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Alex Asigno
Jeremy Guarnoni MRS Racing’s Jeremy Guarnoni took another step towards winning the Superstock 600 European Championship on his Yamaha YZF R6 this weekend. Guarnoni was on top form all weekend, scoring his fifth consecutive pole position start of the season to start from the front of the grid. The young French rider battled closely with championship rival Florian Marino, repeatedly touching fairings on the last lap, before gaining a half second advantage to the line to claim his third win of the season. Guarnoni was one of two Yamaha R6’s on the podium and one of sixteen of Yamaha’s Supersport machines that made up the grid start. The championship is now at the half way mark, with five races completed and five to run. The riders now move to Brno in two weeks for round six. Guarnoni leads with 111 points, 25 points ahead of closest rival Marino.
Alex Asigno
There were no easy points to be had today for the Yamaha Sterilgarda team as a hot track surface and rapidly disappearing grip tested the skills of both riders. Despite being mobbed by riders in the first corner of race two, Cal Crutchlow fought back with an inspired push, coming from ninth all the way up to take third from Michel Fabrizio by lap 19. He held for a further three laps but was passed back with two laps to go, taking fourth at the line. Race one had seen Crutchlow lose the front early on as he pushed on to catch the leaders, forcing retirement from the race. Race two also saw Crutchlow make the new lap record as he worked his way through the pack, scoring an impressive 1'36.546. Team mate James Toseland also experienced a tough race day at the Misano circuit. Starting from a less than perfect 13th on the grid on the hard to overtake track, Toseland fought to pass several riders, taking tenth at the line. Race two saw him losing the front end going into a corner on the tenth lap and forcing early retirement. Crutchlow leaves Misano in tenth place in the championship standings on 120 points, just ten behind Leon Camier in ninth. Team mate Toseland sits in seventh on 138 points, just 23 points adrift of Checa in fifth as they head to Brno in two weeks time. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 4th) "I had an ok start in race two, but got beaten up a bit in the first corner on the first lap and basically had to recover from then on. I was disappointed to lose out to Fabrizio at the end, I just lost a bit of drive out of the corner and he managed to get back under me. To come here and do the race pace we did at these grip levels was incredible, hopefully we can make some improvements at this week's Imola test and be even better. Race one was a stupid mistake, I had a full tank of fuel and just pushed the front a bit too hard trying to catch the front runners and lost the front, but I think I redeemed myself in race two." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (10th, DNF) "What can you say, another tough weekend. I've got the pace when the tyre grip is good but just find it difficult when losing the grip on the bike to keep with the other bikes coming off the corners. We need to work hard on this area as it's so important. We'll meet about it tonight, if we can improve that it'll be a big help. The time I'm losing on the corners to the others means I have to keep catching up on the brakes which means pushing the front, which is why I crashed in the second. Brno is a little bit faster and flowing so if we can keep the revs high we shouldn't have too many problems." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "After the test last week we were expecting better results. By Friday we realised this weekend was going to be tougher than we thought. Cal did a good job in the second race, although unfortunately he crashed in the first. He didn't have the best start in the second and he was pushing really hard to catch the front pack. Unfortunately this meant he destroyed his rear tyre which meant at the end the rear grip was suffering but he pushed to the line for fourth. James had a difficult weekend, for sure starting from the fourth row is always hard. He did what he could and unfortunately he didn't finish the second race due to a crash. Fortunately he is not hurt. Tuesday and Wednesday we will go to Imola to test and hopefully we can fix some of the issues we have." Circuit Length: 4060 Weather: Hot and Sunny
Lap Record: 1'37.135 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2009) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'35.001 (Troy Corser, 27/06/2010) Last Years Winner: Jonathan Rea 2010 WSB San Marino - Misano 27/06/2010 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 38'59.319 2 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'00.387 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'00.822 4 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'04.911 5 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'05.916 6 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'08.658 7 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'11.872 8 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'11.907 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'16.490 10 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'18.458 11 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'18.646 12 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'19.315 13 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'25.405 14 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'31.671 15 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'39.658 Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 38'58.149 2 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'04.095 3 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'04.631 4 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'05.014 5 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'06.256 6 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'07.677 7 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'10.144 8 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'10.942 9 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'13.640 10 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'16.279 11 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'17.799 12 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'22.793 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'24.131 14 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'28.212 15 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki AUS 0'36.551 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'36.670 Rider Standings 27/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 307 2. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 270 3. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 172 4. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 158 5. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 151 6. Troy Corser BMW AUS 149 7. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 138 8. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 131 9. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 130 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 120 11. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 116 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 97 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 61 14. Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 53 15. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 53 Manufacturer Standings 27/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Aprilia 313 2. Suzuki 283 3. Ducati 250 4. Yamaha 177 5. Honda 169 6. BMW 152 7. Kawasaki 47
Alex Asigno

Valentino Rossi Update

By Alex Asigno in Archives

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi sent the following message today from his home in Italy. The reigning World-Champion is currently convalescing after breaking his leg at the Italian MotoGP round three week's ago. "Three weeks have passed since the accident and two since I was discharged from hospital, and I am very happy about how my recuperation is progressing. I am feeling a lot better and I'm starting to live a semi-normal life again, although for a completely ‘normal' life I will have to wait until I'm back on my bike! I am walking with crutches and since a few days I've been able to put my foot to the floor. Honestly, I didn't expect to feel this good just a few weeks after the incident, and I mean both physically and in my ‘spirit.' "The rehabilitation is continuing as usual, both sitting in the hyperbaric chamber and with some exercises in the gym. Unfortunately my shoulder is still giving me some pain but I am working on the muscles to reduce the pain a bit. If the rehabilitation proceeds without trouble and if everything continues in this way, then my objective is to return at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno. "I have started to leave the house and my good friends haven't left me on my own for even a minute, although I'm not used to spending so much time in Tavullia! I miss my bike, my team and the paddock a lot and this ‘new' sensation is pushing me to get better as quickly as possible. "I'll speak to you, but more importantly see you, soon. Ciao, Valentino Rossi."
Alex Asigno
Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo put in another textbook performance at Assen today, leaving his rivals trailing as he led from the front to win the 80th Dutch TT and take his fourth victory of the season. In doing so he becomes only the seventh rider in history to have won in three or more classes at the historic racetrack, with 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP wins to his name. Meanwhile Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies ensured that there were still two Yamahas in the top four, despite the absence of Valentino Rossi, with another brilliant performance to back up his maiden podium last week. Mallorcan Lorenzo had looked the man to beat all weekend after topping both practice and qualifying and he got a great start from pole position and quickly pulled out a second's gap, but by lap five Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were looming large behind him and for a few laps it looked as if a tense three-way battle was in the offing. However Lorenzo's choice of the harder Bridgestone tyre soon began to pay off and, with a lighter fuel load by mid-race distance, he was able to step things up a notch and gave himself an unassailable lead, crossing the line 2.935 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, with Stoner third and Spies fourth. The Fiat Yamaha man's second win on the bounce sees him extend his championship lead to an impressive 47 points from Pedrosa, while Rossi remains fourth in the standings. The next round comes in just a week's time at Barcelona in Spain, when Wataru Yoshikawa will join the Fiat Yamaha Team to fill in until Rossi is back on board his M1. Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo - 1st, Time: 41'18.629 "This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone because Dani was so fast with the softer tyre early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point. I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tyre would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice. It wasn't easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish! I am really happy that I have won here in all three classes because it's such a historic place and the football I had in Parc Ferme was to celebrate this 'hat-trick.' Thanks to all my Yamaha guys and also to Bridgestone for this win, we have a big lead in the championship so we can afford to stay calm and relaxed. Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans."
Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager Jorge Lorenzo "We knew before the start that Pedrosa and Stoner had chosen the softer tyre so we expected them to be fast at the beginning and in fact we were quite pleasantly surprised that Jorge was able to make a gap so early on. Then they came back to him but he is mentally very strong at the moment and he just kept his head and did very well to stay in front, because they were pushing him hard for a while. Once the laps went on and our fuel load was reduced, Jorge was able to use the harder tyre to his advantage and he succeeded brilliantly, we had no doubts about him. Well done to him and to all the team for this second win in a row on this special TT Anniversary"
Ben Spies scores a brilliant fourth at Sun-kissed Assen Ben Spies produced another outstanding ride today in the 80th running of the historic Dutch TT, the Texan thrilling a crowd of nearly 100,000 fans with a stunning fourth place. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Spies made a blistering start from fourth on the grid to take up the tough challenge of fighting with dominant MotoGP world championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in the early stages. Opting to use the softer compound Bridgestone rear tyre, Spies kept Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner at bay with a hard charge in the opening laps before he slipped down to fourth on lap four. Unable to match the pace of the leading trio despite pushing his YZR-M1 machine to the limit, Spies became locked in a close dice with Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian looked at ease in fourth spot before Spies mounted a brilliant attack on lap 15 from fifth position. He started the lap over 0.7s adrift of Dovizioso but slashed the deficit to 0.103s at the end of lap 15. Spies then produced a brilliantly executed overtake on Dovizioso at the final chicane on lap 16 and was able to use his superior speed to pull out a comfortable gap over the Repsol Honda rider. But Dovizioso wasn't finished and inspired by Randy de Puniet's attack, both began to hunt down Spies as the battle for fourth intensified. Spies responded with a masterful performance in the final four laps, the 25-year-old holding his nerve with some brilliantly aggressive riding to prevent de Puniet and Dovizioso from getting close to denying him fourth place. Spies took fourth by nearly two seconds at the conclusion of the 26-lap race to continue the excellent form he displayed when storming to a maiden podium at Silverstone last weekend. It is the second successive race that he has finished leading non-factory rider and he moved firmly into the battle for a top four championship placing. Fellow American Colin Edwards extended his impressive record of scoring points in all six races so far this season with a solid ride to eighth place. Edwards continued to adapt to a new front-end geometry set-up he first tried this weekend and gained crucial information that he hopes will help him close the gap to the leading group in future races. The 21-points collected by Spies and Edwards today moved the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad into fourth place in the Team World Championship standings, the French squad once again the leading independent squad in the series. Ben Spies Ben Spies - 4th, Time: +13.265 "I got a good start and was happy with that. I ran the soft rear tyre because it made the front load better for turning and the track temperature was hotter than all weekend. But it didn't work as well I'd hoped in the first ten laps and then when Dani and Casey came by I knew I was holding them up. But I was sticking with my game plan. I tried as hard as I could and 12 laps in Andrea passed me. But then his tyres dropped down to where I was with mine and I reeled him back in. The podium battle had gone away and then over the last three laps I heard Andrea and Randy putting the pressure on. I put my head down hard and managed to open a gap. I was sliding a lot but I managed to stretch away and I could cruise the last lap. I wanted at least fourth place today and I'm happy but I didn't have the pace for the podium like in Silverstone. I'm happy with the result and we go to Catalunya next week not knowing the track and I think we will be a little bit on the back foot again. But I'll do the same as the past two weeks and push as hard as I can." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - 8th, Time: +28.991 "I can't be disappointed or upset with eighth place and wonder why I didn't get a better result when I rode my heart out. There was nothing else I could have done today but I know what we can improve. We've been experimenting with some different front-end settings and we've made it better, but I just lose a bit of time when I release the brakes and can't turn the bike how I want. And losing that little bit everywhere adds up by the end of the lap and makes it difficult. I know I rode harder than last year when I finished fourth, but I'm eighth. I guess that proves that those guys at the front are running an unbelievable pace. I was behind Nicky for a long time but I could never get close enough to put a pass on him. Looking at Ben it can be better and once again, I can't praise him enough. He's riding really good and I have to congratulate him because at the last two races he's been really impressive." Herve Poncharal - Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team Manager "I can't say enough good things about Ben. He made an incredible start and he almost took the lead. We knew Casey and Dani would push hard and in the first few laps I don't think Ben had a great feeling with the bike. But he dug deep and continued to push and I have to give him enormous credit for that. Dovizioso and de Puniet were pushing really hard at the end but Ben's strength is his pace on used tyres and he demonstrated this again. Being greedy we'd have liked to be on the podium again but fourth showed he is the best of the rest of the moment. His confidence is really high and he's proving a massive asset for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. Colin had a strong race and after Silverstone he found a direction with the bike, which we hope will work in the future. He was pushing hard and never gave up and the points he scored have helped us move back into fourth place in the Team Championship. That is very important for us. I said that in 2010 the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team had its strongest line-up ever in MotoGP and I think today again we proved that." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 23 Crowd: 100000 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 1'36.411 (John Hopkins, 01/01/2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'34.515 (Jorge Lorenzo, 26/06/2010) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2010 MotoGP Netherlands - Assen 26/06/2010 Race 1 - 26 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 41'18.629 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'02.935 3 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'07.022 4 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'13.265 5 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'15.323 6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'15.772 7 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'25.867 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'28.991 9 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'35.658 10 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'35.837 11 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'56.769 12 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'56.890 13 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 1'00.615 14 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 1'08.074 15 Kousuke Akiyoshi Honda JPN -1Laps  
Rider Standings 26/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 140 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 93 3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 89 4. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 61 5. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 61 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 56 7. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 51 8. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 49 9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 39 10. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 34 11. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 32 12. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 28 13. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 28 14. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 20 15. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 18  
Manufacturer Standings 26/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 145 2. Honda 117 3. Ducati 81 4. Suzuki 26
Alex Asigno
Giacomo Agostini The Fiat Yamaha Team, the Yamaha Classic Racing Team and multiple-World Champion Giacomo Agostini joined together for a very special celebration at Assen this evening, ahead of the 80th edition of the historic Dutch TT. Giacomo Agostini, Shigeto Kitagawa, President of Yamaha Motor Racing and Ferry Brouwer, owner of the Yamaha Classic Racing Team presented the celebrated 1975 YZR500 OW23, on which Agostini won his last ever world title in 1975 and also the Dutch TT in 1974. In addition Yamaha unveiled a surprise ‘Agostini' 2010 YZR-M1 in Fiat Yamaha Team colours, with the Italian's famous Number One stickers. Yamaha legend Agostini will ride a display lap of Assen on both motorcycles tomorrow at 13.10 to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the TT. Shigeto Kitagawa Shigeto Kitagawa, President of Yamaha Motor Racing, said: "I am very pleased to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Dutch TT with Yamaha's first and latest premier class championship-winning bikes. It is going to be a great pleasure to see both machines ridden by the great and legendary champion Giacomo Agostini." Giacomo Agostini added: "It's a double pleasure and honour for to be here at Assen on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Dutch TT. First of all, I was honoured to be invited by the TT for this important occasion and secondly I am very excited to celebrate this event riding for Yamaha, to whom I gave a first world title in the 500cc series. I have a beautiful memory of this TT race and of these fans. I remember that when I used to ride here, many years ago, there were 160,000 fans all around the track. Unbelievable! Tomorrow I will have the chance to ride the "past" and the "present;" the first and the latest world champion bikes. My OW23 was like a bicycle with 120bhp, but used to get power at 6000rpm...whilst the M1 has 240bhp! When you ride the M1 for the first time, it seems that it's very easy: engine, gear, brakes, it seems that it does everything itself, but then when you open the throttle you discover its power and you realize how difficult it is to control such a force!" Ferry Brouwer (left behind 'Ago') Ferry Brouwer, Team owner of Yamaha Classic Racing Team, concluded: "This is going to be a very special moment during the 80th Dutch TT. Yamaha's past and present has joined forces to bring about a fantastic spectacle for the public here on Saturday. We sincerely hope that the fans will enjoy watching these bikes being ridden by Giacomo as much as we have enjoyed preparing everything for this moment."
Alex Asigno
Wataru Yoshikawa Yamaha Motor Racing is pleased to announce that Wataru Yoshikawa, their experienced Japanese test rider, will join the Fiat Yamaha Team from the Barcelona round of the MotoGP World Championship. The two-time Japanese Superbike Champion will ride in the place of the injured Valentino Rossi, with Rossi's team and the YZR-M1, until the Italian is back to full fitness following his broken leg. It is expected that Yoshikawa will be with the Fiat Yamaha Team for at least three races, after which more should be known about Rossi's expected return date. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, said "we have considered many different scenarios and candidate riders to fill the temporary vacant seat in the Fiat Yamaha Team. We had always planned to use a rider from within the Yamaha Motor and Tech 3 family but for each rider we considered who is in active competition, their move to the Fiat Yamaha Team would have created another problem for their own racing program or for the teams in which they are engaged. Finally, after a great deal of consideration, we have selected Wataru Yoshikawa, our Japanese YZR-M1 Test rider, to join us as our substitute rider. We provisionally plan for three races (Catalunya, Sachsenring and Laguna Seca) but we will adjust the plan accordingly when we know more about Valentino's expected date of return. "The benefit of Wataru's presence in our team will be threefold. Firstly he brings with him a wealth of experience riding the YZR-M1. Secondly his presence allows us to fulfill our contractual obligations and to join the team's quest to accumulate points for the Team Championship. Thirdly he will gain valuable first hand MotoGP race experience in three challenging circuits which will surely be very useful to assist him and Yamaha with the future development of the YMR-M1. "We look forward to welcoming Wataru into our team while we wait for Valentino's return to full fitness." Wataru Yoshikawa added "I'm happy to have this chance to stand-in for Valentino while he is recovering and to compete in MotoGP again for the first time since 2002, when I raced at Motegi. Looking at the Fiat Yamaha Team results with the 2010 YZR-M1, I can see that the winter developments were correct and now I am looking forward to having the chance to gather some ‘real racing' data, which will be very helpful for the future development of the M1." Wataru Yoshikawa Racing Biography Nationality: Japanese Born: 26th September 1968, Tokyo Wataru Yoshikawa won the Japanese Superbike Championship for Yamaha in 1994 and 1999. Between 1992 and 2002 he made many wild-card appearances in the World Superbike Championship for Yamaha and in 1996 completed a full season, finishing 9th. He raced as a wild card once in MotoGP in 2002, finishing 12th. Since then he has been heavily involved as a test rider for the Yamaha MotoGP programme, giving him an in-depth knowledge of the YZR-M1.
Alex Asigno
German MX1-GP podium The 2010 Grand Prix of Germany, the eighth round of the FIM MX1-GP World Championship, has been a memorable one for Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross teams and the venerable YZ450FM as the motorcycle toasted its second victory in succession, this time in the hands of Ken De Dycker, and filled two positions in the top three with David Philippaerts defying the effects of a cold to place third overall. De Dycker was in imperious form across the rough and rutted hard-pack. The fast and undulating terrain of the Talkessel circuit at Teutschenthal, west of the city of Halle, was surrounded by 35,000 spectators who created a noisy and bustling atmosphere. The crowd braved cloudy and cool conditions to see the Belgian (celebrating his 26th birthday on race-day) seal his first double of the year and become just the second rider this season to go 1-1. De Dycker headed Philippaerts for a superb formation-finish for the innovative and rear-slanting fuel-injected engine YZ450FM in the first moto. The result said a lot for the performance of the machine to dominate rivals negotiating the speedy bumps of the course. De Dycker's charge to the front and last lap defence of the lead in the second moto from Tony Cairoli not only gave him his first spoils in Yamaha colours but also delivered the Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team their first triumph in the premier class. DP Philippaerts, who won two weeks ago at the Grand Prix of France, was 5th in the second race and physically drained after trying to recover from his illness during the week. His third step of the podium represented his second consecutive appearance in the top three and his fourth trophy of the season. The 25 year old Italian is 3rd in the world championship standings and 9 points behind Clement Desalle. De Dycker gained a lot of ground with his perfect 50 point haul and is fourth, 16 behind his brand-mate. There is little time to pause at this stage of the campaign with Grand Prix events in Latvia and Sweden occurring in the next two weekends. De Dycker style Ken De Dycker, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 1st: "I always expect to do well and hope for a good result and it came here because of hard work after the Grand Prix of France when we tested a lot and now we seem to be going in the right direction. This was the best birthday present I could give myself! Both motos had some good racing and Tony came close to me at the end of the second one. I was feeling tired at that moment and wanted the race to be over when I jumped past and saw '3 minutes' on the clock! I knew I would have to dig deep. He couldn't get near enough and it was exciting. The track was not easy but I tried to stay relaxed and saw a few places where I could overtake; my goal then was to get close enough to be able to attack in those places. I hope this is the point that my season will turn around and although the next GPs won't be easy I can now feel more confident and want to be strong until the end of the season." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 3rd: "In the first moto I had a good feeling with the bike and the track but I have not slept well for the last four days because of a cold and really felt tired in the second race. It was hard to pass out there with really only one fast line, the rest of the track was so bumpy, and I lost time and energy stuck behind Nagl. To finish on the podium after feeling sick is very positive. Now I will go to Belgium and recover fully before doing some training in the build-up to Latvia." Circuit Length: 1780 Crowd: 35,000 Weather: Cloudy
Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2010 GP of Germany 20/06/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 40'39.611 2 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'09.467 3 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'20.240 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'22.112 5 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'23.556 6 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'24.725 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'29.662 8 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'32.723 9 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'35.193 10 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0'35.686 11 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0'53.082 12 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 0'59.410 13 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1'08.442 14 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 1'15.537 15 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 1'32.178 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 40'07.513 2 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'00.252 3 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'13.132 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'27.811 5 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'34.169 6 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0'38.707 7 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'41.813 8 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'46.007 9 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'48.659 10 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 0'50.042 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'50.753 12 Tanel Leok Honda EST 1'18.656 13 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 1'37.408 14 Dean Ferris Honda AUS 1'47.263 15 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 1'47.876 17 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 2'07.313 Rider Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 341 2. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 276 3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 267 4. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 251 5. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 248 6. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 237 7. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 217 8. Tanel Leok Honda EST 182 9. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 165 10. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 149 11. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 121 12. Anthony Boissière TM FRA 116 13. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 113 14. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 111 15. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 92 20. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 46 26. Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 23 27. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 20 28. Alvaro Lozano Yamaha ESP 14 29. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 12 31. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 11 Manufacturer Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 370 2. Suzuki 326 3. Yamaha 320 4. Honda 249 5. Kawasaki 244 6. Aprilia 116 7. TM 116 8. CCM 11 9. Husqvarna 4 RACE REPORT 20/06/2010 Third podium in a row for Osborne after German GP Osborne again in top three The 2010 YZ250F again showed its agility across another fast, demanding and rut-strewn track and gained its third podium in succession at Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany as Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne lifted his third trophy on the spin with 3rd place overall. The vibrant American scored 4th and 3rd positions in a cloudy and chilly eighth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP series watched by 35,000 spectators. The 20 year old was the highest ranked YZ250F runner on a difficult terrain that was not simple for overtaking. Osborne started a first blustery moto trying to find optimum grip on the German soil and building up his race speed to 4th. A stronger second outing saw the American running alone in 3rd with an effective pace. His achievement matches other notable results in USA and France and brings Osborne up to 5th in the championship. In 7th overall was 2009 European Champion Christophe Charlier for Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi who put aside discomfort and apprehension from a sprained left thumb sustained on Saturday to go 12-6 and really shine at the front of the pack for the first time in 2010 during the second sprint. Paulin in Germany Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Gautier Paulin was 9th. After taking his time to find an effective rhythm in the first moto (scoring 7th) the Frenchman slipped off the factory machine on the first lap of the second race and rode in decisive fashion to rise from the rear of the field to 11th. Charlier's team-mate Harri Kullas was 11th overall and continues to take positive points-scores in his first GP season, only posting one '0' on his season-tally so far. Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Alessandro Lupino was 17th and Loic Larrieu 19th in the final GP classification. The 2010 Women's World Championship entered its fifth round at Teutschenthal and Chiara Fontanesi won her second moto from two events. The teenage Italian grasped the second race on her agile YZ250F by the narrowest of margins from overall winner Larissa Papenmeier. Her 5th position from Saturday combined with another set of 25 points meant a second podium on the trot with the runner-up step. Fontanesi now holds 4th in the standings with the penultimate meeting occurring at the Grand Prix of Czech Republic in August. Chiara Fontanesi Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha, 3rd: "I think I have come to a peak in my fitness and my riding abilities are where they should be. I am happy with the way things are going with the team and the bike and I am enjoying the races. I was struggling to come through in the first moto and got lucky when Ken Roczen had to throw away his goggles. I did not quite gel with the track this weekend but overall it was a good GP and to have another podium." Christophe Charlier, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 7th: "I strained my left thumb on the start-finish jump during free practice and I was worried about what I could do. My good starts helped and I was around the top five. I overtook Herlings but could not go with the speed of Frossard. I had a small crash but to finish 6th was very good and not something I would have expected after Saturday. I feel confident for the next races now." Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 9th: "I felt great on the bike this weekend. In the first moto I had a good start but made some mistakes before finding a fast rhythm in the last part of the race. I crashed in the fifth corner of the second moto because I hit a softer part of the track and the front wheel dug-in and I lost balance. It was a shame because my start was pretty good. I was really far behind and it was difficult to pass on this track so I had a similar style of race to the first and built-up my speed. I made my best times towards the end and I know I must work on being aggressive in the first ten minutes to stay at the front of the pack and get some good results." Chiara Fontanesi, 2nd: "After the last GP when I made the podium I took a lot of confidence that I could be among the top three riders and brought that into this weekend. In the first moto it was really hard to make up ground but the second was perfect with a great start. I hope I can continue this speed and form." Circuit Length: 1780 Crowd: 35,000 Weather: Cloudy
Last Years Winner: Marvin Musquin 2010 GP of Germany 20/06/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 40'44.108 2 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0'04.645 3 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'12.812 4 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'31.456 5 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'35.632 6 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0'41.892 7 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 0'43.478 8 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'44.200 9 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'03.398 10 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'03.791 11 Khounsith Vongsana KTM FRA 1'18.591 12 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'22.488 13 Martin Michek TM CZE 1'26.607 14 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'32.090 15 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 1'41.988 17 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 2'04.714 18 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 2'15.526 Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 40'06.652 2 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 0'26.568 3 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'36.614 4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'47.311 5 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1'00.947 6 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'06.656 7 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 1'16.155 8 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 1'18.283 9 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'20.736 10 Michael Lieb Kawasaki USA 1'21.304 11 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 1'22.025 12 Khounsith Vongsana KTM FRA 1'33.732 13 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'38.501 14 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 2'00.290 15 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 2'02.427 18 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA -1Laps 19 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps Rider Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 365 2. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 288 3. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 268 4. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 241 5. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 233 6. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 225 7. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 214 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 209 9. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 183 10. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 158 11. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 158 12. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 130 13. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 127 14. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 111 15. Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 100 20. Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR 36 22. Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 25 27. Travis Baker Yamaha USA 15 31. Max Anstie Yamaha GBR 9 33. Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED 9 34. Vince Friese Yamaha USA 8 38. Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA 5 42. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 2 44. Ed Allingham Yamaha GBR 2 Manufacturer Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 392 2. Suzuki 305 3. Yamaha 277 4. Kawasaki 276 5. Honda 65 6. TM 18
Alex Asigno
Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo ran away with the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this afternoon, storming home to win by 6.743 seconds to take his first UK win in the Premier Class. The Fiat Yamaha Team's sole representative in the absence of the injured Valentino Rossi, Lorenzo led from the first lap to come home ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies, who took his maiden podium in MotoGP. The Mallorcan got a strong start from pole position and led out of turn one but it was not all plain sailing as he became embroiled in a feisty first-lap battle with Dani Pedrosa. The pair traded the lead several times but it was Lorenzo who eventually led over the line and he was unchallenged from there on in, gradually extending his lead lap-by-lap and leaving his rivals trailing in the wake of his blue and white M1. With two laps remaining the gap to Dovizioso stood at more than eight seconds but Lorenzo slowed down on the final two laps to ensure he came home safely, which he duly did to the delight of the 70,000 British fans who are quickly adopting the spirited Spaniard as one of their own. His third win of the season and another 25-point haul extends Lorenzo's lead to 37 points over Dovizioso in second, with Pedrosa now third. The absent Rossi falls to fourth in the championship but Lorenzo's consistency ensures that the Fiat Yamaha Team still leads the Teams' standings and Yamaha the Manufacturers'. The MotoGP paddock now faces a quick turnaround in order to get to Assen in time for next weekend's Dutch TT, which is as always a Saturday race. Jorge Lorenzo - 1st, 41'34.083 "This was an important day for me and an important win, because I felt so strong and I enjoyed riding my Yamaha so much. I had a different feeling today; I felt that it was going to be a good race. It was quite hard to be fast at the start and the first lap with Dani was difficult, but once I got past him I felt very relaxed and comfortable. I thought he would follow me for a bit longer but he didn't and then I was on my own, so I just had to focus on myself; I didn't even know who was behind me! I never dreamt of taking three wins from five races but here we are and I am feeling very strong mentally at this moment. I want to thank my team, Yamaha and Bridgestone for this victory. The Beatles celebration was something fun for the fans, I love their music and I thought it was nice to make a homage to them, since we're in England!" Jorge Lorenzo Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager Jorge Lorenzo "This was a great performance by Jorge. The start was a little bit interesting, with us on the hard Bridgestone and some of the others on the softer one, but Jorge rode so well, kept his head and brought it home safely. Our bike is working very well and it was great to see Spies taking a podium on the Yamaha too, well done to him. It is impressive to have a 37-point gap at this stage but now we have four more races in very close succession so we can't relax. Well done to Jorge and to everyone for today." Spies storms to maiden Silverstone podium Ben Spies stormed to a stunning debut MotoGP podium for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team this afternoon after a thrilling battle at the spectacular Silverstone circuit.Competing in only his ninth MotoGP race, Spies was locked in an early battle with fellow rookie Marco Simoncelli for sixth place before he became embroiled in an epic fight for second place. Spies passed Dani Pedrosa on lap nine and then launched a brilliant pursuit of the group in front dicing for second that included Andrea Dovizioso, Randy de Puniet and fellow American Nicky Hayden. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider stalked the trio befo re he began a breathtaking late attack, firstly overtaking de Puniet for fourth place on lap 17. That clinical pass left Spies hounding Hayden's Ducati and the 25-year-old timed his crucial attack to perfection, the Texan ignoring the discomfort of a small fracture in his left ankle that he aggravated in a big qualifying crash yesterday. Spies produced a daring overtake on Hayden at the fast Abbey Corner on the final lap and then defended supremely under immense pressure to claim third and his first premier class rostrum. The result moved Spies into seventh place in the overall world championship standings with 36-points and helped the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team close the gap on fourth place in the all-important Team World Championship classification. Texan team-mate Colin Edwards rode a determined 20-lap race after a difficult w eekend where he never found the optimum setting with his YZR-M1 machine. He also encountered a repeat of the arm pump issue that hindered him at the last round in Mugello, but he was satisfied having rode to a creditable ninth position to maintain his record of scoring points in every race so far in 2010. Ben Spies Ben Spies - 3rd +7.097 sec. "I didn't expect to get my first podium so quickly, especially after yesterday which wasn't the best for me. I got a decent start but once I got by Dani and Simoncelli I just tried to stay on the back of the group battling for the podium. Once I realised I could stay in contention I just tried to save the rear tyre as much as I could and it all worked out. The last few laps I pushed as hard as I could and made some good passes and it is great for Yamaha and the Monster Tech 3 Team. I'm also pretty happy about it too and this is good for my confidence. That last lap was difficult to pass Nicky but I got a really good drive onto the back straight and tried to pass him at Stowe Corner but he came back by. On the next straight I managed to get by him and then had to ride quite defensively on the last part of the lap. I was on the edge but I had to go for the podium and it worked out. It will be hard to duplicate this but right now I'll let it sink in and make the most of it. But on this day I can say I was the third best rider in the world and it is a good feeling." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - 9th +27.954 sec. "I don't want to be finishing in ninth at all but honestly I'm reasonably happy with the way I rode and it was a lot better than I expected after what has been a tough weekend. I'm still a fair way behind the top group but I had so many problems this weekend that even a top ten was looking lik e a difficult result to achieve. I didn't leave anything out there and I went better than I did in qualifying but it was still not easy. The bike isn't agile enough and having to muscle it around gave me a small arm pump problem, but not as bad as Mugello. If I could get the bike to go where I want it to go I could save lots of time, but we've got some ideas for the future. It was a bit of a lonely race but I rode as hard as I could for as long as I could. I want to congratulate Ben though because he did an awesome job and I've got nothing but admiration for him. He showed today what a great rider he is and it is great for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to be back on the podium." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "We knew Ben really liked this circuit and we thought he could do a good race. But he rode an incredible race because he didn't get a fantastic start but he was v ery aggressive in the first two laps and got himself into contention. He never let that group in front of him go away and we know his strength is on worn tyres, so we expected him to hang in until the end. He was quickest on track at one stage but I was worried a little bit because Casey was catching quite quickly. But he kept his cool and made some good passes and the best was on the last lap to beat Nicky. It his first podium in MotoGP and certainly not his last because he is such a bright talent for the future. I'd like to say thanks to Yamaha and to Bridgestone and also to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team because since the start of the season it has been a little bit up and down. But we've never stopped trying hard and today we got a big reward. Colin rode a steady race and as always he never stopped trying to improve his situation and we know better results will come for him soon. Now we look forward to Assen that both Colin and Ben like a lot and we are confident of anot her competitive weekend." Circuit Length: 3619 Temp: 17 Crowd: 70000 Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1'56.459 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'56.096 (Jurgen van den Goorbergh, 01/01/2003) 2010 MotoGP Great Britain - Silverstone 20/06/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 41'34.083 2 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'06.743 3 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'07.097 4 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'07.314 5 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'07.494 6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'09.055 7 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'14.425 8 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'15.313 9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'27.954 10 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'42.394 11 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'43.365 12 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 0'43.408 13 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'43.580 Rider Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 115 2. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 78 3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 73 4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 61 5. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 52 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 46 7. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 36 8. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 35 9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 32 10. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 32 11. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 26 12. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 24 13. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 22 14. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 18 15. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 15 Manufacturer Standings 20/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 120 2. Honda 97 3. Ducati 65 4. Suzuki 23
Alex Asigno
The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team completed a two-day test this afternoon at the San Marino circuit ahead of next week’s eighth round of the World Championship in Misano. At the close of the test riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland were the fastest riders on the board. The team spent the two days testing some different linkages on the bikes along with various electronic settings and also a new radiator design to aid cooling. The first day started well with both riders posting competitive times, James Toseland in particular ending the morning session second fastest with a 1”36.7 and team mate Cal Crutchlow not far behind in fourth with a 1”36.8. The afternoon saw rainfall which disrupted the test and made the track conditions slower this morning. The day gave very hot temperatures for most of the session, but cooled towards the end allowing the riders to post their fastest times. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1”36.2 90 laps) “It’s been a pretty good test for us, the weather’s been difficult, either really hot or wet which has been challenging. Still, we managed to get down to the fastest time here and I did that on a used tyre which should stand us in good stead for next week’s races. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it again.” James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1”36.3, 90 laps) “We tried a lot with the electronics, all in all it’s been a good test for Yamaha. I’m putting a lot of time into the bike to try and find some extra time in the second half of the race and be more consistent. Everyone is doing a great job but we’re busy trying to catch up with the Aprilia.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager “I am satisfied as the riders made their best times with used tyres. If the race was tomorrow we are ready. I’m looking forward to the race weekend, it has been a very productive test and we are optimistic that we can build on this and produce some good results.”
Alex Asigno
Giacomo Agostini On the 26th of June the legendary Assen circuit will witness the 80th edition of the famous TT race. To celebrate the event in style the Yamaha Classic Racing Team will be present and will be displaying iconic Yamaha race bikes from across the decades of the manufacturer’s racing history. The Team will be joined by living legend Giacomo Agostini who will ride the circuit on a classic Yamaha racer. Racing fans visiting the TT paddock area will be able to get up close and personal with historical GP machines raced to glory from 1964 to 1985 including: 125cc 1 cylinder, 350cc 3 cylinder, 750cc 4 cylinder and all two stroke machines. Added to the line up this year is the 1965 125cc V4 (RA31A) machine that delivered a 1, 2 world championship victory to riders Bill Ivy and Phil Read and the manufacturer’s title to Yamaha in 1965. Another new iconic bike present will be the 350cc twin (OW16) that Agostini raced to world championship victory with in 1974 in the 350cc class. Agostini rides again In homage to the Assen TT Agostini will ride his celebrated 1975 YZR500 OW23 racebike on the circuit. This is the original machine that he rode to his last ever world title victory in 1975 and has special significance as it was also the machine he rode to victory on at the Assen TT in that year. This rare and historically important racebike is being flown over by Yamaha from Japan for this occasion, and is a rare opportunity to see and hear it being ridden by Agostini on track as he did 35 years ago. For more information on Agostini’s victories with Yamaha and the build up to the 80th Assen TT please click the following link to enjoy the Yamaha video: “I am very happy to see that the interest for our classic racing activities is growing and growing,” said Yamaha Classic Racing Team Manager, Ferry Brouwer. “One thing that the public generally appreciates is that the historical machines as well as the racing legends can be approached quite easily, although depending a bit on the venue that we're at. I'm very proud that Giacomo Agostini is participating on the major events this year and we are very grateful that the Yamaha headquarters in Japan have given Ago the opportunity again to ride on his original and legendary machine that he steered to his final word title in 1975.” The Yamaha Classic Racing Team will return to Assen later this year for a second iconic event, the Centennial Classic TT on the 18th and 19th September. Agostini will again ride for the team at this event and will be joined by other iconic riders from the golden years of racing including: Rodney Gould (1970 250cc world champion with Yamaha), Dieter Braun (1973 250cc world champion with Yamaha), Chas Mortimer (1973 125cc vice champion with Yamaha), Bruno Kneubühler (1974 125cc vice champion with Yamaha) and Steve Baker (1977 500cc vice champion with Yamaha). The Yamaha Classic Racing Team calendar for 2010 includes the following dates: 26 June - Assen, Netherlands 24,25 July - Imatra, Finland 14,15 Aug - Schotten, Germany 22 Aug - Eext, Netherlands 18,19 Sept - Assen, Netherlands 2,3 Oct - Imola, Italy
Alex Asigno
1. Vale, first question: how are you and are you still in pain? "The positive thing is that the worst is past and that the two operations went well, so everything is okay. Now I am expecting a difficult period, in which I have to be aware of the risk of infection and in which I must remain with the leg constantly elevated. Then there will come a second key period, when I will be able to start my rehabilitation and, with support on the leg, will be able to start to walk around with crutches." 2. Dr. Buzzi talked about a rehabilitation period of about five or six months, what do you think? "It's to be expected that Dr. Buzzi has been very cautious in his prognosis. I want to heal the injury; that is the only thing I'm interested in. If I miss four races or six races, it doesn't make any difference. The right time to return could be Brno, but it won't necessarily be like this." 3. Do you remember the accident? "I remember everything perfectly. I didn't hit my head, I didn't hit anything else. The airbag in my leathers worked very well and my helmet was just slightly scratched. I don't have a single bruise! The problem was that I landed on my leg, and it was stuck under my body. If I had landed on my back it would have been different. I had a new tyre and I'd done two laps, then I slowed down because I had Barbera behind me. When I came back onto the racing line Pedrosa arrived and I didn't want to cause a problem for him so I moved again but then when I reopened the gas, it happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Seven seconds were enough to make the tyre drop temperature dramatically. The error was mine." 4. Who would you like to thank? "First of all I want to thank Professor Buzzi of the CTO Careggi in Florence and all of his staff, because they were brilliant. Fortunately, doing it at Mugello meant I wasn't far from the Careggi and this was very lucky. I also want to thank everybody else at the Careggi and all the nurses because they treated me so well, then the staff at the Clinica Mobile and the marshals and officers at the Mugello circuit. Finally, a big hello and particular thanks to all the fans because never, not even for a second, have they let me forget their affection and support. The messages I saw on Sunday on television from the circuit were beautiful."? 5. At any time since the accident has there been a moment when you have said "stop racing motorcycles"? "Sincerely, I haven't felt any fear. I was a bit horrified when I saw the leg, yes...but the thing I dislike the most is to miss so many races! I will take all the time I need and be sure not to do anything stupid because I want to return quickly, but only if my condition allows it. I know I have a bike for next year and I don't need to rush my return to demonstrate anything. I could miss just four races but I still wouldn't come back to win the championship. It's better to be careful, finish the rehabilitation in the best way and come back to race for many more years. I've heard of many other sportsmen, a lot in fact, who have had the same problem as me. One example for everyone: Mark Webber called me and he has had an exposed fracture of the right leg. He told me to be very patient and that I would have some moments of discomfort, but that in the end recovery was guaranteed." 6. Now you have some time at home to rest and to think... "Yes, now I have a lot of time at home to rest, to recover and to think. Firstly, I want to use this time to improve some things. I want to improve my English, learn something new, read a lot. Basically, I want to improve and learn. This I will do for sure. If your question instead is referring to 2011, this incident will not influence my choices for next year in any way. Last Saturday hasn't changed anything. I just have one broken leg extra! The result of 2010, therefore, has never been relevant to my decisions for the future." 7. During your enforced rest, will you also be working on your injured shoulder? "Definitely, yes. This is one of the few positive things about this incident; finally I can work on the rehabilitation of the shoulder, in no hurry, without operations and without races. From tomorrow I will restart the exercises, lying on my bed, and I am certain that when I return the shoulder will be completely recovered. When I come back I will be in perfect shape, although it won't mean that I can win straight away. When you return after an enforced break you not only have to think about the body, but also the mind. I won't be able to come back and win immediately.
Alex Asigno
At 1530 CET today Valentino Rossi was released from the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence, Italy, where he has been recovering following surgery last Saturday to mend his broken right leg. He was taken by ambulance to a helicopter and is now being flown to a hospital in Cattolica, close to his home, where he will meet with doctors to discuss the next stage of his recovery. More information and details about his condition will be sent later today.
Alex Asigno
Dr. Roberto Buzzi, head of Trauma at the CTO Careggi (Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico) in Florence, Italy, made the following statement about Valentino Rossi today: "Today Valentino underwent another small operation to close the wound, which is looking good. We closed it with 15 stitches and our overall medical judgement is positive. We used a short general anaesthetic and when he woke up he was in good shape. The healing process of the injury is going well and as expected in Valentino's condition." Rossi crashed on Saturday in practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, breaking his lower right leg.
Alex Asigno
Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo gave the Fiat Yamaha Team a reason to smile in Mugello this afternoon as he brought his M1 home in second position, extending his Championship lead after two wins and two seconds so far this season. Lorenzo took to the podium wearing a yellow number 46 shirt as a nod to his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who watched the race from his hospital bed after breaking his leg in practice yesterday. Lorenzo got a good start behind Dani Pedrosa but soon realised he was not able to keep yesterday's blistering pace, quickly losing ground to his fellow Spaniard as he became embroiled in a fight with Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian passed Lorenzo on lap three but the Mallorcan got his nose back in front three laps later, the pair then remaining locked closely together until three-quarter race distance, when Lorenzo managed to stretch his lead to over half a second. By then Pedrosa was several seconds clear and the 23-year-old had no choice but to settle for a safe runner-up spot, meaning he has taken an impressive 90 points from a possible 100 so far this season. His lead is now 25 points over Pedrosa in the championship, with the injured Rossi in third. This was the first time Rossi has not started a race since he began his illustrious career over fourteen years ago in Malaysia at the age of 16, and the Italian holds the record of 230 consecutive starts. He is currently recuperating at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence following surgery yesterday to repair his broken right leg. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2ndTime: +4.014 "Unfortunately my pace today wasn't as good as yesterday and I could only finish second; something happened and I couldn't ride in the same way but in the circumstances I am happy with my result. Anyway Dani had a perfect race today; he had an amazing pace and I don't know if I could have beaten him even if I had been as fast as yesterday! To take 90 points from 100 is great and I am leading the championship, so I cannot ask for more. I need to make some improvements to my riding style and Yamaha needs to try to improve the power of the bike a bit so we have some things to work on, but I am confident about the next weeks. It was very strange today without Valentino, I am so glad the fans honoured him so well. I wanted to win to dedicate the victory to him but that wasn't possible so all I can do is say 'get well soon!'" Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager "After the weekend our team has had with what happened to Valentino this was a good result for us, we have 90 points, two wins and two seconds and we are happy with our season so far. Jorge had some issues today and we need to analyse why it happened and why he couldn't keep the same pace, but we are not too worried and he rode a good race today. We are 25 points clear in the championship which is great but we all know why, because Valentino isn't here, and it's a sad situation. We all wish him the best." Ben Spies battles hard for seventh at majestic Mugello Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Ben Spies got his 2010 world championship campaign firmly back on track with a battling seventh place finish in today's Italian MotoGP race at Mugello. Spies showed his failure to finish the previous two races had done little to dent his confidence as he made a stunning start from the third row of the grid. The 25-year-old slotted into a brilliant fourth place before he slipped back to seventh in a hectic opening few laps. He briefly moved back into the top six with an overtake on Randy de Puniet on lap six but spent the remainder of the 23-lap encounter giving his maximum effort to try and clos e in on captivating battle for fourth position. Spies brilliantly hunted down Casey Stoner, de Puniet and Marco Melandri but despite launching a persistent challenge he was never able to get sufficiently close to mount an attack. The Texan's morale-boosting result though moved him back into the top ten in the world championship standings on 20-points with four of the 18 rounds completed. American team-mate Colin Edwards finished in a brave 13th place despite having to race in extremely difficult circumstances. Edwards suffered a mystery fatigue issue in this morning's warm-up session and it was obvious from the start of the race that his physical condition would prevent him from showing his true potential as he dropped from fifth to 11th. Despite feeling well below his best, Edwards bravely rode to 13th to collect three valuable po ints and preserve his 100 per cent points-scoring record this season. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now embarks on a new adventure when MotoGP visits the Silverstone circuit in England for the first time since 1986. Ben Spies Ben Spies - Position: 7thTime: +28.806 "The goal was top ten, so to be eighth I'm pretty happy with, especially leaving here with solid points after the disappointment of the last two races. I got a great start and felt like I rode as hard as I could and didn't make too many mistakes but I just couldn't quite get up close to the battle in front of me and that was a little frustrating. I found myself right on the tail of that pack with Randy, Marco and Casey but I wasn't going to be able to pass them on the straight. I just tried to stay as close as I could for as long as I could in case something happened with them but everybody kept it upright. I was just hoping that the pack was going to break open and I could pick one of them off but they stayed together. It was a good race and what I needed to build my confidence and experience and now I'm looking forward to Silverstone. That's a level playing field with nobody knowing the track, so I'll have less of a disadvantage." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - Position: 13thTime: +1'14.393 "I'm really disappointed and a bit mystified because I've felt good all weekend and we got the bike working really well again after we switched back to the setting we had at Mugello last year. But it was a struggle from the off and I didn't feel great at all. The bike was working well. It goes round the corner good, it brakes good and has good traction but I can't ride in that condition. I felt fatigued really early in the race and was really struggling to change direction with the bike. And at this track you have got a l ot of fast changes of direction that are crucial to help you flow and set good times. I've had a bit of an arm pump issue all weekend for the first time in my career and needed quite a few injections to ease that. But I was way below my best physical condition and not just because of that. All I can do is apologise to Monster Yamaha Tech 3 and I wish I knew what was going on. I'll try and figure it out and be ready to come out fighting strong in Silverstone." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a mixed day for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because we had high hopes after qualifying. Ben did a great job and it was a shame that he could not really force his way into that exciting fight for fourth place. He did everything he could and he never gave up to show how determined he is to achieve a better result. But I think it was obvious that he had a speed issue on the straight a nd that didn't help him. But it was a race that will be good for his confidence though and he showed that he is capable of easily challenging for the top places. It was a big shame for Colin because it is clear he was not able to ride at his usual level. Colin showed his potential in qualifying with fifth but in the race his physical condition never allowed him to fight at his maximum potential and I feel for him because he too never stop trying to improve his situation. We now look forward to the new challenge of Silverstone hopeful of a positive result." Circuit Length: 5245 Temp: 32 Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1'50.117 (Max Biaggi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'42.837 (Valentino Rossi, 04/06/2006) Last Years Winner: Casey Stoner 2010 MotoGP Italy - Mugello 06/06/2010 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 42'28.066 2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 0'04.014 3 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'06.196 4 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'25.703 5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'25.735 6 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'25.965 7 Ben Spies Yamaha USA 0'28.806 8 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 0'40.172 9 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'41.394 10 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 0'42.107 11 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 0'43.095 12 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'43.363 13 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'14.393 14 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 1'24.389 Rider Standings 06/06/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 90 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 65 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 61 4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 58 5. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 39 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 36 7. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 32 8. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 24 9. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 23 10. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 20 11. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 19 12. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 19 13. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 18 14. Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP 16 15. Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 13 Manufacturer Standings 06/06/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 95 2. Honda 77 3. Ducati 52 4. Suzuki 19
Alex Asigno
Cunningham The 2010 AMA SX series/FIM World Championship came to an end with the seventeenth and final round of the year taking place at the Sam Boyd stadium in Las Vegas last weekend. Kyle Cunningham was the surprise top runner on the Valli Motorsports YZ450F with 4th position but Muscle Milk Joe Gibbs Racing's Justin Brayton finished 8th and was able to rise into the top five of the season standings. Texan Cunningham had a career-best race in just his third event in the premier class since taking the vacated seat of the injured Ivan Tedesco. The 21 year old, who had secured 8th place in the East Coast Lites series, had scored 13th and 11th in his two previous outings before coming to Nevada. "I knew I could ride the 450, I just hadn't put a whole race together," he said. "Something just kept happening. Plus, the other two races [seattle and Salt Lake City] were just crazy conditions. But here, with normal conditions, I felt great. I caught a flow about halfway through and I just rode it on in to the finish. I'm pumped." Kyle Chisholm was 7th ahead of Brayton and Michael Byrne managed 11th. Josh Hill was able to score two points more than his two previous outings with 17th place and end a nightmare-ish second half of the campaign in which a rib injury has affected his race stamina. Four Yamaha's finished in the final top ten of the standings with Brayton 5th, Hill 6th, Tedesco in 9th and Kyle Chisholm claiming 10th. 2009 champion James Stewart etched the sole victory for Yamaha at Anaheim 1 but has been out with a broken scaphoid since round four. The AMA Motocross Nationals will now begin in two weeks with the first event taking place at Hangtown in Sacramento, California. Circuit Length: n/a Crowd: NA Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 0'52.030 (Kevin Windham, 01/01/2004) Last Years Winner: Ryan Villopoto 2010 AMA-SX Las Vegas, NV 10/05/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 20'54.883 2 Chad Reed Kawasaki AUS 0'05.034 3 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'20.098 4 Kyle Cunningham Yamaha USA 0'25.155 5 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'27.330 6 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'28.730 7 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 0'33.921 8 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0'35.887 9 Thomas Hahn Suzuki USA 0'49.306 10 Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 0'51.067 11 Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 0'53.306 12 Matt Boni Honda USA -1Laps 13 Chris Blose Honda USA -1Laps 14 Josh Demuth Honda USA -1Laps 15 Weston Peick Yamaha USA -1Laps 17 Josh Hill Yamaha USA -1Laps 19 Jake Anstett Yamaha USA -3Laps Rider Standings 08/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 363 2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 293 3. David D Millsaps Honda USA 268 4. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 266 5. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 238 6. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 233 7. Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 197 8. Thomas Hahn Suzuki USA 186 9. Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 183 10. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 177 11. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 170 12. Andrew Short Honda USA 150 13. Chris Blose Honda USA 120 14. Trey Canard Honda USA 103 15. Jason Thomas Suzuki USA 79 18. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 67 19. Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 62 20. James Stewart Yamaha USA 51 23. Kyle Cunningham Yamaha USA 36 26. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 30 27. Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 25 38. Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 7 45. Jake Anstett Yamaha USA 2 46. Josh Grant Yamaha USA 1 Manufacturer Standings 08/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 367 2. Honda 357 3. Kawasaki 341 4. Yamaha 323 5. KTM 3
Alex Asigno
De Dycker in Portugal The Grand Prix of Portugal took place at a challenging Agueda circuit in front of 14,000 spectators as rain on Saturday turned into sunshine on Sunday and Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Ken De Dycker grabbed his first top three finish of the season on the new YZ450F with 3rd place in the second moto. Yamaha Monster Energy David Philippaerts was the highest-placed Yamaha runner with 5th overall and aced a rostrum slot in the first race. On Saturday, after refining his set-up with the help of the Ohlins technicians, Philippaerts was able to make a great start in the Qualification Heat and lead world champion Tony Cairoli to the finish line for his second pole position of the season. Showers that lasted most of the day on Saturday caused the track to soften and become rutty and bumpy. As the terrain dried and offered more grip on Sunday more racing lines appeared in the second moto. DP at Agueda 2008 world champion Philippaerts was chasing Clement Desalle hard for second place in the first moto when he inexplicably fell on the landing of a long jump adjacent to the start-straight. The Italian was able to quickly remount and although he secured 3rd was left nursing a painful left hand. The complaint would bother him in the second race and he was unable to run at a similar pace through the rough bumps, eventually finishing 8th. Ahead De Dycker was battling with Evgeny Bobryshev, Max Nagl and Desalle. The Belgian was in a resolute mood after a first lap crash in the opening race had forced his retirement with a damaged radiator and broken front brake. The DNF meant that the 25 year old was 10th by the end of the day although he was pleased with his fight to 3rd. Philippaerts is 3rd in the world championship standings, 28 points from second while De Dycker is 6th. The team will head east across Portugal and into Spain arriving at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Catalunya next week and round five of the series. In other news Spain's Carlos Campano still leads the MX3 World Championship after his second win of the season at round three in Argentina last week. In front of a decent 20,000 crowd the former Spanish Champion went 2-1 at La Rioja to clinch his spoils and edge a 6 point lead in the standings. "I am very happy," he said. I won in front of so many spectators and I am still leading the Championship." Ten rounds remain in the contest that is held in conjunction with the MX2 European series. Philippaerts after Moto1 David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 5th: "In the first moto I was following Desalle and my speed was good but on the third lap I had a big crash. I don't know the reason for it, similar to what happened in Mantova, and it was just one second in which my race was decided. I hurt my hand and that affected my feeling on the bike in the second moto. I did not have quite as much control or strength as before and it was not good for my corner speed because the bike was moving around a lot because of the bumps and I needed to hold on. Yesterday was very good but our races are being hit by some surprises. My lap-times are good and I am keeping consistent and now we must all work on getting our set-up right and the results we deserve." Ken De Dycker, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 10th: "I had some bad luck in the first race. I came into the rut and jumped it a little bit but the bike went sideways in the second part and I could not keep it up. The radiator was bent and the front brake was poking into the front wheel so it was not possible to go on. The second moto was better but hard work, and I lost the rhythm in some places. I am quite happy with how it went." Crowd: 14,000 Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2010 GP of Portugal 09/05/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 40'37.687 2 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'14.633 3 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'17.055 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'18.870 5 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'20.685 6 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0'22.020 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'45.869 8 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'53.096 9 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1'04.235 10 Marc De Reuver Suzuki NED 1'06.660 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'09.663 12 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'10.618 13 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 1'11.406 14 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'25.652 15 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 1'32.088 16 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 1'32.561 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 39'57.508 2 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'02.809 3 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 0'04.569 4 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0'06.537 5 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'09.288 6 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0'12.826 7 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'23.894 8 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'28.727 9 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'51.791 10 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0'52.578 11 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 0'53.484 12 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'56.710 13 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'13.304 14 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'16.923 15 Anthony Boissière TM FRA 1'26.064 Rider Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 179 2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 161 3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 133 4. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 124 5. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 123 6. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 114 7. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 106 8. Tanel Leok Honda EST 96 9. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 79 10. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 75 11. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 73 12. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 63 13. Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 59 14. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 57 15. Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 56 17. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 46 21. Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 19 Manufacturer Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 197 2. Suzuki 169 3. Yamaha 156 4. Kawasaki 118 5. Honda 113 6. Aprilia 63 7. TM 37 8. CCM 11 RACE REPORT 09/05/2010 Osborne so close to Portuguese MX2-GP podium Osborne at Agueda The fourth round of the FIM MX2-GP World Championship saw Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne miss a first podium result for the 2010 YZ250F - with increased agility due to a new chassis - by just one point as the American gets closer and closer to his first silverware of the season. Agueda hosted the Grand Prix of Portugal and thanks to copious rainfall on Saturday the course with many jumps, drops and climbs was a rougher prospect than usual for race-day. 14,000 spectators attended the event despite the changeable climate for the first of two back-to-back meetings on the MX-GP schedule. Osborne set a decent pace across a wet and slick layout in practice and qualification and was not far off the speed marked by the leaders in the motos themselves. The 2009 Turkish GP winner chased Shaun Simpson to finish 5th in the first moto and was exercising a degree of caution at the venue where he broke his scaphoid and ended his season twelve months ago. In the second moto Osborne gelled with the track and enjoyed a lengthy skirmish with Dutch GP victor Jeffrey Herlings, only losing out to the teenager after some fraught run-ins with backmarkers. With 3rd position by the flag Osborne gained his first entry into the top three and missed the podium by a single point. Kullas in Portugal Elsewhere Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi's Harri Kullas was 8th overall with a promising start and decent ride to 7th in Moto1. The Finn was slower getting away in Moto2 but persisted to the finish to gain 13th. Team-mate Christophe Charlier steered the third YZ250F into the top ten with 10th place overall. The 2009 European Champion was competing with an injured right hand after damaging thumb ligaments in a mid-week training crash. He defied the pain to reach the flag ahead of Kullas in Moto1 for 6th but a crash at the beginning of the second race dropped him to 15th. Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Loic Larrieu crashed in the Qualification Heat and had to enter the gate down in 33rd limiting his options at the start of the motos. The Frenchman also hit the ground during Sunday. Eventually he managed two points for 19th in the second sprint. Alessandro Lupino was 17th and 11th for 14th overall and his best points haul of the season, despite a sore right wrist. Osborne is currently the highest-placed Yamaha rider in the MX2-GP table with 6th position and 2 points from the top five. Kullas and Charlier are 9th and 10th. Yamaha 3C Racing's Chiara Fontanesi was 5th overall in the second round of the FIM Women's World Championship courtesy of two 6th positions and holds 4th in the seven-race series, the third edition of the competition, on the YZ250F. Round five of the world championship will take place at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Catalunya next week. Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha, 4th: "I am a little disappointed that I did not make the podium because it would have been sweet revenge after getting hurt here last year. However a 5th and a 3rd and some good points mean that it has been a good weekend. I think I am catching those guys slowly but surely. My first race was not my best of the year but it was still solid, and in the second I held it out as long as I could up there but ran into some lappers and Herlings passed me. I gained some ground on him a little bit but again got mixed up with slower riders. I enjoyed the rough circuit. It was a GP track; gnarly, rough, hard to predict. It was definitely good. I am so happy with the way things are going with the team. Everyone is pulling together and it is such a joint-effort." Harri Kullas, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 8th: "Overall I had one good, one bad. In the first race I had a good start and when Roelants crashed in front of me I had 7th. I could see Christophe in front of me but when I pushed he would do also and I could not get close enough. I was happy with 7th though. In the second moto I started badly and struggled to wake-up and this is something I need to work on. I rode smart but spent too much time behind Karro and Tonkov. Near the end I pushed as hard as I could. 8th overall was a good result for the day and I feel it is progress." Christophe Charlier, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 10th: "I did the best I could today but it was definitely hard with my hand. I had a crash at the start of the second moto but the first one was pretty good in the circumstances. I just have to let my hand heal and hope it is a bit stronger for Spain." Crowd: 14,000 Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Rui Goncalves 2010 GP of Portugal 09/05/2010 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 39'09.201 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'03.389 3 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0'03.997 4 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'02.518 5 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'17.802 6 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'20.932 7 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'23.221 8 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'24.333 9 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1'47.796 10 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 1'50.706 11 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA -1Laps 12 Nikolai Larsen Honda DNK -1Laps 13 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps 14 Aleksandr Tonkov Suzuki RUS -1Laps 15 Petr Smitka KTM CZE -1Laps 17 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 40'09.015 2 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0'08.230 3 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'14.284 4 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0'20.023 5 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'32.628 6 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0'50.167 7 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0'51.004 8 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'03.928 9 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1'05.055 10 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 1'16.926 11 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 1'19.092 12 Valentin Teillet KTM FRA 1'20.792 13 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1'22.165 14 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 1'45.346 15 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1'46.923 18 Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR -1Laps 19 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA -1Laps Rider Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 179 2. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 167 3. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 164 4. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 133 5. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 116 6. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 114 7. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 105 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 101 9. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 83 10. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 81 11. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 80 12. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 76 13. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 60 14. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 45 15. Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 40 17. Mel Pocock Yamaha GBR 29 20. Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 16 29. Rudi Moroni Yamaha ITA 5 30. Ceriel Klein Kromhof Yamaha NED 4 31. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 2 32. Ed Allingham Yamaha GBR 2 Manufacturer Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 200 2. Suzuki 167 3. Kawasaki 135 4. Yamaha 123 5. Honda 40 6. TM 9
Alex Asigno
MRS Racing rider Jeremy Guarnoni took his second race victory of the year today at Monza on his Yamaha YZF-R6. The legendary Monza circuit provided an action packed race for the European Superstock 600 class, of the 20 riders who started on the grid only nine made it to the finish line. Guarnoni spent the eight lap race in close battle for a podium position until a last minute crash from his closest rivals on the final corner put him in front through Parabolica and across the line to claim the chequered flag. Team mate Romain Lanusse didn’t fair so well, crashing out after five laps, he was uninjured in the fall. Guarnoni now heads to the next round in Misano having stretched his lead in the championship to 88 points, 20 ahead of second placed rider Florian Marino. Team mate Lanusse sits in sixth, on 30 points.
Alex Asigno
With just four hundredths of a second between them, James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow shot out of the legendary Parabolica curve on the final lap of race one today in second and third respectively to deliver Yamaha Sterilgarda's first double podium of the year. Crutchlow, having qualified second, had initially got off the line in fifth with Toseland two places behind in seventh. They worked their way up as a pair, passing Fabrizio and Corser to take third and fourth by lap three. Toseland then passed his team mate for third on lap four at the end of the high speed start-finish straight, then closed down on Haslam and Biaggi at the front. A brief fight with Haslam with some heart stopping passes saw Toseland take second where he stayed tucked up behind race leader Biaggi. Team mate Crutchlow took second from him briefly on lap 14 having caught up again after a missed chicane dropped him to fourth. Toseland was quick to recover position however and got as far as a look up the inside of Biaggi coming out of Parabolica before settling for second less than three tenths from the front at the chequered flag. Race two was brought short for both riders. Another rider collided with Toseland going into the first chicane on the opening lap, causing a big crash leaving him with light concussion. He was awake following the incident but taken to hospital for a check up to assess if there was further injury. Team mate Crutchlow made a good start and was chasing Biaggi in second place just 0.1 seconds behind the leader. On lap 11 stones from Biaggi's rear wheel were flicked up, peppering Crutchlow's helmet, with one piercing his oil cooler. This caused him to low side going into the first chicane on lap 12. He was uninjured in the fall but unable to continue. After the Monza round Toseland remains in fifth position in the championship on 106 points, now just four points away from Rea in third. Crutchlow remains in tenth position on 65 points, just seven behind Sylvain Guintoli in eighth. James Tosland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, DNF) " The first race was a good strong race, I just want to congratulate the team, it's their home race and to get two of us on the podium is great. Max Biaggi rode a great race, he had a strong bike here and we expected him to go well, he didn't put a foot wrong. I was hoping on the last lap he was going to make a slight mistake, just enough for me to get alongside but he didn't so fair play to him. We're getting better with each race, moving in the right direction and it's getting frustrating finishing in second and third now!" Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (3rd, DNF) "I felt like I put together a really solid first race, we didn't get the best of starts but made up for it and got stuck in. All credit to Yamaha, they've done a good job to give James and I a competitive package so it was great for us both to deliver them the podiums here for their home round. It was a strong result and we rode well so I was looking forward to the second race. I started really well and didn't take long to get tucked in behind Max, I knew exactly what I was doing and had my strategy sorted to pass him on the last lap. Incredibly some stones flew up off his back wheel, I was so close behind I felt some hit my helmet and unfortunately a big one made a hole in my oil cooler. I made it through another lap, but coming into the first chicane it must have reached my back tyre and I went straight down." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "This has been a really mixed race weekend for us. From Valencia we have been stronger and stronger, it's clear by the podiums the riders have been delivering and the pace of both of them, especially this weekend and in Assen that we have a very competitive, strong bike. The first race was fantastic for us; to take two hard fought podiums at our home round is very special. The second race was incredibly frustrating; to have both riders out for reasons that were completely out of our control is disappointing when we have been the strongest team here. Following James's crash and concussion he was taken to hospital for scans as he complained of a pain in his neck. The first scan revealed no injuries, we are waiting for a second for confirmation. We expect to head to South Africa to fight for more podiums."

Circuit Length: 5777 Temp: 20 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 1'42.937 (Cal Crutchlow, 01/01/2010) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'42.121 (Max Biaggi, 09/05/2010) Last Years Winner: Ben Spies
2010 WSB Italy - Monza 09/05/2010 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 31'07.044 2 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'00.247 3 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'00.297 4 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'00.958 5 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'04.493 6 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'07.343 7 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'07.369 8 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'09.344 9 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'15.338 10 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'16.761 11 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'16.921 12 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'22.231 13 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'22.602 14 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'22.742 15 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'26.266
Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 31'07.122 2 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'04.547 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'05.469 4 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'10.267 5 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'15.561 6 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'15.816 7 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'15.861 8 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'20.977 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'21.920 10 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'21.974 11 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'27.152 12 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'29.315 13 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki AUS 0'30.858 14 Roger Lee Hayden Kawasaki USA 0'47.160 15 Broc Parkes Kawasaki AUS 0'48.824
Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'43.031  
Rider Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 181 2. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 178 3. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 110 4. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 110 5. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 106 6. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 100 7. Troy Corser BMW AUS 92 8. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 72 9. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 70 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 65 11. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 62 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 58 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 47 14. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 35 15. Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 35  
Manufacturer Standings 09/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Aprilia 184 2. Suzuki 181 3. Ducati 149 4. Honda 119 5. Yamaha 113 6. BMW 95 7. Kawasaki 37
Alex Asigno
Kyle Chisholm Motoconcepts Yamaha's Kyle Chisholm was the first YZ450F rider across the line at a boggy, slippery and treacherous Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City for the penultimate round of the 2010 AMA Supercross/FIM World Championship. The 22 year old finished 5th in a rain-hit event for a personal best result; leading Michael Byrne and Justin Brayton across the line in 6th and 7th respectively. Floridian Chisholm weathered arguably the most technical terrain the riders have experienced in the sixteen events held so far this year to seal his top five finish by over seven seconds from Australian Byrne. The SX class main event actually had to be shortened due to showers (even snow!) and was run over 15 laps instead of the usual 20 in front of a sodden 38,882 attendance. Josh Hill In the sixth main event to take place in the Utah metropolis, conditions were so tough that new champion and fourth-place finisher Ryan Dungey was actually lapped. Brayton was holding third at one stage but then faded back after his rear brake failed and Chisholm was able to run in the top three before being relegated to fifth. San Manuel Yamaha's Josh Hill had another poor meeting and his 19th spot means that he is virtually resigned to 5th place in the championship after having been in contention for the title thanks to five podiums from the first six events. Despite his misfortune with a rib injury the 20 year old is still Yamaha's highest placed rider in the standings, although Brayton in 6th needs just 4 more points to overtake. "Everything was going good at the beginning of the season," he said. "I got a whole bunch of podiums in a row and I left the western swing of the series tied for the points lead but Indianapolis went horribly. I just didn't ride a good main event there. I was ready to do better in Atlanta, but then I 'endo-ed' in the same rhythm section where Villopoto fell in the main event and broke three ribs. Ever since then I haven't been able to breathe at all after a few laps in the main event. Then, just when my ribs were starting to feel better [before St. Louis], I crashed again and re-broke them. I mean, I can't sleep, much less ride 20 laps in a main event. I'm still fast and every week I feel like I can get on the podium at least, but after a few laps in the main event, I can't breathe." Team-mate and 2009 champion James Stewart has been out of action since round three with a broken scaphoid. The San Manuel rider is allegedly considering some appearances in the AMA Motocross Nationals with a view towards the 2010 Motocross of Nations in Colorado on September 26th. Seattle West Coast Lites event winner Broc Tickle was 6th in Utah, after a bad start, and ends the season with 4th in the championship ranking on the YZ250F. The final round of the Supercross campaign will take place at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas next Saturday. Circuit Length: NA Crowd: 38, 882 Weather: Wet
Last Years Winner: James Stewart 2010 AMA-SX Salt Lake City, UT 02/05/2010 Race 1 - 15 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kevin Windham Honda USA 14'13.037 2 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'16.271 3 Andrew Short Honda USA 0'56.158 4 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA -1Laps 5 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA -1Laps 6 Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS -1Laps 7 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA -1Laps 8 Thomas Hahn Suzuki USA -1Laps 9 Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA -1Laps 10 Chris Blose Honda USA -1Laps 11 Kyle Cunningham Yamaha USA -1Laps 12 Kyle Partridge Honda USA -1Laps 13 Troy Adams Honda USA -1Laps 14 Weston Peick Yamaha USA -2Laps 15 Jeff Gibson Kawasaki USA -2Laps 19 Josh Hill Yamaha USA -3Laps Rider Standings 01/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 338 2. Kevin Windham Honda USA 273 3. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 266 4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 253 5. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 229 6. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 225 7. Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 186 8. Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 183 9. Thomas Hahn Suzuki USA 174 10. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 163 11. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 160 12. Andrew Short Honda USA 134 13. Chris Blose Honda USA 112 14. Trey Canard Honda USA 103 15. Jason Thomas Suzuki USA 74 17. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 67 18. Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 62 19. James Stewart Yamaha USA 51 25. Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 25 26. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 24 28. Kyle Cunningham Yamaha USA 18 37. Kyle Regal Yamaha USA 7 45. Josh Grant Yamaha USA 1 Manufacturer Standings 01/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 342 2. Honda 337 3. Kawasaki 319 4. Yamaha 305 5. KTM 3
Alex Asigno
Jorge Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo produced one of the rides of his life to take a superb win in Spain today, the grandeur of a full-to-bursting Jerez providing a fitting amphitheatre for his first MotoGP win on home soil. Valentino Rossi finished third, making it a sixteenth double podium for the Fiat Yamaha pair since 2008. Lorenzo got a bad start and had dropped from second to fifth by the second lap, as he struggled to find a rhythm with a full fuel tank. On lap five he was able to pass Casey Stoner and then, five laps on, Nicky Hayden but he looked destined to stay in third as he languished 1.5 seconds adrift of Rossi, who was in turn the same distance from Pedrosa. With a third of the race to go however the Spaniard picked up pace, suddenly the fastest man on track as he stormed up on his team-mate. On lap 22 he despatched the Italian but with only five laps left and a two second gap a victory still looked unlikely. The tenacious youngster was not giving up however in pursuit of a sixth premier-class win and he rapidly gained on his fellow Spaniard to bring himself within striking distance on his penultimate lap. His first attempt to pass resulted in a dramatic moment as they both momentarily looked like running off track and in the end he had to leave it to the last lap to make the definitive move, passing Pedrosa on the brakes at the end of the back straight and crossing the line 0.543 seconds ahead. Lorenzo, who turns 23 on Tuesday, celebrated in hilarious style by leaping into the lake in the middle of the circuit, much to the rapture of the home fans who were already celebrating Spanish wins in the 125cc and Moto2 classes earlier in the day. Rossi was happy to make the podium, having struggled all weekend to overcome his injured shoulder and set-up problems with his M1. The World Champion got a great start from the second row and was second behind Pedrosa for most of the race. He stayed in touch in the early stages but began to drop back as his bike started to slide, eventually giving best to his charging team-mate and settling for the final podium spot and a valuable 16 points, 0.4 seconds behind Pedrosa. The Championship is now led by Lorenzo with 45 points, while Rossi is four points off him in second. The riders now have a three-week break before the French round at Le Mans on 23rd May. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 45'17.538 "It has always been one of my dreams to win a MotoGP race in Spain and this was like a movie, everything that could possibly happen did! It was a very hard race because I made such a bad start and then found it very difficult in the first laps - I gave myself a tough job to do. After that I started to feel better and rode like a demon to get to the front. Once I passed Valentino I knew that I couldn't take it easy, I had to try everything to win and it was all I could think about. I had a great fight with Dani and in one moment we nearly crashed so I had to try again, on the very last lap! I know it's better to win races calmly, from the front, but lately that hasn't been the way for us and I have had to fight on every lap. I saw the lake on Thursday and thought it would be funny to jump in and I think the fans liked it, but I didn't really think about how heavy I'd be with wet leathers and for a minute I thought I wasn't going to get out! This has been an amazing day, I can't believe I've achieved this dream of mine, in front of all the Spanish fans at this magical place." Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rdTime: +0.890 "This just wasn't our race this year. We have struggled all weekend, first with my shoulder and then with the bike, and in the race today I couldn't do any more than third. I got a great start and was fast with the new tyre, I tried to go with Dani but then I started to slide a lot and I just had to play it safe. I made no mistakes and I'm happy about my race in the circumstances, these 16 points are very important. At the end I had a front-row seat to the Spanish party and I admit I was sorry not to be involved, Jorge did a great job today and I think it was very exciting for all the fans. I want to say thank you to Dr. Costa and all the staff at the Clinica Mobile, plus everyone back in Italy who has worked on my shoulder to allow me to be able to race this weekend. I will hopefully be back to full strength in Le Mans so I'm looking forward to that." Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager "It's fantastic to win this race in this way. The race itself was amazing, especially the last ten laps; a fight on the edge. Before the race started our target was just to be on the podium again and we managed the highest step, so we could not ask for more! Jorge was so fast at the end of the race, really amazing. We have wondered why he seems to get much stronger at the end of races; I think it's a combination of his riding style and confidence, because from a technical point of view there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. Apart from a less than perfect start, he controlled the bike very well during and kept a very good pace. He was able to keep the pace at the beginning and never gave up; he just got better. The target for the season remains the same, to keep aiming for the podium every weekend. We all know there are a lot of great riders out there and they all want to win, so it won't be easy. We have always been confident about our potential and now we are even more so. Well done to Jorge and all the team." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "Considering his recent injury we can see this as a very good result. The shoulder was okay and in fact the setting was the bigger problem, but the team did a great job to improve it as much as they could and we are happy that we made it onto the podium. Valentino got a fantastic start and was fast in the early stages but later on he couldn't keep pace with Lorenzo and Pedrosa so 16 points is good for us today. We have some work to do for Le Mans, when we hope Valentino will be back to full fitness. Well done to Jorge and all his side of the garage, he did a great race today."

Tough Spanish MotoGP race for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team was left to contemplate what might have been after a difficult and disappointing Spanish MotoGP race at the Jerez circuit this afternoon. Colin Edwards fought a determined battle at the rear of a frenetic battle for seventh position in front of a sun-drenched crowd of 122,048 passionate Spanish fans. The Texan eventually had to settle for 12th position after he encountered small rear grip issues in the crucial final stages that left him unable to mount a sustained offensive on the exciting mid-pack dice. It was also a frustrating first Jerez MotoGP experience for 25-year-old Ben Spi es, who had started the race with high expectations after a brilliant performance in practice and qualifying. The reigning World Superbike champion made a blistering start and gained two places on the opening lap to sit menacingly behind former world champion Casey Stoner in sixth position. But just as Spies looked to consolidate his place in the leading group, he encountered a front-end issue that saw him unable to maintain his fast pace. Despite his valiant efforts to continue and score valuable points for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, Spies opted to retire at the end of lap eight after he'd fallen out of the top ten. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team will be hoping for improved fortunes when the MotoGP world championship resumes in France later this month. The Le Mans clash is the all-important home race for the Monster Yamaha Te ch 3 Team, with high hopes of a strong display in the third round of the 2010 campaign.
Colin Edwards Colin Edwards - Position: 12thTime: +38.371 "I think I've had one good race at Jerez in my entire career and today wasn't it. This weekend has been a struggle and I've never been comfortable on the bike to show the pace I know I am capable of. Right from the start I had issues with the rear grip and I couldn't hold any load on the tyre at full lean angle. That also created some problems with the front-end, so I just struggled with the balance of the bike. It's the exact same issue that I had in Qatar even though the set-up I'm running is quite a bit different. I'd just like to be in a race. At the moment I just feel like I'm riding around and suffering. I can only look forward to Le Mans knowing that I go really well at that track and so does the Yamaha." Ben Spies Ben Spies - Position: DNF "It's just one of those things that can happen but it's really unfortunate because after coming here and learning the track really quick I thought we had a really good package for the race. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team had worked really hard but I just had some problem with the front-end. I'm not sure what the problem is but I've looked at the data and you can clearly see I had an issue. The bike just wasn't reacting like it should and it is a big shame. I got a really good start and was right behind Casey but pretty much from the first lap I knew I had a problem. I tried to round around the problem but at the end of the day I wasn't going to be scoring any points and I'd have risked crashing if I'd continued. The consolation is that I know we had the speed for a good result and there are a lot of positive points to take from the weekend. We can go to Le Mans confident that I'll be able to show more of my true potential." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "I won't say it's a disaster but it certainly is a big disappointment for us. We had high hopes after we saw how quickly Ben mastered the track and it wasn't unrealistic to hope that he could have been at least in the top five again like in Qatar. He got a good start but after a few laps it was obvious that he couldn't maintain his pace and he was losing ground. He had to pull into the pits and he said he didn't have any feeling with the front. We'll analyse the data and check everything with Bridgestone to see if we can find out exactly what caused the problem. It is a shame for Ben but we have to accept it. Colin was never really comfortable with the bike all weekend. He had an interesting fight but it wasn't the result he wanted, so we'll work hard to understand some of his issues. Hopefully Le Mans will be better because that is a hugely important race for Tech 3 and Monster." Circuit Length: 4423 Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1'39.818 (Valentino Rossi, 01/01/2009) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'38.189 (Jorge Lorenzo, 30/03/2008) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2010 MotoGP Spain - Jerez de la Frontera 02/05/2010 Race 1 - 27 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 45'17.538 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'00.543 3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'00.890 4 Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 0'09.015 5 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 0'10.034 6 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 0'23.144 7 Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 0'34.489 8 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'34.687 9 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 0'36.160 10 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki ESP 0'36.791 11 Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 0'37.155 12 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'38.371 13 Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 0'38.371 14 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 1'02.052 15 Aleix Espargaro Ducati ESP -3Laps  
Rider Standings 02/05/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 45 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 41 3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 29 4. Nicky Hayden Ducati USA 26 5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 26 6. Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 17 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 12 8. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 11 9. Ben Spies Yamaha USA 11 10. Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 11 11. Marco Simoncelli Honda ITA 10 12. Mika Kallio Ducati FIN 9 13. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 8 14. Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 7 15. Hector Barbera Ducati ESP 7  
Manufacturer Standings 02/05/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 50 2. Honda 36 3. Ducati 26 4. Suzuki 13
Alex Asigno
The Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team wrapped up a successful two day test in Misano this afternoon, fresh from James Toseland’s two podiums in Assen. Riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland spent the two days testing further changes to their 2010 R1 race-bikes as they prepare for the next round of the championship at the legendary Monza circuit next week. Toseland spent the first day focussing on the electronics, and ended the day second fastest on unofficial timing (no transponders) with a 1’36.0, only 0.1 behind the fastest time having completed 69 laps. Team mate Crutchlow was working on a general bike set-up, putting in 87 laps on the first day and ending it just behind Toseland, third fastest with an unofficial time of 1’36.3. Day two saw Crutchlow working through a different set up to the previous day, finding advantages with each. He finished the second day of testing in third having put in a 1’35.7 lap on race tyres. Team mate Toseland spent the day working on race pace and durability, using a qualifier towards the end to put in a 1’35.6 and take the second fastest slot of the day yet again. James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team “We’ve achieved a lot, and ended up second today. Fabrizio did a really good low 35 second lap on a qualifier but I think on race tyres there were definitely consistent 35s to be had for us as well. The fastest race time last year was a 37 so it shows how much everyone has improved, we’re 1.3 seconds under the lap record. Misano is definitely suited to the Ducati, it’s their strongest track I think, however I did ten laps in the low 36s which is great for race pace and the important thing is we’ve moved forward on durability for race pace which is key.” Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team “It’s been quite a progressive two days, we’ve worked through two completely different set ups and found pros and cons to both. I think we’ve found a clear direction to work in which we now need to fine tune. I was pleased with the pace we had, we were consistently in the top three without using a qualifier tyre, so we’re good with race tyres which is important. I have to keep working and hopefully it has put us in a good set for Monza.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team Manager “We’ve had a really good test here at Misano. We tried some different things in both electronics and bike set up with both riders and in the end we learnt some valuable information and we made improvements. We will use these steps to bring upgrades in both electronics and chassis set up. Misano has been invaluable in finally providing us with some structured testing time to really develop a solid base for the rest of the season. Whilst we have made steps at each round including the new linkage for James in Assen, this has been our first real opportunity to make the next step. We now head forward with a more competitive package for the season and are confident this will benefit us from the next race in Monza”
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike rider James Toseland made every lap count in Assen today, storming to two podium finishes and claiming hard earned points which move him up the championship table. The first race saw the British rider tear through the pack from his tenth place grid start position, making short work of his competitors with clean decisive overtakes, making up eight places to sit in second by just past mid-race point behind leader Jonathan Rea. An inspired overtake three laps to the end on the penultimate corner saw him temporarily lead the race, however Rea was able to get past at the end of the start straight, securing the win just 1.1 seconds ahead of Toseland. Team-mate Cal Crutchlow had a great start, making it up to sixth on the first corner before a bunched up pack of riders pushed him wide, dropping him to 13th initially. He fought back with a determined push and was the fastest lapping rider mid way through. He finally crossed the line in eighth having made up five positions on the tricky to overtake circuit. Race two and again Toseland charged through the pack, making fifth position by lap seven. He spent several laps following a furious battle in the top four between Haslam, Rea, Corser and Camier before slipping through and fighting his own battle to take third. Positions changed several times in the tightly bunched pack however he held onto third over the line for his second podium of the day. Team mate Crutchlow had a less fortunate race, with a technical issue with the rear suspension forcing an early retirement. Toseland now heads to the next round in Monza having climbed to fifth position in the standings on 86 points, just 17 behind Carlos Checa in fourth. Team-mate Crutchlow remains in tenth position just four points behind Michel Fabrizio in ninth. James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (2nd, 3rd) "We've had another tough weekend, especially Friday and Saturday, but we've pulled through. Once again the team has worked fantastically well, especially this morning, we had a new linkage system on the rear end just to try and sort some issues and it seems to have worked. It's been a long weekend but to come from tenth on the grid and get a second and a third, two podiums is just a great result for me and the team. It's been coming slowly, we've come from far behind in the first two races so it's fantastic to be up there at the front and fighting. There are a lot of Brits out there, and we're all racing at the front and doing a great job, everybody deserves to be in it. I've had great support from my family and friends and want to thank everyone for supporting me in getting back to where I should be." Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (8th, DNF ) "It's been a very frustrating end to the weekend for me, I know I had the pace to achieve really good results and be up there fighting with the front guys in both races. I made a good start in the first but lost a lot of places on the first corner when the pack pushed me wide, but fought back and was one of the fastest riders on the track mid-race. Race two was even more frustrating as I was determined and ready to fight for a podium. Unfortunately the technical issue was out of my control so there was nothing I could do." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "We had a great result today, especially considering how we got it, after a lot of challenges over the last two days. James also put all his heart into his racing today. I'm sorry for Cal, I think he had the ability to have a great two races, especially in the second one. Unfortunately we had a technical issue, we don't know what yet but we will figure it out. We've made big advances with our electronics and also with our chassis which could be seen with James's performance. We are now getting to a point where we have a very competitive bike with a set up that works on different tracks, but obviously we will continue to work for the next level. We head to Misano for testing next week motivated to keep on improving. A big thank you to all the team and the riders who worked so hard this weekend." In the European Superstock 600 Championship MRS Racing rider Jeremy Guarnoni took an impressive second place podium finish, less than two hundredths of a second off the front and earning 20 championship points on his Yamaha R6. He maintains his position as the championship leader, 11 points ahead of his closest rival after three rounds. Circuit Length: 4542 Temp: 20 Crowd: 78000 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'34.944 (Jonathan Rea, 25/04/2010) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2010 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 25/04/2010 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 35'38.483 2 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'01.106 3 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'01.249 4 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'01.548 5 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'02.738 6 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'02.813 7 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'06.296 8 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 0'12.022 9 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'12.146 10 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 0'19.753 11 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'22.204 12 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'22.282 13 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'22.780 14 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'23.364 15 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'37.097 Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 35'43.137 2 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 0'01.942 3 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 0'03.928 4 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'04.067 5 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'04.176 6 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 0'04.525 7 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'04.682 8 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 0'07.698 9 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 0'09.903 10 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 0'11.465 11 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 0'15.489 12 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 0'23.604 13 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 0'29.085 14 Chris Vermeulen Kawasaki AUS 0'35.401 15 Matteo Baiocco Kawasaki ITA 0'44.330 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'36.413 Rider Standings 25/04/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 148 2. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 128 3. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 110 4. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 103 5. James Toseland Yamaha GBR 86 6. Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 85 7. Troy Corser BMW AUS 68 8. Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 55 9. Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 53 10. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 49 11. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 48 12. Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 48 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 38 14. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 26 15. Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 25 Manufacturer Standings 25/04/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 148 2. Aprilia 134 3. Ducati 130 4. Honda 111 5. Yamaha 93 6. BMW 69 7. Kawasaki 19
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland made it through the first Superpole heat this afternoon to secure ninth and tenth place on the third row of the grid for tomorrow's two World Superbike races at the Assen TT circuit. Both riders had spent the previous qualifying sessions working on their set ups for the afternoon's Superpole heats and had headed in to the Superbike shootout with confidence. They both made it through the first heat comfortably on race tyres, then switched to qualifiers midway through the second session. Crutchlow struggled to improve on his time in the second session leaving him just outside the top eight at the end. Team mate Toseland was on form and had nearly completed a hot lap which would have taken him through to the final eight when a violent wheelie three corners from the end at high speed disrupted his time. Cal Cruchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (9th, 1'36.027) "I struggled with my qualifier tyre in the second Superpole heat, and couldn't make it through to the third. Both James and I are still working on some stability issues which could be seen on track as well. We need to work hard in tomorrow morning's session to see what we can change in the set up to make another step forward. We're all working really hard, and on the positive side the electronics issues we've had in the past are now working very well for us." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1'36.061) "Frustrated is the word! It was a real surprise for the bike to do that in a place where I've never had that before, it kicked up and wheelied at over 180mph in fifth gear, it was a bit touch and go there but luckily I was able to save it. The lap was good up to that point, I only had two corners left to go and would have been through to the top eight and the third session. We've had so much work to do to get where we are, the team has done a great job trying to get the bike to work here. Tenth on the grid is not ideal and we're not sure about tyre life, depending on temperature tomorrow we might not be able to use the softer race tyre, everyone is waiting to see how warm it will be. I'm not too worried about race pace, it's all about what happens in those first few laps. The new fast section has effectively deleted a passing place so I'll have to get off the line well and see how we go." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "We still have one practice session left tomorrow morning, for sure we will never give up so we will spend the session working hard to make more improvements ahead of the two races. We will definitely find something to help us. James was very unlucky on his hot lap in the second Superpole session, it was good he managed to save it safely. He's got a good race pace so needs a good start tomorrow and we will see what he can do. Cal has shown this weekend that he also has a competitive pace, especially on worn tyres so we are confident both riders can perform tomorrow."

Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'34.944 (Jonathan Rea, 25/04/2010) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga
2010 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 24/04/2010 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'34.944 2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'35.062 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1'35.306 4 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 1'35.330 5 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1'35.633 6 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'35.892 7 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1'35.909 8 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'36.405 9 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1'36.027 10 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 1'36.061 11 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 1'36.069 12 Ruben Xaus BMW ESP 1'36.094 13 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki FRA 1'36.327 14 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 1'36.348 15 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 1'36.574
Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Nat. QUAL I QUAL II 1 Troy Corser AUS 1'36.489 1'35.621 2 Jakub Smrz CZE 1'36.041 1'35.939 3 Jonathan Rea GBR 1'36.339 1'36.211 4 Carlos Checa ESP 1'36.805 1'36.447 5 Leon Camier GBR 1'37.064 1'36.588 6 Leon Haslam GBR 1'36.618 1'36.891 7 Noriyuki Haga JPN 1'37.462 1'36.644 8 Shane Byrne GBR 1'37.081 1'36.655 9 Cal Crutchlow GBR 1'36.752 1'36.685 10 Michel Fabrizio ITA 1'37.165 1'36.689 11 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA 1'37.344 1'36.774 12 Sylvain Guintoli FRA 1'37.684 1'36.829 13 Max Neukirchner GER 1'37.453 1'36.859 14 Ruben Xaus ESP 1'37.685 1'36.872 15 Luca Scassa ITA 1'37.506 1'36.898 17 James Toseland GBR 1'37.166 1'37.084
Alex Asigno
Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland spent the first day of the Assen race weekend working hard on setting up their bikes for tomorrow's Superpole heats. Crutchlow got quickly down to fast consistent laps, spending the majority of the first qualifying session in second position. Two crashes resulting from losing the front end disrupted his session although he was unhurt and came away from the heat having demonstrated a consistent fast race pace. Team mate James Toseland spent the session working with his team on two very different bike set ups, exploring both front and rear end feel. They found positive steps in both areas so will work to combine and produce a race package ahead of tomorrow's Superpole session. Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (5th, 1'36.752) "It's been a good day speed-wise, I felt quite comfortable keeping the pace I had. We had two stupid crashes, both when I lost the front end. I was using my usual tyre for the first one, I hit a bump and crashed, on the second one I used the new harder front tyre but didn't have any feeling in it, I came into the last chicane maybe 6km slower than usual and just crashed for some unknown reason. Still, as I said I'm happy with the pace so looking forward to tomorrow and seeing if we can improve and achieve something good in the Superpole session." James Toseland James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1'37.166) "We've been trying a few things with the geometry to see if we can improve the front feel and the rear feel. Over the last three rounds we've either got the one or the other so we're trying to find a better balance using head angles and offsets. On one bike I had a setting very similar to what we used in Valencia, and the other bike had something completely different, I've been jumping between the two, and towards the end of the session I think we were getting there. My best lap time of the session was on the harder rear tyre which is generally not the quick tyre which is encouraging. I'm pleased with what we've done today, we've got through a lot and we've got some good ideas for tomorrow. There's a lot more time in me and the bike to come." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "For our first day today we saw some good things, for sure tonight the technicians and the riders will continue to work to find ways to improve on the current set up even more. I'm expecting to be in a different position tomorrow afternoon. Cal has really good times through three sectors of the track, he's losing something in the last sector, we know this and so we're studying to understand why so we can fix that. When we do I think he will be really strong. I'm expecting James to take another step forward tomorrow, today he was focussed on comparing two very different bike setups, we found good things in both so we'll work tonight to bring those together."

Circuit Length: 4555 Weather: Sunny
Lap Record: 2'04.685 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'37.626 (Ben Spies, 26/04/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga
2010 WSB The Netherlands - Assen 23/04/2010 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 1'36.041 2 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 1'36.339 3 Troy Corser BMW AUS 1'36.489 4 Leon Haslam Suzuki GBR 1'36.618 5 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha GBR 1'36.752 6 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'36.805 7 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 1'37.064 8 Shane Byrne Ducati GBR 1'37.081 9 Michel Fabrizio Ducati ITA 1'37.165 10 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 1'37.166 11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'37.344 12 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 1'37.434 13 Max Neukirchner Honda GER 1'37.453 14 Noriyuki Haga Ducati JPN 1'37.462 15 Luca Scassa Ducati ITA 1'37.506  
Alex Asigno
Assen circuit The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team head to Assen this week for round four of the World Superbike Championship. The team prepare for the Dutch round with renewed confidence following rider James Toseland's first podium of the year last week in Valencia and a second Superpole of the season by Cal Crutchlow, signalling both sides of the garage have made significant improvements in making use of the increased performance of the 2010 WSB R1. Toseland's podium in particular was key in moving him several places up the championship table, he arrives in Assen now sixth in the standings and looking to go higher this weekend. Assen is an historic race circuit, although road racing started in the area in 1925, the closed circuit itself was first located there in 1955. It's undergone a number of changes since that day, including a major redesign in 2006, with the exception of the finish line which has never moved. The typical characteristics of the track include fast flat out corners and slow corners. For this year a change to the back section of the track with a fast flowing corner means the circuit is now even faster, with national classes already seeing a two second a lap quicker time over the circuit. "I've always loved racing at Assen," said James Toseland. "I've had some good results and always gone well there. I've won on the Ducati and on the Honda so it would be great to get a win on the Yamaha as well. The bike has come on again from Portugal to Valencia and we knew from the last round what we needed to improve for Assen. We've had to do a lot of work to get competitive but on the positive side there's still room for more and we're not far from the front. We can improve quite a lot more and we're going to be a strong package. On a personal side I always try hard, after the Australia crash where I broke my hand, then my mistake in qualifying in Portugal and missing out on the last Superpole session in Valencia by a thousandth of a second I thought I was going to have one of those seasons. But to go from ninth to third and be up there fighting at the front was a massive boost of confidence for me and the garage so it was good to reward the hard work of the team with a result." "I had a good race in Assen last year in Supersport," said Cal Crutchlow, "but it's going to be difficult this weekend as a couple of other teams have tested there already with the new circuit changes including the new faster section at the back. Hopefully in the first free practice we'll get to grips with it. There are some new changes coming this weekend with the bike so let's hope we've made some progress and see how we get on." Assen technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland's Crew Chief "We managed to make a major breakthrough at Valencia, and are looking for further improvement. We found a good base engine map with a user friendly torque delivery. We also found a traction control setting that uses ignition cut, allowing James to control the spin of the rear tyre. We were on the dyno as early as Monday morning after Valencia to progress further with areas of our electronics. At Assen we will concentrate on tyre life, especially for warmer conditions, as this was an area we suffered in Valencia. Assen has numerous changes of direction, some at very high speeds so we will be also working on making a quick but stable bike. We will be looking to be on the podium both races as we can't afford to lose any more points for the championship!" Assen technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow's Crew Chief "Assen has more grip than Valencia so it should suit our bike better than the last track. Assen has fast sweeping corners which are banked so you have to set up the bike to suit these areas. The rear end needs enough damping support and spring rate to keep it under control in the long fast corners. We will also try a new clutch to improve our starts which is arriving from Japan. We will also try some new electronic adjustments to help with Cal's starts from the line using the launch control system; these include new ignition mappings for Cal's engine management system." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "I think Assen can be a good weekend for us, the characteristics of the track are well suited to our bikes, which is an advantage we have to make the most of. The developments focussed on our electronics areas from the last two races have been steadily progressing forwards which gives me a confidence that we can achieve some good results with both James and Cal. The step forwards with our mapping means we should be able to deliver better corner exits for both riders, and the new clutch we'll be trying this weekend will hopefully mean we can get them off the line quicker to stay at the front in the crucial first corner."