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Yamaha Racing News

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Everts takes another win at Valance

Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts continued his victorious pre-season form by taking another overall triumph at the Valance International in France yesterday. The Belgian and reigning MX1 World Champion has won every major 'warm-up' event since the motocross calendar cranked into life at Mantova, Italy in February. His fifth success in as many weeks arrived thanks to another 1-1 set of results. He holeshotted both motos and enjoyed a tussle with KTM's Mickael Pichon in the first race before defeating his great rival. In the second sprint he controlled the heat from the first turn until the chequered flag. "In the first race I holeshotted but I had a small crash after a few laps and that put me back to fourth," he said. "Two laps later I had worked my way back to second and was attacking Pichon. It was a difficult track to pass and we had a tough battle; it must have been quite spectacular for the fans! Towards the end I was able to make a pass and won the heat." "In the second moto my start was again very good," he added. "Another holeshot meant that I was able to lead from start to finish. After fifteen minutes I already had a small gap over the others." Everts has now guided the YZ 450FM to the top of the podium in Belgium, Italy, France (twice) and the United Kingdom and is perfectly placed to stretch the run into the first round of the 2006 FIM World Championships that will take place on April 1st/2nd at Zolder in Belgium for the Grand Prix of Flanders. "This was my last race until Zolder and the whole pre-season period has left me with a great feeling," he concluded. "I will train hard for another few days and then take a small break before the first Grand Prix so that my body is fresh. To start so well in Valance was something incredible. Half of the race is won with a holeshot. In the past I have been struggling but we have worked on the bike and hopefully we will have a hard package to beat for the GPs." Cedric Melotte is still recovering from his injured wrist but was able to post results of 16th and 10th. Bike it Yamaha's Julien Bill grabbed a decent 6th position in the second moto. MX1 Moto1 1 Everts 2 Pichon 3 Tortelli 4 T.Leok 5 Leuret 6 Demaria 7 S.Pourcel 8 Friebergs 9 Martin 10 Theybers 16 Melotte MX1 Moto2 1 Everts 2 Tortelli 3 Pichon 4 S.Pourcel 5 Leuret 6 Bill 7 Demaria 8 Breugelmans 9 Martin 10 Melotte
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Jerez free practice

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi kicked off his MotoGP World Championship defence in fine style today, setting the fastest lap time in the first free practice sessions for the opening round of the 2006 season at Jerez. After light rain showers hit the track this morning, when Rossi decided not to ride and his team-mate Colin Edwards put in just two laps, both riders were able to work without interruption in the afternoon as they aimed to iron out set-up difficulties encountered in recent pre-season tests at this circuit. Whilst Rossi was able to overcome the majority of his problems, immediately finding the right direction to work with the team's engineers and technicians, Edwards suffered a minor setback today but he is confident that he can recover lost ground in tomorrow morning's final free practice before the crucial afternoon qualifying session. The American clocked the seventh fastest time today as Loris Capirossi (Ducati) produced the strongest challenge to Rossi's dominance, lapping 0.012 seconds slower than his Italian compatriot. Valentino Rossi (1'41.613, 24 laps) "We haven't fixed everything just yet but the Yamaha engineers came up with a few ideas to solve the vibrations we suffered during the test and they all worked. So far we have come up with a setting that allows me to ride in a better way to control the bike and, even though we still have some small vibrations, it is giving us less problems. This is the perfect way to start the season and I am really happy with the way the team have worked. This afternoon the track conditions were still not perfect so the times weren't so fast, but I think tomorrow it will be better. Tomorrow we have to keep working hard to come up with some more solutions and I am sure we will be in good shape for the race. There is already a good atmosphere and I can't wait until Sunday!" Colin Edwards (1'42.266, 28 laps) "To be honest things didn't go as we would have wished today. After losing an hour this morning because of the weather we missed out on another 45 minutes in the afternoon. I felt something was wrong but it took a long time for us to work it out. Basically there was too much pressure in the tyre and once we realised that we were able to start working properly - unfortunately it was a bit too late to be reflected in the lap times. Looking across the garage we can see that the engineers have got some really good data that will definitely help us tomorrow to refine the set-up and sort out some of the problems we had in the test. It will be two important hours but I have full confidence in the job the team is doing." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It looks like we are making improvements and moving in the right direction, which is very encouraging at this early stage of the weekend. We lost this morning's session to the weather but I have to say that the engineers and the technicians made the most of the available time to make the first adjustments to the bikes. Both riders have done a different job today, and our team has great cooperation so now we can put all this information together and find the best way forward for both riders tomorrow morning. Hopefully the bad weather is now out of the way for the rest of the weekend." Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez Circuit: Jerez Circuit Length: 4423 Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.419 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Date: 24 March 2006 Temp: 20ºC Free Practice :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  Free Practice  1  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 41.613   2  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 41.625   3  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 41.798   4  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 41.798   5  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 41.939   6  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 42.108   7  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 42.266   8  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 42.276   9  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 42.455   10  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 42.518   11  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 42.538   12  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 42.552   13  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 42.608   14  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 42.727   15  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 42.868   19  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 45.239
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Jerez qualifying

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards face an uphill battle in the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship tomorrow after vibration problems returned in this afternoon's qualifying practice at Jerez. After making progress with his YZR-M1 machine in yesterday's free practice, Rossi's cause was not helped by an incident early in today's session, when he became the first of five riders to end up in the gravel after oil was spilled on the track by another competitor. The red flags were duly raised and when the pit-lane reopened both Rossi and Edwards worked against the clock to solve their difficulties ahead of tomorrow's 27-lap race. However, bad luck struck for Edwards when he suffered a puncture to his rear tyre and the American was only able to qualify tenth fastest, one place behind his Italian team-mate. Pole position went to Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in an outright circuit record time of 1'39.064 and the Italian will be joined on the front row by his team-mate Sete Gibernau and Japanese rider Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki). Valentino Rossi (9th - 1'40.160, 28 laps) "I thought we had solved a lot of the problems yesterday but today they came back. The bike is still vibrating and with the qualifying tyre the problem became worse because the extra grip on the rear pushed the front even harder. Basically we are losing time in every part of the corner. Also the crash at the start of the session didn't help but we can't use that as an excuse. I have won the first race of the season every year since 2001 but it is going to be difficult tomorrow. I have always found that it helps to start the season with a win so I will still be going for it!" Colin Edwards (10th - 1'40.181, 23 laps) "I suppose you could say we are up the creek but the important day is tomorrow so we still have a paddle! Just when we thought we had the problem sorted out it has come creeping back. We've had three days of tests here and now two days this weekend but we just can't get on top of it. The vibration in the corners comes in at a certain speed so the effect is like having a speed limiter on the bike. To make things worse I had a puncture in my first qualifying tyre so we lost time at the end of the session too. Things don't look to be going too well for us at the moment but we'll try to pull a rabbit out of the hat tomorrow." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "We still have some work to do to solve the problems completely. It has been a strange weekend because yesterday we lost a whole session because of the weather and then today we had another setback when Valentino crashed on the oil left by Alex Hofmann's bike. It didn't help because we had some solutions we wanted to try on that bike. It seems things are conspiring to make life difficult for us but we won't give up. It is clearly not a good situation with regard to the starting grid but the pace of the front riders is not too far from our own. If we can make some slight improvements in the morning then I think we will be in the right shape for a good race."    Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez Circuit: Jerez Circuit Length: 4423 Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.064 (Loris Capirossi, 2006) Date: 25 March 2006 Temp: 20ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 39.064   2  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 39.285   3  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 39.526   4  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 39.666   5  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 39.734   6  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 39.875   7  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 39.932   8  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 40.146   9  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 40.160   10  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 40.181   11  C. Vermeulen  Suzuki  AUS   1' 40.215   12  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 40.340   13  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 40.497   14  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 40.851   15  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 40.982   16  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 41.119   18  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 42.267
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Jerez race

An eventful weekend at Jerez ended in disappointing fashion today as both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got caught in a first corner melee that ended their hopes of glory in the opening round of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship. The Camel Yamaha Team pair made good starts from ninth and tenth on the grid respectively but a collision between Rossi and Toni Elías (Honda) on the inside of turn one saw the Italian knocked from his YZR-M1 and sent Edwards wide into the gravel trap.  Despite some damage to his bike, Rossi showed the character of a true World Champion as he returned to the track, battling his way back into the field and picking off several riders to secure two championship points in fourteenth place. Edwards, meanwhile, fought from second last to eleventh by the end of the 27-lap encounter. Victory went to pole setter Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in a race time of 45'57.733, but he was pushed hard by second-placed Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on his debut in the MotoGP class. Nicky Hayden (Honda) completed the podium. Colin Edwards (11th; + 37.930) "I probably made the best race start of my whole life, Valentino got away well too and we went together into the first bend. Elias came up on the inside and I actually saw everything happen but to be honest I thought Vale would be able to stay on the bike so I kept my corner speed and tried to just run it around the outside. Unfortunately he went down and I had nowhere to go but the gravel. It really capped the weekend off for us but the truth is that we weren't fast enough to challenge today. This track has been a real pain for us and I can't wait to get away. We've got a test tomorrow but I'll be happy when we get to Qatar, where the bike worked really well in testing." Valentino Rossi (14th; + 1'05.766) "We knew this was going to be a difficult race but maybe not so difficult! I saw Toni come up on the inside and he hit me; this is racing and these things happen. I have known Toni for many years and he is a good rider. He apologised to me after the race so I told him not to worry - only to remember to brake next time and if it is too late then to hit another bike instead of me! Anyway I came back on the track and had a nice battle with Alex Hofmann. I am disappointed because I wanted to win the first race of the season but there is nothing we can do now. Only work hard to make sure we don't have these problems again and look forward to the next race in Qatar." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It seems that everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us this weekend. On Friday morning when we needed the time to test it rained and things have gone continually against us since then. We obviously still have a lot of work to do and for some reason our bike clearly doesn't work at this circuit so we are keen to find out why, if we can, in tomorrow's test. The engineers have a lot of data and everyone is working at 100% to find a solution. We were fast at Sepang, Qatar and Catalunya so there is no need to panic and we can look forward to the next race. On a positive note I thought both riders showed character to fight back after the first corner incident and hopefully they will have better luck next time." 
 
Race classification MotoGP Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez Circuit: Jerez Circuit Length: 4423 Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 39.064 (Loris Capirossi, 2006) Race: 27 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   L. Capirossi Ducati  ITA  45' 57.733  2   D. Pedrosa Honda  ESP  +4.375  3   N. Hayden Honda  USA  +9.996  4   T. Elias Honda  ESP  +10.135  5   M. Melandri Honda  ITA  +19.547  6   C. Stoner Honda  AUS  +21.237  7   S. Nakano Kawasaki  JPN  +21.372  8   K. Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA  +32.414  9   J. Hopkins Suzuki  USA  +32.659  10   M. Tamada Honda  JPN  +35.983  11   C. Edwards Yamaha  USA  +37.930  12   C. Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS  +39.514  13   C. Checa Yamaha  ESP  +42.829  14   V. Rossi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 5.766  15   A. Hofmann Ducati  GER  +1' 23.300  16   J. Ellison Yamaha  GBR  +1 lap(s)  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   L. Capirossi Ducati  ITA  1' 41.248  Championship standings MotoGP Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Loris Capirossi Ducati  ITA 25  2   Daniel Pedrosa Honda  ESP 20  3   Nicky Hayden Honda  USA 16 4   Toni Elias Honda  ESP 13  5   Marco Melandri Honda  ITA 11  6   Casey Stoner Honda  AUS 10  7   Shinya Nakano Kawasaki  JPN 9  8   Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA 8  9   John Hopkins Suzuki  USA 7  10   Makato Tamada Honda  JPN 6  11   Colin Edwards Yamaha  USA 5  12   Chris Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS 4  13   Carlos Checa Yamaha  ESP 3  14   Valentino Rossi Yamaha  ITA 2  15   Alex Hofmann Ducati  GER 1  Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Ducati 25  2  Honda 20  3  Kawasaki 9  4  Team Roberts KR 8  5  Suzuki 7  6  Yamaha 5  Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points  1  Repsol Honda Team 40  2  Ducati Marlboro Team 25  3  Fortuna Honda Team 24  4  Rizla Suzuki 11  5  Honda LCR 10  6  Kawasaki Racing Team 9  7  Team Roberts KR 8  8  Camel Yamaha Team 7  9  Konica Minolta Honda 6  10  Tech3 Yamaha 3  11  Pramac D'Antin 1 
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Jerez test

The Camel Yamaha Team remained in Jerez yesterday for an intense afternoon of testing in an effort to find some answers to the problems they faced over the course of the season's opening weekend. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed 72 and 76 laps respectively and made some positive steps towards understanding the cause of the vibration that kept their lap times down during the weekend's practice sessions and forced them to start from the fourth row of the grid for sunday's race. Rossi, who was brought down by another rider at the first corner of the race after a lightening start, also completed one run yesterday on the 2005-specification YZR-M1, in order to compare its performance with the 2006 bike and gather more data to help the engineers find a final solution ahead of the next race. The Camel Yamaha Team now have a week's rest before they travel to Qatar early next week for the second MotoGP race of the season. Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "After such a disappointing opening weekend to the season, it was important for us to have the chance to test yesterday. It was a very useful and interesting day for us and we were able to collect a lot of important information which we believe will help us. It was good to be able to go back to some of the settings that we tried over the weekend and to evaluate them in a more relaxed atmosphere, without the time pressure of a race weekend. "In addition we decided to have Valentino ride the 2005 M1 for a few laps so we could compare its performance at this track with that of the new bike. It was interesting to see the difference - a few things about the '05 bike are better at the moment, but overall it seems the '06 bike is still a more improved package and Valentino's fastest times yesterday were on the 2006-spec M1. Anyway the data from this comparison should help us a lot as we continue to develop the new bike. Valentino was able to make some good improvements to the performance of the '06 bike so this is encouraging for Qatar. Colin's test wasn't quite as positive but after yesterday we now have a better idea of what to do in order to bring him back to the level he was at in Barcelona. It's been an important day for us and now the Yamaha engineers will work hard to evaluate the data gathered so that we can come to Qatar and fight at the front with both riders where they belong." Times: 1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'39.910 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'40.504 3. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1'40.798 4. Casey Stoner (AUS) Team LCR, 1'40.821 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'40.845 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha Tech 3, 1'40.932 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'40.966 8. John Hopkins (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.096 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1'41.178 10. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.193 11. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1'41.234 12. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'41.400 13. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'41.442 14. Chris Vermuelen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 1'41.554 15. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team KR, 1'41.861 16. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha Tech 3, 1'42.924 17. T. Okada (JPN) 1'43.265
Alex Asigno

WSB / WSS Valencia - official test

Noriyuki Haga set the fastest Yamaha lap at a three-day official SBK practice session in Valencia, finishing sixth overall on his Yamaha Motor Italia R1, with a time of 1'35.259. He worked his way through a full testing programme and undertook an extensive evaluation of new parts and modified machine settings, in preparation for the forthcoming Valencia race on 23 April. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) set a new Superbike track best in the morning session of the final day, with a 1'33.758. Haga, unlike most of his 27 rivals at Valencia, set his best time in the final session, held in hotter and winder conditions than the more favoured mornings, and he put it down to the incremental improvements in set-up he and his team had made from the first session on. Haga's team-mate, Andrew Pitt, took his Yamaha Motor Italia R1 to a more than respectable eighth overall, in what is arguably the most competitive field in World Superbike's relatively short history. Norick Abe, from the Yamaha Motor France Ipone squad, ended his test somewhat prematurely, as he had started to run a temperature, after contracting a 'flu virus. He was to post a time good enough for 19th place, as he concentrated on trying out new engine specifications and front suspension components. Japanese World Superbike rookie Shinichi Nakatomi improved on his testing times from previous Valencia winter outings, and in the absence of team regular Sebastien Gimbert, Lorenzo Alfonsi, the 2004 European Superstock Champion, substituted on the team's third bike. Nakatomi would finish the three days 23rd, with Alfonsi 24th. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha Motor Italia "We are quite happy with the test and both bikes are working very well. The newer gas fork seems very good. Generally our settings are quite good already but to go full race distance is another thing. We tried to do a full race simulation, but we could not manage it this time. We also did not get so many laps in on qualifying tyres, but at this moment we are in good condition on race tyres. We were not that affected by the wind that builds up in the afternoon, and it was just a gradual improvement in the settings that allowed me to go faster in the final afternoon session."
 
Andrew Pitt - Yamaha Motor Italia "This is the first time we've really had the grip here that we wanted, at previous tests the grip has always been a problem, and that makes it a lot easier to open the throttle sooner. That's a really big thing. We made some improvements to the existing machine and we played around with the engine settings, taking out a bit of power here and a putting it back in there. Just trying to soften the curve a bit, and it seems to be working. I put a soft tyre in this morning and made a reasonable lap but we mostly worked on race tyre consistency, and also tried a lot of front tyres, to work out which one is going to go the distance when we come here to race." Norick Abe - Yamaha Motor France "I tried new suspension on the front today and it was a real improvement. The new forks are definitely much better. We tried many different engine specs but they gave us basically the same result. Despite my machine being the slowest of the three bikes in the team, I made my best lap time, 1'35.9 on the last day. I'm happy for that and we did a lot of laps. Unfortunately I now have a fever of 38 degrees, so I decided to finish early and go home to rest." Shinichi Nakatomi - Yamaha Motor France "I was riding to be ready for full race distance, and we made a quite good lap time compared to my previous best, which was a 1'37.4. Now I have set a 1'36.7, in race conditions. Things are much better compared to the first test, especially the chassis condition. I have more confidence on the bike now as well." Lorenzo Alfonsi - Yamaha Motor France "I could have gone faster near the end, but when I wanted to use my qualifying tyre something hit my front wheel and my brake calliper, damaging both. I think everything will be OK for the race." Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Motor Italia Team Director "I think we had a good test because we came here with a plan, to test four or five different pieces, and we got through everything. We found something to help the increased durability of the tyre, and maybe that was also down to the track conditions. We have been making progress race-by-race, and test-by-test in terms of the engine characteristic. Every time we have new mapping which works well on the development dyno it works well on the bike when we get to the track. I think Andrew and Nori, and all the team, worked very well on all three days." Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005km Lap Record: 1' 35.007 (Neil Hodgson, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.758 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Date: 27-29 March 2006 Temp: 24ºC Classification: 1 Bayliss T. Ducati AUS 1'33.758 2 Xaus R. Ducati SPA F05 1'34.659 3 Lanzi L. Ducati ITA 1'34.848 4 Corser T. Suzuki AUS 1'34.933 5 Martin S. Petronas AUS 1'35.178 6 Haga N. Yamaha JPN 1'35.295 7 Nieto F. Kawasaki SPA 1'35.377 8 Pitt A. Yamaha AUS 1'35.423 9 Fabrizio M. Honda ITA 1'35.437 10 Kagayama Y. Suzuki JPN 1'35.538 11 Barros A. Honda BRA 1'35.663 12 Walker C. Kawasaki GBR 1'35.758 13 Foret F. Suzuki FRA 1'35.771 14 Borciani M. Ducati ITA 1'35.834 15 Iannuzzo V. Suzuki ITA 1'35.873 19 Abe N. Yamaha JPN 1'35.967 23 Nakatomi S. Yamaha JPN 1'36.737 24 Alfonsi L. Yamaha ITA 1'36.900 Curtain and Parkes in the vanguard again Curtain and Parkes in the vanguard again Valencia, Spain 29/3/2006 Yamaha Motor Germany riders Broc Parkes and Kevin Curtain spent three fruitful days on track at Valencia, in what was a well-attended official SBK test. Of the 29 riders present, Curtain set the second best time, with Parkes's 1'38.443 putting him fourth overall. Quickest rider was Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). The Yamaha Motor Germany squad had one new front and one new rear control tyre to test on their new-for-2006 R6s, and an updated specification of engine management settings, each of which was deemed to be a real improvement. The team will receive another new batch of tyres for the forthcoming Misano official test, on 12 and 13 April. Massimo Roccoli finished the three days fifth fastest, with Gianluca Vizziello 11th. Reigning FIM Superstock 1000 champion Didier van Keymeulen was 17th on his R6. Kevin Curtain - Yamaha Motor Germany "I'm glad we managed to squeeze in those last five minutes, because we had just to make one more small test to decide what tyres we should have for the Valencia race. We have to work on a few little things, because I am still scraping the fairing sides at full lean, especially on the right hand side. I'm even touching the engine down sometimes. I'm sure we can sort something out, and otherwise we're pretty happy. Testing is always a never-ending struggle to get everything just right, but we're getting there." Broc Parkes - Yamaha Motor Germany "We made this a worthwhile test. We tried a lot of things, and in the afternoon session we found something better with the set-up. The bike is so new and we're finding that there is still a fine line to walk to find a good set-up. Maybe later in the year we can predict how the bike is going to react from track to track, but at the moment we started this Valencia test with the settings from Phillip Island and had to change them quite a lot." Official Valencia Test WSS Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005km Lap Record: 1' 38.874 (Alessio Corradi, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 34.1 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Date: 27 - 29 March 2006 Temp: 26ºC Classification: 1 Charpentier S. Honda FRA 1'37.437 2 Curtain K. Yamaha AUS 1'37.897 3 Sofuoglu K. Honda TUR 1'37.989 4 Parkes B. Yamaha AUS 1'38.443 5 Roccoli M. Yamaha ITA 1'38.572 6 Zaiser C. Ducati AUT 1'38.756 7 Harms R. Honda DNK 1'38.916 8 De Angelis W. Honda ITA 1'38.970 9 Veneman B. Suzuki NED 1'39.137 10 Tiberio Y. Honda FRA 1'39.144 11 Vizziello G. Yamaha ITA 1'39.264 12 Andersen K. Suzuki NOR 1'39.277 13 Stigefelt J. Honda SWE 1'39.354 14 Tunstall T. Honda GBR 1'39.524 15 Fores J. Yamaha SPA 1'39.628 17 Van Keymeulen D. Yamaha BEL 1'39.716 20 Peris C. Yamaha CAN 1'40.584 22 Enjolras J. Yamaha FRA 1'40.738 24 Velini A. Yamaha ITA 1'40.780 26 Forner Garcia D. Yamaha SPA 1'41.261 27 Ivanov V. Yamaha RUS 1'41.461 29 Berta A. Yamaha ITA 1'42.026
Alex Asigno

Yamaha announces Intur Sports as new MX1 sponsor

Yamaha signed a new partnership agreement with Spanish tourism company Intur Sports which will see the Japanese manufacturer's factory motocross team known as Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team. INTUR SPORTS is a newly formed branch of the world renowned Intur Group, a family owned enterprise dedicated to the tourist industry in Spain. Today, the group owns six hotels in Spain, three of which are in the Benicasim area approximately 280 km south of Barcelona. The Intur Group network also includes restaurants, water parks, discos, etc. Belgian motocross legend Stefan Everts, who has won five consecutive world titles since joining Yamaha for the 2001 season, has used Intur Sports' facilities for his winter training programme for the past eight years and hosts his father Harry Everts' annual training schools in the area. The new look squad, which was unveiled to the media ahead of this weekend's opening Grand Prix in Zolder, Belgium, will feature both the Intur Sports and Benicasim logos on the team's YZ450FM machines. Copyright-free images for editorial use of the riders and bikes in their new livery can be found in the photo gallery section of www.yamaha-racing.com/mx1 Laurens Klein Koerkamp - Yamaha Motor Europe, Racing Division "It is always a pleasure to announce a new partner, especially one which is as passionate about motorsport as Intur Sports. We can offer them the exposure to grow their new business that mixes their existing strengths in facilities and accommodations with people involved in motorsports requiring such structures. I hope that we can enjoy a successful season together. The 2006 championship may mark Stefan's last campaign as a rider but it is also the start of a relationship with a new partner for the future." Juan Jose Gimeno - Intur Sports "Our close relationship with Stefan Everts and our passion for motorsports facilitated our decision to sponsor both Stefan personally and the team. Stefan has spent the last eight years training at our facilities and makes the place his home during the winter months. We strongly believe that this new partnership will benefit our company as well as Stefan and the Yamaha team. It is our intention to continue our association to motocross, and subsequently the Yamaha team, for many years to come. Intur Sports' mission is to create a different reason for tourists to come to Benicasim, by adding more value to our hotels, especially during wintertime. For sport groups we will offer the necessary facilities and accommodation. Intur Sports is located in an area of many opportunities, where the main temperature is around 20 degrees throughout the year, it's a great place to visit and state of the art when it comes to sport facilities. We therefore hope to welcome all involved in motocross in one of our hotels".
Alex Asigno

GP Win Number 88 for Everts in World Championship Opener

Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team rider and reigning MX1 World Champion Stefan Everts left the opening round of the 2006 series having increased his record-career total of GP victories to 88 and proved his rhetoric concerning the new aluminium frame YZ450FM was completely founded. 16,000 spectators flocked to the Zolder circuit in Belgium for the Karcher Grand Prix of Flanders, the first race of fifteen in this season's campaign. Teammate Cedric Melotte managed tenth position overall. Rainfall in the days leading up to the event meant that the fine Belgian dirt at the former Formula one circuit was soft and sodden, and throughout practice churned into a demanding and difficult prospect. Following through on his excellent pre-season form Stefan Everts did not put a foot wrong on Saturday to clinch his first pole position since the 2005 Grand Prix of South Africa. 33-year-old Everts began the opening moto behind former rival Sebastien Tortelli and although he tried to pressurise the Frenchman, drawing close on several occasions, he was unable to seize the lead and lost any chance of victory in the last third of the heat when he was held up by backmarkers. The pair surprisingly lapped everybody up to fifth position. Melotte, who is still coming back to full fitness after a wrist problem limited his pre-season preparation, finished in ninth. The 27 year old, who was an overall winner at the first ever MX1 GP - also at Zolder - in 2004, made a mistake two laps from the chequered flag which cost him sixth place. Spanish sponsors Intur Sports were announced as the new backers for the Rinaldi team in an entertaining function on Saturday evening and they must have been pleased as Moto2 saw a dominant performance from Everts as he broke away from Sebastien Tortelli in a role-reversal of the first sprint. The Belgian has been raving about the handling and performance of the new YZ450FM and gave a large section of his fans an ample demonstration of his synergy with the Rinaldi-fettled machine. He would win by almost 40 seconds and his 2-1 scorecard gave him a familiar top step of the podium. Cedric Melotte had a problem with his goggles that affected his eyesight and he was close to crashing on several occasions but was able to steer his Yamaha past the chequered flag in eighth spot for tenth in the final classification. The second round of the series will take place in two weeks time, on Easter Sunday, at the Bellpuig circuit in Catalonia, Spain. The Grand Prix of Portugal will occur just one week on from the trip to the Iberian Peninsula. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team: "I was making a lot of mistakes in the first race and was not riding smooth enough to really catch Sebastien. After that though the ice was broken and I knew I had one more moto to make things better. I changed my position on the start line and got into the first corner ahead. I pushed really hard in those first few laps and Sebastien was with me for a while but I focussed on my own riding and it worked. I was happy with the bike. We changed a few little things with suspension but the performance was great today and I felt comfortable. It is very early for the Championship. Sebastien is right there but Pichon missed a lot of points today, Josh is out and I expected the Suzuki boys to be closer, but there is still a long way to go."   Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team: "I was struggling over the weekend with my wrist and my condition. Everything is improving but to come here and do 40 minutes with a weak wrist was unbelievable. The track was so difficult. If I had not crashed in the first race I would have been fifth and this was OK. After a few minutes of the second moto I got some dirt in my goggles and I could not see or concentrate on my lines. I am happy enough with the result because at least twice I thought that 'I should stop otherwise I will crash' because I could not see. The ruts were really deep and to come away with a top ten in the conditions is satisfying." Race classification MX1 Round: 1 - 2006 GP of Flanders, Belgium Circuit: Zolder Race: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Tortelli KTM  FRA  39' 22.213  2   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  +11.063  3   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +1' 5.994  4   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +1' 33.493  5   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +1' 54.790  6   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +1 lap(s)  7   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1 lap(s)  8   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +1 lap(s)  9   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +1 lap(s)  10   S. Sword Kawasaki  GBR  +1 lap(s)  11   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +1 lap(s)  12   B. Verhoeven Kawasaki  NED  +1 lap(s)  13   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1 lap(s)  14   W. Avis KTM  RSA  +1 lap(s)  15   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1 lap(s)  16   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +1 lap(s)  17   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1 lap(s)  18   M. Hucklebridge Kawasaki  GBR  +1 lap(s)  19   C. Federici Kawasaki  ITA  +1 lap(s)  20   E. Eggens Kawasaki  NED  +1 lap(s)  Race 2: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  40' 9.339  2   S. Tortelli KTM  FRA  +38.639  3   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +1' 15.573  4   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +1' 23.799  5   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +1' 30.347  6   S. Sword Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 39.574  7   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +1 lap(s)  8   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +1 lap(s)  9   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +1 lap(s)  10   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1 lap(s)  11   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1 lap(s)  12   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1 lap(s)  13   B. Jorgensen Honda  DNK  +1 lap(s)  14   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +1 lap(s)  15   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1 lap(s)  16   B. Verhoeven Kawasaki  NED  +1 lap(s)  17   J. Dobes Suzuki  CZE  +1 lap(s)  18   L. Freibergs Suzuki  LVA  +1 lap(s)  19   M. Hucklebridge Kawasaki  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 47  2   Sebastien Tortelli KTM  FRA 47  3   Tanel Leok Kawasaki  EST 38  4   Steve Ramon Suzuki  BEL 34  5   Kevin Strijbos Suzuki  BEL 33  6   Ken De Dycker Honda  BEL 30  7   Jonathan Barragan KTM  ESP 27  8   Stephen Sword Kawasaki  GBR 26  9   Cedric Melotte Yamaha  BEL 25  10   Pascal Leuret  Honda  FRA 25  11   Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki  NED 14  12   James Noble Honda  GBR 14  13   Antti Pyrhonen TM FRA 14 14   Marvin Van Daele Honda  BEL 12  15   Javier Garcia Vico Honda  ESP 10  16   Manuel Priem Yamaha  BEL 9  17   Brian Jorgensen Honda  DNK 8  18   Wyatt Avis KTM  RSA 7 19   Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 6  20   Mark Hucklebridge Kawasaki GBR 5  Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 25  2  KTM 22  3  Kawasaki 20  4  Suzuki 18  5  Honda 15  6  TM 2  MX2 : Gundersen marks Yamaha debut with podium result Round: 1 - 2006 GP of Flanders, Belgium Circuit: Zolder Date: 2 April 2006 Crowd: 16000 Temp: 11ºC Weather: Overcast Ricci Racing's Kenneth Gundersen scored an emotional podium in his debut for the team and on the formidable YZ250F at Zolder, Belgium today for the first round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM World Championship. The Karcher Grand Prix of Flanders occurred in front of a decent 16,000 attendance considering the cold and wintery conditions.  Gundersen notched results of second and sixth to place third overall in his first top three appearance for over two years and his first in the MX2 class since 2001. The Norwegian has battled back from multiple knee and cartilage operations in the last 18 months. The 25 year old showed promising form despite some less than perfect starts on the wet and rough Belgian terrain. He had to ditch his goggles early in the first moto but was still able to pass the KTMs of Rattray and De Reuver. In the second race he ensured his fresh silverware as the highest placed Yamaha rider. World Champion Antonio Cairoli, who dislikes the Belgian circuit, fell on the first lap of the first moto and with the track at its wettest throughout the weekend he rode well to break into the top fifteen and collect six points. The Italian crashed on Saturday and received a blow to his left leg but was able to show his true colours in the second moto as passed he title rival Marc de Reuver and crossed the finish line with the runner-up position behind eventual overall winner Tyla Rattray. The De Carli rider's mishap earlier in the day meant that he placed seventh overall. Alessio Chiodi showed decent speed and all the experience of a three times World Champion to take sixth spot in the first moto in the soggy conditions. The Italian was however fighting the debilitating effects of an illness and after slipping down the order and out of the points in the second race retired to the pits. Billy Mackenzie, who is 22 years old next week, wasn't able to get the set-up on his YZ250F correctly dialled for the conditions and it cost the Scot in the first race as he registered a disappointing twenty-fourth position. Adjusting several aspects of the machine for the second moto he managed a more creditable ninth after passing British Championship rival Carl Nunn on the last lap. Kenneth Gundersen, Ricci Racing: "This feels unbelievable. I have been out for so long. Last year I did some GPs but my leg was not good enough to ride. I trained a lot this winter and the way that this team have supported me is incredible. Yamaha and so many people have helped me and this came out today. In the first moto I felt like I could have won if I didn't have to throw away my goggles on the first lap; second place was good though. It took me a little while to get going in the second race and finally I ran out of time to take any more positions." Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "The first heat was not so good because I crashed on the first lap and I lost a lot of time and positions to get going again. I was totally last and had a lot of work to do. I finished 15th and it was OK for training because I do not like this track so much! In the second race I started well but in the first corner someone touched me and it cost me a few places. I caught and passed many riders like De Reuver and Pourcel. Tyla is always very good at this track. My leg was OK and is only stiff when I am resting." Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "The first part of the first moto was pretty good but after about 25 minutes I started to feel bad and my stomach was really bothering me. I finished the race but I could feel that a fever was coming. I was in the gate before the second moto and I thought that I would try to see what I could do but the bumps on the track just made it worse. When I saw I was down in 27th I thought it was better to stop."    Race classification MX2 Round: 1 - 2006 GP of Flanders, Belgium Circuit: Zolder Race: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  40' 20.154  2   K. Gundersen Yamaha  SWE  +8.667  3   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +10.029  4   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +14.091  5   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +26.399  6   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +35.053  7   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +43.876  8   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +50.949  9   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 6.716  10   A. Meo Honda  FRA 
Alex Asigno

MotoGP Rnd 2 Qatar Preview

The Camel Yamaha Team move on to the Middle East next weekend with the objective of making up for lost points and pride following a disappointing start to the season in the opening round at Jerez. The Grand Prix of Qatar represents the ideal opportunity of a reprieve, with Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards having performed well in pre-season testing at the Losail International Circuit in February. A further day of testing following the Jerez race provided the team with another opportunity to work on the vibration problems that hampered the riders in Jerez, and the day produced some positive results. Such problems were at a minimum when the team tested at Qatar in February, so Yamaha is hopeful of starting out positively for the second race of the season. Based on the outskirts of the capital city of Doha, Losail hosted the MotoGP World Championship for the first time in 2004 after an incredible round-the-clock project that took a little over a year to complete, with an investment of around $58 million USD and 1,000 full-time workers. During its short history the event has brought famous results for both Camel Yamaha Team riders, with Edwards storming to second place in the inaugural race and Rossi clinching victory after an exciting battle with Marco Melandri last year. Having been held in October for the past two seasons, it was expected that this year's spring race would see slightly cooler conditions but, with early weather forecasts predicting ambient temperatures of around 30ºC, it promises to be an equally gruelling weekend for the riders. As usual the Grand Prix will be held on Saturday as opposed to Sunday and the MotoGP race will start one hour later than normal at 1500h local time, in order to coincide with its regular CET slot of 1400h. Valentino Rossi: Getting back on track Valentino Rossi can't wait to get back to action this weekend after the anti-climax of his worst ever premier-class finish at Jerez. After being brought down by another rider at the first corner, Rossi was denied the chance to defend a record of five consecutive first round wins in the MotoGP class, but knows that the best way to make up for it is to bounce back with a good result in Qatar. "After a bad start to the season, I am looking forward to going to Qatar and erasing the bad memories!" said Rossi. "Our bike worked really well when we went to Qatar for pre-season testing, so we hope that this will be the case again. It's true that we also had a tiny bit of vibration there, but it was only in a couple of places and it was quite manageable. Anyway our bike was very fast in Qatar from the first day, so this is a good sign. "Last year my victory in Qatar was probably the most exciting race of the season for me, the whole race was at ridden at the maximum and I had a great, great battle with Melandri. I hope that we can have another good race this year, and of course I hope that I can win again and get our championship defence 'back on track!' Qatar is a hard race and very tiring because of the heat, but it's a great track and I enjoy riding there." Colin Edwards: Onwards and upwards Colin Edwards also has plenty of reasons to look forward to Qatar after riding himself into a spin with the set-up problems at Jerez. The Texan Tornado is keen to get back to a track where the YZR-M1 excelled during pre-season tests and says he expects to return to the personal form that saw him drive away with a new car after setting the fastest time at the Official Tests in Barcelona in early March. "To be honest I couldn't wait to get out of Jerez on Monday evening, it was a nightmare weekend for us really," said Edwards, who has finished in the points at every race since that second place at Qatar in 2004 - a run of 21 consecutive top fifteen finishes. "Things didn't work from the start and our luck couldn't have been worse in the race but it's time to turn the page now. I've got belief in the bike and the team and I know we can turn it around in Qatar. I only have to look across the garage at Valentino to know it is not my riding that is at fault so personally my confidence is still at a premium and I feel ready to ride to the best of my ability. "Losail is a very smooth circuit, with slight camber changes, where you have to keep a good line and a nice flow to your riding. The grip has obviously got better over the past couple of years but you still have to be careful about getting off line when overtaking because of the sand that blows onto the track. It's a pretty nice circuit considering it's in the middle of the desert!" Davide Brivio: We will bounce back Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio says the team's morale has not been dented by events at Jerez last week and stresses that their only focus now is on turning their fortunes around in Qatar. The extra day of testing in Spain provided a welcome chance to gather extra data that Brivio believes will provide vital set-up alternatives when the track action gets underway on Thursday morning. "The test on Monday was very useful," says Brivio. "We made a slight improvement to the set-up but more than that we were able to gather information that will be useful for us to start with in Qatar. We go there with a couple of different options. One is to use the base setting we found in the pre-season tests, although we missed many of the other teams then so it will be interesting to compare the performance of our competitors on Friday morning. The other is to try the different settings we found at Jerez as a solution to the chatter. "We know it will be another tough weekend for the team but the morale is still very good. Of course it was a shame to lose so many points in the first race but we are not feeling sad about that now, only focused on the job we have to do. We are keeping our heads down and working hard, studying the data until we find a solution and we will continue to do that every weekend until we are back on top. The mood is optimistic and we are confident that when this problem is solved we can fight to be at the top of the points standings." Technically speaking: Matteo Flamigni on Qatar Following the recent problems at Jerez, data gathered at pre-season tests and during last year's race in Qatar will be even more crucial than usual this weekend. The 5.4 kilometre track features sixteen corners, ten to the right and six to the left, with a series of fast sweeping sections and several hard braking areas which are unique to any other circuit in the world. "Qatar is a difficult track because you have some very slow corners which come immediately after a change of direction," explains Matteo Flamigni, Valentino Rossi's Data Engineer. "At most circuits the hard braking follows a long straight but at Qatar this happens only once. For example, turn six is a tight hairpin that comes with a quick right-left change under braking, so the bike needs to be very stable but also very agile for a good performance in that section. "The most important section for set-up is probably the three fast rights at the end. You need good stability at maximum lean angle so that the rider feels confident enough to open the throttle, because this is where he can make up the most time. At Jerez the final two fast rights before the last hairpin are very similar and I could see on the data that Valentino did not have the confidence to open the throttle there in the way he had done the previous season. At Qatar we will have to find this compromise between stability on the brakes and stability at maximum lean angle so that our riders can perform to their full potential." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 81 (42 x MotoGP, 13 x 500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 158 (66 x MotoGP, 32 x 500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 50 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Qatar Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 1'57.903 Qatar Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 1'56.917 2005 Results: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 43.33.759 2. Marco Melandri (Honda) +1.670 3. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +5.336 4. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +14.737
Alex Asigno

Crucial preparations begin for Camel Yamaha riders in Qatar

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began key set-up work on their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines for the Grand Prix of Qatar in relatively mild temperatures of 27ºC today. After excelling at this track in pre-season tests the riders were keen to gauge the bike's performance against the other main contenders in the MotoGP class and after two intense free practice sessions they ended the day in optimistic moods about their chances for Saturday's race.  Following on from a disappointing first race of the season in Jerez two weeks ago, where both Rossi and Edwards suffered from vibration problems when cornering, the Italian and the American confirmed that the issue was not as severe at this circuit. Edwards spent much of the afternoon session at the top of the time sheets as he set an impressive and consistent pace before eventually dropping to fourth place - two places ahead of Rossi. The fastest lap of the day was recorded by Kenny Roberts Junior (Honda KR) in a time of 1'56.905, just ahead of Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri (both Honda). Colin Edwards (4th, 1'57.024, 28 laps) "Everything is much better today and I've been able to do some good laps, so it's certainly a better start than we made in Jerez! Although it's much less, the vibration hasn't completely gone and we have a couple of other issues that we need to work on in order to be completely ready to push at the limit. I was able to set a decent pace and knock out some consistent laps with the current setting on the bike but we definitely still have a few things to work out. I've gone well at this track since the first day I came here and it really helps to have tested here recently, but we need to take this extra step before I can be truly confident about my chances on Saturday." Valentino Rossi (6th, 1'57.141, 41 laps) "We knew from the tests that the bike worked much better at this track and that was the case today. The vibration is not so much and only in a couple of corners, but we can control it. Now we can work more normally, concentrating on setting-up the bike in order to go faster, rather than thinking all the time about the vibration. We still have all day tomorrow to make some small improvements and I think we can be fast in the race on Saturday, as we were last year. There are some very fast riders at the front and we are all very close together. It seems the other guys were ready to push hard from the very beginning and they are full of motivation so it will be a hard battle. Jerez was also a hard battle for me but I hope Saturday will be a different kind!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is still quite early but at the moment it looks like we might have a normal weekend! Both riders have a good pace and between them they completed many laps today, gathering some important information to work on the setting of the bike tomorrow. We still have to improve though and it will be important to keep up with the steps made by our competitors. Things appear better than they were at Jerez but we'll wait until tomorrow to get a better idea." Rounding up the first day with riders in 11th and 17th position, Tech3 Yamaha Team is trying to work towards better results for the race weekend. With Carlos Checa suffering from physical problems during free practice session and James Ellison making positive progression with the set up of his bike, both riders have spend significant time on testing different sets of new tyres. Although lap times where less fast compared to the Qatar pre-season test, team director Herve Poncharal remains positive. Carlos Checa (11th, 1'57.992) "Since my crash in Jerez I have been suffering from some pain in my left arm and I have lost some feeling. Some days it's better than others; yesterday it hurt a lot but today it's a little bit better. Unfortunately though it's affecting my ability to ride and I can't get into the corners properly. I am being treated by a physiotherapist and I hope that it will get better quickly. "We've tested five or six tyres today and we've found one that we think can be good for the race, so we're quite pleased. We've found a good base setting for the bike and today we've done some good work on the set-up, so in this department things are looking quite positive. The main factor is the pain in my arm so I hope that this will get better again tomorrow." James Ellison (17th. 1'59.620) "We've made a better start than in Jerez and we've found a good direction with the tyres. We tried a new profile and it's working really well so that's good. We left it on for the afternoon and I did some good, consistent laps so I am quite pleased. I did a run of 12 laps and the last one was the fastest, which bodes well for the longevity of the tyre. The bike feels good and I don't have any chatter. We've made some changes to the set-up and especially the position of the seat, so it 'fits' me better now and this is making a difference. I know I am still near to the bottom but I am feeling good here so I hope we can make some steps forward tomorrow." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Today we have mixed feelings because we expected a lot from here after such a good test. Carlos is suffering from some pain in his arm, maybe a trapped nerve, and so he is lacking power and feeling. This afternoon was better so hopefully tomorrow once again it will improve. We're slower than we were at the tests so this is not good, but hopefully we can get back on track tomorrow. James I am really happy about, he is much closer and I think he is feeling better all round. He spent some time at our workshop after Jerez and I hope that this has helped him to be better prepared for this second race."    Round: 2 - 2006 MotoGP Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 1' 57.903 (Nicky Hayden, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 56.917 (Loris Capirossi, 2005) Date: 6 April 2006 Temp: 27ºC Free Practice :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  Free Practice  1  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 56.905   2  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 56.911   3  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 57.010   4  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 57.024   5  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 57.031   6  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 57.141   7  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 57.360   8  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 57.392   9  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 57.452   10  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 57.569   11  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 57.992   12  C. Vermeulen  Suzuki  AUS   1' 58.783   13  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 58.786   14  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 58.892   15  A. Hofmann  Ducati  GER   1' 59.245   16  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 59.609   17  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 59.620
Alex Asigno

Camel Yamaha riders riders make progress ahead of desert test

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards improved the setting of their Yamaha M1 machines for tomorrow's Grand Prix of Qatar despite struggling for a fast single lap in this afternoon's qualifying practice. Whilst both riders again demonstrated encouraging pace on race rubber, the improved rear grip offered by the qualifying tyre at the end of the session exaggerated the remaining traces of vibration problems and prevented them from mounting a serious challenge for a front row start.  Rossi was the quickest of the pair, clocking the sixth fastest time to seal a slot on the second row of the grid. Edwards, meanwhile, was just over a tenth of a second outside the time set by his team-mate and will start from two places behind him in tomorrow's 22-lap race, which starts at 15h local time (14h CET). Leading the way from pole position will be Australian youngster Casey Stoner (Honda), who produced a record lap of 1'55.683 to surprise the rest of the field in only his second MotoGP appearance. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Toni Elias (Honda) complete the front row. Valentino Rossi (6th, 1'56.076, 25 laps) "The problem is that when the grip comes up we push more and the vibration comes back, so today we couldn't use the full potential of the qualifying tyre and I am only sixth. Anyway my race rhythm is not so bad and there are many riders close together, so I think it will be a good battle tomorrow. I am very surprised by Stoner and I would like to give him my sincere congratulations. He has been very fast all weekend and he used the qualifying tyre to 100%, even better than Loris, who has a lot of experience. Loris is in good shape again but I think the guys to beat are the young riders - Stoner, Elias and Pedrosa. Tomorrow we will see, but it should be interesting!" Colin Edwards (8th, 1'56.230, 22 laps) "We've definitely made the bike better since yesterday and even from this morning. We're still struggling with a little bit of vibration but the problem is continually reducing and I think we're on to something with the setting. We'll make a few small changes in the morning but it's a fine line between what could work and what definitely doesn't work so we have to be careful not to go backwards. My race pace is okay but I'm not going to lie - it was hard work. If the other guys were doing 1'57s I'd be delighted but I think we'll have hold it in the 1'56 mark during the race to come out with a top result. It's going to be tough but if we can make a small step in the morning we'll be ready." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha team Director "We have had fewer problems here than we had in Jerez but the situation is still not perfect. The qualifying session did not go so well for us but both riders have a decent race pace and I think they are in good shape for tomorrow. It will be hard because no doubt the young riders will push hard from the start. It will be a close battle at the front but I think we can be a part of it."  Positive progression for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Good progress continued today for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team at the tight and physically demanding Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Riders Carlos Checa and James Ellison improved their race setup and this was reflected in the lap times as the gap to the leading teams was lessened considerably. Both riders completed the one hour qualifying session on the ever-improving Dunlop race tyres; the team decided against using qualifying tyres as they looked to gain an improved race setup and increase their confidence ahead of a long and demanding race tomorrow. Checa is still feeling the effects of two crashes at Jerez less than a fortnight ago and was unable to ride at his full potential, qualifying in 14th position, whilst Ellison will start from 17th tomorrow. However Team Director Herve Poncharal was happy with the improved performance and hopes for a positive race for both riders.
Carlos Checa (14th, 1'57.299, 22 laps) "We've made some good improvements with the bike and tyres and I have found a race setup that is pretty close to what I desire, but I am still not strong enough with my left arm and that is very important at a track like this. I know in myself that I would be a lot further up the field if I did not have this limitation. It is especially hard on my left side when I am cornering and trying to move around on the bike; I am not as strong as I should be. I don't like riding like this as I am a fighter and want to be at the front, as we showed we can be in winter testing. Anyway we will do our best tomorrow and hopefully we can run a good race despite my problems." James Ellison (17th. 1'58.591, 20 laps) "We're improving all the time and that is the main thing; to move forward every time I get on the bike. I am a lot closer to Carlos and truthfully this is the best session I have had on the bike. I am very happy. We didn't use qualifiers today as we were concentrating on the race set-up and we have found a good tyre that we think will last. We did some consistent times so I am confident that we can finish well, as today I could stick with the other riders I was following. This is the first weekend that we have made big changes to the bike and we've made some good ones. We have moved the handlebars and adjusted my seating for the first time. Moving the 'bars has made a big improvement when exiting the corners, because now I can get over the front of the bike more and feel that I have more control of it." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It has been a positive result for us today. I am happy with the results; it was a choice not to use qualifying tyres as this can give false hope. My main concern is obviously for Carlos and his shoulder. He hasn't recovered from the two big crashes he had at Jerez and is lacking a lot of strength in his left side to be able to control the bike, especially in the many changes of direction around this track. James is improving every time he rides the bike and I can't ask for more than that. This year the target is to provide as much feedback to develop the Dunlop tyres and at every race get closer to the front and we hope we can take another step tomorrow."    Round: 2 - 2006 MotoGP Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 1' 57.903 (Nicky Hayden, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 55.683 (Casey Stoner, 2006) Date: 7 April 2006 Temp: 32ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 55.638   2  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 55.721   3  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 55.735   4  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 55.793   5  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 56.008   6  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 56.076   7  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 56.177   8  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 56.230   9  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 56.237   10  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 56.272   11  C. Vermeulen  Suzuki  AUS   1' 56.356   12  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 56.822   13  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 56.981   14  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 57.299   15  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 57.822   16  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 57.891   17  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 58.674
Alex Asigno

Rossi bounces back with Qatar victory

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top step of the podium after a stunning ride in today's Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi's 54th career MotoGP victory was sealed with a perfectly timed run in the second half of the race, passing early leader Casey Stoner (Honda) on lap 10 of 22 and holding off a late attack from Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who completed the podium. The win brings Rossi's premier-class tally level with that of Mick Doohan, with only the legendary Giacomo Agostini now ahead of him on 68 victories. Colin Edwards endured a difficult afternoon after front-end problems that appeared throughout the weekend returned to haunt him in the race. The American started from eighth on the grid and made a good start, moving up to sixth place by lap five, but he was unable to maintain the fast and consistent pace he showed in practice and he eventually dropped to ninth. Rossi's victory moves him up to fourth in the championship, fourteen points behind early leader Capirossi after two rounds of seventeen. Valentino Rossi - 1st; 43'22.229 "That was a great race - it was hard but that is what made it such fun. My M1 worked really well today - as the race went on the grip went down and the vibration completely disappeared, so I was able to go fast at the end. Also I set the fastest lap of the race on lap three, so this shows how well my M1 was working. This win is important for the championship but even more so from a mental point of view for me and the team. It was windy but the grip was good and I was able to chase Stoner, who was very fast at the start. When his tyres went down I was able to pass him and I thought I could escape but Nicky stayed with me. Then I looked back and saw Loris was coming too so I began to get worried about the last few laps. Anyway, I pushed hard and managed to hold on. It is great to be level with Mick Doohan, now only Giacomo Agostini is ahead of me. Records are not the most important thing but they are always nice! This feels like the start of the championship for me. Jerez was a nightmare but here we woke up! Big thanks to Jeremy and all the guys because they stayed focused during a difficult time and this is their reward." Colin Edwards - 9th; 43'45.149 (+22.920) "I made a good start and over the first five laps I felt fine - the bike was good and I was able to ride aggressively. I thought: 'okay, let's go for it.' Then on lap six I lost the front three times in a row and I almost crashed on each one of them. I thought it was a bit early in the race for that to happen so I pushed on and got going again but the front kept going and I had to ride slower and slower. In the practice simulation I ran a 1'57.2 on my last lap but in the race it was three seconds slower so clearly something is not right. Thankfully we have a test tomorrow to find out what it was and make sure that we are in better shape for Turkey." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "This is a great day for us because we have been going through a difficult patch so to come out of it with a win is fantastic. It is a credit to the team because they have remained determined throughout the problems and never lost their focus. On Colin's side we have to keep this focus because he had some problems today and we want to bring both Yamahas to the top. We have work to do but we made up some important points in the championship today and this victory gives us even more motivation to continue in the same way at Istanbul." Improved performance brings smiles to Tech 3 Yamaha Team The improvement of the Tech 3 Yamaha Team continued at a wind-swept Losail International Circuit in Qatar today, with an encouraging performance from both riders the exact tonic needed to boost confidence in the team for the long season ahead. Battling very challenging and treacherous riding conditions, with gales sweeping off the surrounding desert, Tech 3 team-mates Carlos Checa and James Ellison finished 12th and 13th respectively. Ellison gained an added bonus as he claimed his first championship points of the year, while Checa fought a hard race despite still suffering the effects of injuries suffered in crashes during the opening Grand Prix in Spain two weeks ago. Results could have been even better for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team except for a first lap incident when both riders were baulked after Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki) crashed in front of them. The incident forced them to the rear of the field, but hard riding for the entire 22 laps saw them fight their way through a number of opponents. Team Director Herve Poncharal was delighted with the results, considering the conditions and the first lap incident that hampered progress in the race, which was won by fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi. Carlos Checa - 12th; 44'11.474 (+49.245) "I am very happy with the performance of the Yamaha and the Dunlop tyres today. That is very encouraging for myself and the team but at the moment I am not fit enough to ride the bike and the tyres to the level that I would like. My shoulder is a little better today but in two weeks I will be so much fitter. The severe wind also made it harder to ride than I had anticipated. The team continues to improve everything about the bike and I am confident that after rest and physiotherapy I will be in much better shape to battle the way I desire in the races ahead." James Ellison - 13th; 44'23.698 (+1'01.469) "I am very, very happy. We both got held up on the first lap when another rider crashed in front of us and without this I think the result could have been even better. I am feeling really comfortable on the bike now and pushed very hard throughout the race. I made up two seconds in one lap but then I got stuck behind Tamada and couldn't get past him for quite a while. The tyres held up perfectly for the 22 laps and were exactly the same at the finish as at the start and that is very encouraging. We got some points to start the season with and if I keep progressing like I am doing there will be even better results coming in the near future." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Altogether we had a good weekend. The entire package - the bike and tyres - worked really well, going the whole distance. I think considering the severe winds and the problems that Carlos is having we had very encouraging results. Carlos fully-fit will deliver the promise he showed in winter testing while James is getting better every time he rides the bike. After De Puniet crashed it made it difficult for the results we wanted, but both James and Carlos fought through to the end like the determined and courageous riders they are. I'm very satisfied with the results and how much everything has improved since our test here in February. We will be testing here tomorrow with James only as Carlos will return home to make a full recovery and be fit for the next Grand Prix in Turkey in three weeks."
 
Race classification MotoGP Round: 2 - 2006 MotoGP Qatar Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 1' 57.305 (Valentino Rossi, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 57.305 (Valentino Rossi, 2006) Race: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 43' 22.229 2 N. Hayden Honda USA +0.900 3 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +1.494 4 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP +4.638 5 C. Stoner Honda AUS +7.575 6 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +10.820 7 M. Melandri Honda ITA +11.784 8 T. Elias Honda ESP +19.481 9 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +22.920 10 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +34.286 11 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +35.316 12 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +49.245 13 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1' 1.469 14 M. Tamada Honda JPN +1' 10.778 15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER +1' 22.051 16 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1' 33.818 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 57.305 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 41 2 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 36 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 30 4 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 27 5 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 21 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 21 7 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 20 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 14 9 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 14 10 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 13 11 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 12 12 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 8 13 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 7 14 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 7 15 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 4 16 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 3 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Ducati 41 2 Honda 40 3 Yamaha 30 4 Team Roberts KR 14 4 Kawasaki 14 5 Suzuki 7 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 66 2 Ducati Marlboro Team 54 3 Fortuna Honda Team 41 4 Camel Yamaha Team 39 5 Honda LCR 21 6 Team Roberts KR 14 7 Kawasaki Racing Team 14 8 Rizla Suzuki 11 9 Tech3 Yamaha 10 10 Konica Minolta Honda 8 11 Pramac D'Antin 2 Race classification GP250 Round: 2 - 2006 Qatar GP250 Circuit: Losail Circuit Circuit Length: 5380 Lap Record: 2' 3.015 (Alex de Angelis, 2004) Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 2.154 (Jorge Lorenzo, 2005) Race: 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 41' 29.946 2 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA +0.077 3 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +19.364 4 H. Barbera Aprilia ESP +19.398 5 H. Aoyama KTM JPN +24.051 6 S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +28.695 7 S. Porto Honda ARG +33.255 8 M. Simoncelli Gilera ITA +34.214 9 Y. Takahashi Honda JPN +34.406 10 J. Smrz Aprilia CZE +34.419 11 M. Cardenas Honda COL +49.121 12 A. Ballerini Aprilia ITA +1' 0.069 13 S. Aoyama Honda JPN +1' 0.633 14 M. Poggiali KTM SMR +1' 4.619 15 D. Heidolf Aprilia GER +1' 12.332 16 A. Vincent Honda FRA +1' 13.128 17 C. Davies Aprilia GBR +1' 44.684 18 L. Morelli Aprilia ITA +1' 59.950 19 M. Danese Aprilia ITA +1 lap(s) 20 A. Palumbo Aprilia ITA +1 lap(s) Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA 2' 3.246 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 50 2 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 36 3 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 25 4 Hector Barbera Aprilia ESP 24 5 Hiroshi Aoyama KTM JPN 21 6 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 20 7 Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 20 8 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 17 9 Martin Cardenas Honda COL 13 10 Sebastian Porto Honda ARG 9 11 Marco Simoncelli Gilera ITA 8 12 Manuel Poggiali KTM SMR 7 13 Jakub Smrz Aprilia CZE 6 14 Arnaud Vincent Honda FRA 6 15 Arturo Tizon Honda ESP 4 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Aprilia 50 2 Honda 36 3 KTM 21
Alex Asigno

Work continues for Camel Yamaha Team in Doha

Following Valentino Rossi's hard-fought victory in yesterday's Grand Prix of Qatar, the Italian was back out on track today alongside his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards for a one-day test today. Despite Rossi's win, the team still saw remnants of their vibration problem arise during the weekend and today's test was aimed once again at working to understand and finally eliminate this problem from the 2006 YZR-M1. As at the last one-day test in Jerez, Valentino Rossi completed a few laps on the 2005 M1 in order to compare its performance with the current bike and gather more information. Besides this Rossi and Edwards, who completed 58 and 66 laps respectively, spent the day trying out various different settings and both riders made some encouraging improvements with some consistently fast lap times. Just a small group of MotoGP riders stayed on to test alongside the Yamaha riders and the fastest unofficial lap was set by Marco Melandri (Honda) in a time of 1'55.95. Rossi was second quickest with a lap of 1'56.25 and Edwards third in a time of 1'56.35. The MotoGP paddock now has a two and a half week break before the third Grand Prix of the season in Istanbul commences on April 28th. Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It's always quite hard to get up early and go testing the morning after a victory, but today was really important for us and the riders; the whole team has worked hard all day and made the most of the time we had available. In truth we still haven't completely solved our problem, but we've been able to gather a lot more important information and now we have to use this in the best possible way between now and Istanbul. We've definitely made some big improvements today, for both riders. We've tried many different settings which have made the problem much less critical, allowing the riders to ride the bike at a better level. Valentino was obviously able to win yesterday and in the race the problems virtually disappeared, but we knew that they were still there and today we managed to make some good steps forward. Colin had a difficult race and this test has been really important for him; he's finished the day in a much better situation. "Valentino once again tested the 2005 bike so we could make some comparisons. We know that with this bike the situation is different and we don't have vibration, but we also know that the 2006 bike is better in most other ways and has more potential. We also tested a qualifying tyre today as this was when the problem was at its worst during the race weekend, so this was interesting also. Overall it's been a good day for us and hopefully Yamaha can use all this information to our advantage so that we are ready to fight with both riders at the front in Turkey." Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1'55.95 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'56.25 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1'56.35 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1'56.36 5. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1'56.61 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1'56.77 7. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda, 1'56.86
Alex Asigno

MX1 : 89 and counting for Everts after further fiesta in Spain

The Grand Prix of Spain at Bellpuig has turned out to another positive meeting for the Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team and the YZ450FM motorcycle. Stefan Everts won the second MX1 moto to claim his 89th career victory and also seize control of the current World Championship standings while Cedric Melotte produced a hard-earned seventh position overall without having too much luck. After a cold and blustery opening Grand Prix of the season two weeks ago at Zolder in Belgium the hot Spanish sunshine was a welcome sight for the teams and riders as they rolled into the paddock for the second round of fifteen in the 2006 MX1 World Championship. The good weather - combined with the Easter holidays - also drew out the fans as 26, 200 defied the plumes of dust that emanated from the dry, hard and rough terrain. Stefan Everts was denied his second pole position by just a tenth of a second on Saturday afternoon by Tanel Leok, and over the course of the two Grand Prix motos of 35 minutes and two laps today the Kawasaki rider again plagued the World Champion. Everts led for eight of the 21 circulations before a mistake coming out of the old whoops section at slow speed saw the Belgian drop to fifth place and give the race to Leok and his pursuer Kevin Strijbos who would prove superior to the flag. Everts composed himself to fight back to fourth, but committed several mistakes in his challenge to Jonathan Barragan and could only secure third place with less than two laps to go. Cedric Melotte rode a good race to tenth after getting stuck in the gate and entering the first corner in last position. The Belgian had a difficult time clawing his way through the field on a course that was not easy for overtaking. He moved past Antti Pyrhonen for tenth, three laps before the chequered flag. Everts blasted back in convincing fashion in the second moto. The 33 year old, wearing his distinctive blue Acerbis livery, led from the first lap until the last and withstood brief pressure from Leok to complete a vintage performance. Stefan has won 50% of the races so far this campaign and now heads the Championship standings by ten points from his Kawasaki-mounted rival. Melotte was fourth over the line in a truer showing of his abilities later in the afternoon. He had been holding third on the YZ450FM, but the energy expelled during his first come-back race began to tell and Steve Ramon was able to relegate him to fourth. The team now face a relatively short trip east across Spain and down to Agueda, some 100km south of Porto, for the Grand Prix of Portugal next weekend. Stefan Everts: "Every time I wear my white kit in the first moto I am riding tense! I felt more relaxed before the race than I did in Zolder and then had a good start so it seemed to be going well but I found that I wasn't comfortable out there. I made a stupid mistake but could then come back to third after a hard fight with Barragan; it was hard to pass him because there were not many lines on the track. Third was good because I knew it gave me more chance of taking the overall. The second moto was much better and the Yamaha worked really well this weekend. I was very satisfied with our performance and we didn't change anything apart from altering the gearing in practice. We tried another tyre also but I ended up using the same model." Cedric Melotte: "The weekend did not start well because I could not get a good lap-time yesterday. I was very disappointed with 22nd but I focussed on making a decent race today. I hit the gate at the start of the first moto and I don't know if it was my fault or the mechanism. Anyway I pushed and came back from last to tenth. In the second race I started better and was third for about half the race but then I slowed down as I got a little bit tired; the first heat was hard. Ramon came through but I kept my rhythm and it was not a bad moto." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager: "It is another win for us but as usual it is never that easy! Stefan struggled in the first moto and looked tense. Leok was putting on the pressure and Stefan made a silly crash. He came back well but was still making some mistakes. He eventually could pass Barragan for a very important third position and we were satisfied because his main rivals had been so-so. The second race was typical of Stefan. A good start and he made his own rhythm; nobody could catch him and it was perfect. Cedric was very unlucky with the gate. We asked to see the TV replay and it is hard to tell if the gate did not work or it was his mistake so we could not make a protest. Anyway he came back with a lot of determination to tenth. That was good for him because he needs to be in competition with the other guys and return to his true level. His speed was good in the last moto and he showed that he can run at the front. It is understandable that he faded a little because of the effort from the first heat."     Race classification MX1 Round: 2 - 2006 GP of Bellpuig, Spain Circuit: Bellpuig Race 1: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  39' 17.220  2   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +9.438  3   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  +12.955  4   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +16.056  5   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +20.073  6   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +23.507  7   S. Tortelli KTM  FRA  +51.134  8   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +53.844  9   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1' 5.714  10   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +1' 12.991  11   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1' 14.711  12   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 16.824  13   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 20.718  14   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 22.823  15   J. Lindhe KTM  SWE  +1' 28.458  16   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +1' 29.712  17   A. Salvini Suzuki  ITA  +1' 32.892  18   M. Hucklebridge Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 34.596  19   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +1' 47.099  20   A. Lozano KTM  ESP  +1 lap(s)  Race 2: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  40' 30.007  2   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +17.460  3   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +22.900  4   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +39.465  5   S. Tortelli KTM  FRA  +46.185  6   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +55.033  7   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +1' 0.680  8   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 4.048  9   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1' 9.278  10   B. Jorgensen Honda  DNK  +1' 12.796  11   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +1' 28.469  12   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 31.381  13   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +1' 33.111  14   A. Bobkovs Honda  LVA  +1' 35.481  15   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 36.685  16   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 37.850  17   M. Hucklebridge Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 39.607  18   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1' 52.646  19   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +1 lap(s)  20   A. Lozano KTM  ESP  +1 lap(s)  Championship standings MX1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Stefan Everts Yamaha  BEL 92  2   Tanel Leok Kawasaki  EST 82  3   Sebastien Tortelli KTM  FRA 77  4   Steve Ramon Suzuki  BEL 69  5   Ken De Dycker Honda  BEL 61  6   Kevin Strijbos Suzuki  BEL 60  7   Jonathan Barragan KTM  ESP 59  8   Cedric Melotte Yamaha  BEL 54  9   Pascal Leuret  Honda  FRA 47  10   Manuel Priem Yamaha  BEL 30  11   James Noble Honda  GBR 29  12   Antti Pyrhonen TM  FIN 28  13   Stephen Sword Kawasaki  GBR 26  14   Javier Garcia Vico Honda  ESP 25  15   Marvin Van Daele Honda  BEL 22  16   Julien Bill Yamaha  GBR 22  17   Danny Theybers Suzuki  BEL 19  18   Brian Jorgensen Honda  DNK 19  19   Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki  NED 14  20   Mark Hucklebridge Kawasaki  GBR 12    Manufacturers standings MX1   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 50  2  Kawasaki 42  3  KTM 40  4  Suzuki 38  5  Honda 31  6  TM 9    MX2 : Mackenzie walks the podium in Spain after dramatic Grand Prix Round: 2 - 2006 GP of Bellpuig, Spain Circuit: Bellpuig Date: 16 April 2006 Crowd: 26200 Temp: 22ºC Weather: Sunny Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing's Billy Mackenzie gained his first podium of the season this afternoon at a warm and sun-kissed Bellpuig circuit in Cataluyna. The steep inclines of the hard and short track that despite constant watering proved to be dry, dusty and very rough with the formation of unforgiving ruts and numerous braking bumps. It was not easy to overtake. Excessive watering to help the terrain cope with all four motos meant that the initial race of the day, MX2 moto1, was a particularly slimy affair. The two MX2 motos of 35 minutes and 2 laps duration threw up two different sets of results. Yamaha managed to own the chequered flag in both races thanks to the resurgent Kenneth Gundersen and a flying Antonio Cairoli respectively but it was Mackenzie with an eighth place and a third position in the second sprint that got to spray the champagne and walk the rostrum. Ricci Racing's Gundersen was again a proactive force in the MX2 field after scoring an emotional top-three finish at Zolder two weeks ago in the wake of more than a year with injury problems. The Norwegian started in third place and soon moved past his team-mate Alessio Chiodi for his first moto victory since 2002, claiming the chequered flag by three seconds from 'Chicco'. Defending World Champion Cairoli was on impressive form during the first qualification heat yesterday as he holeshotted and escaped from the pursuing pack; earning Pole Position. The young Italian hoped for more of the same in the first race but a crash on a slow tight left hander and problems getting re-started meant he fell out of the top twenty and one lap behind the leaders. Mackenzie set his best time on the penultimate lap after earlier making a strong move on Luigi Seguy to take eighth position, however the Scot, who won his debut GP moto here in 2005, was too far behind Carl Nunn in seventh to scale the classification further. The 13 points he bagged would later prove vital in an exciting climax to the day's racing. Gundersen was immediately ruled out of the possibility of a double race win when he fell on the first lap of Moto2. De Carli Yamaha representative Cairoli had already taken the holeshot and proceeded to re-enact his Saturday performance, fuelled by the frustration of his opening race faux pas. Eventual winner Tyla Rattray gave chase but was not able to get within touching distance. Mackenzie meanwhile had held onto the back of the leaders after a better jump from the gate but soon had his hands full deflecting the attentions of Rui Goncalves. The 22 year old needed third place to confirm his podium while also requiring JK Racing's Luigi Seguy to keep Chiodi away from ninth position, which the Frenchman managed to accomplish. The outcome of the top three went down to a nail-biting last lap with both duels extremely close. Finally the race order did not change and Mackenzie was again able to celebrate in front of Spanish on-lookers thanks to his better race position although he was tied on points with Chiodi. Gundersen spent the entire race trying to catch the riders ahead and squeezed into 19th spot. He remains Yamaha's top rider in the young World Championship standings, holding third place, 19 points behind Rattray. Cairoli, Chiodi and Mackenzie are also in the top ten. His team-mate Davide Guarneri was 8th after having earlier retired after a crash. Cairoli's team-mate Mateo Bonini was unable to compete after breaking his right wrist in a Belgian Championship meeting last weekend. The Italian underwent surgery this week and the team will have a better idea in terms of his racing return once the cast is removed in a fortnight and his rehab begins. Billy Mackenzie, Bike it Dixon Yamaha: "To be honest I was expecting a little bit more from myself this weekend. I have been feeling comfortable riding but I know I am still not close to how fast I can go. The guys at the front are quick but there is a lot more to come and I will keep on improving. We have had a few problems at the start of the year but we must build from here. This is the start of the podiums and I want to try to get on the podium steps as much as I can for the rest of the season." Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "I crashed after five laps and I could not start again quickly because the bike was caught in the green fence and I lost one lap there and also many points. I was faster than De Reuver and Rattray but stopped after the crash because I was so far behind. For the second heat I really wanted to win and started very well. The battle between Tyla and I was nice and it was good to come back and win. I am happy with my condition and the speed." Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "I made a mistake at the start of the second moto and touched Philippaerts out of the gate. I think I was around 15th on the first lap but it was so difficult to pass and it wasn't a good race for me. I tried my best but there was only one line and it was hard to get Seguy at the end. The result is better than Zolder for sure because I was sick there. The first moto today was good because my riding, my condition and the bike were all working well." Kenneth Gundersen, Ricci Racing: "The first race was perfect. I had a good start, passed Chiodi and controlled it the whole way. It was a great feeling to finish first again. In the second race De Reuver cut my line at the start and I was down somewhere between 15th and 20th but then I crashed on the first lap and twisted my knee. After that I rode just to try and get as many points as I can. It is the same knee that I injured last year but it is not a big problem." Claudio De Carli, Team Manager De Carli Racing: "Matteo (Bonini) has been really unlucky. He was injured in the Italian Championship and went to Zolder just to get back on the bike and to start to find his speed again. After Zolder we decided to also compete at Neeroeteren because he was getting better and needed more race time. At the start of the third moto a rider crashed in front of him and he had nowhere to go. He hit the fallen bike very hard and broke his right wrist. He had an operation the day after and now is in a cast that has to remain there for two weeks. He will then have to start a period of rehabilitation to be back as soon as possible."     Race classification MX2 Round: 2 - 2006 GP of Bellpuig, Spain Circuit: Bellpuig Race 1: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   K. Gundersen Yamaha  SWE  39' 37.723  2   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +2.922  3   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +4.024  4   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +4.921  5   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +27.297  6   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +40.304  7   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +44.649  8   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +48.882  9   L. Seguy Yamaha  FRA  +50.174  10   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  +53.063  11   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 10.497  12   M. Seistola Honda  FIN  +1' 12.233  13   P. Caps Honda  BEL  +1' 14.934  14   M. Schiffer KTM  GER  +1' 17.817  15   J. Dougan Honda  GBR  +1' 20.836  16   A. Boissière Yamaha  FRA  +1' 21.367  17   X. Boog Yamaha  FRA  +1' 37.420  18   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +1' 38.361  19   A. Meo Honda  FRA  +1' 42.706  20   X. Hernandez Yamaha  ESP  +2' 4.111  Race 2: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  39' 3.713  2   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +2.722  3   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +31.055  4   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +31.665  5   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +46.951  6   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  +50.148  7   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +51.227  8   D. Guarneri Yamaha  ITA  +1' 0.608  9   L. Seguy Yamaha  FRA  +1' 1.271  10   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 3.247  11   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +1' 9.648  12   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +1' 16.081  13   P. Caps Honda  BEL  +1' 24.348  14   P A. Renet Honda  FRA  +1' 32.019  15   N. Aubin Kawasaki  FRA  +1' 47.976  16   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +1' 55.744  17   X. Boog Yamaha  FRA  +2' 0.651  18   A. Boissière Yamaha  FRA  +1 lap(s)  19   K. Gundersen Yamaha  SWE  +1 lap(s)  20   X. Hernandez Yamaha  ESP  +1 lap(s)  Championship standings MX2   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Tyla Rattray KTM  RSA 83  2   Marc De Reuver KTM  NED 74  3   Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 64  4   Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha  SWE 64  5   David Philippaerts KTM  ITA 59  6   Antonio Cairoli Yamaha  ITA 53  7   Alessio Chiodi Yamaha  ITA 48  8   Carl Nunn KTM  GBR 47  9   Billy MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR 45  10   Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 44  11   Rui Goncalves KTM  POR 42  12   Davide Guarneri Yamaha  ITA 32  13   Luigi Seguy Yamaha  FRA 32  14   Tommy Searle Kawasaki  GBR 32  15   Patrick Caps Honda  BEL 28  16   Antoine Meo Honda  FRA 27  17   Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA 15  18   Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda  FRA 14  19   Aigar Leok Yamaha  EST 13  20   Matti Seistola Honda  FIN 13  23   Anthony Boissière Yamaha  FRA 8  28   Xavier Hernandez Yamaha  ESP 2  Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 50  2  Yamaha 40  3  Kawasaki 32  4  Honda 22
Alex Asigno

Haga Third Fastest and Top Yamaha Rider At Misano

Noriyuki Haga was once more the fastest Yamaha qualifier at an official SBK test, and had he not found another rider in his path when running qualifying rubber in the final afternoon session, he may even have had the chance to improve his 1'33.870 best. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) was once more the rider leaving a test session with the fastest time, a new track record 1'33.317. Haga, who had tested new triple clamps and rear suspension linkages on his R1, decided not to continue in the very last moments of the two day test, thanks to the residue left on the track surface after an oil spill at the first corner. He thus had to rely on his best time from the morning session, rather than the final one. Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt was a top ten rider on his R1, working steadily through revised engine mapping and also losing out on a final chance to set a faster time than his 1'34.469. Times in general were tight, with 14 riders covered by just over a single second, from second to 15th place. A strong ride in the final session from Sebastien Gimbert, on his Yamaha Motor France Ipone R1, put him 11th fastest, a particularly fine performance from a rider who had not ridden at Misano for 11 years. Norick Abe continued to find Misano a difficult challenge on his Yamaha Motor France Ipone R1, with his efforts to go faster often met by stubborn resistance on the tight and twist Misano layout. World Superbike rookie Shinichi Nakatomi was 20th out of 27 riders at Misano, during his first visit to the Italian circuit, which forms the venue for round six of the championships on 25 June. Noriyuki Haga - Yamaha Motor Italia "The balance of the bike was good today and I decided to test a soft tyre. I found Kagayama in front of me but without that happening I think I could have set a lap time closer to Bayliss. When the circuit got covered in oil and then cement dust we decided to stop, so I could not use a soft tyre in the afternoon session." Andrew Pitt - Yamaha Motor Italia "It would have been nice to be further up the list but I just didn't put it together on a qualifying tyre. On race tyres the bike was good and we improved it a lot. The bike is much the same as Valencia, which is a good thing. We don't need to change it much now, which is what we've been looking for for a while. We tuned in the electronics a bit more, to make it even easier to open the throttle earlier. It was all pretty good." Sebastien Gimbert - Yamaha Motor France "All the team worked very hard and the bike was very good compared to the races in Qatar and Australia. For me it was not so hard to get the bike working well here and set some fast times around the circuit. I am very content with the progress and the good work we have all made." Norick Abe - Yamaha Motor France "We tried out many things. Last year I raced here and it was the first time for me. It was the worst race of the year, and this time it still felt no good. So maybe I don't like this track. Step-by-step we did better than before, but compared to most other riders it was not so good. Despite that, I think we are two seconds better than last year. The tyres are much better than last year as well. But I would like to forget this Misano test and just get to Valencia." Shinichi Nakatomi - Yamaha Motor France "I have never been here before so it was important to test and make a race set-up for when we come back in June. It is a very different track, with three fast left hand corners onto the back straight. We worked a lot, and I did 162 laps to learn the circuit better."  Massimo Meregalli - Team Coordinator Yamaha Motor Italia "We had a plan and we got all out work done, the only thing we could not do was to go out at the end on soft tyres, because of the dust on the track. But the test was good. The only question mark we have now is the temperature of the track when we return for the race in June. We hope that for the race the bike's performance, which was very good here, is the same." OFFICIAL SBK TESTS WSB: Circuit: Misano Adriatico Circuit Length: 4.060km Temp: 16ºC Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1' 34.913 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.317 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Date: 12-13 April 2006 Classification: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 1' 33.317 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1' 33.824 3 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1' 33.870 4 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1' 33.933 5 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1' 33.984 6 R. Laconi Kawasaki ITA 1' 34.085 7 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1' 34.181 8 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1' 34.266 9 R. Xaus Ducati ESP 1' 34.315 10 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 34.469 11 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1' 34.618 12 F. Foret Suzuki FRA 1' 34.660 13 A. Barros Honda BRA 1' 34.683 14 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA 1' 34.852 15 S. Martin Petronas AUS 1' 34.862 19 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1' 35.574 20 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1' 35.684 Parkes quickest ever at Misano Misano Adriatico, Italy 13/4/2006 Yamaha Motor Germany rider Broc Parkes finished the second official test of the 2006 WSS season at the top of the timing sheets, with a new Supersport circuit record of 1'36.411 to his credit. His team-mate Kevin Curtain was fourth quickest, having set his fastest lap on the first day of testing, concentrating most of his efforts on machine set-up in preparation for the Misano WSS race in June. In addition to the regular set-up work on the all-new R6 machine carried out by the team, new and existing specifications of Pirelli control tyres were worked through by both Yamaha Motor Germany riders, with Parkes pleased to see the return of his favourite front tyre at this test. Yamaha Team Italia rider Gianluca Vizziello was an impressive third fastest overall, his best of 1'36.892 set in the very last of four Supersport sessions. He was one of three riders under the previous circuit best of former Yamaha rider Simone Sanna during the last session of the Misano test. Christian Zaiser (Ducati) was second fastest, with Vizziello's team-mate, Massimo Roccoli, sixth. Broc Parkes - Yamaha Motor Germany "On top today and happy. The bike was awesome. The main difference for me today was the front tyre, that and getting to know the bike a lot better. At the end of last year we had a particular front tyre that I really liked but for some reason it was not in the allocation for the first races, but for me, as soon as I get it, I can go. This is also a pretty enjoyable track to ride around." Kevin Curtain - Yamaha Motor Germany "This was a very good test for us, and we made the bike a lot better than it was last time we rode. We worked through heaps of stuff on the bike and a whole lot of front and rear tyres. There are no prizes for pole position at a test so I am not bothered about setting the fastest time. The main thing was improving the whole package, and we did that." Gianluca Vizziello - Yamaha Team Italia "Today's performance was the result of some very good development work. At the first two races of the year we had not had the bikes for very long, so most of the engine work was done just before the Valencia tests. Then is Spain we must have tried about ten different settings on the suspension, to find the best. We have put all the best parts together now and the bike was great at this test. I like Misano very much and the whole team did a very good job." Official Misano Test WSS Circuit: Misano Adriatico Circuit Length: 4.060km Lap Record: 1' 37.924 (Katsuaki Fujiwara, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 36.411 (Broc Parkes, 2006) Date: 12 - 13 April 2006 Temp: 16ºC Classification: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Best Time 1 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1' 36.411 2 C. Zaiser Ducati AUT 1' 36'507 3 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1' 36.892 4 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS 1' 36.927 5 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'37.339 6 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1' 37.372 7 G. Nannelli Ducati ITA 1' 37'483 8 Y. Tibero Honda FRA 1' 37.682 9 D. Checa Yamaha FRA 1'37.745 10 A. Aldrovandi Honda ITA 1'38.238 11 M. Sanchini Yamaha ITA 1' 38.433 12 G. Leblanc Honda FRA 1'38.553 13 S. Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'38.719 14 J. Brookes Ducati AUS 1'38.756 15 T. Tunstall Hoinda GBR 1'38.775 16 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA 1' 39.214 17 M. Praia Honda POR 1'39.385 18 L. Nedog Ducati SLO 1'39.585
Alex Asigno

Superbike World Championship: round three - Valencia

The Spanish round of the Superbike World Championship takes place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on the outskirts of Valencia. The modern venue is well known to all the superbike riders, as it is a favourite location for winter testing and the host of the first official FG Sport test, held between round two at Phillip Island and this weekend's third round of the championship. Valencia is a tight and twisty circuit built with spectators in mind. Surrounded by grandstands, fans can see almost the entire circuit from their seat. The favourable winter weather conditions and modern facilities, including sprinkler systems to simulate wet conditions, mean that the circuit is in use throughout the year by everything from trucks to Formula One cars, MotoGP to national championship riders. Perhaps because of this, grip levels can be unpredictable, causing conditions to change by the hour and requiring constant adjustments to the set-up of the bike. Yamaha Motor Italia has been busy since the opening rounds of the series at Qatar and Australia, attending official tests at Valencia and Misano. Valencia was the venue for the first of those tests, ensuring that the Yamaha Motor Italia squad goes into this weekend's race with good settings for their YZF-R1 machines. Haga ended that test sixth overall, testing a whole range of chassis, suspension and electronics parts for his bike. Currently lying sixth in the championship, the Japanese ace was in sensational form in Qatar - finishing third in race two after crashing out of the opener while challenging for the lead on the last lap. Valencia is a favourite of Haga, who has won there in 2000 and 2004, and he is looking forward to this weekend's races. Team-mate Andrew Pitt is currently fifth in the championship. Finishing third in Qatar's opening race, Pitt has been the epitome of consistency with two fifth places also to his credit. The 2001 supersport world champion ended the Valencia test just a few places behind his team-mate, setting the eighth fastest time at the end of the three days. Like Haga, the Australian completed a comprehensive test programme and is confident he has found a good set-up for the weekend's race. With the first two rounds taking place seven weeks earlier, many people see the Valencia round as the 'real' start of the season. Having worked out of flight cases at the fly-away rounds in Qatar and Australia, the teams will have the added advantage of having their full accompaniment of trucks and hospitality units to help them settle in for the main European season. This year sees the championship take in a total of 13 rounds of two races each. Valencia marks the start of 10 European races, with the series due to end with a final flyaway round to South Africa, most likely at the Kyalami circuit, in October. Valencia also plays host to round three of the Supersport World Championship and the opening round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. In supersport, Australian Kevin Curtain lies second in the championship having finished in that position in the opening two races of the season. In superstock, last year's 600cc champion Claudio Corti makes his debut in the 1000cc class as Yamaha looks to make it a hat-trick in the championship. The third-generation YZF-R1 has won the series every year since the bike was introduced for the 2004 season.
Alex Asigno

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