Alex Asigno

The 62nd Motocross of Nations saw the biggest media attendance of the year for a European race and a large contingent of the press corps crowded the Monster Energy hospitality unit on Saturday to see David Philippaerts select a canvas print from a dedicated gallery compiled to celebrate a title-winning campaign and present it to the Wings for Life foundation. Ten images of the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team including action shots of Philippaerts and Josh Coppins as well as photographs from the victory scenes at the decisive Grand Prix Citta di Faenza were displayed to the press and public inside the hospitality. The World Champion then signed and gave one of the pictures to former number one Heinz Kinigadner for auction to generate more funding for the foundation that works for research and prevention of spinal injuries. “It was great to see the gallery and reminded me of some of the good times we had this season,” said the Italian. “It was a nice gesture by Yamaha Motor Europe and I am pleased that we could show it off at the same time as the race replica,” he added referring to the new 2009 YZ450F Yamaha Motocross Team Replica that was launched at the same moment. “Wings for Life is an important organisation and to give them one of the pictures was no problem at all, it was good that Heinz could be there also; it was a special moment,” he added.

American racing sensation Ben Spies has signed up to the Yamaha factory World Superbike Team to partner 23 yr old British rider Tom Sykes for the 2009 season. The 24yr old American rider from Dallas is fresh from a record third championship win in a row, taking the AMA Superbike Championship crown again for 2008. Spies is only the fourth rider in the history of AMA Superbike to win three consecutive titles and 3rd on the all-time AMA Superbike wins list with a total of 28 AMA Superbike wins. This now completes the Yamaha World Superbike team for 2009. Spies has been racing and winning in the AMA Superbike Championship since 2005, and has an unrivalled 90% podium finish rate for racing, the highest for any AMA rider in the history of the championship. He took second place in his rookie year followed by the three successive championship wins. Prior to this he had a three year stint in the AMA Supersport Championship,. Spies turned pro in 2000, racing in the AMA Superstock Championship for two years before joining AMA Supersport in 2002. Spies has also ridden in MotoGP in 2008, starting in place of injured Loris Capirossi at the British GP, finishing 14th place scoring his first MotoGP points. He had a further 2 wildcard outings, achieving 8th at Laguna Seca and an even more impressive 6th at Indianapolis. “I’m very excited about joining Yamaha in World Superbike,” Spies said. “This is a positive step for the direction of my career. I’ll have a great opportunity to race on many of the top road racing circuits in the world. Riding with a company as passionate about racing as Yamaha is going to put me in a good position to contest for a world championship right from the start.” “Superbike racing originated in America, but it’s been a while since we’ve had an American world champion. There’s a great tradition of American riders in World Superbike and I hope to put my name alongside great champions like Fred Merkel, Doug Polen, Scott Russell, John Kocinski and Colin Edwards. “ “After considering my offers it became obvious to me that Yamaha would be a great home. Yamaha was excited about the possibility of me joining them and they just made me feel like I was coming into a great family. You look at how Yamaha treats its riders and how, even after their careers are over, they’re always part of the Yamaha family. That was really important to me. I’m looking forward to the challenge at hand and to work with Yamaha to produce a winning team and ultimately a World Superbike Championship.” Massimo Meregalli (Yamaha’s factory Superbike Team Manager) – “We’re really enthusiastic to have signed Ben Spies for the 2009 team. He’s proved to be a very skilful and successful rider in AMA Superbike, he has been one of the riders we have followed closely this year. We are sure he will be a great combination with Tom Sykes, the team are looking forward to starting with them both next year. There will be a lot to learn with new circuits and new bikes but we also have new motivation as a fresh team and will give 200% to help the riders win in 2009. ” “We’re very excited to have Ben join the team” said Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “He’s proved to be a top rider with his AMA titles and recent rides in MotoGP, we believe he’s got a long future ahead of him at the highest levels in motorcycle racing.“

Despite being down to just two riders for the penultimate round of the 2008 World Enduro Championship due to the injury sustained by Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero at this year's ISDE in Greece, the UFO Corse Yamaha team put in a strong showing at their home round of the WEC series in Piediluco, Italy with Maurizio Micheluz claiming the team's best E1 class results with 3rd on Day1 and 4th on Day2. With Albergoni riding just 15 days after cracking a shoulder blade at the ISDE, Maurizio Micheluz led the UFO Corse team on Day1 claiming his first podium result of the year. With many riders struggling to get to grips with the hard, dry Italian terrain, Maurizio gelled with each of the event's special tests to finish the opening day just 48 seconds behind eventual winner Mika Ahola and ahead of former double E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes. Winning one of the day's extreme tests, finishing 3rd on two of the enduro tests, as well as 2nd on the opening motocross test, Maurizio put in his strongest performance of the season. On Day2 Maurizio dropped one position to 4th in the E1 class despite continued good riding. With one round of the '08 WEC series remaining, Maurizio sits 5th in the E1 championship standings. For Simone Albergoni the GP of Italy was a tough one. Having been unable to ride since the ISDE where he crashed on the final day and cracked one of his shoulder blades Simone was unable to perform at his best and despite his efforts could place no higher than 4th on Day1 and 7th on Day2. Starting well on the first day and winning the first timed extreme test Simone saw his pace decrease as the day wore on. On Day2 several crashes, including one big accident on the final enduro test, stopped Albergoni placing higher than 7th. Despite being extremely disappointed Simone remains third in the E1 championship standings and sits 20 points ahead of Yamaha France rider Marc Germain. Despite being best known as a mud specialist Germain claimed a creditable runner-up result on Day1 finishing just 24 seconds behind winner Mika Ahola. On Day2 Marc matched his day one result to finish as runner-up. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 5th, Day 2 7th: "It's not been a good weekend for me, mainly because I broke my shoulder blade when I crashed in the final motocross race at the ISDE. With just 15 days between the two races I've struggled. Half way through every special test I had no power, I just couldn't push. I wasn't able to train before the race so I was getting very tired. I had several crashes on day two, one of which was very big. I was lucky not to hurt myself. Although my results weren't what I wanted for my home GP it's not been too bad as far as the championship is concerned because I only lost 10 points to the rider behind me." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 3rd, Day 2 4th: "I'm really happy to have got my first podium of this season at my home race. It's also the second podium of my career so it's great to be back once again. I tried to push as much as I could on day one because I was really enjoying the conditions. I was second until the last lap on day one so I am very happy with the way it finished. Some of the other riders were a little faster on day two, but I still managed to finish fourth so it has been a very good weekend for me. It's been a very difficult race. We had more than one-hour of special tests as well as a tight time check on each lap. It's been a typically Italian race and I've really enjoyed it." Race 1Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 69'21.900 2, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 0'24.710 3, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 0'48.910 4, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 1'11.880 5, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'14.450 6, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 1'49.380 7, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 2'48.760 8, Damien Miquel, Suzuki, FRA, 3'23.830 9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 3'50.530 10, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 3'52.740 11, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 4'17.270 12, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 5'7.860 13, Giuliano Falgari, Honda, ITA, 5'46.500 14, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 7'39.950 Race 2Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 84'40.140 2, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 0'44.850 3, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 0'51.730 4, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 1'52.160 5, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 2'54.160 6, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 2'55.350 7, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 3'7.260 8, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 3'35.800 9, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 4'12.010 10, Damien Miquel, Yamaha, FRA, 4'50.510 11, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 9'1.480 12, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 12'3.410 Rider Standings 27/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Mika Ahola, Honda, FIN, 325 2, Ivan Cervantes, KTM, ESP, 322 3, Simone Albergoni, Yamaha, ITA, 267 4, Marc Germain, Yamaha, FRA, 242 5, Maurizio Micheluz, Yamaha, ITA, 196 6, Cristobal Guerrero, Yamaha, ESP, 185 7, Mike Hartmann, KTM, GER, 145 8, Jordan Curvalle, Suzuki, FRA, 140 9, Tom Sagar, KTM, GBR, 140 10, Eero Remes, KTM, FIN, 137 11, Bartosz Oblucki, Husqvarna, POL, 109 12, Luca Cherubini, TM, ITA, 102 13, Jakub Horak, KTM, CZE, 82 14, Daryl Bolter, Husqvarna, GBR, 58 15, Danielle Tellini, Suzuki, ITA, 50 Manufacturer Standings 27/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Honda, 325 2, KTM, 309 3, Yamaha, 296 4, Husqvarna, 167 5, Suzuki, 153 6, TM, 102 7, Kawasaki, 47 8, Sherco, 12 ---------- RACE REPORT - 29/09/2008 Aubert close to title after Italian win With just one round of the 2008 World Enduro Championship remaining UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Johnny Aubert holds a 16-point lead over Finn Juha Salminen having finished the GP of Italy as the E2 class winner on Day1 and as runner-up on Day2. Having suffered both injury and mechanical troubles at the UFO Corse Yamaha team's home round of the world championship in past years, this time around Aubert did exactly what he needed to do and finished without problems as he closed in on his first ever world championship title. Winning the first three special tests on day one to open up an important lead over rival Salminen, Aubert then maintained his position at the front of the class throughout the course and adding a further three test wins to his name claimed an eventual 18 second winning margin. On Day2 Aubert again started strongly by winning four of the first five special tests. Looking as if he was headed towards a second victory he found himself trailing Salminen as the day neared it's close and on the very last extreme test of the event parted company with his bike in spectacular fashion, losing well over one-minute. Luckily uninjured following his spill, Johnny held on to the runner-up position and now heads to his second home GP of the season in France with a 16-point lead at the top of the E2 championship standings. Ensuring Yamaha enjoyed a strong presence in the Enduro 2 class at the GP of Italy, Fabrizio Dini placed a creditable 5th on Day1 having held 3rd in class for much of the opening two laps. Looking to secure strong results at his home round of the WEC the WR450F-mounted rider rode exceptionally well on the extreme test where he placed 3rd in the class on two separate occasions. Also performing well on the motocross and enduro tests the former motocross racer was consistent throughout the day. Disappointingly, Day2 started badly for Fabrizio as, after the opening three special tests, he was placed down near the bottom of the E2 standings. During the day however he managed to pull himself back up the results, helped again by impressive riding on the extreme test. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 1st, Day 2 2nd: "It's been a really good weekend for me. I was 21 seconds faster than Juha in the first lap on day one, which was a great start. I was faster on the motocross and extreme tests and he was faster on the enduro test. I ended the day 18 seconds ahead and it was a good run. I was having a good day again on Sunday, having a decent battle with Juha, and it looked like I was going to finish second. I arrived at the final extreme test and made a huge mistake. I crashed on one of the big rock steps and lost more than one minute. Thankfully, I made a good final motocross test and managed to hold my second place. I have just one race to go now, my second home race in France. I'm a little more relaxed now, but maybe that will change when the final race of the season gets a little closer." Fabrizio Dini (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 5th Day 2 8th: "The first day was really good for me. I was third for two laps. After that I had a small problem on the enduro test and finished fifth, which isn't so bad. I was really looking forward to the second day, but things didn't go as well as I hoped they would. I crashed five times including two big crashes in the enduro test. After that it was very difficult. I finished eighth, which I'm happy with because after the first three tests I was last in the E2 class. It's been a very difficult race with lots of special tests and one very challenging and tight time control." Race 1Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 69'0.880 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 0'17.990 3, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 1'24.980 4, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 1'31.680 5, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 1'59.840 6, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'8.160 7, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 2'46.350 8, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'15.930 9, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'17.340 10, Jean Francois Goblet, BMW, BEL, 4'50.160 11, Aaron Bernandez, Husqvarna, ESP, 4'57.600 12, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 5'7.190 13, Rudy Cotton, Beta, FRA, 5'13.840 14, Dario Cardinali, Husqvarna, ITA, 30'39.780 Race 2Â Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 84'8.990 2, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 1'21.880 3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 1'41.530 4, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 1'41.880 5, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 1'54.760 6, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 2'19.710 7, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 3'16.480 8, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 3'37.900 9, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 3'39.930 10, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 3'47.590 11, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 5'34.330 Rider Standings 27/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Johnny Aubert, Yamaha, FRA, 319 2, Juha Salminen, KTM, FIN, 303 3, Alessandro Belometti, KTM, ITA, 223 4, Rodrig Thain, TM, FRA, 196 5, Joakim Ljunggren, HusaBerg, SWE, 189 6, Antoine Meo, Husqvarna, FRA, 180 7, Fabrizio Dini, Yamaha, ITA, 171 8, Nicolas Paganon, Aprilia, FRA, 143 9, Simo Kirssi, BMW, FIN, 139 10, Fabio Mossini, Honda, ITA, 126 11, Valtteri Salonen, HusaBerg, FIN, 126 12, Nicolas Deparrois, GasGas, FRA, 111 13, Jari Juha Mattila, Honda, FIN, 110 14, Alessandro Zanni, Honda, ITA, 78 15, Aaron Bernandez, Husqvarna, ESP, 59 Manufacturer Standings 27/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 328 2, Yamaha, 319 3, HusaBerg, 215 4, Husqvarna, 206 5, Honda, 200 6, TM, 196 7, BMW, 169 8, Aprilia, 143 9, GasGas, 111 10, Beta, 49 11, Suzuki, 26

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team’s Josh Coppins took 4th position overall in the MX1 class at a cloudy and sometimes wet Donington Park for the 62nd Motocross of Nations, assisting his country, New Zealand to a final finish of 8th place. MX1 World Champion David Philippaerts steered his YZ450FM for Italy and fought with American number one James Stewart in the first moto taking 3rd spot but a brace of crashes in his second race left him the outside the top twenty. The circuit that hosted the 2007 British Grand Prix and regularly entertains MotoGP and World Superbike events had been altered and changed for the biggest and most historical meeting on the off-road motorcycle racing calendar. 60000 spectators flocked to England’s East Midlands and the cosmopolitan crowd remained in good spirits despite a period of rainfall in the morning. The hard terrain from a warm and sunny Saturday became soft and very rough after Sunday’s climate change and the surface provided a technical test for a gathering of the best rider’s in the world. Coppins was a protagonist in the top ten during both of his races. The 31 year old had taken a break after an arduous Grand Prix season and lacked a little race sharpness. He was as high as 3rd in the second sprint for the MX1 riders but ended the day 7th and 6th to be the Kiwi’s best performer. Philippaerts, just two weeks after winning the MX1-GP World championship, put in a good first moto for Italy and was one of just two riders to keep pace with Stewart in the two outings for the MX1 category. His 3rd place involved a small crash when the front end of the bike slipped away on the greasy mud and this was a prelude to a problematic second outing in which he felt the exertions of a long 2008 season and hit the floor twice, crossing the line in 22nd. He was 10th in the MX1 overall ranking. Italy would end the day with 5th position in the final classification of countries and their efforts were assisted enormously by 3C Racing’s Manuel Monni. The MX2 Italian champion took his YZ250F to 3rd place in the division. Yamaha were present on the Nations podium as Nico Aubin rode a YZ450F in the Open class for France. He joined his two team-mates in celebrating the runner-up step of the rostrum behind winners USA and ahead of Belgium. Aubin rode admirably across the rutted red mud and although the physical demands of the bigger machine took their toll he was able to finish 3rd in the category. Utag Yamaha.com’s Zach Osborne also swapped his YZ250F for a YZ450F and was 7th in the MX Open classification for Puerto Rico and his Nations debut. His flight from almost last on the first lap of his first race to 6th was a highlight for the teenager. His team-mate Martin Barr won the B-Final for Ireland. In other news Utag Yamaha.com’s Kenneth Gundersen has been forced to retire from the sport as a result of the weakened condition of his cartilage. The Norwegian was present at Donington Park to see his team enter the B-Final and commented that the repercussions of two knee injuries and a damaged cartilage were behind his decision, after his knee swelled while training two weeks ago. “It is a tough situation but after I had some inflammation I saw the doctor and he said the cartilage was not in good shape. I am only sorry for Steve (Dixon, team manager) because he believed in me and we were hoping for a decent 2009. I have had ten years in the world championship and many good times and met many good people. I really don’t know what I will do now but I hope I can stay in the sport.” “I am very sorry for Kenneth that he has to stop his career because of injury,” commented Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “When he came to Yamaha it was clear that he had a lot of talent and we were hoping he could come back from some difficult times. We wish him all the best, there is more to life than motocross and I will always see him as a Yamaha man.” With the international schedule now over Philippaerts has a host of media and personal appearances lined up into the month of November while Coppins has committed to several beach race events and a race in his native New Zealand in October. Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team (New Zealand) 4th in MX1: “The day was OK, nothing more. My starts were good and the motos were pretty consistent. I crashed in the first race and felt a bit tired in the second half of the next one. I did not really have the year I wanted so after the last GP I felt a bit down and took some time off and it showed today. However I think I gave the Kiwi team quite a solid ride, it was just a shame I could not maintain that good speed of the second moto until the end. I am happy a long season is over!” David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team (Italy) 10th in MX1: “I started well in the first moto and was riding fast but Stewart and Pourcel were just a bit better. I was pleased with third position, it was good for the team. The second moto was a disaster. After three laps I crashed and afterwards pushed hard to get as many positions as possible but made another mistake. It was not my day today and it is disappointing. I wanted a lot more from this race. The last two weeks have been pretty crazy and I am really tired now. I did not train so much after Faenza, and so I am quite content with the speed. It was a long season and after 15 races of always pushing to be near the top I did not have any more to give.” Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, (France) 3rd in MX Open: “We were really determined to try and beat the US and we tried as hard as we could. Anthony and Sebastien rode really well and I was pretty satisfied with my motos. I rode a bit too tense and not as relaxed as I would like but we took a good result and I liked racing the 450F today.” Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 7th in MX Open: “I came together with Brett Metcalfe in the second turn of my first race and went down. I fought my way back to 6th but it meant that I was spent for the second moto. I did my best and finished the race and I think people are happy with what I did. I feel really drained and with the small amount of time between the races I was not able to recover properly. The track was really rough for the second race; I could not believe it, but I really enjoyed riding here.” Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Division Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe: “We have reached the end of a long season and looking back we are delighted to have won the MX1-GP title and with Valentino Rossi claiming the MotoGP championship we are extremely happy that Yamaha have enjoyed so much success both off and on the road. 2008 has been a special year for us but now we will focus on the preparation for the coming season and both David and Josh will be pushing for more acclaim in 2009.” MX1 Overall Result 1. Sebastien Pourcel, FRA, Kawasaki 2. Ken de Dycker, BEL, Suzuki 3. Julien Bill, SUI, Honda 4. Josh Coppins, NZL, Yamaha 5. Jonathan Barragan, ESP, KTM 10. David Philippaerts, ITA, Yamaha MX2 Overall Result 1. Ryan Villopoto, USA, Kawasaki 2. Tommy Searle, GBR, KTM 3. Manuel Monni, ITA, Yamaha 4. Brett Metcalfe, AUS, Suzuki 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek, BEL, KTM 6. Carlos Campano, ESP, Yamaha MX Open Overall Result 1. Tim Ferry, USA, Kawasaki 2. Steve Ramon, BEL, Suzuki 3. Nicolas Aubin, FRA, Yamaha 4. Alex Salvini, ITA, Suzuki 5. Cody Cooper, NZL, Suzuki 7. Zach Osborne, PUR, Yamaha Final Motocross of Nations classification 1. USA 2. France 3. Belgium 4. Great Britain 5. Italy

“I think it’s difficult to say, but maybe this is even better than the first championship with Yamaha in 2004. In 2004 I arrived after three championships in a row; the change was very big and no one expected me to win then, not even us to be honest! But this year is great too because I didn’t start as the number one favourite after losing for two years. The taste of this is something special. “In 2006 I lost because of bad luck; I still won the most races and was the fastest on track for most of the time, but in 2007 Stoner was a lot faster than us and so we got to the end with a big of disadvantage. Winning this championship was very difficult but also very, very important. “The decision to change to Bridgestone tyres, which I took together with Jeremy, my team and all the Yamaha crew, was very important, as were the changes to the bike because the first 800cc M1 last year was not competitive enough. We spoke a lot during last season and I remember a strange meeting in Valencia last year, me with a broken hand, speaking with Furusawa about 2008. From then we started to work on the improvements for this season. It’s also been important to have the right people in the right place and this year everything has been correct. It’s been step-by-step. “I think I have made a lot of good decisions this year and we have been competitive from the start. Qatar was the worst race of the season but I knew our potential was good so, although we were a bit worried at that point, we weren’t desperate because we knew if we fixed a few problems we could try to win. “I grew up a lot in the last two years, because at the end of 2005 I had a great career and I had won all the important targets so far. 125, 250 and then five titles in a row in MotoGP with two different bikes – I felt unbeatable. But in 2006 and 2007 I learnt to lose and this has been very important. I came out much stronger and my level of concentration and effort to win this championship has been higher than ever before. “This season has had some different periods. At the beginning of the year we had some important results when Bridgestone wasn’t the strongest: Jerez, Portugal and others, and in that period we took a big advantage from Stoner. After Barcelona Casey started to ride like a demon and dominated three races in a row, and then we went to Laguna which was the turning point of the season. Laguna was a real battle and from then on we have flown. “The show after the race was one of my friends pretending to be a ‘notary’, signing and certificating the eighth championship ‘deed’. It was very exciting to be planning the championship t-shirt and celebration once again with my friends and fan club and the one we came up with is funny I think, it says ‘I’m sorry for the delay!’ “I am very content at Yamaha and this is why I signed for two more years. I had some good offers at other factories, but I already changed bike once and proved everything I wanted to and so there is no need to do that again. Also I am no longer 20 years old and I need a good atmosphere in my team in order to keep me focused and happy, and I have this at Yamaha. The atmosphere in our team, from the Japanese all the way down to the garage is fantastic and this is what makes me want to stay. “I think 2009 will be even more difficult than this year. Now I am the world champion again and I have demonstrated that I am still very fast; I think I rode the best of my career this year apart from the mistake in Assen, but next year is another story, it depends on how the winter is and how Stoner, Pedrosa and also Lorenzo are next year, as well as the other riders because there are many fast people in this championship. I think it will be a great championship and I’m looking forward to it, but first I want to finish this year and try to win the final three races! “As I said, there are many strong riders but of course I hope that in the future nobody will win like Valentino Rossi! Maybe my brother Luca will be as strong as me…I wanted to take him on my bike on the celebration lap, but they did not allow it. Maybe I will wait for him to be a MotoGP rider before quitting, then I will beat him in the first year, and then I will stop riding! “When you are 20 or 22 yrs old, you live everything in a different way. It’s different… In 2000, maybe, I could have won on my debut, but I underestimated myself! In 2001 it was the last chance for me to win in 500, so I gave it my best and did that. In 2001 it was the year of the battle with Biaggi, in 2002 it was the year when everybody said that I won because of my bike, then 2003 was the year of Gibernau, it was hard until the end. They were fantastic years but with Yamaha it is different. I enjoy it more. “During 2003 I started thinking about Yamaha. Of course I was scared about the new challenge, it was a big question mark. This year, when I tested the new bike and the new tyres, I understood that I could win. In 2004, however, when I tested the new bike I understood we had to work a lot. Sincerely, the feeling of winning in Welkom in 2004 was the strongest emotion of my career; more so than in Laguna Seca this year. The 2005 the M1 was very fast and that one and the 2008 one are the best Yamaha bikes ever. “I think Stoner next year will be back stronger again, so maybe he is the hardest rival I have ever had, more than Gibernau and all the others I fought against in the past. Last year I was sorry that after so many successful years, some people thought Valentino was finished and Casey was the new Valentino. As I said, until I stop riding a bike, my objective will always be to win. I like this life and I always try to do my best in it.” Statistiscs on Valentino Rossi's career In becoming only the second rider ever to win the MotoGP World Championship following a two-year gap, Valentino Rossi has cemented his place amongst the legends of motorcycle racing. A return to the form that won him five consecutive premier-class titles between 2001 and 2005 has seen the Italian reinstated at the very pinnacle of the sport, with a host of career milestones reached along the way. Here is a full list of Rossi’s historic MotoGP achievements in 2008: Rossi has joined Giacomo Agostini as one of only two riders to have taken six or more premier-class World Championships. Rossi is only the second rider to regain the premier-class title after a two year gap – the other rider to do this was also Agostini. This is Rossi’s eighth world title across all classes.Only Agostini with 15, Angel Nieto, with 13, Mike Hailwood and Carlos Ubbiali, with nine each, have won more. Rossi is the first rider to win the premier-class title on four different types of motorcycle: 500cc 4-cylinder two-stroke, 990cc 5-cylinder four-stroke, Yamaha 990cc 4-cylinder four-stroke and a Yamaha 800cc 4-cylinder four-stroke. It is eleven years since Rossi’s first World Championship success in the 125cc class in 1997.The only rider with a longer period between his first and last titles is Angel Nieto, who won the 50cc crown in 1969 and the 125cc equivalent in 1984. With his 69th career MotoGP win at Indianapolis, Rossi broke Giacomo Agostini’s record for the most premier-class victories; a record that has stood since the legendary Italian’s final victory at the West German Grand Prix in 1976. With 37 wins, Rossi has had more success with Yamaha than any other factory in his career Rossi is also Yamaha’s most successful rider, having scored 13 more premier-class wins for the factory than Kenny Roberts. With three races to go he is the only rider to have scored points in every round of the 2008 season. Rossi’s sequence of five straight race wins since Laguna Seca is his longest run of wins since 2005, when he also scored five successive victories. Other facts about Rossi’s career. In 1997 Rossi became the second youngest ever 125cc World Champion after scoring 321 points and eleven wins. Two years later, he became the youngest ever 250cc World Champion with nine wins. In 2001 Rossi joined Phil Read as one of only two riders ever to win the 125cc, 250cc and 500cc titles. Rossi’s debut victory for Yamaha at the opening race of 2004 in South Africa made him the first rider in history to take back-to-back wins for different manufacturers. After winning the MotoGP World Championship three times with Honda, Rossi took his fourth premier-class title with Yamaha in 2004 and became the only rider other than Eddie Lawson to win consecutive premier-class titles for different manufacturers. Valentino Rossi - Career Nationality: Italian Born: 16th February 1979 in Urbino, Italy World Championships: 8 (6 x MotoGP/500cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc) GP victories: 96 (70 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) GP podiums: 148 (112 x MotoGP/500cc, 21 x 250cc, 15 x 125cc) GP Pole Positions: 51 (41 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) First GP win: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 207 (146 x MotoGP/50cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)

Valentino Rossi rode a perfect race to win Yamaha's home Grand Prix in Japan today, claiming the 2008 MotoGP World Championship title in the process. In doing so the 29-year-old Italian became only the second rider in history to recapture the title after two years, the other being Giacomo Agostini, whose all-time victory record Rossi surpassed at the last race in Indianapolis. This is Rossi's third title with Yamaha, his sixth in the premier class and eighth in total in a career spanning 12 years. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished a fighting fourth and today's results also secured the triple crown of Rider, Manufacturer and Team titles for Yamaha and the Fiat Yamaha Team. Rossi slipped some places at the start and was in fifth first time around. He soon found his rhythm however as his Bridgestone tyres warmed up and he passed Lorenzo and Nicky Hayden on the next lap before settling in behind Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, the three contesting the next four laps within a few tenths of a second of one another. On lap six both Rossi and Stoner got by Pedrosa and from then on the Italian was on his championship rival's tail, determined to find a way to pass him and win the race despite the title being his with a podium finish. With ten laps to go Rossi did just that and it was then a straight run to the finish as he pulled away from Stoner, crossing the line 1.943 seconds and 92 championship points ahead to seal a very special title after two barren years. Rossi has won eight races this season and, with three remaining, he is still in with a chance of matching the 11 he won in his second season with Yamaha in 2005. Today's win was his 70th in the premier class, his 96th in total and his 148th career podium. Valentino Rossi - Position:1st, Time:43'09.599 "It's a great victory and a great achievement; I think it's at the same level as the first title in 2004 with Yamaha, maybe even better! This championship has been very long and hard and all of the team and all of Yamaha have worked very well, never giving up for one moment. We have been able to put a great bike onto the track in all conditions and at all circuits, and this has allowed me to ride like this and to win so many races. I am very happy! The race was a great battle and I had to ride at 100%, like I have through all through the season! Pedrosa and Stoner today were very strong and it was fun to fight with them like this, I am happy that it was a good race for the fans. It was a fantastic feeling to take the title with a win, like I did in 2001 and 2004. I think this is the hardest I have ever had to work to win a world championship and I have to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, my mechanics, the team and everyone involved for working this hard alongside me. Of course I also have to say a special thank you to Bridgestone, they have done a great job with the tyres all season and the decision to be with them has been a big part of our success this season. We have lost for two years and I don't think I was the favourite this season, but we have shown that we are a great team and that we never give up. I am so happy that I have now won three titles with Yamaha because this is how many I won with my last team and I want Yamaha to have the same merit - I am a Yamaha rider and I feel different with Yamaha than with anyone else before - I hope we will have more together! Now I have to get used to being World Champion again!" Davide Brivio - Team Manager; "Simply amazing! Every time he surprises us. We've already been working together for five years and what he can deliver on the track is always unbelievable. This year is another demonstration of how strong Valentino is, especially to come back to this level of performance after two very hard years. We knew we had to improve the bike and make it faster after last year and Yamaha have done this, but Valentino worked very hard in the winter too and, together with Bridgestone, we were able to start very strongly and get better as the season progressed. 2006 and 2007 made everyone stronger, including the relationship between Valentino and Yamaha; we knew that we didn't want to be in this situation again and so this has been a great motivation for this victory. Congratulations to Valentino, to all the team and Yamaha engineers, and thank you to Bridgestone, Fiat and all of our sponsors and partners. Congratulations also to Jorge's team and to Tech 3, they have all played a big part in winning the Triple Crown." Jorge Lorenzo just missed out on a podium at Motegi today, finishing fourth after a hard fight with Dani Pedrosa. His team-mate Valentino Rossi won the race to take his eighth world championship title and Yamaha and the Fiat Yamaha team also secured the Team and Manufacturer's titles, both of which Lorenzo has played a significant part in during his rookie season. After dominating qualifying, the young Spaniard was looking forward to being able to fight for the win today but much lower temperatures made things harder for him and he was unable to keep up quite the same pace as he had yesterday. He slipped to fourth at the start, was relegated to fifth by Rossi on his charge to the front on the second lap and then took six laps to pass Nicky Hayden to regain fourth. The determined rookie was then 1.6 seconds from third-placed Pedrosa but he put his head down and pushed as hard as he could to bring himself into touching distance for a showdown on the last lap. Lorenzo made his move at the hairpin but was unable to make it past Pedrosa today and had to settle for fourth and 13 points, leaving him 40 points adrift of his fellow Spaniard, who is third in the championship, with three rounds remaining. Jorge Lorenzo - Position:4th, Time:+6.165 "I am very happy with this fourth position; it was impossible to do more today. I tried so hard to pass Dani and the hairpin before the back straight was the only place I had the chance, but I couldn't do it. Yesterday I thought I had a chance to win and I was very confident, but this morning I saw the weather, much colder and yesterday, and I knew that it would be more difficult than in the qualifying session. The track was colder and for Michelin and for me this was more difficult. I have to improve my starts because once again I had problems and lost some places, but anyway I think I'm in good form for the last three races. The team worked very well this weekend, as always, so thanks to them and to Michelin. Big congratulations to Valentino and the other side of the box, to do what he has done is almost impossible! Finally well done to everyone for winning the Team's and Manufacturer's titles as well, I am so happy that I have played a part in this during my first season with Yamaha." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "Obviously, after yesterday's qualifying, we hoped for a better result, but today Jorge did the best he could. He rode in a very fast and aggressive way but the weather, with the colder ground temperature, didn't help us and we achieved as much as we were able. Many thanks to the team for their work because the bike setting was very good, but we do need to work on our race start. Congratulations to Valentino for the world championship title, won so far in advance, but we are also happy about the 'triple crown' of Team and Manufacturer's titles because we have played an important role in these titles." Takashi Kajikawa - President and CEO Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. "It gives me great pleasure to announce today that Valentino Rossi has reclaimed the championship title in MotoGP after two years of unfortunate near misses, and that we have also achieved the ultimate goal of adding the team and constructor titles to win the coveted "triple crown" in this premier class of international road racing. For us at Yamaha Motor Company, this great achievement is especially great because it comes at our home GP here in Japan. "We owe this great achievement to Valentino Rossi, who won the championship today, as well as to Jorge Lorenzo, who won his first victory earlier this year in his first season in the MotoGP, and to Colin Edwards and James Toseland, who also rode hard throughout the season and won points on the Yamaha YZR-M1. "I want to take this occasion to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of the people who have made this achievement possible, including not only the team members who have worked so hard to realize it but also the Yamaha fans around the world who have cheered them on consistently through the season and the sponsors who have supported them so generously. "At Yamaha Motor Company, we believe that the racing arena is more than just a stage for technological development. It is also a theatre that helps nurture employee skills and traits such as the spirit of challenge that we value so much. For these reasons, racing has been an important symbol of our corporate culture that we have continued to pursue actively throughout our history., I also believe firmly that racing is a challenge that helps us bring Kando to many people around the world. "I hope that everyone will continue to give us their support in this ongoing challenge." Tech 3 perform well in Yamaha's home race Capitalising on a strong start from the third row of the grid, Tech 3 rider Edwards reeled off a series of consistently fast lap times to mount a serious assault on the top six in the second half of the race. The American managed to claw back a three second deficit on Loris Capirossi to shadow the Italian from lap 12 onwards. Edwards exerted intense pressure on the Italian, winner of the last three races at the challenging Twin Ring Motegi circuit, and he cut the gap to Capirossi by 0.5s in the last two laps. But Edwards had to settle for seventh, a result which is still a big confidence boost with today's 24-lap race his best result since the Dutch GP at Assen in June. He moved back into the top six in the overall standings ahead of Chris Vermeulen. Team mate James Toseland also rode a strong race in front of an appreciative crowd of 57,865 fans as he was embroiled in a nail-biting battle with John Hopkins. Toseland rode superbly to keep his more experienced rival at bay for 15 laps before he slipped to 11th on the last lap. Today's result saw the Tech 3 Yamaha squad remain firmly in the hunt for fourth place in the Team World Championship. Colin Edwards: Position:7th, Time;+25.918 "I got a good start and settled in behind Valentino and Jorge at the first corner and I was happy because I've been caught up in a couple of incidents there in the past. I threw it in and then I just saw this front wheel staring straight at me. It was Dovizioso but luckily we all made through but the first lap I was just trying to get some heat into the rear tyre. I got it working and got into a good pace and saw that Loris was coming back to me. I was pushing hard but I was having a few issues with the rear spinning, which has been a problem all weekend. But then Loris made a mistake and he was right out to the kerb at the first corner. He was nearly in the dirt and I was right on his tail. I was behind him for what seemed like forever but it was fun. I could almost reach out and touch his back wheel but I couldn't do anything to get by him. Loris's bike was really good coming off the corner. It obviously has some bottom grunt because all I could do was watch him and I couldn't do anything with him. I couldn't get close enough to out-brake him and with the spinning problem I couldn't get any acceleration grip out of the corner to line him up for a pass. I put my head down and I was riding as hard as I could, but with the spinning issue I was losing a bit of corner speed, so I was braking extra deep to keep all the weight on the front to run some momentum in the corner Seventh is not where I want to be but it feels good to get a solid race under my belt. It feels forever since I did that, so it is something to build on for the last three races." James Toseland - Position:11th, Time:+37.574 "I gave it my all on every lap and I stayed consistent without making any mistakes. But with that lack of dry track time on Friday it cost me because I was only a couple of tenths slower than fifth position and that time you can find on a dry day with the set-up. But the guys in front were so consistent that I couldn't really get close. One slight problem like a wet day makes it really difficult to get right on the pace. I was with Colin and Shinya early on but I'd been playing with the rear shock all weekend to try and get some grip at full lean angle. It was the best it has been but I was still losing a lot of time on the exit and they were just pulling away from me a bit. And because it is so stop and start here, if you can exit the corners better it gives you a good advantage and you can pull a couple of tenths a lap. I really wanted tenth but John came underneath me at turn one on the last lap and I tried to pass him back in the second part of it down the straight. But he came back on my side and he put my clutch on. It slipped my clutch and he was just able to get a bit of an advantage. I tried to get him back but he didn't put a foot wrong for the rest of the lap. It's disappointing to have worked so hard to keep that place and lose it at the end. At least now I can look ahead to three races where I know the tracks, so hopefully we can end the season on a high." Herve Poncharal - Team Manager "First of all I want to say very big congratulations to Yamaha and Valentino for such a great world championship success. Yamaha has a great bike with a great champion, and it is great for them to win the title in Yamaha's home race. I'm also very happy with our performance today. Colin did one of his best races of the season when you consider the recent run he has been on. He was pushing hard right to the end and he survived a lot of pressure from behind and at one stage we thought he might pass Loris and get a top six. I'm happy he climbed oneposition in the championship to get some points back on Suzuki in the team championship, so after the disappointment of Indianapolis and Misano I think we saw Colin back where he belongs. James also rode a really strong race and he fought very hard as always. It was another hard weekend on his first time at this track, not helped again by losing some dry track time. I think both of them gave their maximum and that's all we can ask and we can look forward to Australia now with high hopes of even better results." Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 43'9.599 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 0'1.943 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 0'4.866 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 0'6.165 5, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 0'24.593 6, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 0'25.683 7, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 0'25.918 8, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 0'26.003 9, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 0'26.219 10, John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 0'37.131 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 0'37.574 12, Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 0'38.020 13, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 0'39.768 14, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 0'45.846 15, Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 0'55.748 Rider Standings 28/09/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 312 2, Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 220 3, Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 209 4, Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 169 5, Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 136 6, Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 118 7, Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 117 8, Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 115 9, Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 96 10, Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 95 11, James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 90 12, Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 86 13, Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 58 14, Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 55 15, Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 51 Team Standings 28/09/2008 Pos., Team, Points 1, FIAT Yamaha Team, 481 2, Repsol Honda Team, 324 3, Ducati Marlboro Team, 271 4, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, 215 5, Tech3 Yamaha, 208 6, Honda Gresini, 150 7, Team Alice, 144 8, JIR Scot Team, 136 9, Kawasaki Racing Team, 89 10, Honda LCR, 47 Manufacturer Standings 28/09/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 341 2, Ducati, 261 3, Honda, 259 4, Suzuki, 159 5, Kawasaki, 77

A packed Monster Energy hospitality facility within the Donington Park paddock for the 62nd Motocross of Nations witnessed Yamaha Monster Motocross Team riders David Philippaerts and Josh Coppins draw away the covers on the brand new 2009 YZ450F Yamaha Motocross Team Replica. The special limited edition motorcycle - a mirror image of the factory bikes that were steered to 1st and 5th positions in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship - were unveiled to a hoard of the world’s media at the biggest off-road motorcycle race of the year. The Yamaha Motocross Team Replica is a project born from the fruitful collaboration between Yamaha Motor Europe, the race team and Yamaha Rinaldi Research and Development. Based on the extremely potent and title-winning YZ450F, the distinctive black and grey identical plastic and graphics are enhanced with carbon fibre elements covering the chain, front mudguard, front disc and sump. 100 of these exclusive machines will be made and sold in Europe and they are expected in dealerships from mid-October. “It looks fantastic and there is virtually nothing to tell apart from my bike,” said World Champion Philippaerts. “It is a bit unreal to see a mirror-image of your race-bike but I think it is a great treat for Yamaha fans who want the closest possible thing to what we use ourselves,” remarked Coppins. The Replica comes complete with a gift set including a signed jersey and preferred entry to the new ‘Yamaha Motocross Masterclass’ concept initiated by Yamaha Motor Europe that will see Philippaerts and Coppins giving expert tuition at 3 or 4 venues across Europe in2009. “It is a good idea to be able to give something else to the fans,” added Coppins “normally we can give a signature or a photo but to actually show riders around a track is a great way of bringing Grand Prix closer to the people that matter.” “It seems an interesting project and not something I have done before,” commented Philippaerts “it should be good fun!”

To celebrate the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi this Sunday, Jorge Lorenzo’s no. 48 Fiat Yamaha will race with an unusual and original livery. The Spanish rider’s YZR-M1 will carry the image of comic-book hero Arsenio Lupin III, the celebrated ‘Gentleman Thief’ made famous in the Japanese Manga series created by Kazuhiko Kato, or ‘Monkey Punch’. The celebratory fairing is the creation of the team’s title sponsor Fiat and the image will also appear on a limited series of Fiat 500 cars, due in the second half of 2009. Lorenzo’s M1 will be unveiled in Pit Lane of the Motegi circuit at 0930 Japanese time on Sunday, 28th September 2008.

Andrew Pitt continued his rich vein of form at Imola today, scoring a podium finish in the day's opening race to move up to fourth in the championship ahead of next weekend's final round of the season. The Yamaha Motor Italia rider backed up his hard fought third place in race one with a tremendous fourth around the demanding Imola circuit in race two. Meanwhile team-mate Noriyuki Haga fought set-up problems to post a fourth and sixth place finish, keeping his hopes of finishing second in this year's championship well and truly alive. Race one saw both the red Yamahas fighting for the lead, with Pitt overtaking pole man Troy Bayliss (Ducati) on the second lap. The Yamaha man rode confidently at the front for five laps, only to slip back to fifth after the rear of his machine slid violently as he exited a corner. Despite struggling for rear grip, the Australian was able to regain a good rhythm and pass his way through to third, behind the Hondas of Alex Barros and James Toseland, by lap 19 of the 21-lap race. Haga too found himself plagued by rear grip problems. After holding third in the opening laps, he had no answer to the advancing Barros and Toseland. The Japanese stuck diligently to his task and was rewarded with fourth place at the flag, overtaking Bayliss as he crossed the line for the final time. Both of the Yamaha riders made slight adjustments to their machines for the second outing and it looked like the changes would pay dividends as they occupied second and third behind Bayliss in the opening laps. Pitt was able to push his fellow Australian harder than anyone else, but eventually the Yamaha man succumbed to front end grip problems and was passed by the slow-starting Barros and Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki), who crossed the line in second and third. Bayliss took the chequered flag for his 11th win of the season, with Haga behind Toseland in sixth. Norick Abe was Yamaha Motor France's leading rider in Imola, scoring 12 points from ninth and 11th place finishes to move him up one place, to 13th, in the championship. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi had one of the best weekend's of his rookie world superbike season, finishing 11th and 12th in the races, although the team's third member, Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert, had a disaster at one of his favourite circuits. Still racing with an injury sustained in Assen he retired from both races. Bayliss' performances secured him his second world title with one round remaining, while Barros' win makes him the eighth different race winner in what has proved an exciting season. The battle for the silver medal is very much alive, with Haga trailing Toseland by just two points following today's races. Pitt currently lies fourth in the series and will also be looking to defend his eight point advantage over Barros in France. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Overall I'm pretty happy, although I'd have liked to have got another podium in the second one as well. In the first race the rear grip was gone after a few laps but after I had a big slide I was able to find my rhythm again and work my way through to the podium. For the second race we made quite a few changes and moved some more weight onto the front of the bike. It was a definite improvement and the bike worked better for longer, but as the fuel went down the front started pushing a bit. I thought that maybe I could get past Kagayama, as he was making some mistakes, but by the end the front tyre was gone and I couldn't take the risk. At the end of the day we've come to a track that we felt wouldn't be one of the best for our bike and got some good results to move up to fourth in the championship. On Friday we were struggling but my team is working very hard and it's always great to give them a podium at one of their home races, so it's been a good day." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the end it was not such a bad result. All weekend we found it difficult to get a perfect feeling with the bike and this made the races hard work, especially around this demanding circuit. In both races I was able to make a good start and fight for a few laps. In the end I had to ride for the points. Ten years ago I think I would have crashed trying to win the race, but today I was able to use my head and think of the championship. Now we go to Magny Cours two points behind Toseland, so this is not so bad and possible for us to overcome." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "So many riders crashed in race one that the result maybe looked better than it was. I was lucky to be ninth. We had problems with rear grip, lots of sliding and moving. Then between the races we changed a few small settings and maybe the bike worked better, because the lap times were faster. But we were still sliding everywhere, uphill and downhill!" Shinichi Nakatomi Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I started from the 22nd position on the grid and then I passed some riders. My lap times and positions went better and better from Friday to Sunday. I finished the second race 1.8 behind Abe and my fastest lap was on the 19th of the 21 laps, so for my first time on this track, it is good progress." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Of course, we would prefer to be winning the races but I think that today we did a good job as we had a problem getting race distance out of our tyres. Andrew rode very well in both races and is now fourth in the championship. Noriyuki has had some small problems over the weekend and although we lost some points to Toseland he made sure he didn't crash and got as many points as possible. We have two riders in the top four of the championship and our targets for Magny Cours are now clear: for Noriyuki it is to finish second in the championship, while Andrew must defend his fourth place." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "It is a good overall result with one ninth position, two 11th and one 12th. Our two riders are in fact the first privateers on this very difficult and dangerous track with a bad surface, so we have many reasons to be happy. Sebastien Gimbert, injured at Assen and the Bol d'Or, tried everything but unfortunately had to retire. Abe is now 13th in the championship standings and Nakatomi, for his first year, is 17th which is good because the level is very high. We hope that Sebastien Gimbert will feel better at Magny Cours and that he will be able to express himself properly on bike." Circuit Length: 4959 Temp: 28 Crowd: 86500 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Imola 01/10/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Alex Barros Honda BRA 39'0.096 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'4.351 3 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'6.809 4 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'11.179 5 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'11.537 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'20.974 7 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'23.055 8 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'23.747 9 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'27.289 10 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'29.160 11 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'30.792 12 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'32.104 13 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 0'38.537 14 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'45.410 15 Joshua Brookes Kawasaki AUS 0'48.494 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 38'57.069 2 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'1.413 3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'4.355 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'5.387 5 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'6.418 6 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'9.615 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'12.429 8 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'14.895 9 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'19.708 10 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'20.577 11 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'23.473 12 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'25.368 13 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'31.340 14 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'32.993 15 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'41.830 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'50.266 Rider Standings 01/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 393 2. James Toseland Honda GBR 295 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 293 4. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 239 5. Alex Barros Honda BRA 231 6. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 218 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 193 8. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 152 9. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 140 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 139 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 117 12. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 113 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 105 14. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 103 15. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 96 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 42 21. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 01/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 412 2. Honda 373 3. Yamaha 368 4. Suzuki 336 5. Kawasaki 211 6. Petronas 19 RACE REPORT 01/10/2006 Podium placing keeps Curtain on title track Kevin Curtain Yamaha Motor Germany rider Kevin Curtain will go in to next weekend's final world supersport round with an 18-point advantage after finishing third at Imola today. The race was won by championship rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who needed to beat the Yamaha man to keep his title defence alive, but Curtain's sensible ride to his ninth podium of the season keeps him in the driving seat for next weekend's race in Magny Cours. The Imola event proved somewhat less exciting than most of the year's previous supersport races. From the lights it was Charpentier's team-mate Kenan Sofuoglu who led the race, riding in formation with his team-mate until the Frenchman unsurprisingly took the lead with eight laps remaining. Behind them, Curtain struggled for traction and rode a lonely race, with five seconds of tarmac ahead and behind him for much of the race. Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello, winner of the previous weekend's Italian supersport championship race at the same venue, had a great race to secure the best result of his world supersport career, crossing the flag in fourth place. Broc Parkes Broc Parkes, team-mate to Curtain in the Yamaha Motor Germany squad, rode heroically to bring his YZF-R6 home in sixth place, just one month after receiving serious injuries in a crash at Assen. The Australian was still in considerable discomfort from his injured neck and ribs, but rode a determined race to bag 10 points that could prove vital in deciding his final championship position. Massimo Roccoli made it four YZF-R6s in the top ten, bringing his Yamaha Team Italia entry home in tenth. Spain's David Checa finished 12th on the Yamaha GMT94 R6. The series will now be decided next weekend at the last round of the year in Magny Cours. Curtain goes to the French Formula One circuit on 187 points, with Charpentier on 169. Parkes will be looking to reclaim third place at the circuit where he gained his maiden world supersport win 12 months earlier. The Australian currently lies eight points behind third placed Sofuoglu, on 129 points. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I did the best I could with what I had but we just didn't have enough rear grip to challenge Sebastien and Kenan today. I don't know what it was, if it was the temperature or the tyre, but it made it a long hard and lonely race. I'm disappointed that I couldn't run with Sebastien today but if you'd told me at the start of the season that we'd be going to the final race with an 18 point lead I'd have taken it like a shot. We did a professional job today and we've now got to do more of the same at Magny Cours next weekend." Gianluca Vizziello Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I got off the line really well but I made a mistake when I changed into second and this lost me a lot of time and places. After that I pushed hard and just found a good rhythm. I was able to run the same lap times as the guys in front of me so there is a little disappointment as you never know what I might have been capable of had I got away with the leaders. Anyway, I am very happy and I would like to dedicate the result to my team, who have worked very hard for me." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I just got on and pushed as hard as I could and tried to stay at the same pace for the whole race. The guys in front of me were a little bit quicker, a bit more than I felt comfortable pushing, so I powered on at my best pace and felt good in the middle of the race. I could see Vizziello in front of me and he was making some mistakes. But I had no stamina at all and found it hard to change the bike from side-to-side in the middle of the chicanes. I think I will be a lot better next weekend but, considering the circumstances, I'm quite happy with today's result." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I wanted to get a good result for my fans today but I went into the race knowing that it would be difficult because we struggled to find a good set-up in practice. I'm now looking forward to Magny Cours. It is a challenging track and I will be doing my best to get back up to fifth in the championship." Circuit Length: 4959 Temp: 28 Crowd: 86500 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Imola 01/10/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 40'7.972 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'0.406 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'9.627 4 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'13.983 5 William De Angelis Honda ITA 0'14.390 6 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 0'16.870 7 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'18.171 8 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 0'18.534 9 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 0'31.522 10 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'31.561 11 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'32.047 12 David Checa Yamaha ESP 0'36.420 13 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'43.105 14 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 0'43.674 15 Chris Peris Yamaha CAN 0'47.734 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'53.388 Rider Standings 01/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 187 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 169 3. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 137 4. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 129 5. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 107 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 96 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 74 8. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 69 9. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 62 10. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 33 12. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 30 13. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 30 14. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 30 15. Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 29 Manufacturer Standings 01/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 252 2. Yamaha 224 3. Ducati 74 4. Kawasaki 55 5. Suzuki 39 RACE REPORT 01/10/2006 Corti moves up to second at Imola Claudio Corti Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti moved up to second place in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup after a dramatic race in Imola. The 19-year-old from Como finished the race fourth but was moved up to third following the exclusion of race winner Luca Scassa (MV Agusta) for a technical infringement. Corti made a good start from fourth on the grid, lying in second place to in the opening laps. While Scassa was able to pull away up front and take the flag by over two seconds, Corti slipped back into a thrilling five-way battle for the remaining podium slots, which was eventually won by Australian rider Brendan Roberts (Suzuki). Corti raced elbow-to-elbow with series leader Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) on the final lap and although the Yamaha man tried to overtake his fellow Italian for the final podium position on several occasions, he could not quite force his YZF-R1 SP past his more experienced rival. With Scassa's exclusion, Roberts was declared the winner and Polita's second position seals the championship in his favour. Corti moves up to second place, 26 points behind the champion. Ironically, had Scassa not been excluded Corti would have gone to Magny Cours with the slimmest of hopes of winning the title. Despite being unable to win the title at the final race Corti will be looking to retain a top three position in the championship, his initial target after moving up from the 600cc class he won last year. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I started very fast but found myself slipping back into the pack after a few laps. I was able to recover and tried very hard to pass Polita on the final lap. He defended his line well and seemed to be able to accelerate out of the slow corners a little bit more quickly than me today. Probably our set-up wasn't quite as good as it could have been today but it's a good result and we're now second in the championship, so I am happy." Circuit Length: 4959 Temp: 23 Crowd: 86500 Weather: Sunny 2006 Superstock Imola 01/10/2006 Race 1 - 12 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 23'4.667 2 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'0.538 3 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 0'0.624 4 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 0'2.939 5 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'6.047 6 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'10.025 7 Roberto Lunadei Yamaha ITA 0'15.101 8 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'15.527 9 Leonardo Biliotti MV Agusta GER 0'15.907 10 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'16.449 11 Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 0'16.585 12 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'18.130 13 Matej Smrz Honda CZE 0'22.745 14 Arne Tode Suzuki GER 0'23.202 15 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'26.382 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 1'54.426 Rider Standings 01/10/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 157 2. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 131 3. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 122 4. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 118 5. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 87 6. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 72 7. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 71 8. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 58 9. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 48 10. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 11. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 41 12. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 39 13. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 30 14. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 15. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27 Manufacturer Standings 01/10/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 189 2. MV Agusta 153 3. Yamaha 149 4. Kawasaki 86 5. Honda 45 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia's Andrew Pitt rode a super-smooth lap during today's superpole session to take a front row start for tomorrow's races in Imola, with team-mate Noriyuki Haga on the second row after making big improvements to his machine set-up. Having worked methodically on finding a good race setting throughout the four one-hour practice sessions, Pitt demonstrated his ultimate pace with a blistering 1:49.433 lap time to take third on the grid for tomorrow's races. Despite being almost half-a-second quicker than his previous best lap of the weekend, the Australian's YZF-R1 looked like it was running on rails as he shot himself up from seventh to third on the final grid. Haga had struggled to find a perfect set-up for his machine around the demanding five kilometre Imola track on Friday, hindered in no small part by ligament damage to his left wrist. The Japanese rider's pit crew made changes to the chassis set-up of his R1 overnight to find something closer to a satisfactory solution for tomorrow's races, although the Yamaha Motor Italia team will make some further changes to the set up overnight in a bid to further improve Haga's competitiveness. Like Pitt, Haga set his best lap of the weekend on his superpole outing, dipping into the 1:49 bracket for the first time of the weekend. Norick Abe was the fastest of the Yamaha Motor France riders in qualifying. The Japanese rider qualified for superpole after ending the two one-hour timed practice sessions in 14th position, although he was unable to improve his qualifying position on his grid-deciding lap and will start the race from 15th. Abe's team-mates both failed to make the cut for superpole. Shinichi Nakatomi will start his first race at the circuit from 22nd position, while Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert struggled with set-up and fitness problems throughout the weekend. He will start tomorrow's races from 25th on the grid. Pole position for tomorrow's races goes to series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati), with a superpole lap of 1:48.804. James Toseland (Honda) will start second, with Pitt and outgoing champion Troy Corser (Suzuki) completing the front row. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We had a difficult day yesterday and even this morning we were still trying to find that little bit extra. We finally found the right direction this afternoon, so thanks to the team for their efforts. Te lap itself felt good, although I ran out of tyre towards the end of the lap and wasn't sure just how quick I was. This is a track where it is important to be on the front row and I'm really pleased as it has turned out to be a good day's work for us." Shinichi Nakatomi Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "As usual we made a lot of changes overnight and the feeling of the bike is definitely better, although still not quite good enough. For me, qualifying is not so important, so second row is ok. Tonight we will try to make another step forward for the races, so we will see how it goes in the morning. One of the problems is that this is a bumpy track and I still have pain in my wrist. I still need a painkiller to race, so I hope that the wrist does not affect my performance tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm happy with the performance of the riders today. Both found improvements today, not big changes but enough to help improve the balance of the bike for superpole. As always you never know what is going to happen in the races but I am happy and looking forward to tomorrow." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "This morning went quite well and I was able to run in the 1:50 bracket. For the afternoon we put in a new engine which has much better performance but which meant the gearbox settings needed changed. Because the gearbox setting was not quite right it was difficult on the superpole lap, but still my lap time was ok. I think we can make some improvements tomorrow. Always the second race is better for us anyway, so hopefully we can have a good first race and a better second one." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "Step by step we are improving the bike but there are many fast riders in superbike and this makes it difficult. I am sure I can make some more improvements for the races but we must wait and see what tomorrow brings." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "For sure I am disappointed to be starting 25th, especially as this is a track that I like and have done well at before. After riding at the Bol d'Or it's proving difficult to adapt to this bike again. I am still not 100 percent fit after my crash in Assen and because I destroyed the bike there we are still having to work on finding a good set-up." Circuit Length: 4959 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Imola 30/09/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'48.804 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'49.394 3 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'49.433 4 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'49.442 5 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'49.497 6 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'49.840 7 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'49.856 8 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'49.888 9 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'49.958 10 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'50.081 11 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'50.362 12 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 1'50.737 13 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'50.892 14 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'50.963 15 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'51.147 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'49.758 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'49.875 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'50.039 4 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'50.155 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'50.212 6 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'50.214 7 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'50.250 8 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'50.350 9 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'50.376 10 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'50.745 11 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA 1'50.755 12 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 1'50.768 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'50.799 14 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'50.832 15 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'50.882 22 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'51.406 25 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'52.034 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 30/09/2006 Curtain secures front row start in Imola Kevin Curtain Kevin Curtain secured a vital front row start for tomorrow's 11th round of the Supersport World Championship in Imola. The Yamaha Motor Germany rider set a best time of 1:53.512 around the Italian circuit to grab fourth place on the grid for the 21-lap race. Getting on the front row was the main priority for the Australian YZF-R6 rider, who will become world champion if he beats Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) in tomorrow's race. Charpentier starts the race from pole position, with fellow Honda riders Kenan Sofuoglu and Katsuaki Fujiwara joining him on the front row. Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes missed out on a second row start by less than a tenth of a second. The 24-year-old Australian is still quite stiff after his huge crash in Assen less than a month ago, but was still able to take over a second off his best time from Friday to take ninth on the grid for tomorrow's race. Starting one place ahead of Parkes will be Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello, who won the Italian supersport championship race at Imola last weekend. His team-mate, the newly crowned Italian supersport champion Massimo Roccoli, was a surprisingly low 13th on the grid, one place ahead of Yamaha GMT94's David Checa. Circuit Length: 4959 2006 WSS Imola 30/09/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'52.245 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'52.541 3 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'53.441 4 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'53.512 5 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'53.758 6 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'53.902 7 William De Angelis Honda ITA 1'53.906 8 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'53.960 9 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'53.991 10 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'54.019 11 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'54.225 12 Chris Peris Yamaha CAN 1'54.373 13 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'54.426 14 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'54.429 15 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 1'54.497 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia's Andrew Pitt was the top R1 rider in today's first qualifying session for Sunday's penultimate round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship in Imola, ending the day seventh fastest in a close session that sees the top 14 riders covered by just over a second. The Australian gunned his Yamaha around the long and demanding circuit in best time of 1:50.502, just 0.463 behind the day's fastest rider James Toseland (Honda). Pitt, who lifted the 2001 world supersport crown at the Italian venue, went through the usual Friday programme of testing tyres and settings ahead of Sunday's two races, working mostly with his crew chief Dave Marton and datalogging expert Carlo Luzzi to find the optimal gearbox settings for the complex Formula One circuit. Pitt's team-mate Noriyuki Haga struggled with a wrist injury sustained in Germany three weekends ago, ending the day in 11th. The Japanese star damaged some ligaments in both his wrists and found the going tough around the bumpy circuit after failing to get the R1 set up exactly to his liking. Despite his handicap, Haga is confident that he can make some improvements to the set-up of his machine ahead of tomorrow's final qualifying sessions. Fastest rider today was 2004 world champion Toseland, ahead of outgoing champion Troy Corser (Suzuki). Current series leader Troy Bayliss ended the day fourth, with Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) rounding out the top four. The superbike riders will have a final one hour qualifying session tomorrow morning, with the top 16 riders going through to the one-lap superpole session, which will decide the first four rows of the grid for Sunday's two 21-lap races. Norick Abe Norick Abe led Yamaha Motor France's trio of riders in Imola. The Japanese former Grand Prix rider ended the day in 16th position, provisionally occupying the final slot for tomorrow's grid-deciding superpole session. Sebastien Gimbert ended the day 21st, just two seconds from pole sitter Toseland, with Shinichi Nakatomi less than a tenth of a second behind his French team-mate on his Imola debut, in 24th. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The main thing we've been working on is finding a good gearbox setting. This place is such a compromise that when you get the gearing right for one corner it's out at the next. We had a couple of little niggling problems with the electronics but overall it's been a good day. We were able to try out a lot of different tyres and we're pretty sure what we'll be running on Sunday. Our race pace seems good and the guys ahead of us are only doing one faster lap before dropping back to the same pace, so I think we'll be right up there." Noriyuki Haga Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We're still trying to find the right balance of the bike and tonight we'll make some changes to improve the feeling. Imola is a very physical circuit and my wrist is still quite painful, but I do not think this will be a problem because when the lights go out you forget about any problems you have." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Not such a bad day! The bike is working ok and close to the top riders, so this is an alright result for us. I hope that tomorrow we can stay in the top 16 and qualify for the superpole. That would prepare us for a good race." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "This is my first time at Imola so today my priority is to learn the course and improve the set-up. Tonight we will try some things and I am quite confident that I can get faster as the weekend goes on." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "The times are very close today and we can still make some improvements. Andrew had a few small problems with the electronics today, while Noriyuki is still trying to find a different balance on his bike. We will make some changes tonight and see what tomorrow brings." Circuit Length: 4959 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Imola 29/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'50.039 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'50.250 3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'50.265 4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'50.357 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'50.388 6 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'50.468 8 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'50.553 9 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'50.659 10 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 1'50.768 11 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'50.882 12 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'50.882 13 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'51.003 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'51.077 15 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'51.227 16 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'51.338 21 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'52.034 24 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'52.108 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 29/09/2006 Curtain third in first practice Kevin Curtain Championship leader Kevin Curtain prepared for Sunday's penultimate supersport round by setting the third fastest time in today's first qualifying session at Imola. The Australian set a best time of 1:53.728 around the famous Italian circuit to claim a spot on the provisional front row alongside title rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) and last year's Imola winner Gianluca Nannelli (Ducati). With two rounds of the series remaining it will be either Curtain or 2005 champ Charpentier who will be crowned king of the 600 class, with Yamaha Motor Germany man Curtain holding a 27 point advantage going into this weekend's race. Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello, winner of the Italian championship race held at Imola last weekend, was sixth fastest, with team-mate Massimo Roccoli, who was last week crowned as his national supersport champion, tenth after taking a tumble during the session. Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes made a welcome return from injury to take 12th place on the provisional grid. The Australian missed the last round after breaking ribs and punturing a lung in Assen but is ready to race in Imola, albeit not at 100 percent fitness. Final qualifying for Sunday's race takes place tomorrow (Saturday). Circuit Length: 4959 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Imola 29/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'52.842 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'53.081 3 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'53.728 4 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'53.790 5 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'53.902 6 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'54.202 7 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'54.250 8 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'54.355 9 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'54.521 10 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'54.718 11 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'54.891 12 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'54.993 13 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 1'55.186 14 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 1'55.330 15 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'55.402 Click here to view the news

The penultimate round of the 2006 Superbike World Championship takes place this weekend at the famous Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the town of Imola, the championship's third visit of the year to Italy. The technically demanding circuit is steeped in heritage thanks mainly to its history as a Formula One circuit but it is also famous as a bike venue too, having hosted the classic Imola 200 events during the Seventies and, more recently, Grand Prix and superbike racing. The circuit's surface bears the scars of this history, with the old tarmac proving bumpy and providing the bike racers with a tough challenge to find good settings. Despite this, Imola is generally very popular with the riders - its challenging layout providing the sort of test that only the old-fashioned classic circuits can. Last year's event took place in atrocious weather conditions that eventually led to the cancellation of race two. The Yamaha Motor Italia squad goes into the meeting looking to give another strong showing for their home fans and to help their riders meet their end-of-season targets. With Ducati's Troy Bayliss looking like clinching the series thanks to a 87 point advantage, the team's Noriyuki Haga is targeting more wins to add to solitary success so far this year and to consolidate his second place in the championship, which would equal his best ever end of season ranking. Team-mate Andrew Pitt has also taken one win this season, in Misano, and is looking to get back on track after crashing out of the second race in Germany. The Australian has been the man on form in the latter part of the season, with only a slower than hoped for start to the season and a double DNF in Brno denying him a crack at the title. Having been the top points scorer at Assen, Pitt was unlucky to slip off last time out in Lausitz. That failure to score moved him down to fifth in the championship, one point behind outgoing champion Troy Corser (Suzuki). Race date: 1 October 2006 Circuit: Imola Country: Italy Track length: 4933m Opened: 1953 Fastest ever superbike lap: 1'48.075 (Chris Vermeulen) Superbike lap record: 1'48.389 (Troy Corser) Last year's winner: Chris Vermeulen (Honda) Circuit telephone: +39 0542 31444 Circuit web site: http://www.autodromoimola.com "The result at Lausitz was disappointing because we made the wrong tyre choice in race one and then just touched the footrest down and crashed in the second," said Pitt. "I was disappointed to slip back to fifth in the championship but the bike was working really well and we were lucky that Barros and Corser also missed out on the big points. Imola's a circuit that I like. I've some good memories of the place, as I won the supersport title there in 2001. It's a challenging track with a lot of blind corners. To go well there you need a lot of confidence in the bike, which is good for us as the R1 is working really well. Who knows where we can end the season? Second place is not out of the question but my aim is just to keep finishing on the podium in these last two weekends and then the championship positions will sort themselves out." In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain can lift the title at Imola. The veteran Australian goes to Italy 27 points ahead of current champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) and will win his first world crown should he leave Italy with at least 26 points over his rival going into the final round. "I never expected to go to Imola with such a big lead," says Curtain. "I had hoped that maybe I could have something like 10 points advantage after Lausitz so to be in this position is something we couldn't dream of. It's all a credit to the team, who have worked so hard to put us in this situation. We had a new bike at the start of the season but straight away we have been competitive. With a lot of hard work we now have a bike which is as good as anything else out there. Imola is where I had my first ride with Yamaha Germany, in 2003, and I've gone well there in the past. I'm not thinking too much about the championship and am going with the same attitude as always, to pick up as many points as possible and let everything look after itself." Curtain should be joined at Imola by his team-mate Broc Parkes. Parkes missed the race at Lausitz after crashing at Assen. The Australian will is ready to race but must undergo a final fitness test in Imola. Should he be declared fit by the circuit medics then he will look to consolodate his third place in the championship standings. Click here to view the news

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

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi now trails MotoGP World Championship series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) by just twelve points with two rounds remaining thanks to his fourth consecutive podium, his eighth from the last ten races, in Japan today. Rossi took second place in a race dominated and won by Loris Capirossi (Ducati), with Marco Melandri (Honda) completing the podium in a carbon copy of the front row order. The 20-point reward for Rossi moved him another nine closer to Hayden, who finished fifth behind Sete Gibernau (Ducati). Colin Edwards had shown promise of mounting a podium challenge himself this weekend but unfortunately his excellent practice pace on race rubber did not translate into the top result he was hoping for. Despite making a good start from tenth on the grid the American was forced wide by another rider into turn one and lost several positions, dropping back to twelfth. However a determined ride from that point onwards saw him battle back to eighth place - a position he also now holds in the championship after moving above John Hopkins (Suzuki). Valentino Rossi (2nd; +5.088) "I'm really happy with this second position today. It wasn't a great battle like in Sepang, but my rhythm was really good and my bike worked very well. We had a few problems in warm-up this morning and, like always, my mechanics, the Yamaha engineers and Michelin did a great job to make some last-minute changes to our race set-up. At the start my M1 was a little bit hard to ride but slowly I found my rhythm and then bit by bit I started to come closer to Marco. Once I passed him I started pushing to try to reach Loris and made the fastest lap, but once he realised I was coming closer he opened the throttle again and he was just too fast for me to catch. My bike worked brilliantly since Friday morning and I want to thank everyone for all their hard work, it seems that when everything is working for us then it's hard for the others! 20 points is a great result for me at this track, which isn't one of my favourites, and now we're only 12 points behind in the championship. We have two races left and if we can continue in this way then it's possible!" Colin Edwards (8th; +22.492) "I got off the line pretty well but then (Dani) Pedrosa pushed me out a bit on the exit of turn one and I had to chop it. I lost speed and then about three people went by me so I was playing catch-up from then on. I had to spend some time getting past (Makoto) Tamada and (Randy) De Puniet but then I got my head down and just kept going in the same rhythm. I was doing good lap times, consistent with what we were doing all weekend, but it wasn't enough to make up for our grid position and the problems in turn one. About 15 laps in I hit a bit of a wall, couldn't hold the load on the rear tyre and started losing corner speed, so life was more difficult from then on. Of course I'm really disappointed; we had a plan but it was messed up by our starting position and turn one. On the bright side we were able to run the same good pace we ran all weekend for most of the race, but it seems a few others, my team-mate included, found a bit extra today and what we had just wasn't enough!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Today was a very important race for us because we have been able to reduce the gap by another nine points, which keeps us on target. Our goal today was to finish on the podium and we did that so we are happy, even though Loris had a pace that Valentino wasn't quite able to follow. Unfortunately Colin couldn't quite live up to the high hopes he had raised before the race so we will investigate the reasons for that. We still have two races left and we want to help get him back to the front of the pack. The last three weeks have required a lot of energy, effort and concentration from the whole team and I am delighted the way every one of them has responded. Now we need them to keep it going for two more races and hopefully we will continue to get our rewards." Tech 3 Yamaha Team satisfied with Motegi result after difficult weekend It wasn't the result that the Tech 3 Yamaha Team desired as Carlos Checa celebrated his 200th Grand Prix start but the team will come away from the Japanese Grand Prix at the Motegi Twin Ring satisfied with the outcome after an extremely difficult weekend of practice and qualifying. Carlos and his team mate, James Ellison battled as hard as they could for the entire race mixing it with the factory Suzuki team as Carlos eventually came home in 14th position and James secured one championship point to finish 15th in a race won by Loris Capirossi (Ducati) Carlos Checa (14th, Fastest lap 1'48.992) "I cannot be really happy but I'm quite satisfied because we did our best. We must have some satisfaction because we did our best but certainly we are not happy because the result is quite far from where we want. After the many tyres we tested over the two days it was a bit of a compromise on tyre choice but it didn't end up too bad in the end. The pace has increased a lot this year and this makes it more difficult to demonstrate the evolution we are doing. I think to keep in the 1'49's all race is not so bad .I did these times last year and finished fourth but I think Dunlop need a little more time to improve the tyres. I was with the Suzuki team the entire race and we passed each other quite a few times then my tyre went off a little and I couldn't go with them. For me it was quite a cool race to be battling with others. I know inside myself I did my best and basically the main limitation is technical. It is good training for me and it is better to be here than at home as I'm still enjoying what I am doing very much. We knew that this year would be difficult and we would have different races where we would be struggling like here and then have other races like Phillip Island where we would have good results but then the wet tyre didn't work so well. Our target is to keep improving - even myself - I think we had a great opportunity even with all the problems because we fought against the limitations and the problems we had so we will keep going and we will keep learning. " James Ellison (15thFastest lap1'49.616) "Truthfully, it's not such a bad end to the weekend after the struggle we had early on and to finish with a point is quite satisfying although I'm always hoping for a better result. It is the best race I have had yet, dicing with people and the one I have enjoyed the most. For the first time in a few races I really had fun out there today as I was actually able to race with a few guys and Carlos wasn't really that far in front of me, but in a way it was frustrating as I know I can go a lot faster. I was thinking if I didn't have these problems how much higher could I finish than where we are now? Honestly, I couldn't have tried any harder to get that one point. It is good because the team are very happy with the effort we both put in and it is nice to finish this bunch of races like this after the difficulties we have had. I still I want to do a lot more but this is where we are at the minute." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It was definitely a difficult weekend but at least we had a bit more of a positive ending as we have been struggling on Friday and Saturday big time. We were very disappointed especially coming from Australia with such a good feeling with the bike and tyre package. Fortunately today both of our riders showed great fighting spirit and determination in battling from the first to the last lap with both of them in the top 15 getting points. That was something we didn't expect even after the positive warmup this morning. Sure we are down on performance but it was also good to see the top Dunlop management here from the chairman to the general manager and everyone involved in the project for them to see what was happening here, to see where we are an dto understand what we have to do in the future if we want to be competitive against our rivals. Hopefully, this difficult weekend will have some positive outcome. We have another two races to keep on working and try to improve our best race result which was a seventh in the USA. There is a possibility that we can do that. Finally, I want to congratulate Yamaha and Valentino for their brilliant race here and where they are now in the championship shrinking the points to the leader." Circuit Length: 4801 Temp: 27 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Motegi 24/09/2006 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 43'13.585 2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'5.088 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'8.378 4 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 0'9.712 5 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'11.944 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'18.108 7 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'19.937 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'22.492 9 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'26.824 10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'30.970 11 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'39.263 12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'39.440 13 Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki JPN 0'45.595 14 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'49.571 15 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'9.085 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'47.288 Rider Standings 24/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 236 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 224 3. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 209 4. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 205 5. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 202 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 119 7. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 110 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 104 9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 101 10. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 95 11. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 91 12. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 83 13. Toni Elias Honda ESP 81 14. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 81 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 60 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 21 Team Standings 24/09/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 438 2. Camel Yamaha Team 328 3. Ducati Marlboro Team 307 4. Fortuna Honda Team 290 5. Rizla Suzuki 192 6. Honda LCR 119 7. Kawasaki Racing Team 114 8. Team Roberts KR 110 9. Konica Minolta Honda 81 10. Tech3 Yamaha 81 11. Pramac D'Antin 26 Manufacturer Standings 24/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 319 2. Yamaha 262 3. Ducati 218 4. Suzuki 136 5. Team Robert KR 110 6. Kawasaki 94 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi delighted his legion of local fans with a sensational final lap in qualifying practice for the Grand Prix of Japan this afternoon. Rossi continued his excellent progress with another day of hard work on the race setting of his YZR-M1 before heading out to challenge Loris Capirossi (Ducati) for pole. Unfortunately Rossi's first attempt on qualifying tyres was baulked when a rider crashed in front him, forcing the Italian to make a last-minute pit-stop. It made for a tense finale as Rossi returned to the track and beat the chequered flag by just ten seconds, giving him one last chance to challenge Capirossi's dominance. The World Champion responded in typical style with a lap of 1'45.991 - inside last year's pole record but not quite enough to topple pole man Capirossi, meaning he will start tomorrow's race from second place. Colin Edwards worked in tandem with Rossi throughout the day to improve the solid base setting the pair had found in yesterday's opening free practice sessions. The Texan was again one of the leading riders on race rubber, lapping consistently in the low 1'48 mark and even dipping under the lap record of 1'47.968. However, the Texan struggled to improve on that pace significantly after fitting a qualifying tyre and he slid down the time sheets in the closing stages, ending the session in tenth place and setting himself a tough challenge tomorrow from the fourth row of the grid. Valentino Rossi (2nd - 1'45.991; 26 laps) "For sure I am very happy to be on the front row again for the fourth race in a row. My M1 has worked well from the start here so we've been able to work on the setting with various different things and then mix everything together to find the very best race set-up. Now it seems we're in good shape. The bike worked very well also with the qualifying tyre and I had very good grip. Unfortunately I lost one qualifying tyre when Hopkins crashed in front of me, but luckily my team did a great job with the pit-stop - it was even faster than a Formula 1 team! Fortunately I made a good lap with the final tyre and now we're starting from second. I am happy; tomorrow will be a difficult race but I am quite confident." Colin Edwards (10th - 1'46.726; 26 laps) "I've been happier with my qualifying position but I've got a good race pace so it's not all doom! To be honest, even though on paper it doesn't look too great, I'm really happy with the bike right now. It's working really well, it's just we couldn't quite get it together with the qualifying tyre and when we put it in today it just overloaded the suspension a bit and made everything a bit too soft, so that's something we need to think about for the next time. Race-wise our setting is pretty good and I think I've got one of the best rhythms out there. Obviously it's annoying to be starting from the fourth row but I think I can come through the pack pretty quickly and then just get my head down! I need to get a good start, fight my way past a few people and then just keep pushing. I'm actually pretty excited about tomorrow and I'm looking for a good result." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It's been another very good day for Valentino, it seems things are working well and it's nice to be consistently on the front row. It's good to be starting tomorrow's race, which is so important for us with regards to the championship, from this position. It looks like he's in good shape for the race and hopefully he can make the most of the start to get away in front. Unfortunately Colin wasn't able to qualifying in such a high position but he actually has a very strong race pace so the situation is not too bad. If he can get a good start then I think he will be able to come through the field quite quickly and once he's up front he should be able to stay there. Now we hope that the weather stays dry and that we can have a fun and exciting race! Challenging weekend continues for Tech 3 Yamaha Team at Motegi Twin Ring Although it was a challenging one hour qualifying session for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team there are plenty of encouraging signs to demonstrate to riders, Carlos Checa and James Ellison that the Japanese Grand Prix at the Motegi Twin Ring tomorrow could provide satisfactory results for the team in a session headed by Loris Capirossi on a Ducati. With a multitude of Dunlop tyres to test it was never going to be an easy two days of practice and qualifying as Carlos and James will start from finished in 17th and 19th positions respectively. It was a confidence building exercise as well, as both riders lowered their lap times considerably and set their fastest times in the closing moments of the qualifying session. Carlos Checa (17th, 1'47.905, 24 laps) "We knew we would have a lot of tyres to test here this weekend but to be in this position is not what we imagined after the success of last weekends efforts. We tried many different tyres that Dunlop has brought along for the weekend. We have cured the chattering problems from yesterday so now we will continue to work hard at improving the situation. We have proven to ourselves and everyone else this year we will try everything to reflect the hard work that the entire team has put in to find a little secret to work some magic. With the times I did on race tyres I am looking forward to the race as if I can get a good start I know I can stick with many of the riders that qualified in front of me and now we have good durability in the tyres I hope to be passing quite a few of them." James Ellison (19th1'48.716, 23 laps) "We were struggling here yesterday but we have found something that has allowed us to improve our lap times. Even though we had so many tyres to test that may have put us behind a bit, we have found something in the setup to give us a good direction to work on overnight. We still haven't decided on a race tyre for tomorrow as with the way the weather has been we don't want to make a final decision until after warmup in the morning. The competition in MotoGP is so tight these days that if you are having a little problem you seem to be so far off the pace and that is what is happening here but nonetheless we will continue to work hard and hope for a competitive race tomorrow." . Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "Fortunately today was better than yesterday so both riders are moving in the right direction and as usual Carlos and James have been working hard to find the best tyres to suit the conditions. It wasn't the best start for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team yesterday but that has been the case for most of the year as we continue to develop the Dunlop tyres during a race weekend. Sure, this is not the perfect situation but we came into this year knowing that we would have good days and bad days. Dunlop have been working extremely hard to supply us with as many tyres as possible to give us many options so it does take time to narrow the selections down but we have lowered our times considerably and this gives us confidence for a good result tomorrow." Circuit Length: 4801 Temp: 22 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Motegi 23/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'45.724 2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'45.991 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'46.250 4 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'46.291 5 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'46.316 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'46.326 7 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'46.489 8 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'46.512 9 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'46.576 10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'46.726 11 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'46.847 12 Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki JPN 1'46.958 13 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'47.071 14 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'47.310 15 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'47.451 17 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'47.905 19 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'48.716 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team racers Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their preparations for the Grand Prix of Japan in ideal fashion today, lapping at the top end of the time sheets throughout both free practice sessions and ending the day with the first and fourth fastest laps overall. Both riders were able to work on their race setting, adapting the machine configuration from the fast and flowing demands of Phillip Island to the stop-start nature of Motegi, before fitting a softer compound rear tyre in a trial run ahead of tomorrow's crucial qualifying practice. Rossi was on the pace in both instances, running second fastest in the morning free practice and stepping up the tempo with a string of fast and consistent laps in the afternoon. His best time on a race tyre of 1'48.044 was just a fraction outside lap record pace and is a positive reflection of his potential in Sunday's race. Edwards, meanwhile, was delighted to follow up his positive progress in Australia with another impressive practice showing. The Texan topped the timing screens for lengthy spells in the afternoon as he also lapped in the low 1'48s before settling for the fourth fastest time overall as other riders also experimented with a qualifying tyre. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'46.981; 44 laps) "I am very happy with today; we've made a really good start. The track has a good grip and also Michelin have made great progress since this race last year, especially with the front tyre. They have a new front tyre here which gives me much better grip when braking and so I was able to ride the bike at the maximum straight away today, which meant that I had great fun! My pace is okay, although there are many riders with a similar rhythm so I think it's going to be a hard battle on Sunday! My best time today was done with the qualifying tyre and once again my bike worked perfectly in this situation, so this is good news for tomorrow. Colin was fast too today, as he was last weekend, which shows what good work we've done on our M1 over the last few races. This race is very important for the championship so it's nice to start off on the right foot with this good result. Now we wait to see if we can continue in this way tomorrow." Colin Edwards (4th - 1'47.581; 41 laps) "We found something in Phillip Island which seems to have made all the difference; we pulled the bike out this morning and it felt good straight away. We've basically just softened up the setting and it's since felt like a completely different bike. Obviously Motegi is a very different track to Phillip Island but what we used today was pretty much the same bike with virtually the same setting - just a few modifications that we thought would help us here. The crew have done a great job and we've still got another day to work on improving the setting ahead of the race. We used a qualifying tyre today, which we don't usually do on a Friday, and I was really pleased with the lap time. Now we have to keep going, make sure we don't take a single step backwards and head into Sunday's race with confidence of a top result." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "For a start we are very happy to see Colin on top, more or less throughout the whole session today, so we have to keep going with him - improving his feeling with the bike and continuing to give him a good package to work with. Valentino has also made a good start and it is always an advantage when both riders feel comfortable from the first moment because they can push hard and give you lots of valuable data to work from. It means that we have a good setting now on both bikes so even if it rains tomorrow, as they say it might, we can be confident for Sunday. As far as using the qualifying tyre in free practice is concerned, we had actually already started to do this before Malaysia, to provide some information for the qualifying session on Saturday afternoon. However, I don't think there is any doubt that it is in the back of teams' minds now to set a good lap time, just in case there is a similar situation with the weather to the one we had at Sepang." Circuit Length: 4801 2006 MotoGP Motegi 22/09/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'46.981 2 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'47.315 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'47.449 4 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'47.581 5 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'47.610 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'47.646 7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'47.731 8 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'47.915 9 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'47.982 10 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'48.002 11 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'48.059 12 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'48.160 13 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'48.313 14 Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki JPN 1'48.317 15 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'48.389 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'49.683 20 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'49.889 Click here to view the news

The final leg of an exhausting Grand Prix triple-header takes place in Japan this weekend as the chase for the MotoGP World Championship heads north from Australia with Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi now the closest he has been to the series lead since the third round of the season in Turkey. Third place for the Italian at Phillip Island on Sunday moved him to within 21 points of Nicky Hayden (Honda), with this weekend's event at the Motegi circuit in the Tochigi prefecture providing another opportunity to cut that gap even further before the series returns to Europe for two final races in Portugal and Spain. As well as lifting him up to second place in the championship, Rossi's 89th top-three career finish in the premier class also moved him ahead of Giacomo Agostini in the all-time podiums list, with just Mick Doohan above him on 95. The 27-year-old's goal is to add to that tally with his 59th victory at a circuit where he has already celebrated on the top step in 2001. The statistics don't make such good reading for Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, whose impressive run of point-scoring finishes ended on 34 in Australia - just three short of another of Doohan's records. Edwards has a best finish of sixth at Motegi but he is doubly determined to improve on that in front of Yamaha's army of Japanese fans, who last saw him retiring from the Suzuka 8 Hour race with a mechanical problem in July. Valentino Rossi: Nothing is impossible Valentino Rossi admits that Motegi is not high on his list of favourite destinations although that opinion could easily be changed by another top result on Sunday. The Italian has bounced back from a series of early-season setbacks to hit top form in recent weeks and with three rounds remaining he still has a realistic chance of wrestling the title from Hayden's grasp. "Honestly it's not a track I like very much and I haven't had such a good time there in the past, but we're going to have to do our best at Motegi," says Rossi, who didn't finish last year's race after a collision with Marco Melandri. "Three races in a row like this is very hard, especially with this one as the third! We need to make the most of the practice time there because it is not a great track for us. Last year especially it was not a good weekend; we had a lot of problems during the practices and then the race result was very bad!" "A gap of 21 points is still a lot but it's not impossible so we can still try. Motegi is going to be a very important race for us, firstly because we know it's going to be difficult and secondly because we have to try to get more points from Hayden in order to stay in the fight. My M1 has been pretty good recently and I think we're going there in good shape, so hopefully we can make the most of the weekend and go back to Europe with an even better shot at the title." Colin Edwards: Positive thinking After enjoying the support of family and friends in Australia, Colin Edwards will again benefit from huge backing this weekend thanks to his army of Japanese fans. Twice a winner of the Suzuka 8 Hour race, one of those alongside Rossi, Edwards enjoyed plenty of success in Japan during his Superbike career and he hopes to revive the glory days by building on a good weekend of set-up work with the YZR-M1 machine in Australia." "I actually don't mind Motegi too much as a track, although I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites," says Edwards. "It's a pretty interesting track and I really like the four corners after the tunnel exit. We were sixth last year, which was okay, but we did have a few problems through the weekend to deal with which hopefully won't resurface this year. I've always enjoyed racing in Japan and I have loads of fans there, plus there's always a great atmosphere so it's generally a fun weekend." "Phillip island was obviously really disappointing, especially since we made such massive strides forward over the weekend and I was finally feeling like I was back where I should be in the way I could ride the bike. Basically I just have to forget what happened and think about the positives from the weekend and with any luck what worked there will work next week and we'll be able to get on it from the start on Friday morning. It's good in this way that we've got another race straight away - no time to sit around dwelling on the past!" Davide Brivio: Desperate for points Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is expecting a tough weekend for his riders at a circuit that has traditionally not favoured Yamaha machinery. However, the Italian insists that the team's focus will not waver as they target another victory points haul in the quest to lift the MotoGP World Championship crown for the third successive season. "Now we go to Motegi, which was very difficult for us last year and is never an easy track," admits Brivio. "We had a lot of set-up problems and then unfortunately Valentino crashed in the race and we came away with zero points! This year of course we are desperate for points so we need a very different weekend." "Over the last few races the situation with our bike has been pretty good, so with any luck this will be the case even in Motegi. We know it will be difficult of course, but we go there in good shape and ready to fight. Colin was in great shape at Phillip Island but sadly the rain stopped him from getting the result he deserved. We hope he won't have any pain remaining from his fall and that he can keep working in the good way he was in Australia, as we all want to see him back on top again." Technically speaking: Motegi according to Andrea Zugna Designed in 1997 as a test venue, Motegi has ultra-modern facilities although the outstanding paddock is not quite matched by the intricacies and character of a somewhat geometric circuit layout. A bump-free surface offers good levels of grip without being particularly abrasive, but the proliferation of second gear turns, linked for the most part by mini-drag strips, means braking and acceleration are the main prerequisite to a fast lap time, and consistency the key to a good race. "Motegi is a stop and go track so it's very important to be very strong and stable on the brakes," explains Andrea Zugna, Colin Edwards' Data Technician. "You need a good front fork setting and then the engine braking setting is also very important. You also need to be strong on the acceleration in order to be able to get away quickly, otherwise you're going to be passed at the next braking point. It is quite stressful on the front tyre because of the long braking sections, so you need the right front setting to cope with this." "It wasn't a very easy weekend for Colin last year; we didn't really find a way for him to have enough confidence in the front tyre for the race, so this is something we really need to work on from Friday morning this year. The Yamaha's strongest point is agility so it doesn't necessarily play to our strengths, but the M1 worked okay in Malaysia so we can start from this setting and hopefully make improvements from there." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 84 (57 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 170 (111 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 43 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 62 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Motegi Lap Record: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 1'47.968 Motegi Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 1'46.363 2005 Japanese Grand Prix Results: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 43'30.499 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda, +1.479 3. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Honda, +16.277 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +34.915 DNF: Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha Click here to view the news

Stefan Everts closed a record-breaking career - boasting numbers and results surely never to be equalled - with his fourteenth victory from fifteen events Ernee at the French Grand Prix for the final round of the FIM 2006 MX1 World Championship. The 33-year-old decorated Belgian, 2006 World Champion and ten times title winner across 125, 250, 500, MXGP and MX1 classes scooped his 101st career victory with two double triumphs watched and applauded by 17.000 appreciative spectators. The masses acknowledged a special chapter in motocross history as Everts took to the podium for the fifteenth time this year and for the final occasion after an eighteen year stint at the highest level. The Ernee circuit had dried significantly after lengthy spells of rain on Friday led towards the practice programme being shortened on Saturday in the interests of preserving the terrain. Sunday witnessed blue sky and sunshine for the first time in three days and the hill-side track was a slippery and rough test with many ruts chopping the corners and jump take-offs. Steering his YZ450FM with a new colour scheme that involved a chequered flag design inscribed with his 100 Grand Prix victories, as well as a set of white painted Pirelli tyres, Everts pulled away from Jonathan Barragan in the first moto for a comfortable victory as main rivals Mickael Pichon and Josh Coppins both fell. Coppins recovered to sixth. The World Champion was also using new white Acerbis gear with large sections of shiny gold befitting his status as the king of the sport. The second race was a similar walkover and Everts had a lead of more than ten seconds by the end of the first third of the sprint. Everts completed a victory lap and then a lengthy podium ceremony with his World Championship peers gathered around in celebration. Cedric Melotte will carry the number 11 plate for 2007. The Belgian's injured foot was still too painful for him to compete in what would have been his last Grand Prix for the Rinaldi team after a three year association. From 15 Grand Prix Everts has won 14 and 27 motos, 22 of which he clinched in a row. He recorded 8 pole positions and posted 739 points from a possible maximum of 750. His lowest result was a third position taken in the first moto at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Spain. Yamaha, with the new YZ450FM that has been so dominant this season, claimed the manufacturer's crown in Ireland and completed the campaign 140 points ahead of Suzuki. Michele Rinaldi has now finished his term as Team Manager and will step down to allow his brother Carlo to assume the reigns for 2007 and beyond. Everts will now captain Team Belgium at Matterley Basin for the 60th Motocross of Nations next week for his last major international event. Stefan Everts Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "It wasn't such a difficult race. I really wanted to enjoy this day and try to capture a lot of things that I can remember later about the weekend. It has been a great GP and Yamaha and Team Rinaldi have made some really nice surprises. To go into retirement with a victory here at my last Grand Prix is wonderful. Just before the second race I was getting emotional when the 15 second board' went up. I said to myself for the last time I am going to go for it and enjoy it. It has been a great year and an awesome ride. I could not have expected such a record with 14 out of 15 GPs. I think Japan was the best; I have never won a GP so easy. The Yamaha this year is for sure one of the best bikes I have ridden. When I got the new 450 last October I immediately felt that I could step up my level and speed, but I was not expecting to win this many races. Thanks again to the team and to everyone around me who has supported me." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Every time it is harder to make some comment about these fantastic races. I have to admit that I had some doubt before today because I saw Stefan mentally tired in Lierop, but I do not know where he found the resolve and the energy to make two very good starts and easy motos. He was pushing just enough to win again twice. It is sad to make a farewell for him but we are very proud of our history and our record over the last six years. This is the best way to say goodbye to him and for him to say goodbye to motocross. The new bike has been working so well and has been excellent for Stefan's riding style. The season has not finished in a good way for Cedric but the injury he sustained at the Belgian Championship meant that he couldn't ride. We still have a good relationship with him and wish him luck for the future." Press room Michele Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "We signed Stefan for the 2001 season and we have had six years together trying to do our best. We have made some exceptional results. He is going to stop his career while still winning races and this is something unbelievable for sportsmen because you do not see this often, in any sport not just motocross. We have worked hard as a team but with a great Champion like Stefan he can really show all that effort. Motocross is a hard sport with many good riders but we did not expect a season like this. I think everyone; the team, Yamaha and Stefan can be satisfied today. It is a special day for me also and it was difficult for me this morning as my last time managing the team out front because next year I will be more behind-the-scenes and focus on YZ technical development." Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe: "It is difficult to comment because it is hard to take in what has happened today. It is the end of an era of a very special rider. To win six world titles with this Champion is an exceptional achievement and now it is the end of a unique relationship between rider and machine. It is an emotional day. Many years ago we raced mainly with prototype machines and every season we got closer and closer to using a production bike. Stefan's Yamaha this year is pretty stock, the frame is standard. Engine-wise there have been some tweaks but basically the Rinaldi team have worked with a production motorcycle that is already very good. We are really happy to have won in 2006 with this model." Crowd: 17000 Weather: Dry 2006 GP of Ernée, France 17/09/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 39'47.108 2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'3.994 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'20.304 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'31.984 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'34.192 6 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'36.959 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'47.813 8 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 0'52.007 9 James Noble Honda GBR 0'55.251 10 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'57.249 11 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'1.372 12 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'6.338 13 Mark Jones Honda GBR 1'17.602 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'20.666 15 Julien Vanni KTM FRA 1'21.569 16 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 1'22.536 17 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'23.742 18 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 1'33.622 19 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 1'36.562 20 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'39.433 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 39'50.449 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'8.456 3 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'18.562 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'28.354 5 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'30.939 6 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'32.686 7 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 0'47.489 8 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'58.681 9 James Noble Honda GBR 1'1.768 10 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'6.694 11 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 1'8.514 12 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'16.892 13 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'31.347 14 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'39.713 15 Mark Jones Honda GBR 1'41.730 16 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'44.078 17 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 1'50.532 18 Cyril Coulon Suzuki FRA -1 Laps 19 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 20 Rodrig Thain Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 1'56.367 Rider Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 739 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 529 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 483 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 463 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 443 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 376 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 330 8. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 278 9. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 267 10. James Noble Honda GBR 226 11. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 201 13. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 173 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 168 15. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 155 17. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 144 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 120 19. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 106 20. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 Manufacturer Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 739 2. Suzuki 599 3. Honda 576 4. Kawasaki 458 5. KTM 454 6. TM 168 RACE REPORT 17/09/2006 Cairoli wins French GP but hands Championship title to Pourcel Antonio Cairoli The MX2 Grand Prix of France at Ernee was won by De Carli Yamaha rider Antonio Cairoli with his second double triumph of the year and third GP success. While it completed a pleasant double victory for Yamaha at the final GP of the season, The 2005 World Champion had to settle for second in 2006 . Cairoli led from first corner to the chequered flag for a superior opening moto victory ahead of Christophe Pourcel who was cheered on by the voluminous French public. At one stage it looked as though the Kawasaki rider might be able to challenge the De Carli representative but a spurt from Cairoli in the final laps was enough for him to keep control over a decreasing margin. In the second race an exciting battle raged for two laps between the two protagonists. If Cairoli won again he would need Pourcel to fail to score and he would retain his World Championship. For a brief moment there was hope when Pourcel crashed out of the lead and down to fifth position. Cairoli assumed control ahead of Marc de Reuver and aced a set of laps in which he looked fast, comfortable and aggressive. Pourcel would finish the race however leaving the Sicilian second by 18 points. Cairoli ends the season as the rider with highest number of moto victories in the class with 12. Billy Mackenzie Billy Mackenzie was the next best Yamaha rider in ninth position and his progress for a top five finish in the second moto was hindered by a bent gear lever that necessitated a visit to the pits. The Scot fought back hard to capture twelfth. Alessio Chiodi was eleventh but lacking race fitness after missing the last three Grand Prix. Ricci Racing team-mate Kenneth Gundersen could not get a good feeling on the track and only registered points in Moto one. Six riders won MX2 Grand Prix in 2006 and aside from Cairoli with three triumphs, Billy Mackenzie was the other YZ250F pilot to mount the highest step of the rostrum with his second career victory at the Sugo circuit in Japan. The pair also collected eight fastest laps between them. Mackenzie is the next highest placed Yamaha representative in the World Champonship with ninth, thanks partially to one GP win. The Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing rider was handicapped by six non-scores however. Kenneth Gundersen has finished thirteenth and took a top three result with third at Zolder in Belgium but also picked up nine DNFs. Alessio Chiodi was right in front of him in twelfth and a decent season was ruined at round five when a fast practice crash led to a damaged knee. A broken finger added to his woes and meant four Grand Prix out of action. The third Ricci Racing rider Davide Guarneri has ended a troubled campaign in 16th. Cairoli, Mackenzie and Gundersen will also be on Motocross of Nations duty at Matterley Basin in seven days time. Antonio Cairoli Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "I am happy to end the year like this but not so pleased with how I started the Championship because some mistakes cost me the title. I lost too many points at the beginning. I tried to put pressure on Christophe today. He crashed but his bike didn't break so he was able to finish the race. I am happy with the GP however because the Yamaha worked really well and I had a good feeling on the track. I will start next MX2 season with more conviction and I want to win back the title for Yamaha and me next year for sure." Kenneth Gundersen, Ricci Racing: "I had two bad starts and wasn't riding well. I want to forget this year, go away and work hard and try to do better next season. There have been too many mistakes in the second half of the season. There has been some bad luck but I have also made some errors. One small positive is finishing without any big injury." Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "I made my first race last weekend at the Italian Championship but my hand was sleeping out there over the jumps and I did not have much strength. My feeling on the bike was missing because I have not been able to train during the week. The season started well but I had some bad luck in Teutschenthal and then had the knee injury in Japan so it has not turned out well." Circuit Length: 1111 Crowd: 17000 Weather: Dry 2006 GP of Ernée, France 17/09/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'30.406 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.533 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'30.975 4 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'54.684 5 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 0'56.665 6 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 0'57.465 7 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 1'0.129 8 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 1'3.913 9 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'17.012 10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'18.166 11 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 1'20.098 12 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'21.323 13 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 1'23.989 14 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'45.334 15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'48.356 16 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'56.912 17 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'58.355 18 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 2'0.355 19 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 2'2.133 20 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER -1 Laps 23 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'0.081 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'9.920 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'14.839 4 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.842 5 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'20.833 6 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'24.021 7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'9.374 8 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'11.896 9 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'12.094 10 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'15.319 11 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'16.093 12 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'17.863 13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 1'30.863 14 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'35.190 15 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1'38.843 16 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'40.023 17 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'42.087 18 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 1'47.200 19 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'48.354 20 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'52.027 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'57.015 Rider Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 581 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 563 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 480 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 475 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 408 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 377 7. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 325 8. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 315 9. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 302 10. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 298 11. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 286 12. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 229 13. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 223 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 196 15. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 160 16. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 17. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 150 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 112 19. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 106 20. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 103 36. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 9 Manufacturer Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 682 2. Yamaha 657 3. Kawasaki 606 4. Honda 262 5. Suzuki 16 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi clinched the final spot on the podium with a daring manoeuvre in the very last corner of a dramatic flag-to-flag race, the first of its kind in MotoGP, held in mixed weather conditions at Phillip Island this afternoon. The drama started on the warm-up lap when a light shower meant that the race was recalled as wet, giving the riders chance to change tyres on the grid. However, with track conditions still relatively dry they all opted to stay on slicks until the rain intensified - Rossi eventually coming in to pit on lap eight, having battled back to third after dropping to ninth after a poor start from the front row. The Italian's team-mate Colin Edwards had also been about to come in and change his tyres on the same lap but the American was caught out by a slippery patch of track in the middle of the second corner, which caused the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine to lose grip and step out before digging in again and throwing him over the handlebars. Edwards landed hard on his backside and was badly winded but thankfully he escaped any serious injury. Rossi jumped onto his second bike and headed back out onto the track, although over-cautiousness on the wet tyres saw him lose several places and drop to eighth. After a brief battle with eventual winner Marco Melandri (Honda), Rossi took a few laps to carefully judge the condition of a track that had now begun to dry out again, making the performance of the wet tyres difficult to predict. Over the closing laps he picked up his pace and launched a typical charge past several riders, culminating in a thrilling final corner move on Sete Gibernau (Ducati) that sealed third place and moved him up to second in the championship, 21 points behind Nicky Hayden (Honda), who finished fifth. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) completed the podium in second place. Valentino Rossi (3rd; +10.526) "I'm a little disappointed with third place because I know that in dry conditions we had a very good set-up and I think the result could have been better. Anyway, we can't do anything about the weather and in these circumstances I have to be thankful for third place because we have pulled some more points back on Nicky. After we changed the bike I lost a few places because I didn't have a good feeling initially on the wet tyre. Honestly I think this was my fault because once I found my rhythm I realized my M1 was in good shape and I was able to push more. I'm really happy with the second half of the race because the gap to Sete was seven seconds, but I made my mind up to try and pass him and my bike and my Michelin tyre worked very well to the end. I saw the red dot getting bigger and bigger and to pass him in the last corner was excellent. I would have liked to win for the sixth time here but at least I got to celebrate on the podium in front of all these wonderful fans. Now we are 21 points behind - it is a lot, but not impossible." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards (DNF) "That was a weird race. I actually got a decent start and I felt comfortable out there, but I think this flag to flag racing is dangerous. I think most of us thought we'd just keep riding until somebody crashed, and wouldn't you just know it - that person was me. I'd actually made my mind up to pit and I held my leg out to the crew as I came down the straight to warn them, so I wasn't pushing any harder than I had done on the previous lap. I was off the brakes and off the gas, just tipping it into turn two, when the rear stepped out then dug in and threw me into a handstand. I came down real hard on my backside and that's where the pain is right now. I'm extra disappointed because we'd done a good job with the bike this weekend and if it stayed dry we were all set for a top result. Unfortunately it seems whenever they put the race back an hour it gives the weather a chance to move in. I guess that's live television for you!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It's good news that Colin is not hurt after his crash, and it's really unlucky that it happened when he was going so well and after he had made such good progress this weekend. He could have had a good race so it's a pity for him. Today with Valentino we got five important points on Hayden, so in such difficult conditions, when it was very easy to make mistakes, we can consider this a very positive result. Well done to everyone in the team for managing a difficult situation so well. Although it wasn't the result we were hoping for today, all in all we're happy." Downpour destroys efforts for Tech 3 Yamaha Team at Phillip Island Carlos Checa It was a day that promised so much but delivered very little for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team as a rain shower lashed the Phillip Island circuit just as the Australian Grand Prix commenced. After qualifying in sixth position, there were high hopes for Carlos Checa but these ambitions evaporated as the field charged off the line as rain started falling. In a historical moment for the sport it was left to the riders to make the decision to enter pit lane to change to their number two Yamaha's already setup with rain tyres as conditions worsened. Checa and his team mate James Ellison were the first riders to enter the pits to change to wet weather tyres and the decision appeared to pay off as Carlos was in second at one point but without a refined wet-weather set-up and varying conditions the wet weather tyres didn't last and both riders were forced to re-enter the pits to change machines once again. Ellison battled on to finish 16th but it was a rare DNF for Carlos as he crashed out on the slippery surface. Carlos Checa (DNF, Fastest lap 1'31.500) "I am very disappointed like the rest of the team but there is very little you can do with the weather. I think we did great to start with as we were second but the tyres just didn't survive and after a few laps the rubber was pretty bad on the left hand side. I decided to stop because it was very dangerous to stay out there. I went out again and in a slow corner I lost the rear and had a soft crash. Overall we had a fair weekend as we have made so much progress but the race was ruined by the weather. There is nothing we can do against that. We tried our best but that is the way things go sometimes. We have a few races left so I hope that we can get a result that reflects all the hard work we have been putting in." James Ellison (16th; Fastest lap 1'35.287) "It was a very weird race that's for sure. I came in to change but the tyre we chose had no traction so I came in to change again but I still had no grip. I tried out there but it was just a matter of trying to keep the Yamaha upright. It was a day of trying to deal with things that were beyond us but at least I have created history by being the first rider to come in during a wet weather race to change tyres! We just have to cop this race on the chin and regroup for next weekend in Motegi. Who knows, it might be the same next weekend but at least we have learnt a lot here at Phillip Island so I suppose we have to look at the positives of this Grand Prix as we now know how much the Dunlop tyres have improved in the last few races. Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It was a very disappointing way to end a weekend that worked really well until the rain started to fall, I think all through the weekend we have been very good on race and qualifying tyres. Unfortunately the rain came and I think we made the right decision when Carlos and James came in a lap before the other guys and after a change of tyres allowed him to go out in second position, which was perfect. Unfortunately the tyres went off after three laps then he had to come in again and restarted with intermediates, but unfortunately he crashed out. We didn't have any rain conditions to practice in this weekend but we definitely made big, big improvements on race tyres but now we have to work on the wet tyres, that is the main thing we have learnt today. It is very disappointing but we look forward to Japan without rain so we can confirm our progress in race conditions. Circuit Length: 4448 Temp: 23 Weather: Wet 2006 MotoGP Phillip Island 17/09/2006 Race 1 - 26 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 44'15.621 2 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'9.699 3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'10.526 4 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 0'10.615 5 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'10.694 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 0'11.323 7 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'26.555 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 0'26.666 9 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'57.234 10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'2.231 11 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'2.432 12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'18.109 13 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'48.233 14 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA -1 Laps 15 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP -1 Laps 16 James Ellison Yamaha GBR -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'30.917 Rider Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 225 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 204 3. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 193 4. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 193 5. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 180 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 119 7. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 103 8. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 97 9. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 96 10. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 86 11. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 83 12. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 82 13. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 75 14. Toni Elias Honda ESP 71 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 58 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 20 Team Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 418 2. Camel Yamaha Team 300 3. Ducati Marlboro Team 269 4. Fortuna Honda Team 264 5. Rizla Suzuki 183 6. Honda LCR 119 7. Kawasaki Racing Team 114 8. Team Roberts KR 103 9. Tech3 Yamaha 78 10. Konica Minolta Honda 75 11. Pramac D'Antin 26 Manufacturer Standings 17/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 303 2. Yamaha 242 3. Ducati 193 4. Suzuki 131 5. Team Robert KR 103 6. Kawasaki 94 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga gave his team reason to cheer at their home race as he sped to provisional pole position for Sunday's races at Monza. Light drizzle throughout the afternoon's one-hour qualifying session meant a reduced number of laps for the 30 superbike entrants but, despite the tricky conditions, Haga's best lap of 1:47.007 was only a fraction slower than Neil Hodgson's three-year-old ultimate lap record. Team-mate Andrew Pitt was happy with his day's work. The Australian ended the day in seventh but felt he could have been higher after taking a cautious line through the fast Parabolica curve. Both riders have been able to take advantage of improvements to their YZF-R1 machines, including a new specification swingarm. The team is hoping for dry conditions in tomorrow's final practice and qualifying sessions to allow them to make further improvements for Sunday's two 18 lap races, for which the final grid positions will be decided in tomorrow's superpole session. Yamaha Motor France had a tough day in Monza with Norick Abe destroying his machine in a spectacular highside mid-way through the session. The Japanese rider lost control of his YZF-R1 while exiting the Ascari chicane and was taken to hospital for precautionary checks. Tests confirmed that the rider has not broken any bones, although the team will wait until the morning before deciding if he is fit enough to take any further part in the weekend. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert was the team's fastest rider, in 15th, with Japanese rookie Shinichi Nakatomi ending the day 23rd on his first visit to the circuit. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "A good session. We've made some changes to the bike and they seem to be working well here. The team has brought a new swinging arm for us to try and it seems to have some benefits, although there are also a few disadvantages too. We need to test more tomorrow to make a final decision, but the bike feels good. I ran a lot of laps along with Troy Bayliss and we were able to have some fun passing and repassing each other. Hopefully we can make some more improvements for the race. The team has many fans and sponsors here this weekend and I have some friends coming over from Japan tonight. I hope that we can put a good performance on for them." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We've come to Monza with a new set-up and so far it's working well for us. I'm feeling really confident with the bike and should probably be higher than seventh. On my fastest lap I was up at the first two splits but lost it all at the end. I probably just took it too easy going into Parabolica as I could see the spots of rain beading on my visor and wasn't sure how much grip there actually was. I'm quite happy though. We should be able to make some more improvements tomorrow and I'm confident that we'll be up there on Sunday." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "It's a shame we couldn't do as many laps as we'd like because of the conditions today, as I must learn this circuit. We are not sure what the weather will be tomorrow but I am ready to improve whatever the conditions." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "It's been a good day but I don't want to get carried away as it is only Friday. We weren't sure what to expect here as this is a fast track and top speed isn't perhaps our strength but the riders are happy with their bikes and it seems that the new swingarm we are using is also a step forward. We'll see what tomorrow brings but for now we are all satisfied with our day's work." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Norick had a bad crash today and we will decide tomorrow if he can race or not. He had a bit of a bang on the head, although the doctors say that nothing is broken. We will let him rest and see how things are in the morning." Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 47.434 (Troy Bayliss, 2002) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 46.981 (Neil Hodgson, 2003) Date: 5 May 2006 Temp: 19ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 N. Haga Yamaha JPN 1' 47.007 2 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 1' 47.043 3 T. Corser Suzuki AUS 1' 47.591 4 J. Toseland Honda GBR 1' 47.751 5 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1' 47.763 6 A. Barros Honda BRA 1' 47.769 7 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS 1' 47.793 8 R. Xaus Ducati ESP 1' 47.852 9 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA 1' 48.070 10 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA 1' 48.334 11 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR 1' 48.530 12 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA 1' 48.575 13 M. Neukirchner Ducati GER 1' 48.712 14 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1' 48.828 15 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1' 48.871 16 I. Clementi Ducati ITA 1' 49.226 19 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1' 49.497 23 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1' 49.890 WSS : Curtain third fastest in Monza Round: 4 - Italy WSS Circuit: Monza Date: 5 May 2006 Temp: 19ºC Weather: Dry Yamaha Motor Germany star Kevin Curtain was the leading R6 rider in qualifying for Sunday's fourth round of the Supersport World Championship at Monza in Italy. In dry but overcast conditions, the 40-year-old Australian was under the lap record pace as he set the third fastest time around the historic speedbowl, recording a best lap time of 1:52.038. Curtain was satisfied on what is his first visit to Monza with the latest YZF-R6. The squad are are taking advantage of a new specification front tyre from Pirelli. Both Curtain and his team-mate Broc Parkes have tested the tyre with good results and are delighted to have it available on a race weekend. Yamaha Team Italia rider Gianluca Vizziello, who won the national supersport championship race at Monza the previous weekend, ended the day sixth with Parkes alongside him on the provisional second row of the grid, in seventh. Massimo Roccoli was 14th fastest on the second Yamaha Team Italia R6, with Yamaha GMT94's David Checa 19th in his first world supersport outing of the year. Championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) was the fastest man today with a 1:51.061 lap. Final practice for Sunday's race takes place tomorrow afternoon. Round: 4 - Italy WSS Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 52.635 (Chris Vermeulen, 2003) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 51.061 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Date: 5 May 2006 Temp: 19ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 1' 51.061 2 K. Fujiwara Honda JPN 1' 51.844 3 K. Curtain Yamaha AUS 1' 52.038 4 K. Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1' 52.313 5 Y. Tibero Honda FRA 1' 52.444 6 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1' 52.460 7 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS 1' 52.602 8 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE 1' 52.861 9 R. Harms Honda DNK 1' 53.021 10 S. Cruciani Honda ITA 1' 53.221 11 T. Lauslehto Honda FIN 1' 53.307 12 S. Le Grelle Honda BEL 1' 53.479 13 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1' 53.501 14 B. Veneman Suzuki NED 1' 53.526 15 M. Berger Kawasaki FRA 1' 53.662 16 S. Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1' 53.722 17 V. Kallio Yamaha FIN 1' 53.755 18 D. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 53.863 24 J. Enjolras Yamaha FRA 1' 54.695 25 X. Fores Yamaha ESP 1' 54.949 27 C. Peris Yamaha CAN 1' 55.100 29 D. Garcia Yamaha ITA 1' 55.472 Click here to view the news

Following Sundays' Turkish Grand Prix, the Camel Yamaha Team stayed on to test in Istanbul, making the most of a dry day after a rain-interrupted weekend as they searched for improvements to the 2006-spec YZR-M1. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards, who finished fourth and ninth respectively in the MotoGP race, had continued to experience problems throughout the weekend and were unable to find a perfect race set-up. Yesterday's test was therefore aimed at finding a better base setting and gathering yet more data in order to provide the Yamaha engineers with more information to work with ahead of the next race in China. It was a fruitful day's work and the Team was able to make up for the time lost to the rain on Saturday, with both riders finding a marked improvement to their settings and posting some good lap times. Edwards completed 60 laps with a best time of 1'53.31, whilst Rossi's fastest time of the day was 1'53.61 after 72 laps. The MotoGP paddock will reconvene in just over a week's time for the fourth race of the season in Shanghai, China, where Valentino Rossi took victory in the rain last year. Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Once again we decided to take the chance to stay on and test after the race, as we saw this weekend that we still have work to do. Yesterday was a very important test for us as we continued from what we did during the weekend and tried a few more ideas in order to try to improve, and hopefully to fix, the problems that we've been having this season. We made some good progress with both riders and found a better setting for the bike and this was reflected in the lap times, which were better than those that Colin and Valentino set on Friday, when it was dry. Our work this weekend was interrupted by the rain on Saturday and we weren't able to find a good setting in time for the race, but yesterday we achieved that so hopefully that will help us in China. All this information will help the Yamaha engineers in their work over the next week, and now we look forward to a better situation for both our riders in China." Camel Yamaha Team Times: 1. Colin Edwards, 1'53.31 (60 Laps) 2. Valentino Rossi, 1'53.61 (72 Laps) Click here to view the news

Round four of the Superbike World Championship sees the series move to the historic Monza circuit in Italy, the fastest racetrack on the entire calendar. With top speeds often exceeding 300kph down the long home straight, the first of three Italian races this year is always an exciting slipstream battle on this unique circuit. For the Yamaha Motor Italia world superbike team this race takes on an extra importance, as their headquarters is based just a few kilometres from the circuit. While the points on offer are exactly the same as at the 12 other rounds of the championship, the emotional boost of a good result in their backyard will provide extra motivation for the team and their riders - especially after a difficult weekend at the last round in Valencia. Both the team's riders struggled for traction at the Spanish circuit, with a pair of fifth places for Noriyuki Haga and a couple of top tens for Andrew Pitt, keeping both riders in the top six of the championship - Haga fourth and Pitt sixth. And while historically the Monza circuit may not be one of the strongest for Yamaha's YZF-R1, both riders are confident that they can fight up front this weekend. Fans' favourite Haga had a difficult time in Monza last year, finishing ninth and 11th in the two races. This season the Japanese rider has consistently been among the frontrunners, finishing third once, fourth twice and fifth twice in the five races he has finished. Surprisingly Haga has never won in his adopted homeland. The Japanese star has won 19 races in his illustrious superbike career, but his best results in Italy are two third places (Monza 2002 and Imola 2005). Despite this, Haga still looks forward to Monza, as he explains: "Monza is not such a difficult track and good fun... if you have a fast bike! Valencia was difficult for us in many ways but now we must put it behind us and look forward to the championship. Monza is a very important race for the team and I will be doing my best to get a good result for them. Monza was my worst race of 2005 but our bike is definitely much better now than it was this time last year and our top speed is generally quite good, so if we can find a good setting and get away with the front group then anything can happen." With fifth and sixth place finishes, team-mate Pitt was the highest placed Yamaha rider at Monza last year. "Front end grip was the big problem at Valencia but it shouldn't be a factor in Monza. At Valencia you are leaned over on the side of the tyre for so long but Monza is completely different, mostly long straights and slow corners. Because of the slipstreaming it is important to get away with the leading group at Monza. Our starts have been pretty good this year so there is no reason why we can't be up there in the races." Yamaha will also be represented by the Yamaha Motor France team in Monza. The squad travel to Italy in high spirits after gaining their best results of the season in Valencia, where Norick Abe scored two fourth places and fellow Japanese rider Shinichi Nakatomi scored his first world championship points with a pair of 12ths. The team's other rider, Sebastien Gimbert, returns at Monza after missing Valencia due to his world endurance commitments. As always, Yamaha will be well represented in the supporting classes at Monza. In the Supersport World Championship, Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes lie second and fourth in the points after three rounds. Italian young guns Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello are both running in the top ten of the series and go to Monza having finished first and second in the Italian championship round there last weekend. One rider who will not be present in Monza is last year's FIM Superstock 1000 champion Didier van Keymeulen. The Belgian had been riding a Yamaha YZF-R6 for the Moto 1 squad in world supersport but has split with the team following irreconcilable differences regarding machine and team set-up. Roccoli and Vizziello's Yamaha Team Italia team-mate Claudio Corti was another winner in the national championship race, won the superstock class. After taking a top 10 in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup opener in Valencia, the European Superstock 600 champion is looking for his first world championship win at his home circuit this weekend. Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi made up valuable points in the MotoGP World Championship title chase after charging from eleventh place on the grid to take fourth overall in today's Turkish Grand Prix. Despite making a quick start from his lowly grid position, the Italian made a mistake on lap two and dropped as far back as twelfth. However crucial changes made to the setup of his YZR-M1 before the race then allowed him to pass no fewer than seven riders, as he lapped at the same pace as the leading group over the course of the race. By the time he had made his way through the pack it was too late for the Italian to challenge for the podium but a crash for Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on the final lap boosted his final position to fourth. Today's result makes Rossi the highest point-scorer of all time in the Grand Prix World Championship, overtaking Max Biaggi. Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards made a decent start and remained in touch with the leaders for the opening laps but was unable to make any further progress and ended the race in ninth - the same position he had started from on the grid. At the front Marco Melandri (Honda) repeated his win from last season but was pushed all the way by Casey Stoner (Honda), who led the race until three corners from the end, when Melandri made his definitive pass. Nicky Hayden (Honda) was left to snap up the final podium position after Pedrosa's misfortune, the Spanish youngster tumbling out at turn one on the final lap when attacking Melandri and Stoner. Valentino Rossi (4th; + 6.209) "I got a good start off the line but I had been thinking about the first corner incident at Jerez and what had happened to Lorenzo in the 250 race, so I decided to go to the inside and it cost me four or five places. I made the positions back by the end of the first lap but I made a mistake under braking on lap two and lost three seconds and the chance for a podium today. We have had so many problems this weekend but we solved some of them in time for the race with some big modifications after the warm-up this morning and then the bike was okay, especially in the second half of the race when I really enjoyed riding it. It will be interesting to see how much more progress we can make in the test tomorrow because it is a long championship and the most important thing right now is not where we are in the standings or the points difference to the leader - the priority is to get the bike working as we know it can. This is a tough series and when you have problems you don't lose one or two places, you lose ten. It looks like there was a great battle at the front - it's a shame I wasn't involved! Looking at the championship right now I would say the top seven all have a chance to win the title but there is a long way to go yet." Colin Edwards (9th; + 22.847) "We didn't get it done at all this weekend and we need to sit down and work out why. It was always going to be a tough race today but I just didn't have the feeling or confidence with the bike to go out and battle with the guys we should be running with, which is the front group. We've got a test tomorrow and I'm keen to get out there and get as many laps in as possible. It's hard to overcome problems like the ones we're experiencing now because you don't get enough time during a Grand Prix weekend, so we'll get as much data together as we can before China. We simply have to come up with something for there because this situation can't go on for any longer." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Looking at Valentino's race pace he could have easily been on the podium today, or even won the race, which is a big plus point for us considering the problems we have had. On lap three he was seven seconds down but he finished closer to the winner than that, despite having to fight past so many riders. Even so this has not been a satisfactory weekend for us and we know we still have a lot of work to do, starting in tomorrow's test. We have two very positive riders and this mood runs all the way through the team, so we will be working very hard tomorrow. The changes we made to Valentino's bike today are encouraging but now we have to further this development. It was a tough Grand Prix but we have come out of it with many positives." Disappointing weekend for Tech 3 Yamaha Team The variable weather conditions that prevailed over the Istanbul Park Circuit during the Grand Prix of Turkey, cast a giant cloud over the efforts of the Tech 3 Yamaha Team that contributed to a disappointing weekend for all involved. After the improvement of the previous Grand Prix in Qatar, Carlos Checa and James Ellison were determined to continue the momentum but their efforts over the three days were not rewarded as they finished in 15th and 18th positions, respectively. However dark the cloud may appear, there was a silver lining as the unpredictable conditions ensured that the team logged important data to furnish the team's tyre supplier, Dunlop, for the remaining 14 rounds of the 2006 season. Carlos Checa (15th; + 59.855) "We started the race with a completely new setup starting from zero again and trying a new tyre so we didn't know what to expect. I had a good start and pushed hard but on the third lap I lost the front and ran off the track. I tired again but I had another slide and decided to back off a little and settle into a good rhythm to save the tyre. This worked a little as I was able to get my fastest lap near the end of the race. I also had some trouble with my shoulder near the finish as there are so many left hand corners here. "'It wasn't the best setup but with so much time lost we had to make a decision and unfortunately we went the wrong way. The way the weekend went I am not very happy but like I keep saying, this is a development year for Dunlop in MotoGP and it is most important that we supply them with as much information as possible so they can progress. When they go forward, we go forward and that is the main aim. That will help us as the season continues with the next race in China, and hopefully, my shoulder will be 100% by then." James Ellison (18th; + 1 lap) "It's like I'm making excuses all the time and its getting tiring but we haven't found a proper setting to start with. It's no one's fault as we're all working hard to try and find what we're looking for. It's not just us either as all four Yamaha riders seem to be struggling to find a decent setup. I thought for sure after the progress we make in Qatar we would have an even better weekend here and get a decent result. "On Friday we knew which direction to go, but I think, as it wasn't as warm today as on Friday it didn't help us. It's a combination of getting things to work and unfortunately the combination we tried today didn't work. I'm really disappointed." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It was certainly a tough weekend but the positive point is that we worked hard with dry tyres on day one, we did the same with the wet tyres on day two and we have given a lot of useful information to Dunlop. "Truthfully the race was not as bad as it looks. We were consistently quicker in the race than we were on Friday and Carlos's last laps were his fastest. Sure it wasn't fast enough but Carlos is still having problems with his left shoulder and we go out of here with some ideas of how to improve. "I can't say we are happy to finish where we were but I think we have been working quite well and I want to thank Carlos for being very constructive and very positive. With a rider like him I'm sure we can go forward and improve." Race classification MotoGP Round: 3 - 2006 MotoGP Turkey Circuit: Istanbul Circuit Length: 5378 Lap Record: 1' 52.877 (Toni Elias, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 52.334 (Sete Gibernau, 2005) Race: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. Melandri Honda ITA 41' 54.065 2 C. Stoner Honda AUS +0.200 3 N. Hayden Honda USA +5.458 4 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +6.209 5 T. Elias Honda ESP +6.587 6 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +16.682 7 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +16.777 8 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +21.537 9 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +22.847 10 M. Tamada Honda JPN +30.483 11 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP +30.543 12 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA +34.284 13 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +45.112 14 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +53.525 15 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +59.855 16 A. Hofmann Ducati GER +1' 1.241 17 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +1' 38.628 18 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1 lap(s) Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Elias Honda ESP 1' 52.877 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 52 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 51 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 45 4 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 41 5 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 40 6 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 32 7 Toni Elias Honda ESP 32 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 22 9 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 19 10 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 18 11 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 17 12 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 14 13 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 13 14 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 8 15 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 7 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 3 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 65 2 Ducati 51 3 Yamaha 43 4 Kawasaki 22 5 Team Roberts KR 17 6 Suzuki 16 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 84 2 Fortuna Honda Team 77 3 Ducati Marlboro Team 69 4 Camel Yamaha Team 59 5 Honda LCR 41 6 Kawasaki Racing Team 26 7 Rizla Suzuki 20 8 Team Roberts KR 17 9 Konica Minolta Honda 14 10 Tech3 Yamaha 11 11 Pramac D'Antin 2 Click here to view the news

Local weather forecasts predicting heavy rain for today's qualifying session at the Grand Prix of Turkey were borne out today as an early downfall and intermittent afternoon showers thwarted the Camel Yamaha Team's hopes of improving their YZR-M1 machines ahead of tomorrow's 22-lap race. After struggling to find an ideal setting for the demanding Istanbul Park circuit in yesterday's free practices, both Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi had hoped to complete some dry laps before this afternoon's crucial grid decider but they were forced to splash their way through the puddles and battle hard for ninth and eleventh place respectively. Edwards' cause wasn't helped by a heavy fall in the morning session, which left him nursing several bruised joints, whilst Rossi has yet to get comfortable with his bike in either wet or dry conditions. For the second successive race, pole position went to an Australian rookie as Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) showed impressive wet pace with a fastest lap of 2'04.617, holding off the challenge of yesterday's pacesetter Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Sete Gibernau (Ducati), who complete the front row. Colin Edwards (9th - 2'07.334, 21 laps) "I had a big highside this morning and came down heavily on my head, shoulders and knee. It was pretty painful but after two laps back on the bike you soon forget about that. To be honest I felt quite comfortable in the wet but if we want to be competitive in this race we have to find another two seconds from somewhere and I'm not quite sure where at the moment. Our tyre rivals seem to have an advantage but I also have to say 'hats off' to Nicky Hayden - I'm not sure how close he was to ending one of those laps on the floor but he showed that Michelin have a good wet tyre so we clearly need to find the performance from our own bike. Wet or dry we have to pull a result out from somewhere tomorrow, but after this afternoon's session I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed for sunshine in the morning." Valentino Rossi (11th - 2'07.552, 20 laps) "We're having a lot of difficulty, not just at this track but during this period. Unfortunately the problem with the bike came late in the pre-season and we have not had time yet to fully understand it. It means we are off the pace here in the wet and the dry, but we don't completely understand why. It seems that our tyre competitor is strong here but we can't blame this. Nicky Hayden was very fast all day and after him the next Michelin rider is Casey Stoner; with the amount of MotoGP experience he has in these conditions we should be in front of him. I'm surprised, because last year our bike was really good in the wet and after the new bike worked so well at Catalunya during the rainy pre-season tests I was confident it would be good today as well, but it has been the opposite. I don't have enough confidence in the front to lean the bike over as much as I would like on the entry to the corners and not enough grip on the rear to make it up on the exit. If it's dry tomorrow then we have some things to try in the morning, but if the conditions are the same as today then it's going to be very hard for us." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "We are clearly in a very difficult situation at the moment and we need to first understand our problems before we can work to improve them. The engineers are looking at the data as we speak and seeing if we can come up with something for tomorrow. Our team have shown in the past that they are capable of producing quick solutions and I have full confidence in them; somehow we have to find a better performance in the wet and in the dry conditions." Rain causews frusrtation in qualifying for Tech 3 Yamaha Team The overcast skies and showers that greeted the Tech 3 Yamaha Team at the Istanbul Park circuit today caused many headaches as they searched for a suitable set-up in the miserable conditions at the undulating track. Rainwater pooled at various places on the track during today's sessions, making riding treacherous, but Carlos Checa and team mate James Ellison were determined to work through a variety of options in order to find the best race set-up. Despite their hard work, the contrasting elements over the two days of practice and qualifying conspired to hamper their attempts for a satisfactory solution, and the pair could only manage 15th and 19th positions respectively for tomorrow's 22-lap race. Carlos Checa (15th 2'10.322, 20 laps) "The rain caused many problems for me and I can't say I'm very happy with my qualifying position. We had some settings for the dry to try today but the bad weather changed all of it. If the rain is still here tomorrow it will be important to get a good start to improve my position early. If we can do that and with the direction we are heading in, with our choice of tyres and set-up, we have a chance of a good result. This morning we seemed to have found a good direction in the very wet conditions and this afternoon wasn't so wet but we also made some more good progress, but as I said I am not really happy with the final result. We should remember that Dunlop haven't got very much experience with wet weather tyres on MotoGP bikes, but I think that no matter what the conditions are we have made positive improvements ahead of the race." James Ellison (19th 2:12.298 19 laps) "I would be lying if I said I was happy. With the amount of water on the track and the slower times it was impossible for the tyres to hold their heat on the straight so that made it very difficult when I wanted to start pushing hard into the corners. Dunlop is learning all the time and that is part of being with one of those teams that are developing tyres at the same time. With the feedback we are giving them, I'm confident that it will work well for us in the future considering the experience the other tyre manufacturers have in all conditions." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It was a good chance to have a proper wet tyre test with many tyres to choose from and we proved to be quite competitive. We now have some useful information for Dunlop in our wet weather tyre development. I am confident that we will have a better result in the race than we have had in the dry and wet sessions of the last two days, because we know now which direction to go, even though we did not have enough time to test everything that we wished to." Round: 3 - 2006 MotoGP Turkey Circuit: Istanbul Circuit Length: 5378 Lap Record: 1' 53.111 (Marco Melandri, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 52.334 (Sete Gibernau, 2005) Date: 29 April 2006 Temp: 12ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 2' 4.617 2 N. Hayden Honda USA 2' 4.823 3 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 2' 5.003 4 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 2' 5.540 5 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 2' 5.700 6 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 2' 6.102 7 C. Stoner Honda AUS 2' 7.277 8 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 2' 7.294 9 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 2' 7.344 10 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 2' 7.345 11 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 2' 7.552 12 T. Elias Honda ESP 2' 7.763 13 M. Tamada Honda JPN 2' 8.143 14 M. Melandri Honda ITA 2' 8.393 15 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 2' 10.956 16 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 2' 10.956 19 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 2' 12.298 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards spent the first day of practice for the Grand Prix of Turkey gathering important set-up data after encountering different track conditions to those they enjoyed here season. With this year's event taking place some six months earlier than the inaugural race here last October, overcast skies contributed to cool ambient temperatures of 20ºC and produced low grip levels on track, where Nicky Hayden (Honda) set the free practice pace with a best lap of 1'53.623. Rossi adapted swiftly to the conditions in the morning and set the third fastest time of the opening practice, but he struggled to make any significant improvements in the afternoon and ended up eleventh on the overall time sheets. Edwards, meanwhile, was sixth fastest in both sessions - improving his lap time in the afternoon by 1.4 seconds. With plenty of work still to do the only worry for the riders now is the threat of rain, with dark clouds hovering over the circuit and local forecasts predicting a downfall tomorrow. Colin Edwards (1'54.042, 38 laps) "We started out with the base setting from Qatar but it didn't work very well for us here. Basically we then decided to go with a newer front tyre than the one we've been using in testing and it went much better. Combined with a few tweaks to the suspension I built up my confidence in the front and I was able to lay down some good lap times. In the end we put a pretty consistent run together and I'm happy. We're still getting some vibrations but it's only in a couple of corners and we can work around them with more time on the bike tomorrow; hopefully it will stay dry. The track was really dirty this morning but it started to clean up in the afternoon. If it stays dry then the grip should improve as the weekend goes on, but they're saying it might rain so I guess we'll have to wait and see." Valentino Rossi (1'54.662, 43 laps) "This morning we were fast straight away and this was quite encouraging. We were third and we thought that we would be able to continue in this way during the afternoon. However we made some modifications in order to improve the acceleration and unfortunately we lost a lot of grip in braking. In fact our lap times were more or less the same in the afternoon but the track was about half a second faster - this morning it was quite dirty - and now we are in 11th place. I am a bit worried but also quite positive because we made some changes at the end of the session, back towards this morning's settings, and we improved a lot and set our fastest lap of the day. So far we don't have any vibration and so we hope that it won't appear tomorrow if the grip improves." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "In the morning things went well for Valentino and in the afternoon they went well for Colin so you could say we had a balanced day! The good news is that we have been able to work as we would on a normal weekend, without the distractions caused by the problems we experienced in the first race. We collected a lot of good information today that we can put to use tomorrow and find a way forward with the set-up of the bikes. The only question mark is the rain so the only thing we ask for is at least a few dry laps so that we can evaluate the solutions we come up with tonight. Valentino lost his feeling a little bit this afternoon but we will compare the data from the whole day and find the best way to work tomorrow." Opening day brings highs and lows for Tech 3 Yamaha Team in Turkey The opening day of the third Grand Prix of 2006 at the sensational Istanbul Park circuit proved challenging for Tech 3 Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and James Ellison, and the pair finished the day 16th and 17th respectively after the two Free Practice sessions. Despite some set-up troubles, both riders however found some positive aspects from the day and Checa is happy to be almost fully fit again after an injury affected the start of his campaign. The Spaniard is now in a determined frame of mind to get back to the sterling performances he exhibited in pre-season testing. Ellison, meanwhile, showed that he is becoming more comfortable with the Yamaha YZR-M1 as his times get closer to his more experienced team-mate at every outing. Carlos Checa (1'56.838, 42 laps) "Today wasn't the best day. We've been testing the front tyres for a different setting but nothing seems to make a big difference to our times. Hopefully we will find a good direction for tomorrow, especially in the fast areas of the track. We are having a bit of trouble with the grip from the rear, but it seems to be the same for everyone. The Dunlop people are working hard to give us what we desire and every race the tyres are improving. It is only early in the season so I believe it won't be too long before we are a lot closer. I am confident working with Dunlop and hopefully we can get better tyres as soon as possible. My shoulder has improved so much since Qatar which is encouraging, although I still do not have full strength, especially under hard braking." James Ellison (1'56.943, 40 laps) "Today hasn't been too bad to be honest, although it hasn't been as good as we had hoped. We have made steady progress as we're tweaking things here and there. It's a completely different circuit to Qatar so we have a lot to work on but we'll make a few changes to improve the balance. I love this circuit. It is one of my favourite tracks, along with Laguna Seca and Phillip Island, so that helps when it comes to getting things done. With the layout, it has a bit of everything - especially the fast right hander. Doing nearly 300km/h with your knee on the deck and the bike moving underneath you is something very special. Hopefully tomorrow we can make some more progress with our race set-up and set some faster times." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "Today was not easy in places. The position on the sheets isn't too important but we have to find some solutions. Carlos has almost recovered from the physical problem at Qatar with his left shoulder, which is encouraging, but we're still not at our full potential. We are quite happy with what is happening with Dunlop and they are working hard. They are listening and bringing new products to every race but at the end of the day we are fighting with two other brands that have been here much, much longer than Dunlop. There are also a lot more riders that can give them feedback and more data to work with. We knew this before we started the season, but we have confidence in Dunlop's capacity. It is only the third race and they have come from nowhere in MotoGP because it the first year for them with a factory machine. We are really not that far away and we will continue fighting. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully we will be in a better position for the race, come Sunday." Round: 3 - 2006 MotoGP Turkey Circuit: Istanbul Circuit Length: 5378 Lap Record: 1' 53.111 (Marco Melandri, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 52.334 (Sete Gibernau, 2005) Date: 28 April 2006 Temp: 20ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 53.623 2 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 53.861 3 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 53.971 4 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 54.001 5 T. Elias Honda ESP 1' 54.022 6 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 54.042 7 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 54.055 8 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 54.277 9 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 1' 54.279 10 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 54.422 11 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 54.662 12 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 54.722 13 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 54.967 14 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 55.179 15 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 55.700 16 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 56.838 17 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 56.943 Click here to view the news