Alex Asigno

There was an extra guest amongst the media journalists present for the 2008 Factory Media Test at the Parkalgar circuit in Portimao last Monday. Former Formula One star and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher was invited to put on his leathers and join the invited journalists testing out the 2008 Yamaha WSB YZF-R1 machines of Noriyuki Haga and Troy Corser at the all new Portugese circuit.  Schumacher is no stranger to superbikes having completed his first year in the German Superbike Championship (IDM). He spent the morning lapping the circuit on Haga’s bike before switching to Corser’s for a comparison run. Whilst the session’s where not timed it was clear the F1 driving instincts had transferred well to bikes as he showed respectable pace and clean racing lines through the complicated and technical track.  The Yamaha Motor Italia Team were very impressed with his technical communication as he came in to debrief. His ability to communicate the feedback from the bike to help modify his personal set up was reported to be excellent. He also showed a keen understanding of the individual bike components and their effects on the ride. He was then able to make small changes with the crew to develop and improve his feel for the bikes through the session . The team were delighted to have him ride withthem. Click here to view the news

blank_page2008 Grand Prix of Ireland winner Tanel Leok will line-up alongside former double MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli as the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team switch their emphasis to the premier MX1-GP world championship for 2009. The 23 year old Estonian has been drafted into the formidable Italian set-up and will have his first taste of the ’08 title-winning machine the YZ450F during winter tests. Leok first came to prominence at the start of the century by winning Junior World Championships with 80cc and 125cc machinery. He was then fast-tracked into Grand Prix racing during 2002 and 2003. He suffered with injury during his apprenticeship but upon moving to the MX1-GP division in 2004 on a privateer 250cc two-stroke he began to shine, taking a handful of top ten and top five positions against factory opposition. His aggressive and relentless style forged a speed that was never far from placing him among the protagonists in the following seasons as he developed four-stroke technology as a works rider, gaining his first podiums in 2006. Renowned for his pace in qualification (he obtained the most pole positions in 2007) Leok was a protagonist in 2008 and dazzled his rivals in Dublin to earn his maiden GP victory. He now steps onto a Yamaha for the first time in his grand prix career.  “This is a great opportunity for me, the team looks really impressive and I am looking forward to getting started,” said Leok, who became a new father earlier this year. “They have a workshop in Belgium which means I can still be based there but doing things like the Italian championship and testing in southern Europe will be a new adventure.” On the prospect of linking up with Cairoli: “He is a really good rider and it is positive to be able to work with someone like that,” “The YZ450F will be a new experience but the record of the motorcycle speaks for itself,” Leok, who will contest the MX1 Italian championship won this year by Cairoli, added. “There will be new surroundings for me but I still want to be top five in the championship and hopefully top three; that is what I am working for and I know I have the speed.” “I have been following the professional career of Tanel for many years, although he’s still so young!” commented Team Principal Claudio De Carli. “I have always appreciated his speed, his talent, and also is character, so quiet and positive. Thanks to the great support from Red Bull, Yamaha, and all the other sponsors; my team is entering in the MX1 class with the best effort to be competitive.” “With Tanel joining Tony and together with our factory team Yamaha will have a very strong presence in the 2009 MX1-GP world championship,” remarked Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “This year we were delighted to win the world championship and reclaim our crown and you only have to look at the talent we have for next season with David, Josh, Tony moving up and now Tanel to realise that we are firmly aiming to be protagonists once again. Full credit to Claudio, he has a very talented and determined pair of riders to enter the class next year and we look forward to seeing what they can do.” Click here to view the news

2009 Yamaha WSB riders Ben Spies and Tom Sykes enjoyed a successful two day test at Portimao with their new team. The riders used the time to develop both their relationships with their new team and also to make a start on the development of the all-new 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 race bike. Day one of testing was spent mostly riding the 2008 WSB machines, giving both riders the opportunity to learn the highly technical Portimao circuit which opened for the first time last weekend for the last round of the 2008 World Superbike Championship. Day two saw the riders lapping on the all-new for 2009 Yamaha WSB R1. The new 998cc bike, featuring a high tech powerplant closely linked to the M1 MOTOGP bike, is currently at the very beginning of its development for the 2009 WSB season and is still relatively close to production specifications. However with the 2009 production R1 crossplane crankshaft engine and a unique uneven firing order giving linear torque and greater traction rider Ben Spies was able to come within two tenths of the race lap record set by Troy Bayliss during the inaugural race weekend two days previously.In a validation of the team’s belief in the potential of the new bike both riders put in fast lap times, Ben Spies lapping consistently in the low 1.44s on the second day. The Yamaha WSB team now move on to South Africa for the second test to take the next steps in the development of the bike. So far the team’s minor modifications to the standard bike include a modified cam-shaft, an enlarged radiator for extra cooling and the addition of an oil cooler. The new bike has no rear sub-frame but incorporates a strengthened frame. The exhaust is unique, and was developed in partnership with Akrapovic. The standard fuel tank has also been replaced with an aluminium tank with increased capacity. The bike features the latest Magneti Marelli electronic systems. The new swing arm is also developed purely for the WSB race bike based on knowledge taken from the 2008 racing season. Ben Spies (1’43.9) “The whole Superbike weekend has been great for me.Having my own crew chief here from the US joining the teamis good, he really understands me and it’s great to see him working well with the Yamaha Motor Italia Technical Chief Silvano Galbusera. Getting out on Nori’s bike we made a couple of changes and got going, it answered a lot of questions for me on the different tyre manufacturer and riding new circuits.The 2009 bike is at the beginning of its development, but for where it’s at now compared to where we will be when we line up at Philip Island it’s hugely exciting. The team worked really hard on the bike this weekend and it’s just going to get better and better. I’m really looking forward to next year.” Tom Sykes (1’44.5) “For me it’s been a very good test. Having done two days I now feel fully part of the team. It was quite difficult arriving on Tuesday morning for the 1st day of the test, facing a new bike, a new circuit, and a new team. It was important to me to get it right from the start. We are developing well together and we have a good understanding. I was very happy with my time on the 2008 bike, and happy with a good race pace.For the 2009 bike, considering it’s at a very early stage of development, I think it’s a fantastic package.The feeling coming out of the corner is unbelievably smooth, the power is so controllable, the whole bike remains incredibly stable. There is still lots to be done but the outcome is already very good. All in all it was a great weekend for me, I was really happy to get started and learning, getting on with the new team and feeling part of it.” Yamaha Motor Italia Team Manager Massimo Meregalli said, “As a first test, I think it went very well. We didn’t have any problems and both riders did a very good job. The test gave us a very good feeling because the bike is very good now and we know how we can improve it even more, there is still a big gap to where we can get to, so we are just very happy. Everything went very well with the riders and the team, there’s no better way to end a test for us, we are very excited about the next stage.” Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd and Fiat Automobiles Spa have concluded an agreement to continue their partnership for a further two years.  The agreement will see Fiat continue as the title sponsor of Yamaha’s Factory MotoGP Team, which will continue to be known as the Fiat Yamaha Team, for 2009 and 2010.  Fiat joined Yamaha at the start of 2007 and their partnership has been a successful one with 14 grand prix wins to date, culminating in the capture of the 2008 Rider, Team and Manufacturer titles. 2009 will see the same team with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo contesting the championship for the Fiat Yamaha Team.  “I heartily welcome the extension of the agreement with Fiat as title sponsor of our MotoGP Factory Team for another two years” said Masao Furusawa, Executive Officer Engineering Operations of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. “We will be working to continue the great partnership that resulted in the Fiat Yamaha Team winning the triple crown in 2008”.  Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, commented, “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Fiat for a further two years. It remains a very interesting mix for an Italian car manufacturer to be partner of a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer in the world’s premier motorcycle racing series.  "After a tough first season in 2007 we were really happy to win the triple crown titles this year for Yamaha and for Fiat.  "Fiat’s decision to continue for a further two years is a sign of confidence in our activities and a strong confirmation of the value of being involved in the MotoGP championship. Our target for the future is clear: we want to continue with our winning ways and provide even more excitement for the fans of the Fiat Yamaha Team”. Click here to view the news

Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) finished the 2008 WSB season second in the championship standings after securing a podium finish in the first race at Portimao, then following that up with a safe sixth in race two.  The all Yamaha battle for the runner-up spot behind champion Troy Bayliss saw Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) drop out of contention after serving a ride-through penalty for jump-starting in race two, having already been forced out of race one. Both races were won by three-time champion, Troy Bayliss.  In the first 22-lap race Corser was in the leading mix from the start and rode aggressively in the messy early laps to stay in contention, but could not quite get back on terms with second place rider Carlos Checa towards the end. Haga was also looking good for a podium finish until he was forced out on lap 18, having started to slow on lap 16.  Race two put Corser in with the leaders again for some time but he eased up when he realised that overall second place was safe, particularly in a race filled with determined wild cards. Each race was run in the dry, but on a relatively slippery track surface, which was still recovering from a largely wet first two days of action.  Haga was looking good for a strong result in race two until he had to pull in for his penalty, but he recovered to post a 14th place finish and score two championship points. He was thus 15 points behind Corser after 28 individual races, and third overall.  Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) went 13th in race one, but 17th in race two. He ended his last WSB season 19th, top Yamaha rider behind Corser and Haga.  David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) and Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) finished the season on 12 points apiece, as neither scored at Portimao.  Troy Corser (3rd and 6th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "All I had to do in race two was finish near Nori and that was all I was doing. Once he went out, all I had to do was stay consistent and not crash. We all worked so hard to get to second this season I was not prepared to take too many risks. The bike was actually better in race one than the second, as we had good front grip then. We changed the bike and had less grip in the rear, so I had to modify the way I was riding completely. Finishing second in the points means more than trying to finish on the podium in race two and risk crashing. Second is better than third and both of those finishes are better than nothing. The action was scary sometimes today and it can be like that when the tracks have a lot of undulations. The asphalt was pretty slippery in some places because of all the rain and mud washed on it during practice."  Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 14th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "In race two they said I jump started and for sure I moved a bit, but before the lights changed I stopped again. Overall, in the first race we had a problem and I had to pull out. But I had the chance to do a bit of work on the suspension setting for race two, and we went one step harder on the rear tyre too. It worked better but we still had some chatter. We lost a lot of practice time, unfortunately, because of the rain. Our pace in race two was much better. I have to say thank you very much to all the Yamaha staff for the past four years, it has been very enjoyable and we have had many great days. I wanted to get a victory for them but that was the most I could do today." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Today's overall results are so-so but in the championship we finished second and third and most importantly, we had the top four-cylinder riders. We had some good and some not so good results this year but still very positive, because nobody else made the same. We had seven wins, a lot of podiums from both riders, sometimes in the same race. As a team we did a really good job. Thanks to everyone in the squad for this year, to Yamaha and for all the support from our sponsors and fans."  Shinichi Nakatomi (13th and 17th - Team YZF Yamaha) "In the first race I lost some grip from the rear tyre and in the second race I got a bad start but tried to progress. Thanks to the team for three years of competition in WSB."   Race 1                Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 38'48.373 2, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'2.207 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'6.972 4, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'15.228 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'16.126 6, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'18.152 7, Leon Haslam, Honda, GBR, 0'18.939 8, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'20.942 9, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'32.018 10, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.871 11, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'36.778 12, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'36.848 13, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'41.667 14, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'41.806 15, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'48.337 16, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'50.295 17, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'50.840 18, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'5.928 19, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 1'6.813 20, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1'7.007 21, Luis Carreira, Suzuki, POR, 1'48.681  Race 2                Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 38'26.125 2, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'3.638 3, Leon Haslam, Honda, GBR, 0'4.356 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'4.983 5, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'6.775 6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'7.403 7, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'7.578 8, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'16.113 9, Cal Crutchlow, Honda, GBR, 0'16.284 10, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'16.446 11, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'21.633 12, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'22.098 13, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'24.089 14, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'24.117 15, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'31.003 16, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'31.136 17, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'31.330 18, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'32.272 19, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'34.049 20, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'35.028 21, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'41.669 22, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'44.889 23, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'47.366 24, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'48.733 25, Thomas Bridewell, Suzuki, GBR, 1'7.702 26, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'14.242 27, Luca Scassa, Honda, ITA, 1'34.781   Best Lap  Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 1'43.340  Rider Standings 02/11/2008  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 460 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 342 3, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 327 4, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 313 5, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 311 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 256 7, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 238 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 223 9, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 206 10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 178 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 154 12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 135 13, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 117 14, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 109 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 77 19, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 51 28, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 12 29, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 12    Manufacturer Standings 02/11/2008  Pos., Manufacturer, Points  1, Ducati, 570 2, Yamaha, 487 3, Honda, 415 4, Suzuki, 408 5, Kawasaki, 94 ---------- RACE REPORT - 02/11/2008  Parkes fifth after tough fight at new circuit  After running in the leading pack for some of the 20-lap race at Portimao Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) could not stay in contention for the podium and finished fifth.  The Australian rider had been slowed by a crash which happened right in front of him and after that he was unable to catch the leading group again and slowly dropped back as his tyres lost optimum grip. He held off a late challenge to finish in the top five and end his season fourth overall, on 150 points, with one win to his credit.  Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) could not get into contention after starting 16th on the grid and despite finishing tenth, he was disappointed by his final raceday of the 2008 season. He also scored a single win in the championship chase this year, and despite missing four races through injury, he was sixth overall, on 111 points.  Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) crashed out of contention on lap five, remounted, but eventually retired in the pits, ending his season in overall 12th place. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) only just missed out on a point for 16th place today.  Broc Parkes (5th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "I really wanted to win the last one for Yamaha and I tried my best. I got caught up with the crash of Veneman and got separated from the front bunch. Once I had lost them, I basically had to keep my position. At the end I was losing some time when I started losing rear grip, and I had to work hard to keep Nannelli behind me, but I beat him to the line. I gave it my best."  Fabien Foret (10th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "The track was very challenging in the dry over the full race and to be honest I was not expecting a great result after qualifying. I wanted to ride, find some feeling from the bike and have fun but it was not so easy. I am not happy with how the set-up was. I am just happy that this season is now over and I can start working to 2009 now."  Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) "A very disappointing race of course for us, rear tyre grip dropped quite dramatically and Broc couldn't do anything to keep up with the first three. It was the same story for Fabien, we saw that the rear tyre is really bad at the moment, for our bike especially. Qualifying was ok, but after eight or nine laps the tyre went off very hard, we've not had that so bad this year."  Massimo Roccoli (DNF - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "It was very disappointing not to finish and it has not been the happiest experience this weekend, especially at this new circuit. I lost the front end and tried to continue after but it was not possible. The gear linkage was too badly broken and I would have got no points."   Race 1                Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  1, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 35'39.851 2, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 0'3.844 3, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'7.403 4, Josh Hayes, Honda, USA, 0'7.445 5, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'17.271 6, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'17.297 7, Simone Sanna, Honda, ITA, 0'25.803 8, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'29.749 9, Mark Aitchison, Triumph, AUS, 0'29.960 10, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'30.155 11, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'30.697 12, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'30.719 13, Garry McCoy, Triumph, AUS, 0'40.033 14, Russell Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'40.839 15, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'44.266 16, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'45.672 17, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'46.765 19, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 0'51.626 20, Patrick Vostarek, Honda, ITA, 0'57.092 21, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'57.584 22, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 1'4.848 23, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'26.940 24, Chris Martin, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'27.010   Best Lap  Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 1'45.156  Rider Standings 02/11/2008  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 214 2, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 164 3, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 162 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 150 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 121 6, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 111 7, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 100 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 92 9, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 79 10, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 71 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 60 12, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 58 13, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 56 14, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 39 15, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 36 30, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 9    Manufacturer Standings 02/11/2008  Pos., Manufacturer, Points  1, Honda, 315 2, Yamaha, 203 3, Suzuki, 102 4, Triumph, 77 5, Kawasaki, 46 ---------- RACE REPORT - 02/11/2008  Pirro fourth in Portugal and fifth overall  Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) rode to within less than a second of a podium position at Portimao and in earning 13 points he finished fifth in the championship rankings, the top YZF-R1 rider on show. Pirro also set the new best lap in practice, a 1'48.466.  Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was eighth today, having started on the sixth row, and battling through the pack for the after a couple of early problems.  In the final rankings, Brendan Roberts was champion on 147, Maxime Berger second on 140 and Alessandro Polita third with 137.  Michelle Pirro (4th - Yamaha Motor Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "I started the race with dry tyres and early on that was a bit of a problem because there was still some water around and I was sliding in some places. But it improved as the race went on and I made a good finish."  Claudio Corti (8th - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "I went straight on under braking a couple of times but I rode very aggressively to recover and really enjoyed it today. I made up a lot of places and I think it was the best I could do today."  Baz and Rea battle it out as the Superstock finale sees a Yamaha 1-2-3 podium Gino Rea (Stonebaker Yamaha) and Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) ended up battling for the win in the ten lap Superstock 600 contest, and after a seriously combative final lap the English rider took the win, by a mere 0.060 seconds.  In third place, Marco Bussolotti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) was also on a YZF-R6, three seconds off the win. In the final rankings, Baz has 186 points, Bussolotti 134 and Rea 132.  Loris Baz: "It was a very hard race and I ran off on the last lap and had to work really hard to bet back to Gino. I won the championship last time out and I wanted to win here to finish the season in the perfect way."   Race 1                Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 22'23.040 2, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'2.995 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'3.938 4, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'4.773 5, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'17.166 6, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'17.482 7, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 0'19.452 8, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'19.878 9, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'22.892 10, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'23.050 11, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'31.698 13, Franck Millet, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'35.502 14, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'37.798 15, Sheridan Morais, Kawasaki, RSA, 0'42.098 16, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'45.953 17, Rene Mahr, KTM, GER, 1'0.432 18, Ondrej Jezek, Honda, CZE, 1'0.595 19, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 1'2.708 20, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 1'4.134 21, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 1'5.601 22, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 1'12.642 23, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 1'12.690 24, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 1'12.821 25, Niccolo Rosso, Honda, ITA, 1'18.918 27, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 1'24.144 28, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'26.189 29, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 1'28.272 30, Pauli Pekkanen, KTM, FIN, 1'28.903 31, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 1'28.989 32, Tommaso Lorenzetti, Suzuki, ITA, 1'32.965   Best Lap  Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time  Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 1'48.466  Rider Standings 02/11/2008  Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 147 2, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 140 3, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 137 4, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 136 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 102 6, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 84 7, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 72 8, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 62 9, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 60 10, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 57 11, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 57 12, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 39 13, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 32 14, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 30 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 26 16, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 22    Manufacturer Standings 02/11/2008  Pos., Manufacturer, Points  1, Ducati, 195 2, Honda, 182 3, Suzuki, 166 4, Yamaha, 139 5, Kawasaki, 50 6, MV Agusta, 13 7, KTM, 2 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi brought the curtain down on a spectacular season with a third place in Valencia today, his 16th podium from 18 races in a year which saw him win his eighth world title. The 29-year-old Italian has taken nine wins, five seconds and two thirds this year, surpassing the all-time premier class win record and the record for the most points in a season in the process. His outstanding performances this season also helped the Fiat Yamaha Team to secure the Teams' title and Yamaha the Manufacturers' title. Rossi had struggled to find a good set-up for his M1 during yesterday's qualifying and he started from 10th on the grid. However some last-minute changes paid dividends and he was able to get a good start, climbing to seventh in the first lap and then making a characteristic charge through the field to move into third on lap six. Unfortunately from then on he was unable to make a dent in the gap to second-placed Dani Pedrosa and he had to settle for the final podium position, 12 seconds off winner Casey Stoner. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo secured the Rookie of the Year title with eighth place today, rounding off an eventful but impressive season for the 21-year-old. Both riders will be in action tomorrow as work for the 2009 season gets underway immediately with a two-day test at Valencia. Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rdTime: +12.194 "I don't think that was so bad today! Unfortunately we had some problems yesterday and that meant we had to start from the fourth row, which left us with a very difficult task. As always though we found a way and my team gave me a good bike, which meant I was able to get a great start and then have some fun passing people. Once I got to third there was no way to catch Dani and so it wasn't such an exciting race from then on. This has been an amazing season for us and to finish with another podium, the 16th, is great and we cannot complain. I am so happy with what we have done this year, as I said it's definitely one of my greatest championships and I want to thank everyone once again - Yamaha, my team, the engineers, Bridgestone and everyone who helped us to get this result. Tomorrow we will try the new bike which means we can't have as big a party as we would like, but it is important to try to find a base for it so I am looking forward to it." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "I think it would have been difficult to have done more than this today, because we were starting from the fourth row and the setting still wasn't perfect. Anyway it was a great end to the season and we scored another podium, making 16 in total, nine of the them wins. We have the triple crown and this all makes it a fantastic season. Thank you very much to Valentino first of all and then all the engineers in Japan, who have worked so hard, and to all the team members for this huge effort. Luckily we had a big party in Japan because tomorrow we start to think about 2009 and start to test, and it's going to be important to make the most of it and to give good information to the engineers about the new bike. But we will still have some celebrations tonight so let's all enjoy ourselves! Thanks again to everybody, it's been a wonderful season." Lorenzo secures Rookie Of The Year at season finale Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo took a deserved Rookie of the Year title by finishing eighth at Valencia today, his fourth position in the championship the highest finish for a premier-class newcomer since the advent of four-stroke MotoGP. The Spaniard's first season in MotoGP has seen him win a race and take a further five podiums and four pole positions, helping Yamaha to secure the Team and Manufacturers' titles to add to his team-mate Valentino Rossi's World Championship. After struggling for grip yesterday Lorenzo started from seventh on the grid and things got worse as the race got underway. He was unable to find a rhythm and slipped to11th until mid-race distance. From then on he began to improve and he was able to make up three places, finishing strongly to set the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. The team gets straight back to work tomorrow with the very first test of the 2009 season, during which Lorenzo will have his first chance to try the new prototype 2009 YZR-M1. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 8thTime: +35.661 "I feel a bit disappointed with this result today because I really wanted to finish the season with a podium, but in the end we couldn't manage it here. We had some problems though so I have to be happy that I was able to finish the race strongly, passing people and doing my best lap of the race on the last lap, especially when you consider that yesterday in qualifying I was the slowest on race tyres! The best thing about today is that I am the leading rookie, so I get a trophy all the same and this makes me very proud of my first season in MotoGP with Yamaha. I want to thank all of my team, engineers and everyone who has helped us. I also have to say a special thank you to Michelin for their work this season because this is our last race with them. I am very proud that I was able to win my first MotoGP race with them. Tomorrow we begin straight away to work on the 2009 bike and I am very excited to try it." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We expected to finish in a better position for this last race, but unfortunately the problem we had in qualifying persisted, although we were able to improve it somewhat from yesterday. Jorge was able to keep a good pace during the second half of the race and he was able to finish strongly and make his best lap on the very last lap. This has been a fantastic year for us because we were able to make four pole positions, win a race and take five more podiums, helping Yamaha to win the triple crown, and Jorge is the year's leading rookie. I want to thank Yamaha very much for the huge effort they made in order to give us such a competitive machine, and I also want to thank Michelin for their support - we wish them all the best for the future. Finally thanks to everyone in our team for doing a fantastic job all year and we look forward to coming back even stronger next year." Fantastic finale for Tech 3 Yamaha in Valencia claimed a superb fourth place in the Team World Championship standings in today's Valencia MotoGP race. The 15-point haul collected by Edwards and Toseland in today's 30-lap battle saw the Tech 3 squad seize fourth position by a single point from Suzuki's official factory team, ending the 18-round campaign as the highest placed independent team. American Edwards played a starring role in the success, his superb start from the second row of the grid giving him the perfect platform to mount a bid for his first top six finish since he took third in Assen back in June. Edwards quickly claimed third from Nicky Hayden on the first lap to settle in behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. But with minimal dry set-up time after another weather-hit weekend, Edwards quickly encountered some rear grip issues to find himself back in sixth on lap six. He quickly adapted to the decreasing grip and crucially began to pull away from Suzuki's Loris Capirossi, maintaining a constant pace to the end. Toseland also played a critical role in today's fantastic finale as he closed his rookie campaign with a hard fought 11th position. The British rider shadowed fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo for the opening fifteen laps in a close dice for 11th place, twice passing the Spaniard momentarily. Toseland also ran into grip issues in the closing stages, but he rode a brilliant final three laps to fend off Sylvain Guintoli, John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen. Colin Edwards - Position: 6thTime: +32.209 "It has been a while since I finished in the top six and for this result to help the team finish fourth in the Team World Championship makes it extra rewarding. I'm pleased for Herve Poncharal and the team because they deserve it. We had a couple of races where we gave a lot of points away, but for an independent team we have done a fantastic job together and it was a year to remember. I got a great start and rode around the outside of Nicky at the first corner to slot in behind Casey and Dani. I actually felt pretty comfortable at that point. Nicky passed me though down the front straight and I started to spin the rear tyre a bit just as the other guys started to get into the groove. The next thing I know, everybody was disappearing up the road and there was nothing I could do. With so little dry track time we gambled with the setting and I ran a softer tyre and at the end I was having a few problems. My bike felt great but I just didn't have a lot of grip and this isn't the best track for Yamaha. We don't have the initial raw grunt that you need on a tight and twisty track like this with a lot of low speed acceleration points. I'd like to thank all my guys for their hard work throughout the season and to Yamaha for their continued support. Finally I'd like to say a big thanks to Michelin. I had the greatest moments of my career with them and I've enjoyed our time together. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break now before coming back in Jerez next month to begin working as hard as ever for 2009." James Toseland - Position: 11thTime: +52.107 "It was a hard race to finish a pretty hard season and while it wasn't how I wanted to finish on a personal note, it was great that I contributed to the team getting fourth by a point. I'm glad I managed to hang on at the end there because I was coming under a lot of pressure. In the first half of the race I was probably a bit quicker than Jorge but I just couldn't make a pass on him stick. I got him a couple of times but I made mistakes and let him back through. One time I put my hand in the air to apologise for a close move going into the first corner, and as I put my hand back for the second corner I missed my braking marker. So I'm annoyed with myself about that. I was in a real fight at the end and I was just struggling for a bit of grip. We tried quite a big change on the set-up and it worked well for the first half of the race, but towards the end I had to ride a bit defensive and make sure I didn't lose too many places. The team deserve to be fourth in the championship this year and I was determined to help them achieve it. Tech 3 and Yamaha have given me unbelievable support in my rookie year and I was pleased to battle right to the last lap to get that result for them. I have learned a lot in 2008, and I'm looking forward to working hard in the winter and making a big impression next season." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "It was a fantastic way for us to end the season and I really want to thank Colin and James for their effort. It was a tough weekend with the weather conditions but it was very important to end on a positive note and we were reasonably confident when both of them qualified on the second row. Colin made a great start and he did a good race, keeping a really good rhythm. In the first half of the race, James looked even a little bit quicker than Jorge but he couldn't quite pass him. He pushed really hard throughout even though he didn't have 100 per cent confidence, but it was a strong result and by hanging on at the end under a lot of pressure he helped us get fourth in the Team Championship and we beat two full factory teams. That was our target before this weekend and we achieved it. I'd like to congratulate Yamaha again for an incredible season. They gave us a great bike in 2008 and I'd also like to say a big thanks to Michelin for their support. Thanks to them and Yamaha we had one pole position and two podium finishes. We will miss Michelin but we now must look forward to a new era. Everyone at Tech 3 is now looking forward to a quick break and we will be back raring to start our 2009 preparations in Jerez at the end of November." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 46'46.141 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'3.390 3, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'12.194 4, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'24.159 5, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'26.232 6, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'32.209 7, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'34.571 8, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'35.661 9, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'38.228 10, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'47.583 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'52.107 12, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'52.350 13, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'52.833 14, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'53.227 15, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'53.411 16, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'8.387 17, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'11.181 18, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 1'37.055 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'32.582 Rider Standings 26/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 373 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 280 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 249 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 190 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 174 6, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 155 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 144 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 128 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 126 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 118 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 105 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 92 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 67 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 63 15, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 61 Team Standings 26/10/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 563 2, Repsol Honda Team, 404 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 331 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 249 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 248 6, Honda Gresini, 189 7, JIR Scot Team, 174 8, Team Alice, 159 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 107 10, Honda LCR, 61 Manufacturer Standings 26/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 402 2, Ducati, 321 3, Honda, 315 4, Suzuki, 181 5, Kawasaki, 88 Click here to view the news

2008 AMA Motocross Champion, Motocross of Nations winner and undoubtedly one of the main stars of American motocross and supercross, James Stewart, will make his first European appearance on his new Yamaha YZ450F at the Bercy SX in Paris, France, in just over two weeks time. The 22 year old from Florida only recently joined up with his San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/Land M Racing Supercross team and displayed that his combination with the 2008 AMA Supercross title-winning YZ450F will be a forceful one by winning both nights of the lucrative US Open indoor event in Las Vegas, beating reigning AMA champion Chad Reed. “You always want to do good for the first time; to be fast on this track, and to be winning, it’s a good step. I had four days on the bike, and I’m stoked. I think we’re going to be really good going into the future,” said six-time champion Stewart who completed a perfect 2008 outdoor motocross campaign by winning every single moto (24) of the 12 rounds. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” he added. “I’ve got a lot of time to figure this thing out though, and everybody from Yamaha and San Manuel, helped me out and they made it really easy to get on.” “Seeing James Stewart start out on a winning note with the Yamaha YZ450F was a real high point,” said Supercross team manager Jim Perry afterwards. “With his brilliant speed and his charisma, he’s a true champion and I’m glad to have him on our team.” Stewart joined Yamaha several weeks ago in a Hollywood presentation that also saw fellow Florida native, Kyle Chisholm, introduced as his team-mate. The tall former amateur winner will make his professional debut in the senior class in 2009. “I know I face a tough challenge, but I’m really excited about riding a YZ450F and proving myself in the AMA Supercross class,” he said. “I am excited by the change. It is a new beginning for me but it is a strong team,” Stewart said at the unveiling of his famous number ‘7’ in blue, where he confirmed he will be contesting both AMA Motocross and Supercross series’ as well as the X-Games and being available for the ’09 Motocross of Nations. “Larry Brooks (team owner) has just come out of a supercross championship and I have just won a motocross championship so hopefully with both of us together we will be able to win again. I know I have the ability to win and I know this bike is more than capable of it. I will still be the same old James, and now it will be even more fun so I hope the fans like it.” “Our relationship with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians/L and M Team has been great,” said Racing Division Manager Keith McCarty. “With a supercross championship in 2008 and the addition of James and Kyle for 2009, we’re sure it will be an exciting season”. The 26th Bercy SX, the most prestigious supercross event in Europe with a glittering list of former winners, will see Stewart again go head-to-head with Reed – the defending ‘King’ of the French spectacle. It will be Stewart’s second trip over the Atlantic this season after he helped Team USA in a successful defence of their Motocross of Nations title in the UK at the end of September. Click here to view the news

2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi rode an inch-perfect race in energy-sapping conditions at Sepang today to take his ninth win of the season and his 150th career podium. He is only the second rider in the history of the sport to pass this milestone, the other being Giacomo Agostini, whose all-time win record Rossi has already broken this season. Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo meanwhile had a disappointing day, with his challenge ending in the gravel trap on lap 12. With temperatures in excess of 40 degrees as the riders lined up on the grid, today's race was clearly going to be a test of endurance, both for riders and tyres. Rossi, starting from second, crossed the line for the first time in third but was able to pass Andrea Dovizioso on the next lap, setting the fastest lap of the race in the process, and set off on the heels of Dani Pedrosa. The pair gradually began to open out clear air from the chasing pack but the gap between them remained at just a few tenths of a second for next eight laps. Rossi eventually made his move at mid-race distance, was able to pass Pedrosa on the brakes into the hairpin at turn nine and was then unchallenged to the chequered flag, crossing the line 4.008 seconds ahead of the Spaniard with Dovizioso in third. The paddock now heads straight to Valencia in Spain for the 18th and final round of the season, with Rossi looking to avenge two bad years at the track and Lorenzo determined to secure the title of Leading Rookie with a positive performance to make up for today's disappointment. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 43'06.007 "I am so happy with this win today because all of the toughest championship of my career, including with Yamaha in 2004, have been won with nine victories. Of course that doesn't mean I don't want to win again next week, but for now I like this number! Today was incredibly hard because it was so hot. Once I got behind Dani I tried to pass many times but he was very fast and very consistent and I had a good battle to get by him. Lap-by-lap I understood better where it was possible and eventually I could make my move and go away from him. Everything worked very well today in such conditions, my M1 and my Bridgestone tyres and I want to thank everyone for making me so fast all weekend. I love winning here because it's such a great track but today was really a test, especially the last five laps when I really had to make an effort to keep my concentration in such incredible heat. Anyway, it was important to win here because when we came here in the winter I did a very fast race simulation and I promised my new Bridgestone tyre technician, Peter, that we would win the race! I took a gamble in February so I had to win today! Finally I want to congratulate my friend Marco Simoncelli for winning the 250cc World Championship today. I know how hard he has worked to get here and he really deserves it - I am very happy for him." Davide Brivio - Team manager "Nine wins sounds good! Now that we've won the world championship it's great to race for fun and to think only of winning and today was just like that. Valentino rode a perfect race; he started well, followed Dani for some time then passed him and escaped and he did a good job to keep his concentration and rhythm in such hot conditions. This has been another great day in a fantastic season for us and now we're looking forward to one more in Valencia." Disappointing day for Lorenzo as he slides out of Malaysian GP Jorge Lorenzo's high hopes for a podium in the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang today ended in the gravel trap on lap 12, when the Fiat Yamaha rookie slid out of sixth position. His team-mate and 2008 world champion Valentino Rossi meanwhile led from the middle of the race to take his ninth win of the season. After being fast all weekend and qualifying on the front row for the fifth race in succession, Lorenzo was determined to make a return to the podium after just missing out at the last two rounds. He got a poor start however, which left him in seventh, and he lacked the grip he'd had all weekend which meant he was unable to replicate the fast race pace he had shown in the practice sessions. By mid-race distance the Michelin-shod rider had begun to improve his rhythm somewhat and he was able to pass Shinya Nakano to move into sixth, but at turn one on lap 12 he lost the front and slid out. Lorenzo remains fourth in the championship and still leads the Rookie of the Year standings with one round remaining. The final race of the season takes place in Valencia, Spain in just one week's time. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: DNF "I didn't feel good today and I was riding much worse than yesterday. I was having some problems in braking and acceleration and this is really a pity because I thought I had the chance to be on the podium today. I had many problems with my tyres in the first few laps and in fact I had a lot of warnings about the crash, but in the end I just couldn't avoid it. I got a bad start and it seems this part of the race is getting more difficult every time. If I had a better start I could have tried to go with Valentino and Pedrosa but today was terrible. We have to change something here because at the moment it's quite difficult. Apart from these problems I know I didn't have the same feeling in myself as I had yesterday, so it really wasn't a good day! It's a little sad now that we can only be fourth in the championship, but I can still be rookie of the year so I will focus on this because it's important for all of my team. Congratulations to Valentino for another triumph and now let's look onwards to Valencia." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We're quite disappointed with this result because we thought we had a good chance to be on the podium today. Unfortunately Jorge lacked grip compared to yesterday, especially in the front, and he wasn't able to ride in the same rhythm. He didn't get a good start and then lost a lot of places at turn one, so this also didn't help. He had finally begun to improve his pace and start to catch up when he crashed at turn one, so this was a great pity. Luckily he's not hurt however and now we're just focusing on Valencia and finishing the season on a high." Edwards claims top ten, Toseland crashes in scorching Sepang Colin Edwards rode his Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 machine to his best ever Malaysian MotoGP result today, the American finishing a scorching hot 21-lap encounter in eighth position. With air temperatures nudging an energy sapping 40 degrees, Edwards lost four places in a frantic jostle for positions at the first corner, but quickly found the pace that saw him top the timesheets on the opening day of free practice. The 33-year-old immediately dropped his lap times into the 2.02 bracket and seized eighth place from Loris Capirossi with a clinical move at the second corner on lap four. That move left Edwards glued to the back wheel of fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo as an exciting six-rider dice from third to eighth unfolded in front of 38,500 fans. Edwards was promoted to seventh when Lorenzo was unlucky to tumble out on lap 11 at the first corner, but he slipped back down to eighth on lap 15 when Capirossi pounced. With track temperatures hitting 42 degrees, Edwards began to encounter small grip issues and was unable to mount a counter attack. He kept a consistent pace in the extreme heat for the final few laps, but despite a determined ride, he couldn't close back in on the group in front. James Toseland was unable to capitalise on significant steps he made with the set-up of his Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 in this morning's warm-up session. He improved front-end braking stability, but the 28-year-old slipped down to 16th after a hectic opening two laps while he tried to get the better of Anthony West and Randy de Puniet. Pushing hard to move back into the points, Toseland crashed out when he lost the front-end at turn six on lap three. He emerged unscathed from the spill, and will be looking to end his rookie season in style in next weekend's final round in Valencia. There is still plenty to fight for the Tech 3 Yamaha team in Spain next Sunday, with Edwards still pursuing a top six World Championship finish, and Toseland a top ten overall placing. Tech 3 Yamaha is also still firmly in the hunt for fourth place in the Team World Championship. Colin Edwards - Position: 8th Time: +0'18.802 "I thought I'd got a good start and I must have done because I nearly tangled with Jorge off the line and he was on the front row. It was pretty close but luckily we didn't touch. But at the first corner people started coming around me and there was a bit of bumping and barging and I lost a couple more places. Nakano and Capirossi came by but in the first eight laps I felt pretty good and I got into the high 2.02s. I was right on the back of the bunch but I felt like I was losing a bit on acceleration. As much as I'd close up on the brakes, I'd lose coming onto the back straight and the front straight. It was so hot and the track temperature was so high that the balance of the bike changed around the halfway point. Once the rear grip goes down a bit, it stops transferring weight on the front. When Jorge crashed I almost went down in the exact same circumstances going into the first corner because the rear tyre wasn't holding as well as it did at the start of the race and it wasn't driving the front tyre into the track. And when that happens it is hard to turn the bike. That was my issue and after that it was difficult. I kept my head down and tried to push because I could still see the group in front. But I couldn't get any pace going coming out of the corners and I made a couple of little mistakes. I'm really disappointed even though it is my best result ever at this race. But eighth is well below where I want to be. I leave here knowing I did the best I could do and I hope I can give the team and Yamaha a strong finish in Valencia next week before we starting looking to 2009." James Toseland - Position: DNF "Things never clicked from the start of the weekend, although this morning we found a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. But getting it nearly right on Sunday morning means you don't have time to get a proper feeling with the setting and we made a big change with the front. We raised the front and got it to steer better because that was the main issue we had. It was causing me a problem on the brakes and entry and that was messing me up for the rest of the corner. I could brake better and it made the bike more balanced for the entry and exit. Qualifying 12th though makes it tough, especially here and I got boxed in a bit at the first corner. I braked after everybody else and made a couple of places up but ran wide and then it was a real dogfight. I was having a close battle with de Puniet and West but then when I picked up my pace I went down. I had to run a harder front tyre to make the race distance and I think it just needed another lap to get the temperature in it. I just pushed it too hard and lost the front at turn six. I paid for pushing too hard trying to make up the time I'd lost. I was confident after this morning when I was eighth and we'd make progress with the bike, so it is a bit disappointing. But I'll be going all out to make amends in Valencia and finish on a high." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "Honestly it is a bit of a disappointing outcome because we started the weekend very well. Colin was very competitive on race tyres from Friday and he performed very well in qualifying to get on the second row. We were pretty confident that he could make a good challenge in a dry race and possibly fight for the top five. Colin didn't get a great start but he always looked in contention behind the group. He rode hard but he just couldn't get close enough to mount an attack. With James we also thought we might have got both of them in the top ten, because James was confident after the warm-up this morning that the changes he made with his crew were a big step in the right direction. Unfortunately it didn't happen for him. James didn't get the start he wanted and he was pushing hard and crashed. But if you don't try then you only follow everybody, so while it was a disappointing for him, at least he was fighting. It has been a difficult race but will try and finish the season in Valencia on a high note. Fourth in the Team World Championship is still a possibility and everyone at Tech 3 will be giving their maximum effort as always next weekend." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 43'6.007 2, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'4.008 3, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'8.536 4, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'8.858 5, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'10.538 6, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 0'13.640 7, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'15.936 8, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'18.802 9, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'23.174 10, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'25.516 11, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'27.609 12, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'41.399 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'45.617 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'49.003 15, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'59.139 16, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'3.328 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 2'2.249 Rider Standings 19/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 357 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 255 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 229 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 182 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 161 6, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 144 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 134 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 125 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 117 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 111 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 100 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 92 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 63 14, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 60 15, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 57 Team Standings 19/10/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 539 2, Repsol Honda Team, 373 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 306 4, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 238 5, Tech3 Yamaha, 234 6, Honda Gresini, 174 7, JIR Scot Team, 161 8, Team Alice, 155 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 105 10, Honda LCR, 60 Manufacturer Standings 19/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 386 2, Ducati, 296 3, Honda, 295 4, Suzuki, 174 5, Kawasaki, 86 Click here to view the news

After dominating for the entire 2008 season, German Yamaha rider Nina Prinz has takenthe title on her YZF-R1, her second consecutive championship win, at the third and final round of the Women’s European Championship at Albacete (Spain) on Sunday. The reigning European champion from Mannheim / Leutkirch was in predictably consistent form all weekend, despite the atrocious qualifying and racing conditions. Nina went into the final round leading the championship with 50 points, followed by second ranked Lara Cordioli on 33 points. Nina finished the race a respectable 5th position, but first in her class, in less than perfect race conditions, with unpredictable weather affecting the weekend’s track action. The position gave her 11 points, giving her a 61 point total for the 2008 championship and a much deserved Championship title victory. Nina dominated the Saturday qualifying session, another day of difficult weather conditions, with storms and heavy rain hampering the riders. Nonetheless she managed an excellent pole position, qualifying with a time of 1’33.345 on her Yamaha machine, a full three seconds clear of second place Spanish Honda rider Elena Rosell. Nina Prinz – “The second race of the championship was easy compared to Spain this weekend, the weather was much better! This last race however was not my best but I didn’t make any mistakes. The only issue I had was running a dry rear tyre and a rain tyre on the front, not a good combination! The race was ok I finished 5th but in the 1000c class I was 1st so it was ok for me. It’s a great win for the team and for Yamaha and now I have won the European Championship for the second time so it’s really great for me. I’m now going home to relax for a few days!” Michael Galinski (Team Manager – Yamaha Motor Germany Team) – “The weather conditions were very difficult so we are very happy with the end results. Nina was riding with a difficult tyre set up which was far from perfect in hindsight! For the previous races there wasn’t so much pressure but this weekend there was so we are very happy to have won the title! She has proved she is the fastest woman in the championship again!” Laurens Klein Koerkamp (Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division Manager) – “This is a well earned victory for Nina Prinz and the Yamaha Motor Germany Team. Yamaha’s support of her racing career is a great example of the importance we place on having women involved in motorcycling. We will continue to reach out to this sector of the market and nurture its development.” Click here to view the news

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) had an outstanding raceday at Vallelunga, scoring a double win and promoting himself to third in the championship after two 24-lap races of full drama. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) also had a successful raceday, taking two podium finishes in third, and making up ground on long time points leader Troy Bayliss. The Ducati rider fell in race two, without injury, and in doing so scored no points, despite restarting. Corser now has 290 points to Bayliss's 369, with Haga equal on points with Max Neukirchner, on 280. The overall result of the Vallelunga weekend is that each Yamaha rider is still capable of winning the championship, with four races and 100 points left. In the first 24-lap race Haga and Corser were ever-present in the fight for podium places, with long time race leader Haga taking the reward of victory, by 0.129 seconds from Max Biaggi. Corser looked capable of winning himself as he finally made up all the ground he lost in the mid section of the race in the last few laps, but was unable to get close enough to Biaggi to secure second. Race two was a classic three-way fight in the early laps, with Haga, Corser and Bayliss close together. Later in the race Haga and Bayliss swapped the lead repeatedly, but on the final lap Bayliss crashed and Haga went on to win by 1.5 seconds, from Michel Fabrizio, and Corser, who was another second behind. Haga continued to use the new Ohlins electronic rear shock for both Vallelunga races, the system worked well for the Yamaha rider, an improvement on the standard shock. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) had his best result of the year with an eighth place finish, followed by tenth. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) went 17th in race one and ran off on race two, finishing 20th. His team-mate Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) retired in race one but scored two points for 14th in race two. Noriyuki Haga (1st and 1st - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)Â "I could hear Biaggi's bike all the way but my bike was working very well and I am very happy with the result. In race two I had a very big fight with Troy Bayliss, and I am sorry for his crash. But I enjoyed our battle while it lasted. It was a great day today for our team and thanks to all the team and the fans for the reception. For sure we will be pushing hard at the next round, as we did at this one." Troy Corser (3rd and 3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)Â "In race one I got a good start, pushed hard and the tyres were working well, so I felt comfortable. Then I had a bit of a moment when I lost a place to Checa. I went for second gear but hit a neutral and that lost me some time. I was lucky to stay on and I lost a lot of ground to the leaders. I got past Checa again and caught them but I could not get past the leaders. In race two we changed the bike a bit but I lost some time through the Esses. It was a shame for Troy crashing but it kept the championship alive for us." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team)Â "Another great raceday after a strong weekend for our team, which shows how well we work. Noriyuki had another magic weekend and took full points. Troy rode well and two podiums is a good result. Our riders are second and third in the championship and it is not over yet. I am sorry for Troy Bayliss because he is a fantastic racer, and does not want to give up, but the championship is not closed yet." Shinichi Nakatomi (10th and 8th - Team YZF Yamaha)Â ""Yesterday, we had problems with the settings. This morning, the feeling was better. We made more changes in the right direction. The first race was good. In the second race, I lost a lot of time in the beginning because of Biaggi's early crash. Then I progressed forward. On the average, it's not so bad. The test we did in July at Vallelunga was useful. I hope to have a good result at the next race in Magny-Cours because this is my French team's home track." Race 1Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 39'25.030 2, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'0.129 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'0.535 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'5.188 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'6.693 6, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'7.993 7, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'16.976 8, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'18.359 9, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'19.214 10, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.386 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'21.230 12, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'24.956 13, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 0'25.186 14, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'31.799 15, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'33.949 16, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'34.050 17, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 0'34.665 18, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'52.420 19, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'2.555 20, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 1'6.475 21, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 1'16.985 22, Matt Lynn, Honda, USA, 1'40.616 Race 2Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 39'10.265 2, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'1.507 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'2.268 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'11.813 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'17.922 6, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'18.281 7, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'19.368 8, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'19.717 9, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'23.868 10, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'24.198 11, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'25.426 12, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'28.384 13, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 0'30.436 14, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'36.490 15, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'42.903 16, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'43.758 17, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'44.993 18, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'48.469 19, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'58.868 20, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 1'18.547 21, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 1'42.272 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 1'37.537 Rider Standings 21/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 369 2, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 290 3, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 280 4, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 280 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 262 6, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 212 7, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 206 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 201 9, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 193 10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 160 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 136 12, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 110 13, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 107 14, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 104 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 71 18, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 46 26, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 12 27, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 9 Manufacturer Standings 21/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 479 2, Yamaha, 416 3, Honda, 357 4, Suzuki, 355 5, Kawasaki, 77 ---------- RACE REPORT - 21/09/2008 Parkes and Laverty win hard fought podiums in Italy Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) and Eugene Laverty (Yamaha World Supersport Team) earned a podium finish apiece after a dramatic WSS race at Vallelunga, eventually capitalising on their strong qualifying performances to go second and third respectively in the race. Parkes was 2.971 seconds from the win, with Laverty hanging on for third, despite riding with broken bones in his feet. Starting from pole, Parkes was held up by other riders in the early laps, letting eventual winner Jonathan Rea run to a clear victory, even though Parkes set a new race lap record more than once in his attempt to catch the start-to-finish leader. Parkes' new record is 1'39.419, set on lap 19 of 22. Laverty and World Championship leader Andrew Pitt collided on lap 19 and Laverty was lucky to stay on, while Pitt slid into the gravel and was unable to restart. Laverty's first WSS podium came in only his second WSS race, as he made a stand-in ride for injured team regular, Fabien Foret. In the overall championship, Parkes is still in with a chance of the title itself, as he sits fourth overall, 30 points from Pitt with a maximum of 50 left to play for in the final two rounds. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) missed points by finishing 17th, while David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) finished two places behind. Jason Crowe (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was 24th. Broc Parkes (2nd - Yamaha World Supersport Team)Â "It was a great race but at the start of it I was not able to push hard enough to get through the pack quickly enough and there were a few crazy guys in the bunch! I should have probably got past them and away with Jonathan a bit quicker. My bike felt better when it was a bit lighter, but I was a little too far back right at the end to get to Jonathan. Second was great anyway today and the Yamaha worked really well this weekend. We pulled the bike out of the box this weekend and it was great from the start." Eugene Laverty (3rd - Yamaha World Supersport Team)Â "I had a little bit more pace on me than Andrew in some places and on one corner I had run a little bit deeper than normal. When I had come back Andrew was there. It was just a racing accident but I am sorry for Andrew. It's brilliant to be on the podium so thanks to the Yamaha team for giving me this opportunity and I have been able to make the most of it." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team)Â "Two good results for us today and it was a pity that Jonathan managed to get away because of all the traffic and overtaking, but we were able to keep the package together for both riders. Broc's feeling became better at the end off the race, he was put under pressure after his team mate past him and I believe that made him sharper as well. Near the finish he was doing 1'39s, faster than the beginning. Eugene did really well to get on the podium and I know we will hear a lot about him in the future. After Andrew's unfortunate crash, we are 30 points behind the leader, so the championship is not over yet. All in all a good weekend for us." Massimo Roccoli (17th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni)Â "It is very disappointing not to get any points this weekend, because I had no feeling on the bike today. I felt fast, and the bike felt fast, but the time was not competitive and I could not push hard at the front or the rear. I will improve my mind before the next WS race, as I will race in the Italian series next week at Misano before we go to Magny-Cours." Race 1Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 36'48.656 2, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 0'2.971 3, Eugene Laverty, Yamaha, GBR, 0'6.461 4, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 0'7.135 5, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'10.945 6, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'14.412 7, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'14.557 8, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'19.286 9, Mark Aitchinson, Triumph, AUS, 0'23.854 10, Josh Hayes, Honda, USA, 0'31.193 11, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'31.327 12, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'39.771 13, Miguel Praia, Honda, POR, 0'40.957 14, Terence Toti, Suzuki, ITA, 0'41.196 15, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'41.337 16, Russell Holland, Honda, AUS, 0'43.421 17, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'44.790 18, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'45.564 19, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'54.098 20, Chris Martin, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'58.063 21, Graeme Gowland, Honda, GBR, 1'1.773 22, Patrick Vostarek, Honda, ITA, 1'16.595 23, David Perret, Honda, FRA, 1'16.917 24, Jeremy Crowe, Yamaha, AUS, 1'17.279 25, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 1'17.539 26, Denis Sacchetti, Honda, ITA, 1'28.143 27, Alex Cudlin, Triumph, AUS, 1'29.485 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'39.417 Rider Standings 21/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 169 2, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 158 3, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 141 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 139 5, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 105 6, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 100 7, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 97 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 72 9, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 70 10, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 60 11, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 48 12, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 47 13, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 43 14, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 36 15, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 27 27, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 9 Manufacturer Standings 21/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 265 2, Yamaha, 182 3, Suzuki, 81 4, Triumph, 68 5, Kawasaki, 42 Click here to view the news

After a lengthy and exciting 2008 FIM MX-1 World Championship the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team were able to celebrate their fourth title in five years thanks to David Philippaerts’ results with the YZ450FM. For Philippaerts an eventful and thrilling first season (only his second in MX1-GP) was drawn to an emotional finish at Faenza. The previous six months had seen the 24 year old produce some electrifying performances such as his charges through the pack at Mantova, in Great Britain and at Loket in the Czech Republic where he flew from last to 3rd in the first moto and won the next outing for his second of two overall victories in 2008. “I think Loket was my best grand prix of the year,” he said. “At Lommel I had lost the red plate and on the Monday after the GP I said to my girlfriend Alice that I really wanted to win again at the next race which was in the Czech Republic and the team gave me such a strong bike. The changes that were made gave me a lift, and I rode as hard as I could in that first moto.” “At the start of the year I saw that Faenza would be the final race on the calendar and I imagined that it could be special, and it was more than I could have hoped for,” he added. “Many people helped me get to this point and to see all of them around me at the finish was so emotional. It is hard to describe. It was too much, overwhelming.” “For the media, the team and the rider the victory in Italy was something special,” echoed Yamaha Monster Motocross Team owner Michele Rinaldi, a former world champion and now a man with a phenomenal record of success from the other side of the fence. “The title was the most important thing but we also wanted to prove that we have a very good machine, the right staff and the potential to be very competitive. David was stronger than everyone else through all the season and I am really pleased for him, Yamaha and the sponsors. “We wanted Josh to be fighting for the championship at the last round as well but this was not possible because of some factors throughout the season and therefore we cannot be 100% happy with what we achieved there. We know that Josh is a very determined and professional rider and without some bad luck it would have been a different story for him in 2008. I still want to say thanks to Josh for what he did,” he added. With three victories and a total of ten podiums in a season in which nine different riders won Grand Prix, Rinaldi, the team and Yamaha Motor Europe can feel proud of this latest accomplishment and how the YZ450FM again was one of the most competitive machines in the category. “The MX1 class was nice to watch this season as we had many different winners and the competition was tough,” continued the Italian. “We, as Yamaha, made a good choice in signing David and it is a good trend for us that we have managed to stay at the top for eight seasons.” “Our riders were really happy with the bike at the beginning of the season and as we went on we saw that we could offer them even more engine performance,” he commented. “The chassis was perfect and the riders never complained about anything to do with the handling. The suspension was also very good. We made a step up at the time of the Grand Prix in Loket with the engine specification and I think the bike was great.” “MX1 is the top off-road racing class and we have won this title so many times in the past that we feel it is almost back where it belongs,” claimed Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “The guys in the team have done a tremendous job; we have won 8 titles in the last 10 years which is an incredible record. We are so happy, and once again have proved that the YZ450F is one of the best.” “We are really proud of this title,” he continued. “Yamaha were the pioneers of four-stroke technology in the sport. In the beginning we won the championship with Andrea Bartolini and then a lot with Stefan Everts, so it was important for us that we continue to show that we are the leading brand when it comes to four-strokes. We are at the highest level of off-road racing here. We want MX1-GP success just as much as we want it in a series like MotoGP.” Concerning the potent relationship with Rinaldi and his Parma-based YRRD group, which has yielded so much silverware in the course of more than a decade, he explained: “We have a really open relationship and it is fantastic to work with Michele and his team. He is very demanding but this is what you need for success; all the little details have to be right and you have to strive for perfection in each area, whether it is the bike, the mechanics, the relationship with the rider and so on. Michele will always give the maximum.” Leading the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team in day-to-day operations is Mino Raspanti, a key person in the accomplishments racked-up in 2008 and a man who can take credit for his coaching of Philippaerts. “David learned very fast when to push and when to hold back. His approach to the season was very good and his execution even better,” he revealed. “Josh also never gave up and he had so many things to deal with during the year. He has all the team’s respect for what he did. We are really happy to have the title back and to have a team with two very strong riders.” Fettling the YZ450FM with the number ‘19’ on the front was Gerald Wever, one of the few non-Italian staff in the team. The German has been located in Italy for four years now and his easy-going and fruitful partnership with Philippaerts was again another important ingredient in the cause of the Faenza furore. “This feels so good and I think part of the reason is because we won in Italy and there is a lot of emotion,” he remarked. “I am lucky to work with this team and I appreciate my position. David had some outstanding races this season but for me his comeback at Loket in the Czech Republic and how he rode to beat Steve in the Lierop sand really stand-out. Even though we celebrated at Faenza, I think he won the title at those events.” To say Josh Coppins did not have an easy season is an understatement. A pre-season injury, some personal problems and poor luck on the track (goggles breaking in Czech Republic and a handful of incidents in which he was knocked down at race starts) made 2008 a tough term. The steadfast and likeable New Zealander still rallied to remain in contention for the title up until three rounds before the finish, and his grabbed three podiums including an emphatic double victory in Germany. “Too many problems, too many mistakes, some injuries and some bad luck this year,” he evaluated. “I always did my best, I never gave up and kept training. Top five is not where I want to be but I still gave it my best shot. I found that when I did well and lifted my confidence then something else would come along to set me back and that was how the season, the year even, went along.” “Germany was my best race and I was happy to win there,” he said. “Now we just need to re-group and come back and have another go next year. I am happy for Yamaha because 2007 was a low point with my late injury while leading the championship, not just for me but perhaps even more so for the team. It is a great team so I am pleased that we are successful again.” Coppins, as well as Philippaerts, will again be a Yamaha Monster Motocross team rider in 2009 for his third season with the manufacturer but things will be a little different as he is expecting the birth of his first child with partner Lisa this coming January: “My life is changing and I am very glad that there will be a major highlight for me just around the corner. Next year I will be back and working harder than ever to give that title another shot.” Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his ever-expanding history book at Indianapolis today, claiming his 69th premier-class win and becoming the most successful rider in premier-class history in the process. His hat trick of pole position, fastest lap and race victory made for a perfect first Indianapolis Grand Prix for the Italian and a third place for Jorge Lorenzo rounded off an exceptional weekend for the Fiat Yamaha Team. More bad weather in the early afternoon led to the 250cc race being abandoned and the early part of the MotoGP race was run on a very wet track. Rossi dropped to fourth at the start and then surrendered another place to Lorenzo on the next lap, but he soon found his rhythm and made his way back past Casey Stoner, Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso into second behind Nicky Hayden by lap six. Passing Hayden was no mean feat and it took the seven-time world champion another eight laps to finally get by the American, at which point he quickly began to pull away. Hurricane Ike was not finished with Indianapolis however and on lap 16 of 28 it started to rain heavily once again, accompanied by strong gusts of wind which became very dangerous. The race was eventually red-flagged after 20 laps and, after a few minutes confusion as to whether there would be a restart, Rossi was confirmed as the first ever MotoGP winner at the Brickyard. Rossi's 69th win takes him ahead of his fellow countryman Giacomo Agostini to the top of the all-time premier class winners list, a record which has stood for more than 30 years. Agostini claimed the 1975 500cc title with Yamaha and won six of his 68 victories with the Japanese factory. Rossi is now 87 points clear of Stoner, who finished fourth today, which means he is able to win the championship at the next round in Motegi by finishing fourth or above. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1 Time: 37'20.095 "This is fantastic because it's been a long time since I won in the rain and even longer since I won four in a row! To win the first race here at Indianapolis is a great emotion and to beat Agostini's record is also incredible, now I hope my record will stand for 30 years like his! It was an amazing race and, once I was able to pass Stoner, I knew I had the chance to win so I pushed very hard. I had a great race with Nicky; he was really hard to pass so congratulations to him. When the wind and rain came it became very hard, I think I could have kept going for another eight laps okay but there were things flying through the air - beer cans, plastic glasses - so really I think it was the right decision to stop the race! Sincerely I don't think I've ever ridden in conditions like these and I was lucky because I was far in front and therefore didn't have to take any big risks. It's been a perfect weekend for us despite the weather because we made the pole position, the fastest lap and we won, so I want to congratulate my team once again for a fantastic job, today and all year. Also thanks to Bridgestone because my tyres were very good today. I've really enjoyed racing here in Indy and I am looking forward to coming back next year. Now we have a big advantage and it would be great to win the championship in Motegi, but it's not over yet so we will keep our concentration and keep working! Finally I want to dedicate this victory to my Grandfather Dario, who sadly died today aged 82." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "We're very happy that we were able to race at this historic track, despite the terrible weather! This is very important for the championship and now we have the chance to try to win in Motegi in two week's time. Valentino was fantastic today and he showed once again how strong he is this season; he has won seven times in many different conditions so we're in good shape. Well done to the team for their hard work and congratulations to Jorge and his crew as well, Yamaha is very strong!" First ever wet podium for Lorenzo in Indianapolis downpour Jorge Lorenzo made the podium in a wet race for the very first time in his entire career today, claiming third place at the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix at the famous 'Brickyard'. The 21-year-old Spaniard has now finished on the podium on each of the five occasions he has qualified on the front row in his rookie season and he was joined once again by his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi, who took his seventh victory of the season with a masterful display of wet-weather riding. Lorenzo has always been uncomfortable riding in the wet but he got a good start and was quickly able to settle into his rhythm, passing Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner in the first three laps. Rossi passed him back soon after but the Spaniard kept pushing and he soon got past Andrea Dovizioso to claim third place. He then rode most of the race out on his own until heavy rain and high winds began to batter the field with 12 laps remaining and he gradually began to close the gap to Nicky Hayden, who was in second. It looked like he might pass the American before the end but the race was eventually red-flagged with eight laps remaining, after part of the safety fence blew down and conditions became too dangerous. A second podium in a row for the leading rookie consolidates fourth place in the championship for him, 37 points adrift of Dani Pedrosa with four races remaining. Rossi, who surpassed Agostini's 30-year record of 68 premier class wins today, is now 87 points clear of Casey Stoner and can win the championship in Motegi by finishing fourth or better. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 3 Time: +7.858 "This is the first wet podium in my career, including the European, Spanish and even Mallorcan Championships! To be honest, I really didn't want to leave my motorhome before the race because I was so warm and comfortable and I really don't like to race in the rain, but today I think things have changed! I got a good start, which surprised me, and then I was able to pass Dani and then Valentino, which surprised me even more! I am so happy to finally discover that I can be fast in the rain as well. After Valentino passed me back I tried to follow him but he was a bit too fast so I concentrated on keeping my pace consistent, then the rain and especially the wind came and it was quite crazy! I was still fast though I closed the gap to Nicky, who I think had some problems by then, and maybe I could have passed him with some more laps but it was very dangerous and so better to stop the race. We are still not perfect but our bike and Michelin tyres were very good today so I want to thank Yamaha and Michelin again, and my team for their hard work. Well done to Valentino and I hope we can continue like this for the last four races." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "This is a great result; a first podium in the wet for Jorge and at such a famous track. He rode very well today in difficult conditions, not only the rain but with high winds as well. He also had a very good pace at the end of the race when the conditions were at their worst so he did a great job, as did the team for finding the right set-up and Michelin for giving us the right tyres. It's great to be on the first MotoGP podium at Indianapolis and great for Yamaha to have two riders on the podium for the second race in a row. Congratulations once again to Jorge for a fantastic ride, well done to the team and of course well done to the other side of the garage and to Valentino for another great win." Difficult day for Tech 3 Yamaha in stormy Indianapolis The Tech 3 Yamaha team had a difficult day in atrocious conditions during a weather-hit inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP race today. Texan Colin Edwards battled driving rain and fierce and unpredictable winds to claim 15th place, while British team-mate James Toseland couldn't convert a promising early part of the 28-lap race into a point-scoring finish. Edwards recovered several positions as his confidence grew in the tricky conditions to keep his place in the top seven in the world championship standings. Toseland had a strong start and found himself eighth for the opening laps, fighting hard to remain in contention with the group battling for fifth place. But as rain abated and parts of the new circuit started to dry, he was unable to sustain his impressive early speed with the changing conditions not suited to the set-up of his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. He finished 18th in the shortened race, which was halted with eight laps remaining with conditions rapidly deteriorating from lap 15 onwards. A planned eight-lap restart was abandoned because of the high winds. Colin Edwards - Position: 15 Time: +1'00.613 "We spent too much time trying to make a new setting work, and because we'd had so much time on it we went for it in the race. But I couldn't get the bike to turn. My tyres felt great and I didn't have a problem with them at all, but I couldn't carry any corner speed. I'd get into the corner and I kept running wide. The only way to fix that is to go slower so you can hold the line and it wasn't really fun out there. I thought I'd got a good start and I got behind a couple of guys but everybody seemed to check up. They were right in front of me and the next thing I know, six guys are flying around the inside and outside of me. I was almost last by the second corner and I just put my head down to try and make some progress but I couldn't do anything. It is disappointing because I'm not out there not trying and running around in fifteenth. I'm out there trying my absolute hardest. The conditions were unbelievable. There was all kinds of debris at the end and you didn't know if it was gong to hit you because the wind was so unpredictable. It was a smart decision to stop it and maybe it could have come a lap or two earlier." James Toseland - Position: 18 Time: +1'07.968 "I didn't get off the line very well but I was a bit aggressive into the first turn and went round the outside and passed a few people. I felt pretty good but when it wasn't raining and the track started to dry out, my lap times just stayed the same. And is it dried out everybody else got quicker and I couldn't go any faster. It was spinning and obviously I was a bit too soft fith the rear setting. I had the same tyre as Andrea Dovizioso, so it was obviously the setting. I know I was running a softer setting than Colin and Jorge. When it was quite wet at the start it was obviously pretty good, but as it dried out it was just spinning. When it rained again I found a bit of pace again and could so similar times to the people in front, but by that time I'd lost a lot of places. At the end the wind was unbelievable. And the problem was it wasn't always in the same direction. It was totally unpredictable and it was gusting to the point where you had to anticipate something happening. They ran it for as long as they could but it was getting a bit hairy out there. It is a disappointing result but we'll move onto Japan for the next race, where I am obviously hoping to give Yamaha a positive result." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "I am very disappointed with the race. We saw that a rider with our package has done really, really well. James started quite well but he started to lose a lot of ground while, Colin was again very cautious in the first laps like in Misano. When we remember what we were doing in the first part of the season and we see what we are doing now, I am not happy. We have to find some solutions because we shouldn't be finishing where we are. "Looking at the race it was run in incredibly difficult conditions. There will be some debate about whether the race should have been restarted but with safety the prime concern, I think it was the right decision because the wind was playing a big part. It is a shame that the 250 race wasn't run because the fans came to see all the races. But I'd like to thank everyone associated with the Indianapolis circuit. All the people who have worked with us have been trying tremendously hard to make this a fantastic weekend. Unfortunately the weather has played a big part and nobody deserved this. Finally, congratulations to Valentino for breaking the all-time winning record in MotoGP. It is an incredible achievement and great to see him do it riding for Yamaha." Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 37'20.095 2, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'5.972 3, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'7.858 4, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 0'28.162 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'28.824 6, Ben Spies, Suzuki, USA, 0'29.645 7, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'36.223 8, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'37.258 9, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'38.442 10, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 0'42.437 11, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'47.179 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'55.962 13, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'57.366 14, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'58.353 15, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 1'0.613 16, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 1'5.620 17, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 1'5.854 18, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 1'7.968 19, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'21.023 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 1'49.668 Rider Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 287 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 200 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 193 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 156 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 129 6, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 117 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 109 8, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 104 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 87 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 86 11, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 86 12, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 85 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 56 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 55 15, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 48 Team Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 443 2, Repsol Honda Team, 297 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 248 4, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 205 5, Tech3 Yamaha, 194 6, Honda Gresini, 142 7, Team Alice, 142 8, JIR Scot Team, 129 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 82 10, Honda LCR, 43 Manufacturer Standings 14/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 316 2, Honda, 243 3, Ducati, 241 4, Suzuki, 149 5, Kawasaki, 71 Click here to view the news

Utag Yamaha.com’s Zach Osborne has made a startling recovery from the left radius bone he chipped in practice for the Grand Prix of Portugal two and a half weeks ago and is now return to return to MX2-GP World championship action for his team at Mallory Park for their home event this weekend. The British Grand Prix represents the seventh round of the series and the first of five events in the next six weeks. Osborne, who was originally given a recovery estimation of between 4-6 weeks, has regained enough strength and confidence in the wrist to mount his YZ250FM this week and attempt his first GP on UK turf for the English squad. The American and winner of the Turkish Grand Prix has been undergoing intense laser treatment and oxygen tank sessions to speed up recovery of the fracture. “Zach has kept his training up and has been having a lot of treatment,” said Team Principal Steve Dixon. “He feels his wrist is healing well but at the moment his movement is still restricted so we will have to see at the weekend about his manoeuvrability.” “Zach will ride a small amount on Thursday and then ride wisely on Saturday to build up for Sunday,” he continued. “He will push to do as well as he can but understands equally that two potential top 10 rides will help towards his final championship goal.” “After the British GP and then France there is a chance to miss the British championship round at Hawkstone to have another full two weeks off to be fully fit and repaired ready for the German GP. One thing for certain is that Zach is not a person to opt out at the first hurdle and he deserves full credit for putting himself back in contention. Click here to view the news

The 2009 Yamaha YZF-R1 is proving to be a formidable weapon in the hands of Yamaha Motor Germany rider Jörg Teuchert in the German IDM Superbike Championship. Teuchert put in a masterful display of riding at the season opener on 26th April at the EuroSpeedway, Lausitz circuit, dominating from the start to take the chequered flag in both heats. Round two at the Motorsport Arena, Oschersleben saw more of the same adrenalin fuelled racing with the German rider one step ahead of the competition for both races on the day. Teuchert now leads the championship with 100 points and an unblemished record heading into the next round. “Anyone who knows me and my team knows we are here to win,” said Jörg. “Obviously a second or third place is good, no doubt but I want to win the championship!” Team-mate and 2008 Women’s European Champion Nina Prinz is also adapting well to her new R1. Prinz continues to impress as the only woman in the IDM field, she scored a 17th and a 14th place finish at Lausitz and then improved to take an 8th and a 14th place finish at Oschersleben. The first race in particular saw an incredible start with Nina taking 13 places in the first lap. She currently sits 15th in the championship on 12 points. The following round at Nurburgring is a favourite for her, last year’s race was the first time she finished inside the top ten so she’s hopeful of good results. “The last race weekend was really good, Saturday was a little difficult as I crashed in the first qualifying after five laps,” said Prinz. “I lost both the tyres at same time, and touched the ground with the engine. Sunday was crazy, there were a lot of crashes in the first race and the start was stopped twice. The first race was great for me though, I started in 24th and got to 11th after one lap. I’ve also had new suspension since the last round, so the front forks are really comfortable now.” The German IDM Superbike Championship now moves to the famous Nürburgring circuit on 29th to 31st May. Click here to view the news

Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's David Philippaerts scored his second podium result of the season and his best result of 2009 so far with second position at a sunny, hot and crowded Bellpuig circuit for the Grand Prix of Catalunya and the sixth round of the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The defending number one defied pain and discomfort with the left index finger he broke only one week ago to steer his YZ450FM to two third positions in front of 20,000 spectators. There were actually two Yamaha's present in the top three as Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli finished third overall and won the second moto to grab his sixth chequered flag from the last eight sprints. Hard-pack, dusty and increasingly rough, the Bellpuig terrain was a major contrast to the 2008 event in which the Grand Prix was washed out with a deluge of rain. Yamaha were able to celebrate a double pole position (the second this season) on a very warm Saturday thanks to Cairoli's second qualification heat win of the year and Davide Guarneri starting well to lead home the MX2 field. Saturday was a positive day for Cairoli as he was fastest in both practice sessions and then completed a perfect set with the chequered flag for first pick in the gate for Sunday. The first moto took place in the hottest conditions of the year and Philippaerts capitalised on a good start to push and hound Clement Desalle for second position for virtually the entire race. The 25 year old underwent three days of treatment in the UK prior to the GP. The team also adjusted the clutch lever and added some extra protection to the bars. Cairoli had collided with Billy Mackenzie on the second lap and although he flew back from eighteenth to fourth (in spite of a leaking fuel tank, picked up in the fall) he then tried to overtake Josh Coppins and hit the ground again in a small error of judgement. The Sicilian and world championship leader crossed the line in eighth and with a set of sore ribs. In the second moto Philippaerts was again a protagonist and worked hard in third position to catch and pass Mackenzie. Cairoli followed his countryman until the closing stages when he pulled ahead and then pursued leader Max Nagl. A mistake by the German allowed '222' to get close to his back wheel and he moved into the lead on the penultimate lap to make the bottom step of the rostrum; his fourth consecutive trophy this year and also increase his championship lead by 11 points. Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's Josh Coppins was sixth overall with finishes of fourth and eighth. The New Zealander was proactive at the start of the motos but did not have the speed or extra energy to be able to push and affect the leaders. Cairoli's team-mate, Tanel Leok, had a difficult day. The Estonian made a mistake and crashed on the first lap and was halted from restarting by many riders clipping both the rider and the bike as they filtered past. Well down the field he recovered to eighth by the end. Two more errors and some brake trouble in Moto2 could only mean thirteenth at the end of the afternoon for a ranking of tenth overall. Four Yamahas lie in the first six positions in the world championship standings and the brand also heads the Manufacturer's table by 48 points. Cairoli holds the red plate with an advantage of 36 points from Bellpuig winner Jonathan Barragan. Coppins is fourth and 56 from the top spot, Philippaerts is fifth and trails his team-mate by one point while Leok is sixth. Round seven of the world championship will take place in two weeks time at the purpose-built track draped across the side of the Mallory Park road racing facility in England for the British Grand Prix. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 2nd: "I did not expect this because my thumb gave me a lot of problems yesterday, but today I could ride well and quite easily and I am really happy for the result; it is a bit of a surprise. I did not do any training since Portugal, only treatment, so I felt a bit tired towards the end of the second moto but obviously I am really pleased with two third positions. My doctor believes that I should be almost back to normal for the next Grand Prix." Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 3rd: "In the first moto I made two mistakes and when I crashed with Josh it was my fault because I was going for his line and just caught his back wheel. With Mackenzie the first time I think it was a normal pass but he cut the line and we both went down. My fuel tank was actually damaged after that so I was going easy on the gas because I did not want to run out before the end of the race. I still could make the best lap-time and the moment with Josh was a shame, it also hurt some of my ribs although the pain was not so bad by the start of the second race. I lost some time at the beginning of the second moto but I found the right lines and even copied a few from Jonathan when he overtook me for a while! I felt really good, and when I saw Nagl make a mistake I pushed hard for the win." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 6th: "I had some good starts and my riding was not too bad but I did not have much power today; I did the best I could do. I am not sure what the problem is at the moment but I felt tired and struggled in the second moto. There is not much more I can really say." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 10th: "A bad day. I felt good and the speed was fine but I was getting things wrong. In the second moto I hit someone's back wheel and he spun out so I was stuck behind him and was really far back, I crashed again and then had a stone jamming the rear brake so after two laps without a brake I stopped to take it out. I fell again later after that, I tried too hard to get back near the front and was making mistakes; it was not my day." Circuit Length: 1630 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Sunshine Last Years Winner: Steve Ramon 2009 GP of Spain 17/05/2009 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    40'38.899 2    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    0'10.982 3    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    0'11.453 4    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    0'16.273 5    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'17.446 6    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    0'18.617 7    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    0'19.177 8    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    0'51.165 9    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    0'54.074 10    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    1'05.652 11    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    1'10.774 12    Julien Bill    Aprilia    CHE    1'13.182 13    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    1'14.266 14    Tom Church    CCM    GBR    1'26.436 15    Jason Dougan    CCM    GBR    1'48.844 20    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    -1Laps Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    39'22.225 2    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    0'01.314 3    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    0'13.691 4    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    0'18.063 5    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    0'20.186 6    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    0'23.058 7    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    0'23.655 8    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    0'23.983 9    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'33.488 10    Gregory Aranda    Kawasaki    FRA    0'39.470 11    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    0'48.519 12    Manuel Priem    Aprilia    BEL    0'54.672 13    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    1'02.669 14    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    1'09.052 15    Gert Krestinov    KTM    EST    1'13.655 Rider Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Antonio Cairoli   Yamaha   ITA   231 2.   Jonathan Barragan   KTM   ESP   195 3.   Ken De Dycker   Suzuki   BEL   183 4.   Joshua Coppins   Yamaha   NZL   175 5.   David Philippaerts   Yamaha   ITA   174 6.   Clement Desalle   Honda   BEL   162 7.   Tanel Leok   Yamaha   EST   162 8.   Maximilian Nagl   KTM   GER   155 9.   David Vuillemin   Kawasaki   FRA   101 10.   Steve Ramon   Suzuki   BEL   100 11.   Gareth Swanepoel   Kawasaki   RSA   92 12.   Aigar Leok   TM   EST   85 13.   Kevin Strijbos   Honda   BEL   82 14.   Billy MacKenzie   Honda   GBR   68 15.   Gregory Aranda   Kawasaki   FRA   50 24.   Carlos Campano   Yamaha   ESP   21 28.   Rob van Vijfeijken   Yamaha   NED   13 Manufacturer Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Yamaha   261 2.   KTM   213 3.   Suzuki   197 4.   Honda   196 5.   Kawasaki   115 6.   TM   85 7.   Aprilia   69 8.   CCM   38 RACE REPORT    17/05/2009 Guarneri 6th in Catalunya The sixth round of the MX2-GP World Championship at the Bellpuig circuit for the Grand Prix of Catalunya saw Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri negotiate the rough and dry Spanish hard-pack to clinch 6th position on his YZ250FM. The sunny conditions and high temperatures provided completely contrasting racing circumstances compared to the 2008 edition of the event. 20,000 spectators had to deal with sunburn and dust instead of rain and sinking mud. The track was rough and demanding and combined with the climate offered one of the toughest physical tests of the season so far. Guarneri started from Pole Position for the first time this year and for the first time since 2005. His getaways were not bad but the Italian struggled to make ground on the leaders as they circulated at the same pace. Taking fourth place the winner of the same GP thirteen months ago had some muscle pain in the second moto and scored seventh spot for another consistent points haul. Team-mate Nico Aubin was feeling better after recovering from his virus and a five-day course of antibiotics. The Frenchman had a poor start in Moto1 but after a few mistakes sailed from twenty-first to eleventh place. In the second race he had to ditch his goggles in the formative stages and although the dust proved hazardous he rode well to reach third place. He was just overtaken by GP winner Jeremy Van Horebeek on the last lap. Aubin was eighth overall. A first corner crash in Saturday's qualification heat left the third member of the team Loic Larrieu with a painful shoulder. The teenager did not attempt the warm-up and had to make a late decision to withdraw from the Grand Prix. He will have an examination this week to see the extent of the injury. Italian MX2 Champion Manuel Monni was 10th on the 3C Racing YZ250F. In the world championship standings Guarneri's regular points-gain means that he is third and only five points away from seizing the red plate. Aubin has made some ground and is seventh while Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne might have been absent with a broken wrist but he still rests eighth in the points table. Round seven of fifteen will take place in two weeks time at Mallory Park for the British Grand Prix. Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 6th: "Yesterday and today my speed was really good but it was very hard to pass on this track. There was one really good line and the rest was really rough, too slippery or very deep. I was third at the start of the first moto but a KTM rider crashed in the second turn and that made me lose positions to sixth. To finish fourth was good for the points. In the second moto the start wasn't great but I pushed hard. I had a small problem with a muscle in my leg and I don't know why. It is where I had the operation in the winter so perhaps it is a little weak. I had a good period in the middle of the race but in the last two laps the pain was too much. It was a shame to miss the podium but we are close all the time and it will arrive." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 8th: "I felt better here today but my starts were not that good. I had some decent speed in the first moto and was pleased with my recovery because I was quite far back and it was not easy to pass. In the second moto I had a little problem with my goggles on the second lap and I had to throw them away. It was really hard then to see with all the dust and it made getting closer to riders very difficult. I could see nothing on the last lap and Van Horebeek was able to pass me for third and I was disappointed about that. I need points however and I feel things are getting better for me." Circuit Length: 1630 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Sunny Last Years Winner: Davide Guarneri 2009 GP of Spain 17/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    39'21.424 2    Jeremy Van Horebeek    KTM    BEL    0'01.818 3    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    0'05.871 4    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    0'06.426 5    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    0'07.891 6    Ken Roczen    Suzuki    GER    0'07.954 7    Anthony Boissi?re    KTM    FRA    0'24.346 8    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    0'29.578 9    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    0'33.182 10    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    0'34.051 11    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    0'34.785 12    Dennis Verbruggen    Honda    BEL    0'39.568 13    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    0'40.106 14    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    0'51.241 15    Nikolai Larsen    Suzuki    DNK    0'54.281 20    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    1'07.348 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Anthony Boissi?re    KTM    FRA    39'35.739 2    Ken Roczen    Suzuki    GER    0'02.240 3    Jeremy Van Horebeek    KTM    BEL    0'05.212 4    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    0'06.794 5    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    0'09.792 6    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    0'10.777 7    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    0'19.102 8    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    0'20.462 9    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    0'29.925 10    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    0'36.699 11    Khounsith Vongsana    Honda    FRA    0'57.983 12    Stephen Sword    KTM    GBR    1'00.744 13    Jake Nicholls    KTM    GBR    1'00.927 14    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    1'06.647 15    Ceriel Klein Kromhof    KTM    NED    1'10.243 Rider Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Gautier Paulin   Kawasaki   FRA   171 2.   Marvin Musquin   Honda   FRA   165 3.   Davide Guarneri   Yamaha   ITA   147 4.   Rui Goncalves   KTM   POR   125 5.   Xavier Boog   Suzuki   FRA   108 6.   Steven Frossard   Kawasaki   FRA   105 7.   Zach Osborne   Yamaha   USA   100 8.   Nicolas Aubin   Yamaha   FRA   98 9.   Shaun Simpson   KTM   GBR   97 10.   Arnaud Tonus   KTM   CHE   72 11.   Loic Larrieu   Yamaha   FRA   70 12.   Manuel Monni   Yamaha   ITA   67 13.   Marcus Schiffer   KTM   GER   66 14.   Joel Roelants   KTM   BEL   61 15.   Alessandro Lupino   Yamaha   ITA   56 19.   Evgeny Bobryshev   Yamaha   RUS   38 27.   Cedric Soubeyras   Yamaha   FRA   15 34.   Deny Philippaerts   Yamaha   ITA   6 Manufacturer Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Kawasaki   191 2.   KTM   180 3.   Yamaha   177 4.   Honda   171 5.   Suzuki   128 6.   TM   5 Click here to view the news

Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took a stunning second win of the season in Le Mans today, negotiating varying track conditions and a change of bikes to lead from the first lap to the flag and take the championship lead. It was a doom-laden day for his team-mate Valentino Rossi however as the world champion slid off early on and then had a ride-through penalty to compound his misfortune. With the track still wet from a rainy morning all riders started the race on rain tyres, with the mechanics readying the dry bikes in pit lane in anticipation of an early change as the track dried out. Lorenzo, starting from second, slipped a place at the start but had passed both Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa by the end of the first lap to take the lead. By lap five a dry line had begun to appear and a few riders chose to make early pit stops to change bikes. The 22-year-old Spaniard however was feeling comfortable and had an excellent pace on his Bridgestone wets and so he stayed out, constantly stretching his lead. In the end he was the last of the front-runners to pit, a gamble which paid off brilliantly as he was by then nearly 34 seconds clear and was able to rejoin the race in the lead on lap 13. Once he had bit of heat in his slick tyres the youngster put his head down and kept his nerve for the remaining 15 laps and he eventually took the chequered flag an impressive 17.710 seconds clear of second-placed Marco Melandri. It was a day of stark contrasts on the opposite side of the garage, with Rossi forced to make an incredible four visits to pit lane. The Italian was in second behind his team-mate when he elected for an early bike change, coming in to swap onto his second M1 on dry Bridgestones after just five laps. The change went smoothly but the track was still damp in places and he went down on the next lap whilst trying to warm his tyres up. He returned to the pits next time around to swap back onto his other bike, with the rules stipulating that he had to keep one wet tyre with the second bike change, but a problem with his pit-limiter meant he was penalised for speeding on exit and forced to return once again two laps later to perform a ride-through penalty. His final visit to the garage came on lap 11 when he changed once again onto a fully-dry machine, but by then he was some two laps adrift and he finished in 16th. Lorenzo's 25-point haul takes him into the lead by one point and he now has 66 points to Rossi's 65. Stoner has the same points as Rossi but lies third as the Italian has more second places, and Pedrosa follow in the standings. With just nine points separating the top four the next round in Mugello is sure to be a thrilling spectacle. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1Time: 47'52.678 "Never in all my dreams did I imagine this situation today - winning the race and leading the championship. This season I have been much more calm and careful and so I was really upset after the crash in Jerez because I didn't expect it! Today has made up for that though. I had a very good pace with both types of tyre and the strategy of our team worked perfectly. I felt happy to stay out on the wet tyres for such a long time and in the end I think we changed at exactly the right time for our race; there was some luck on our side but we were also strong, calm and careful and this paid off. It was the first time in my life that I've had to change bikes during the race and I was very nervous, but it went smoothly and I was able to rejoin in the lead. I'm sorry for Valentino because it was bad luck to crash, but now we are nearly on the same points and it seems like the championship is starting again! I want to thank my team because they were very clever today, I'm so happy to be here and to have won a third MotoGP race." Valentino Rossi - Position: 16thTime: +2 Laps "I had difficulties from the start today and I really could not ride my bike to its best. Already by the fourth lap I felt that I was quite slow and that I couldn't ride as I wanted. I decided to change bikes early because usually this strategy - being among the first to change the bike - pays off. Of course I knew that I had to warm the tyres up a little bit but I crashed anyway in that corner because at that point the track was still wet and I just didn't ride into it in a calm enough manner. Luckily I was able to make it back to the pits and I changed again, but the rule says that if you change the bike again then you have to use one wet tyre, and so this is what we did. When I started that time, the pit-limiter on my bike was not on and so I was given a ride-through for speeding, but by that time it was too late for our race anyway. We've had problems throughout the entire weekend with the set-up of the bike and today I was just hoping that I could stay with the riders in front and get some important points for the championship. Now we go to Mugello, my home GP, where I will perhaps be even more motivated than usual!" Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We're so happy to win today because everyone has done a great job all weekend to give Jorge a competitive machine on which he was able to ride very fast and this is a well deserved victory. The team did a very important job during the race to find a great strategy and the best moment to change the bike. Thanks and well done to all; the championship is looking very exciting now!" Davide Brivio - Team Manager "Everything happened to us today so let's hope that's it for now! I don't think that the decision to stop early was wrong, and it paid off for Melandri among others, but unfortunately Valentino crashed and that, coupled with the ride-through penalty, was the end of our challenge today. This type of race is always a gamble; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't and today it really didn't for us! Luckily we're still just one point off the top of the championship and we will restart our challenge again at the next race." Edwards fights back for super seventh, Toseland back in top ten Colin Edwards produced a rousing fight back in an incident-packed French Grand Prix today, the American claiming a deserved seventh place for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in its home race. And on the 20th anniversary of the Tech 3 Team competing in the Grand Prix world championship, British rider James Toseland secured a determined ninth in a gripping flag-to-flag encounter over 28-laps. Texan Edwards was left to rue a missed opportunity to claim a second successive podium in Le Mans after a disappointing start from sixth on the grid in wet conditions. But once he'd switched to his Monster Yamaha YZR-M1 fitted with slick tyres on lap 11 as the track dried rapidly, the 35-year-old produced a stunning surge through the field. He passed team-mate Toseland with five laps remaining and at the end he was just over two seconds away from the top six having set the third fastest lap of the race in his brilliant late attack in front of 75,903 fans. Toseland showed more of his true potential in today's race, which started under grey and gloomy skies but ended in sunny conditions. The British rider set a stunning pace on wet tyres in the early stages and fought his way through from 12th on the grid to seventh. He changed bikes to slick tyres as conditions improved on lap seven and for a while he closely pursued Australian duo Casey Stoner and Chris Vermeulen. He eventually claimed his second top ten finish of the campaign, his ninth position in his first taste of a flag-to-flag MotoGP race another encouraging sign that the 28-year-old is making big progress with the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine. Colin Edwards 7th - 35 points "I'm really disappointed because it was definitely a missed opportunity today for a podium. In the first part of the race on the wet tyres I just couldn't get the bike to turn. I'd lost so many places I was nearly at the back and I just wasn't comfortable. The bike was just sitting on the rear and I had no weight on the front, so I couldn't get into the corner. I saw some guys come into the pits and I thought it was a couple of laps too early because there were still some wet patches out there. I waited for a bit and came in and on the first couple of laps back out of the pits I lost so much time again. I was on the hard front tyre because I can't run the soft compound and it took a while to get some heat into it. I had a couple of moments but once it came good, it came really good and I got my head down. I think only Jorge (Lorenzo) was lapping faster than me and once I got my pace going I was catching people pretty quickly. To only finish seventh is a bit frustrating when you look at my times in the dry. At the end of the day I rode a good second half of the race. But the first half wasn't great and that cost me. I'm confident for Mugello though and hopefully we'll get plenty of dry track time." James Toseland 9th 17 points "That was pretty eventful and my team did a great job for the change of bikes. I've never been in a flag-to-flag race before and it is definitely different. There's no time to lose concentration in the pits because everything is still happening so quickly. And when you go out on a damp track on slicks you can't lose focus. The team told me they were going to put 'OK' on the board as soon as the first person came in, and though nobody was coming in around me, I felt I came in at the right time. It's always a risk because there were a couple of corners where it was still quite damp, but for two-thirds of the track you definitely needed slick tyres. My pace on the slicks at the start was really good and I was seventh at one point. But I was on the soft front tyre and it kept getting hotter and hotter and the stronger front harder tyre was what I needed. When I was trying to stay with Colin at the end I just didn't have the front grip unfortunately. It was nice to be fighting up there again but on the other hand a bit frustrating because I think we could have had a seventh. It's not the best finish but I really feel we have made a step forward here and my team is working great. As long as we can keep working like this I'm really looking forward to the next few races." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "Unfortunately a race that promised so much for us ended a little disappointingly, but Colin and James still did Tech 3 proud in our home race, which had extra significance because of our 20th anniversary. We have to think that we missed something big. We'd said that top five would be a dream but we could see from Colin's brilliant pace in the dry that had he started better when it was wet he could have had another podium in Le Mans. Colin struggled with some issues in the wet but as soon as he switched to the dry bike he was the fastest rider on track at some points and for sure a top three was a possibility. It's a pity for him but he showed his potential in the dry. I'm really happy with James. The whole weekend he has shown a big improvement compared to the first three races and it was by far the best race of the season for him. We knew he wasn't going to recover from the problems of the winter so quickly, but step-by-step he is showing his true potential. Hopefully for Mugello we won't have any rain and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team can get a strong result." Circuit Length: 4180 Weather: Changeable Lap Record: 1'33.678 (Valentino Rossi, 01/01/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'32.647 (Daniel Pedrosa, 18/05/2008) Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi 2009 MotoGP France - Le Mans 17/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Jorge Lorenzo    Yamaha    ESP    47'52.678 2    Marco Melandri    Kawasaki    ITA    0'17.710 3    Daniel Pedrosa    Honda    ESP    0'19.893 4    Andrea Dovizioso    Honda    ITA    0'20.455 5    Casey Stoner    Ducati    AUS    0'30.539 6    Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    AUS    0'37.462 7    Colin Edwards    Yamaha    USA    0'40.191 8    Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    ITA    0'45.421 9    James Toseland    Yamaha    GBR    0'50.307 10    Toni Elias    Honda    ESP    0'53.218 11    Alex De Angelis    Honda    SMR    0'53.330 12    Nicky Hayden    Ducati    USA    0'56.647 13    Yuki Takahashi    Honda    JPN    0'56.688 14    Randy De Puniet    Honda    FRA    1'11.299 15    Niccolo Canepa    Ducati    ITA    1'15.385 16    Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    ITA    -2Laps Rider Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Jorge Lorenzo   Yamaha   ESP   66 2.   Casey Stoner   Ducati   AUS   65 3.   Valentino Rossi   Yamaha   ITA   65 4.   Daniel Pedrosa   Honda   ESP   57 5.   Andrea Dovizioso   Honda   ITA   43 6.   Marco Melandri   Kawasaki   ITA   43 7.   Colin Edwards   Yamaha   USA   35 8.   Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki   AUS   31 9.   Loris Capirossi   Suzuki   ITA   27 10.   Randy De Puniet   Honda   FRA   26 11.   Toni Elias   Honda   ESP   21 12.   Alex De Angelis   Honda   SMR   20 13.   James Toseland   Yamaha   GBR   17 14.   Mika Kallio   Ducati   FIN   16 15.   Nicky Hayden   Ducati   USA   9 Manufacturer Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Yamaha   95 2.   Ducati   65 3.   Honda   63 4.   Kawasaki   43 5.   Suzuki   38 Click here to view the news

The first race saw Yamaha rider Ben Spies drop back to fourth from the pole position start as they left the line. He recovered quickly and took second position back as they turned into the first corner, diving up the inside of Biaggi to tuck up behind championship rival Noriyuki Haga. Halfway round the first lap he was passed by Michele Fabrizio and settled into third position behind the two Ducatis as they battled for the lead for the majority of the race. With seven laps to go, Spies dived passed Fabrizio on the last corner coming on to the start finish straight to take second. As the lap unfolded Fabrizio passed briefly but was taken straight again by Spies as the powerful Yamaha out dragged the Ducati from the corner. An unfortunate tank slapper coming out of Clubhouse allowed Fabrizio passed again, and as the tyres had now gone off it was impossible for Spies to catch up so he settled for third and a well deserved podium. Race two saw disaster strike for Spies, having dropped to third off the start, he again passed Biaggi on the inside for the second place spot and coming round for lap three took Haga in a fantastic move for the lead. No sooner had he done this than his shit linkage broke, making it impossible to change gear and forcing him to retire from the race. Team-mate Tom Sykes had a less than perfect start to race one, dropping from his eighth position start on the grid to 16th as they headed into the first corner. With ten laps to go he'd moved up to 11th position with a steady race pace and then swiftly took Lavilla for the tenth spot. Although maintaining a good race pace he couldn't get up to ninth so settled for 10th. Race two saw a better start, dropping initially to 10th, he worked hard to take two places and move up to the eighth spot which he held until briefly before the finish when Suzuki rider Kagayama took back the spot, relegating him to ninth. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (3rd,DNF) "We were struggling to hang in there in race one, it was a good race for all three of us up at the front. When I passed Michel I tried to reel in Nori and then unfortunately made a mistake. I was really strong in parts of the track but giving up too much time in some corners and couldn't get in there. The second race was very unfortunate, I was feeling good and had secured an early lead, then obviously had the technical problem and had to retire, I'm really disappointed about it. I'm looking forward to going home to the USA for the next round and seeing if we can make it up." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (10th, 9th ) "I got away badly in the first race and initially dropped down to sixteenth which was a shame as I felt I could have been more consistent. The second race I got away ok from the start and was closing in on Checa and a couple of the boys, but the last five laps or so I was really struggling. If we could have found a bit more grip it would have been better. We struggled on the power this weekend as well which was tough on this circuit. I'm looking forward to getting to Miller as I think the track will suit the R1 really well, and I want to close the gap and get up into fourth place as I think it's possible." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "Both riders did really well in the first race as we have been having issues here with the tyres, making it hard to be consistent throughout the race. For Ben in race two we had a problem with the shift linkage so he was unable to change gear and had to retire. We knew from practice that it was going to be tough racing here but both Ben and Tom did their best. The Ducati engine was stronger here on the day. " Circuit Length: 4263 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'42.178 (Noriyuki Haga, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'37.288 (Ben Spies, 17/05/2009) 2009 WSB South Africa - Kyalami 17/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    39'47.436 2    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    0'00.950 3    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    0'03.391 4    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    0'08.914 5    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    0'09.019 6    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    0'14.812 7    Shinya Nakano    Aprilia    JPN    0'14.971 8    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    0'15.723 9    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    0'21.529 10    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    0'21.795 11    Gregorio Lavilla    Ducati    ESP    0'29.872 12    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    0'34.216 13    Sheridan Morais    Kawasaki    RSA    0'34.275 14    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    0'38.280 15    Broc Parkes    Kawasaki    AUS    0'40.885 Race 2 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    39'45.027 2    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    0'00.322 3    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    0'08.936 4    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    0'10.561 5    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    0'10.767 6    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    0'12.413 7    Shinya Nakano    Aprilia    JPN    0'12.616 8    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    0'14.878 9    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    0'16.225 10    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    0'18.197 11    Sheridan Morais    Kawasaki    RSA    0'20.629 12    Gregorio Lavilla    Ducati    ESP    0'24.320 13    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    0'24.564 14    Broc Parkes    Kawasaki    AUS    0'38.747 15    Fonsi Nieto    Suzuki    ESP    0'50.045 Best Lap Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    1'38.548 Rider Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Noriyuki Haga   Ducati   JPN   250 2.   Michel Fabrizio   Ducati   ITA   165 3.   Ben Spies   Yamaha   USA   162 4.   Leon Haslam   Honda   GBR   116 5.   Jonathan Rea   Honda   GBR   106 6.   Max Biaggi   Aprilia   ITA   103 7.   Tom Sykes   Yamaha   GBR   103 8.   Regis Laconi   Ducati   FRA   77 9.   Max Neukirchner   Suzuki   GER   75 10.   Carlos Checa   Honda   ESP   73 11.   Ryuichi Kiyonari   Honda   JPN   72 12.   Yukio Kagayama   Suzuki   JPN   68 13.   Jakub Smrz   Ducati   CZE   64 14.   Shinya Nakano   Aprilia   JPN   52 15.   Shane Byrne   Ducati   GBR   48 Manufacturer Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Ducati   275 2.   Yamaha   203 3.   Honda   170 4.   Aprilia   106 5.   Suzuki   105 6.   BMW   59 7.   Kawasaki   27 RACE REPORT    17/05/2009 Crutchlow maintains championship lead in South Africa Yamaha World Supersport rider Cal Crutchlow had a tough race in Kyalami today missing out on the race win after being held up by the pack at the start of the race. The British rider initially dropped to sixth position from the start, behind team-mate Fabien Foret. The pair stayed together, following Sofuoglu until a mistake by the Honda rider on the 3rd lap allowed Crutchlow past. He then passed his team-mate on the fifth lap, before swiftly taking Lascorz and Pitt to move into second behind race leader Laverty. By this point Laverty had extended a considerable lead, and although Crutchlow worked hard to close the gap he had to settle for a second place finish and another podium. Team-mate Fabien Foret had a better start and lead Crutchlow for a while before following him through to take up third place. He gradually built up a good lead over fourth placed rider Lascorz but a momentary lapse of concentration going into a corner too hot four laps from the end saw the French rider lose the front end and crash out. Crutchlow leaves South Africa still leading the championship on 119 points, 13 ahead of second placed Laverty. Foret is in eighth on 44 points. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team (2nd) "It was a really tough race, the beginning was a proper dog fight. It took me a long time to get through the pack and start working on breaking down Laverty's lead. By the time I got clear in second he had a big gap and I just couldn't keep it consistently quick enough to catch him. I made a couple of small mistakes which cost me some time so had to settle for the second spot on the podium. A big thank you to the Yamaha team again for working so hard this weekend." Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (DNF) "I'm really disappointed with myself. It was a big fight at the beginning of the race and I did well to get through. I had a really good race pace and was feeling confident to keep pushing on. I had built up a good lead in third but just lost a moment's concentration going into the corner and went down on the front." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team "We lost the fight for the race win two seconds into the first lap when both riders got held up by the main pack, by the second lap Eugene was too far away to challenge. Cal was looking like he was able to catch him but he had to push hard and made one or too small mistakes. At the moment the championship lead is very close and podiums are very important. It was very disappointing not to have two podiums, Fabien had a good pace and was as fast as Cal but was a bit too hot into the corner and crashed. It was a shame as he had a good lead and didn't need to push so hard." Circuit Length: 4263 Weather: Sunny Lap Record: 1'46.975 (James Whitham, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'40.634 (Cal Crutchlow, 17/05/2009) 2009 WSS South Africa - Kyalami 17/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    39'06.061 2    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    0'02.546 3    Mark Aitchison    Honda    AUS    0'17.358 4    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    0'17.454 5    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    0'18.221 6    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    0'20.561 7    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    0'33.141 8    Anthony West    Honda    AUS    0'37.326 9    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    0'37.728 10    Matthieu Lagrive    Honda    FRA    0'37.939 11    Michael Laverty    Honda    GBR    0'38.782 12    Massimo Roccoli    Honda    ITA    0'39.198 13    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    0'40.386 14    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    0'46.386 15    Danilo Dell'omo    Honda    ITA    0'46.794 22    Yannick Guerra    Yamaha    ESP    1'24.481 Best Lap Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    1'41.053 Rider Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Cal Crutchlow   Yamaha   GBR   119 2.   Eugene Laverty   Honda   GBR   106 3.   Kenan Sofuoglu   Honda   TUR   83 4.   Andrew Pitt   Honda   AUS   64 5.   Joan Lascorz   Kawasaki   ESP   60 6.   Anthony West   Honda   AUS   60 7.   Mark Aitchison   Honda   AUS   50 8.   Fabien Foret   Yamaha   FRA   44 9.   Michele Pirro   Yamaha   ITA   40 10.   Matthieu Lagrive   Honda   FRA   31 11.   Garry McCoy   Triumph   AUS   29 12.   Barry Veneman   Suzuki   NED   28 13.   Katsuaki Fujiwara   Kawasaki   JPN   26 14.   Massimo Roccoli   Honda   ITA   24 15.   Robbin Harms   Honda   DNK   23 19.   Franco Battaini   Yamaha   ITA   5 22.   Doni Tata Pradita   Yamaha   IDN   3 Manufacturer Standings    17/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Honda   133 2.   Yamaha   119 3.   Kawasaki   71 4.   Triumph   36 5.   Suzuki   28 Click here to view the news

It wasn’t quite a romantic stroll, by the Seine but there was definitely something memorable about MotoGP World Champion, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi’s first blast past the Eiffel tower and Champs-Élysées with an YZF-R1. The Italian was taking in the tourist hot-spots of Paris ahead of pushing for his 99th career victory this weekend at Le Mans. Rossi was the draw for hundreds of MotoGP fans and curious onlookers as the 30 year old carefully steered a special edition Monster Energy- livered R1 by the Arc de Triomphe, through nearby streets to a press conference and then – despite the rain – managed a burn-out in front of the French capital’s famous sky-line form. “It was quite slippery out there with the rain, but I managed to do a little burn-out by the Eiffel Tower,” said Rossi who leads the current MotoGP standings by 11 points on his YZR-M1 and won the Grand Prix of Spain at Jerez two weeks ago he said. “It’s my first time to the Eiffel Tower so I was pleased to do that, we all had some fun out there. I’m looking forward to this weekend at Le Mans now.” Success at the short and twisty circuit of Le Mans on Sunday could set-up a momentous weekend a fortnight later with the chance to reach 100 triumphs in front of his tifosi at Mugello Click here to view the news

The French MotoGP race at the iconic Le Mans circuit provides a fitting venue for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team to celebrate a special milestone in its history this weekend. Formed by Herve Poncharal and Guy Coulon, 2009 marks the 20th year of Grand Prix world championship competition for the French-based squad. Testament to the passion and devotion of Poncharal and Coulon, the landmark anniversary means Tech 3 has supported the Grand Prix series for almost a third of its history - the premier motorcycle championship commemorating its 60th campaign in 2008. As well as being a mainstay of the Grand Prix arena since 1989, Tech 3 has played an important role in contributing to France's rich motorsport heritage. The high point for Tech 3 was undoubtedly Olivier Jacque's success in the 2000 world 250cc championship – the last time a French rider has won a world title representing a French team. That memorable season was the second year of a successful collaboration between Tech 3 and Yamaha, which remains stronger than ever today. And under Poncharal's inspirational leadership the Tech 3 Team has become established as one of the most high profile and respected in world motorcycle racing. To commemorate the 20th anniversary celebrations, the Grand Prix de France organisation will be paying its own tribute to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Le Mans. Herve Poncharal - Team Manager “It's appropriate that Tech 3 celebrates its 20th birthday in our home race in Le Mans this weekend. It's incredible to think when Guy and I first set out on this amazing adventure that Tech 3 would be going stronger than ever as we eagerly anticipate our third decade of racing at world championship level. We could never have imagined when we started back in 1989 that we would be a leading team in the premier motorcycle racing world championship class. What seemed a distant dream then is now reality, thanks to the hard work and commitment of many people who have shown unbelievable dedication to make the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team what it is today. I thank each and every person who has helped us since 1989 and it has been an honour and a pleasure to manage such a great team. We can look back at the last 20 years with immense pride. We have had some truly unforgettable experiences and we've been fortunate to have some of the world's best talent riding for Tech 3. Olivier's victory in the 250cc championship in 2000 will be etched in my mind forever. We always had a dream for a French team to win a world title with a French rider. Accomplishing that mission with OJ is something I will always cherish. We can also look forward with great optimism to the future. Racing is our passion and I hope we have made a small contribution to the huge success that MotoGP now is. I hope too that we have been a team fans around the globe have enjoyed following and will continue to do so. Here's to the next 20!” Click here to view the news

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli has claimed his second win of the season and second double moto set of 2009 after an entertaining afternoon of racing at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal and the fifth event from the calendar of fifteen races in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The Sicilian captured two chequered flags to win his fourth Portuguese GP in five years, his first in MX1-GP and with the YZ450F, and extend his immaculate record at Agueda to nine triumphs from ten motos. Cloudy but warm conditions, with a light shower coating the second MX1-GP race, graced the weekend in Agueda. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) surrounded the hard and rough red soil that proved to be harder and more slippery compared to previous years and forced the riders to consider several tyre options on Saturday. A bumpier surface on Sunday was physically tough. The YZ450F - that was used so effectively by James Stewart to obtain the AMA Supercross Championship in Las Vegas last week - was also an effective tool in the hands of Cairoli who was nothing short of superlative across the Agueda slopes. He fought back from a good start (top five) in Moto1 and a mediocre launch (eighth) in Moto2 to enjoy superior speed over his rivals and twice deny Ken De Dycker victory. A key moment took place in the second race when the former double world champion was fighting for second position with reigning MX1-GP title holder, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts, and Clement Desalle. Holding the inside line on a fast downhill Cairoli missed the rut and collided with Philippaerts, forcing a retirement. Philippaerts - who had led the first third of the opening race until a crash dropped him to 5th place - later went to hospital with a painful left hand and was diagnosed with a broken index finger that will mean he travels to Spain next week far from 100% fit. Josh Coppins rode consistently to score 4th overall, after almost grabbing pole position on Saturday. The Kiwi was adrift of the battle for the lead but his finishes of 7th (a consequence of a fall) and 4th in the motos represented an improvement over his last GP in Holland and demonstrated a recovery from the low energy levels he has recently suffered. Tanel Leok was 6th in the final classification after circulating on the fringes of the top five; recording a 5th position in Moto1 and 6th in Moto2, despite a small technical problem that interrupted his power supply. Cairoli now has a full 'race' lead in the championship standings of 25 points over De Dycker. Coppins is 4th, 2 points ahead of Leok, while Philippaerts' DNF has proved costly and he has dropped to 6th place. Yamaha front the Manufacturer's title chase by 37 points. The YZ450F motorcycle now has claimed four of the five GPs run so far. Yamaha's MX1-GP fleet will now spend the week travelling across the border and through Spain to the Bellpuig circuit and the Grand Prix of Catalunya for round six. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "This is a lucky and special track for me because I have won nine of the last ten motos here and this year it was unbelievable. In the second moto I did not expect to be able to catch everyone, especially Ken, like that and win the GP. My first lap was really bad but then I could find some good passing places. I am sorry about the contact with David. I did not expect him to be there and it was not my intention to touch. These things happen and they are not nice. After that I could overtake Desalle and was able to focus on catching Ken for the lead. I am really happy with this win. I thought before the season that I might be able to be in the top five by this stage but to be leading the championship is something very special. I am enjoying my riding and this is the important thing." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 4th: "I'm still not quite strong enough and my mind is saying 'go faster' but my body cannot keep up. I am riding smooth and easy with consistent laps and a stupid crash in the first moto was the only real black mark. In the second race I rode pretty well but nothing special and did what I had to do. I pushed at the end to try and pass Desalle but ran out of time. I know that there is better to come. I am doing the best I can, which is not bad but it is just off where I want to be. My starts were alright and overall the weekend was not bad; not as good as the first two GPs but better than the last two." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th: "The result is good; the top six is where I should be every week. I was struggling a little bit in the first moto and wasn't feeling so good but the second race was better until we had some bad luck with that small problem with the bike and I was losing drive in sections and overshooting berms in others. I am being consistent with my motos and I know that on a normal day I am fighting for the podium." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 13th: "Of course I am worried about my finger. We have the confirmation that it is broken and now we will just have to try and see what we can do next week in Spain. In the incident with Antonio, well, there were two lines and he wanted the first and also the second and came across me. This is part of motocross and not a big problem but it had a big price for me. I think now it is difficult to win the title but there are many races ahead and of course bad luck can still hit the others; everything is possible. I am pleased with the small changes we made to the bike and there is reason to feel positive but I have a lot of pain at the moment and just want to heal from this as fast as I can." Crowd: 25,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Sébastien Pourcel 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    39'32.718 2    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    0'07.035 3    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    0'12.446 4    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    0'14.608 5    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    0'16.374 6    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    0'21.134 7    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    0'50.988 8    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    0'54.914 9    Gregory Aranda    Kawasaki    FRA    0'58.430 10    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    1'11.378 11    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    1'23.735 12    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    1'32.244 13    Manuel Priem    Aprilia    BEL    1'41.152 14    Fabien Izoird    Suzuki    FRA    1'58.572 15    Tom Church    CCM    GBR    2'13.666 20    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    -1Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    40'13.107 2    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    0'10.571 3    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    0'18.792 4    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    0'20.312 5    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    0'40.474 6    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'49.212 7    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    0'58.709 8    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    1'09.139 9    Gregory Aranda    Kawasaki    FRA    1'15.733 10    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    1'31.163 11    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    1'44.257 12    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    1'52.586 13    Manuel Priem    Aprilia    BEL    1'54.589 14    Luis Correira    Suzuki    POR    -1Laps 15    Fabien Izoird    Suzuki    FRA    -1Laps 20    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    -1Laps Rider Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Antonio Cairoli   Yamaha   ITA   193 2.   Ken De Dycker   Suzuki   BEL   168 3.   Jonathan Barragan   KTM   ESP   152 4.   Joshua Coppins   Yamaha   NZL   144 5.   Tanel Leok   Yamaha   EST   142 6.   David Philippaerts   Yamaha   ITA   134 7.   Clement Desalle   Honda   BEL   126 8.   Maximilian Nagl   KTM   GER   119 9.   Steve Ramon   Suzuki   BEL   100 10.   Kevin Strijbos   Honda   BEL   82 11.   David Vuillemin   Kawasaki   FRA   73 12.   Gareth Swanepoel   Kawasaki   RSA   67 13.   Aigar Leok   TM   EST   67 14.   Marc De Reuver   Honda   NED   45 15.   Billy MacKenzie   Honda   GBR   42 24.   Carlos Campano   Yamaha   ESP   13 26.   Rob van Vijfeijken   Yamaha   NED   12 Manufacturer Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Yamaha   216 2.   Suzuki   179 3.   KTM   166 4.   Honda   158 5.   Kawasaki   87 6.   TM   67 7.   Aprilia   51 8.   CCM   27 RACE REPORT    10/05/2009 Guarneri 4th through Agueda bumps Guarneri    Guarneri The Grand Prix of Portugal represented the fifth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship and the warm Agueda circuit was the stage for Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri to fight off the effects of a stomach sickness to take 4th position; his fourth top five finish of the season so far on the YZ250FM. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the Italian tussling for positions inside the top three of both motos across a slippery and very bumpy terrain. He placed 5th in Moto1 and was running as high as 2nd for a long part of Moto2 before succumbing to his low stamina and slipping one place to 3rd. The 24 year old still managed to demonstrate decent consistency and was just 4 points from his first podium appearance of the campaign.    Larrieu Larrieu Team-mate Loic Larrieu took an excellent qualification position with third spot on Saturday. The French teenager repeated his bright starts from the gate to ride to 6th and 5th despite a sore foot and record his highest finish of his rookie season so far with 5th overall. The third member of the team, Nico Aubin, had been suffering during the week with a virus and finished a course of antibiotics on Saturday. The Frenchman could take 8th place in Moto1 but a first lap crash in Moto2 left him at the back of the field and he retired, exhausted after six laps. Saturday's activities were unlucky for the Utag Yamaha.com team and Zach Osborne in particular. The American had set the seventh fastest lap-time in the first practice session but then had a mechanical problem and crashed in the pre-qualification. The Grand Prix of Turkey winner chipped his left radius bone and is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks. Agueda saw the second round of the Women's World Championship but the weekend did not last long for Tarah Geiger as the American clipped a post and crashed on the first lap of the first moto and broke her right wrist. Guarneri is now 3rd and 24 points from the lead in the world championship standings. Osborne is 7th and 2 points in front of Aubin, while Larrieu is 11th. Round six takes place at the Bellpuig circuit next week for the Grand Prix of Catalunya. Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th: "Today was good. My speed was at the top and only 0.1 or 0.2 away from these French riders! The fast guys all started at the front and it was a good battle at times. I have been feeling sick since yesterday and although this did not affect how fast I can go, it did mean my energy was low and the last ten minutes of both motos were very hard. I had two good starts and that was important for me. The results are consistent but I am trying each GP to reach the podium." Loic Larrieu, Utag Yamaha.com, 5th: "It was a good weekend for me. It started well in qualifying and I could finish 3rd. Today was more difficult because I missed a rut and hit my foot but I could make two good starts in the top two positions and I finished 6th and 5th; that's good result and very positive for my confidence." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 14th: "I have been sick again and was taking antibiotics for five days before this GP. I thought I had got rid of this problem after Turkey and now I just hope that in the next two to three days my body will be clear of it. I started in the top ten of the first moto and did my own race and speed. Things were not too bad, eighth is not great but acceptable because I felt low on energy. In the second moto I had a crash on the second lap and when I restarted I managed one lap before feeling completely empty; there was no way I could do any more." Crowd: 25,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Antonio Cairoli 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    39'53.534 2    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    0'02.587 3    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    0'02.923 4    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'21.629 5    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    0'29.869 6    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    0'33.387 7    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    0'40.667 8    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    0'43.076 9    Ken Roczen    Suzuki    GER    0'47.651 10    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    0'50.485 11    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    0'53.004 12    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    0'55.186 13    Stephen Sword    KTM    GBR    1'19.580 14    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    1'26.841 15    Yohei Kojima    Suzuki    JPN    1'31.021 16    Cedric Soubeyras    Yamaha    FRA    1'37.165 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    39'10.794 2    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    0'07.812 3    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    0'10.843 4    Ken Roczen    Suzuki    GER    0'13.149 5    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    0'15.004 6    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    0'25.511 7    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    0'27.974 8    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'33.318 9    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    0'47.567 10    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    1'00.810 11    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    1'07.748 12    Jeremy Van Horebeek    KTM    BEL    1'13.836 13    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    1'18.882 14    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    1'36.007 15    Stephen Sword    KTM    GBR    1'44.852 Rider Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Gautier Paulin   Kawasaki   FRA   171 2.   Marvin Musquin   Honda   FRA   165 3.   Davide Guarneri   Yamaha   ITA   147 4.   Rui Goncalves   KTM   POR   125 5.   Xavier Boog   Suzuki   FRA   108 6.   Steven Frossard   Kawasaki   FRA   105 7.   Zach Osborne   Yamaha   USA   100 8.   Nicolas Aubin   Yamaha   FRA   98 9.   Shaun Simpson   KTM   GBR   97 10.   Arnaud Tonus   KTM   CHE   72 11.   Loic Larrieu   Yamaha   FRA   70 12.   Manuel Monni   Yamaha   ITA   67 13.   Marcus Schiffer   KTM   GER   66 14.   Joel Roelants   KTM   BEL   61 15.   Alessandro Lupino   Yamaha   ITA   56 19.   Evgeny Bobryshev   Yamaha   RUS   38 27.   Cedric Soubeyras   Yamaha   FRA   15 34.   Deny Philippaerts   Yamaha   ITA   6 Manufacturer Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Kawasaki   191 2.   KTM   180 3.   Yamaha   177 4.   Honda   171 5.   Suzuki   128 6.   TM   5 Click here to view the news

It was a dramatic race day in Monza today for the World Superbike Championship as Yamaha rider and pole position starter Ben Spies again suffered the two extremes of racing, the victory and victory snatched away. Race one only made it to the first chicane on lap 1 as the Superbikes compressed into the tight first chicane. Tamada fell just before the corner, his bike sliding down the grass and across the track, causing collisions with Corser, Hill, Roberts and Neukirchener in the ensuing carnage. A red flag was issued and the race restarted. The race then became a battle at the front between Haga, Fabrizio and Spies for the lead. By lap nine Spies had a one second advantage over the Ducatis as they fought for second, Fabrizio ending up the stronger and closing in. Three laps from the end Fabrizio drafted Spies on the main straight to take the lead going into the first chicane, only for Spies to take it back on the penultimate lap. The Yamaha rider then led convincingly and was looking a certainty for the win until running out of fuel as he took the Parabolica corner for the last time heading for the start finish straight.He managed to coast to the line but was in 15th position by the time he passed the chequered flag. Team-mate Tom Sykes started well from tenth on the grid and was eighth by the end of the first lap. Consistent race pace saw him take two more positions over the duration, crossing the line in sixth to take more points. Race two saw Spies hungry to make up the misfortune of race one. Off the line he slipped into second behind Haga briefly before moving into the lead when Haga was struck by a bird on the first corner. From this point his win was never in doubt as the Texan put his head down and laid down lap after lap of fast perfect lines, adding a second gap per lap between himself and second position Fabrizio. As the race tipped over halfway point Spies slowed to ensure the issue of race one was not repeated, taking the chequered flag over 2.6 seconds ahead of second placed Fabrizio. British rider Sykes had another consistent race in the second outing of the day, moving up from tenth to sixth position, but was unable to find the extra pace to pass fifth placed Biaggi by the end of the race. Ben Spies leaves Monza having closed the gap to championship leader Haga, he heads to Kyalami with 146 points, 54 behind the lead. Sykes heads to South Africa having moved up to fifth in the championship on 90 points and now trails Haslam by only 13. Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (15th, 1st) "Race one was a tough pill to swallow, it was a hard one to get by but that's racing I guess. Race two I had a clear strategy and made sure I got into a really good rhythm in the first 12 to 14 laps to build a safety buffer. Obviously we had a problem at the end of race one which I didn't want to repeat so slowed a bit there and short shifted a bit to make sure everything was good to the end. The bike was good and could have run fast times all the way through but I wanted to make sure we got this one in the bag. The Yamaha team did great regrouping after race one and me too I think! Hopefully we can keep going and improving from here. I want to say congratulations for Michel in race one, but I couldn't give it to him so easily in race two." Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (6th, 6th) "In race one I got away ok, but the problem was getting stuck in that first chicane as I was starting from row three. As soon as it bottled up everything got spread out and unfortunately the lead group spread a long way and was hard to catch. I got past a couple of people and to be honest I thought I was going to catch them but halfway through the race I suffered from some brake fading. It was very unfortunate. In race two I got off the line fairly decently and had good race pace, I was looking quite strong but not able to get that last little bit. I guess it was one of those weekends, I've been fairly fast and consistent but spoilt it a bit with the qualifying. I'm very confident in the bike and the team, especially for Kyalami and hope to have better memories after the race than when I tested there! All in all good weekend, two more scores on the board and moving up to fifth in the championship is great." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "The first race was very frustrating for us but I think Ben proved what he is capable of. A big thank you to him because he answered race one in the best possible way. We seem to have either 25 points or 0 in races at the moment! I am very optimistic about the next two races because in South Africa Ben was really fast with an almost standard bike, and now we know the performance of the R1 is better so we think we can do a really good job. Miller should also be good as it's a home track for Ben. In the end we have reduced the leadership gap to Nori which is good. Tom was really consistent today, he's coming better and better every race weekend and without making mistakes in the race. I think as the second part of the championship approaches he will get stronger and stronger. A big thanks to the team and also the suppliers who helped us to be ready with the new colours in time for this weekend." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'44.073 (Ben Spies, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Noriyuki Haga 2009 WSB Italy - Monza 10/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    31'50.758 2    Noriyuki Haga    Ducati    JPN    0'00.239 3    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    0'08.175 4    Yukio Kagayama    Suzuki    JPN    0'11.001 5    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    0'12.447 6    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    0'13.693 7    Ruben Xaus    BMW    ESP    0'19.172 8    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    0'24.989 9    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    0'26.930 10    Broc Parkes    Kawasaki    AUS    0'27.418 11    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    0'27.752 12    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    0'29.545 13    Shinya Nakano    Aprilia    JPN    0'30.952 14    Shane Byrne    Ducati    GBR    0'31.414 15    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    0'36.998 22    David Checa    Yamaha    ESP    0'58.214 Race 2 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Ben Spies    Yamaha    USA    31'49.252 2    Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    0'02.665 3    Ryuichi Kiyonari    Honda    JPN    0'02.810 4    Jonathan Rea    Honda    GBR    0'07.706 5    Max Biaggi    Aprilia    ITA    0'07.863 6    Tom Sykes    Yamaha    GBR    0'10.383 7    Leon Haslam    Honda    GBR    0'11.586 8    Jakub Smrz    Ducati    CZE    0'21.112 9    Ruben Xaus    BMW    ESP    0'22.112 10    Carlos Checa    Honda    ESP    0'22.261 11    Regis Laconi    Ducati    FRA    0'23.453 12    Shinya Nakano    Aprilia    JPN    0'32.956 13    Broc Parkes    Kawasaki    AUS    0'37.166 14    Luca Scassa    Kawasaki    ITA    0'43.085 15    Matteo Baiocco    Kawasaki    ITA    0'43.088 19    David Checa    Yamaha    ESP    1'17.915 Best Lap Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time Michel Fabrizio    Ducati    ITA    1'45.336 Rider Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Noriyuki Haga   Ducati   JPN   200 2.   Ben Spies   Yamaha   USA   146 3.   Michel Fabrizio   Ducati   ITA   125 4.   Leon Haslam   Honda   GBR   103 5.   Tom Sykes   Yamaha   GBR   90 6.   Max Biaggi   Aprilia   ITA   81 7.   Jonathan Rea   Honda   GBR   77 8.   Regis Laconi   Ducati   FRA   77 9.   Max Neukirchner   Suzuki   GER   75 10.   Ryuichi Kiyonari   Honda   JPN   65 11.   Jakub Smrz   Ducati   CZE   56 12.   Carlos Checa   Honda   ESP   53 13.   Yukio Kagayama   Suzuki   JPN   52 14.   Shane Byrne   Ducati   GBR   41 15.   Ruben Xaus   BMW   ESP   40 Manufacturer Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Ducati   225 2.   Yamaha   180 3.   Honda   141 4.   Suzuki   89 5.   Aprilia   84 6.   BMW   59 7.   Kawasaki   19 RACE REPORT    10/05/2009 Yamaha dominate the Supersport podium It was a fantastic race for the Yamaha World Supersport Team as both riders fought hard for the duration, taking well earned places on the podium at the chequered flag. Fabien Foret initially dropped to eighth place at the start but worked hard to make the places back up again. Cal Crutchlow was a constant presence in the top group, taking the lead from Laverty in a fast overtake on lap five at the Ascari chicane. Foret moved up swiftly behind him, taking second position. The two pushed on at the front until lap ten when a daring pass up the inside by Laverty at the Roggia chicane put him past both Yamaha riders and into the lead. Not content to sit back, Foret took the lead back as they turned through the Parabolica and headed out onto the straight. In a show of the incredible speed of the Yamaha R6 Crutchlow then came back to take both Foret and Laverty at the end of the start finish straight heading into lap 11. Lap 13 saw Foret run wide, allowing Laverty and Lascorz through, while Crutchlow began to extend his lead. Lascorz then made a crucial error on lap 14, sitting up and forcing Laverty wide, allowing Foret to get past. Foret then tussled with Lascorz but eventually accepted third position and a long awaited podium whilst his team-mate Crutchlow had put a definitive gap between him and the second placed Kawasaki rider for the chequered flag. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (1st) "it's going really good here at Monza and I'm really happy with the race. We came here looking to finish in the top five to be honest on a circuit I don't know. We did a good job this weekend at Yamaha so thanks to everyone who put a lot of effort in. we were never as fast as we could have been but we worked hard. When I got the break in the race today I went for it, I was willing to do anything to win, you could see by some of the passes I was taking no prisoners! It's all credit to the team who got me here so a great win for the team!" Fabien Foret, Yamaha World Supersport Team, (3rd) "I'm pretty happy, I can clearly fight again now and I'm not injured anymore. I made a few mistakes in the race and someone hit my exhaust pipe which didn't help. It was a tough one but I enjoyed it and I think I'm back and definitely looking forward to the next one now." Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha World Supersport Team Manager "We are first and third, and for me the whole weekend was good, not just the race which can be a bit of a gamble as you saw with the Superbikes . You can easily make a mistake here and accidents can happen so I'm really happy nothing went majorly wrong in the supersport race. I'm really pleased to have both the riders on the podium, it's great we leave here extending our championship lead and with Fabien taking good points away as well." Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1'52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 01/01/2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'49.706 (Cal Crutchlow, 10/05/2009) Last Years Winner: Fabien Foret 2009 WSS Italy - Monza 10/05/2009 Race 1 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time 1    Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    29'34.605 2    Joan Lascorz    Kawasaki    ESP    0'02.660 3    Fabien Foret    Yamaha    FRA    0'02.716 4    Eugene Laverty    Honda    GBR    0'02.780 5    Andrew Pitt    Honda    AUS    0'09.270 6    Katsuaki Fujiwara    Kawasaki    JPN    0'09.332 7    Michele Pirro    Yamaha    ITA    0'20.178 8    Garry McCoy    Triumph    AUS    0'20.221 9    Kenan Sofuoglu    Honda    TUR    0'22.681 10    Gianluca Nannelli    Triumph    ITA    0'26.993 11    Franco Battaini    Yamaha    ITA    0'31.343 12    Miguel Praia    Honda    POR    0'32.236 13    Barry Veneman    Suzuki    NED    0'32.695 14    Gianluca Vizziello    Honda    ITA    0'33.216 15    Alessandro Polita    Suzuki    ITA    0'33.652 17    Doni Tata Pradita    Yamaha    IDN    0'44.249 22    Jose Morillas    Yamaha    ESP    1'45.778 Best Lap Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Total Time Cal Crutchlow    Yamaha    GBR    1'49.728 Rider Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Rider    Manu.    Nat.    Points 1.   Cal Crutchlow   Yamaha   GBR   99 2.   Eugene Laverty   Honda   GBR   81 3.   Kenan Sofuoglu   Honda   TUR   72 4.   Andrew Pitt   Honda   AUS   54 5.   Anthony West   Honda   AUS   52 6.   Joan Lascorz   Kawasaki   ESP   47 7.   Fabien Foret   Yamaha   FRA   44 8.   Mark Aitchison   Honda   AUS   34 9.   Michele Pirro   Yamaha   ITA   33 10.   Barry Veneman   Suzuki   NED   28 11.   Matthieu Lagrive   Honda   FRA   25 12.   Robbin Harms   Honda   DNK   23 13.   Katsuaki Fujiwara   Kawasaki   JPN   23 14.   Garry McCoy   Triumph   AUS   20 15.   Massimo Roccoli   Honda   ITA   20 20.   Franco Battaini   Yamaha   ITA   5 21.   Doni Tata Pradita   Yamaha   IDN   1 Manufacturer Standings    10/05/2009 Pos.    Manufacturer    Points 1.   Honda   108 2.   Yamaha   99 3.   Kawasaki   58 4.   Suzuki   28 5.   Triumph   27 Click here to view the news

The final round of the '08 World Enduro Championship, staged in Mende, France, proved to be a challenging one for UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz as both were unable to secure podium finishes at the GP of Europe. However Yamaha France rider Marc Germain performed well finishing in a strong runner-up position on Day1 and 3rd on Day2. With the French event bringing the '08 WEC series to a close, Albergoni, Germain and Micheluz, as well as injured UFO Corse Yamaha rider Cristobal Guerrero, officially claimed 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place positions respectively in the Enduro 1 world championship. For Albergoni hopes that the final event of the season would bring with it rewarding end-of-season results failed to materialise as Italy's number one enduro rider was unable to finish in the top three. Despite performing well throughout the opening day's competition, including a test win early on, Albergoni finished 4th. On day two Albergoni dropped one position to 5th despite riding consistently during the day. Having set his sights on claiming his first enduro world championship title this season, and having started the year with impressive results at the first three rounds of the series, Albergoni's disappointment was clear after the event. Improving on his '07 world championship position of 7th, Maurizio Micheluz' outing in France were typical of several of those he endured during 2008 as he spent much of both days battling for the fourth place before he ended up finishing 7th on both days. Although disappointed at having not finished higher, Maurizio was pleased to have ended the year 5th in the competitive Enduro 1 world championship standings. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 4th, Day 2: 5th "From the mid-way point of the season I've found it hard to ride at my best. I've not really enjoyed a single corner of any special test since the middle of the season. I don't know why. I have just struggled and it's a mystery. My season started in a good way but after Poland my motivation went downhill and although I finished third in the championship I'm just not happy with things. When your target is to win it's hard when you realise that's not going to happen." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 7th, Day 2: 7th "I finished seventh on both days but I was also fighting for fourth and fifth position on both days. I crashed three times on the enduro test on the first day, as well as twice on day two. I lost everything in the enduro test. On both days fourth position wasn't too far away. It's just disappointing that I didn't finish higher. The beginning of the year things didn't go so well but the end of the year things have gone better." Race 1Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 52'16.390 2, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 0'20.430 3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'21.400 4, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'16.090 5, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 1'17.170 6, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 1'23.460 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 1'40.710 8, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 2'25.540 9, Julien Gauthier, Honda, FRA, 2'31.020 10, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'36.210 11, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 3'42.840 12, Raphael Andre, Kawasaki, FRA, 3'59.180 13, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 8'11.740 14, Charles Feyrit, Honda, FRA, 9'14.630 Race 2Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 51'11.530 2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'2.500 3, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 1'5.130 4, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 2'5.330 5, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 2'15.470 6, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 2'21.370 7, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 2'35.560 8, Julien Gauthier, Honda, FRA, 2'41.350 9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 2'50.080 10, Thomas Oldrati, KTM, ITA, 2'50.640 11, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 3'6.280 12, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 3'31.340 13, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 4'40.790 14, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 7'20.300 15, Charles Feyrit, Honda, FRA, 9'31.020 Rider Standings 11/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 375 2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 364 3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 301 4, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 284 5, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 224 6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 185 7, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 171 8, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 163 9, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 154 10, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 140 11, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 139 12, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 102 13, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 97 14, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 62 15, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 58 Manufacturer Standings 11/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 375 2, KTM, 351 3, Yamaha, 338 4, Husqvarna, 197 5, Suzuki, 153 6, TM, 102 7, Kawasaki, 56 8, Sherco, 12 ---------- RACE REPORT - 12/10/2008 Aubert wins world championship UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert is the 2008 Enduro 2 World Champion. Having held the lead in the E2 series on his WR250F from the third round the former French motocross racer has now lifted his first ever world title, continuing an excellent season of racing for Yamaha after MotoGP and MX1 Motocross world championship success. Competing against Juha Salminen, the rider widely regarded as the best enduro racer of all time, Aubert put the finishing touches to what has been a near faultless season finishing 2nd on Day1 in Mende, France and then 3rd on Day2. Starting the final round of the '08 WEC campaign with a commanding lead in the E2 class Aubert realistically needed just a handful of points from both days of competition to secure the coveted E2 title. Competing in front of a hugely enthusiastic home crowd, Aubert pushed hard on day one but was clearly riding well within his limits as he opted not to challenge for the class win. Finishing over one-minute behind winner Salminen, Aubert ensured that on day two he needed to collect only the required points in order to take the crown. By finishing 4th, and earning his 16th podium finish of the year, Aubert did exactly what he needed to do and joined Finns Mika Ahola and Samuli Aro as a '08 World Enduro Champion. Not having such a good weekend was Italian rider Fabrizio Dini. Although scoring 7th in the final Enduro 2 world championship ranking Fabrizio found the French event's enduro test extremely challenging and saw several mistakes prevent him from finishing closer to the podium. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: 2nd, Day 2: 3rd "It's amazing to be able to say that I'm world champion. It hasn't sunk in yet but I know in a few days I will be so, so happy when I realise what I've achieved. It's been a long, hard year. I was nervous on day one, but on day two it wasn't so bad. I put in some good tests but I was really only thinking about the championship. I have to thanks the team for doing a great job this year. They have helped me do what I have always dreamed of, becoming world champion." Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: 9th, Day 2: 8th: "It's been a nice race but not a good one for me. I didn't like the enduro test. It was really slippery and hard to understand. I felt like I was the slowest rider in the event on that test. I crashed many times on day one, which gave me a pretty bad result. I stalled my bike on the enduro test on day two and I lost 40 or 50 seconds. After that things went ok because I was fast on the extreme and motocross tests. I finished seventh in the world championship, which is the same as last year. I'm not overly happy with my final position but I've enjoyed the year." Race 1Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 51'7.800 2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'19.620 3, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 1'43.150 4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 2'15.150 5, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 2'25.540 6, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'51.170 7, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 3'0.330 8, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'17.140 9, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'24.320 10, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 3'51.570 11, Mickael Metge, HusaBerg, FRA, 5'1.490 12, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 5'9.440 13, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 5'18.180 14, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 5'54.250 15, Christophe Robert, KTM, CHE, 6'28.700 16, Hans Vogel, KTM, NED, 7'30.100 17, Nicolas Joye, HusaBerg, CHE, 8'38.650 Race 2Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 50'31.820 2, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 0'51.600 3, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'1.540 4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 2'3.620 5, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 2'14.720 6, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'16.930 7, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'43.270 8, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'12.030 9, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'12.930 10, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 4'28.110 11, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 4'34.760 12, Mickael Metge, HusaBerg, FRA, 4'39.990 13, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 6'3.770 14, Hans Vogel, KTM, NED, 6'17.650 15, Christophe Robert, KTM, CHE, 6'49.930 16, Nicolas Joye, HusaBerg, CHE, 9'47.790 Rider Standings 11/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 361 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 353 3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 259 4, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 226 5, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 222 6, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 217 7, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 196 8, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 173 9, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 147 10, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 139 11, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 134 12, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 134 13, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 110 14, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 78 15, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 70 Manufacturer Standings 11/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 378 2, Yamaha, 361 3, Husqvarna, 248 4, HusaBerg, 243 5, TM, 226 6, Honda, 221 7, BMW, 191 8, Aprilia, 173 9, GasGas, 134 10, Beta, 66 11, Suzuki, 26

Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) took a race win and a second place at the Magny-Cours races to go second in the championship with one round remaining. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) recovered from sixth in race one to finish third in race two and now sits third overall, nine points behind his team-mate Haga. Haga was imperious in race one after his strong qualifying performances and Superpole win, taking the lead from fast-starting Troy Bayliss before blasting away to record a margin of victory of six seconds. Fonsi Nieto was second, with Bayliss third. Corser was sixth after crash in Superpole saw him start 12th on the grid. In race two, Haga led for most of the 23-laps, but could not hold onto the fleeing Bayliss in the last sector, and had to settle for second, one place up on a resurgent and determined Corser. Bayliss had already won the championship outright after his first race podium, leaving Haga and Corser to fight out the overall second place in the championship rankings at the final round in one month's time. Bayliss now has 410 points, Haga 325, and Corser 316. Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) went 13th in the opening race at his home circuit, but retired in the pits in race two. David Checa (Yamaha GMT94) did not finish either race, retiring in race one and crashing out of race two. Shinichi Nakatomi (Team YZF Yamaha) went 14th and scored two points in race one, but just missed out on a points scoring finish in race two, by one place and less than one second. Noriyuki Haga (1st and 2nd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "The weather conditions have been not so good this weekend but the team gave me a good bike and I could compete well all weekend. I was riding comfortably at the front in race one to win so thanks to Yamaha and congratulations to Troy Bayliss, the champion of the world. Thanks to all in the team for all the hard work, and for the support from the fans. The last five laps of the second race I could not open the gas the way I wanted but Bayliss and I had a great fight for the win." Troy Corser (6th and 3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Starting from the third row was always going to be tough for these races. I got a good start in race two and got though quickly but I had a little bit of a tussle with Rolfo and Checa. When the rain started to come I could see the guys in front had started to slow down, and I knew I had a chance to make up some time. I really didn't care if I crashed or not I just went as hard as I could. I caught those guys but once I had I really couldn't go much further. The lap times came down again to mid 1'40s. The bike was pretty consistent but I just couldn't push any harder on the front tyre because the right-hand side was almost finished. I nearly took Troy out down the hill at one time so I had to let the brake off or I would have taken both of us out. Lucky enough there was enough room to get through. But race two was good and we go to the next race to see if I can win one there." Massimo Meregalli (Team Manager, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "We won the first race and were nearly there in race two. It was a really good race for both riders in the second race. In the last few laps our tyres started to drop off and it was impossible for our guys to get back to Tory at the end. Over the weekend as a whole we got pole, a win in race one and then two podiums in race two, so it's been positive. The next race will be a challenge for everyone on a new circuit. Today's results are thanks to a lot of hard work from the team so a thank you to them as well." Shinichi Nakatomi (14th and 16th - Team YZF Yamaha "In race 1, I had some chattering problem after 10 laps. It was difficult to push. For race 2, we changed the set up but the chattering problem came back. I crossed the front a few times. It was a difficult race. Magny-Cours was not so good, Portimao will be better." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 38'33.367 2, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'6.223 3, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 0'6.875 4, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'7.237 5, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'8.925 6, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'10.714 7, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'16.176 8, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'22.661 9, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'27.224 10, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'31.300 11, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'35.558 12, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 0'35.774 13, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 0'36.078 14, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'36.289 15, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'40.472 16, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'40.497 17, Martin Bauer, Honda, AUT, 0'43.350 18, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'54.263 19, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 0'54.382 20, Ivan Silva, Honda, ESP, 0'54.513 Race 2 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 38'33.579 2, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 0'0.909 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 0'2.966 4, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 0'2.966 5, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 0'12.822 6, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 0'13.004 7, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 0'18.876 8, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 0'19.512 9, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 0'19.627 10, Roberto Rolfo, Honda, ITA, 0'21.425 11, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 0'25.133 12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 0'30.538 13, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 0'35.334 14, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 0'38.453 15, Chris Walker, Honda, GBR, 0'40.008 16, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 0'40.802 17, Ayrton Badovini, Kawasaki, ITA, 0'46.941 18, Makoto Tamada, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'50.172 19, Kenan Sofuoglu, Honda, TUR, 0'58.616 20, Regis Laconi, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'0.422 21, Ivan Silva, Honda, ESP, 1'2.852 22, Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1'21.378 23, Vittorio Iannuzzo, Kawasaki, ITA, 1'32.289 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 1'38.444 Rider Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Troy Bayliss, Ducati, AUS, 410 2, Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, JPN, 325 3, Troy Corser, Yamaha, AUS, 316 4, Max Neukirchner, Suzuki, GER, 298 5, Carlos Checa, Honda, ESP, 284 6, Max Biaggi, Ducati, ITA, 235 7, Fonsi Nieto, Suzuki, ESP, 234 8, Michel Fabrizio, Ducati, ITA, 203 9, Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, JPN, 193 10, Ruben Xaus, Ducati, ESP, 171 11, Yukio Kagayama, Suzuki, JPN, 153 12, Gregorio Lavilla, Honda, ESP, 117 13, Jakub Smrz, Ducati, CZE, 113 14, Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati, ITA, 109 15, Karl Muggeridge, Honda, AUS, 75 19, Shinichi Nakatomi, Yamaha, JPN, 48 26, David Checa, Yamaha, ESP, 12 27, Sebastien Gimbert, Yamaha, FRA, 12 Manufacturer Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 520 2, Yamaha, 461 3, Suzuki, 384 4, Honda, 379 5, Kawasaki, 82 ---------- RACE REPORT - 05/10/2008 Foret takes an impressive eighth place on his return to World Supersport Fabien Foret (Yamaha World Supersport Team) made a great return to World Supersport competition at his home race, finishing eighth after ending the first lap down in 15th place. Broc Parkes (Yamaha World Supersport Team) was running with the leading group until he was knocked off by a crash between two other riders on lap ten. Parkes returned to the pits but his machine was too damaged to continue with any chance of scoring a point, and he retired from the race, losing his last chance of taking the world title this season. Andrew Pitt won the title today, by winning the 22-lap race. Foret's result was remarkable on many levels, and even through he finished the race exhausted by his intense race experience, he finished higher in the order than he had dared dream after being out since the Brno race in July. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) had a great ride to sixth, leading Nannelli home in tight midfield race. He was the top Yamaha finisher today. David Salom (Yamaha Spain World Supersport) was 17th and just missed out on a point. Fabien Foret (8th - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "Eighth place and I am really happy with that. One month ago I was at home with a neck brace on and feeling not so good, but today has made me glad I came back for this race. In the middle I had a lot of pain but I was fighting and I did not want to give up. I made some small mistakes because I am not so relaxed, a bit rigid on the bike and not so confident, but it was a good result. I can go home now and get ready, because we have one month until the next race." Broc Parkes (DNF - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "The crash was really not what we needed and there was nothing I could do to avoid it. I felt good and knew we were going to be competitive if we could have finished the race. We just have to look to the final race now and finish as well as we can." Wilco Zeelenberg (Team Manager, Yamaha World Supersport Team) The bike was too badly damaged for Broc to carry on without repairs. He would not have scored points even if he started again. It is a shame. It was a bad move at a bad moment and the Championship has been decided by it. We are happy for Fabien; he really improved and he even did a 1'43.6 lap near the end, which is almost as fast as the leaders. Eighth is a great position when he was not sure if he could even finish the race. He will be mentally and physically stronger at Portimao. I think it was a pity to end our championship challenge this way because there could have been a good battle still with the other guys and Broc, but Andrew deserved it because he won even when Rea was well down." Massimo Roccoli (6th - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "That was a good result for us today and I was pleased to come out on top of the fight with Nannelli. I had a bit of a problem with some other riders on the first laps but after three or four laps I got a good rhythm going and ended up with the best result of the year." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 37'57.929 2, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 0'1.250 3, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 0'1.514 4, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 0'1.685 5, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 0'5.075 6, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'13.171 7, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 0'13.386 8, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 0'19.563 9, Josh Hayes, Honda, USA, 0'19.677 10, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 0'21.686 11, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 0'22.599 12, Katsuaki Fujiwara, Kawasaki, JPN, 0'24.967 13, Patrick Vostarek, Honda, ITA, 0'28.888 14, Ivan Clementi, Triumph, ITA, 0'29.351 15, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 0'38.000 16, Chris Martin, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'40.934 17, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 0'43.876 18, Jesco Gunther, Triumph, GER, 0'46.230 19, Balazs Nemeth, Honda, HUN, 0'58.762 20, David Perret, Honda, FRA, 0'59.258 21, Russell Holland, Honda, AUS, 1'1.131 22, Santiago Barragan, Honda, ESP, 1'14.306 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 1'41.543 Rider Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Andrew Pitt, Honda, AUS, 194 2, Jonathan Rea, Honda, GBR, 164 3, Joshua Brookes, Honda, AUS, 157 4, Broc Parkes, Yamaha, AUS, 139 5, Fabien Foret, Yamaha, FRA, 105 6, Joan Lascorz, Honda, ESP, 105 7, Craig Jones, Honda, GBR, 100 8, Barry Veneman, Suzuki, NED, 92 9, Robbin Harms, Honda, DNK, 71 10, Gianluca Nannelli, Honda, ITA, 69 11, Massimo Roccoli, Yamaha, ITA, 58 12, Matthieu Lagrive, Honda, FRA, 56 13, Gianluca Vizziello, Honda, ITA, 52 14, Didier Van Keymeulen, Suzuki, BEL, 38 15, Chris Walker, Kawasaki, GBR, 36 28, David Salom, Yamaha, ESP, 9 Manufacturer Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 290 2, Yamaha, 192 3, Suzuki, 101 4, Triumph, 70 5, Kawasaki, 46 ---------- RACE REPORT - 05/10/2008 Corti on the podium at Magny-Cours The aggression and commitment shown by Claudio Corti (Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) throughout the 14-lap Superstock 1000 race at Magny-Cours paid off with a third place finish that puts him tenth in the championship standings, on 49 points. Michele Pirro (Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) finished tenth in the race, and stays 15th in the championship fight as the final round looms at Portimao in early November. Claudio Corti (3rd - Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team) "We have had some bad luck recently so it is fantastic to be able to get back onto the podium for the first time this year. Now we move forward to Portimao in determined mood for the last round." Michelle Pirro (10th - Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni) "After the start there was a lot of confusion and I had a clash with another rider which put me back a bit. In the early part of the race the set-up was not the best. Until half the race was finished I did not have so much feel from the bike." Race 1 - 9 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 24'7.794 2, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'0.463 3, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 0'0.543 4, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 0'1.001 5, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'1.792 6, Franck Millet, MV Agusta, ITA, 0'2.556 7, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 0'8.425 8, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 0'8.701 9, Michael Savary, Suzuki, CHE, 0'12.636 10, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 0'12.776 11, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 0'14.352 12, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 0'22.002 13, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 0'23.114 14, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 0'23.739 15, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 0'27.654 16, Raymond Schouten, Yamaha, NED, 0'27.893 17, Gareth Jones, Suzuki, AUS, 0'28.672 18, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 0'29.861 19, Filip Backlund, Suzuki, SWE, 0'31.655 20, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 0'39.173 21, Peter Hickman, Yamaha, GBR, 0'42.859 22, Pauli Pekkanen, KTM, FIN, 0'43.156 23, Matt Bond, Suzuki, GBR, 0'43.591 24, Marko Jerman, Yamaha, SVK, 0'49.153 25, Niccolo Rosso, Honda, ITA, 0'50.458 26, Gregory Junod, Yamaha, CHE, 0'53.215 27, Jure Stibilj, Honda, SVN, 1'1.096 28, Tommaso Lorenzetti, Suzuki, ITA, 1'1.390 29, Roy Ten Napel, Suzuki, NED, 1'4.057 31, Danny De Boer, Suzuki, NED, 1'9.815 32, Brank Srdanov, Yamaha, NED, 1'10.142 33, Michal Drobny, Honda, CZE, 1'12.430 34, Cameron Stronach, Kawasaki, AUS, 1'26.143 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 1'41.994 Rider Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Xavier Simeon, Suzuki, BEL, 131 2, Alessandro Polita, Ducati, ITA, 127 3, Maxime Berger, Honda, FRA, 124 4, Brendan Roberts, Ducati, AUS, 122 5, Michele Pirro, Yamaha, ITA, 89 6, Matej Smrz, Honda, CZE, 73 7, Davide Giugliano, Suzuki, ITA, 72 8, Andrea Antonelli, Honda, ITA, 57 9, Freddy Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 55 10, Claudio Corti, Yamaha, ITA, 49 11, Chris Seaton, Suzuki, AUS, 40 12, Barry Burrell, Honda, GBR, 33 13, Kenny Foray, Yamaha, FRA, 32 14, Michele Magnoni, Yamaha, ITA, 30 15, Domenico Colucci, Ducati, ITA, 26 22, Sylvain Barrier, Yamaha, FRA, 13 Manufacturer Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Ducati, 170 2, Honda, 166 3, Suzuki, 146 4, Yamaha, 126 5, Kawasaki, 49 6, MV Agusta, 10 7, KTM, 2

The fifteen year-old star-in-the-making Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) took a hard fought second place in Saturday’s European Superstock 600 Championship race, and in taking the podium he also took the championship in his rookie year. The close race was a constant battle with fellow Yamaha riders Linfoot and Gines, and Baz was only outbraked by Linfoot on the entrance to the final corners of the Magny-Cours circuit. Baz happily shares the success of his championship victory with Martial Garcia’s Yamaha France Junior Team, who have provided strong support and a fast R6 Yamaha to Loris all season long, providing him with the opportunity to shine on track. This season the young rider won 3 races out of 8, at Valencia, Monza and Brands Hatch. He finished second at the Nürburgring, at Brno and finally this weekend at Magny-Cours. He also took third at Misano, giving him a respectable 7 podiums in 9 races. Loris Baz (Yamaha France Junior Team) “This race was for me like the others. We are all young, so the start is always hot. I didn't want to take chances. I had a good security margin. On my pit board, I saw that at one point I was 3rd and Bussolotti 7th. Then I was 4th and he was 5th. So I passed two riders to have a good gap. In the last lap, I could have tried to win, but I wanted to play it safe. Thank you to my team, to Yamaha, to Jean-Claude Olivier, to my parents, to all the people who help me and to my fan club who came all the way from Spain." This is now the third consecutive European Superstock 600 Championship win for Yamaha as the manufacturer continues to dominate the class.Year on year the challenge of competitor machines has been met with a further leap forward by the legendary YZF R6 taking it to the next level again. Straight out of the box, the new for 2008 R6 has proved itself a formidable track weapon in the hands of the talented young riders of the future, featuring chassis and swing-arm improvements which raised corner speed and improved handling. The YCC-I system improved performance, particularly mid-range, again offered serious advantages to the riders on track.The Superstock class itself is as close to production as possible in racing, only minor differences separate the winning R6 on track and the road going Supersport machine found in the Yamaha dealer.

Fiat Yamaha rider and 2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi recovered from yesterday's mishap to charge through the field from the fourth row at Phillip Island today, eventually taking second behind Casey Stoner. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo took a second consecutive fourth place after a race long battle with several other riders. A mistake during qualifying yesterday had left Rossi with strained neck muscles and a grid position of 12th, but the Italian relishes a challenge and he was already up to eighth by the end of the first lap, despite narrowly missing a collision when Alex de Angelis crashed out in front of him. On lap four Rossi found himself the back marker of a Yamaha trio, behind his team-mate Lorenzo and Tech 3 rider James Toseland. He despatched the Spaniard within two laps and got by Toseland soon after but the Briton put up a spirited challenge, wresting third back and hanging on for five more laps until Rossi eventually got the better of him. With a podium place secure the eight-time champion could have been forgiven for coasting home but he is never one to take the easy option and, with clear air and his M1 and Bridgestone tyres working perfectly, he gradually began to close on Nicky Hayden, who was nearly six seconds ahead. Little-by-little he made up the gap until he was within striking distance, making his move on the very last lap to take second and his 14th podium of the season. After an intense two weeks the MotoGP paddock now has a two week rest before the penultimate round in Malaysia on 19th October. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: +6.504 "That was a very exciting race for me, from start to finish! Unfortunately I made a small mistake yesterday and I paid a high price for it - both with my starting position and with my body! This morning my neck was okay but I had a lot of pain in my head, so I have to say thank you to Dr. Costa and the Clinica Mobile because they gave me a lot of massage and some medicine and I was in better shape for the race. I got a good start and I was lucky to miss de Angelis by just a couple of centimetres, and then I arrived to Lorenzo and Toseland. The first time I passed James I thought I would be able to go but then he passed me back and I realised that his pace was not so bad, and we had a great battle! He was very strong and difficult to pass but once I did get by I was able to go and then I just kept pushing and gradually Nicky got bigger and bigger. It was fun to keep fighting till the last lap and I am very happy with this second position because it's always a great emotion to be on the podium here. Thanks to my team and to Bridgestone, with Casey as strong as he was I think this was the best we could have done today and I really enjoyed the race." Davide Brivio - Team Manager "We didn't win but this was another incredible performance from Valentino, demonstrating once again how he never gives up. The championship is secure, he was starting from the fourth row and the podium would have already been a good achievement but he still pushed at the maximum and was able to come second! He wasn't in perfect shape but the Clinica Mobile helped him a lot and he was able to do his best once again. We're racing to have fun now and we had a lot of fun today in a race that was exciting from start to finish." Fourth place for Lorenzo after island battle Jorge Lorenzo was disappointed to miss out on the podium at Phillip Island today, despite prevailing in a race-long battle for fourth place. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi stormed through the field after starting 12th to finish second behind Casey Stoner. Lorenzo started from second on the grid but he did not quite have the outstanding rhythm he had yesterday and he slipped to fourth on lap one. He then traded places with Tech 3 Yamaha rider James Toseland a couple of times before settling in behind the Briton as Rossi loomed behind. By lap 13 of 27 Lorenzo's world champion team-mate had dispatched his Yamaha compatriots and was disappearing off and it then became a battle for fourth between the Spaniard, Toseland, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano with the foursome trading passes at times more reminiscent of a 125cc race. In the last few laps Lorenzo was able to take control of proceedings somewhat and he was able to hang on to fourth, just ahead of Nakano with Toseland in sixth. The rookie is 27 points off third in the championship and also has a mathematical chance of second, with two rounds remaining. The next battle comes in two week's time at Sepang in Malaysia. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4th Time: +11.500 "I'm not very happy with the race because I know I should have been able to fight for the podium today. I didn't ride like I know I can, Toseland was in front of me many times and I couldn't pass him, and then I couldn't follow Valentino when he came through. I think I had the rhythm to have been with Valentino but it didn't work today. Even though it's mathematically still possible, I think that the second and third places in the championship are probably lost to me now. I think that the most important thing now is to get good results in Malaysia and Valencia so that we finish the season in the right way. The team, the tyres and the bike are all working well, we're getting good results but we know they can be better. I like Malaysia a lot, I rode there in the winter and I think it will be good for Michelin, so I'm looking forward to it." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "We're a bit disappointed about today's result because we definitely had the potential to be on the podium and that's what we were hoping for. We had a few more problems than yesterday with grip in the rear and in the hard braking areas we weren't as good as the others, so we suffered for this. Aside from this it was a good race and Jorge had a great battle for fourth, so despite the result we've enjoyed it and now we're looking forward to the next one." Birthday boy Toseland celebrates in style at Phillip Island James Toseland celebrated his 28th birthday in fantastic fashion today, the Tech 3 Yamaha rider equalling his best MotoGP result in a pulsating Australian MotoGP race. Toseland played a starring role from the start of an enthralling 27-lap race as he charged into third place on the first lap. He briefly surrendered third to fellow Yamaha YZR-M1 rider Jorge Lorenzo on lap three, but retaliated superbly with a bold move at the first corner on lap five. Toseland then led a three-way Yamaha dice that included a hard-charging Valentino Rossi as he rode magnificently to keep the world champion at bay for six laps. Twice Rossi passed Toseland in quick succession, only for the British rider to respond with inch-perfect moves to reclaim third in what proved to be the battle of the race. Toseland's determined pursuit of Rossi thrilled a large Australian crowd, but as he lost touch with the Italian on lap 13, he was then locked in another terrific battle with Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano. Just when it looked like his faultless display would be rewarded with his career best result, he dropped from fourth to sixth on a frantic lap 25. Toseland continued to push hard but was unable to improve on sixth, but his performance was arguably the outstanding ride of the day. Colin Edwards also made a great start from the third row of the grid as he tried to mark his 100th Grand Prix appearance with a top six. Fifth on the first lap, he quickly encountered some traction issues, and his reward for a hard fought race was a battling eighth place. Today's result saw the Tech 3 Yamaha team move back into fourth place in the Team World Championship standings. James Toseland - Position 6th - 100 points "That was an unbelievable race. I got a really good start but Casey and Nicky were incredibly fast at the start. They really put the hammer down and I was wary that I needed to save my tyre for the last few laps, which are always difficult on this track with so much wear on the left side. I just wanted to stay out of trouble but I had some incredible battles out there. The one with Valentino was something special. When he passed me I knew I had to get straight back by him. If I had let him go I knew I'd have to push right at the limit and that would wear my tyre too quickly. The rear was already spinning at that point and I tried everything I could to keep him behind me. When he did pass me and he pulled a gap, I did push a bit too hard and that cost me towards the end of the race. But it was an honour to be racing with Valentino and passing him. In the last three laps I'd just lost a bit of grip and that was crucial because it probably cost me those two places. I knew fourth was up for grabs so I tried to pass Andrea at Honda Hairpin on the last lap. We ran a bit wide and Andrea seemed a bit upset but I passed him without touching him. I am sorry if he is upset, but he is upset for no reason. I was fighting for the best result of my MotoGP career so I had to try something. Shinya came by as I ran wide but I passed him back at Siberia, only for him to come right back underneath me because I ran a bit wide again. I am just happy with the way I rode. I rode hard and I am really pleased that on my birthday I put a good show on and I could enjoy it. I was riding my heart out and when I have a ride like that and I pass Valentino it encourages me even more." Colin Edwards - Position 8th - 126 points "I got a really good start and I thought I could hang in with the battle for third and fourth, but pretty much from the first couple of laps I knew it was going to be a really difficult race. I couldn't even keep them close to me because I couldn't get in the corner and I couldn't get out of the corners. Quite early on I had a moment on the front-end and that hadn't happened all weekend. After that I just couldn't push and I just stayed at the same pace. I couldn't really do more than a 31.5 and it didn't matter what I did I kept falling back. Right at the end I could see de Puniet was running into a few problems with his rear tyre and I was slowly reeling him back in. I managed to pass him and make it stick. It is severely disappointing because I really believed that I could run up close to the podium today. I was riding really hard so to finish eighth is frustrating. I felt like I was on the absolute limit at the pace I was running and it wasn't good enough. This isn't the way I wanted to celebrate my 100th Grand Prix, but congratulations to James. He rode a great race and I'll be looking for a lot more in Malaysia." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "James was absolutely incredible today and he could not have done anymore to get his best result of the season. It was a shame he was sixth again, but again he showed what a true fighter he is. We were quietly confident going into the race after we had a very strong qualifying session with James fifth and Colin seventh on the grid. James made an incredible start and when we saw him fighting in third we couldn't believe it because we weren't sure whether he could maintain the pace knowing how tough this track is for the tyres. But he kept his pace and that was impressive. He also fought very hard with some of the top guys in this championship. His fight with Valentino was extra special and terrific to watch. Not a lot of guys get passed by Valentino and then pass him straight back, so it was incredible to see him do this. We were dreaming of a podium at one point but the way he rode, I think he gave the fans a really special show. It was a great way to celebrate his birthday and I think he gave himself a good present with that ride. Colin didn't finish where we expected but he fought hard to the end and his result has helped us move back into fourth in the Team World Championship, which is very important for us. I'd also like to congratulate Mike di Meglio for winning the World 125 Championship. As a French team it is special to see home grown talent succeed on the world stage." Race 1 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 40'56.543 2, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 0'6.504 3, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'7.205 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'11.500 5, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'11.914 6, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'12.243 7, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'12.780 8, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'25.920 9, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'26.037 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'26.799 11, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 0'27.027 12, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'47.808 13, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'48.333 14, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'48.899 15, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 0'48.935 16, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 1'11.767 Best Lap Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 1'28.665 Rider Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 332 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 245 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 209 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 182 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 145 6, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 131 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 126 8, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 118 9, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 106 10, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 102 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 100 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 91 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 60 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 55 15, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 54 Team Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 514 2, Repsol Honda Team, 340 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 296 4, Tech3 Yamaha, 226 5, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 222 6, Honda Gresini, 161 7, Team Alice, 151 8, JIR Scot Team, 145 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 96 10, Honda LCR, 54 Manufacturer Standings 05/10/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 361 2, Ducati, 286 3, Honda, 275 4, Suzuki, 165 5, Kawasaki, 81