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Yamaha Racing News

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Philippaerts third after impressive Italian GP charge

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts was not able to win his home Grand Prix at a wet Mantova circuit but certainly captured the admiration and attention of the 29,000 spectators with a captivating flight from last position to fifth spot in the first moto. The performance on his YZ450FM was backed-up by a strong second place in the following race to allow the series leader to tread the third step of the podium and increase his advantage in the standings even further. Josh Coppins was content with sixth position overall. Usually a safe bet for reliable weather the Italian round of the series, on this occasion hosting the fifth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship, was wet and overcast for both days. Frequent light rain tested the resolve of the sandy all-weather venue and the Monster Energy-backed riders had to contend with both dry and wet motos during Sunday. A slippery, rough and rutted terrain provided a formidable prospect. Philippaerts, winner of the Starcross International here in February - an event that represented his race debut for the team - was just over half a second from his first pole position on Saturday but second place still marked his best qualification performance in MX1-GP. Coppins had a difficult time on the first day. Set-up issues caused him to lose track time and then he was unable to post a satisfactory lap in qualification. The New Zealander was unable not to get into a groove with the track, of which he openly professes a dislike, but also admitted that the slower, more technical conditions thanks to the rain were more to his benefit. Nevertheless he went to the gate in sixteenth. Considering his handicap Coppins produced two excellent starts. The 31 year old almost had the holeshot in Moto1 and actually accomplished the honour in Moto2. Philippaerts' was holding third position approaching the fourth turn of the opening lap in Moto1 when a rider fell in front of him. The pack was still very congested and the hold-up caused another person to hit the Italian and put him on the ground. Restarting from last the 24 year old took almost two laps to steady himself but then exploded on a 30 minute whirl of lap-times and overtaking moves that saw him pass 16 riders and arrive to fifth position behind his team-mate. His progress was cheered by the crowd on virtually every lap and he deservedly earned plaudits from the team and his followers. Coppins hit the front in Moto2 but was passed by eventual winner Max Nagl. Philippaerts, in third spot and through the first turns safely this time, gave chase to the German but it wasn't until the final circulations that he was able to break down a barrier of some five seconds to the back wheel of the leader. Coppins took another top-five finish with a relatively lonely ride but was satisfied with his day's work. Van Beers'Aigar Leok obtained his best moto result of the season with a decent eighth place in the first moto but the Estonian was unable to finish the second outing. The points table makes favourable reading for the team and also for Yamaha. In just his second season in the category Philippaerts is already setting a high pace for the title. With 28 points advantage over world champion Steve Ramon Philippaerts has a gap of just over one moto. Coppins is keeping close and is only 10 points adrift of the Belgian. Yamaha head the manufacturer's standings by 8 points. The world championship now pauses for a week before the series reconvenes at the new Mallory Park circuit for the British Grand Prix on June 1st. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 3rd: "Someone went down in front of me and when I was hit from behind I went over the bike that was lying on the ground. It was a big crash and also disappointing because I knew it would be hard to win the GP after that. I tried as hard as I could. I was watching my lap-times and I knew they were fast; I did the best lap of the race near the end and that was a good thing. In the second moto I pushed to get near to Nagl so that he would see me and maybe make a mistake but it was raining a lot and I did not want to make a mistake. I thought of the points and did not take any risks. I wanted to win here but to be on the podium is OK. The bike and the team are so good and this is a big reason why we have this lead in the championship." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 6th: "It is quite close at the front of the championship and we saw another new winner this weekend. I am the only guy from the first few in the standings who has not won yet, but it will come. I think everyone knows that I have had a hard couple of weeks and I am not riding as well as I would like, so I think we did a good job in the motos; I believe fourth and fifth was not too bad. I closed some points to Ramon and pulled away from Mackenzie. I was pleased with my starts today even if I did ride badly in the first ten minutes of both motos; I was just too slow. In the last ten minutes I am as fast as the leader but I am too stiff and not relaxed in the first moments of the races. My confidence is getting better though. I don't like this track and it is the only one of the fifteen that I struggle with, so that's another reason why I am pleased with the result. I am looking forward to England now; that is like a home GP for me. I like to think I have a chance to win there." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager: "This was good for us because from a bad day David still make a positive result. After the first two laps his speed was fantastic in the first moto. Josh was a different rider to the one we saw on Saturday so we are happy for him. He is still third in the championship but gained some points on Ramon." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 41'10.667 2, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.173 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'8.384 4, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'10.939 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'20.259 6, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'24.082 7, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'26.078 8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'39.106 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'41.779 10, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'45.875 11, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 0'49.613 12, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'51.609 13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'1.909 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'25.208 15, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'30.363 16, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'37.412 17, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'40.828 18, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'44.755 19, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'55.139 20, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 2'13.916 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 40'35.621 2, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'5.258 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'29.696 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'36.498 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'40.720 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.055 7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'43.392 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'3.004 9, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'5.679 10, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'25.490 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'39.479 12, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'47.193 13, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'51.099 14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'57.335 15, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 2'6.591 16, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 2'9.944 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 2'11.116 18, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 2'12.155 19, Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, 2'14.916 20, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 187 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 159 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 149 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 135 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 130 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 129 7, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 116 8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 114 9, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 105 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 98 11, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 74 12, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 73 13, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 70 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 67 15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 59 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 41 17, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 38 18, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 20, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 29 25, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 189 2, Suzuki, 181 3, Kawasaki, 170 4, KTM, 161 5, Honda, 158 6, TM, 26 ---------- RACE REPORT - 18/05/2008 Cairoli lights-up Mantova with second 2008 victory MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli bounced back from his mishap in Bulgaria, defied two injured ribs and also recovered from a second corner crash - similar to countryman David Philippaerts in MX1-GP - to win his second Grand Prix of the season at Mantova. The fifth round of fifteen in the 2008 series was again cursed by rain; bad weather has now affected four of the five events run so far. 29,000 people still braved the damp conditions to watch the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider take his second success in a row after victory in 2007 at the Italian Grand Prix. Despite the grey clouds and rain overnight the MX2-GP motos were thankfully devoid of showers. Cairoli started the weekend positively with a strong performance in his Heat race to earn his third consecutive pole position. The Sicilian needed a pain-killing injection for both days of action but even the rutted and rough Mantova sand did not seem to put him off his stride. The first race started dramatically as the reigning number one - using special colours on his kit and helmet - was felled by Erik Eggens in the second corner. Retrieving his YZ250F Cairoli began one of his 'comeback specials' and over the course of the next 35 minutes and 1 lap passed more than 20 riders to reach an incredible fourth place. The only chance of triumph in front of his many fans lay in his capabilities to own the second moto and the double world champion duly obliged. He set a distance from the pack almost immediately and clinched his fourth race win of the year, and fourth from the last six. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin was unfortunate not to take his first podium finish of the season after he rode brilliantly to celebrate his first chequered flag by beating Tommy Searle in Moto1. The Frenchman led the opening stages of the race before the Briton took control. Aubin was able to keep in his rival's wheel tracks and on lap 14 of 18 regained the advantage. The next sprint was a different affair as Aubin could not find sufficient speed to enter the top five and ended up sixth, for fourth place overall. The top four were separated by only three points in the closest GP ranking of the season. Team-mate Davide Guarneri was disappointed to have to withdraw from the Grand Prix. The Italian suffered a slow but awkward crash on Saturday and immediately feared he has broken a ligament in his right knee. Although the extent of the damage will not be known for a few days and when the Spanish GP winner has a scan, Guarneri - who has already suffered a similar type of injury - was understandably feeling low after this latest set-back. The rest of the De Carli team made the qualification cut. Matteo Bonini, still finding his way back to full speed after recovering from a dislocated shoulder, endured a hard day of work. He was out of the points in Moto1 but rallied to take fifteenth for six points in Moto2. Alessandro Lupino finished in the points on both occasions for the first time in 2008. The teenager was twentieth in each moto. The MX2-GP stars, like their MX1-GP counterparts, will be in action again in two weeks time when the British Grand Prix, at a new track within the Mallory Park motorsports venue, hosts the sixth stop in the 2008 FIM competition. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "For sure I wanted to win both races but the second corner was a big problem. Out of the gate I started well but then I had some contact with Tommy. I tried for a good line in the second corner but Eggens was on the inside of me and decided to come across to the outside and hit my front wheel. I lost time taking and restarting the bike but then I pushed hard. I thought that it might still be possible to win the GP so I gave it everything I had. I put my head down and concentrated on good lap-times and catching the next rider. We have had a lot of wet races now and these are not my favourite conditions; although the track was not as slippery as Bulgaria!" Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th: "I was very happy with that first moto. When Tommy passed me he was very fast but he was attacking so much and I could still follow him. I knew he would not be able to do that the whole race so I kept close and picked the right moment. I don't know what happened in that second moto. I did not get the start I wanted but it was not that bad. I just could not find the same speed as the first heat. I tried some new lines but it wouldn't come. It was positive to get that win but my goal right now is to make good results in both races." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 21st: "During the week I could not train well because I was very tired after Bulgaria, which was my first GP of the year. I did not get a good start in the first moto and there were a lot of problems in the second corner that held me up. I tried hard to push and regain positions but I felt short of breath and had to lower my rhythm. Things were better in the second moto, including my start but after 20 minutes I felt tired and then just looked to getting as many points as I could. I took one more position on the last lap which was good but overall I still frustrated because I worked very hard in the winter and because of the injury it is like I am starting at zero. At least it can only get better." Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 39'32.202 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'0.972 3, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'22.192 4, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'40.411 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'52.926 6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'16.135 7, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'20.448 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'24.259 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'30.111 10, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'31.529 11, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'39.228 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'45.136 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'45.719 14, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'49.505 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'56.218 16, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'56.758 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 2'3.286 18, Kounsith Vongsana, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'8.805 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 2'12.605 20, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'31.009 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'18.667 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'23.490 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'8.418 5, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'10.863 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'21.967 7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'36.613 8, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 1'55.742 9, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'1.461 10, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 2'7.780 11, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, -1 Laps 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 14, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, -1 Laps 15, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 16, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps 17, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 18, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 199 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 196 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 191 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 146 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 132 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 124 7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 113 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 109 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 99 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 97 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 86 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 63 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 55 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 54 16, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 17, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 50 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 48 19, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 46 20, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 43 23, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20 28, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 12 29, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 10 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 236 2, KTM, 228 3, Kawasaki, 147 4, Suzuki, 138 5, Honda, 67 ---------- RACE REPORT - 18/05/2008 Prumm makes the podium in Italy Double FIM Women's World Cup number one Katherine Prummtook her Van Beers Racing YZ250F to second position for her first podium result of the season at Mantova for the Italian Grand Prix and the second round of five in the first ever FIM Women's World Championship. The 19 year old underwent a scan during the week that confirmed the ACL in her right knee has detached but made the decision to compete in Mantova regardless and aim for her first podium. After taking third position in a wet practice - indeed the whole weekend would be hit by rain, creating a rougher and slower sandy terrain - Prumm launched out of the gate inside the top four of both motos. The first race saw her trailing winner Stephanie Laier for second place and she enjoyed a brief but entertaining tussle with series leader Livia Lancelot in the second moto until the French rider stalled her machine. Prumm, naturally, still lacks a little confidence and speed in the corners but took another runner-up position to Laier to strengthen her position in the standings. The points table has narrowed and Prumm lies just two behind Lancelot. Prumm heads back to her home this week and will begin a programme of physical work to build-up the required muscles in her knee to help compensate for the missing ligament. She will not be in Europe again until mid-June to prepare for round three of the series which will take place at the Teutschenthal circuit for the Grand Prix of Germany. Katherine Prumm, Yamaha Van Beers Racing, 2nd: "It was good to make the podium this weekend but to be honest I am not so happy with my riding. My confidence had taken a hit in Bulgaria and while things were better this weekend I still did not find the speed I know I am capable of and that I do in practice. I fought with Livia and she did not have the best day so it is positive that I am back in the championship hunt. Despite the knee I want to be here fighting for the championship. I will work the muscles I need to and I hope I can build my confidence to get faster. It is good to see how the championship is progressing. I was surprised when I came over for the first GP and found a lot of the girls are now members of teams and it is great that the manufacturers are supporting us. It was a big change for me to switch to Yamaha but I love the engine of the YZ and every weekend I am learning something new about the bike with the different conditions that we find." Race 1 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'52.655 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'22.005 3, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'31.040 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'39.712 5, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'44.853 6, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'53.707 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'34.577 8, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'43.842 9, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'46.214 10, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 2'4.474 Race 2 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'39.392 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'17.045 3, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'22.528 4, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'25.084 5, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'25.835 6, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 1'32.232 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 1'36.685 8, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'49.657 9, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'51.538 10, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'53.496 Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 82 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 80 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 72 4, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 61 5, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 58 6, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 53 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 51 8, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 50 9, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 45 10, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 37 11, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 30 12, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 12 13, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, 11 14, Niki Scott, Kawasaki, NZL, 11 15, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 11 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Kawasaki, 85 2, KTM, 81 3, Yamaha, 80 4, Suzuki, 76 5, Honda, 72
Alex Asigno

Albergoni scores first podium in Spain

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Simone Albergoni put his disappointing result at the opening round of the '07 World Enduro Championship series behind him at round two of the series staged in Puerta Lumbreras, Spain, where the Italian placed in third and second position in the Enduro 1 class. Feeling completely at home on his WR250, and having recorded some strong results in the opening rounds of the Italian Enduro Championship ahead of the Spanish event, Simone showed that despite his frustrating start to the WEC series he now has the speed to battle for E1 class victory.
With conditions much different to those found at the series' opening winter enduro in Sweden, day one proved to be extremely difficult in places as a result of heavy rain on Friday evening. Leaving each of the events three special tests extremely slippery it was Finn Juha Salminen who managed to deal with conditions the best and claimed victory ahead of Italian Alessandro Belometti with Albergoni 10 seconds behind in third. Winning the third timed test of the day had it not been for a costly mistake in the day's eighth timed tests Simone would have placed as runner-up. Following Albergoni home on day one, and finishing less than half a second behind his more experienced team-mate, was Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero. Encouraged by his home crowd Guerrero, like Albergoni, topped one special test to claim his best result since winning the Enduro Junior world championship in '05.
On day two it was again Finn Salminen that set the pace winning all but four of the day's special tests in the E1 class. But behind the six-time enduro world champion both Simone Albergoni and Cristobal Guerrero managed to get ahead of Alessandro Belometti to claim the runner-up and third place positions respectively. With Albergoni winning two special tests to place 28 seconds behind Salminen. Guerrero again placed less than one second behind his team-mate in third. In finishing third Cristobal claimed his first ever podium finish in senior WEC competition. Disappointingly for the UFO Corse Yamaha team's third E1 class rider Maurizio Micheluz the second round of the '07 WEC series didn't go as well as the Italian had hoped. Having shown good speed in the Italian championship Maurizio struggled to get to grips with the conditions and as a result placed in seventh on both days.  
Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 third, Day 2 second: "I am really pleased with the way the GP of Spain has gone because the first round of the championship in Sweden was terrible. I am really happy because I now have a good feeling with the bike and am able to push hard. Finishing third on day one was really good. The start of the season was difficult for me because I struggled to adjust to my Yamaha as quickly as I hoped I would, but now I am really pleased with the performance of the bike. "The second day was tough - there were several riders that we really fast so to finish second is great. I had a really good fight with my team-mate Cristobal Guerrero, which was good. I am much happier with my result and the way I am riding."
Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Fourth, Day 2 Third: "It's been a great weekend for me and my first podium finish in the WEC since I won the Enduro Junior championship in '05. On day one I missed the podium by one second, which was disappointing but at the same time it was good to know that my speed was good enough to fight with the riders at the top of the class. I only made one crash so it was a good day. "Day two was really tough. The tests were much rougher than on day one and it was really close between myself, Simone Albergoni, Bartosz Oblucki and Alessandro Albergoni. I could have finished second but Simone finished less than one second ahead of me. I am really pleased with the way the weekend has gone. I'm looking forward to Portugal now."
Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Seventh, Day 2 Seventh: "It's been a bad weekend for me. I didn't feel good on the bike and just didn't have a good feeling with the special tests. I finished seventh on both days, which isn't good. I crashed many times on day one and things weren't much better on day two. I hope things will be better in Portugal."   Temp: 20 Crowd: 5600 Weather: Sunny     2007 Enduro 1 Spain 29/04/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 50'3.520 2 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 50'14.070 3 Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 50'44.690 4 Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 50'45.140 5 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 51'8.520 6 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 51'33.690 7 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 51'50.430 8 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 52'10.220 9 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 52'12.080 10 Luca Cherubini Honda ITA 52'47.890 11 Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 52'57.100 12 Miquel Damien Kawasaki FRA 53'40.870 13 Danielle Tellini KTM ITA 54'23.110 14 Gonzalo Reis KTM ITA 55'14.550 15 Gregory Eyries Yamaha FRA 55'35.030
Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 49'53.300 2 Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 50'21.750 3 Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 50'21.830 4 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 50'23.930 5 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 50'48.840 6 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 50'51.260 7 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 51'14.940 8 Luca Cherubini Honda ITA 52'17.090 9 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 52'21.400 10 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 52'26.210 11 Fabio Mossini Honda ITA 53'15.260 12 Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 53'16.410 13 Danielle Tellini KTM ITA 53'49.770 14 Miquel Damien Kawasaki FRA 50'1.470 15 Gonzalo Reis KTM ITA 54'29.070
Rider Standings 28/04/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Juha Salminen KTM FIN 100 2. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 72 3. Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 69 4. Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 66 5. Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 62 6. Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 59 7. Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 49 8. Mike Hartmann KTM GER 41 9. Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 38 10. Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 36 11. Niklas Gustafsson KTM SWE 34 12. Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 33 13. Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 25 14. Luca Cherubini Honda ITA 24 15. Tobias Burman KTM SWE 21
Manufacturer Standings 28/04/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 100 2. Yamaha 72 3. Husqvarna 69 4. Honda 44 5. Suzuki 38 6. Kawasaki 16 7. TM 3
RACE REPORT 29/04/2007 Johnny Aubert wins first Enduro 2 race    Yamaha mounted Frenchman Johnny Aubert produced the best result of his enduro career to date at the second round of the '07 WEC series staged in Puerto Lumbreras where he topped the highly competitive Enduro 2 class on both days aboard his WR450. Hardly putting a foot wrong on day one, and then managing to claim victory on day two despite two falls and constant pressure from reigning E2 world champion Samuli Aro, Aubert signalled his intentions to claim his first enduro world title in '07.   With conditions in Spain starting wet on day one following heavy rain on Friday evening Aubert started the event in the best possible way by winning the six opening special tests on day one. Dropping just a few seconds to his E2 championship rivals on the seventh test of the day the former motocross rider then returned to his winning ways and topped a further three special tests before the day's close to win by close to one minute. Placing along side Aubert on the podium were Finn Mika Ahola and Australian Stefan Merriman.   With conditions much drier and much rougher on day two than they were on day one Aubert again started well and topped the first three tests on day two. Opening up a slender lead at the head of the E2 class only to lose it following two crashes, Johnny remained focused during the second half of the day and maintained his lead to claim a deserved win. Winning a total of eight special tests in the E2 class on day two Aubert also finished as the event's overall fastest competitor on both days one and two. Finishing on the podium alongside Aubert on day two were Finns Samuli Aro and Mika Ahola. Italian UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Fabrizio Dini recorded two top 10 results aboard his WR450 in Spain placing in 10th on day one and in ninth on day two.    Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 First, Day 2 First: "Day one was a little strange for me because I won the race quite easily. I didn't make any mistakes and felt really comfortable on all the special tests. Day two was a little harder because the special tests got really rough, but I still rode well. I crashed twice, and got stuck in a big rut in the extreme test on one lap, but still managed to stay at the top of the E2 results. Samuli Aro was also really fast, which meant that if I had made one more mistake I would have lost the lead, but I managed to stay in front and won like I did on day one. It's my first double victory so I am really pleased. I hope I can continue like this in Portugal next weekend."   Temp: 20 Crowd: 5600 Weather: Sunny     2007 Enduro 2 Spain 29/04/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 49'10.520 2 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 50'8.540 3 Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 50'33.870 4 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 50'56.410 5 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 51'7.070 6 Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 51'25.170 7 Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 51'31.890 8 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 51'39.370 9 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 52'1.110 10 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 52'16.280 11 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 52'37.570 12 Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 53'17.950 13 Joel Smets BMW BEL 54'32.560 14 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 54'43.560 15 Sascha Eckert BMW GER 54'55.700
Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 49'16.350 2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 49'23.310 3 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 49'42.130 4 Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 50'20.590 5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 50'29.140 6 Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 50'50.750 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 51'8.130 8 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 51'11.360 9 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 51'18.680 10 Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 51'28.500 11 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 52'34.310 12 Patrick Caps GasGas BEL 52'41.180 13 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 52'54.010 14 Felipe Zanol Yamaha ESP 53'9.370 15 Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 53'35.290
Rider Standings 28/04/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Mika Ahola Honda FIN 89 2. Samuli Aro KTM FIN 85 3. Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 82 4. Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 62 5. Fabien Planet KTM FRA 62 6. Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 59 7. Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 45 8. Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 42 9. Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 39 10. Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 39 11. Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 36 12. Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 33 13. Patrik Wicksell KTM SWE 33 14. Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 32 15. Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 27
Manufacturer Standings 28/04/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 89 2. KTM 87 3. Yamaha 82 4. Aprilia 63 5. Beta 59 6. Husqvarna 42 7. HusaBerg 42 8. Suzuki 39 9. Sherco 33 10. GasGas 22 11. BMW 12 12. TM 9
Alex Asigno

Coppins stretches podium record with third at Sugo

Yamaha Motocross Team's Joshua Coppins continued his 100% podium record with third place overall at a cloudy and windy Sugo circuit - crowded by 24,000 spectators -for the Japanese Grand Prix and the sixth round of fifteen in the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship today.
The New Zealander rode to a brace of third positions on the works YZ450F-FM in front of the attending Yamaha president Mr Kajikawa and company employees, and thanks to a poor day for his most direct title rival, Kevin Strijbos, he extended his lead in the championship standings to more than one Grand Prix with 63 points in total.
The immaculate Sugo track was again a technical and difficult prospect for the MX1 and MX2 classes. A long period of rainfall on Friday afternoon softened the terrain that was already well prepared and mixed deeply with wood chippings. The result was a mud that swiftly became rough and rutted with several lines providing ample choice and strategy for the riders. It was the third year in succession that the World Championship had visited the venue close to the city of Sendai and the third time this century for the Japanese round. Sugo, in Yamaha ownership, lies a few kilometres from the road racing complex and was established 32 years previously.
After hot and bright conditions on Saturday, in which Coppins sealed his second consecutive pole position by two tenths of a second, race day was windy and cloudy with frequent sunny spells.
The first moto saw a battle for second as Billy Mackenzie ran away for the first ever British win in MX1. Coppins held a position as runner-up for almost the entire moto under pressure from David Philippaerts and then Jonathan Barragan. The Spaniard was eventually able to push through with two laps to go as Coppins admitted that his riding was not the best as he sought the quicker lines.
In the second sprint he again rode a lonely race to third after Ken de Dycker experienced brake trouble ahead and retired. He was close to Mackenzie and the chance of taking second place approaching the final two laps but could not get level with the eventual overall winner to overtake.
Marc de Reuver had a difficult day. The Dutchman started poorly in the opening moto and then slipped off in the deeply rutted corner after the pit lane. He circulated outside of the top twenty just behind leader Mackenzie and set similar lap-times but then fell again in the final laps, this time heavily off the biggest jump on the course, and suffered a concussion with nasty black eye. Feeling dazed and dizzy De Reuver did not take to the waiting zone for the second moto.
Team Jubilo Yamaha - the squad that competes in the Japanese National Championship - boasted the talents of former AMA competitor Akira Narita. The three times Japanese Champion failed to finish the first moto and picked up four points for seventeenth in the second.
The Yamaha Motocross Team now travel directly back to Europe and both Coppins and de Reuver will have a free weekend before making preparations for the comparatively short trip to St Jean d'Angely in western France. The French round will constitute the seventh round of the championship and precedes the Bulgarian Grand Prix two weeks afterwards.
Joshua Coppins - Yamaha Motocross Team: "I did not have a good feeling on this track, even on Saturday but I was able to push for a fast lap. I was surprised with pole position because I was struggling a little bit. I could not find the lines I wanted and couldn't get a rhythm going in the first moto. I was fighting the bike and not enjoying the race so for the second moto I tried riding a gear higher and making the bike work more for me instead of the other way around. It did not go as well as I hoped but I tried my best. I knew there would be many winners and many different guys on the podium this year but I am the only one to be here every week so far. I want to continue to do what I am doing. If 3-3 is a bad day then I am pleased with that. For sure this season is more stressful for me and the championship is always in the back of my mind but I want to win more GPs. Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war and that was the case today for me."    Marc de Reuver - Yamaha Motocross Team: "I was fifth at the start of the first heat but made a small mistake just before the finish line. I lost some time because I had to bash the bars and levers back into position. Billy Mackenzie lapped me and I ran behind him without any problem until the big crash over the table-top. The front wheel just washed out on the landing and I hit my head hard. I don't even remember how I got back to the paddock and Michele and Carlo thought it was better that I don't ride. It is a disappointing weekend but I am lucky that I only have a black eye."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Overall it was a positive day but I cannot say that I am satisfied. In both motos Josh did not ride as well as he can and it is important to flow on this track because it is very rough. He showed his strength however to take third place both times and that was good in the circumstances. It was a very bad day for Marc. He looked very fast but made a mistake and crashed. He then fell again in a big way and luckily was not seriously injured; it was not convenient for him to race the second moto."   Circuit Length: 3737 Weather: Dry     2007 GP of Sugo, Japan 27/05/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 39'31.947 2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'8.939 3 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'13.608 4 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'27.369 5 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'31.616 6 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'40.288 7 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'42.846 8 Yoshitaka Atsuta Honda JPN 0'43.191 9 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'46.266 10 James Noble Honda GBR 1'1.475 11 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'5.560 12 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'9.411 13 Kazamusa Masuda Honda JPN 1'48.276 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'49.305 15 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'51.752 16 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'5.433 17 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps 18 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL -1 Laps 19 Kohij Ohkawara Yamaha JPN -1 Laps
Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Mike Brown Honda USA 40'20.363 2 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'3.066 3 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'7.996 4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'27.232 5 Yoshitaka Atsuta Honda JPN 0'9.033 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'40.274 7 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'48.099 8 James Noble Honda GBR 0'53.372 9 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'6.877 10 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'8.637 11 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'45.054 12 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'54.087 13 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'3.623 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 15 Kuraudo Toda Suzuki JPN -1 Laps 16 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL -1 Laps 17 Akira Narita Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 18 Kohij Ohkawara Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 19 Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 20 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps
Rider Standings 27/05/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 274 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 211 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 186 4. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 154 5. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 148 6. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 146 7. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 143 8. Mike Brown Honda USA 141 9. James Noble Honda GBR 128 10. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 126 11. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 120 12. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 115 13. Manuel Priem TM BEL 103 14. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 95 15. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 80 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 70 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 57 18. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 49 19. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 45 20. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 38
Manufacturer Standings 27/05/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 274 2. Suzuki 229 3. KTM 201 4. Honda 188 5. Kawasaki 187 6. TM 103 8. Aprilia 2
RACE REPORT 27/05/2007 Cairoli stays on podium after tricky Japanese GP    Yamaha De Carli's Antonio Cairoli saw his winning streak of five Grand Prix come to an end in Japan but the Sicilian - who announced a new three year agreement with Yamaha the same day - took a second moto win and second position overall behind arch-rival Christophe Pourcel in the sixth meeting of the MX2 campaign.
Sugo was another capable circuit on which Cairoli could show off his speed and skills. The mud was hugely technical by virtue of the holes, dips and bumps that carved very quickly into the surface. The course demanded concentration but also allowed for individual expression thanks to the choice in racing lines and vast jumps.
On a warm but overcast Saturday Cairoli dominated the second qualification heat for his fifth Saturday win of the season and one that he claimed was the easiest so far. His speed ensured selection of second place in the start gate for Sunday.
After an unfamiliar bad start and then a small (and rare) race crash by Cairoli in the first moto, while closing fast on Tyla Rattray for second position, the Italian lost the chance to fight for the win and he had to accept a distant third place. The 21 year old, who had won the last seven motos in succession and whose previous lowest result had been a second position in Spain, re-evaluated his approach for the next race of 35 minutes and 2 laps. He rounded the first corner at the front of the pack and unveiled a more familiar sight that motocross fans are quickly becoming accustomed to in 2007 by setting the pace ahead of Rattray and Pourcel. Both of his pursuers would crash deep into the moto giving the YZ250F pilot a clear run to the finish line for his tenth win from twelve. Pourcel was able to recover to overtake a lagging Tommy Searle for second spot in the final stages and post a better overall score for the win.
Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen was again unfortunate to only place eighth overall. The Norwegian was slow out of the gate in each moto and then had to ditch his goggles twice as sand and dirt had entered the eyewear. With the roost kicked up by the rear wheels of the machines ahead he was limited in whatever progress he could make, posting twelfth and ninth by the end of the afternoon.
Nicolas Aubin suffered the effects of a long trip during the week, and was not able to operate at the level normally shown by the French youngster who has arguably been one of the breakthrough performers this season. He was thirteenth and sixteenth for thirteenth overall. His team-mate David Guarneri could not score in Moto1 due to a third lap crash in which he broke his clutch. He was stronger in the second race and took ten points for eleventh in only his third Grand Prix this year.
Bike It Yamaha Dixon Racing's Carl Nunn was tenth overall. The British Champion simply could not gel with the track in the first race and was disappointingly dragged down to eighteenth. The Briton gave a better account of himself in the second moto and took part in an entertaining tussle with team-mate Martin Barr (who grabbed a career best twelfth) and Guarneri. Nunn eventually moved past Gundersen for eighth place by the end of the distance.
Cairoli conceded two points to Pourcel in the World Championship standings but his margin still rests at a hefty 66. Gundersen and Aubin are seventh and eighth respectively.
The Grand Prix of France at St Jean d'Angely will form the seventh round of the World Championship and will take place in two weeks time.
Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha De Carli: "I was a bit unlucky at this GP because I felt very good in the second moto. I did not start so well in the first race and Christophe took a lead of many seconds. I lost a lot of time stuck behind a Kawasaki rider and the track was so wet; I did not want to make a mistake. My lines were not great either. After I got through I chased Christophe and Tyla. The gap was around twenty seconds and I got it down to five but I made a small error and crashed. Before the second race I watched the MX1 moto for some lines. When I got the holeshot I found my speed right away and leading the race was easy, especially after the first twenty minutes. Christophe and Tyla made some mistakes and Searle was a long way away. I want to win again in France for sure and start to take more points away from the other guys in the championship. I don't want to repeat my mistakes from last year so when the win is there I will go for it but otherwise the top three is acceptable."    Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I don't know why but in both motos I got sand inside my goggles and had to take them off, after that it was very difficult to ride. I had two bad starts but I gave everything I had today and I could not do any better, so in one way I am happy."
Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha Team Ricci: "I had a very long journey here and as a result only slept two hours last night. I felt like I was asleep on the bike; I could not react and was making stupid mistakes. My crash in the first moto was like the mistake of a junior. Anyway, I have learned a lot for the future and I have to work hard in the next few GPs now to regain the points that I lost today." Carl Nunn - Bike it Dixon Yamaha Racing: "The first moto was really bad. Things were OK at the beginning but I then just went backwards; I did not even have any rhythm to lose. The bike wasn't working because I was not riding it correctly. I felt terrible and made everything hard work. I went down and then after that I lost all momentum. The second race was a lot better and had some good battles. I finished eighth and was happy with that because I was able to raise my game significantly. It was the first time all weekend I enjoyed the track and was able to put the bike where I wanted it to go."   Circuit Length: 3737 Weather: Dry     2007 GP of Sugo, Japan 27/05/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 39'45.553 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'5.524 3 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'38.981 4 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'50.085 5 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'8.766 6 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'20.922 7 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'29.208 8 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'32.731 9 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'33.926 10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'52.268 11 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 2'2.674 12 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR -1 Laps 13 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 14 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 15 Youhei Kojima Suzuki JPN -1 Laps 16 Yu Hirata Honda JPN -1 Laps 17 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps 18 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR -1 Laps 19 Yuya Ozaki Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 20 Elliott Banks-Browne Suzuki GBR -1 Laps
Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'44.387 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'5.667 3 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'9.007 4 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'30.867 5 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'44.728 6 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'47.756 7 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'3.866 8 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'7.021 9 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 1'12.036 10 Youhei Kojima Suzuki JPN 1'17.201 11 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'19.994 12 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'26.537 13 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'32.576 14 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 1'34.426 15 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'35.437 16 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'36.083 17 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'43.889 18 Tadashi Kugimura Yamaha JPN 1'56.363 19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR 2'5.405 20 Yu Hirata Honda JPN -1 Laps
Rider Standings 27/05/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 292 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 228 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 218 4. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 175 5. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 173 6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 147 7. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 139 8. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 134 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 115 10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 95 11. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 90 12. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 69 13. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 65 14. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 62 15. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 58 16. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 55 17. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 54 18. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 54 19. Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 53 20. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 50 22. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 42
Manufacturer Standings 27/05/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 292 2. Kawasaki 239 3. KTM 237 4. Honda 173 5. Suzuki 103
Alex Asigno

Micheluz fifth in world championship

Poland's Bartosz Oblucki and Frenchman Marc Germain shared top honours in the Enduro 1 class at the eighth and final round of the 2006 World Enduro Championship, the GP of France held in Boussac. With conditions far from ideal following heavy rain during the days leading up to the race, as well as during the event itself, the last round of the 2006 WEC series proved to be extremely challenging for all competitors. Performing at his best in the slippery conditions Oblucki placed 14 seconds ahead of Italian Simone Albergoni after a day long battle while Germain, making his first appearance in the 2006 WEC series having focused his efforts on national events in France this season, placed third and ahead of Spain's Ivan Cervantes. Needing just a handful of points from the first day's competition Cervantes claimed the E1 world championship title for the second consecutive season. With conditions harder on day two of the GP of France than they have been on any other day of the eight-round WEC series this season Yamaha rider Marc Germain claimed a popular victory finishing just over five seconds ahead of day one winner Oblucki. Although competing simply for fun Germain showed that he is still a world class performer despite opting not to compete in the full world championship series in 2006. Winning three of the day's four special tests in the E1 class Germain headed what was a great second day in France for Yamaha. With Oblucki second Portuguese Yamaha rider Helder Rodrigues claimed his first WEC podium of 2006 in third while UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz finished in fourth. In finishing fourth Micheluz claimed fifth in the 2006 E1 world championship, finishing as the highest placed Yamaha rider. Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: Sixth, Day 2: Fourth "I think that it is important to have good luck in a race with such bad conditions. On the first day I didn't have such good luck and I finished in sixth position. On the second day I just wanted to make sure that I didn't make any mistakes, and my result improved. I was being careful on all the special tests and finished in fourth and not so far behind third. I am happy with the way the race has gone and the championship. I finished in fifth position, which is my best championship result in the WEC, so I am happy. I am learning more every year so I'm looking forward to 2007." Marc Germain (Yamaha France) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: Third, Day 2: First "It was never my plan to get a really good result here at the world championship race in France. I have had a great season in France so I just wanted to race in front of the spectators that have supported me all season. I was really tired on day one because I didn't prepare for the race as well as I could. But I could see that I could still get a good result. I saw that I could improve my result with some good times on the enduro test. I was behind Oblucki going into the last tests, and I wasn't expecting to win, but he made a mistake and I won. I am really happy with this."
 
Temp: 12 Crowd: 20000 Weather: Rain     2006 Enduro 1 France 24/09/2006 Race 1 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 50'40.800 2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 0'14.360 3 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 1'10.190 4 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 1'17.440 5 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 2'15.650 6 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 2'27.460 7 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 2'30.900 8 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 2'45.010 9 Gregory Eyries Yamaha FRA 4'54.110 10 Damien Miquel Kawasaki FRA 5'37.640 11 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 6'7.790 12 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 6'45.290 13 Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 7'39.320 14 Evrard Gutkin TM FRA 8'23.400 15 Nicolas Joye KTM CHE 9'52.530
Race 2 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 33'57.610 2 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 0'5.710 3 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 1'13.610 4 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 1'31.570 5 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 2'2.360 6 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 3'24.230 7 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 4'22.270 8 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 4'42.430 9 Damien Miquel Kawasaki FRA 5'29.580 10 Joan Jou Yamaha ESP 5'32.960 11 Greg Evans KTM GBR 11'49.770 12 Nicolas Joye KTM CHE 14'41.870 13 Benoit Calomine KTM FRA 14'53.940
Rider Standings 24/09/2006
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 372 2. Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 318 3. Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 291 4. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 284 5. Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 255 6. Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 166 7. Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 155 8. Mike Hartmann KTM GER 148 9. Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 125 10. Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 82 11. Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 71 12. Anthony Roberts Yamaha AUS 58 13. Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 52 14. Shane Cuthbertson KTM CAN 49 15. Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 45 44. Arnau Vilanova Yamaha ESP 10
Manufacturer Standings 24/09/2006
Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 372 2. Honda 333 3. Husqvarna 301 4. Yamaha 273 5. TM 173 6. Suzuki 90 7. Kawasaki 64 8. GasGas 23 9. Christini 19
RACE REPORT 24/09/2006 Merriman third, Aubert fourth in world championship   Stefan Merriman   
Finn Samuli Aro wrapped up the 2006 Enduro 2 world championship on day one of the GP of France by claiming his eighth E2 class win of the series. Winning just two of the opening day's seven special tests Aro placed eight seconds ahead of Frenchman Fabien Planet. Finishing in third was Finn Mika Ahola some 29 seconds behind Planet while Australian UFO Corse Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman placed in fourth five seconds behind Ahola having lost valuable seconds when he got wire wrapped around his rear wheel on one of the day's extreme tests.
On day two Mika Ahola improved on his day one result to top the E2 class finishing 32 seconds ahead of Merriman. With just 13 riders reaching the finish of the second day in the E2 class due to the severity of the conditions Merriman was followed home by Aro. With Aro topping the 2006 E2 world championship UFO Corse Yamaha team mates Merriman and Johnny Aubert placed in third and fourth.
French UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert's hopes of a good result at both his home round of the series and the final round of the championship ended when the former motocross rider DNF the opening day after just one timed special test. Crashing as he crossed a slippery wooded bridge on the extreme test Aubert took no further part in the event having injured his ankle. Although in pain at the time of his incident Aubert returned to the race on Sunday.
Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: DNF, Day 2: DNS "I crashed on the first timed enduro test, on one of the bridges. I am not sure what happened exactly but I had a lot of pain in my ankle. I had some problem with the bones but I don't think that anything is broken. On Monday I will go to Paris and there I will have a doctor examine my foot. I can walk on it but something is not right. I hope it is nothing too serious."
Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: Fourth, Day 2: Second "I got stuck in a fence on the extreme test on the last lap. I was just going up a rocky uphill, slipped backwards, and got caught up in the fence. I lost some time getting the wire out of the wheel, so that didn't help me. I had a fall on one of the tests earlier in the day as well but thankfully they were the only problems I had. With the conditions the way they were it could have been a lot worse. It would have been nice to have got onto the podium but fourth wasn't so bad. Day two was really tough. On the last enduro test I met one of the other riders coming towards me after he'd made a mess of one of the uphill. I had to try and dodge him, figure out where he'd come from, and I ended up getting stuck myself. It was a bit tricky in places. I find it difficult to ride at my best when I know that I can't win a championship. The race hasn't been too bad, despite the weather, and although there were a lot of ruts it's been pretty enjoyable."
Temp: 12 Crowd: 20000 Weather: Rain     2006 Enduro 2 France 24/09/2006 Race 1 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 48'12.910 2 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 0'8.300 3 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 0'37.630 4 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 0'42.980 5 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 2'6.710 6 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 2'8.100 7 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 2'16.310 8 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 2'52.010 9 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 3'3.350 10 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 3'15.040 11 Euan McConnell TM GBR 3'42.780 12 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 4'27.260 13 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 4'40.860 14 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 5'6.060 15 Jordan Curvalle Kawasaki FRA 6'1.340
Race 2 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 32'20.250 2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 0'32.870 3 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 0'58.450 4 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 1'4.460 5 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 1'7.060 6 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 1'14.160 7 Euan McConnell TM GBR 1'50.890 8 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 1'52.570 9 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 1'58.090 10 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 4'2.040 11 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 5'12.110 12 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 7'55.330 13 Jordan Curvalle Kawasaki FRA 9'23.220
Rider Standings 24/09/2006
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Samuli Aro KTM FIN 360 2. Mika Ahola Honda FIN 328 3. Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 318 4. Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 277 5. Fabien Planet KTM FRA 239 6. Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 210 7. Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 185 8. Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 153 9. Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 141 10. Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 135 11. Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 134 12. Euan McConnell TM GBR 108 13. Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 105 14. Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 98 15. Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 92
Manufacturer Standings 24/09/2006
Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 360 2. Yamaha 356 3. Honda 328 4. GasGas 210 5. Husqvarna 165 6. Aprilia 135 7. HusaBerg 134 8. Beta 112 9. TM 108 10. Sherco 58 11. Suzuki 52 12. Kawasaki 30
Alex Asigno

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

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

Frossard grabs British Grand Prix podium

Monster Energy Yamahas Steven Frossard finished third overall a well-received Matterley Basin for the Grand Prix of Great Britain and the thirteenth stop of fifteen on the FIM Motocross World Championship schedule. The Frenchman posted his sixth podium result on the factory YZ450FM and has moved up to second position in the MX1-GP standings in what is just his first term in the category and his first as part of the decorated works set-up.

The weekend began well for the team with Frossard feeling comfortable on the excellent racing surface in southern England. The 24 year old fought with Christophe Pourcel for pole position across the spectacular jumps and carved, soft mud that permitted different, grippy line choice before settling for second position without risk in the final two laps.

Bright skies greeted race-day and Frossard led almost all of the opening moto ahead of Pourcel. He had collided with a fence post and ripped off the right radiator shroud earlier in the sprint and this had an effect on his riding. 183 broke too hard into a tight right turn four laps from the flag and was passed by his countryman. He then went on the attack but was able to draw up to the rear wheel of the former world champion.

Frossard led the first fifteen minutes of the second moto until a dramatic crash between Billy Mackenzie and Tanel Leok led to the race being stopped. On the restart Frossard worked his way into third and then demoted Pourcel to reach second place. Sadly Antonio Cairoli was beyond reach. With his brace of runner-up positions Frossard earned the lower step of the rostrum but was consistently quick and close to victory all through the event.

The team were at full strength in the UK thanks to the transfer of 2010 MX3 World Champion Carlos Campano to the awning. The Spaniard fills David Philippaerts saddle for the final three events of the series and got off to a positive start by equalling his best ever moto result. Campano was motivated, strong and aggressive. He had some bad luck in the first moto when he slipped off on the first corner but set some impressive lap-times to recover back to fifteenth. In the second race he started brilliantly and was pressuring Shaun Simpson for second place until the premature halt. In the third moto the 25 year old from Sevilla rode to sixth position to match a previous best obtained in 2009. Campano was tenth overall.

Anthony Boissiere, currently fifteenth in the MX1 standings, was able to post scores of tenth and ninth for a very solid seventh overall at Matterley; it was the Frenchmans highest classification of the year.

Frossard trails world champion Tony Cairoli by 82 points but with Clement Desalle and Evgeny Bobryshev set to miss the rest of the season through injury he defends a gap of 62 over Max Nagl in fourth. Grand Prix meetings in Germany (Gaildorf) and Italy (Fermo) remain and a maximum of 100 points still to win.

Steven Frossard, 3rd position:

Yesterday I had a great race with Christophe and it was a lot of fun to ride like this. This is the best track this year. In the first moto I made the holeshot and had a little problem with my arm and I also broke the radiator shroud when I hit a post. It affected my riding a little bit. I led for thirty minutes but made a mistake in one of the corners and then pushed really hard to try and win the moto. I made a great start in the second moto and went to the front but after fifteen minutes we had to stop. We went again and I was third but I think I pushed a bit too much and felt tired. Cairoli was fast and I couldnt catch him. In the beginning I was trying to think GP by GP but now my goal is to finish second. It is a bit difficult because everyone says I will finish there, so I want to keep focussed. I am happy with the way the championship is going but at the start of the year I was close to Antonio and Desalle but lost points through some mistakes. I am learning and will improve on this for next year.

Carlos Campano, 10th position:

Im happy. In the first race I had a crash on the first corner and was far behind but I found a good rhythm and could come back to fifteenth. I felt good on the bike and the track and was motivated for the second moto. I started ahead and slotted into third. I was on the point of taking second but then they stopped the race. I hoped I might be able to make the same start but it didnt really happen. I got stuck behind Goncalves and Barragan and Nagl caught us. I finally passed Goncalves and pushed hard to get behind Nagl but could get him at the end. I think this was an important forward step and I loved the bike and the track. I dont notice so much difference with the factory bike and my YZ450F but at the end of the motos when the track is really rough then I can really attack the other riders and I am far less on the limit compared to the other. It means less mistakes. I have to thank the team for all their work. They didnt put any pressure on me and I did the best I could. I had a lot of problems this year and I am really grateful for this opportunity.
Alex

Motorcycle Breakdown Cover

Essentials of Motorcycle Breakdown Cover
When your motorcycle breaks down, especially if you are in a remote location, you are not alone if you have excellent motorcycle breakdown cover.
First, and perhaps most important, is roadside rescue. Waiting out in the elements after a breakdown, especially in unfamiliar territory, is very unpleasant, to say the least. Most policies for motorcycle breakdown guarantee only a 40 minute wait for a rescue, and most bikes can be fixed roadside. Most classic motorcycle breakdown coverage plans will send a mechanic to you, if you are only a mile or less from home, and fix your bike on the spot. If that cannot be managed, then your bike will be taken to the nearest garage.
Motorcycle breakdown cover on a bike that cannot be fixed roadside will ensure that you are not stranded, and that you, your bike, and passengers are taken to a local garage service to repair your bike. The best motorcycle breakdown cover will take you and your party on to your destination or back home, or else put you all up in a hotel.
The best motorcycle breakdown cover will insure other drivers on your bike, not just you. This gives you peace of mind when someone else rides your bike. If you yourself drive many different bikes, perhaps it is a good idea to cover yourself as well. If you become injured in a motorcycle accident, some breakdown covers for motorcycles in the UK will even pay to have a driver return your bike to your home.
If you are stranded, motorbike breakdown cover can also contribute a fair amount to pay for vehicle hire until your bike is repaired. Key cover can even replace your house keys in the event that they are lost or stolen.

European Breakdown Cover
For European breakdown cover you can add to your home policy a special single trip cover, with roadside assistance, return home guarantee, and English speaking operators to help you with any breakdown you may experience while on the continent, and your cover begins on the day of the trip, from home, to the ferry across and back home again. You could also buy European coverage that will cover multiple trips to Europe.
European cover is available for both car and motorbike breakdown, and most are available 24 hours every day, and can deliver replacement parts, trip continuation, replacement vehicle, and even bed and breakfast expenses. If necessary, the return of your entire party to home in the UK can be covered.
Be aware that some policies do not cover a motorcycle of more than a certain size engine. If you have a bike with a larger engine, you would do well to search around for a policy that has no limitation or upper limit on engine size.
Alex

Choosing Motorbike Insurance

Choosing Motorbike Insurance
Motorcycle insurance is compulsory on all public roads because without it the biker will be liable for bodily injury and property damage.
Although it’s possible to get cheap motorbike insurance by simply getting Third Party Motorcycle coverage, there are many more options to choose from for better coverage.

Types Of Motorcycle Insurance
Comprehensive motorcycle insurance, this costs more but offers the most coverage. In the event of an accident, it not only covers both the motorcyclist and their motorcycle but it also covers other people injured by the collision and any damage to their property.
Third Party Fire and Theft Motorcycle Insurance is for both fire and theft coverage. In the event of an accident, it also covers you for personal injury, as well as other people who may be injured and their property. However, it does not cover your motorcycle.
Third Party Motorcycle Insurance offers basic coverage, excluding fire and theft.

Motorbike Insurance Quotes
It’s always a great idea to get insurance before you ride your motorbike.
Although a motorcycle dealer may offer you a quote, usually these policies are not as good as those you can get from finding an insurance agency on your own because dealerships rarely work with the best insurance companies.
In shopping for the best motorcycle insurance, begin by asking your current car and home insurance agent if they also offer motorcycle insurance.
Besides asking your current insurer, you can look for motorcycle insurance online, a motorcycle magazine, or the phone book. Incidentally, if you have a Yamaha, do an online search for “Yamaha motorbike insurance” for some great price quotes.

Top 5 Questions to Ask an Insurance Provider
When seeking an insurance provider, what are some pertinent questions to ask?
Here is a quick list of the top five questions you may want to ask your provider to get the best coverage at the lowest premiums.
1. What is the difference between the various types of insurance policies? Your goal is to get a very clear understanding on what is covered and what is not covered under each type of insurance. If you have an older bike, possibly a vintage model, check into the benefits of classic motorcycle insurance.
2. If I get comprehensive insurance, is it enough, or can I get something that is more thorough, covering all possibilities?
3. How do I make claims?
4. What happens to my premiums if I have an accident and need to make a claim?
5. Can I get a package deal by combining my motorcycle insurance with my other insurances and how much will my discount be?
Alex

Tonus wins MX2 British Championship

Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha’s Arnaud Tonus has won the high profile MX2 Maxxis British Championship in his first campaign on the YZ250F and gave the British team their second consecutive crown on UK soil.

The stylish Swiss won all three 20 minute motos last weekend in Scotland to toast his first major title after team-mate, defending champion and main rival Zach Osborne had to return to his native USA last month with a shoulder injury.

From twenty-one motos through the seven of eight rounds run so far Tonus has missed the podium only once from the races he has completed and notched nineteen top three finishes. This fantastic consistency on a range of terrain and diverse circuits up and down the UK and Northern Ireland allowed the twenty year old to make a significant contribution in his first term as a Yamaha rider.

“I knew coming into the weekend that there was a chance I could win it and to take all three motos and get the championship felt so good,” said Tonus, who will compete in the team’s home event this weekend at Matterley Basin, Winchester for the thirteenth round of fifteen on the GP schedule. “It is a shame it could not have gone to the final round wit Zach as it has been a good battle all season but I’m really happy, and also the team because they have worked very hard for a long time this year. It is fun to be with them and to ride that bike so I must give a big thanks to Steve and all the guys.”
Alex

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