Alex

Michael Leib entered his first meeting on the YZ250F since recovering from Epstein-barr virus. The American had not seen GP duty since June and the enforced break clearly showed in his stamina levels to last the motos. The Californian attempted both races but did not have the condition to make the chequered flag. On Saturday Kiara Fontanesi wrapped up her first FIM Womens World Championship with first and third positions in the motos on her YRRD-equipped YZ250F. Her remarkable 100% podium record that includes four overall GP victories from the seven rounds held so far and fourteen motos without dropping out of the top three means she was able to confirm the crown with a 72 point advantage and just 50 left to win with the final round in Germany next month. A second corner crash for Mel Pocock in the first of the two European MX2 motos on Friday left the Briton with a lot of work to do. The twenty year old dashed back from dead-last and some distance behind the pack to finish a noteworthy tenth. In front of a bumper crowd on Sunday Pocock took second place to earn fourth overall and miss the podium for the first time this season. The current British Championship leader still holds the red plate after five rounds of seven in the series with a 34 point gap over Stefan Olsen and races in Holland and Italy to go. The Grand Prix of Benelux will constitute round fourteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship and will take place through the rough sandy ripples of Lierop on September 2nd. Zach Osborne: It was a great weekend for me and I gelled with the track straightaway. In the first moto I didnt get such a good start but I closed down a five or six second gap to Jeffrey. I have only done three GPs and it is hard to come back on these guys when they have already done more than twenty-five motos. Im happy with the result I had this weekend and Im continuing to build my fitness and come back to a good level. Arnaud Tonus: I made a mistake on Saturday and had a bad crash. I hurt my back a bit and felt lucky to be able to ride today. I felt good with my arms and that was a positive thing, especially as I didnt have much preparation time for this race. I had two consistent motos and it was hard to get a good jump out of the gate with the position I had. Anyway, the rhythm came back to me today and I was strong at the end of the motos. I will keep on working and hope to be better and better each GP. Michael Leib: I underestimated myself coming back to the GPs early. The plan was to get through the weekend and finish both motos and that wasnt the case and it was a bit more than I expected. I need to crack down and follow my original goal of being able to do well in Italy and Germany. This is not the start I wanted so I just have to put it behind me. My fitness will be better just from the riding I did anyway and it would have been pointless pushing through the limits after the sickness Ive had. Mel Pocock: Obviously Im gutted. I wanted to win here. I was taken out by Olsen in the first moto and it was a hard track to come back from that far down. I was also getting some arm-pump which is really weird. Basically I wasnt myself this weekend and thats disappointing because I had such amazing support. Anyway looking at the bigger picture I got some more points with second place in the second moto and now we go to Lierop and I consider myself more of a sand rider.

“I feel really good and I’m so happy to have won the world championship,” she said. “At the moment I’m pretty emotional and I’m frustrated with my second moto because I feel like it is one of my worst! I crashed and came back from last to third and focussed more on the championship and making sure of it rather than the race itself.” “I think one of the best grand prix of the year for me was in Valkenswaard in Holland for the first round. Italy was special also, but to win in the sand like I did really started the series in the right way,” she added. “I have to give so many thanks to my parents, family and all the people who helped me, especially Michele Rinaldi who I have said is like a second father to me! The support from Yamaha has been great and the bike has so much power. I’ve matured as a rider and the key to the results this year has just been more experience and learning how to be a better racer.” Visit the Yamaha-Racing.com photo gallery or click here to download some special photos from Kiara’s victory celebrations at the British Grand Prix.

Yamaha has teamed up with their top MotoGP stars Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies to give you the chance to win one of three limited edition 50th Anniversary Yamaha bikes. In 2011 Yamaha celebrated it’s 50th year in Grand Prix racing with a special red and white livery used by the stars on track as they fought for MotoGP glory. To celebrate this incredible 50th anniversary landmark Yamaha has created a limited number of bikes across the model range. Three European lucky winners will now be able to own these should they complete the challenges correctly. You could be the one to ride away on either a 50th Anniversary Yamaha YZF-R1, a 50th Anniversary Yamaha FZ-8 or a 50th Anniversary Aerox scooter. For European Facebook members Lorenzo and Spies have set six challenges for fans to complete, each of which will be revealed individually each Sunday 16.00 CET of the next six MotoGP races - starting 19th of august. You will have until the 28th October to complete all six challenges so don’t panic if you don’t get a chance to start right away. All the details of the competition and how to get started will be revealed on facebook so head over to Facebook.com/yamaharacingcom to register and get ready! There’s also a cool short video featuring both Jorge and Ben and the bikes you could win, so what are you waiting for? “We hope you have as much fun completing the challenges as we did making the video!” said Jorge Lorenzo. “It was cool hanging out at the Yamaha Dealership where we shot the film and getting to play with all the great products and bikes they have there, a real treat! We all thought the red and white colour scheme was really special and it was amazing to be part of the 50th Anniversary last year. You have to enter the competition to try and win one of the bikes so you can be part of it too!” “The 50th Anniversary red and white livery is my all-time favourite colour scheme,” said Ben Spies. “It brought me a lot of good luck last year and some pretty impressive MotoGP results! Take on our challenges and see if you can be lucky too!”

A second bottle of champagne was sprayed over a YZ250F but this time it was the 338 of Zach Osborne in the MX2-GP class as the American scored two fourth positions to raise the teams second trophy of the season in the competitive class. The 22 year old pushed hard in the second moto to overtake Jake Nicholls and ensure his rostrum celebration by virtue of the race ranking. Arnaud Tonus missed out on the Czech Grand Prix due to the close proximity of the date to his wrist surgery. The Swiss was initially hopeful of making the gate at Loket but the delay of several days after the Russian GP waiting for an appointment with the best possible surgeon meant that the tissue and state of the arm post-op was too delicate for the rigours and demands of MX2-GP racing. 7 is expected to be fully ready to go for the teams home event on August 18-19. The British Grand Prix at Matterley Basin will occur in two weeks and Monster Energy Yamaha now have a small respite from international and domestic racing commitments. Zach Osborne: It is great to be on the podium on what is such a special track. Today was a good result. I didnt set the world on fire but two fourth positions was a solid day. I didnt have the speed to run with Jeffrey and Tommy but I was the next best guy. Im looking forward to Matterley now. Its a circuit I like with a lot of ruts. I am going to train hard for it and today has given me a lot of motivation to work as hard as I can going into that race. It is tricky to come back mid-season from an injury because a lot of guys have good race pace and have done a lot more motos. It doesnt matter how much training you do, you cant really beat riding GPs week-in week-out. To be on the podium with two decent results and to get the ball rolling is really positive. Mel Pocock: Its great to win four from four and keep that overall streak alive. Im a bit disappointed I missed out on the win on Saturday but Maxime was going really quick. It is not my ideal surface as a rider; I prefer mud or deep sand or berms to hit! Maxime got away from me in that first race and I made a mistake that cost me the race. I backed down the speed a bit to make sure of the points for second. Today he made a small mistake and dropped the bike, so I had the lead and rode error-free ahead of Gasjer. It was a hard weekend but I made it work for me. I had to learn out there. A lot of people have sent me messages that they have their tickets for the British Grand Prix next week. It will be a big race and Im really excited.

The Yamaha France GMT94 Michelin Yamalube Team took a hard fought third place on the podium this weekend in the 2012 Suzuka 8Hour race, the 35th anniversary of what is one of the toughest road racing endurance races in the world. After initially dropping down the field following an unexpected pit stop, the team made maximum use of the potential of the 2012 YZF-R1 to work steadily back up through the field, passing numerous back markers to reach the front runners. The achievement was doubly impressive for the gathered Japanese fans as the team had just two riders competing instead of the normal three as regular member Matthieu Lagrive was injured. It fell to David Checa and Kenny Foray to lead the charge, Checa impressing with a final double stint push at the end to take the podium. Monster Energy Yamaha YART made an impressive start to the race weekend with Japanese rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga taking his YZF-R1 to pole position, smashing the Endurance lap record in the process with an incredible 2’06.845 second run in the scorching heat. Joined by British Superbike Swan Yamaha riders Tommy Hill and Noriyuki Haga, the team made a strong start to the race. Nakasuga led initially and was working to increase the lead with an impressive pace until an unfortunate crash. After some time spent repairing the bike Hill and Haga were able to replicate Nakasuga’s potential race winning lap times but were unfortunately 27 laps behind the field by that point and so decided to retire.