his current fourth position in the championship and possibly put himself in a position to challenge for the title in the latter half of the season.
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Everts' slip still unable to halt victory number 95

Stefan Everts' assault on the World Championship record books weathered its toughest test in weeks but came through unscathed at the eighth round of the 2006 series. At a hot and packed Matterley Basin circuit for the British Grand Prix the World Champion won both motos to stretch his unbeaten run to thirteen races and eight perfect rounds so far. Everts had claimed his second pole position in a row on Saturday on a very dry track that was hard and dusty. The long layout gave the impression of high speed but the riders were struggling to break the two minute barrier as they bobbed and weaved through the course situated in the middle of a natural bowl and among some picturesque scenery. Everts owned his twelfth consecutive moto in usual untouchable fashion. The 33 year old came close to crashing in a busy first corner but cut through from fourth position in the opening turns to be leading the pack by the end of the first lap. A more unconventional race lay in store later in the afternoon as a spill while leading on the fifth lap required some swift surgery to his standing and nine circulations later he had recouped four positions and passed Steve Ramon to again be the pace-setter. It was another dominant display from the Yamaha Intur Sports rider who also recorded the fastest lap of the sprint. Cédric Melotte continues to improve both his physical condition and his confidence. The Belgian was part of a tasty dice for second and third positions in the opening moto - at one stage the YZ450FMs were flying tandem - and eventually he defended fifth spot from Tanel Leok. In the second outing he gained another top ten placing with eighth for his best pair of results this year. Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Julien Bill posted the seventh quickest lap-time in qualification and was running in the mid top ten for sections of the opening race until being relegated to tenth with an engine glitch. He was 13th in the final moto after a problem with his goggles. Everts leads the Championship by 99 points which gives him an advantage of almost two Grand Prix with only seven left to run. The Belgian is still firmly on course to reach 100 career victories and presently has 95. Cédric Melotte is eighth but only twelve points from seventh with the next round due to take place at Sweden in two weeks. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I hit a rock with my frame, the back wheel came out of the rut and I slid out. Josh passed me immediately but I was aggressive and got him back quickly. I was chasing Tanel but I was having a hard time around the first part of the track because it was so fast and the roosts coming up from all the dust made it difficult to see the lines. I made my way through one by one and then pushed quite hard to have a small gap after a few laps. I managed to bring my Yamaha to the chequered flag first and again I am very happy. After the small crash it made a good show for the fans and I was pleased with how I could still take the race." Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Finally I felt more like my old self. I had a long talk with Michele during the week about my life and not just motocross. His encouragement was unbelievable and he is very positive. I had a small problem with my back today and had a lot of pain. I needed an injection to race but I did not want to give up because I was feeling mentally much better. I am still physically not 100% and my riding style needs a high level of fitness. I needed a bit of time to come back but I am still confident for the rest of the season. It will be good to have a small break now and I can take my training step by step." Michele Rinaldi, Team co-ordinator, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a difficult and delicate time for Cédric. He needed a long time to recover from his wrist and still wasn't fit to push for forty minutes. It was not the best situation for Cédric, Yamaha or for us. Today he proved he was fast and could ride at the front for half of the race but could not go to the end. I hope this will change soon because Stefan is giving us perfect results in one half of the team. Both riders really appreciate the new Yamaha and we can see that it is strong everywhere and in all kinds of conditions. We are taking many holeshots which shows the performance of the engine and we are all satisfied." Race classification MX1 Round: 8 - 2006 GP of Matterley Basin, UK Circuit: Matterley Basin Race 1: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  41' 8.529  2   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +4.816  3   J. Coppins Honda  NZL  +5.293  4   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +6.436  5   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +16.789  6   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +20.713  7   G. Crockard Honda  GBR  +26.176  8   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +28.827  9   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +37.045  10   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +43.021  11   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +50.363  12   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +1' 9.842  13   M. Jones Honda  GBR  +1' 12.970  14   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +1' 18.796  15   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 20.067  16   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 22.208  17   L. Freibergs Suzuki  LVA  +1' 22.777  18   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 28.109  19   C. Federici Kawasaki  ITA  +1' 31.970  20   N. Bradshaw Suzuki  GBR  +1' 36.825  Race 2: 19 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  39' 21.708  2   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +3.372  3   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +15.875  4   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +37.671  5   J. Coppins Honda  NZL  +45.447  6   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +50.676  7   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +56.471  8   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +59.626  9   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +1' 3.592  10   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +1' 8.873  11   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 11.660  12   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1' 21.470  13   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 23.626  14   C. Federici Kawasaki  ITA  +1' 28.325  15   N. Bradshaw Suzuki  GBR  +1' 36.628  16   M. Jones Honda  GBR  +1' 41.671  17   J. Lindhe KTM  SWE  +1' 46.492  18   A. Salvini Suzuki  ITA  +1' 54.806  19   A. Bobkovs Honda  LVA  +2' 1.915  20   B. Verhoeven Kawasaki  NED  +2' 3.758  Championship standings MX1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Stefan Everts Yamaha  BEL 392  2   Kevin Strijbos Suzuki  BEL 293  3   Tanel Leok Kawasaki  EST 278  4   Ken De Dycker Honda  BEL 267  5   Steve Ramon Suzuki  BEL 254  6   Jonathan Barragan KTM  ESP 190  7   Pascal Leuret  Honda  FRA 159  8   Cedric Melotte Yamaha  BEL 147  9   Javier Garcia Vico Honda  ESP 139  10   Manuel Priem Yamaha  BEL 136  11   Julien Bill Yamaha  GBR 126  12   Marvin Van Daele Honda  BEL 120  13   Brian Jorgensen Honda  DNK 120  14   James Noble Honda  GBR 108  15   Sebastien Tortelli KTM  FRA 99  16   Antti Pyrhonen TM  FIN 94  17   Danny Theybers Suzuki  BEL 78  18   Gordon Crockard Honda  GBR 54  19   Alex Salvini Suzuki  ITA 50  20   Wyatt Avis KTM  RSA 46  Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 392  2  Suzuki 329  3  Honda 279  4  Kawasaki 278  5  KTM 245  6  TM 94  MX2 : Another runner-up place for Cairoli Round: 8 - 2006 GP of Matterley Basin, UK Circuit: Matterley Basin Date: 18 June 2006 Crowd: 39000 Temp: 28ºC Weather: Hot Antonio Cairoli repeated his Italian Grand Prix runner-up position at Matterley Basin as the top two steps of the MX2 podium were again filled by David Philippaerts and the De Carli representative. The World Champion had started badly in the first race on a track that proved difficult for passing simply because the high speed and simple layout meant that the distances between riders remained constant and tricky to breach. He was able to improve his ranking by one digit to sixth after Nicolas Aubin faded back through the top ten. In the second moto he harried Philippaerts for the better part of the 35 minute and 2 lap distance before pulling away for his fifth race triumph of the season. Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Billy Mackenzie was fourth after tying on points for the lower step of the podium but losing his third silverware of the term after finishing eighth in race two. The Scot was the first Yamaha home with third position in the first contest of the day in what was a decent performance in front of a very vocal supporting crowd. The 22 year old had several injections into a broken left hand and fought off the close attentions of Championship leader Christophe Pourcel for the runner-up place behind David Philippaerts until the last lap. The local resident was back to his aggressive best after two indifferent and troublesome Grand Prix but his impetuousness cost him in the afternoon after a mistake while third saw him run off the track and he struggled to rise higher up the classification. Mackenzie was briefly on the podium when Sebastien Pourcel overtook Tommy Searle for third but then almost crashed giving the British teenager his first ever top three and leaving the Yamaha man disappointed. Kenneth Gundersen was leading the moto1 until he lost the front end of the Ricci Racing Yamaha on a banked right hander and crashed down to sixth, finally able to rise to fifth. In the second outing he fought off Billy Mackenzie and passed Anthony Boisierre for sixth that gave him fifth overall. Davide Guarneri gained his best race result of the year in fourth position after leaving behind the tussle between his Yamaha compatriots Gundersen and Cairoli but collided with Gareth Swanepoel and did not finish race two. His team-mate Alessio Chiodi had small crashes in both motos and was eleventh. After two second positions and a victory in the last four motos Cairoli has moved up to second in the Championship 34 points behind Christophe Pourcel. Mackenzie is sixth and Gundersen seventh. After a heavy three week spell of consecutive races the World Championships have now earned a well deserved break. The Grand Prix of Sweden at the Uddevalla circuit will draw the teams and riders together on the first weekend of July. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "I didn't start well and I was trying to come back through but I hit a wall with Gundersen because he was so hard to pass. I lost a lot of time. I rode with my head and I liked the track. I was thinking about the Championship in that first heat because I passed Tyla and de Reuver although I lost the race because of that start." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "Again my own mistake cost me, just like Montevarchi. I tried to be smooth too early and should have attacked for a few more laps before trying to set a rhythm but I came into the corner and the front slid out. I came from eighth to fifth in the first one and it wasn't a bad race. I struggled in the second moto and was fighting the bike." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "Today was not so good because I had some decent positions but I crashed in both motos however my knee is getting better and that is one positive thing. The track was fast and the dry but it wasn't so bad." Billy Mackenzie, Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing: "I'm gutted to be honest. Hearing the crowd cheering for twenty minutes after the race for someone else when I knew I should have been up there was hard to take and a bit of a downer. I tried my hardest. I made a small mistake after the whoops when I was third because I saw Cairoli and Philippaerts ahead of me and thought 'I can get them'. My hand has been getting better for three weeks now but it still forced me to have two bad Grand Prix. The medication I had today was great. I need to pick my head up now; fourth overall was fine and the points make it good."    Race classification MX2 Round: 8 - 2006 GP of Matterley Basin, UK Circuit: Matterley Basin Race 1: 19 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  39' 22.087  2   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +5.443  3   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +9.460  4   D. Guarneri Yamaha  ITA  +13.068  5   K. Gundersen Yamaha  NOR  +14.894  6   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  +17.540  7   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +18.911  8   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +19.706  9   N. Aubin Kawasaki  FRA  +21.875  10   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +49.922  11   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +52.163  12   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +53.868  13   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +57.138  14   A. Boissière Yamaha  FRA  +1' 2.097  15   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +1' 10.702  16   P A. Renet Honda  FRA  +1' 17.198  17   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +1' 23.172  18   R. Rowson Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 24.485  19   S. Simpson Honda  GBR  +1' 27.681  20   J. Dougan Honda  GBR  +1' 41.747  Race 2: 19 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  39' 56.266  2   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  +11.233  3   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +13.689  4   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +14.190  5   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +26.994  6   K. Gundersen Yamaha  NOR  +36.890  7   A. Boissière Yamaha  FRA  +40.631  8   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +45.117  9   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +49.390  10   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +50.918  11   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +51.632  12   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +53.183  13   M. Seistola Honda  FIN  +1' 0.827  14   P A. Renet Honda  FRA  +1' 5.203  15   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +1' 6.533  16   B. Anderson Yamaha  GBR  +1' 7.906  17   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +1' 22.806  18   X. Boog Yamaha  FRA  +1' 27.227  19   S. Simpson Honda  GBR  +1' 30.413  20   J. Wing KTM  SWE  +1' 32.179  Championship standings MX2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 305  2   Antonio Cairoli Yamaha  ITA 271  3   David Philippaerts KTM  ITA 257  4   Marc De Reuver KTM  NED 250  5   Tyla Rattray KTM  RSA 245  6   Billy MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR 201  7   Carl Nunn KTM  GBR 181  8   Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha  NOR 170  9   Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 169  10   Tommy Searle Kawasaki  GBR 162  11   Rui Goncalves KTM  POR 157  12   Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA 148  13   Alessio Chiodi Yamaha  ITA 143  14   Davide Guarneri Yamaha  ITA 112  15   Luigi Seguy Yamaha  FRA 94  16   Manuel Monni KTM  ITA 89  17   Anthony Boissière Yamaha  FRA 87  18   Matti Seistola Honda  FIN 69  19   Aigar Leok Yamaha  EST 64  20   Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda  FRA 50  Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 365  2  Yamaha 351  3  Kawasaki 322  4  Honda 127  5  Suzuki 13
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi takes second successive win from dramatic Barcelona affair

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi emerged from a crash-strewn race at Catalunya with 25 more points to boost his world title defence, thanks to his third Grand Prix victory of the season at Montmelo today. One of the most dramatic races in recent history began to unfold from the first corner, when Sete Gibernau (Ducati) collided with his team-mate Loris Capirossi under braking and both riders went tumbling into the gravel at high speed, taking Marco Melandri (Honda) with them. All three riders were injured and unable to join the restarted race after the red flags were subsequently raised, although John Hopkins (Suzuki), Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) and Dani Pedrosa (Honda) did make it back to the grid after also running off track during the first corner melee. Casey Stoner (Honda) repeated the excellent start he got at the first race start, taking the hole-shot and then leading over the first eight laps before eventually folding under constant pressure from Rossi and sliding into the gravel. With extremely high temperatures and low grip levels several other riders also crashed out, leaving Nicky Hayden (Honda) as the only man capable of chasing the Italian. With less than a second separating the pair for most of the race, Rossi turned on the style with typical flair in the closing stages and had opened out a 4.509 second advantage over the American when he took the chequered flag. With no fewer than eight riders failing to make it to the end of the race it was a credit to Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards that he arrived home in fifth place, collecting some valuable championship points and more crucial data with the new version of the YZR-M1 chassis that was available to him on both bikes for the first time this season. The American's compatriots Hayden and Kenny Roberts (Team KR) completed the podium. Valentino Rossi (1st; 41'31.237) "The start of the race was hard for everybody because we were all very worried about the riders who crashed - especially Marco Melandri because we could see his accident was a bad one. Just before the start Doctor Costa told me that Marco was more or less ok and I was very relieved. Even then it was tough to concentrate on re-starting the race. I made a mistake at the start and Stoner came past me, but my bike was working so well that I was able to push from the beginning and when the fuel came down it was even better. I knew that some of the other riders were having trouble with their tyres but my team have done a great job with Michelin this weekend and I had lots of grip to the end. Hayden pushed very hard but I kept my pace up and was able to extend the advantage over him. The M1 has been so much fun to ride all weekend and I want to say a big thank you to the whole team for getting it to this stage. To win at two of my favourite tracks like Mugello and Catalunya is a big, big satisfaction for me." Colin Edwards (5th; +22.548) "I can't say I'm happy because I feel we missed a chance to finish on the podium today, but we're at an early stage with this chassis and we have made a lot of progress this weekend. We felt we had found a good compromise with the set-up in practice but the grip levels were low in the race and I kept losing the front. It's a difficult problem to ride around because it's a fine line between pushing it so hard that it folds and not pushing it enough to get the required load down to the track. I'm disappointed but I was very close to the incident in turn one and I know it could have been me in the ambulance, so things could have been worse for me. It was a big shock for all of us but thankfully nobody was seriously hurt and we all hope the injured riders can be back with us soon." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Of course we are delighted with the result and the confirmation of the progress with our bike. We now know that we have a competitive package for our riders so we hope we can fight like this every weekend until the end of the season. We said this was an important spell for us and I am delighted with the way the team, the riders and the bike have responded. Now we have just five days to the next one at Assen and we have to try and do it all over again!" Carlos Checa (8th, fastest lap 1'44.171) "That is one of the strangest races I have ever been in and I hope that everyone is fine. This is the sort of result I have been looking for. I am very happy with the race. It doesn't matter where we finished. What is important to me is that we have found the consistency to be able to push hard for the whole race. Also another thing that I am very happy with is the lap times that we can do now. We know now that we can keep a good pace and are able to fight for positions until the end. I had a good fight with Tamada and we were able to pass each other a few times. It is good to be back in this position. To do so many laps that are so close together means that we are improving all the time and we will be even closer as the year goes on. The other positives for us are with our lap times with Edwards and some others. We are much closer to them than a few races ago, so I hope we can improve and get some extra help from Dunlop and Yamaha for the next races ahead. This result will give everyone extra motivation to keep improving and with two races so soon it will be another chance for us to improve our consistency and race result. James Ellison (9th. fastest lap 1'45.108) "I'm pretty happy with the result and chuffed for my team and Dunlop. They have been working so hard all year to get this. I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't do the same lap times as we did in warm-up but we are learning things all the time that we can use in future races. We learnt some things with suspension this weekend and I'm feeling more comfortable that I have ever felt and now I am able to slide and push hard. Because I'm feeling so much better on the bike I am not suffering from arm-pump because of hanging on so tightly, so I'm able to relax on it a bit more and let the bike do the work. We are improving the consistency of the Dunlop tyres better all the time. We still have a bit of trouble with side grip but I think with the banked corners at Assen this will not be so much of a problem. The traction of the Dunlop tyres has improved a lot as well. All these factors show that we are making progress all the time." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "We are very happy but are disappointed that the race had to be overshadowed by the accident that injured Loris, Marco and Sete. This is the sort of result the team and Dunlop have been working very hard to achieve and to be just over 30 seconds behind the leaders is the best news no matter what position we finished in. Clearly the work done since France and Mugello is starting to pay off and now we have found a good rhythm and consistency. We did a good race pace on Saturday and again in the warm-up this morning and to do similar ties in the race is very encouraging. Carlos did 17 laps all in the 1:44 second bracket and these continued right until the second last lap so that proves that we have the consistency we have been searching for. This is only the seventh race of the year and we have made big progress since the first round and this result with Carlos and James will motivate the team and Dunlop to work even harder. We are a bit disappointed that all the rides could not compete as I think we would've had a good result with everyone out there. To be posting similar laps to Colin is another indication that we are getting closer all the time. We now have two races back to back that will see the progress continue and hopefully we will be even closer to the leading riders. Race classification MotoGP Round: 7 - 2006 MotoGP Catalunya Circuit: Catalunya Circuit Length: 4727 Lap Record: 1' 43.048 (Nicky Hayden, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 41.855 (Valentino Rossi, 2006) Race: 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1  V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 41' 31.237 2  N. Hayden Honda USA +4.509 3  K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +9.174 4  J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +13.465 5  C. Edwards Yamaha USA +22.548 6  C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +25.198 7  M. Tamada Honda JPN +30.622 8  C. Checa Yamaha ESP +31.277 9  J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +59.203 10  A. Hofmann Ducati GER +1' 14.062 11  J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1' 46.815 Fastest Race Lap:  Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1  N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 43.048 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1  Nicky Hayden Honda USA 119 2  Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 99 3  Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 90 4  Marco Melandri Honda ITA 89 5  Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 86 6  Casey Stoner Honda AUS 65 7  Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 60 8  Toni Elias Honda ESP 53 9  Makato Tamada Honda JPN 49 10  Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 44 11  Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 44 12  John Hopkins Suzuki USA 40 13  Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 37 14  Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 31 15  Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 24 16  James Ellison Yamaha GBR 12 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1  Honda 151 2  Yamaha 119 3  Ducati 105 4  Suzuki 54 5  Team Roberts KR 44 6  Kawasaki 37 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1  Repsol Honda Team 205 2  Camel Yamaha Team 150 3  Ducati Marlboro Team 143 4  Fortuna Honda Team 142 5  Rizla Suzuki 71 6  Honda LCR 65 7  Konica Minolta Honda 49 8  Kawasaki Racing Team 48 9  Team Roberts KR 44 10  Tech3 Yamaha 36 11  Pramac D'Antin 17 Race classification GP250 Round: 7 - 2006 GP250 Catalunya Circuit: Catalunya Circuit Length: 4727 Lap Record: 1' 47.302 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2004) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 46.220 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2005) Race: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1  A. Dovizioso Honda ITA 41' 28.179 2  J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP +0.095 3  A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +0.422 4  R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +1.587 5  A. Debon Aprilia ESP +3.136 6  H. Aoyama KTM JPN +4.032 7  Y. Takahashi Honda JPN +4.072 8  S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +7.315 9  A. West Aprilia AUS +43.107 10  M. Cardenas Honda COL +43.193 11  M. Poggiali KTM SMR +43.582 12  A. Ballerini Aprilia ITA +44.405 13  J. Cluzel Aprilia FRA +52.426 14  A. Tizon Honda ESP +1' 5.476 15  F. Perren Honda ARG +1' 8.871 Fastest Race Lap:  Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1  A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR 1' 47.327 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1  Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 133 2  Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 108 3  Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 89 4  Hiroshi Aoyama KTM JPN 85 5  Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 80 6  Hector Barbera Aprilia ESP 78 7  Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 71 8  Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 51 9  Marco Simoncelli Gilera ITA 40 10  Shuhei Aoyama Honda JPN 34 11  Anthony West Aprilia AUS 34 12  Martin Cardenas Honda COL 28 13  Jakub Smrz Aprilia CZE 27 14  Alex Debon Aprilia ESP 22 15  Manuel Poggiali KTM SMR 22 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1  Aprilia 151 2  Honda 138 3  KTM 84
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi makes timely return to pole in Barcelona

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will line up in pole position for the first time in almost a year when the MotoGP World Championship riders take their place on the grid for the seventh round of the season at Catalunya tomorrow. The Italian has been in excellent form all weekend and after continuing yesterday's job to set his YZR-M1 up for the 25-lap race, he was able to concentrate fully on a burst of quick laps at the end of this afternoon's qualifying session. His fastest lap registered a new pole record of 1'41.855 and put him at the front of the MotoGP grid for the first time since the 2005 British Grand Prix last July. Colin Edwards also followed up positive work on his two machines yesterday with further progress in the morning free practice, when he set the fourth fastest time on race tyres. However, slight changes to the setting of his bike and the extra grip offered by a softer rear tyre had a detrimental effect as he pushed for a quick lap time at the end of the qualifying session, the American eventually dropping to twelfth place on the grid as a host of riders posted one-off flying laps, despite not matching the consistency demonstrated by Edwards. Rossi will be joined on the front row by two of Edwards' compatriots, John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Kenny Roberts (Honda KR). Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'41.855; 26 laps) "I am really, really happy - it is a big satisfaction to be back on pole after such a long time. The bike has been working really well all weekend and I have to say a big 'thank you' to everybody at Yamaha and all my engineers because they have worked so hard to build this new chassis and then make it work so well in such a short space of time. I said yesterday that we have been able to work in a normal way and this meant that today I was able to focus on finding a good setting for the qualifying tyre and putting some fast laps in at the end. It is the first time I have had this pleasure in a long time and to do it at this track is amazing because it is so much fun to ride here. There are some tough riders out there but I have a special feeling in front of these fans. They always treat me so well and I want to put on a good show for them tomorrow." Colin Edwards (12th - 1'42.655; 26 laps) "I don't seem to be getting any kind of luck in qualifying lately. We haven't had so much time yet with the new chassis and unfortunately when I put the softer tyre on it kept folding the front end, so I couldn't push harder for a time and get the place on the grid that my pace would otherwise reflect. Also we made a couple of changes to the setting - nothing major, just a millimetre here or there - but it seemed to add to the extra force on the front so we perhaps would have been better sticking to what we found in the morning. Tomorrow we'll have to go backwards a little bit with the setting and no doubt we can go forwards a lot during the race!"
Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Of course it is very nice to be back on pole but the most pleasing thing is to see the constant progression we have made with the bike from Le Mans to Mugello to here. To come off the back of that win in Italy to take pole here is a reflection of the excellent work the team has done with the bike and we hope that this situation is now the 'norm' until the end of the season. It will be a difficult race tomorrow and we are still not sure of the conditions, but we know we can be involved and it will be up to Valentino to keep fighting to the end, as he always does. Colin has a good race pace but he didn't manage to get the best out of the qualifying tyres at the end. He will have another fight on his hands over the first few laps so we will see what happens." Carlos Checa (16th, 1'43.606, 29 laps) ."On race tyres we are stronger than we have ever been and during qualifying we did over 70% of the race distance to show that we now have the consistency. This is very positive but what is disappointing is the lack of performance in the qualifying tyres. We were doing the same times on the qualifying tyres as we managed on race tyres yesterday. After being 11th yesterday it is very disappointing because with qualifying tyres we should be able to go at least a second quicker... On race tyres we can do 1.44s and this is the pace we can run at. If we can get a good start and maintain the lap times that we have done over the last two days on race tyres it should be a good race for us. I had the best race pace today I have ever had and we were able to maintain the same lap times so I am looking forward to having a good battle with a bunch of riders that are close to me. When it was time for the qualifying tyres we tried three but none of them worked so we still have to work on this also. To be frustrated in this way is not the best way to understand the situation. Also on the race tyres we have found much more grip so we have to play around with the setup. To be just 1.2 seconds away from the leaders when everyone is on race tyres is very good for us but we have to improve the qualifying tyres so we may be able to get a better grid position and so be in a better place to battle with a big bunch of riders James Ellison (18th 1'44.727, 25 laps) "It hasn't been the best of days but at least - like Carlos - we are getting some consistency with the race tyres but it's pretty frustrating that our qualifying tyres aren't working too well so we drop down the field. Saying that I have a pretty good race pace and we know that we now have the Dunlop tyres that can last the distance." We are working very hard with Dunlop to come up with a solution and the hard work they have been putting in has been reflected with the improvement to the race tyres. Also we have found some improvements to the chassis and that is allowing me to ride the bike the way I like to ride. Now I can slide it and back it in with a lot more confidence that I have been able to do in previous races. Now that we have tested the tyres for almost an entire race distance it should bring us some better results." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "A bit disappointing with the starting position as we definitely have to work on the qualifying tyre to get a better grid position. We were doing 43.6 Friday morning with a race tyre and we are 43.6 with a qualifying tyre on Saturday afternoon. Sure when we see what the opposition is doing there is a gap between race and qualifying tyres and we have to work on that. Having said that, I think we are the closest we have ever been on race tyres and race pace. We have been doing race distance this morning and again this afternoon with a high track temperature and we are very consistent in the low 44's. it wont be enough to be in front but I think for the first time if everything goes like we are planning we will have a race without any drop off in tyre performance where we can be all race long in the 44's and we will see where it will take us. I look forward to this race and I especially hope that our riders will be able to stay with other riders and we will have a nice battle through the race instead of seeing the others just disappear and just racing on our own. On this track that is a real distinct possibility. I am happy. I'm not happy with the grid position but if we get a good start I think we can carry a pretty good lap time for the whole race. We did 18 laps this afternoon on the one tyre and maintained the lap times and the race is 22 so I think we should be ok. Round: 7 - 2006 MotoGP Catalunya Circuit: Catalunya Circuit Length: 4727 Lap Record: 1' 43.195 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 41.855 (Valentino Rossi, 2006) Date: 17 June 2006 Temp: 28ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA   1' 41.855  2 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA   1' 41.984  3 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA   1' 42.055  4 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS   1' 42.211  5 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN   1' 42.216  6 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA   1' 42.247  7 N. Hayden Honda USA   1' 42.305  8 C. Stoner Honda AUS   1' 42.344  9 M. Melandri Honda ITA   1' 42.492  10 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA   1' 42.620  11 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP   1' 42.648  12 C. Edwards Yamaha USA   1' 42.655  13 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP   1' 42.712  14 T. Elias Honda ESP   1' 42.853  15 M. Tamada Honda JPN   1' 42.869  16 C. Checa Yamaha ESP   1' 43.606  18 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR   1' 44.727
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Camel Yamaha Team aim to continue revival at Catalunya

Next weekend the Circuit de Catalunya hosts the MotoGP World Championship for the fifteenth successive season since opening to coincide with the Olympic Games in 1992 and sees the Camel Yamaha Team looking to strike gold for the second consecutive race. Following on from Valentino Rossi's epic victory at his home Grand Prix in Italy less than two weeks ago, and backed up by encouraging data from a subsequent day of testing at the Mugello circuit, confidence could not be higher for a repeat result as the team look to close down the points gap to joint series leaders Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Nicky Hayden (Honda). Rossi travels to Barcelona, one of his favourite cities in the world, having reached several milestones thanks to his 55th career MotoGP victory at Mugello. As well as taking him above Mick Doohan to second place in the all-time winners list behind Giacomo Agostini, it was also his 22nd success with Yamaha - the same number achieved by Kenny Roberts and bettered only by Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson - and it made Rossi the second highest points-scorer of all time behind Doohan. He will join the Australian as one of only two riders ever to pass 2000 career points if he finishes first or second at Catalunya. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards has also been making his mark in the history books despite not yet hitting his best form this season. Despite running into the gravel early in the race at Mugello, the Texan managed to fight his way back to finish in twelfth place to extend his run of successive points scoring finishes to 27. Only Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson and Valentino Rossi himself have ever put together a longer run. Edwards' target this weekend is to celebrate number 28 on the podium. Virtually 57 years to the day since the first ever World Championship Grand Prix at the Isle of Man TT in 1949, this weekend's event will provide the latest chapter in one of the most exciting and unpredictable eras in the history of the sport. After six rounds there are just 34 points covering the top six riders.  Valentino Rossi: Lucky seven? Catalunya is one of Valentino Rossi's most successful events, being one of three circuits where he has already stood on the top step of the podium on seven occasions - the others being Donington and Phillip Island. For the past two seasons he has taken victory for Yamaha and he is hopeful of repeating that feat as he aims to reduce a 34-point deficit to the championship summit. "Barcelona is always a great race for me and I've won there the last two years with Yamaha, so hopefully we can do it again," says Rossi. "Last year Gibernau set a fast pace and I tried 100% to follow him. Then I set the fastest lap three laps from the end, which at a track like Catalunya is amazing. Hopefully we can get this level of performance out of the bike and tyres again. Also I get a really good reception in Spain and it is always a pleasure to ride there. "I am looking forward to this weekend because now I think we have finally arrived where we should be with the bike. It worked really well at the Mugello test and now I think we've really shown that we can fight at the front again and win. From a technical point of view, since the new chassis has been available we've been able to ride like in the past. Now we're very fast but it's still hard to win races! This championship is very balanced between Ducati and Honda and Yamaha and the other riders are at a great level so it was very important for us to win at Mugello. Now we have an eleven race championship and we have to be on the podium at every round." Colin Edwards: Double chassis bonus After a week's break with his family on the beaches near Barcelona, Colin Edwards tackles the seventh round of the campaign in refreshed and determined mood following an indifferent run of early season results. The American has been hindered by a series of unfortunate incidents in recent races but the news that two units of the updated YZR-M1 chassis, which he tested with positive results at Mugello, will be at his disposal from the opening practice of the Spanish round has given him a vital boost. "I've been run into the gravel for the last two rounds but we've come out of them both in the points so I have to use that as springboard to better things over the next few races," admits Edwards. "There is no use lamenting about what could have been - I have never done that and I won't start now. The positive thing to come out of Mugello was the performance of the new chassis and I'm really looking forward to adapting the setting even more at Barcelona. It's another fast circuit so hopefully the bike adapts quickly and we can be on the pace from the start." Like Rossi, Edwards has positive memories of the Catalunya circuit thanks to his performance there in the official pre-season tests, when he drove home in a new car as a prize for setting the fastest time. "That seems a long time ago now but it's true that we went well there with an early version of this year's bike. We've made progress since then but the conditions will be very different so we'll have to wait and see." Davide Brivio: Triple target Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is targeting a three-pronged attack on the MotoGP World Championship this weekend as he leads a continued revival for his team following a mixed start to the season. As well as building on positive recent development with the YZR-M1 machines, the Italian is hoping for another maximum points return from Valentino Rossi and a second podium of the season for Colin Edwards. "Before Mugello I said that our mission for the next few races was to recover points for Valentino and we had the perfect start to that with the victory," says Brivio. "Now we have an extremely important run at Barcelona, Assen and Donington where we must continue with this job and try to win every race. Valentino likes all three tracks and this is another reason why he was still so upbeat and optimistic after the disappointments in China and Le Mans. "For Colin this is also an important weekend because he found a good way with the new chassis at Mugello and we have high hopes that he can make a lot of progress with it in Barcelona. Both riders will be on the same specification bikes, with two units of the new chassis each, so we are starting from a good point. Continuing evolution with the bike, recovering more points for Valentino and getting Colin back on the podium; these are our three targets for Catalunya." Technically speaking: Catalunya according to Nicolas Goubert The Circuit de Catalunya offers a main straight capable of encouraging speeds exceeding 335kmh, and is completed by a sequence of long radius, medium/high speed sweepers and two tight left-hand hairpins. The combination of long radius corners riddled with a variety of cambers makes it demanding on chassis balance and means front-end feel is a key concern for every rider. These characteristics also mean that tyre life is a key topic in many pit box discussions between riders, crew chiefs and tyre technicians. "Catalunya can be very demanding on the front because there are a lot of downhill corner entries," explains Nicolas Goubert, Michelin's chief of motorcycle competition. "For the rain we've got only one specification, one profile with different programs depending on the conditions we have. For the slicks it is much more interesting because we have two different profiles. One has a smaller width, which means that the tyre is lighter and it's easier to tilt the bike from one side to the other. We have also started to work with a bigger size but the Yamaha riders prefer the small one. The reason is because they want to keep the character of having durability for the bike. For them it is an advantage and it is suited to their needs on their bike." "We are quite confident with both types of tyre from last year because we had very good results at Catalunya. It was the first time ever that the surface was new, the lap time was really good and Valentino set a new lap record at the very end of the race with a time that would have put him tenth on the grid. It was the first time ever that this happened so we are very happy with that and we just hope that our Yamaha riders will be as fast or faster this year." Valentino Rossi: information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 81 (55 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 163 (103 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 54 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Montmelo Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'43.195 Mugello Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005 - 1'42.337 2005 Results 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 43'16.487 2. Sete Gibernau (ESP) Honda, +1.094 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, +7.810 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +18.762
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Italy falls to the factory Yamaha's World Championship siege

The list of adjectives to describe MX1 World Championship leader Stefan Everts and his YZ450FM is growing perilously short after the reigning number one maintained his 100% record this season by winning the Italian Grand Prix in front of 26,000 fans at Montevarchi today. The 33 year old claimed both motos to stretch his haul of consecutive victories to eleven, and seven from seven Grand Prix. His career total now stands at a phenomenal 94 and he has eight remaining rounds from which to reach a magical 100. Everts claimed his second pole position of the season and his second inside one week on Saturday with a lap-time over a second quicker than nearest pursuer Suzuki's Kevin Strijbos. The result of the Timed Practice ran straight into the first moto where the World Champion enjoyed the holeshot and promptly set his own pace ahead of the Suzuki representative. Despite running close together Everts was again faultless and stretched his run of consecutive moto victories to ten. The Montevarchi course was dry, fast and twisty under sunshine and windy conditions but the Yamaha Intur Sports representative proved that he is a true master of all terrain by leading both races from start to finish. He was handicapped slightly by a cracked exhaust in the second heat. The Yamaha YZ450FM was extremely close to exceeding noise limits and Everts himself had to weather a fiercer attack from Strijbos but he reeled off a series of laps at a crucial stage to again break his countryman. Cédric Melotte was feeling better after his light concussion from Bulgaria last Sunday even though he is still endeavouring to regain full fitness after a recent blood test revealed deficiencies in his body's vitamin levels. The Belgian's confidence can best be described as fragile after his poor luck with physical problems and a lack of results to justify his obvious speed. He did however obtain a decent start in the first moto and was holding third for the first half of the race until he was swamped in the final stages and slipped back to eighth. Later in the afternoon a collision with KTM's Jonathan Barragan led to a broken rear brake and he retired for the third time in the last four motos. Everts has stretched his lead to 89 points with almost half the season gone. Melotte rests in tenth spot. The eighth round of the World Championships will commence the second half of the 2006 campaign and ends a busy three week consecutive run of events. The British Grand Prix will get underway next Saturday at the new Matterley Basin circuit. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I don't get bored with winning because every race is a hard job! Kevin did well today to put some pressure on me, especially in the second moto. He is keeping me focussed lately and I have to keep pushing to stay in front. It was a good close race for the crowd. It is not coming that easily for me. Every weekend is a new challenge, there are still many races to go and I want to stay in good shape." Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I am just riding to do my best and enjoy myself now. In the first race I made a great start and could follow the leaders for four or five laps. I had to slow down because I needed to find my own rhythm. We have a set-up on the bike from the start of the year and because of my problems we have not been able to work on it. I hope to test after the British GP to help get me riding smoother on the bike because I cannot make that same speed from the first ten minutes of the moto for the entire duration. The bike was moving around a lot and it was frustrating to lose those positions but I did my best. In the second race I crashed together with Barragan and he took away my front wheel. I restarted but the rear brake was broken and I had to stop. I enjoyed the first part of the day but the track was horrible." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Stefan once again was close to perfection. He had very good starts and the pattern of the races was similar to one we have already seen this season. He made the gap just big enough to keep the lead and his concentration. Cédric was looking better after Bulgaria and had recovered quite well during the week. In the first moto he proved that the speed is still there but physically he is not 100%. It was a shame that Barragan's bike broke his rear brake and he could not continue. Stefan had a small crack on the exhaust in the second moto but it was not very loud and everything turned out OK." Race classification MX1 Round: 7 - 2006 GP of Montevarchi, Italy Circuit: Montevarchi Circuit Length: 1650 Race 1: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  39' 58.623  2   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +7.556  3   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +15.670  4   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +20.976  5   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +23.426  6   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +24.285  7   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +27.861  8   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +45.620  9   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 1.739  10   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1' 5.510  11   A. Salvini Suzuki  ITA  +1' 9.784  12   L. Freibergs Suzuki  LVA  +1' 10.435  13   G. Crockard Honda  GBR  +1' 10.905  14   R. Jelen Suzuki  SVN  +1' 22.435  15   C. Desalle  Suzuki  BEL  +1' 26.128  16   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 26.501  17   J. Moze  Suzuki  SVN  +1' 31.077  18   B. Jorgensen Honda  DNK  +1' 32.498  19   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 37.790  20   K. Salaets Yamaha  BEL  +1' 43.482  Race 2: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  40' 26.487  2   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +8.683  3   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +26.828  4   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +40.982  5   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +46.607  6   B. Jorgensen Honda  DNK  +1' 7.361  7   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +1' 13.155  8   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1' 17.459  9   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 23.597  10   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +1' 23.750  11   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1' 33.642  12   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 38.337  13   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 38.801  14   L. Freibergs Suzuki  LVA  +1' 40.490  15   A. Salvini Suzuki  ITA  +1' 41.047  16   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 46.482  17   R. Jelen Suzuki  SVN  +1' 47.245  18   W. Avis KTM  RSA  +1' 58.566  19   J. Dobes Suzuki  CZE  +1 lap(s)  20   G. Crockard Honda  GBR  +1 lap(s)  Championship standings MX1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Stefan Everts Yamaha  BEL 342  2   Kevin Strijbos Suzuki  BEL 253  3   Tanel Leok Kawasaki  EST 245  4   Ken De Dycker Honda  BEL 231  5   Steve Ramon Suzuki  BEL 227  6   Jonathan Barragan KTM  ESP 166  7   Pascal Leuret  Honda  FRA 147  8   Manuel Priem Yamaha  BEL 120  9   Brian Jorgensen Honda  DNK 120  10   Cedric Melotte Yamaha  BEL 118  11   Javier Garcia Vico Honda  ESP 115  12   Marvin Van Daele Honda  BEL 108  13   Julien Bill Yamaha  GBR 107  14   Sebastien Tortelli KTM  FRA 99  15   Antti Pyrhonen TM  FIN 91  16   James Noble Honda  GBR 89  17   Danny Theybers Suzuki  BEL 73  18   Alex Salvini Suzuki  ITA 47  19   Wyatt Avis KTM  RSA 46  20   Stephen Sword Kawasaki  GBR 40  Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 342  2  Suzuki 289  3  Kawasaki 245  4  Honda 241  5  KTM 221  6  TM 91  MX2 : Cairoli runner-up at home Grand Prix thriller Round: 7 - 2006 GP of Montevarchi, Italy Circuit: Montevarchi Date: 11 June 2006 Crowd: 26000 Temp: 26ºC Weather: Sunny World Champion Antonio Cairoli entertained his many fans with two exciting motos at a sunny Montevarchi today for the seventh round of the MX2 FIM World Championship. The De Carli Yamaha rider had the 26,000 attendance on its feet as he fought with friend and rival David Philippaerts for victory until the last laps but eventually had to settle for a brace of runner-up positions. Cairoli aced his qualification heat yesterday and, along with Philippaerts, looked easily the strongest rider on the tight and stony course. 'Toni' started well in both motos but lost the lead to KTM's Philippaerts and then second place to Tyla Rattray in the first race as he struggled with a sore wrist that was numbing his arm. He eventually found a better rhythm to pass Rattray and set off after the leader resulting in the first of two finales that proved to be the highlights of the Grand Prix. The second race quickly became 'part two' of the all-Italian scrap and Cairoli was again powerless to pass Philippaerts who had recovered well from a crash while leading that had dropped him to third. With Christophe Pourcel not enjoying one of his best days, Rattray falling out of the second moto and De Reuver also registering a DNF because of a faulty gearbox, Cairoli has narrowed the margin in the World Championship standings and now lies 15 points from second place. Kenneth Gundersen could, and should, have finished higher than his final classification of 10th. The Norwegian started badly in the first moto and rose only as high as 8th, without a rear brake, on a track that was not easy to pass and afforded varying levels of grip. A promising start and third position was squandered on the first lap when the front wheel of his YZ250F slid out and dumped the number '12' on the floor. His resulting effort terminated with 17th spot by the chequered flag. Davide Guarneri was unlucky not to take pole position on Saturday as the Italian's silencer on the Ricci Racing Yamaha unbelievably came loose again (as in Bulgaria last week) and the resulting one minute penalty for violating noise regulations meant that he had to qualifying for his home Grand Prix via the Last Chance session and confirmed 26th spot. He was 7th in the first moto but could not make the finish in race two. Bike it Yamaha's Billy Mackenzie was no match for the Italian's speed on home turf. The Japanese GP winner was taken out of the race by Luigi Seguy in the first foray and slipped back to 13th after a decent start in the second outing. The 22 year old is still bothered by a broken bone in his left hand. Alessio Chiodi could not avoid the fallen Fabio Mossini on the first lap of the second MX2 heat yesterday and the crash relegated him to the back of the pack. The former multi World Champion left his fast lap late in the Last Chance session (and needed the help of team-mate Guarneri) and disappointedly entered the gate in 28th. During the motos he was always struggling to make up ground but tried his best in front of a willing partisan crowd. He finished the day with 18th and 11th for 14th overall. The eighth round of the series will take place at the new Matterley Basin circuit in England for the British Grand Prix. The visit to the UK will end a hectic three week spell of consecutive races. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "For sure I wanted to win in my country but today David was very fast. I lost concentration in the second heat when I saw Rattray and Goncalves crash. I was riding a bit stiff and didn't have a good feeling but afterwards when David came back I was able to pick up my speed. It was very hard to pass him here and I didn't want to make a mistake because the standings would be much closer. For me and for the Championship this is a good GP." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I felt really good in the first race but after twenty minutes I lost the rear brake. Otherwise I believe I could have finished top three in that race. In the second moto I lost the front end and was half a lap behind before I was really going again. Normally I could have finished on the podium at a track like this but again bad luck." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I have to say thank you to Davide in the Last Chance yesterday because he gave me a tow and helped me qualify. I did not have the speed to make a single lap like that. To be low in the gate was not good but I tried my best. The first moto was not that bad but I crashed and hit my knee again and after that it was so difficult. One point is better than none though so I kept pushing. This was a hard GP for me. I am disappointed for the fans because their support was fantastic. I hope I will be OK for the British GP, I have one more week to recover now."    Race classification MX2 Round: 7 - 2006 GP of Montevarchi, Italy Circuit: Montevarchi Circuit Length: 1650 Race 1: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  39' 36.141  2   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  +0.574  3   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +16.917  4   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +17.706  5   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +23.075  6   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +36.401  7   D. Guarneri Yamaha  ITA  +45.930  8   K. Gundersen Yamaha  NOR  +53.511  9   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +55.889  10   A. Leok Yamaha  EST  +1' 1.470  11   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +1' 6.108  12   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +1' 9.536  13   M. Seistola Honda  FIN  +1' 12.376  14   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +1' 16.020  15   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 16.379  16   C. Campano KTM  ESP  +1' 23.003  17   P A. Renet Honda  FRA  +1' 23.712  18   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 24.317  19   M. Schiffer KTM  GER  +1' 32.455  20   J. Wing KTM  SWE  +1' 36.226  Race 2: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  39' 12.775  2   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  +3.369  3   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +23.136  4   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +27.544  5   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +32.296  6   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +35.024  7   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +52.100  8   C. Campano KTM  ESP  +56.315  9   M. Seistola Honda  FIN  +56.779  10   L. Seguy Yamaha  FRA  +1' 1.998  11   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 2.677  12   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +1' 8.173  13   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +1' 13.787  14   F. Mossini Suzuki  ITA  +1' 14.195  15   P A. Renet Honda  FRA  +1' 15.457  16   A. Pellegrini Suzuki  ITA  +1' 25.976  17   K. Gundersen Yamaha  NOR  +1' 30.079  18   A. Meo Honda  FRA  +1' 32.919  19   M. Schiffer KTM  GER  +1' 37.490  20   J. Wing KTM  SWE  +1' 43.147  Championship standings MX2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 274  2   Marc De Reuver KTM  NED 246  3   Tyla Rattray KTM  RSA 235  4   Antonio Cairoli Yamaha  ITA 231  5   David Philippaerts KTM  ITA 210  6   Billy MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR 168  7   Carl Nunn KTM  GBR 159  8   Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 140  9   Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha  NOR 139  10   Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA 134  11   Rui Goncalves KTM  POR 132  12   Tommy Searle Kawasaki  GBR 129  13   Alessio Chiodi Yamaha  ITA 124  14   Davide Guarneri Yamaha  ITA 94  15   Luigi Seguy Yamaha  FRA 94  16   Manuel Monni KTM  ITA 73  17   Anthony Boissière Yamaha  FRA 66  18   Aigar Leok Yamaha  EST 64  19   Matti Seistola Honda  FIN 61  20   Patrick Caps Honda  BEL 46    Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 318  2  Yamaha 306  3  Kawasaki 280  4  Honda 114  5  Suzuki 13 
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha XJR Owners Club

Yamaha XJR Owners Club
The XJR1300 is no ordinary muscle bike – it’s muscle that can hustle. The XJR’s colossal air-cooled engine proves the old saying that nothing succeeds like excess, with 106Nm of torque at 6500rpm for awesome acceleration, whichever gear you happen to be in. It’s the kind of power that’s always right there, ready and waiting. But this is one heavyweight that doesn’t need wrestling into submission. The XJR is awe-inspiring but not overwhelming, because it’s got a sports chassis with box-section aluminium swingarm and trick Öhlins gas shocks that really handle that motor. Which is why this muscle bike is all grunt and no groan.
Whether you have are an owner of a 2003 Yamaha XJR, or an owner of 2006 Yamaha XJR this is a fun club to be a member of. Why don’t you let us know all about your new Yamaha XJR at our Yamaha XJR Owners Club Forums. Here are the Yamaha XJR 1300 Owners Club Forums
 
2006 Yamaha XJR Technical specifications 
XJR 1300 EngineEngine type: 4-stroke, forward inclined parallel 4-cylinder, DOHC Engine cooling: Air cooled Displacement: 1,251cc Bore x stroke: 79 x 63.8mm Compression ratio: 9.7:1 Maximum power: 78.1kW (106.2 HP) @ 8,000rpm Maximum torque: 106.2Nm (10.8 kg-m) @ 6,500rpm Lubrication system: Wet sump Carburettor: Mikuni BS37/4 Clutch type: Wet, multiple-disc Ignition system: TCI Starter system: Electric Transmission system: Constant mesh, 5-speed Final transmission: Chain Fuel tank capacity: 21 litres (4.5 litres) Oil tank capacity: 4.2 litres ChassisFront suspension system: Telescopic fork Front travel: 130mm Rear suspension system: Swingarm Rear travel: 120mm Front brake: Dual discs, Ø 298mm Rear brake: Single disc, Ø 267mm Front tyre: 120/70 ZR17 (58W) Rear tyre: 180/55 ZR17 (73W) DimensionsLength (mm): 2,175mm Width (mm): 775mm Height (mm): 1,115mm Seat height (mm): 790mm Wheel base (mm): 1,510mm Minimum ground clearance (mm): 120mm Dry weight (kg) 224 kg
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Business as usual for Everts in Bulgaria

Career win number 93, six Grand Prix in succession, the third double on the trot and nine consecutive moto victories fell to Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts at the fast Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the 33 year old Belgian and absolute series leader own another two motos in vastly different weather conditions in which the YZ450FM excelled once more. The wide expanse of the Sevlievo track, situated in the modern and impressive infrastructure of the circuit, was quick and dry for the first moto but then the heavens opened and dropped a plethora of rain onto the venue creating a difficult and technical test, as well as constituting the first wet race of the season. Despite insisting that a repeat of his Japanese domination would be unlikely Saturday afternoon, Everts faced little opposition in both races after taking the lead within the first two laps of both sprints. He controlled the distance assimilated both times over Kevin Strijbos and his superiority has now translated into an 81 point advantage from Kawasaki's Tanel Leok in the World Championship standings meaning that he can afford not to finish three motos and still be in front. Cedric Melotte completed only three laps today during the first outing. The Belgian fell heavily on Saturday and hit his head. Feeling dazed and unable to concentrate he elected to retire frustrated instead of risking further mishap. The 27 year old did not take to the line for the second race. Melotte has also been suffering from reduced energy and stamina possibly brought on by over-training. He had several tests after arriving back from Japan and his body was found to be lacking certain minerals. "Cedric had been training quite hard, as normal but has been feeling bad after the races, which is unusual for the condition he should have," said Team Manager Carlo Rinaldi. "The season has been up and down for him. Portugal was bad but then Teutschenthal was better after he had some rest. Japan was again not so good, so we rested him before this GP. The blood tests said he was low on iron and some B12 among other things in line with the symptoms of over-training. Cedric needs to rest and renew his levels and we should see an improvement." The trip to Bulgaria represented the first of three consecutive meetings. The teams now travel directly to Italy and the Montevarchi circuit before then heading to Matterley Basin and the British Grand Prix. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Any race is a new race so anything can still happen but I have managed to keep the pace up and not make any mistakes. The second moto was difficult because of the conditions and I had to lose my goggles after a few laps. I had to slow down because of all the mud in my eyes but overall I am happy with the day. Coming here I was unsure because this is not the best track for me to try and win like Japan but I was consistent with my speed. The bike has been great on the starts and being able to push hard in the first ten to fifteen minutes really makes a difference." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I had a big crash on Saturday and I found that I could not concentrate on my riding today. I tried to make some fast laps but it was getting dangerous so I decided to stop. I am having very little luck at the moment." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was two different races today because of the track conditions and Stefan proved that it doesn't matter what weather or demands he faces. He made two very consistent and error-free races. The rhythm was strong at first but he could deal with it. The bike came through very well because there was a lot of water and you can sometimes have a strange problem like with the electrics. We made some changes between the motos to cope with the changing terrain and they worked out fine." Race classification MX1 Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Circuit Length: 1695 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 47.650 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +6.971 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +11.846 4 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +16.978 5 P. Leuret Honda FRA +27.050 6 W. Avis KTM RSA +31.597 7 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +33.118 8 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +35.635 9 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +47.909 10 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +56.167 11 G. Crockard Honda GBR +58.292 12 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +59.949 13 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 3.002 14 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 11.247 15 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1' 17.882 16 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 19.780 17 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 27.943 18 B. Verhoeven Kawasaki NED +1' 29.174 19 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 35.502 20 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 38.832 Race 2: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 51.233 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +2.117 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +3.631 4 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +27.962 5 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +39.143 6 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 40.327 7 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 53.287 8 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 59.266 9 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +2' 5.055 10 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1 lap(s) 11 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1 lap(s) 12 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s) 13 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1 lap(s) 14 W. Avis KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 15 B. Verhoeven Kawasaki NED +1 lap(s) 16 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1 lap(s) 17 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 18 A. Bobkovs Honda LVA +1 lap(s) 19 J. Noble Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 20 M. Norlen Suzuki SWE +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 292 2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 211 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 209 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 197 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 191 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 150 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 123 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 106 9 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 105 10 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 102 11 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 97 13 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 90 14 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 84 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 82 16 James Noble Honda GBR 79 17 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 60 18 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 43 19 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 40 20 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 31 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 292 2 Suzuki 245 3 Kawasaki 211 4 Honda 205 5 KTM 202 6 TM 82 MX2 : Cairoli takes fourth moto win of the season but leaves Bulgaria disappointed Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Date: 4 June 2006 Crowd: 25000 Temp: 18ºC Weather: Rain World Champion Antonio Cairoli became the rider with the most moto victories this season after taking his fourth success at Sevlievo for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of the MX2 World Championship. The Italian would limp away from the impressive venue however after two crashes in a very wet and slippery second moto forced a second DNF from the twelve heats in total held so far. The track was fast, dry and bumpy in the first sprint but showers during the lunch break meant a far muddier and more slippery prospect for the MX2 riders later in the afternoon. Cairoli weathered a late first race attack from Championship leader Christophe Pourcel for a very convincing win in a moto he had pretty much set the pace from the start. In contrast he crashed on the first corner of the second heat and was on the fringes of the top ten in very tricky conditions when he crashed on the rhythm section and went down heavily. The Sicilian hurt his knee in a spill that snapped his brace and damaged his Yamaha too much to continue. Kenneth Gundersen shared a similar fate in race1 when he fell on the first lap and collected fellow Yamaha compatriot Billy Mackenzie. The Norwegian pulled into the pits. He was however able to obtain 11 points for tenth later on. Winner of the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Mackenzie was also to leave Bulgaria disappointed. The 22 year old was last after falling when Gundersen hit the deck right in front of him and slipped off again before retiring far behind any possible points. The Scot had broken his left hand a week prior at the fourth round of the British Championship and despite using painkillers could only trail Gundersen in the second moto for a lowly ten point haul from the whole meeting. Gundersen's team-mate Davide Guarneri was eigth in the first moto but was given a one minute penalty in the second race due to a damaged exhaust exceeding the permitted noise limit. JK Racing's Luigi Seguy was ninth overall although he did suffer a spill in the opening forray. Yamaha Team Ricci's Alessio Chiodi had to miss the meeting after his injured knee, sustained as a result of his Japanese practice accident, was diagnosed as a torn muscle. The Italian should be back for his home Grand Prix and round seven next week at Montevarchi. The standings reveal four Yamaha riders in the top ten. Cairoli is fourth 32 points behind Tyla Rattray and just 27 points in front of Billy Mackenzie who has dropped one position to sixth. The Grand Prix was won by KTM's Marc de Reuver with David Philippaerts second and Christophe Pourcel third. The World Championship continues at pace now with two more Grand Prix - in Italy and Great Britain - taking place in the next two weeks. Antonio Cairoli: "This year is not going so well at the moment. When I finish the first lap in the top three I can win but when I don't start OK or go down early on then my result is not great. I felt fast here and even though I was at the back in the second moto by the fifth lap I was near the top ten. The track was very slippery and I made a small mistake and it was a big punishment. I lost a lot of points and I don't feel very lucky so far this season. Physically I am OK but I feel bad inside for the loss today." Kenneth Gundersen: "In the first race I had a crash with Mackenzie when I was running fifth on the first lap. My bike was destroyed so I could not finish. In the second heat I was right near the front but on the first corner I almost crashed so I went from virtually first to last. I came back to ninth and could not do any better than that. In terms of riding I am happy with the last race. I am not having much luck at the moment. During practice yesterday there was a haybale on the track and I landed on it and hurt my wrist. I got some points today though and for that I am happy." Billy Mackenzie: "I was really looking forward to this GP but as the weekend it went on the track became more hard-pack and faster and I felt like I was losing speed and holding people up on the uphill sections purely because of my weight. It became a horsepower race rather than any technical ability and my hand was bothering me a little bit because I could not grip the bike like I wanted. Anyway, I could not avoid Gundersen in the first race and it went from bad to worse at the back of the pack. In the second moto I lost my goggles early on but I was still able to pass a few people. It was disappointing to lose so many points. I was on a real downer after the first race and with Philippaerts making the podium it has been a poor weekend in terms of the Championship Race classification MX2 Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Circuit Length: 1695 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40' 35.110 2 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1.274 3 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +11.806 4 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +23.350 5 T. Rattray KTM RSA +26.069 6 M. De Reuver KTM NED +36.806 7 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +41.223 8 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +49.615 9 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +52.725 10 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +58.522 11 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 2.918 12 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 5.056 13 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 8.415 14 A. Leok Yamaha EST +1' 9.178 15 C. Campano KTM ESP +1' 19.566 16 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 25.012 17 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1' 30.278 18 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1' 35.721 19 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 37.503 20 X. Boog Yamaha FRA +1' 53.541 Race 2: 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. De Reuver KTM NED 41' 34.286 2 T. Rattray KTM RSA +2.234 3 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +19.618 4 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +45.692 5 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +55.654 6 R. Goncalves KTM POR +56.996 7 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 0.230 8 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 2.588 9 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 36.083 10 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +1' 42.325 11 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +1' 44.308 12 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1 lap(s) 13 M. Kohut Honda SVK +1 lap(s) 14 S. Simpson Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 15 T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) 16 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +1 lap(s) 17 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1 lap(s) 18 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +1 lap(s) 19 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +1 lap(s) 20 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 236 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 234 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 219 4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 187 5 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 160 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 160 7 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 143 8 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 122 9 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 111 10 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 109 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 107 12 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 104 13 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 101 14 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 83 15 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 80 16 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 66 17 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 64 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 53 19 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 46 20 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 45 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 268 2 Yamaha 262 3 Kawasaki 240 4 Honda 94 5 Suzuki 6
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi takes dramatic home victory at Mugello classic

The dramatic scenery of the Mugello circuit in Tuscany provided the backdrop to one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living memory today as Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi clinched his second victory of the season in a heart-stopping Italian Grand Prix. The local hero produced one of his best ever performances in front of the adoring 89,200 crowd, emerging from an intense battle with his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and a host of other riders to take the chequered flag with a 0.575 second advantage after 23 laps of pure drama.
Rossi got an excellent start from the front row of the grid, passing early leader Sete Gibernau (Ducati) on the first lap and attempting to escape a hungry chasing pack. However, the Spaniard refused to lie down and after a brief battle between the pair the Italian took control to lead for ten laps. Capirossi soon recovered from a bad start and by lap fourteen he was in the hunt for the lead, passing both Gibernau and Rossi, who dropped back to fifth place as Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden (both Honda) also came through. Within four laps Rossi was back on Capirossi's tail and the pair went head-to-head in a thrilling finale, which saw the Yamaha rider snatch the lead on the last lap and open out a crucial gap that carried him to the line. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards, meanwhile, battled through another tough race after being run wide into the gravel on the second lap. The Texan fought back from last place to finish in the points in twelfth place but has lost ground in the championship, dropping to eighth. Rossi's win moves him up to fifth overall, 34 points behind leaders Capirossi and Hayden, who are currently tied on points. In addition to the activity on the track, Valentino's dance around the Mugello hills were enjoyed today 1,500 Yamaha fans at the Factory's Materassi stand. Every time the Yamaha riders passed the Yamaha tribune, the sound of the engines was accompanied by a standing ovation from a sea of yellow.
Valentino Rossi (1st; 42'39.610) "That was for sure one of the toughest battles of my entire career. I got a really good start and after I passed Sete I tried to escape but it was impossible, he was so strong today. For a long time I didn't know where Loris was because he had a bad start but once he arrived I knew I was in for a hard fight. I decided to let him pass and run behind him for a while but I didn't realise so many other riders were so close and they all came through! Suddenly I was down in fifth and had it all to do again. It was just an amazing fight for everybody and I think it is fantastic that it went down to the final lap between two riders, two factories, two tyre manufacturers but just one Country! This is great news for our sport. If I had to bet on who would win the last lap I honestly wouldn't have been able to choose. I don't think I took a breath over the last two laps but I made it and I am unbelievably happy. To do it in front of so many fans, family and friends is a special emotion and I won't be thinking about the championship tonight - just this wonderful race." Colin Edwards (12th; + 0'30.678) "We made a dramatic change this morning and I went for the new chassis with Valentino's settings because I knew the bike we had from yesterday was not going to be good enough for the race. Basically I braked a little earlier than normal into turn one and Makoto Tamada drafted up the inside, pulled straight in front of me and left me with nowhere to go but the grass. After that the race was just a test session for me really with the new chassis. It felt good but we need to adapt the setting to me because I didn't have enough grip on the rear. We've got a day of testing tomorrow so we will have time to do that and get the chance to complete some of the work that we weren't able to do during the Grand Prix." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It has been a perfect day for Valentino and for Italy after this fantastic battle to the final corner. It was just what we needed after the bad luck of recent races - Valentino needed to win and you could see how much it meant to him. Yamaha have done a great job to bring our package back up to a competitive level and now I hope we can keep fighting for wins until the end of the season. My sincere thanks to all our staff because it has been difficult over the last few weeks but once again we have seen that this is a team that never gives in and this is a great reward for all the hard work and belief. Colin's race didn't go as we had hoped it might, after the problem he had on the second lap, but he's taken some important information away from here and hopefully he can come back to the top in Barcelona next week." Disappointment for Tech 3 Yamaha Team in Italy The encouraging signs of qualifying for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team turned to disappointment in the Grand Prix of Italy as Carlos Checa and James Ellison struggled throughout with tyre problems to finish in 15th and 16th places respectively at the undulating and technically demanding Mugello circuit situated in the picturesque hills of Tuscany. Both Carlos and James had encouraging starts to be among a hard battle with a group of riders but after just a handful of laps encountered problems that negated their charge. The team will remain at the Mugello track for a day of testing tomorrow. Carlos Checa (16th, Fastest lap 1'51.652: lap 3) "I am very disappointed in the result as I really expected that we would have a good race pace especially after what we learnt at the Le Mans test. We thought the tyre we chose for the race was a strong one but it only lasted a few laps. After three laps the performance dropped off, then after eight laps it dropped again and so for the final half of the race the feeling from the rear was very bad. "I was in a good battle with some riders on factory bikes and I was sure that I could stick with them and fight hard but unfortunately this didn't last very long. "Again the problem is with the consistency of the rear tyre and this is why I couldn't keep the right pace for the whole race. We tried one way to go and everyone was optimistic after the Le Mans test and what we learnt during practice and qualifying for this race. "Now we have lost that optimistic feeling so I guess we just have to keep on trying to improve. We have the test tomorrow so hopefully we can learn some more things and find another direction that we can move forward. James Ellison (16th Fastest lap 1'52.224: lap 2) "The race wasn't too bad at the start. I got off the line well and picked off a few riders through the first few turns. I thought that I could get away from them and stick with Carlos but only a few laps later the rear tyre lost grip and I couldn't maintain the pace of the opening laps. "It's very frustrating as before the grip drops off, we know we can run with these guys and you can see where you are faster. We lose out when the tyres start moving about. "There are some good tyres in Dunlop. It's a matter of finding the mixture and obviously going to all the different circuits it's always changing. I'm sure for the test tomorrow we will get some better results but truthfully it is really, really frustrating not being able to race so hopefully we will find some solutions very soon and we can all get back to riding hard for the entire race." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Honestly this is a disappointing result because after qualifying yesterday we thought we would be much closer to Vermeulen an de Puniet . Although we did an ok start and the first few laps were quite quick, we lost grip so the second part of the race was quite long. Carlos tried everything but it was impossible to finish in a better place. After the good test in Le Mans and the first two days at Mugello we thought we would be much closer. We hope we will have good weather tomorrow for our one day test and we also have something to try from Yamaha. We just have to keep on working "For James his first three or four laps were quite fast as well but then the same thing happened, so it is all very frustrating. "We knew this year would be hard but to get a good direction that lifted the team and for this to happen is difficult to accept but this is racing and we have to understand that sometimes it will be very hard. We can just hope for better weather at the next race in Barcelona and that we can continue the direction we were heading before this race." Race classification MotoGP Round: 6 - 2006 MotoGP Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 50.117 (Max Biaggi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 48.959 (Sete Gibernau, 2006) Race: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 42' 39.610 2 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +0.575 3 N. Hayden Honda USA +0.735 4 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +2.007 5 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP +3.070 6 M. Melandri Honda ITA +11.793 7 T. Elias Honda ESP +18.999 8 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +19.172 9 M. Tamada Honda JPN +19.231 10 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +19.821 11 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +19.863 12 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +30.678 13 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA +37.198 14 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +41.712 15 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +56.256 16 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1' 13.387 17 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1 lap(s) Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 50.195 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 99 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 99 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 89 4 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 86 5 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 65 6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 65 7 Toni Elias Honda ESP 53 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 49 9 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 44 10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 40 11 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 37 12 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 28 13 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 27 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 21 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 16 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 5 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 131 2 Ducati 99 3 Yamaha 94 4 Suzuki 41 5 Kawasaki 37 6 Team Roberts KR 28 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 185 2 Ducati Marlboro Team 143 3 Fortuna Honda Team 142 4 Camel Yamaha Team 114 5 Honda LCR 65 6 Rizla Suzuki 48 7 Kawasaki Racing Team 48 8 Konica Minolta Honda 40 9 Team Roberts KR 28 10 Tech3 Yamaha 21 11 Pramac D'Antin 6 Race classification GP250 Round: 6 - 2006 GP250 Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 54.332 (Alex de Angelis, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 54.332 (Alex de Angelis, 2005) Race: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 40' 35.185 2 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +0.111 3 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA +0.320 4 Y. Takahashi Honda JPN +0.334 5 A. Debon Aprilia ESP +3.315 6 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +3.327 7 M. Simoncelli Gilera ITA +7.930 8 A. West Aprilia AUS +26.048 9 S. Aoyama Honda JPN +26.616 10 A. Ballerini Aprilia ITA +30.570 11 S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +32.854 12 M. Poggiali KTM SMR +33.743 13 S. Porto Honda ARG +1' 13.549 14 A. Tizon Honda ESP +1' 16.159 15 F. Perren Honda ARG +1' 18.533 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA 1' 54.749 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 108 2 Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 88 3 Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 80 4 Hector Barbera Aprilia ESP 78 5 Hiroshi Aoyama KTM JPN 75 6 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 67 7 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 55 8 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 43 9 Marco Simoncelli Gilera ITA 40 10 Shuhei Aoyama Honda JPN 34 11 Jakub Smrz Aprilia CZE 27 12 Anthony West Aprilia AUS 27 13 Martin Cardenas Honda COL 22 14 Sebastian Porto Honda ARG 20 15 Manuel Poggiali KTM SMR 17 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Aprilia 131 2 Honda 113 3 KTM 79
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi returns to the front row at Mugel

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will start from the front row of the grid for the first time this season in tomorrow's Grand Prix of Italy after the home hero set the third quickest time in today's single qualifying practice. The session took place under a blanket of thick grey cloud, with cool ambient temperatures of 16ºC and just 18ºC on track, but the threat of rain held off and the teams and riders were afforded crucial dry track time as they adjusted their machine set-up ahead of tomorrow's 23-lap race. Rossi's best lap of 1'49.167 came on his penultimate effort and was inside his previous pole record here by almost a tenth of a second. However, it wasn't quite enough to dislodge Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi (both Ducati) from the top two grid spots as the Spaniard took his first pole position of the season for the Italian factory. After falling behind with set-up work due to adverse weather conditions yesterday, Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards was unable to make up for lost time today and he could only manage the 14th fastest time, meaning he will start from the middle of the fifth row tomorrow. This afternoon Rossi will present a brand new R6 in unique Yamaha MotoGP colours to Marco Ponti, from Gallarate in the Varese region of Italy, who took part in a contest as part of the 'Yamaha Open Weekend.' Valentino Rossi (3rd - 1'49.167; 26 laps) "It is a good feeling to be back on the front row - I don't think I've been there since Phillip Island last year so it is a long time and I'm glad it came here at Mugello. For sure this is one of my favourite tracks and with all my fans, family and friends here I really want to get a good result. The front row is important for this because in the past few races I have had to fight really hard at the start of the race to pass riders so hopefully I can get a better start tomorrow. We're not on pole but Michelin and Yamaha have worked really hard to improve our performance on a qualifying tyre and this is a big step forward. Anyway my race pace is quite good so I hope to give my fans a lot of reasons for a party tomorrow night. My new helmet design is by a famous Italian cartoonist called Milo Manara. He has drawn a kind of mythical story of my life, with some of my heroes like Steve McQueen, Enzo Ferrari and Jim Morrison, with other characters like my dog Guido, Osvaldo the chicken and lots of beautiful women! I really like it and Milo is somebody I have admired for a long time."  Colin Edwards (14th - 1'50.405; 26 laps) "I'm not too happy at all. This track seems to have a curse over me because I always seem to be unlucky here. Yesterday the weather played against us when we were trying to find some settings for the new chassis so we had to stick to the old one today and for whatever reason it hasn't worked. We haven't managed to work out the root of the problem yet but it seems everything that was good at China and Le Mans has evaporated here. It's not for a lack of trying - I'm pushing really hard but maybe I'm pushing in the wrong place, I don't know! We've had no time this weekend to test and use the new chassis so maybe we're paying the price for that. All we can do is squeeze the most out of what we have in the warm-up and see how much progress I can make in terms of positions in the race." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "I'm very happy for Valentino, it's nice for him to be back on the front row. We've made some improvements to the performance of the bike on qualifying tyres, which is an area we have struggled with so far this season, so we are very satisfied with that. It looks as though Valentino also has confidence with the race setting and he set a good rhythm on race tyres so we hope he can put on a great show tomorrow. Unfortunately Colin was unable to get anything extra out of the qualifying tyre so he is starting from a difficult position. He isn't comfortable with the setting of the bike so our goal is to improve this situation during the warm-up and give him a chance of producing the kind of ride he showed in the last race at Le Mans, when he fought back from a lowly position to score some good points."     Round: 6 - 2006 MotoGP Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 50.117 (Max Biaggi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 48.959 (Sete Gibernau, 2006) Date: 3 June 2006 Temp: 16ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 48.969   2  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 49.058   3  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 49.167   4  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 49.212   5  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 49.328   6  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 49.343   7  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 49.478   8  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 49.516   9  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 49.915   10  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 50.084   11  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 50.181   12  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 50.196   13  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 50.347   14  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 50.405   15  C. Vermeulen  Suzuki  AUS   1' 50.430   16  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 50.597   17  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 51.866
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Rossi makes encouraging start to home Grand Prix

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi kicked off his preparations for the Italian Grand Prix in positive fashion today as he set the fastest lap time in both of the opening free practice sessions of the weekend. After a dry morning practice, when the Italian topped the time sheets with a lap of 1'51.238, a heavy rain shower just before the afternoon session played havoc with the team's work programme, hindering Colin Edwards' adaptation to the new chassis and preventing either rider from improving their best times despite drying track conditions towards the end.It meant that Edwards was forced to settle for tenth place on the provisional time sheets but a more pressing issue for the Texan is the remaining set-up work to be done before Sunday's eagerly anticipated 23-lap race. The most likely scenario is that he will revert to the original chassis, used to excellent effect at Le Mans two weeks ago, before continuing development on the modified version with a view to the next race in Catalunya. Rossi only completed eight laps in the afternoon but it was enough to fend off the close attentions of fellow local Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who was second fastest. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'51.238; 25 laps) "We have had a good start to the weekend, especially this morning. Unfortunately the rain in the afternoon meant that we only got four good laps in but even in that short time we were able to see that the base setting of the bike is good. It is basically the same as the bike we had at Le Mans so I'm pleased to see it working well at such a different circuit. We still need to make some improvements to the setting but we are working in the right way and that is the most positive thing about today. We definitely need to work hard tomorrow but hopefully we can continue to improve. Now I just hope it doesn't rain, this is a very special race for all the Italians, both the riders and the people who come to watch, and we need the weather to be on our side!" Colin Edwards (10th - 1'52.513; 34 laps) "We've been playing around a little bit with the new chassis but I need more time in the dry to set it up before we can start to work with it properly. We didn't get enough of a chance at the Le Mans test because of the weather and it seems to have chased us over here. I don't want to have to start all over again in the morning so I think the best thing for us is to go back to what we know for tomorrow. It worked well for us in France and it seems ok here too so there is no point wasting time trying to use the new chassis here just for the sake of it. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us tomorrow so we can get through the set-up work we missed out on today and get ready for what promises to be a really tough but exciting race on Sunday." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Today was not so bad, even though we had only one session in the dry, and Valentino was able to confirm that the bike he used so well in Le Mans is also working here. Unfortunately we haven't had enough time in the dry for Colin to make the adequate comparisons so it seems that the situation for tomorrow will be that our riders will be working in different directions. Anyway this is not such a problem because we know Colin is comfortable on the original chassis and worked well with it in France, so it is just a case of him concentrating on getting a good result here and waiting a little longer for his opportunity. Despite the weather it has been a good day, we've done a good job and in general we have made a promising start to what is an important weekend for us."  Round: 6 - 2006 MotoGP Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 50.117 (Max Biaggi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 49.223 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Date: 2 June 2006 Temp: 16ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 51.732   2  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 51.756   3  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 52.012   4  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 52.082   5  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 52.101   6  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 52.177   7  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 52.339   8  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 52.350   9  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 52.466   10  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 52.667   11  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 52.789   12  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 52.819   13  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 52.830   14  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 53.129   15  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 53.453   16  A. Hofmann  Ducati  GER   1' 54.103   18  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 55.354  
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Yamaha and Valentino Rossi together again in 2007

Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd is delighted to announce that Valentino Rossi will remain with the Japanese factory in 2007, racing for a fourth year with Yamaha's Factory Team in the MotoGP World Championship. Rossi will continue to spearhead Yamaha's Grand Prix challenge and bike development, as MotoGP enters a new era of 800cc racing in 2007. Rossi has enjoyed huge success with Yamaha since he joined the factory just over two years ago and every one of his races has captured the true spirit of 'Kando', the Japanese word for the sensation of intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of supreme quality. The Italian won the championship with the YZR-M1 on his first try in 2004 and again in 2005, when Yamaha took a clean-sweep of Riders', Team and Manufacturers' Championships in the year of it's 50th Anniversary. 2006 has proved more difficult for the World Champion, with just one win so far this season after a series of unfortunate occurrences, but Yamaha has every faith that Rossi will recover his winning-form, starting at his home Grand Prix in Mugello this weekend. Speaking from Mugello today, Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis commented, "We are firstly delighted that Valentino has chosen to stay in MotoGP. He is a great ambassador for motorcycle racing in general and extremely important to the global image of this sport. He is the most talented and the fastest rider on the grid and the benchmark to which others aspire.  "We are extremely happy that Valentino has chosen to continue his illustrious MotoGP career with Yamaha in 2007. Yamaha and Valentino have an excellent relationship and we have enjoyed great success together since our partnership was born in 2004. It's exciting news for Yamaha's fans; Valentino's worldwide appeal unites them under one banner and brings more and more people daily into the Yamaha 'family'. "Of course it's of key importance to us that Valentino will now be in a position to lead the development of Yamaha's new 800cc project for 2007. His input will be invaluable and we believe we will be able to challenge to win the title next year with the new bike. Both Valentino and Yamaha relish the new challenge ahead. "In the meantime our short term goal is to provide him with the means to defend his MotoGP title this year. We are confident that Valentino can recover from an unlucky start to his title defence, starting at our Factory Team's home race in Mugello this weekend." "I'm very pleased to be staying with Yamaha next year", announced the 27-year-old from Tavullia, "These past two years with Yamaha have been two of the best of my career and I am extremely happy to stay with them and with my team. I believe I have made the right choice and I am very excited about the challenge of a new class of racing with Yamaha next year."
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

'Home' race presents fresh challenge for Camel Yamaha Team

The Camel Yamaha Team heads into its home Grand Prix this weekend looking to turn a stuttering start to the season into a consistent challenge for MotoGP World Championship honours. The fast and flowing Mugello circuit in Italy presents an entirely different challenge to the tight complexities of recent tracks such as Le Mans and Shanghai and both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards hope it can also deliver a similar contrast in the fortunes that have followed them around the world during a dramatic opening five rounds of the campaign. Rossi, in particular, is keen to get his fifth title defence back on track in front of his adoring Italian public. The Tavullia-born superstar, who was last week honoured with the 'Spirit of Sport' award at the prestigious Laureus Sports Awards, is aiming to add another prize to his trophy cabinet by claiming his fifth consecutive victory at the Mugello circuit. Edwards is equally focused on the top step of the podium after again demonstrating winning potential at the last round in France. The American was forced into the gravel in the first turn but he battled through from last place to take sixth overall and finish just eleven seconds down on the race winner. Like Rossi, he knows that if things play in his favour this weekend it can be a glorious return home for the Monza-based team. Valentino Rossi: Eleven wins should do it! After failing to score points at the last two rounds because of freak tyre and engine problems, Rossi now trails series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) by 43 points and lies eighth in the championship - his worst ever start to a World Championship season in any class. However, with a typical air of optimism based on confidence in his unrivalled ability, the Italian refuses to consider defeat at this early stage of the season and says this weekend is the ideal time to turn things around. "Mugello has been very good to me over the past few years - it is a very special race and this season it is even more important than ever," admits Rossi. "I have had some incredible emotions there over the years and it is always a very busy weekend for me, but it is crucial that we maintain our focus on the job because we have to be at 100% if we want to win again. The new chassis worked well at Le Mans and we have some good data from the test to improve it at Mugello so I have reason to be confident."  If Rossi did go on to win the title this year he would be the first rider ever to do so having had only one podium finish in the first five races of the year. It is the kind of challenge he relishes. "We have had a lot of bad luck but I don't think 43 points is such a big gap when there are still twelve races left," he says. "It will be difficult to win them all but I will settle for taking eleven wins and one second place! When you look at what has happened to us this season, mostly things out of our control, I probably lost 25 points in France, 16 in China and 14 in Jerez so if it wasn't for all that I would be in a much better situation in the championship now. I think we showed our true potential last weekend and it is just a matter of our luck changing now. Mugello would be the perfect place for that." Colin Edwards: A family affair Colin Edwards has more than one reason to look forward to Mugello, both on and off the track. During a gruelling run of races visiting all corners of the globe over the last two months the Texan has not had much chance to see his young son Hayes, but the baby, who was born in December, will be making his first visit to Europe this week and staying on the road with the whole family during the upcoming run of races on the continent. The proud father hopes family life on the road can provide the foundation to a series of positive results. "Hayes will be coming over with my daughter Gracie and my wife Alyssia so obviously I'm really looking forward to that," admits Edwards. "I love being with the family and living out of the motorhome instead of travelling all over the place staying in hotels. I find it helps me to focus on my performance on the track and hopefully it can give me an extra edge this weekend. That is the most important thing and at this stage of the season, with the way things have gone recently, we need every advantage we can get." Another plus point for Edwards this week will be the delivery of a new chassis for his YZR-M1 machine, used by Rossi with positive results at the last round in Le Mans. "My bike has been the same since Turkey and whilst I have got comfortable with it now I think we have reached the limit in some areas. I did thirty laps with the new chassis at the Le Mans test and I could clearly see the extra potential. Now I'll have one from the start at Mugello and so that's something for us to get our teeth into from the first session and see how far we can go." Davide Brivio: Excitement at home! Whilst recognising that recent results have not lived up to expectations, Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio remains upbeat that his riders are still on course to meet their objectives for the season. The Italian has been encouraged by recent progress made by Yamaha's engineers and says a simple turn in fortune is now all that is required for both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards to be challenging at the sharp end of the field. "In the last race at Le Mans we had a lot of bad luck but it was a very important and encouraging weekend for us to confirm the general progress we are making with the bike," says Brivio. "Valentino was riding steadily in the lead and probably would have won quite comfortably, whilst Colin also had an excellent race to come through from last place and finish sixth so we know we have something to build on and we want to continue with this progression. "We have twelve races left to get points back and the first stage of the recovery is this weekend at Mugello. All we can do is try to gather as many points from race to race and that means taking victory on Sunday. It is a home race for Valentino and for half of the team so it will be important for us to have the support of the big Italian crowd to help us do this. This has been an unpredictable championship so far but something we can be certain of at Mugello is that it will be very hot and very exciting!" Technically speaking: Mugello according to Daniele Romagnoli At 5.245km the Mugello circuit is one of the longer contemporary MotoGP circuits, in no small part due to the fact that it has retained its original length and layout. Running across two sides of an impossibly scenic Tuscan valley, Mugello differs from other fast circuits in its frequent changes of gradient and the speed of its chicanes. There is a mix of slower and high-speed corners, although even the slowest corners are wide, allowing several 'ideal' lines and putting the emphasis on rider skill as well as chassis set-up precision. "Mugello is a very technical track," explains Daniele Romagnoli, Colin Edwards' Italian Chief Mechanic. "Chassis set-up is perhaps the most important thing but you also need a good engine for the straight because there is around 950m with the throttle fully open. The gearing is also important at this point - you need small gaps between fourth, fifth and sixth gear to get the most out of the engine. "Generally it is a very complex track and the rider can make the difference. It has a very hard braking into turn one, where the riders go from around 330km/h to just 85km/h. Then there is a sequence of 'esses' where it is important to have a bike that has good turning capabilities and agility. There are some quick changes in direction, with uphill and downhill turns, so you need a good compromise with the set-up to make it turn well in both types of corner." Romagnoli adds that the delivery of a new chassis for Edwards at this round could not have come at a better time. "The new chassis has improved the performance of the front end of the bike, particularly in terms of turning and stability on corner entry. It has also improved the chatter problems that we have experienced and this will be crucial at Mugello because there are some very fast corners and a lot of lateral load on the bike." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 80 (54 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 162 (102 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 53 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Mugello Lap Record: Max Biaggi (Honda) 2005 - 1'50.117 Mugello Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'49.223 2005 Results 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 42'42.994 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda, +0.359 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, +3.874
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Season's best for Yamaha Motor Italia

Yamaha Motor Italia enjoyed its best day of the season at Silverstone today, with Noriyuki Haga racing to two second places and Andrew Pitt fighting through from 11th on the grid to take fourth and fifth place finishes. Haga raced into the lead in both outings, only to be caught by championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The pair had a fantastic battle each time, with the Ducati rider just managing to pull a slight gap on the charging Haga in both races. Having had only limited dry weather practice, the ever-popular Japanese star made a few minor suspension changes to his YZF-R1 for the second race, allowing him to run closer to Bayliss than in the first but unable to quite make a decisive move on the dominant Australian. For Pitt the Silverstone races were made difficult after qualifying on the third row in Saturday's wet conditions, although the Australian was able to show his true pace in the dry races. In both races Pitt made a good start and lapped faster than the leaders as he scythed through the field to challenge James Toseland (Honda) for the third step on the podium. However, the Yamaha rider used up too much of his front tyre and was unable to close the gap on the Brit, using his head to bring his YZF-R1 home for 24 points over the two races. Race one had been delayed following two huge crashes on the first lap. Thankfully no riders were injured but the incidents brought the red flags out and a delay while marshals cleared up the carnage. Both races followed a similar pattern with local favourite Toseland winning the battle for third. In the championship Bayliss extends his lead to 76 points over second placed Troy Corser (Suzuki). Haga moves up two places to third in the championship, just 16 points behind Corser, with Pitt maintaining his sixth place in the points standings. Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe retained his ninth place in the championship, finishing 10th and 11th in the races. It was a difficult weekend for the Japanese star, who was troubled by the wrist injury he sustained in Monza. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi did not race after crashing on a wet patch in the morning warm-up. The Japanese rider has broken the radius bone in his right arm but hopes to be fit to race in Misano in four weeks time. Sebastien Gimbert retired from both races with electrical problems on another Yamaha Motor France bike. Twenty-one-year-old wild-card Tommy Hill, who grabbed the headlines by setting pole position in Saturday's wet superpole rode sensibly to take a pair of 12th place finishes on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha. Round six of the series takes place at Misano on 25 June. Copyright-free photography (for editorial use) and further information on Yamaha's racing activities, including a regular column by Noriyuki Haga, can be found at www.yamaha-racing.com. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I enjoyed the battles with Troy today and all weekend I had a good feeling with the bike in both the wet and dry. It's a shame that we weren't able to test much in the dry. I had to make some suspension changes between the races and it improved the bike but still I did not have enough traction in the last laps. But I am happy with the results and to move up the championship. We have some more testing planned before the race in Misano. We have already had a good test at Misano so I am looking forward to a good race there as well." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm fairly happy with that. I felt I was in with a good shot at the podium but I just couldn't keep the lap times going at the end. I was using the softest front tyre, which I think the other guys had too, but my style pushes the front quite hard and I had to ride very aggressively in the opening laps. At the end the front was moving around a fair bit and it was getting hard to hang on to Toseland. What I've got to do now is make sure that I get the Saturdays right so that I don't give myself as much to do on the race day because I have proved that the bike is working well and I am capable of getting up on the podium." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I did my very best and our settings were not so bad, considering we had so little set-up time in dry conditions. We changed the settings between the two races and the lap times were better, even if the position went down. I would not normally be happy with 10th or 11th places, but today we did our best. A very hard track, and a very physical race considering my wrist is still not 100 percent." Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "I was very nervous on the grid, until remembered that I was on pole because I won superpole, which calmed me down a bit. We finished pretty much were we expected to finish, but I couldn't believe the speed of the world superbike guys from the very first lap. Normally in a British championship race people build up to speed but here everyone races at 110 percent from the very first lap." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "Three big crashes were not what I needed this weekend. My bike misfired with an electrical problem in both races. The problem seems to be some wires damaged in the practice crashes but it is disappointing because it is now three races and no results." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I crashed on a slippery part of the track and my arm is broken. I will miss the tests we have planned but I am hoping to be back for the races in Misano." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Both our riders did an excellent job today and we have reached our goals for the weekend. Our target was to take points from Corser and leave with Nori third in the championship, which we have achieved. Andrew also rode very well from the third row, especially in the second race when he was so close to a podium finish. Again we made some small steps forward with the bike. They are small steps but it is encouraging that they are working and we are going in the right direction. We now have a test at Brno with all the other Pirelli development teams before Misano, where I am confident of a good performance." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "A very difficult weekend for us and a bad day for Nakatomi, who broke his right radius bone. A simple break but a break all the same. Gimbert had three crashes and we saw the result of that today. The wiring loom had been damaged, but we did not realise at the time and in each race he had a misfire, which caused him to retire. Only Abe saved our honour, with two hard rides after a lack of practice time - although he is not so happy because he expected more." Race classification WSB Round: 5 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 26.299 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 26.299 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Race: 28 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  40' 49.894  2   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +0.890  3   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  +1.705  4   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +8.285  5   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +12.303  6   C. Walker Kawasaki  GBR  +23.716  7   R. Laconi Kawasaki  FRA  +25.483  8   K. Muggeridge Honda  AUS  +26.049  9   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +29.650  10   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +32.208  11   F. Nieto Kawasaki  ESP  +39.607  12   T. Hill Yamaha  GBR  +41.550  13   L. Lanzi Ducati  ITA  +41.935  14   Y. Kagayama Suzuki  JPN  +50.385  15   G. Nannelli Honda  ITA  +52.726  Race 2: 28 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  40' 42.003  2   N. Haga Yamaha  JPN  +1.585  3   J. Toseland Honda  GBR  +12.058  4   A. Pitt Yamaha  AUS  +14.561  5   A. Barros Honda  BRA  +16.826  6   T. Corser Suzuki  AUS  +21.230  7   R. Xaus Ducati  ESP  +22.056  8   C. Walker Kawasaki  GBR  +22.549  9   K. Muggeridge Honda  AUS  +22.708  10   F. Nieto Kawasaki  ESP  +34.025  11   N. Abe Yamaha  JPN  +34.739  12   T. Hill Yamaha  GBR  +35.112  13   Y. Kagayama Suzuki  JPN  +35.518  14   R. Laconi Kawasaki  FRA  +36.322  15   M. Fabrizio Honda  ITA  +47.850  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   T. Bayliss Ducati  AUS  1' 26.299  Championship standings WSB Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Troy Bayliss Ducati  AUS 225  2   Troy Corser Suzuki  AUS 149  3   Noriyuki Haga Yamaha  JPN 133  4   James Toseland Honda  GBR 129  5   Alex Barros Honda  BRA 113  6   Andrew Pitt Yamaha  AUS 103  7   Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati  ITA 62  8   Ruben Xaus Ducati  ESP 56  9   Norick Abe Yamaha  JPN 51  10   Chris Walker Kawasaki  GBR 51  11   Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki  ESP 48  12   Roberto Rolfo Ducati  ITA 46  13   Karl Muggeridge Honda  AUS 45  14   Regis Laconi Kawasaki  FRA 42  15   Michel Fabrizio Honda  ITA 37  17   Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha  JPN 18  23   Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha  FRA 7  Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Ducati 226  2  Suzuki 161  3  Honda 156  4  Yamaha 153  5  Kawasaki 75  6  Petronas 4  WSS : Silverstone brings double podium for Yamaha Motor Germany Round: 5 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Date: 28 May 2006 Crowd: 71000 Temp: 15ºC Weather: Dry Yamaha Motor Germany riders Broc Parkes and Kevin Curtain took advantages of development work on their Yamaha YZF-R6s to finish second and third in a sunny fifth round of the Supersport World Championship at Silverstone today. Having brought a new development of the YZF-R6 engine with more mid-range power to Silverstone, the Australians pushed defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) hard over the opening laps. Parkes set the fastest lap of the race on lap four, however a lack of dry-weather set-up time, brought on by two day's of wet practice, meant that the Yamaha riders dropped off the pace slightly as the rear end grid decreased from around half distance. The team-mates then engaged their own personal duel before Parkes was able to pull out a slight advantage on his more senior colleague and take second at the flag. Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli had a good race at Silverstone, ending the day in sixth place after a thrilling race-long battle with Yamaha privateer Xavi Fores and Honda riders Robbin Harms, Mattieu Lagrive and Johan Stigefelt. Harms just finished at the front of the train, with Fores ending the day in seventh. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa came from dead last at the end of the first lap to finish 11th. The result sees Curtain consolidate his second place in the championship, 40 points behind Charpentier after five of the 12 championship rounds. Parkes moves up to fourth place with Roccoli sixth. The sixth round of the championship takes place at Misano in Italy in one month's time. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The bike is working really well at the moment but we didn't have a lot of time to set it up this weekend. But on Sunday afternoon I found something that was working pretty well. I felt a lot better at quarter distance into the race, but at that time I really didn't get the chance to get past Sebastien. But things are good for me, getting better and better, but it hasn't been easy for me this year, after some good qualifying performances but problems in the races. So I'm happy to score this and I'm looking forward to getting better and better." Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "Things were going ok until I ran out of rear grip. I changed to my second bike this morning, after the free practice of warm-up. In general we did not have a lot of dry time for set-up because it has been raining so much this weekend. But it was important to get a good haul of points after losing a whole bunch in Monza." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "A difficult race because Silverstone is a physically demanding circuit and we had very little time in the dry. I couldn't hold Harms off in the end but I'm pleased with sixth and getting some more good championship points." Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "We are really happy with the results today, especially with all the new parts we've brought this weekend. Seeing both riders on the podium is good for the team spirit, especially after the DNF in Monza. We are looking forward to the three day test in Brno. This is a track that really suits the Yamaha. We should be able to make some improvements to the suspension because the bike is so new and we are learning about it with every lap we do." Race classification WSS Round: 5 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 29.027 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 28.750 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Race: 28 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Charpentier Honda  FRA  41' 54.640  2   B. Parkes Yamaha  AUS  +2.802  3   K. Curtain Yamaha  AUS  +6.767  4   P. Riba Kawasaki  ESP  +17.116  5   R. Harms Honda  DNK  +26.102  6   M. Roccoli Yamaha  ITA  +27.097  7   X. Fores Yamaha  ESP  +27.492  8   M. Lagrive Honda  FRA  +27.492  9   J. Stigefelt Honda  SWE  +29.073  10   K. Fujiwara Honda  JPN  +41.265  11   D. Checa Yamaha  ESP  +41.615  12   M. Berger Kawasaki  FRA  +43.602  13   K. Andersen Suzuki  NOR  +44.079  14   Y. Tibero Honda  FRA  +47.538  15   S. Easton Ducati  GBR  +49.619  Championship standings WSS   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Sebastien Charpentier Honda  FRA 116  2   Kevin Curtain Yamaha  AUS 76  3   Robbin Harms Honda  DNK 63  4   Broc Parkes Yamaha  AUS 58  5   Yoann Tibero Honda  FRA 50  6   Massimo Roccoli Yamaha  ITA 46  7   Xavi Fores Yamaha  ESP 39  8   Johan Stigefelt Honda  SWE 35  9   Kenan Sofuoglu Honda  TUR 27  10   Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda  JPN 22  11   Joshua Brookes Ducati  AUS 21  12   Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha  ITA 17  13   Christian Zaiser Ducati  AUT 15  14   Pere Riba Kawasaki  ESP 13  15   Sebastien Le Grelle Honda  BEL 12  19   David Checa Yamaha  ESP 8  Manufacturers standings WSS Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 125  2  Yamaha 93  3  Ducati 34  4  Kawasaki 27  5  Suzuki 10  FIM Superstock 1000 Cup : Corti takes first win on R1 at Silverstone Round: 3 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Date: 28 May 2006 Crowd: 71000 Temp: 19ºC Weather: Dry Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti took his first win in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Silverstone today. Starting from pole position the Italian protégé battled intensely with championship leader Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) in the opening laps, before pulling away to take a comfortable win at the end of the 15-lap race. Polita held off Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta) for second. Emilio Rocamora took fifth place on his YZF-R1SP with Ilario Dionsi making it three Yamahas in the top six. In the championship Polita remains in the lead, with a 22 point advantage over second placed Badovini. Corti moves up to third in the standings, 31 points behind the leader. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "It was a hard race because Alessandro was very fast, especially on the first half of the track. We were able to have a good battle and eventually I was able to build a small gap. I'm really happy to have taken my first world championship win on the R1 and I'm hoping to close the gap in the championship in Misano." Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Round: 3 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 29.615 (Massimo Roccoli, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 29.392 (Massimo Roccoli, 2005) Race: 15 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   C. Corti Yamaha  ITA  22' 38.681  2   A. Polita Suzuki  ITA  +1.251  3   A. Badovini MV Agusta  ITA  +2.118  4   L. Scassa MV Agusta  ITA  +2.266  5   E. Rocamora Yamaha  ESP  +11.713  6   I. Dionisi Yamaha  ITA  +12.548  7   S. Morais Suzuki  RSA  +12.682  8   D. Sacchetti Kawasaki  ITA  +15.355  9   M. Baiocco Yamaha  ITA  +17.405  10   L. Napoleone Suzuki  FRA  +18.546  11   R. Chiarello Kawasaki  ITA  +20.826  12   A. Martinez Mas Kawasaki  ESP  +21.952  13   R. Cooper Honda  GBR  +23.090  14   M. Smrz Honda  CZE  +24.975  15   C. Tangre Suzuki  FRA  +26.119  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   C. Corti Yamaha  ITA  1' 29.661  Championship standings FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Alessandro Polita Suzuki  ITA 70  2   Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta  ITA 48  3   Claudio Corti Yamaha  ITA 39  4   Luca Scassa MV Agusta  ITA 35  5   Enrique Rocamora Yamaha  ESP 29  6   Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki  ITA 27  7   Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki  ITA 27  8   Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki  ESP 24  9   Ivan Silva Kawasaki  ESP 20  10   Matteo Baiocco Yamaha  ITA 19  11   Ilario Dionisi Yamaha  ITA 19  12   Sheridan Morais Suzuki  RSA 18  13   Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki  ITA 13  14   Loic Napoleone Suzuki  FRA 10  15   Simone Saltarelli Kawasaki  ITA 9
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Wild-card Tommy puts Yamaha on Silverstone pole

Yamaha-riding British wild-card Tommy Hill, who normally competes in his national championship, had a sensational world championship debut, taking pole position on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 at Silverstone today. For the first time this year superpole was run under wet weather regulations, giving each rider 50 minutes and 12 laps in which to set their qualifying time, rather than the usual one flying lap in dry conditions.  The 21-year-old former British R6 Cup champion did all his laps in one stint, riding spectacularly to head the times for much of the superpole session. Hill slid off on his final lap while try to improve his pole position time of 1:38.001. Despite the slip-up, no other rider could knock the Virgin Mobile Yamaha rider from the top of the time sheets and he will start his first ever world superbike races from the front of the grid tomorrow. Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga grabbed a front row start at Silverstone, powering his YZF-R1 to the fourth fastest time at the British circuit. The Japanese star has been consistently strong in both the wet and dry, although he was forced to use his spare machine for the superpole after his number one machine developed a a vibration in the preceding free practice session. Haga used all his experience to stay upright in the slippery conditions and get a valuable front row start at a circuit where he has excelled in the past. With the rain stopping and the sun making its first appearance of the day the track prior to the session, the Yamaha Motor Italia duo stayed in the pits until 20 minutes into the session in the hope that the conditions would improve. With heavy rain falling throughout the day, the riders have been unable to work on improving the settings for what are expected to be dry conditions for tomorrow's races. Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt was a disappointed 11th after superpole. The Australian rode strongly in the dry conditions, going into superpole as the sixth fastest rider, but the rider and his team could not find an ideal wet weather setting and Pitt struggled for grip in the wet superpole session. Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe completed the five YZF-R1 riders competing in superpole. Gimbert crashed on his first lap in superpole, his third tumble of the weekend, but came back to 12th on his spare machine. Abe, no fan of the wet conditions, finished 15th after superpole - improving his position from regular qualifying by one position. Shinichi Nakatomi will start the race from 20th position after failing to make the top 16 in yesterday's opening qualifying session. The Japanese newcomer is making his first visit to the historic British circuit and is looking to score some more championship points despite having completed only one session in dry conditions. Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "I can't believe that I'll be starting my first world superbike races ahead of the guys that I am used to watching on television! I'm not sure what to expect from the races and I think that it'll only really sink in when I'm sitting on the grid tomorrow. It was probably just as well that I crashed as we are so far down the pit lane that I couldn't read my lap board properly. I was feeling really comfortable and I would probably have stayed out even longer if I hadn't come off and been penalized for doing too many laps! It's great to be here and riding on the same tyres as everyone else. I like the wet but it'll be nice for the fans if it's dry tomorrow as we have had so many wet races in the British championship this year. In the dry I'd love to get a top eight but for now I'm just enjoying what we've achieved today." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "This circuit has no grip and is very scary in the rain. We waited a while to see if the track would dry but it was still very slippery out there. I almost crashed many times so I am really happy to be on the front row. We have a good setting for wet or dry, so I think I can make a good race tomorrow. I hope for sunshine but this is England and no-one ever knows what the weather will do here!" Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We are struggling for rear grip in the wet and it didn't matter what we did we couldn't improve the situation. We've got a good set-up for the dry so I'm hoping that there's no rain tomorrow. It will be tough from the third row of the grid though." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "Not so bad but I was not feeling 100 percent after the crash in superpole. I have had quite a few crashes this weekend and need to rest up and get ready for the race." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I am still trying to find a good feeling with the superbike and the Pirelli tyres in rain conditions, so I was not pleased that qualifying was wet today. The forecast for tomorrow is dry so I am hoping that we can have some good races." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I'd have liked at least one more hour in dry conditions today as it has been difficult trying to learn the circuit in these conditions. I have never ridden at Silverstone before and it was difficult to find out about the circuit while I am still learning the characteristics of this bike and the wet-weather Pirelli tyres." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Nori is running strongly in both conditions and is ready to fight at the front tomorrow. His bike developed an unusual vibration before the superpole so we decided not to risk anything and switch to the spare bike. The set-ups are almost identical so this was not such a problem. Andrew had some problems with the back of the bike coming around when he backed off the throttle and this has dropped him back a little. Tonight we will follow the weather forecast. It looks like being dry but we will prepare a wet weather bike and a dry weather bike for each rider. In case of a dry race we already know which front tyre to use and will have the 20 minute warm-up to make our final decision on the rear."    Round: 5 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 27.130 (Regis Laconi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 26.679 (Yukio Kagayama, 2005) Date: 27 May 2006 Temp: 11ºC Session 2 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying  2nd Qualifying   Superpole  1  T. Hill  Yamaha  GBR   1' 27.807     N/A     1' 38.001  2  T. Bayliss  Ducati  AUS   1' 27.011     N/A     1' 38.254  3  C. Walker  Kawasaki  GBR   1' 27.656     1' 58.930     1' 38.265  4  N. Haga  Yamaha  JPN   1' 27.364     1' 46.090     1' 38.546  5  M. Fabrizio  Honda  ITA   1' 28.078     1' 52.640     1' 38.899  6  A. Barros  Honda  BRA   1' 27.940     1' 45.802     1' 39.082  7  R. Xaus  Ducati  ESP   1' 27.810     N/A     1' 39.388  8  K. Muggeridge  Honda  AUS   1' 27.648     N/A     1' 40.023  9  R. Laconi  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 27.721     1' 51.550     1' 40.042  10  T. Corser  Suzuki  AUS   1' 27.068     1' 45.726     1' 40.181  11  A. Pitt  Yamaha  AUS   1' 27.539     1' 51.876     1' 40.552  12  S. Gimbert  Yamaha  FRA   1' 27.730     N/A     1' 40.574  13  F. Nieto  Kawasaki  ESP   1' 27.205     1' 46.955     1' 40.729  14  J. Toseland  Honda  GBR   1' 27.418     N/A     1' 41.004  15  N. Abe  Yamaha  JPN   1' 28.246     1' 51.269     1' 42.069  16  Y. Kagayama  Suzuki  JPN   1' 27.599     1' 48.928     1' 42.262  20  S. Nakatomi  Yamaha  JPN   1' 28.503     1' 53.912       WSS : Rain means no improvements for supersport riders Round: 5 - United Kingdom WSS Circuit: Silverstone Date: 27 May 2006 Temp: 14ºC Weather: Wet Heavy rain throughout the day meant that the grid positions for tomorrow's world supersport round at Silverstone were decided by the times from Friday's damp session. No riders improved their times in the soaking conditions, although Yamaha Motor Germany riders Broc Parkes and Kevin Curtain both took to the circuit for a handful of laps to test some components and their wet weather settings. Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) will start from pole position, with Curtain and Parkes alongside him in second and third place respectively. Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli heads the second row, in fifth, with Xavi Fores seventh on his privately-entered YZF-R6. Dry conditions are predicted for tomorrow's race, with the supersport competitors having had no practice in completely dry conditions.   Round: 5 - United Kingdom WSS Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 29.027 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 28.750 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Date: 27 May 2006 Temp: 14ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying  2nd Qualifying  1  S. Charpentier  Honda  FRA   1' 30.516     N/A   2  K. Curtain  Yamaha  AUS   1' 30.711     1' 55.269   3  B. Parkes  Yamaha  AUS   1' 31.001     1' 46.493   4  P. Riba  Kawasaki  ESP   1' 31.492     N/A   5  M. Roccoli  Yamaha  ITA   1' 31.657     1' 46.085   6  M. Lagrive  Honda  FRA   1' 31.692     1' 56.255   7  X. Fores  Yamaha  ESP   1' 31.963     1' 58.969   8  J. Stigefelt  Honda  SWE   1' 32.136     1' 48.307   9  K. Fujiwara  Honda  JPN   1' 32.320     1' 51.224   10  Y. Tibero  Honda  FRA   1' 32.450     N/A   11  M. Sanchini  Yamaha  ITA   1' 32.533     1' 49.784   12  K. Andersen  Suzuki  NOR   1' 32.595     1' 46.573   13  D. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 32.649     1' 45.873   14  B. Veneman  Suzuki  NED   1' 32.732     1' 47.055   15  G. Vizziello  Yamaha  ITA   1' 32.755     1' 47.946   16  M. Berger  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 32.920     1' 48.332   17  J. Enjolras  Yamaha  FRA   1' 32.995     1' 46.427   27  A. Corradi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 34.645     N/A   29  V. Ivanov  Yamaha  RUS   1' 35.041     1' 58.005   30  B. Martinez  Yamaha  ESP   1' 35.154     1' 53.001
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno

Strong showing for Yamaha in first Silverstone qualifying

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga shone in first qualifying at a damp and windy Silverstone today, ending the day in fourth place with team-mate Andrew Pitt an equally strong sixth. Morning practice took place in wet conditions and although the track was mostly dry for the one-hour afternoon qualifying, the tricky conditions caught out many big name riders and led to two stoppages caused by riders crashing. Haga, who gave the Yamaha YZF-R1 its first world superbike podium finish at Silverstone 12 months ago, looked comfortable in both the wet and dry conditions, setting the third fastest time in the rainy morning session. The Japanese rider declared himself happy with the basic set-up of his Yamaha but will work overnight with his team to further improve the machine ahead of Sunday's two 28-lap races.  Pitt made a big improvement in the closing stages of the session to end as the day's sixth fastest rider at one of his least favourite circuits. Having spent the session experimenting with the set-up of his YZF-R1, the Australian effectively switched back to his base settings to jump up the grid. With quarter of an hour to go Yamaha Motor France's Sebastien Gimbert topped the leader board. The Frenchman had suffered a spectacular crash in the morning practice, when he slid off his R1 going down the start-finish straight. The accident wrecked his machine and left him with abrasions on his back. Despite the handicap he finished the day 11th. Yamaha Motor France's Japanese duo had tougher days, with Norick Abe 16th and Shinichi Nakatomi 20th on his first visit to the circuit. Local wild-card Tommy Hill was 12th on another YZF-R1. Grid positions will be decided in tomorrow's superpole session for the top 16 riders from qualifying. With rain a strong possibility tomorrow morning, the superpole participants could well be decided on today's times. Fastest rider today was championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati), ahead of world champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki). Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Not so bad although I am a little bit angry not to get pole as I had a small problem on what should have been my fastest lap. The feeling with the bike is already good in both the wet and dry but we will work more tomorrow to try and make it better for the races." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The track was a bit patchy: you'd go in on the dry but then hit a wet bit, but it went ok for us and I'm quite happy. We started the session off well but got a bit lost with the changes we made, before going back to basics to get the lap time. We've still got a bit of a problem with the bike wheelying too much but that's the only point where I think I'm losing some time." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "I am happy with how things have gone today. The times are very close with just 0.7 second between me and the pole. It was good to be at the top of the timesheets but at the end I went out to test the race tyre rather than going for an improved time. Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "This morning the feeling with the bike was not so good, but then I have never been able to feel comfortable with the superbike in wet conditions. The afternoon was not so bad but the conditions were quite strange, with many riders going down at one corner. Every lap I would see someone else go down there and as a result I was not able to fully attack that corner until the very end. I am still having some problems with the right hand I injured in Monza. This might cause me some problems in the race, as there is a lot of hard braking at this circuit. I am happy to be in the top 16 as I will be in superpole if it rains tomorrow morning, although I hope it is dry and I can show my best." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I had a crash at the same corner as all the other riders and this meant I could not be as high as I like. I went out on a different tyre option and it caught me out but I am not injured and hope we can have some dry conditions tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "A good day. Nori's lap times are very consistent and he seem to be as fast as anyone, while Andrew made just a few changes to the set-up we have used at Monza and Mugello, suggesting that he has found a base setting that really works for him. He started out by following Toseland for a few laps but found that he could pass and go faster on his own. Compared with last year he is looking very strong and I'm pleased because both the riders are happy with their set-ups and seem to have good tyre life around this circuit."    Round: 5 - United Kingdom Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 27.130 (Regis Laconi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 26.679 (Yukio Kagayama, 2005) Date: 26 May 2006 Temp: 17ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  T. Bayliss  Ducati  AUS   1' 27.011   2  T. Corser  Suzuki  AUS   1' 27.068   3  F. Nieto  Kawasaki  ESP   1' 27.205   4  N. Haga  Yamaha  JPN   1' 27.364   5  J. Toseland  Honda  GBR   1' 27.418   6  A. Pitt  Yamaha  AUS   1' 27.539   7  Y. Kagayama  Suzuki  JPN   1' 27.599   8  K. Muggeridge  Honda  AUS   1' 27.648   9  C. Walker  Kawasaki  GBR   1' 27.656   10  R. Laconi  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 27.721   11  S. Gimbert  Yamaha  FRA   1' 27.730   12  T. Hill  Yamaha  GBR   1' 27.807   13  R. Xaus  Ducati  ESP   1' 27.810   14  A. Barros  Honda  BRA   1' 27.940   15  M. Fabrizio  Honda  ITA   1' 28.078   16  N. Abe  Yamaha  JPN   1' 28.246   20  S. Nakatomi  Yamaha  JPN   1' 28.503 WSS : Curtain and Parkes shine in Silverstone gloom Round: 5 - United Kingdom WSS Circuit: Silverstone Date: 26 May 2006 Temp: 17ºC Weather: Cloudy Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes gave a good showing on the opening day of supersport action in Silverstone, ending a damp day second and third on the overnight grid. After a morning of rain, supersport qualifying started in damp conditions. Running dry weather tyres the fastest men lapped around two seconds off lap record pace in the difficult conditions. Despite a clear dry line having formed around the circuit, the riders were faced with standing water streaming across the circuit at several points and the mental problem of a light drizzle being blown into onto their visors. Fastest in the session was championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who set a best lap of 1:30.516 - one-and-a-half seconds off his own lap record. Curtain set a best of 1:30.711 in the closing stages of the session, with Parkes a further three-tenths behind on 1:31.001. Both YZF-R6 riders declared themselves happy with their day's work, believing that they would have set quicker times had a red flag not stopped the session prematurely. Wild-card Pere Riba (Kawasaki) completes the provisional front row with Yamaha Team Italia rider Massimo Roccoli leading the second row. Spaniard David Checa was 13th fastest on the Yamaha GMT94 YZF-R6 with Gianluca Vizziello 15th on the other Yamaha Team Italia machine.    Round: 5 - United Kingdom WSS Circuit: Silverstone Circuit Length: 3619 Lap Record: 1' 29.027 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 28.750 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2005) Date: 26 May 2006 Temp: 17ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  S. Charpentier  Honda  FRA   1' 30.516   2  K. Curtain  Yamaha  AUS   1' 30.711   3  B. Parkes  Yamaha  AUS   1' 31.001   4  P. Riba  Kawasaki  ESP   1' 31.492   5  M. Roccoli  Yamaha  ITA   1' 31.657   6  M. Lagrive  Honda  FRA   1' 31.692   7  X. Fores  Yamaha  ESP   1' 31.963   8  J. Stigefelt  Honda  SWE   1' 32.136   9  K. Fujiwara  Honda  JPN   1' 32.320   10  Y. Tibero  Honda  FRA   1' 32.450   11  M. Sanchini  Yamaha  ITA   1' 32.533   12  K. Andersen  Suzuki  NOR   1' 32.595   13  D. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 32.649   14  B. Veneman  Suzuki  NED   1' 32.732   15  G. Vizziello  Yamaha  ITA   1' 32.755   16  M. Berger  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 32.920   17  J. Enjolras  Yamaha  FRA   1' 32.995   27  A. Corradi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 34.645   29  V. Ivanov  Yamaha  RUS   1' 35.041   30  B. Martinez  Yamaha  ESP   1' 35.154
Alex Asigno
Alex Asigno