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Yamaha Racing News

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Edwards seals front row start at Shanghai

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards will start from the front row of the MotoGP grid in tomorrow's Grand Prix of China after setting the third fastest time in a dramatic single qualifying session today. After battling through torrentially wet conditions yesterday, the riders enjoyed a cloudy but dry free practice this morning as they sought to find a suitable dry set-up for their machines. The afternoon started in similar conditions but a brief rain shower midway through the session confined the riders to a tense spell in their pit garages before a thrilling late shootout for grid positions. Whilst Edwards battled for the top spot with eventual pole setter Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and second-fastest John Hopkins (Suzuki), his Camel Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was unable to repeat the kind of form that saw him dominate proceedings in the wet conditions yesterday. The Italian was one of several riders to struggle with a lack of dry practice time as he looked to iron out set-up problems and find his pace. He now faces another battle through the pack after setting the 13th fastest time, meaning he will start from the fifth row of the grid. Colin Edwards (3rd; 1'59.383, 15 laps) "This has been a really strange weekend because we started off by finding a setting for the wet and then converted it to the dry - usually it is the other way around! I felt so comfortable with the bike yesterday and I was disappointed when I saw that I was down in thirteenth, but I knew the reason for that and I was really confident about today. I can't really explain why we were off the pace in Turkey but have been right on it here in China, because we have hardly touched anything with the bike, just played around with the suspension. We've got some chatter in certain areas of the track but it's worse when the grip is good, especially when we put a qualifying tyre on. On race rubber you can hardly notice it so I think we have a good setting to go the distance tomorrow and I am happy with my tyre choice. I've had some decent starts to races so far this season but haven't been able to maintain the pace, so hopefully I can turn that around tomorrow. It feels good to be back on the front row." Valentino Rossi (13th; 2'00.720, 18 laps) "For sure we have a lot of problems and it's disappointing to be back in this position again after such a good day yesterday. When the grip becomes normal again, like today, we have a lot of chatter and it's very hard to ride the bike. Really this situation is quite bad, as the chatter has returned again today and it is similar to how it was in Jerez. Now we have to start from the fifth row and so it's going to be a very hard race. We have talked a lot tonight in the garage and now we will try some things in the morning during warm-up and hope that we can make some final improvements. Now I need to ride a defensive race, try not to make any mistakes and try to take as many points as possible."  Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "A very good result for Colin - it's been a while since he was on the front row so it is good to see him back there. He seems much more comfortable on the bike and it's good to see that he is able to ride it so effectively. Unfortunately Valentino wasn't able to follow up his good performance from yesterday with a similar result today, so we will have to take a look at the data with the engineers and try to come up with some ideas for the warm-up tomorrow." Clouds clear to allow progress for Tech 3 Yamaha Team The rain clouds of the opening day cleared sufficiently to permit steady progress for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team during Day Two of the Polini Grand Prix of China at the technically demanding Shanghai International Circuit. However, the solitary qualifying session for all important grid positions was briefly interrupted when a light sprinkling of rain covered the circuit to curtail proceedings for a quarter of the one-hour period. With a new batch of Dunlop qualifying tyres, team riders Carlos Checa and James Ellison secured 14th and 17th positions respectively, the most encouraging aspect for the team being both riders are closer to the leading lap times than in previous Grands Prix. With race weekend's doubling as tyre tests, it has confirmed that the team is heading in a positive direction in both wet and dry conditions. Carlos Checa (14th, 2'01.052, 18 laps) "Considering everything that has happened with the weather, it hasn't been too bad. In the morning session on race tyres we have found a direction to move forward and now physically I'm feeling ok after my injuries from Jerez. I have all my strength and gives me more confidence to push hard for the entire race which is quite important to me. I hope tomorrow can be a dry race as we have a few solutions to try in the warm-up and we'll see if we can improve a few other areas to make better and better. The front tyre is working quite well, but the rear we need to increase grip and stability. We already know the race tyre but after the break in qualifying we couldn't run any more race tyres tests as we had to use the new qualifying tyres to make sure we kept within range of the others". James Ellison (17th. 2'02.088, 16 laps) "The qualifying tyres are working quite well now. We've made a massive improvement compared to what we have done previously. I'm also just a second from Carlos and that is the closest I've been all year which is another encouraging sign for me. Tomorrow in warm-up we're going to try the race tyre I prefer which is a slightly bigger one and run the whole session with it. With the bigger tyre we have found the stability we were missing so that's a good confidence boost and if the temperature is hotter as the forecast indicates that's going to help us as well. We've been making big improvements every session this weekend and we're getting closer on the race set up considering we really only had that one hour session this morning. During a meeting we have to test qualifying, slicks and wet tyres so it's hard to find a race setup but that's what we have to do. After four races we've now found a good direction to push forward and unlike other teams we have no data from previous years to work on so with everything considered I think that we are finally making the progress we have been aiming for". Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "We've had a good two days and given a lot of information to Dunlop about wet weather tyre development. Carlos found a good feeling with his tyre for the dry and so did James. We've done all our times since Qatar on race tyres but now the qualifying tyres seem to be working well. Carlos is in between Elias and Rossi which shows we are between good riders and different bikes. I'm very pleased with James this afternoon. I'm sure when James gets some more confidence he will improve a lot. Hopefully the race will be dry, because nobody has done a lot of laps but we are happy. We are progressing and we are improving. We won't win the race or be on the podium tomorrow but we are performing our mission as we started from scratch with Dunlop. Also, now that Carlos is recovered I think it will help him racing more aggressively and more comfortably".     Round: 4 - 2006 MotoGP Shanghai Circuit: Shanghai Circuit Length: 5451 Lap Record: 2' 13.716 (Alex Barros, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 59.009 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Date: 13 May 2006 Temp: 19ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 59.009   2  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 59.373   3  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 59.383   4  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 59.570   5  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 59.574   6  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 59.639   7  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 59.890   8  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   2' 0.014   9  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   2' 0.044   10  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   2' 0.078   11  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   2' 0.176   12  C. Vermeulen  Suzuki  AUS   2' 0.304   13  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   2' 0.720   14  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   2' 1.052   15  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   2' 1.275   16  A. Hofmann  Ducati  GER   2' 1.972   17  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   2' 2.088
Alex Asigno

Edwards makes podium return in gruelling Shanghai affair

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards charged from the front row of the grid to the podium today with a determined performance in the Grand Prix of China. Whilst his team-mate Valentino Rossi was denied the chance to challenge for a top three spot after pulling in with a tyre problem on the sixteenth lap, Edwards reaped the rewards of a blistering start to the race, when he snatched the hole-shot and led the field over the opening stages. In sunny and warm conditions Edwards set a scorching pace that only a handful of riders were able to follow, but finally succumbed to pressure from Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on lap ten, the young Spaniard forcing his way past and taking his team-mate Nicky Hayden along for company. Rossi, meanwhile, had been making positive progress through the field, working his way up from thirteenth on the grid to fifth place in the race before bad luck struck once again. The Italian began to feel that there was something wrong with his bike and initially thought it was being caused by the rear tyre. After a swift change he attempted to rejoin the race, only to return to the pits next time around after realising the problem was coming from the front tyre. Edwards consolidated third place for his first podium appearance of the season as Pedrosa held off the challenge of Hayden to clinch his maiden MotoGP win. Colin Edwards (3rd; + 14.634) "I got a really good start and just decided to go as fast as I could over the opening laps. I was close to losing control on a couple of occasions but I decided that I'd rather crash out of the lead today than miss my chance of finishing on the podium, which meant I just couldn't back off. I had some chatter and I could only push the bike so hard; if I went any faster than 2'00.7 then the chatter forced me to slow down, so I didn't have much choice but to hang in there! The freight train came past with Dani and Nicky but I couldn't hang on to the back, they were both just too fast. We've had some problems this weekend and I didn't expect to be on the podium but I can't thank my team, Yamaha and Michelin enough for the way they worked to put me in a competitive position. I think I scored my first podium in round four last season too, so hopefully this can be a sign to kick on from here." Valentino Rossi (DNF) "I didn't get a bad start to the race and I passed a lot of riders but I had a battle with Marco Melandri that cost me some time. Some of his moves were quite strong, which I could understand if we were fighting for the win on the last lap but not for eighth place at that stage of the race. Anyway, the bike felt good but just as I got my pace to 2'00.1 it suddenly started to feel wrong and I thought I had a problem with the rear tyre. I came in to change it but as I went back out I realised it was actually the front tyre, so that was the end of the race for me. I'm really disappointed because I felt in the race that I had the pace to at least pass Hopkins and Edwards, so as far as I am concerned we have lost 16 points and a podium, which would have been a good result after the problems we've had this weekend. We've lost some ground in the championship so I am feeling very disappointed right now but there is a long way to go yet." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "First of all my congratulations to Colin and all his crew - they have kept going after a difficult start to the season and today they got their reward. Third place is good and I hope it can be the start of much better things from him for the rest of the season. Valentino had a bad day, and even if we had changed the front tyre the first time he came in, it would have taken too long and the race would have already been lost. He has been very unlucky this year - firstly with the incident in the first corner at Jerez and now this time with the tyre. It's always upsetting when your results are decided by things that are out of your control but there is nothing he can do about it, only look forward to making up for lost ground over an important run of races in the next few weeks."  Step forward in tyre consistency for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Some may say that finishing 14th and 17th in the Polini Grand Prix of China is an unacceptable result, but the Tech 3 Yamaha Team believes that after a weather effected weekend, positive steps have been made in the consistency of the Dunlop tyres, and are confident that now that has been attained, it will lead to further progression in the remaining races of 2006. By the completion of the today's race, Carlos Checa and James Ellison finished closer to many teams than in any of the season's previous races. Now that the question of the durability of Dunlop tyres has been answered, the next item on the team's agenda is to increase the performance and believe that the next level will be possible in the near future. Carlos Checa (14th, Fastest lap 2'02.610) "We have been working hard through the weekend and we knew that it was going to be difficult but our mission has been to reduce the difference to the large second group of bikes. We have come far in making the tyres last the distance but now our objective is to ensure that we improve our level of performance to lower our lap times over the entire distance. We haven't got the speed in the middle of the turn, especially in acceleration at the moment, but now that the tyres are lasting we need to increase the performance so we can go faster for longer and not be so far off in lap times. What Dunlop has been able to do in these four races makes me confident that they will be able to improve in the areas we need, to bring the lap times down and get even closer to those that are in front. I don't want to be negative but when the lap times are not there, everyone should be concerned. I knew that this was the situation in Dunlop when I came here so it is no surprise. I must carry on and fight against this situation and improve. We must not give up, - completely the opposite - we must work harder, more harder than the others if we want to catch them. I think we can improve one or two steps. The top level will be difficult if we compare with the other tyre rivals but we have to keep trying". James Ellison (17th, Fastest lap 2'03.139) "We're improving the durability of the tyres, but then the side grip dropped away and at a place like China where you're on the side of the tyre for a long period this is going to cost you a lot. To compensate for this I couldn't run the lines I wanted to, so I had to get over the front more. Don't get me wrong, we've made a big step with consistency but towards the end of the race I couldn't carry the corner speed I wanted. Obviously we still have work to do with the bike and the tyres to get the whole package working. The Dunlop guys have got a heap of new stuff coming to Le Mans and the test afterwards. They have been working very hard to improve the situation so we'll see what happens". Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "I am reasonably happy, although you can't jump up and down when you are finishing 14th and 17th, but I think that is the best race of the season for us so far. There was no major drop off in the lap times, the pace wasn't good enough to be in front but we were quite close to Kenny (Roberts Jr) with a factory engine on Michelin's and not far from de Puniet. We are happy with race distance durability but now we have to upgrade the performance because I think we need to be a second a lap quicker to be with the group we are looking at. "We have made some quite big improvements since the start of the project. There are another 13 races to go; Carlos working the way he is working, giving good feedback; James being closer than where he has been before; we have a two-days test after the French Grand Prix next week: hopefully Dunlop will continue the progression we are seeing. We go out of China with the feeling we have done quite a good Grand Prix". "We are seeing progress, everyone is working so hard and we must not stop. We must continue pushing and pushing."    Race classification MotoGP Round: 4 - 2006 MotoGP Shanghai Circuit: Shanghai Circuit Length: 5451 Lap Record: 1' 59.318 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 59.009 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Race: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Pedrosa Honda  ESP  44' 7.734  2   N. Hayden Honda  USA  +1.505  3   C. Edwards Yamaha  USA  +14.634  4   J. Hopkins Suzuki  USA  +19.265  5   C. Stoner Honda  AUS  +23.061  6   M. Tamada Honda  JPN  +23.879  7   M. Melandri Honda  ITA  +24.101  8   L. Capirossi Ducati  ITA  +24.467  9   S. Gibernau Ducati  ESP  +28.358  10   S. Nakano Kawasaki  JPN  +33.851  11   T. Elias Honda  ESP  +35.316  12   R. De Puniet Kawasaki  FRA  +52.004  13   K. Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA  +56.293  14   C. Checa Yamaha  ESP  +1' 3.575  15   A. Hofmann Ducati  GER  +1' 11.172  16   J. Ellison Yamaha  GBR  +1' 23.075  17   J. Cardoso Ducati  ESP  +1' 35.150  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Pedrosa Honda  ESP  1' 59.318  Championship standings MotoGP   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Nicky Hayden Honda  USA 72  2   Loris Capirossi Ducati  ITA 59  3   Daniel Pedrosa Honda  ESP 57  4   Marco Melandri Honda  ITA 54  5   Casey Stoner Honda  AUS 52  6   Valentino Rossi Yamaha  ITA 40  7   Toni Elias Honda  ESP 37  8   Colin Edwards Yamaha  USA 35  9   Shinya Nakano Kawasaki  JPN 28  10   Sete Gibernau Ducati  ESP 25  11   Makato Tamada Honda  JPN 24  12   John Hopkins Suzuki  USA 20  13   Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA 20  14   Chris Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS 13  15   Carlos Checa Yamaha  ESP 10  17   James Ellison Yamaha  GBR 3  Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 90  2  Ducati 59  2  Yamaha 59  3  Suzuki 29  4  Kawasaki 28  5  Team Roberts KR 20  Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points  1  Repsol Honda Team 129  2  Fortuna Honda Team 91  3  Ducati Marlboro Team 84  4  Camel Yamaha Team 75  5  Honda LCR 52  6  Kawasaki Racing Team 36  7  Rizla Suzuki 33  8  Konica Minolta Honda 24  9  Team Roberts KR 20  10  Tech3 Yamaha 13  11  Pramac D'Antin 3
Alex Asigno

Johnny Aubert takes championship lead

The UFO Corse Yamaha team claimed their best results of the 2006 World Enduro Championship at round three of the series, the GP of Euskadi staged at Gernika, Spain, where team riders Stefan Merriman and Johnny Aubert claimed a day win each in the highly competitive Enduro 2 class. Having both performed well at the GP of Portugal, where they also claimed a day win each, it was Merriman who was first to top the E2 class podium in Gernika after a consistent and incident free performance on day one. On day two Aubert claimed the win and moved to the top of the 2006 Enduro 2 world championship standings. With conditions wet and slippery on day one Merriman claimed the E2 class win and 25 important world championship points largely due to making fewer mistakes than his rivals. Remaining upright on all tests Stefan finished 15 seconds ahead of team-mate Johnny Aubert to make it a Yamaha one-two. Finishing third was Finn Samuli Aro. On day two WEC debutant Aubert simply proved too fast for his Enduro 2 class rivals and placed 47 seconds ahead of Merriman who claimed the runner-up spot. Despite having reversed their finishing order from day one Aubert's and Merriman's performances again ensured that Yamaha claimed a decisive one-two result with Aubert also moving to the head of the E2 world championship standings. Placing third, as he did on day one, was Samuli Aro. Johnny Aubert Enduro 2 class - Day 1 Second, Day 2 First: "I know that I am fast in muddy and rutted conditions but when I heard that the race was going to be difficult I thought that I would struggle, especially in the time checks. Finishing second on day one and winning day two is much better than I ever thought I could do. I am so happy to have won again, especially now that it puts me in the lead of the Enduro 2 world championship. I made one big mistake on the extreme test on day one, which cost me some time, but apart from that it went well. I did also make one mistake on one of the difficult up hills on the enduro test but I was pushing hard at the time so mistakes happen when you are riding hard. Despite my errors I wasn't so far behind Stefan so I knew that if I could ride well on day two I could win. Day two went really well for me. I felt good all the day, although a little tired at the end, and put in some really good test times. I didn't make any big mistakes, in fact my only mistake was hitting neutral once on the motocross test on lap two. I am really, really happy with the way the race has gone for me. Leading the world championship is fantastic." Stefan Merriman Enduro 2 class - Day 1: First, Day 2: Second: "It's been a good weekend for me finishing in first and second in the Enduro 2 class, which I'm pleased with. Obviously I would have liked to have won on both days but Johnny Aubert was really fast on day two. Mika Ahola was actually a little faster than me on day one but he made a big mistake on the enduro test, which lost him a lot of time. I rode consistent on day one and that really helped me. I didn't have any problems and things went really well. On day two I found things really hard. Not being the biggest of riders it takes every bit of my energy to hold on to the bike when I'm pushing hard, especially on a long enduro test like we had. The race was a little too hard, I think. All the riders were really tired at the end of the first day and then at the end of the second day they were absolutely exhausted. We were lucky with the weather really because if it had rained hard on either day then it would have been extremely difficult." Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 3 - Gernika, Spain Circuit: Gernika Race: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Merriman Yamaha  AUS  39' 58.620  2   J. Aubert Yamaha  FRA  +40' 13.180  3   S. Aro KTM  FIN  +40' 36.810  4   M. Ahola Honda  FIN  +41' 43.410  5   P. Edmondson Honda  GBR  +41 ' 43.410  6   F. Planet KTM  FRA  +41' 50.300  7   C. Guerrero GasGas  ESP  +42' 15.530  8   X. Galindo KTM  ESP  +42' 23.910  9   A. Belotti KTM  ITA  +42' 34.130  10   A. Beconi Beta  ITA  +42' 53.710  11   N. Paganon Husqvarna  FRA  +42' 57.500  12   E. McConnell TM  GBR  +43' 19.960  13   C. Nambotin Husqvarna  FRA  +43' 25.640  14   E. Albepart Honda  FRA  +43' 39.360  15   F. Dini Yamaha  ITA  +43' 51.510  16   A. Botturi Aprilia  ITA  +43' 58.500  17   J. Curvalle Kawasaki  FRA  +44' 30.900  18   E. Memmi Sherco  FRA  +45' 31.110  19   J. Simoncini Suzuki  ITA  +46' 23.360  20   V. Salonen HusaBerg  FIN  +46' 43.080  Race 2: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   J. Aubert Yamaha  FRA  51' 41.940  2   S. Merriman Yamaha  AUS  +52' 29.600  3   S. Aro KTM  FIN  +52' 55.990  4   C. Guerrero GasGas  ESP  +53' 11.890  5   M. Ahola Honda  FIN  +53' 11.500  6   P. Edmondson Honda  GBR  +53' 50.290  7   X. Galindo KTM  ESP  +54' 50.570  8   A. Belotti KTM  ITA  +54' 27.520  9   C. Nambotin Husqvarna  FRA  +55' 21.260  10   F. Dini Yamaha  ITA  +55' 2.510  11   N. Paganon Husqvarna  FRA  +55' 21.260  12   E. McConnell TM  GBR  +55' 23.440  13   A. Botturi Aprilia  ITA  +55' 31.660  14   V. Salonen HusaBerg  FIN  +56' 44.240  15   F. Planet KTM  FRA  +56' 52.920  16   F. Mancinelli Beta  ITA  +59' 52.920  17   J. Simoncini Suzuki  ITA  +59' 45.060  Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Johnny Aubert Yamaha  FRA 130  2   Samuli Aro KTM  FIN 128  3   Stefan Merriman Yamaha  AUS 123  4   Mika Ahola Honda  FIN 122  5   Fabien Planet KTM  FRA 83  6   Cristobal Guerrero GasGas  ESP 81  7   Xavier Galindo KTM  ESP 73  8   Paul Edmondson Honda  GBR 62  9   Fabrizio Dini Yamaha  ITA 52  10   Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg  FIN 49  11   Andrea Beconi Beta  ITA 47  12   Euan McConnell TM  GBR 44  13   Andrea Belotti KTM  ITA 43  14   Alessandro Botturi Aprilia  ITA 41  15   Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna  FRA 31  16   Petteri Silvan KTM  FIN 28  17   Emmanuel Albepart Honda  FRA 27  18   Thierry Klutz Sherco  BEL 21  19   Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna  FRA 20  20   Riku Rihelainen HusaBerg  FIN 19  Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 140  2  KTM 128  3  Honda 122  4  GasGas 85  5  Beta 52  6  HusaBerg 49  7  TM 43  8  Aprilia 41  9  Husqvarna 39  10  Sherco 31  11  Suzuki 13  12  Kawasaki 10  Enduro 1 : Micheluz faces gruelling conditions succesfully Round: 3 - Gernika, Spain Circuit: Gernika Date: 14 May 2006 Crowd: 6000 Temp: 24ºC Weather: Sunny Just as at the second round of the 2006 World Enduro Championship the UFO Corse Yamaha team were without the services of Spaniard Arnau Vilanova for the GP of Euskadi, staged in Gernika, Spain, due to the team's number one Enduro 1 class rider being unable to compete through injury. In his absence Italian Maurizio Micheluz, who claimed his best ever world championship result at the GP of Portugal one week earlier, again performed well aboard his WR250 to finish in sixth on both days of competition.  Hoping to improve on his fourth place finish on day two at the second round of the WEC series Micheluz rode consistently on day one in Spain despite the wet and extremely challenging conditions. Finishing close behind former 125cc World Enduro Champion Petri Pohjamo on day one, Maurizio was one of just 12 Enduro 1 class finishers on day two - an indication of just how tough the race was. Having placed in sixth on both days Maurizio is now placed in sixth in the Enduro 1 world championship standings just 12 points behind the fifth placed rider. Reigning Enduro 1 world champion Ivan Cervantes topped the E1 class on both days finishing ahead of team-mate Alessandro Belometti on day one and ahead of Italian Simone Albergoni on day two. Maurizio Micheluz Enduro 1 class - Day 1 sixth, Day 2 sixth: "It has been a good weekend for me really. It was an extremely hard race on both days, but a good one. I crashed several times on day one and lost a lot of time, which affected my result a little. I wasn't able to match the pace of the top three riders in the E1 class, so I know I have some work to do on my speed, but I was happy with my riding. I finished in sixth on both days, which I am happy with so it has been a good enough race for me."     Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 3 - Gernika, Spain Circuit: Gernika Race: 1 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   I. Cervantes KTM  ESP  40' 50.200  2   A. Belometti KTM  ITA  +41 ' 8.170  3   B. Oblucki Husqvarna  POL  +41' 9.540  4   S. Albergoni Honda  ITA  +41' 35.040  5   P. Pohjamo TM  FIN  +42' 44.750  6   M. Micheluz Yamaha  ITA  +43' 2.440  7   H. Rodrigues Yamaha  POR  +43' 36.600  8   N. Deparrois Husqvarna  FRA  +43' 41.860  9   P. Bergvall Suzuki  SWE  +44' 5.900  10   J. Gauthier Honda  FRA  +44' 16.400  11   M. Hartmann KTM  GER  +44' 47.850  12   J. Jou Yamaha  ESP  +46' 42.170  13   E. Gutkin TM  FRA  +47' 57.040  
Alex Asigno

Camel Yamaha Team quest returns to Europe

The Camel Yamaha Team get back to European territory this weekend as they look to bring their MotoGP World Championship points quest back on track in France, following a disappointing run of races on unfamiliar shores. The legendary Le Mans circuit, which has intermittently played home to the MotoGP World Championship since 1969, has been a fixture on the calendar for the last six seasons and this year plays host to the fifth round of an incredible campaign that has already seen four different winners. Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi is one of those - his sole victory so far coming in the second round at Qatar - but he is aiming to put an end to the parity this weekend as he aims to recover from a largely disappointing run of early season results. A first-corner crash at Jerez and technical problems in the last two rounds at Istanbul and Shanghai mean the Italian lies 32 points adrift of current leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), but the most pressing issue for Rossi is to finally overcome the problems that have restricted development of the 2006 version YZR-M1 machine so far. The 4,180m track holds happy memories for the Camel Yamaha Team, with Rossi having taken pole position and the lap record on his way to victory last season, when he was joined on the podium by his team-mate Colin Edwards. A repeat result is the target for both riders this Sunday, with Edwards having recorded his first top-three finish of the season just days ago in China, when he also extended his run of points-scoring finishes to 25 - a number only previously achieved by Grand Prix legends Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson and Valentino Rossi. Valentino Rossi: A critical time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi knows that the time is right to turn around his early misfortune and start picking up serious points in his bid to defend motorcycling's premier-class crown for the fifth successive season. The Italian currently lies sixth in the general standings but he is well aware that a change in fortune can spark a good run of results over the next few weeks and dramatically improve his situation. "Sunday was the second time in the first four races that we've scored virtually zero points and on both occasions it hasn't been our fault," reflects Rossi. "Luck has definitely not been on our side but the most important thing now is to sort our problems out as soon as possible because we have a run of important races coming up - starting at Le Mans. The next four or five rounds in Europe are the 'main course' of the season and it is a critical time for us. "We have got some new things to try at Le Mans so hopefully they can help us find a good base set-up but still have enough room for improvement to keep the pace with our rivals over the weekend. We are up against good riders on good machinery and we have to be at our maximum level to be able to beat them. I am already a few points behind the leader but the championship is very long, I have a lot of confidence in my team and we have time to put things right. "Le Mans is not one of my favourite tracks but last year it was very good for us. I took pole position, the fastest lap of the race on the final lap and the victory and Colin was also on the podium, so it was a perfect weekend for us. We hope this weekend can be the same."  Colin Edwards: Repeat podium the target Colin Edwards has his sights firmly set on consecutive podium finishes following his first top-three result in nine months at China on Sunday. Edwards also scored his maiden rostrum of 2005 in round four, which took place at Le Mans one year ago, when he led the race for several laps before eventually conceding positions to Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau. The Texan is hoping that can be a good omen for a repeat success this time around. "I seem to like round four of the season and I was really pleased it came good for me again in China," smiled Edwards. "Last year's podium at Le Mans was the kick-start to a decent run of results for me so I hope that can prove to be the case this time around. It's no secret that we've been having problems with the bike but we're working hard and if we're capable of winning races and taking podiums when we're in trouble then just think what we can do when everything is running smoothly! "I don't mind Le Mans as a circuit too much - it's a real 'stop and go' track, as everybody says, with hard braking, tight corners and hard acceleration. We'll have some work to do with the set-up of the bike but this track was good for us last year so hopefully it can prove a little bit easier to adapt to and not as critical in terms of the problems we've had at the last few circuits." Davide Brivio: Keeping our heads down Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is looking forward to the relative normality of life on the road as the MotoGP World Championship returns for a seven-week spell on European shores. After a gruelling start to the season including flyaway trips to Qatar, Turkey and China, the team's trucks - home to their travelling workshops and offices - will roll into Le Mans this week to provide a focal point for the hard work to begin. "After such a difficult start, which nonetheless has given us one win with Valentino and Colin's recent podium, I hope the next few weeks in Europe will be like a new beginning to the season for us." says Brivio. "The races coming up are crucial but all we can do is keep our heads down and continue to work hard on solving the problems we have found this year. There is clearly a lot of room for improvement but we know from the performances of Valentino and Colin already this season that the bike has real potential, so we are excited about finally seeing it performing to its maximum. Hopefully that can be at Le Mans. "The engineers at Yamaha have been working very hard to make sure that is the case and Valentino will have a new chassis available from the first practice session on Friday. We will compare it with the current one and will decide later if we will use it or not. We will also remain there for a test on Monday to continue with our development. Last year we had a very good weekend at Le Mans, which finished with both of our riders on the podium, so it would be nice to repeat that result! If we can shake off the bad luck that has been following us around the world recently then we have plenty of reason to be confident." Technically speaking: Le Mans according to Jeremy Burgess Le Mans is an archetypal stop-go track, with the added complication of one of the highest speed turns on the calendar, just after the short start-finish straight. There are several hairpins and chicanes, calling not just for balance and control under hard and repeated braking, but a neat and swift transfer from full braking to full acceleration on the exit of the corners. With nine right-handers and only four lefts, the track is also particularly hard on one side of the tyres, but according to Valentino Rossi's Chief Mechanic Jeremy Burgess there are no hidden secrets to the track in terms of machine set-up. "Le Mans as a circuit is probably the least technical on the whole calendar - it doesn't really have any stand-out features or characteristics that set it out from the rest, certainly not in a positive way," says Burgess. "You need good acceleration out of the slow corners, which is why we struggled there on our first visit with the M1 in 2004 because we were trying out new engines before tackling the true horsepower tracks like Barcelona, Mugello and Assen. "Last year we had a fully-developed bike so we were able to make the minor adjustments that this circuit requires and both Valentino and Colin were fast. Clearly with so much hard braking you need firmer fork settings and spring rates on the front, and then a slightly softer spring on the rear so that the rider can hold his line on the exit. That's it really - there are no secrets to Le Mans!" Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 80 (54 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 161 (101 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 52 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike ,p> Le Mans Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'33.678 Le Mans Best Lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'33.226 2005 Results 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 44'12.223 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Honda, +0.382 3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +5.711
Alex Asigno

Camel Yamaha pair to launch French assault from row three

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will start from the third row of the grid in the Grand Prix of France tomorrow after setting the seventh and ninth fastest times respectively in this afternoon's qualifying practice. The session took place in dry conditions with ambient temperatures reaching 18ºC after the sunshine finally overpowered the thick black clouds that hovered over the Le Mans circuit and caused the third free practice session to be held in wet conditions during the morning.  The improved weather allowed Valentino Rossi to continue the evaluation of Yamaha's latest chassis, with both of his YZR-M1 machines fitted with the updated specification following positive initial results yesterday. Edwards continued working on the standard version, with similar updates planned for the American at the next round in Italy, and again lapped consistently as one of the fastest riders throughout the session. After setting the pace in yesterday's dry free practice sessions, both Rossi and Edwards have found a good race set-up for their machines but they were unable to turn their pace into a top grid position after struggling to use their qualifying tyres to full potential in the late push for times. Valentino Rossi (7th; 1'34.840, 28 laps) "Today I am happy because we worked in the right way and found a good race setting for the bike. When we used the very soft tyre at the end of the session we again found some vibration problems caused by the extra grip but it's not such a problem on the race tyres. Anyway, looking at the qualifying results from the last few rounds the third row is an improvement and I think there is the possibility of a good result tomorrow. Myself and Colin have been at the top through all the practice on race tyres so we know we have a good pace compared to the other riders. To be honest I expected a better position this afternoon so I am a little disappointed but it is not a disaster. Now we wait to see what the weather does tomorrow, hope for a dry race and then try to turn around our recent bad luck in the race." Colin Edwards (9th; 1'34.970, 28 laps) "The track was a little slippery today, I guess after the rain this morning, and I didn't have the same level of grip on the front tyre. I wasn't as comfortable but we did a good job on the race tyres and my pace is decent. I think there's only three of us lapping in the 1'35s on race tyres so we've got every chance to do something in the race - it's just a shame about the chatter on the qualifying tyres because we could have been much further forward on the grid. I did four or five laps trying to break the 1'35 mark and eventually hit 1'34.9 on the last one but there was no way to go any faster. All things considered the third row isn't bad - there are a few guys who will go backwards tomorrow and a few others who will be tough to get past but, as I said before, we have the pace. Now it's a case of holding that throttle open longer than anyone else into turn one and seeing where we can get from there." 
Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Unfortunately we missed out a little on the qualifying tyres because we couldn't use them properly but we're not too worried. On the whole the two days of practice have been very good for both riders and they both have good race pace. The only concern now is that they both have a good start in the race. We were able to set-up the new chassis for Valentino but also the older bike is working very well for Colin. Tomorrow is a good opportunity to get more information and confirm our direction with development but of course we also need points. Our aim for tomorrow is to close the gap between us and the championship leaders." Weather again plays havoc for Tech 3 Yamaha Team For the third time in as many races, the weather had a detrimental effect on progress for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team and tyre suppliers, Dunlop. All plans were thrown out of the window when the heavens opened before the morning's final practice session ensuring a wet track. The afternoon's qualifying battle although dry, was overshadowed by strong winds that added to the team's woes. Riders, Carlos Checa and James Ellison qualified in 14th and 17th positions respectively, but in a carbon performance from Friday's encouraging sessions the overall gap to the leaders in qualifying also narrowed. Additionally, relative novice Ellison is getting closer to his teammate and in doing so both riders are amidst a bunch of more fancied teams on other tyre brands on the grid. Carlos Checa (14th, 1'36.260, 49 laps) "This morning we tried an intermediate rear and we gained some information if it's conditions like that tomorrow. At this stage we know what tyres we will try no matter whether wet or dry. It is clear in my mind the tyres we will use depending on the conditions to fight with the guys that are close to us. On the qualifying tyres I had a wheelie problem and couldn't open the throttle fully in some areas of the track as the grip is good enough to make a good lap and also we had some chattering when we tied to be faster in qualifying. If it's a strange situation like this morning when it was wet then dry or the opposite we must make a strategy. We know we have nothing to lose so we can take a risk and then our choice will not be conservative, it will be risky. The bike is working quite well and we know some tyres that work ok but we only did 50% of the race total on this tyre The Yamaha is very suited to this track and we also have the speed to match it with many of the other teams. The other Yamaha with Edwards is not too far in front of me and this gives me confidence but like everyone else we have lost much time because of the weather but I'm quite confident the bike will work quite well here tomorrow. Our position hasn't changed so when we make the top 10 we will make a party. We tried our best and we know the limitations we are facing. I hope that we can grow together with Dunlop and finally get something to fight for the next level. We know the gap we must close with the top guys and that we must continue to improve which Dunlop is trying very hard to do." James Ellison (17th 1'37.019, 48 laps) "I'm not too unhappy as I am closer to Carlos than ever being less than 0.8 second behind. We also had a problem right at the end of the session that slowed us a bit. The Dunlop qualifying tyres need a few laps to get right up to speed and we just ran out of time as I was quite confident I had another half a second improvement. If we had got that last lap in I would've been a lot closer to Carlos. He knows how to ride the bike and had a lot more experience and my main aim to get right on his times. I know we're down the back but we had a lot of things we wanted to try this weekend. It's the same old story but again the weather played its part. I don't care what it is tomorrow I'm not really bothered although I'd prefer it to be dry because we now have a pretty good set up for the dry. This morning was a bit of a waste as the circuit was very greasy with all the oil coming through so we didn't get a very good wet setup. So if it's not dry I want it to be lashing down - nothing in between." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Today was not an easy day with the weather conditions we have had. Soaking wet to start this morning then finishing almost dry. Then it was dry this afternoon with a lot of wind so it has been difficult for everybody. We did quite a few laps with some of the race tyres and we had some interesting results. Then we tried some qualifying tyres and we continued to supply Dunlop with more information so they can continue the development program. This is definitely a good track fro Carlos, who has had some good results here and being at home of course the team wants to do well. The first day was very encouraging because we were just over a second off the best lap but today has been so different. Because of the wet morning, in half of the qualifying session we had to do many laps to find a race tyre. It went reasonably well but after yesterday we thought we could have been better on the grid so we are a little disappointed, especially with the weather. It is supposed to be very wet tomorrow and we have been going quite well with a lot of water on the track so who knows what will happen. Compared to what we have I don't think we are doing a lot worse than the others when you look at the other Yamaha team on another brand of tyre. We also are surrounded by other teams with other tyre brands as well. At this stage we are making improvements at every race as we test and race all in the same weekend. It may not be what everyone on the outside wants to see, we would love to be fighting at the front but, the reality is that in such a competitive sport as MotoGP we can't expect to have immediate success overnight. It all takes time and we should look at how long some others have taken to taste the success they are now enjoying." Round: 5 - 2006 MotoGP Le Mans Circuit: LeMans Circuit Length: 4180 Lap Record: 1' 33.678 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 33.678 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Date: 20 May 2006 Temp: 18ºC Session 1 :  Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying 1  D. Pedrosa  Honda  ESP   1' 33.990   2  S. Nakano  Kawasaki  JPN   1' 34.201   3  J. Hopkins  Suzuki  USA   1' 34.636   4  R. De Puniet  Kawasaki  FRA   1' 34.780   5  M. Melandri  Honda  ITA   1' 34.795   6  L. Capirossi  Ducati  ITA   1' 34.802   7  V. Rossi  Yamaha  ITA   1' 34.840   8  S. Gibernau  Ducati  ESP   1' 34.870   9  C. Edwards  Yamaha  USA   1' 34.970   10  N. Hayden  Honda  USA   1' 34.988   11  C. Stoner  Honda  AUS   1' 35.430   12  C. Vermeulen  Suzuki  AUS   1' 35.705   13  M. Tamada  Honda  JPN   1' 36.058   14  C. Checa  Yamaha  ESP   1' 36.260   15  K. Roberts  Team Roberts KR  USA   1' 36.501   16  T. Elias  Honda  ESP   1' 36.582   17  J. Ellison  Yamaha  GBR   1' 37.019
Alex Asigno

Everts shut-out in Japan maintains dominant streak

Stefan Everts collected his fifth win in a row after pole position, two holeshots and two complete victories in front of 17,400 spectators this afternoon at a sun-bathed Sugo circuit for the Grand Prix of Japan and the fifth round of the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. The Belgian guided his YZ450FM to both chequered flags to extend his 100% record this season and walked away with a 92nd career success. After his seventh consecutive moto triumph Everts is now controlling the series by 61 points at the top of the standings. The Sugo circuit had been meticulously prepared; the natural terrain was carefully mixed with sandy soil and wood chippings to maintain a soft texture. The surface created various racing lines but became rough and bumpy very quickly, meaning that the smallest of errors would prove costly. The 33 year old gained his second pole position of the season on Saturday with a lap-time a second faster than Kawasaki's Tanel Leok. Fine weather conditions blessed raceday for the fourth consecutive Grand Prix. Everts blasted out of the gate for the first moto of 35 minutes and two laps duration and the potency of the YZ450FM was again apparent as he gained the holeshot and had a lead of almost five seconds after three laps. The World Champion was on cruise control from that point and led the pack until the chequered flag for his second consecutive Japanese moto triumph after owning the second sprint last year. For nine circulations (from 21) the Yamaha Intur Sports team flew in formation as Cedric Melotte held second spot. The Belgian eventually fell back into a frantic scrap for podium positions with Ken De Dycker, Steve Ramon and Tanel Leok. A mistake on the final lap demoted the disappointed number '4' to sixth. Everts re-enacted his authoritative performance in race two for a clear victory ahead of Steve Ramon, who clinched second spot on the podium. A holeshot and rapid few opening laps was the main difference in one of the Champion's more straight-forward Grand Prix. He deservingly went on a lap of honour to acknowledge the support and cheers of the Japanese public. Former AMA competitor and now contesting the Japanese Championship, Akira Narita was 11th on his YZ450FM and finished in the top ten with ninth in the second moto after a decent race fighting with some of Europe's fastest riders. Reigning national champion Takeshi Koikeda was 22nd with the YZ250. Yamaha now hold a 41 point lead in the Constructors Championship. In two weeks time round six will take place at the Sevlievo circuit in Bulgaria. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I won my first Championship in 1991 and to win here in Japan in my final year feels very nice. I have had a long career and a lot of support from many people and manufacturers so I must say thank you to the Japanese people for the memories. We have a lot of wins now but I am looking ahead, not behind, and I have to try and keep this form. I would like to win everything so we will keep on working hard and see what happens. It was special to win here for Yamaha. They have given us a lot of support and it has been great to be a part of the family; I hope we can do many things together in the future." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I always seem to start well but cannot carry the speed. It was better at the beginning of the season. Last week I made a blood test and I am missing some iron and vitamins. I took some tablets for this GP but after the first 15 minutes of each moto I felt empty. I was light-headed and my muscles were heavy. It is frustrating and I don't know what is wrong. This has been a bad weekend." Carlo Rinaldi, Team manager: "It has been another great victory; Stefan was just perfect and there is not much more that we can say. The bike was great and the rider was great so that is excellent for us. The distance over the others was big because Stefan was so strong. Cedric had the speed to compete with the top riders but not the physical condition and at this stage it is a bit of a mystery. He is working hard and has satisfied many physical tests but the results say that something is wrong. We are in Japan but there was not more pressure on us because the preparation and organisation was very good. It was like racing at home because the Japanese people helped us so much, they fulfilled all of our requests and then some more." Laurens Klein Koerkamp: "In 2005 we won both MX1 and MX2 in the first Japanese GP for ten years in Yamaha-land so we thought that it would not be easy to do it again this time. To win all four heats at this GP was amazing and very good for Yamaha. We have always said the standard of the motorcycles was already very high, obviously there are some small changes for top level racing but the decent base is there and this is the best thing we can give to the Yamaha guys." Race classification MX1 Round: 5 - 2006 GP of Sugo, Japan Circuit: Sugo Circuit Length: 3737 Race: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  40' 42.166  2   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +14.150  3   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +15.944  4   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +23.606  5   B. Jorgensen Honda  DNK  +29.783  6   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +42.607  7   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +48.686  8   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +54.238  9   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +55.718  10   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +57.720  11   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 9.842  12   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +1' 14.101  13   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 15.622  14   A. Narita Yamaha  JPN  +1' 30.186  15   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 34.744  16   J. Lindhe KTM  SWE  +1' 44.269  17   K. Masuda Honda  JPN  +1 lap(s)  18   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +1 lap(s)  19   K. Kaga Suzuki  JPN  +1 lap(s)  20   T. Koikeda Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  Race 2: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  39' 44.664  2   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +23.136  3   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +30.861  4   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +37.393  5   M. Van Daele Honda  BEL  +40.505  6   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +46.230  7   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +49.265  8   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +54.644  9   A. Narita Yamaha  JPN  +58.827  10   D. Theybers Suzuki  BEL  +1' 2.228  11   K. Kaga Suzuki  JPN  +1' 7.661  12   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +1' 14.840  13   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 20.349  14   K. Masuda Honda  JPN  +1' 21.317  15   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +1' 39.598  16   S. Idehara Yamaha  JPN  +1' 44.791  17   J. Lindhe KTM  SWE  +1 lap(s)  18   K. Ohkawara Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  19   T. Koikeda Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  20   M. Hiratsuka Kawasaki  JPN  +1 lap(s)  Championship standings MX1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Stefan Everts Yamaha  BEL 242  2   Tanel Leok Kawasaki  EST 181  3   Ken De Dycker Honda  BEL 168  4   Kevin Strijbos Suzuki  BEL 165  5   Steve Ramon Suzuki  BEL 151  6   Jonathan Barragan KTM  ESP 150  7   Cedric Melotte Yamaha  BEL 105  8   Manuel Priem Yamaha  BEL 99  9   Sebastien Tortelli KTM  FRA 99  10   Pascal Leuret  Honda  FRA 93  11   Julien Bill Yamaha  GBR 77  12   Marvin Van Daele Honda  BEL 77  13   James Noble Honda  GBR 77  14   Antti Pyrhonen TM  FIN 69  15   Brian Jorgensen Honda  DNK 68  16   Javier Garcia Vico Honda  ESP 60  17   Danny Theybers Suzuki  BEL 58  18   Stephen Sword Kawasaki  GBR 40  19   Johnny Lindhe KTM  SWE 23  20   Aigar Bobkovs Honda  LVA 21  Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 242  2  Suzuki 201  3  Kawasaki 181  4  KTM 180  5  Honda 171  6  TM 69  MX2 : Mackenzie repeats Japanese success at Sugo Round: 5 - 2006 GP of Sugo, Japan Circuit: Sugo Date: 21 May 2006 Crowd: 17400 Temp: 25ºC Weather: Sunny Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing rider Billy Mackenzie remains undefeated at the Japanese Sugo circuit as the Scot went 1-3 on his YZ250FM in the two MX2 motos to claim his second career Grand Prix success and Yamaha's first of 2006. The second race was won by World Champion Antonio Cairoli to give manufacturer a perfect 4-from-4 score at their home event. The track was dry, bumpy and technical as the organisers at the Sugo circuit again excelled in presenting a tough and interesting layout for the riders. The warm conditions aided towards a hard day's work for the stars of the MX2 class as 17, 400 spectators looked on. 22 year old Mackenzie, who celebrated his maiden triumph at Sugo in 2005, passed Ricci Racing's Kenneth Gundersen on the second lap of the first race to control the rest of the pack. Kawasaki's Christophe Pourcel was closing at one stage but 'Mac' kept a steady three second advantage to notch his first 25 point haul of the season and the fourth of his career. Cairoli had ended the first lap in the lead but crashed in an incident that also involved Marc de Reuver. The Italian had to fight hard to gain fourth place while Gundersen was not content with the set-up on his machine and crossed the finish line in ninth, taking 11th later in the day for a lacklustre eigth overall. Cairoli was strong off the start in the second moto and his holeshot was swiftly converted into a sizzling series of laps that dragged him away from Mackenzie and the pursuing de Reuver. Mackenzie was demoted to third from that position he kept a small distance over Gareth Swanepoel to ensure overall victory. Cairoli was alone at the front and his win marked the third of the season and fifth from ten motos for Yamaha. Ricci Racing's Alessio Chiodi struggled through the weekend after crashing and injuring his right knee during the second practice session. The Italian was taken for a scan that revealed that nothing was broken but the former Champion was in a lot of pain. He manfully tried to complete the qualification heat but withdrew after a few laps. Thanks to only 30 riders contesting the MX2 class Chiodi was also able to discount the Last Chance session and took to the gate in last place to bravely aim for some points. He managed to score 5 for 16th in race one and repeated the position in race two despite a small spill just before the finish line. The World Championship picture now looks more interesting as series leader Tyla Rattray crashed and could not pick up any points from Moto2. Cairoli is currently fourth and 32 points behind new number one Christophe Pourcel while Mackenzie is only 12 points behind his Yamaha compatriot in fifth. The teams and riders now start the long journey back to Europe before beginning to prepare for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria, due to take place at the Sevlievo circuit in two weeks. Billy Mackenzie, Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing: "I always like coming to Japan! To leave here with a win is incredible and everything that I could have asked for. We have been working hard on the bike and we had some new parts supplied by Rinaldi this weekend and they really helped. The bike had a little bit more bottom-end which is what I needed. The track was really nice. I have to get my starts sorted but when that happens I'm sure I will be upfront more often. Last year I had some good races but also some bad ones so I have been working on being more consistent this season. There are still many GP's left and I am confident that we can move up the championship standings still." Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "We changed the bike last week and I practiced my starts and it really helped today. I took the holeshot twice and the situation is better now off the line. In the first moto Marc passed me after the whoops for the lead but I stayed close to him and when he went down after hitting some wet mud I fell also. I was fast but I lost a lot of time because I crashed again and it meant that I was always fighting back. Now I must work a little bit more on my condition and hope for some more luck!" Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "I had some bad luck yesterday because I had a good feeling with the track in practice but I crashed in next session when I lost the rear end of the bike. I'm not sure if it was my mistake but right afterwards my knee was hurting so much I was sure something was broken. The doctor said the bone was OK but now I need to get the ligaments checked out. Ten points today is better than nothing and a big injury." Kenneth Gundersen, Ricci Racing: "It was a hard day. In the first race I had a good start and was leading for a lap or two but then I crashed and finished ninth. In the last race I had a really bad start and I was struggling. We had some set-up problems. It wasn't a good weekend for me and will hopefully be better next time."    Race classification MX2 Round: 5 - 2006 GP of Sugo, Japan Circuit: Sugo Circuit Length: 3737 Race: 22 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  40' 27.246  2   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +12.249  3   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +22.606  4   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  +26.790  5   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  +28.677  6   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +38.296  7   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +41.888  8   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +52.492  9   K. Gundersen Yamaha  NOR  +54.515  10   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +55.594  11   A. Boissière Yamaha  FRA  +57.845  12   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +1' 0.655  13   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +1' 2.793  14   M. Nagl KTM  GER  +1' 24.448  15   L. Seguy Yamaha  FRA  +1' 43.036  16   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 51.859  17   Y. Kojima Suzuki  JPN  +1' 57.798  18   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +1 lap(s)  19   Y. Ozaki  Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  20   M. Watanabe Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  Race 2: 21 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  40' 1.774  2   M. De Reuver KTM  NED  +5.927  3   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +10.002  4   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +13.618  5   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +33.536  6   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +36.838  7   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +41.246  8   A. Leok Yamaha  EST  +43.951  9   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +44.995  10   D. Guarneri Yamaha  ITA  +54.406  11   K. Gundersen Yamaha  NOR  +54.586  12   M. Nagl KTM  GER  +1' 6.943  13   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +1' 26.580  14   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +1' 42.911  15   L. Seguy Yamaha  FRA  +1' 44.950  16   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 51.338  17   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  +2' 9.160  18   M. Watanabe Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  19   K. Fukaya Honda  JPN  +1 lap(s)  20   Y. Ozaki  Yamaha  JPN  +1 lap(s)  Championship standings MX2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 196  2   Marc De Reuver KTM  NED 194  3   Tyla Rattray KTM  RSA 181  4   Antonio Cairoli Yamaha  ITA 162  5   Billy MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR 150  6   David Philippaerts KTM  ITA 120  7   Carl Nunn KTM  GBR 119  8   Alessio Chiodi Yamaha  ITA 111  9   Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha  NOR 111  10   Tommy Searle Kawasaki  GBR 105  11   Rui Goncalves KTM  POR 90  12   Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA 87  13   Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 70  14   Davide Guarneri Yamaha  ITA 64  15   Luigi Seguy Yamaha  FRA 63  16   Anthony Boissière Yamaha  FRA 50  17   Aigar Leok Yamaha  EST 46  18   Patrick Caps Honda  BEL 46  19   Maximilian Nagl KTM  GER 45  20   Manuel Monni KTM  ITA 42  Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 225  2  KTM 223  3  Kawasaki 200  4  Honda 81  5  Suzuki 6
Alex Asigno

Bad luck strikes again for Camel Yamaha Team at Le Mans

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi's unfortunate start to his MotoGP World Championship defence continued today as the Italian rider was hit by another bout of bad luck at Le Mans, where he was forced to retire from the lead with an engine problem. This time his team-mate Colin Edwards was also hit by the jinx, the American being pushed wide in the second corner of the race and running into the gravel traps. The silver lining to the day for the team on a cloudy day in France was that Edwards did manage to get back on track and charge through from last place to finish in sixth - arguably the individual rider performance of the race.  Rossi started the fifth round of the season in confident mood after finding a good set-up for his YZR-M1 machine during the dry practice sessions and he quickly translated that pace to the race, moving from seventh on the grid up to second place by lap three. After two laps behind early leader John Hopkins (Suzuki) the World Champion took control and opened out a comfortable advantage over Dani Pedrosa (Honda), who also got past Hopkins. With eight laps remaining Rossi looked on course to become the first rider this season to win two races but to his despair disaster struck, leaving Pedrosa to fight it out with Marco Melandri (Honda) for the win. Melandri made the decisive move for victory with five laps remaining before Pedrosa was also passed for second place by Loris Capirossi (Ducati). Colin Edwards (6th; + 11.519 seconds) "To be honest I don't quite know what happened at the start. I had my plan which was to run it around the outside like I did last year but things just went haywire from the start and riders were coming at me from everywhere. I got baulked by somebody - it might have been Dani Pedrosa but I'm not sure - and I couldn't get to the outside so I had to move where the space was and go tight. Everybody was wide through the right and came across me as we went left into the chicane so I had nowhere to go but the gravel. Last year it would have probably been okay but the changes they made to the track played against me. I lost four or five seconds there and probably lost another four or five trying to get past people during the first six laps. I wanted to overtake on the exits but they all had so much grip at that stage of the race that it was impossible and I just had to wait for opportunities on the brakes. The setting of the bike was good - the only thing I was missing was a bit of rear grip at the end but with the pace I had we should have been on the podium today." Valentino Rossi (DNF) "The team did a great job with the new chassis this weekend and I really enjoyed being able to ride so fast during the race, so it is a real shame that it ended like that and of course I am very disappointed. Everything was working really well, the bike and tyres felt perfect but then the engine went. A bike stopping on me like this has only happened to me a couple of times in my career, and never with a four-stroke, so for it to happen today is typical of our luck at the moment. Something seems to have gone wrong for us at each of the first few races of the season, apart from Qatar, and it has put us in a difficult situation with regards to the championship. We know that championship is a big challenge now but the last word has not been spoken yet. Now we need to look at it race by race, maybe not think about the championship for a while and concentrate on trying to win as many races as possible from the remaining 12." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "We are trying to smile but obviously we are all very disappointed - especially Valentino. Our engineers did a great job to get the bikes prepared for this race and both Valentino and Colin were ready to fight for a top result. It was great watching Valentino in harmony with the bike and it looked as though it was going to be a classic Valentino Rossi race, making his way to the front and then controlling his advantage over second place. Unfortunately the engine broke and we are analysing it now to find out why. I have to say Colin rode a great race after being forced wide in the first corner and in general we will take a lot of positives from this weekend, even if we don't feel too great right now. Today we should have had two riders on the podium, but we have 12 more chances to try!" Most impressive result of the season so far for Tech 3 Yamaha Team The home Grand Prix for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team provided the best result of the season so far as lead rider, Carlos Checa finished 11th overall with teammate James Ellison also scoring championship points finishing 14th. In his 100th appearance for Yamaha in the premier class, Checa was involved in an exciting battle with factory riders Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), Tony Elias (Honda) and Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki). Carlos is now the second longest serving Yamaha rider in the premier class behind Norick Abe who had 162 starts for the innovative Japanese company The result added further confirmation to the improvement in the Dunlop race tyres the team is using during the 2006 season with Carlos the closest he has been to the leading pack at the end of the race. The team will remain at the Le Mans circuit for a further two days to evaluate a range of the latest Dunlop rubber with various specifications for wet and dry conditions. Carlos Checa (11th, Fastest lap 1'36.781) "It was a good result and I also feel it is the best progress for the year as well. At the beginning I was putting in good lap times but after lap 11 or 12 the rear tyre dropped down and I couldn't keep the pace and of course I was thinking about finishing the race. I tried to keep in the 37's and keep the battle going with Vermeulen and Elias but I had a lot of movement at the rear and I thought 'ok I want to keep the tyre as good as possible.' Then Nakano was coming and I tried to push more to keep Nakano behind and I managed to do this. It was good to have a fight for most of the race. We will take a lot of information away from here. We know where we are and where we want to go. I was very happy with the progress of the bike and now we have two days of testing. I hope we can test many things that we have planned whether it is wet or dry especially on tyres and also to confirm all the settings on the bike that we think can help. I'm looking forward to this as at Turkey and China I was a little bit depressed as we seemed to keep hitting the same wall all the time but now I think we have jumped over the wall and we are much more in front than what we were and this is very satisfying for the team. Even if we are a bit behind we have improved the areas a lot more than before. I hope in two days we can finish everything because you always want to test more. I'm ready to test the two days and I have a lot of motivation to do this so we now know we have some direction to head and what we need to go faster. Dunlop has brought many things and has many ideas so it should be a big help for the next few races. James Ellison (14th Fastest lap 1'37.572) "The race wasn't so bad actually and I'm happy when I see my lap times are getting closer to Carlos all the time. We really made some positive progress this weekend. The way the race went was a good boost to myself as besides getting closer to Carlos's time I feel that I'm moving forward as I'm getting closer to the leaders in race time by the end of the race as well, but we have to improve so we can keep doing those lap times for most of the race. I'm looking forward to Monday and Tuesday where we have a full two-day test and I think we can make big improvements. It'll be great to get in two solid days of testing. I don't care what the weather's like as long as we get through the allocation of tyres we have. There's a lot of things I want to try on the bike as well so hopefully it will be dry so we can do all the work. What we want to do is start playing around with angles swingarm length and all that sort of stuff to find the best settings as obviously the tyres have a lot different characteristics to what the other Yamaha riders are using. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director This has been the best weekend of the season so far. We have the best race position with 47 seconds to the leaders which is the closest gap we have ever had so far. Most important was the first half of the race as we were together with Vermeulen and Elias lapping at the same pace and I think that is the first time that has happened too. Unfortunately the second part of the race we struggled a little bit to keep the same pace and that is what we have to work on. In China we had the consistency without the performance. Now we have the performance but we have lost a little consistency so clearly this is what we have to work on. We are testing here Monday and Tuesday and Dunlop has brought plenty of tyres to test. The test will now be a lot easier when you have a more positive frame of mind because although it is not the best thing that can happen to finish 11th, it is not too bad when you know how competitive the MotoGP grid is. James also had his best race with both riders in the points and he continues to improve and get faster every time he rides the bike. We had a lot of laps in the dry and wet as we closed the gap to everyone else so we know now we're heading in the right direction and after this test I think things will be even better. Race classification MotoGP Round: 5 - 2006 MotoGP Le Mans Circuit: LeMans Circuit Length: 4180 Lap Record: 1' 35.078 (Valentino Rossi, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 33.990 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Race: 28 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   M. Melandri Honda  ITA  44' 57.369  2   L. Capirossi Ducati  ITA  +1.929  3   D. Pedrosa Honda  ESP  +2.269  4   C. Stoner Honda  AUS  +5.494  5   N. Hayden Honda  USA  +5.709  6   C. Edwards Yamaha  USA  +11.519  7   M. Tamada Honda  JPN  +16.692  8   S. Gibernau Ducati  ESP  +18.142  9   T. Elias Honda  ESP  +23.645  10   C. Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS  +39.362  11   C. Checa Yamaha  ESP  +47.730  12   S. Nakano Kawasaki  JPN  +47.782  13   A. Hofmann Ducati  GER  +1' 9.092  14   J. Ellison Yamaha  GBR  +1' 16.172  15   J. Hopkins Suzuki  USA  +2 lap(s)  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   V. Rossi Yamaha  ITA  1' 35.087  Championship standings MotoGP   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Nicky Hayden Honda  USA 83  2   Marco Melandri Honda  ITA 79  3   Loris Capirossi Ducati  ITA 79  4   Daniel Pedrosa Honda  ESP 73  5   Casey Stoner Honda  AUS 65  6   Colin Edwards Yamaha  USA 45  7   Toni Elias Honda  ESP 44  8   Valentino Rossi Yamaha  ITA 40  9   Sete Gibernau Ducati  ESP 33  10   Makato Tamada Honda  JPN 33  11   Shinya Nakano Kawasaki  JPN 32  12   John Hopkins Suzuki  USA 21  13   Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR  USA 20  14   Chris Vermeulen Suzuki  AUS 19  15   Carlos Checa Yamaha  ESP 15  18   James Ellison Yamaha  GBR 5  Manufacturers standings MotoGP   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Honda 115  2  Ducati 79  3  Yamaha 69  4  Suzuki 35  5  Kawasaki 32  6  Team Roberts KR 20  Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points  1  Repsol Honda Team 156  2  Fortuna Honda Team 123  3  Ducati Marlboro Team 112  4  Camel Yamaha Team 85  5  Honda LCR 65  6  Rizla Suzuki 40  7  Kawasaki Racing Team 40  8  Konica Minolta Honda 33  9  Tech3 Yamaha 20  10  Team Roberts KR 20  11  Pramac D'Antin 6  Race classification GP250 Round: 5 - 2006 GP250 Le Mans Circuit: LeMans Circuit Length: 4180 Lap Record: 1' 37.594 (Randy de Puniet, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever:  1' 37.594 (Randy de Puniet, 2005) Race: 26 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   Y. Takahashi Honda  JPN  43' 42.773  2   A. Dovizioso Honda  ITA  +0.098  3   S. Aoyama Honda  JPN  +2.215  4   H. Aoyama KTM  JPN  +2.484  5   A. de Angelis Aprilia  SMR  +11.270  6   R. Locatelli Aprilia  ITA  +14.597  7   H. Barbera Aprilia  ESP  +16.829  8   M. Simoncelli Gilera  ITA  +17.041  9   S. Guintoli Aprilia  FRA  +17.589  10   J. Smrz Aprilia  CZE  +17.805  11   A. West Aprilia  AUS  +39.032  12   A. Ballerini Aprilia  ITA  +41.728  13   M. Cardenas Honda  COL  +45.150  14   S. Porto Honda  ARG  +46.545  15   A. Vincent Honda  FRA  +55.747  Fastest Race Lap:   Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   H. Aoyama KTM  JPN  1' 39.733  Championship standings GP250   Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Andrea Dovizioso Honda  ITA 92  2   Hector Barbera Aprilia  ESP 78  3   Hiroshi Aoyama KTM  JPN 75  4   Yuki Takahashi Honda  JPN 67  5   Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia  ESP 63  6   Roberto Locatelli Aprilia  ITA 57  7   Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia  FRA 38  8   Alex de Angelis Aprilia  SMR 35  9   Marco Simoncelli Gilera  ITA 31  10   Shuhei Aoyama Honda  JPN 27  11   Jakub Smrz Aprilia  CZE 27  12   Martin Cardenas Honda  COL 22  13   Anthony West Aprilia  AUS 19  14   Sebastian Porto Honda  ARG 17  15   Manuel Poggiali KTM  SMR 13  Manufacturers standings GP250   Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Aprilia 106  2  Honda 97  3  KTM 75
Alex Asigno

2006 Superbike World Championship: round five - Silverstone

Britain's Silverstone circuit is the venue for this weekend's fifth round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship. So far the season has been a case of so near but so far for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad. In the eight races run so far this year, Noriyuki Haga has twice finished on the third step of the podium and never finished lower than fifth place. One DNF (crashing on the final lap while contesting the lead at the first race in Qatar) puts Haga fifth in the championship, although the Japanese star knows he now needs to start winning races if he is to stop the so far dominant Troy Bayliss (Ducati) from running away with the championship. Silverstone has proved a successful track for Haga in the past. He took a first and second position there in 2004 and gave the still-developing Yamaha YZF-R1 its first ever world superbike podium finish at last year's race. With the R1 now developed into a consistent front runner, the Yamaha Motor Italia squad sees Silverstone as a great opportunity to make their presence felt in the championship. "I have done well at Silverstone in the past so I am looking forward to racing there again this weekend," says Haga. "The last round at Monza was not so bad. I don't normally get on the podium there so to finish third in race two was a good result for me and the team. Silverstone is a track that we know suits me and the R1. We got our first podium there last year and we should be able to fight with the fastest riders again this year." Team-mate Andrew Pitt lies one place behind Haga in the championship standings. The Australian has also been very consistent this season and is looking to forget a nightmare outing at the British track last year. Pitt struggled to come to terms with the shorter International layout used for the first time last year and picked up a nasty leg injury during practice. Despite this, Pitt insists a top three finish is not out of the question this year, commenting: "I was a little disappointed not to be on the podium at Monza, because the improvements we've made to the bike means that this is a realistic target for us at every circuit. Silverstone wasn't the happiest of races for me last year and I'm not a big fan of the shorter circuit we use now. But at the end of the day it's just another race and you go there with the same target as always, which means getting on the podium." Yamaha Motor France rider Norick Abe arrives in Silverstone in the championship's top ten, despite failing to score in Monza. The Japanese star had a tough weekend in Italy, missing Saturday's practice session and bravely riding but failing to score in the races. Rapidly improving team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi had his best result in Monza with a tenth in race one and will be looking to continue his superbike education at the short and technical British circuit. In the Supersport World Championship Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain will look to get his season back on track after the heartache of retiring through mechanical problems in Monza. The Australian remains second overall in the championship, 31 points behind defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda).
Alex Asigno

Strong showing for Yamaha in first Silverstone qualifying

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

Wild-card Tommy puts Yamaha on Silverstone pole

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

Season's best for Yamaha Motor Italia

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

'Home' race presents fresh challenge for Camel Yamaha Team

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

Yamaha and Valentino Rossi together again in 2007

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

Rossi makes encouraging start to home Grand Prix

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

The Istanbul Otodrom track

The Istanbul Otodrom track was finished earlier this year and succesfully inaugurated by the F1 circus, coming weekend it is up to the MotoGP boys to attack this new venue. The circuit is one of Herman Tilke's creations, the famous designer who also created the Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai tracks. It can seat 130.000 spectators and is situated in the Asian part of Turkey, about 80 km's east from Istanbul.Circuit: Istanbul Otodrom Circuit: Istanbul Otodrom Country: Turkey Track length: 5378 m Opened: 2005 Circuit tel: +90 (216) 418 5222 Circuit web site: http://www.turkeygrandprix.com The track runs anti clockwise and is 5378 metres long with an average width of 15 m. It consists of 14 corners of which six are right turns and eight are to the left. The first part of the circuit is tight and technical, while the second part is open and fast featuring a backside straight with what looks to be a very exciting high speed kink in it. The riders are then slowed down by a chicane before they hit the relatively short 655,5 m start and finish straight.     Interesting is that the track runs over four level sections with rising and descending grades. With a new tack and not knowing what to expect both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will attack the race with a different base set-up on each bike. The bikes will start with a neutral setting enabling to experiement with various set-up direction. During Friday the crew and rider will then decide which machine feels most comfortable and will then start to make changes to come up with the ideal setting for the race.
Alex Asigno

2006 YZF-R6: The Art of Aerodynamics

Third generation R6
Yamaha announce the launch of the third generation YZF-R6, which is undoubtedly the most radical and advanced new middleweight supersport ever produced. In addition to its new engine, chassis and bodywork, the third generation R6 features a sophisticated new Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle (YCC-T) developed from our MotoGP bikes. This new ‘fly-by-wire’ throttle technology represents a first for the motorcycle market, and its debut on the new R6 is one of the most exciting developments in the middleweight supersport category for many years. Seven years of success
Originally launched in 1999, the first R6 made its presence felt immediately in the European marketplace. With its class-leading engine and chassis designs and aggressive R-series styling, the first generation R6 model proved to be the most exciting performer on twisty roads, and became the industry standard for middleweight high performance machinery. Its reputation as the number one 600 was to be confirmed when it won the World Supersport Championship in the year 2000. The new third generation YZF-R6 has been developed specifically to meet the changing demands and requirements of the new generation of riders who are looking for even more extreme performance. Many of these riders are looking for a high performance middleweight that delivers the most exciting engine and chassis performance, combined with the ability to perform well in practical day-to-day riding situations. There is a growing element of riders who, as well as wanting a high performance road machine, are also looking for a high-tech 600 with an advanced specification that will deliver extreme performance for track and race use. Featuring a great deal of technology based ontechnical feedback that has come from our Moto GP-winning YZR-M1, the all-new YZF-R6 is set to redefine the parameters of the 600 supersport class, and looks ready to stake its claim as the definitive high performance middleweight for 2006 and beyond.
Alex Asigno

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