Alex

Freezing gale force gusts blasted the coastline and the 17km course that was invaded by almost 1000 entrants. Among the participants was a host of national and world champions in disciplines such as motocross, enduro and rally. The likes of Antoine Meo, Steve Ramon, Olivier Pain and Livia Lancelot were just some of the names that were shown the fastest route around the sandy curves and dunes by Mousse, who now boasts four career triumphs at the popular beach spectacle (three with Yamaha) in its 38 year existence. Jeremy Forestier and Florian Mangeot grabbed second and third places in the quad category and were two of six Yamaha-powered Quads in the final top ten. 42 year old Mousse commented on the podium that the meeting had been a strange one. The incoming tide had forced the event to be curtailed after almost two hours of racing (when the full distance should have been three). Potisek was in fact leading the field as the red flag was shown but with results taken from the previous lap the reigning French Champ was able to classify first and was confirmed with the winner’s trophy after a delay to confirm the final standings. The 2013 Le Touquet was already being labelled the ‘petit Enduropale’ in some early press reports. Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Click here to view the news

Verhoeven on the high point so far.. “The best moment has to be the first stages as I could attack all the time in the big sand dunes. I’m quite satisfied with today’s eleventh as well, I made some small mistakes but I jumped five places up the overall standings.” Verhoeven on the 450 Yamaha.. “It’s great, there are no words for it. It's like a toy! So easy to ride and handle. It’s just a normal motocross bike with some extra bits on top. Even with the extra weight of the rally outfit it’s working so well here.” Verhoeven on the come back.. “I’m trying hard to do it, I always believe in myself and the bike, I dropped some time because of the fuel pump issue but since then I’ve kept fighting and moving forward. I will try to catch Olivier Pain on the 12th stage. My goal originally was to finish in the top five, I’m not sure if it’s still possible but I will try. I feel good and physically strong, I’m resting well and taking care of myself. The Yamaha France guys are taking really good care of my bike which I’m really satisfied with so I think we can move forward.” Verhoeven on ‘downtime’.. “At the end of every stage I first answer any questions the press have. Then I get to have a shower, eat and get a massage. I make sure I’m taking care of my body, the Dakar is so hard, you have to look after yourself and don't forget a day has only 24hrs!” Verhoeven on riding with others.. “I’m quite good riding with Caselli, he rides steady. If I’m faster he lets me past and the other way round also. I also rode with fellow Yamaha rider Olivier pain for a while which worked really well.” Verhoeven on Yamaha fans.. “I really want to thank them all, I get a lot of messages on twitter, facebook and sms messages also. It’s incredible how people are following and supporting me. There are real Yamaha supporters all over the world. You realize you are not only doing your race but you’re part of the big Yamaha picture, those people, these fans, are racing with me in their minds.” Verhoeven on rivals.. “Now my biggest rival has to be Olivier Pain, he’s my team mate but I would love to finish in front of him. It would mean a lot to me to finish the first Yamaha rider. That would have a big value for me because the support from Yamaha Motor Netherlands and Yamaha Motor Europe has been amazing.” Verhoeven on first time Dakar riders.. “Don't go without really knowing what it takes to compete, do some World Championship rounds first. I’ve seen some amateur racers come and they don't have the level to compete. There are a lot of guys here who have abandoned the rally already. It’s really important to be aware this is the hardest race in the world; some people see it as too romantic.” Click here to view the news

The most obvious question…how do you feel after several weeks back riding? Things have been going quite good. In the first week it was pretty difficult and I was feeling very stiff after the first sessions on the bike but I found the rhythm quite quickly. I’m still too slow of course but it is building up slowly. At the beginning I was a bit sore on the bike but that was normal and one leg did feel stronger than the other but everything is fine physically. So you’ve temporarily escaped the cold… Yes! At the moment I am in Corsica. We have come here to train and do some work and I like the place. We’ll stay for ten days and we’re close to Christophe’s place [team-mate and MX2-GP rider Charlier] and the track here is pretty good. My idea is to do two days riding, then have an easy day and then another two and an easy day and so on. We went mountain biking last week and it is a beautiful place. I’m taking care not to overdo it. What was it like climbing on the YZ450F for the first time? I didn’t really know what to expect. Since the crash and operation there were three things I had to get my head around: a new bike, a new class and a new team. I’ve been waiting a long time to really find out anything about these steps so it was a bit of a relief to end the mystery, start riding and get to know the guys a bit better. I’ve been pleasantly surprised. For the first two weeks I just rode the stock Yamaha and I loved how the bike felt and handled. The handling was the thing that struck me most. This week I should be practicing with more race components and I spent some days in Italy making tests for the GP bike where I really didn’t have to change much at all. The bike feels very stable and I had almost no complaints. I know - or I am told - it was very fast and aggressive last year and the focus for this season has been curbing a bit of that power and sharpening the handling. How about just getting used to the bigger bike? I’m not really surprised by the power of the MX1 bike because I know the speed and potential they can get out of a 250 these days! After having ridden the stock YZ450F and moving to the YZ450FM this feels like a real factory machine though. I worked on the starts and I have to say they were pretty bad! It was on a grippy terrain and I wasn’t used to the torque of the 450 so that did take a bit of getting used to. I’m in a period of adjustment to the 450 now and I guess that is normal for any rider moving up from numerous years in MX2. And gelling with the team? Everything has been perfect with the team. Most of them speak English and they are always thinking ahead with regards to what I might need or things we might have to do to for the best preparation. We have regular meetings and the communication is good. Lastly what’s the plan after Corsica and what pre-season races will you do? The plan is to do at least two rounds of the Italian Championship in February, most likely three, and then that will take us to almost the first Grand Prix of the season in Qatar. Click here to view the news

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Lorenzo has a personal engagement with Monster Energy and Yamaha included in the agreement. Valentino Rossi’s personal agreement with Monster Energy will be complementary to the agreement between Yamaha Factory Racing and MEC. The agreement between the satellite Monster Energy Yamaha Tech3 team and Monster Energy will remain unchanged and is unaffected by the Yamaha – MEC agreement. Lin Jarvis - Managing Director, Yamaha Motor Racing “We are very happy to be able to announce the start of a new chapter in the Yamaha – Monster Energy partnership. Monster Energy is already a major partner to Yamaha’s top global sports activities in many domestic and international racing activities around the world in Motocross, Supercross, Endurance and Superbike disciplines. They have also been the title sponsor of the Monster Energy Tech 3 Yamaha team for the past 4 years. The expansion to include the Yamaha Factory Racing MotoGP Team is a logical and prestigious expansion of the program. This completion of the program permits Yamaha and Monster Energy to work even closer together to develop their sports marketing programs and to develop rider talent to continue to be successful into the future in all areas of motorcycle racing. For the Yamaha Factory Racing Team this new partnership will bring even more ‘energy’ into our racing program and Monster Energy will be a great supporter to further promote our Team and our riders' performances around the world.” Click here to view the news

Yamaha Netherlands Verhoeven Team rider Frans Verhoeven experienced a difficult fourth day, losing valuable time with a fuel hose issue. The Dutchman was forced to stop and repair his bike on-stage, eventually bringing it home in 53rd place to drop to 27th in the overall standings. On four wheels Marcos Patronelli continues to dominate the Quad competition, taking top honours in today’s stage to further consolidate his position at the top of the overall standings with a 14 minute advantage over his closest rival. Yamaha’s still make an impressive six out of the top ten quad entrants. Yamaha Racing France Power Bike Team rider David Frétigné was unfortunately forced to retire from the Dakar today, the French rider failing to make the third checkpoint of the special stage after suffering from a technical issue. “I strayed a bit off track and, being behind the rest of the bikes at the top of the valley, I was able to take the shortest route and make up a lot of time,” said Olivier Pain. “I've been riding at my pace from the beginning, with no pressure, just to have fun, and doing my best not to fall because the rally's just begun. I don't want to get overexcited about my place in the overall, the rally's still long and my objective is to finish in the Top 10 every day, and I hope to continue doing this well until the end.” “It really was a difficult stage,” commented Marcos Patronelli, “quite complicated especially when we had the sun in our faces. There was also lots of fesh-fesh. It was difficult. But it was such a beautiful stage; I'd almost like to come back here! The big descent was wonderful, very long. At times the stage was really magnificent. There was a ten-kilometre section alongside the beach, which was nice too. After that, there were lots of little tracks that were very rocky and the quad was bouncing from side to side. In the end, it was a tiring stage and now there is a long way to get to the bivouac”. Source: yamaha-racing.com Click here to view the news

Frans Verhoeven made up valuable ground from yesterday’s frustrating result following a technical issue. The Dutch Yamaha Netherlands Verhoeven Team rider wrapping up the stage in 15th to move four places up the overall standings. Yamaha Racing Team Argentina quad rider Marcos Patronelli continued in winning form today, taking his fourth consecutive stage victory of the Rally. The Yamaha YF700M based quad looking stronger than ever and taking the top four positions in both the day’s stage and the overall standings. “The stage I won in 2010 seems a long time ago,” said David Casteu. “I've always said to myself that winning a special stage is fabulous. What's more, winning at the start of the rally when all the riders are still in it, it's really great. At the end of the Dakar, it can be argued that other riders relax and manage their position. When you win like that with all these riders who've got the bit between their teeth, it's good. Also, it was on a 136-km long special stage, so today it was like a long sprint. I'm really happy about it. I've really got the feel of my bike now and I'm really enjoying it. It's a bike on which I feel good, on which I gobble up the obstacles and behind the handlebars of which I'm relaxed and calm. I arrived on this Dakar having taken stock, with the aim of enjoying each moment, each second. I'm 38 years old and I'm going to take every day as it comes. I'm itching to ride flat out and today I had great fun”. “This morning, I didn't know how it was going to work out,” said Olivier Pain. “I wasn't stressed out, but I wanted to avoid making a mistake so that people wouldn't say, ‘he got caught out because he got too big for his boots'. I set off in a good state of mind. I was especially concentrating on not falling. I made a small navigation error right at the beginning, but I put it right straight away. I didn't see Joan (Barreda) stopped next to the track. I don't know if he had problems or if he made a mistake. I had to open the road for three-quarters of the day. David started to catch up with me a bit in the middle, but I put some distance in between us near the end. It was a good special stage, very dangerous at the beginning with a bit of navigation before a big rocky area. The end was more twisting in a canyon with nice tracks and some fesh-fesh. It was a nice stage to ride and I'm still leader. That makes it two days running now”. Source: yamaha-racing.com Click here to view the news

Make sure you check the crown on the frame where the forks go. Many written off R1 frames out there for sale due to low impact front end accidents. Look for any rippling or fractures along the welds. Measure the distance between lower forks and back end of frame and then compare to another bike. Easiest way to check that I can think of.

Yep sorry can't do. We're trying to promote our own club and don't want to allow competitor forums to spring board off of us. Thank you for asking first.

I miss my old home town, sure can't beat the weather in Sydney though :-) They've done an awesome job of faking the footage

James Ellison “I am really happy to be part of this team and the championship again as I feel that I still have unfinished business. I have seen how the championship has unfolded this year and I am really looking forward to coming back. The level of competition is definitely very high and you could see that from last season, but I know this is a strong team who are hugely capable and share the same goals. I am now looking forward to testing the Milwaukee Yamaha as the technical rules have changed since I last raced in BSB, which should suit me better as I prefer riding without traction control! I know I achieved a lot this year and now I am returning focused and confident about 2013. In 2009 I was second in the championship and I then joined SMR and we would have been fighting for the title if it hadn’t been for injury so I know that together we have the ability to put the Milwaukee Yamaha at the front; I am certainly not coming back to just make up the numbers!” Josh Waters “I am really happy and I still can’t believe I have been given this opportunity. I visited the Silverstone round this year and the championship was a big surprise to me as it is much bigger than I was expecting. I won my second Superbike title in Australia this year and I feel like that I have accomplished that goal and now I am ready for a new challenge. I am a realist and know that I am going to have to work hard at it this season but this is a huge step in the right direction for me, especially to work with a championship-winning team. I am hoping that the Showdown format will work in my favour as it gives me a chance to learn some of the tracks and I want to be in the top six. I can’t wait to get started and hopefully we can do enough to be there when it counts. I want to be successful in the championship and I am dedicated to succeeding with the Milwaukee Yamaha team.” Shaun Muir - Team Owner “Everyone at SMR have been working tirelessly since the end of last season to ensure that we return in the strongest possible position in 2013. We want to win back the BSB title and with the combination of James and Josh, plus an exciting new title partner with Milwaukee, I believe we have the foundations to return refreshed and ready to come out fighting. It is fantastic to have James back in the team as we know that he is a proven title contender with lots of experience. I am also pleased to welcome Josh for his debut season in the championship; he is a young, fast and upcoming Australian rider who will bring a new dynamic to the team. I want to thank everyone involved with the Milwaukee Yamaha team and now we begin to look ahead to our testing programme to ensure we are ready for the opening round of the season at Brands Hatch.” Source: yamaha-racing.com Click here to view the news

Joel, obvious question, how are you feeling and how is the build-up to be back on the bike? JR: Quite good! I had a fitness text last Thursday and my level was really good, which I was glad to hear about. At the moment I have around 65% strength in my leg and I’m working on improving that in the next couple of weeks. I have been doing a lot of upper body training because this is an important stage of the year to be ready for next season. I’ll be on the 450 now so strength work has been key. All the hours you put in now will pay off when the racing starts and I’m really keen to get back into it. I feel like I have been away a long time! So just a month to wait then? JR: Yes, a few more weeks. December 25th is the day I have arranged. That is when I expect to be fully ready to start riding again. On Christmas day I will be in a camper at the track and as soon as it is first light then I will be up raring to go! What kind of things will you be doing up until that day? JR: I have a small gym at my house with all the equipment I need and I’m in there five times a week. Every day I am out cycling, whether on a mountain bike or Cyclocross – which is a popular sport we have here in Belgium – so I’m pretty busy. The weather here is actually quite good at the moment so if it stays dry then I’ll also be spending a bit of time working on my pit-bike track. You must be keen to try the Yamaha… JR: Absolutely. I’m anxious to be honest. It was good to do these photos and put the team clothes on and take delivery of the bike but it tests your patience! Have you talked with the Monster Energy Yamaha team about testing and how you’d like the race bike to be? JR: We’ve made plans but we haven’t talked in-depth about the bike yet. I think I will need to ride it and get used to it a little bit before I can start to work seriously on set-up. I can make comments to the guys about how I like the Yamaha to be for me but there is only so much information you can give until you start making the laps and going for the fast times. As for testing, like I said, at the end of the month I will start and will get some good sand riding done at maybe some places like Dunkirk and then in January we have programmed a month of work in Sardinia; so I’m looking forward to that. Lastly what are your thoughts on the idea to run MX1 and MX2 together for overseas events and possibly for a final moto in 2014? JR: If you are on an MX1 bike then it won’t be so bad and I think if you make a good start then it will be hard for the MX2 guys to overtake. If they do pass you then it is because they are faster on that particular day but I don’t think it will happen so much. It is something that could work for the overseas races simply because the gates tend to be smaller but for the majority of races there is no need. If we have to do it then of course it is something we need to adjust to. Source: yamaha-racing.com Click here to view the news

Cool that's what I like to hear, hopefully with the CDN at peak traffic it'll stay that way :-)

Hi guys, just to let you know that we have just implemented a CDN (Content distribution network) for the server. What this essentially does is mirror the static files on the server across other servers all around the world. This means that your computer will connect to the nearest server hopefully giving you a far quicker connection. Let me know how it goes :-)

Recent years have seen multiple champions benefit from the successful combination of Yamaha’s R-Series machines and YEC Racing Parts. 2011 saw Chaz Davies dominate the World Supersport Championship whilst Tommy Hill swept the board on his R1 in the British Superbike Championship. Hill was back again in 2012 as one of the main protagonists in the fight for the title, taking the challenge down to the last round. The R1 also marked its strength by recording multiple race wins again in the German Superbike Series with Matej Smrz, finishing on podia at several rounds of the incredibly grueling World Endurance Championship and with American Josh Hayes winning his 3rd consecutive AMA-Superbike title on the Yamaha in dominant fashion. There where numerous victories and championships for the R6 as well such as Jordi Torres taking the European Supersport Championship and Tatu Lauslehto claiming the German Supersport title. In the European Superstock 600 class, where the YEC ECU and wireharness are allowed, the strength of the R6 is shown by more than half of the field choosing the Yamaha as their weapon of choice during the 2012 season. The 2013 YEC range consists of a wide choice of racing upgrades for engine and chassis for the latest YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 generation, whilst owners of previous R-Series models are also supported. Despite inflation and exchange rate changes the recommended retail prices for all YEC Racing Parts have been kept the same as the current season price list. YEC Racing Parts are for closed-circuit use only and are sold trough the official European Yamaha network. For further information on specifications and availability in Europe please contact a local Yamaha dealer or national Yamaha Distributor. The three ordering deadlines for 2013: November 30, 2012: Delivery early March 2013 January 16, 2013: Delivery late April 2013 Click here to view the news

2012 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo also gambled on slick tyres and after initially dropping from second on the grid to eighth the Mallorcan began to make steady progress back up the field. By the fourth lap Lorenzo had taken the lead, which he maintained until lap 13, pulling nearly a four second gap to chasing Dani Pedrosa. Disaster struck when he came off the dry line to lap CRT rider James Ellison on the same lap, losing grip on the damp surface and suffering a huge high side crash. Lorenzo was lucky to walk away without serious injury and will be ready to take part in testing on Tuesday and Wednesday for the 2013 season. Katsuyuki Nakasuga Position 2nd - Time +37.661 “I’m so very happy with this result, the conditions were very difficult today. It was a tough race but the team were amazing and I have to thank them for making the best choice for my set up for the race. It is like a dream or a miracle for me to be on the podium as the qualifying was not so good. I want to thank Yamaha for giving me this special opportunity to race here in MotoGP, it has been amazing.” Jorge Lorenzo DNF “I’m happy because we are world champions and that is the most important thing. Maybe if we had arrived here without the title decided it could have been another story and I wouldn’t be so happy. I had a lot of hopes to win today, I chose a really risky tyre strategy and I was making a really good race. Dani was catching me a little bit but then I managed to have a four second lead. I came up to the slower riders and I’m not sure what happened, maybe the marshals didn’t put up the blue flags quickly enough but I was losing some time stuck behind them. I was behind Ellison and he stayed on the racing line, I couldn’t wait for another corner to overtake him as I was losing time. I overtook and made a mistake, outside the dry line and I had a big high side.” Wilco Zeelenberg - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager “What a crazy race! I think we could have won today so it’s a real shame we wrap up the season like this. Jorge took a big gamble with the tyres which proved to be a clever choice and rode a very strong race. Unfortunately with such tricky track conditions and much slower bikes making traffic the risk was high. We are very happy he is unhurt after his crash and also that we secured the title in Phillip Island! We’ll take some time to celebrate tonight and then it’s back to work for 2013 on Tuesday! Nakasuga-san was brilliant today and really deserved his podium, he and Ben’s crew put in a great effort for the result.” Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director “I don’t think anyone could have predicted today’s results! It’s a pity Jorge’s championship season ended this way in front of his home crowd but we are happy that he has no serious injuries and is ready to test next week. For Nakasuga-san it has been a fairytale day, we are so happy for him and proud of his achievement. After a difficult season it was also a great result for Ben’s crew who deserved this podium today. I would like to wish them all the best for the future.” Click here to view the news

Jorge Lorenzo Laps - 9, Time - 1'57.725 “For sure these last two days we’ve been unlucky with the weather and couldn’t practice for many laps. It was important to get practice here because we have things to try for the chassis and engine for the new season so we can give as much information as possible to the engineers so they can keep working over the winter in Japan. Now we will have to wait until the next opportunity.” Massimo Meregalli - Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director “Unfortunately in these two days we haven’t been able to test the majority of things we needed to. We don’t want to dwell on it and most importantly both riders feel confident in the base set up of the bike. We will now have to wait until Sepang to continue. The critical testing is for the engine development so our test rider will continue with that in Japan.” Click here to view the news