Alex Asigno

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

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

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

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

Yamaha will mark the end of a great era today with a special livery on the YZ450FM of Stefan Everts, as the Belgian celebrates the final Grands Prix of his illustrious career. The 33-year-old lined up on the gate for his first Grands Prix at Faenza (Italy) in 1989 and has since won a total of 100 Grands Prix and 10 world titles. Yamaha is marking the end-of-career occasion with a special livery. The design features all his 100 Grands Prix victories symbolising a chequered flag to mark the finish of Stefan’s Grands Prix career. Tyre sponsor Pirelli has fitted Stefan’s YZ450FM with special one-off white colour painted tyres, which have the same performance and durability as the regular black ones. Stefan on his turn has cooperated with clothing sponsor Acerbis who have produced a one-piece ‘golden’ riding suit to mark the occasion as well. This weekend’s French Grands Prix is a fitting venue for Everts’ final GP, Ernée being the venue of the Belgian’s finest day of racing when he won all three Grands Prix classes (125, MotocrossGP and 650) on one day in 2003. In addition to that remarkable achievement, Everts has broken every conceivable record in the sport. His 100 race wins and 10 titles far exceed anything achieved by any other rider. Stefan joined Yamaha for the 2001 season and has won a championship in each of those six seasons, accumulating 57 Grands prix wins on YZ four stroke machinery. The final races at world level for the Yamaha/Everts racing partnership will be next weekend’s Motocross of Nations, where Everts will represent Belgium for the very last time.

Valentino Rossi will start from the front row of the grid in third place with his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards just two spots behind him in fifth when the Australian Grand Prix gets underway tomorrow, thanks to a much improved performance on the second day of action at Phillip Island. After initially struggling to find an adequate set-up for their YZR-M1 machines in yesterday's opening free practice sessions due to the cool spring temperatures, both riders worked effectively with their pit crews to find better grip for the rear tyre - improving their best lap times by almost two seconds and securing prime starting positions for tomorrow's crucial round in the process. For Rossi the target is a sixth victory of the season as he looks to pull even closer to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda). After an excellent run of recent form the Italian lies just 26 points short of the American and tomorrow promises to be another mouth-watering duel between the pair, with Hayden starting from pole position thanks to a record lap this afternoon. Edwards is also targeting his best finish of the season in front of a bumper Phillip Island crowd including many of his Australian family members and friends. Valentino Rossi (3rd - 1'29.271; 28 laps) "The team did a really good job today because we had some difficulties setting the bike up yesterday, but today it worked really well and I was able to qualify on the front row, which is very important at this circuit. Because of the temperatures here we are finding it hard to get heat into the rear tyre and we struggled a bit again today, which is why I had to leave it so late before trying for the fast time on the qualifying tyre. We still have some work to do in this aspect on the race setting but with the qualifying tyre the grip was there and I was able to go third fastest, even though I ran off the track on my out lap and then my bike did a small wheelie in the last corner on my flying lap. Anyway I am happy and want to say a big thank you to my team and to Michelin for the excellent progress we made today. I'm surprised that Capirossi and Gibernau are so far back because they have got a very strong race pace so I suppose me and Nicky will be pushing hard from the start to try and escape." Colin Edwards (5th - 1'29.680; 29 laps) "I don't think I've ever gone from one extreme to the other to this extent in my whole career! From being totally miserable yesterday I'm now really happy and content with our set-up and today's work. It's a good feeling! We've actually made a big move with the setting, back towards what we had at China and Le Mans and it seems to be working. The thing is we had a different chassis back then and we were suffering with chatter at the time so we never went back to that but the guys worked overtime and came up with a concoction that worked. I've really got to thank my team; we've changed almost everything possible since yesterday, from electronics to suspension and, bar the engine and the chassis, it's hardly the same bike today. They've put in the hours and it's clearly worked so I really am seriously grateful to them. I'm really happy with my race tyre and the set-up we used through the session and then the qualifier I used was like superglue! It's no secret that we were struggling in the tyre area too yesterday so I want to say thanks to Michelin, they've pulled something out overnight and it's looking good. I can't wait for tomorrow; it feels good to be starting at the right end of the grid for my favourite race of the year! Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It's been a very good day for us. Firstly we're all really pleased to see Colin back near the top again and feeling so much better with the bike. Then with Valentino we achieved our main target of starting on the front row and this is very important for tomorrow's race. I think it's going to be a very interesting race tomorrow! The race pace of both Valentino and Colin is very good and I think it's going to be a great fight, as it always is at Phillip Island, with a lot of overtaking. I hope that we will be in that fight with both our riders!" Superb qualifying result for Tech 3 Yamaha Team at Phillip Island Carlos Checa In another impressive step for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team, lead rider Carlos Checa scored the team a stunning qualifying position for the team when he secured the sixth fastest time in the solitary one-hour session as Nicky Hayden (Honda) claimed pole position. Proving the giant leaps in the performance of the Dunlop qualifying tyres Carlos was also the fastest rider in the third free practice session held earlier in the day surprising the world with the result. Besides providing the best qualifying time of 2006 for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team, Carlos was able to run very impressive times with race tyres instilling the team with confidence for what is hoped to be the best race result of the year. While Carlos proved how well the team has progressed through the year in Dunlop's return to the premier class of racing, teammate James Ellison struggled as he will start from 18th position on the grid although he took two seconds of his lap times. Carlos Checa (6th, 1'29.865, 29 laps) "That was definitely the best result for us for the year and being able to do laps in the 1'29 sec bracket was outstanding. It is also the biggest improvement for the Dunlop qualifying tyres that I have seen and doing it at a track like Phillip Island that is so hard on tyres is very satisfying and proves how hard Dunlop have been working. To be the fastest the morning gave me one of the best feelings I have ever had in racing. I love this track and I have had some very good results here over the years so I am looking forward to another good result tomorrow. Besides the times we could do on qualifying tyres we also have good pace on race tyres with excellent durability and stability so we are confident that we can get our best result of the year. As we have found this big improvement in our qualifying tyres it gives us a perfect chance to get away with the leaders as we are on the second row of the grid. If you said to me a few weeks ago that we would be on the second row of the grid I would've laughed at you but I must thank Dunlop and my Tech 3 team for all the hard work they have been putting in to try and make us more competitive." James Ellison (18th1'31.998, 28 laps) "We are basically struggling with the same stuff as normal in the front and rear tyres using different rim sizes and different profiles. We found that as we are using very similar tyres to what Carlos is using and then we were able to start working ion the bike and see some changes to our times. We have been moving forward and finally broke into the 1'31 sec bracket so we made a few steps forward then we hit a wall. The next wall we have hit is in the three fast corners as its running into the corner and we're pushing wise so we are limited to how fast we can go into the corners. We have a plan and the boys seem to know what to do so hopefully we will find something overnight and be able to try something new in the morning to ensure we can run at a decent pace in the race Saying that, I'm really happy for Carlos as it's a fitting reward for all the hard work the team has been putting in and shows that the Dunlops are improving." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "First up I want to thank Carlos a lot. He has worked so hard all year and this proves the work and information he has been supplying is helping us and Dunlop. It has been a really good week so far and for sure the best weekend we have had all year. We are really happy to see everything improving the way it is and to see Carlos on top of the sheet this morning was truly a great moment. To be on the second row is also very important as this track is which is supposed to be one of the most difficult for tyres and we are doing well on both race and qualifying tyres. Second row is our best grid position so far and we are very optimistic but it is such a close grid and the racing is always so close here that anything can happen so you can hope for a top five but you can easily finish 14th or 15th The start will be very important as we have to be very aggressive for the first few laps so if we can do that we are in a very good shape so we can look for a strong result which would be superb. This result confirms what I have been saying all year with Dunlop improving race by race and together with Yamaha we have a very good package so this looks good for the future. Again I would like to congratulate Carlos as he has doing a very tremendous job." Circuit Length: 4448 Temp: 17 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Phillip Island 16/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'29.020 2 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'29.258 3 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'29.271 4 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'29.662 5 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'29.680 6 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'29.865 7 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'29.949 8 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'29.969 9 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'30.037 10 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'30.081 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'30.132 12 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'30.237 13 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'30.393 14 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'30.498 15 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'31.143 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'31.998

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were welcomed to the Phillip Island circuit by bright blue skies and cool ambient temperatures of 18ºC today, as the paddock breathed a sigh of relief that dismal recent forecasts were denied on the first day of practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The relatively good weather gave the riders ample opportunity to begin set-up work on their YZR-M1 machines as they worked to find an ideal configuration to suit the demands of the fast and flowing circuit over 27 laps on Sunday. However relatively fresh track temperatures of 28ºC, compared to 45ºC on the first day in Malaysia one week ago, made life difficult for the Italian and the American as they tried to adapt their bikes to cope with the lower grip levels. Both riders struggled for rear traction and after ending the day in eighth and thirteenth place respectively they will aim to work specifically on this area in tomorrow morning's final free practice session before qualifying takes place in the afternoon. Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) set the pace today with a best lap of 1'29.745. Valentino Rossi (8th - 1'31.045; 58 laps) "Friday is always a difficult day for us because we have to make a lot of changes to the bike from one circuit to the next and today was no different. Especially here, since the track temperatures and the conditions are a big change from Malaysia, which makes life especially difficult and we have some work to do. The grip levels are lower than in past years and I think both Colin and I are struggling with the rear. For me it is taking me four or five laps to get the tyre up to a temperature where I can ride at the maximum so obviously this is not the ideal situation for me. We have to find a setting and a tyre that can deal with these cooler conditions better tomorrow because this is a very important race for us and I want to do well in front of the Australian fans. However we have gathered a lot of data today and we have some good ideas for tomorrow, so we're quite confident that we can improve the situation." Colin Edwards (13th - 1'31.514; 55 laps) "It hasn't been a bad first day despite how it may seem on the time sheets. My only problem at the moment is on the rear - it steps out if I brake too hard, runs off line if I'm too fast through the corner and spins up if I get on the gas too early. The front end is great but the low track temperatures are really not helping the bike to work with the rear tyre we have at the moment. This will be our main focus tomorrow and I think once we get that sorted out then the lap times can come down dramatically. It seems Valentino has some similar problems and between both sides of the garage we have some good ideas, so let's see what happens tomorrow." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Today was quite cold and we have found ourselves in a completely different situation to Malaysia, which we expected. Valentino spent a lot of time working to find a good race tyre, whilst Colin worked hard on adapting the setting of his bike after struggling at Sepang. We didn't test here in February like the other teams so we have a lot of work to do compared to them. Already we can see that our rivals are setting a strong pace and they will be hard to beat on Sunday, but we are confident we can make the right steps forward tomorrow." Tech 3 Yamaha Team shines in Australian sunshine at Phillip Island Carlos Checa With unusually mild temperatures and pristine blue skies blessing the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team confirmed the ongoing improved developments of the latest range of Dunlop MotoGP tyres as Carlos Checa again recorded a time to place him in the top ten of the field after the opening two free practice sessions at the picturesque Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. In the second session Carlos was up to seventh fastest but with the combined times dropped back slightly, although still in an encouraging tenth fastest position just 0.092 second behind fellow Yamaha rider and defending world champion Valentino Rossi. Teammate James Ellison continued his long season of disappointment to finish the day in 19th spot in a session where Kawasaki rider Randy De Puniet recorded the fastest time of the day Carlos Checa (10th, 1'31.137, 43 laps) "Today was one of the best sessions we have had all year. I am very happy with the progress of the Dunlop tyres and today confirms the steps that we have achieved. To be so close to Valentino and in front of Colin Edwards is very encouraging for me although also being on a Yamaha I wish them all the best in their setup troubles. Phillip Island is one of my favourite tracks and to come here and records these times, shows that we are improving all the time. It is not only the time I am happy with as we are now getting very good consistency with the tyres and the durability is improving all the time. Also, we have much better side grip of the rear tyre compared to the troubles we had last week in Malaysia and this is allowing us better drive. Side grip is very important at a place like Phillip Island as we are on the edge of the tyre for very long periods, especially coming onto the straight and this is vital for a good lap time. I am looking forward to the sessions tomorrow as the weather seems to be getting better all the time so if we have a fine weekend we are expecting a very good result James Ellison (19th1'32.778, 44 laps) "I wish I could be as happy as Carlos but today has been a continuation of the rest of the year so I am pretty disappointed. It is very frustrating to me and the rest of the team because no matter what direction we decide to go nothing works. All I can hope for is that we can decide something overnight that will help us in the morning as I am determined to finish this season on a high note. I love this Philip Island track and I don't think people realise how well I want to do here so I have to have the attitude that tomorrow is another day and that things will improve Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "It is so good to be back in Australia and everyone really looks forward to coming to Phillip Island. Surprisingly the weather has been exceptional and it looks like it will get better as the weekend goes on. We are very happy after today and it is more satisfying because we did no testing here during the winter. The Dunlop tyres are working really well and this new batch have performed exceptionally from the first time out and the times and performance has been as good as we could have hoped. We are also putting in consistent lap times on race tyres and that makes us all smile at a place like Phillip Island as this track is so very hard on tyres. We are hoping for even more improved performance and wear with the tyres as the weather is expected to get warmer and this is very good for the Dunlops." Circuit Length: 4448 Temp: 18 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Phillip Island 15/09/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'29.745 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'30.310 3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'30.471 4 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'30.693 5 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'30.716 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'30.768 7 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'30.863 8 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'31.045 9 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'31.077 10 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'31.137 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'31.346 12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'31.496 13 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'31.514 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'31.846 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'31.978 19 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'32.778

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi moved another step closer to the summit of the MotoGP World Championship today thanks to a breathtaking victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix. After starting from pole position the Italian was part of an entertaining battle for positions over the first half of the race before breaking clear alongside compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati). Just as they have done on so many occasions in the past, the pair became embroiled in a cat and mouse chase that had the 43,182 spectators on their feet until the very last lap. With half a lap of the Sepang circuit remaining Rossi dived past Capirossi for the final time, opening out a crucial advantage within the next two corners and denying his rival the opportunity to make a last-gasp pass in the final hairpin. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) clinched the final podium position in third place despite riding with an injured knee. Rossi's victory moves him up to third in the championship, four points behind the Spaniard and 26 adrift of series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), who finished fourth. Colin Edwards managed a top ten finish despite struggling all weekend to find the appropriate set-up for his YZR-M1 machine at this track. The Texan was up against it as he started out from eleventh on the grid after yesterday's decision to base the qualifying positions on aggregate free practice times and he struggled to make an impression after losing touch with the leading pack. The series now moves on to Australia for the second of three races in as many weekends before returning to Europe for a tantalizing double header in Portugal and Spain. Valentino Rossi (1st; 43'07.829) "That was another legendary battle between myself and Loris - very hard but also very fair. At Brno he escaped but today I was able to hang on to him. When both our bikes are working well it is always spectacular because his performs better in some sections and mine in others so it makes for a beautiful fight. I enjoy racing with him so much because there is a lot of respect between us and a great trust - he is probably the hardest rival I have ever had but also one of my best friends in the paddock. At one point I thought I'd got away but then he appeared again and I knew it was going to be a battle to the end. He tried to break free but I stayed with him and I think we passed each other about ten times in the last few laps, it was amazing. I want to say a huge 'thank you' to everybody at Yamaha because they virtually cancelled their summer holidays to get this bike working at the maximum again and I was able to push at 100% today. I also need to say another big 'thank you' to Michelin, who have worked really hard to help us to get back to this level of competitiveness. For the two Honda riders to finish third and fourth is not ideal but all I can do is keep winning races so that is what I will try to do." Colin Edwards (10th; +19.909) "We've had the same problems since Mugello - I don't have enough rear grip and I can't push the bike as hard as I need to. This weekend we turned it upside down but still couldn't find that little bit of grip we need. We've been following Valentino a little with the setting and today I had virtually the same as him. I don't know how he does it, but somehow he does and today I couldn't. It's always tough starting from so far down the grid and I tried to make up the ground but from mid-race I was basically riding on my own, trying to cut down the gap to Melandri but without much success. Luckily we have another race in seven days at a place I love so hopefully we can move onwards and upwards in Australia." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "What an incredible day! Another great race from Valentino and from our part all I can say is that we really enjoyed the show but we're enjoying the 25 points even more! Valentino never gives up and his performance today was typical of him, I think that says it all. All our staff, from Japan to Italy and here in the paddock, have been working incredibly hard and this is their reward. Colin had a difficult weekend - he improved this morning but it wasn't enough. We're pleased that we have another race in seven days' time at a circuit both our riders like so all we can do is keep our heads down, stay focused and do our best to hold on to this championship in the four rounds that remain." Another typically determined effort for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Carlos Checa The Tech 3 Yamaha Team led by Spaniard Carlos Checa put in another typically determined effort during the Malaysian Grand Prix held in sweltering conditions at the Sepang circuit in an absolutely enthralling race won in style by fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi Checa managed to finish in 12th position in front of factory rider Makoto Tamada while team mate James Ellison had another difficult weekend to finish just out of the points in 16th spot. In a positive for the team to take to the next round at Phillip Island next weekend is that the lap times of Carlos were very similar to Colin Edwards who is also on a Yamaha rider and finished just two places behind him. Carlos Checa (12th Fastest lap 2'03.466) I'm quite satisfied with the job I did today. I feel that we raced on the limit of what we have as the bike seemed a little down on power today but the tyre performance was quite constant so considering this I feel I did my best. We made no mistakes and we found some more good information for Dunlop to work with so working like this we have found something better for the remaining races James Ellison (16th Fastest lap 2'04.692) I'm very disappointed to be honest. We've been working really hard all weekend to cure this handling problem as no matter what we do we cant get enough weight on the rear of the bike to make it steer into the corner but that has been going on all year. The frustrating thing is that no matter what we try with the setup we can't get the bike to handle properly. I have to thank my team because they have been working very hard all year attempting to get the most out of the bike. Herve Poncheral - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director It was another interesting weekend and as I have said many times this year this is a learning year so we have to expect that we won't have perfect weekends. Today we were 30 seconds to the front and we were very consistent with the Dunlop tyres. We lack a bit of performance and stability but we are now having a lot of durability so things are improving. I'm reasonably happy and we are definitely making progress every race. Stability used to be the worst problem but this has improved a lot so now we have to find half a second for the first ten laps so then we will for sure be a lot closer with many riders in front of us. Circuit Length: 5548 Temp: 33 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Sepang 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 43'7.829 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 0'0.849 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'3.863 4 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'5.780 5 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 0'9.301 6 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'11.081 7 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'11.838 8 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 0'12.267 9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'15.019 10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'19.909 11 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'23.371 12 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'30.884 13 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'36.335 14 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'48.777 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 0'59.081 16 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'5.787 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 2'2.127 Rider Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 214 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 192 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 188 4. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 171 5. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 168 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 109 7. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 101 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 96 9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 93 10. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 75 11. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 69 12. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 69 13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 66 14. Toni Elias Honda ESP 64 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 58 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 20 Team Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 406 2. Camel Yamaha Team 284 3. Ducati Marlboro Team 247 4. Fortuna Honda Team 232 5. Rizla Suzuki 159 6. Honda LCR 109 7. Team Roberts KR 101 8. Kawasaki Racing Team 101 9. Tech3 Yamaha 78 10. Konica Minolta Honda 69 11. Pramac D'Antin 23 Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 278 2. Yamaha 226 3. Ducati 180 4. Suzuki 111 5. Team Robert KR 101 6. Kawasaki 86

Two second places at today's German round of the Superbike World Championship saw Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga move back into second place in the series. Despite suffering a wrist injury in Saturday's free practice session, the Japanese star was able to lead both races and scored more points than any other rider at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz circuit. In the day's first race Haga made a good start and followed championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) in the opening laps. When the Australian made an error, the Yamaha rider led a four-way battle for the lead with Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt and the Suzukis of Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama. Pitt eventually slipped back to fourth as a result of an incorrect tyre choice, while Kagayama was able to pass the Yamaha as Haga's front tyre grip deteriorated in the closing stages. Race two saw the same protagonists at the front but Pitt, now running the same specification tyres as the other front men, was an early casualty when he crashed on lap four. The Australian had been sitting comfortably with the leading pack, only to be pitched off in a lowside crash when his bike's footpeg touched the raised kerbing. That left James Toseland (Honda) in the lead with Haga breathing down his neck for the entire duration of the race. Despite his best efforts, the Yamaha rider could not find a way through and took the chequered flag two-tenths of a second behind the Briton. Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe brought his YZF-R1 home in 11th place in race two, with team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi gaining another point for 15th. The points provided some reward for the squad, who had a disappointing first race with neither rider scoring a point due to a poor choice of tyres. Today's results mean that Haga moves back to second in the championship, 87 points behind series leader Bayliss with two rounds and four races remaining. Toseland is the only other rider with a mathematical chance of the title, a further six behind Haga, although Pitt's failure to score sees him surrender one place in the championship. The Yamaha man is now fifth in the series, although only one point behind Corser. Haga's forty points also saw Yamaha close in on Ducati at the head of the manufacturers championship. The Iwata company is now just 37 points behind their Italian rivals with a maximum of 100 available in the four remaining races. The penultimate round of the championship takes place at the Imola circuit in Italy on 1 October. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I am happy with the result because yesterday I hurt my wrist and was in a lot of pain. The doctors gave me some painkillers and I actually enjoyed both races, because there were some good fights. In the first race I was able to lead but in the last five laps my front tyre was gone and I could not do anything when Yuki passed me. We made some changes for the second and I was able to fight with James, although he rode very well and I could not pass him. Still, I am satisfied and I would like to thank all the medical staff who helped me get such good results today." Andrew Pitt Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "For the first race we chose a different rear tyre to most of the other guys and after ten laps it was gone and I had to settle for fourth. It had been a bit of a gamble, but the temperatures were higher than yesterday and we felt it might give us an advantage. We made a few changes for the second race and used the same tyres as the other guys. I felt really strong and was able to pass Kagayama and catch up to the leaders when I just touched the kerb with my footrest. That caused the weight to come off the back and I just slid off. I tried to get going again but the handlebar was broken off. I'm disappointed but the fact that Barros and Corser didn't score many points has limited the damage and I know that we will bounce straight back in Imola." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We had a lot of small problems in race one so it was hard to ride and I couldn't even get a point. Between the races we changed the bike balance by raising the rear and it was much better than race one. My lap times were much better and I kept them better all the way to the end, so I am quite happy." Shinichi Nakatomi Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I like the track but it was impossible to get the right setting, lots of bumps and tyre spinning. Between race one and race two I changed the settings but it did not make so much difference." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "The first race was very good for us, with both riders taking points from Toseland in the championship. We came here with the target of getting second and third in the championship by the end of the year, but now Andrew has dropped to fifth. Overall, though, we can leave here with many positives. The championship is still alive and Noriyuki had scored a lot of points despite his injury. Andrew was a little unlucky but has ridden well and I am sure that both our riders will be able to continue fighting at the front in Imola." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "We got a little bit lost because it was a long distance for the tyres to last, so we changed the settings for the second race and Norick could fight for tenth position after that. We have improved after the test here because we lost a lot around here at that time, and we have made it up a lot. I think this track is very delicate for set-up. I am happy - no crashes, some points and now ready for Imola." Circuit Length: 4265 Temp: 23 Crowd: 51400 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSB Lausitzring 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 39'57.421 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'1.239 3 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'1.436 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'8.725 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'8.975 6 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'13.804 7 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'23.569 8 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'23.846 9 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'27.217 10 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'28.712 11 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'29.543 12 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'29.869 13 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'31.275 14 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 0'34,783.000 15 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'37.010 16 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'46.339 17 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'58.227 Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 James Toseland Honda GBR 39'58.796 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'0.210 3 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'3.056 4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'7.396 5 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'11.653 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'21.386 7 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'26.620 8 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'26.736 9 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'29.428 10 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'29.544 11 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'29.779 12 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 0'38.463 13 Craig Jones Petronas GBR 0'45.259 14 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'45.922 15 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'58.393 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'38.635 Rider Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 357 2. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 270 3. James Toseland Honda GBR 264 4. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 211 5. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 210 6. Alex Barros Honda BRA 186 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 177 8. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 134 9. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 133 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 127 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 117 12. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 103 13. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 97 14. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 93 15. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 84 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 33 21. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 376 2. Yamaha 339 3. Honda 328 4. Suzuki 320 5. Kawasaki 196 6. Petronas 19 RACE REPORT 10/09/2006 Curtain closes in on supersport crown Kevin Curtain, Kenan Sofuoglu and Fabien Foret Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain took a step closer to winning the 2006 Supersport World Championship after extending his lead to 27 points at EuroSpeedway Lausitz. The Australian, who had been fastest in all of the weekend's practice sessions, made a good start from pole position and led for 19 of the 23 laps. Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) pressurised the Yamaha rider all the way and eventually took the lead on lap 20. Curtain still had some opportunities to retake the lead but, with the championship at stake, chose the discretionary option to take home a safe 20 points and his eighth podium finish of the year - crossing the line just one-tenth of a second behind Sofuoglu. With title rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) retiring from the battle for fourth, Curtain leaves Germany with a larger than expected advantage going into the final two races. Fabien Foret, standing in for the injured Broc Parkes on the second Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6 rode a superb race to take the final podium position. The Frenchman had not even sat on the Yamaha prior to arriving in Germany, but the former world champion improved with each practice session and made a good start from the second row of the grid. Foret found himself fourth into the first turn but quickly passed Christian Zaiser (Ducati) to ride to a somewhat lonely third place, ten seconds behind the winner. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello had one of his best results of the season, ending the day sixth. Team-mate Massimo Roccoli overcame a disappointing qualifying to bring his R6 home in a points scoring 12th by the flag. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I really never expected to leave here with a 27 point advantage. I thought that maybe it would be possible to take four or five points from Sebastien today, so to take 20 is unbelievable. I knew that Kenan was with me all the way and I knew that he would be strong here. I tried to make a break but he stayed with me and I decided to ride for the championship. My team let me know exactly what was happening, so I knew that Charpentier was out. It was quite an easy decision for me in the end. I had the choice of settling for a safe 20 points or risking them for another five. From a championship point of view I've exceeded all my expectations and we can go to Imola and just keep doing what we're doing." Fabien Foret Fabien Foret (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The jump from superbike to supersport was not so easy, especially after being off a bike for some time, but the team is really good, the bike too, and I soon remembered what a 600 was like to ride. At the end it was a good result so I have to give big thanks to the team for giving me the chance of this ride." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am very satisfied. Every race I am making more progress and so is the team, our understanding of how everything works is improving all the time. Lausitz is very good for my style and the bike has felt good all weekend, and also at Assen last weekend. Sixth is good for the championship and I hope to move up some more places in the last two races." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I had a problem getting enough traction out of the slow corners, I think because I am so light, and I had to settle for scoring as many championship points as I could. I'm not particularly happy that I could not ride aggressively but I think I was correct in riding for the points." Circuit Length: 4265 Temp: 22 Crowd: 51400 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Lausitzring 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 39'29.099 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'0.130 3 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 0'9.654 4 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'10.564 5 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'19.925 6 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'24.288 7 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 0'24.980 8 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 0'25.058 9 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'30.289 10 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 0'34.854 11 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 0'35.811 12 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'36.092 13 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 0'36.430 14 Chris Peris Yamaha CAN 0'36.845 15 Tatu Lauslehto Honda FIN 1'0.846 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'42.090 Rider Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 171 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 144 3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119 4. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 117 5. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 107 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 90 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57 9. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 56 10. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 11. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 30 12. Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 29 13. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29 14. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27 15. Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 24 Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 227 2. Yamaha 208 3. Ducati 65 4. Kawasaki 55 5. Suzuki 36 RACE REPORT 10/09/2006 Corti win keeps superstock championship alive Claudio Corti Yamaha Team Italia youngster Claudio Corti took his third win of the season today to keep his hopes of winning the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup well and truly alive. The Yamaha YZF-R1 SP rider won by over three seconds as his title rivals all suffered disasters in Lausitz, moving him to within 22 points of the series lead with two races remaining. The superstock race was delayed and cut back to just nine laps after championship leader Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) lost control of his machine in the original running. The Italian's machine rebounded onto the circuit, causing a spectacular accident as countryman Ilario Dionsi (MV Agusta) ploughed into the stricken bike. With carnage strewn across the track, officials had no choice but to red flag the race and reschedule it after the afternoon's supersport race. In the restart, Corti was involved in a fight for the lead with Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta), who arrived in Germany second in the championship. The Yamaha rider pushed his fellow countryman hard and when Badovini lost the front end at the start of lap six, he was able to cruise home to a comfortable win. Corti's second win in as many weeks sees him move up to third in the championship, ahead of Badovini. Polita rode to take tenth place in the restarted race and continues to lead the series with 137 points. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta) is second, on 118 points, with Corti just three points further adrift. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I felt very comfortable running behind Badovini and felt that there were several places where I would be able to pass him if I needed to. I could also see that he was pushing hard and sliding around a lot, so I was almost waiting for his crash. I am very satisfied because we have been strong throughout the practices and the bike has been very good. I cannot think about the title because Polita still has a big points advantage, although finishing in the top three is a very achievable target." Circuit Length: 4265 Temp: 23 Crowd: 51400 2006 Superstock Lausitzring 10/09/2006 Race 1 - 9 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 15'39.363 2 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 0'1.082 3 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'4.486 4 Dominik Lammert Suzuki GER 0'4.631 5 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 0'4.943 6 Roberto Lunadei Yamaha ITA 0'13.107 7 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'13.273 8 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'13.404 9 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 0'14.004 10 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'14.763 11 Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 0'16.773 12 Herve Gantner Yamaha CHE 0'19.372 13 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'20.271 14 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'21.320 15 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 0'27.726 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 1'42.744 Rider Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 137 2. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 118 3. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 115 4. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 109 5. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 68 6. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 62 7. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 60 8. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 9. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 44 10. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 41 11. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 40 12. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 31 13. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 14. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 29 15. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27 Manufacturer Standings 10/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 164 2. MV Agusta 140 3. Yamaha 133 4. Kawasaki 80 5. Honda 42

Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga gave a strong showing in Friday's qualifying for this weekend's world superbike round at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, ending the day fourth and seventh after the first qualifying. Having attended July's Pirelli test at the same venue, the squad arrived in Germany with good base settings for their YZF-R1s and spent the day working to further refine the machine performance for Sunday's two 24 lap races. Pitt's best time of 1:38.871 was just half a second down on provisional pole sitter Troy Bayliss (Ducati), who was over a second quicker than Ruben Xaus' four year old lap record. Suzuki team-mates Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama complete the provisional front row. The Australian was largely satisfied with his day's work. With lower temperatures and higher winds requiring a slightly different machine setting from last July's test, Pitt and his crew made subtle changes to his machine throughout the sessions. The team will make a few more changes, including revised gearing, tomorrow in a bid to give their man the best possible machine for Sunday's races. Haga spent the day's two one hour sessions switching between his two machines, completing more laps than any other rider in the afternoon session. The Japanese rider has often ran with two differing specification machines on a race weekend but, with the team now certain of their best set-up, Haga worked on fine-tuning his 'spare' machine to give the same feeling as his number one bike. As always, the Japanese stuck worked on finding a good race tyre and suspension setting but still managed to set a lap time less than eight tenths of a second behind Bayliss. Norick Abe was the leading Yamaha Motor France rider in 18th place, while team-mate and countryman Shinichi Nakatomi ended the day 26th on his competitive debut at the twisting Lausitz circuit. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha Motor France's Sebastien Gimbert misses the Lausitz race after injuring his back in Assen last weekend, however the R1 ranks are boosted by the inclusion of last year's FIM Superstock 1000 Cup winner Didier van Keymeulen. The Belgian is entered as a wildcard on board the YZF-R1 he normally campaigns in the German championship and ended first qualifying in 22nd position. Final practice and the grid deciding superpole session takes place tomorrow (Saturday) with the races scheduled for Sunday. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Not a bad day. The bike feels a little different from when we tested here, which I think could be down to the higher winds today. We've got a few things to try out for tomorrow. The bike's working well so we are just trying to make it a little easier and more consistent to ride. The rear tyre is the critical thing just now. The temperatures are lower today than when we tested and as a result we're seeing much higher wear today." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "The feeling with the bike is good but the lap time could be better, so maybe I must ride faster! I did a lot of long runs today and also did quite a lot of laps on my number two bike. We came here with a good setting and now both bikes have the same feeling, so I am happy. I have a few things to try tomorrow and I am confident that we can be in good condition before superpole." Norick Abe Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We still have a few things to try and make the bike better for tomorrow but overall it's not too bad. The times are all very close so if we can make a small improvement then we can make it into superpole." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "This is a very tight circuit so I am learning all the time. Normally I can expect to make an improvement for Saturday and I think that the more I learn the faster I can go." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Both riders had a good practice today. The riders are all working on finding a good race setting and they are quite happy with how it went. We will make a few small adjustments to the settings for both riders tomorrow but today we did a good job and hope to continue that tomorrow." Circuit Length: 4265 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Lausitzring 08/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'38.331 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'38.550 3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'38.869 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'38.871 5 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'38.948 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'39.048 7 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'39.101 8 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'39.347 9 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'39.572 10 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'39.591 11 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'39.609 12 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'39.709 13 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'39.771 14 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.041 15 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'40.149 18 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'40.732 26 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'41.786 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 08/09/2006 Curtain quickest in opening Lausitz practice Kevin Curtain Championship leader Kevin Curtain continued his fine run of form in opening practice for Sunday's tenth round of the Supersport World Championship at EuroSpeedway Lausitz, setting the fastest time in today's first qualifying session. The Australian Yamaha Motor Germany rider was almost seven tenths of a second quicker than second placed Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) in the 45 minute session. Johan Stigefelt and Sebastien Cherpentier (both Honda) complete the provisional front row ahead of tomorrow's final session. Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello ended the day in eighth position, just three tenths of a second slower than third placed Stigefelt. Fabien Foret, standing in for the injured Broc Parkes on the second Yamaha Motor Germany machine, ended his first day on the YZF-R6 in 14th, one place ahead of Massimo Roccoli on the other Yamaha Team Italia bike. Circuit Length: 4265 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Lausitzring 08/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'41.167 2 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'41.862 3 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'42.569 4 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'42.571 5 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'42.613 6 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'42.706 7 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 1'42.712 8 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'42.866 9 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'42.921 10 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'42.956 11 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 1'43.039 12 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 1'43.106 13 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 1'43.171 14 Fabien Foret Yamaha FRA 1'43.239 15 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'43.485 20 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'44.227

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards completed a hard day's work with their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines today, as preparations got underway for the Malaysian Grand Prix with two free practice sessions. Both riders were eager to test the performance of their bikes at this circuit after a positive recent test in the Czech Republic, however it quickly emerged that the setting the team found at Brno was not as well suited to this layout or track temperatures in excess of 45ºC, which put the tyres under extreme stress. After making dramatic changes to the bike for the afternoon session, reigning World Champion Rossi was able to knock almost a full second off his time within the first six laps, giving him renewed confidence after a disappointing morning when he could only manage the eleventh fastest time. Edwards suffered similar problems but was unable to solve them in time for an assault on the top positions today. The American is hoping to find a quick solution in tomorrow morning's final free practice before qualifying takes place in the afternoon. Last year's winner Loris Capirossi (Ducati) set the pace today, dipping under pole record time with a lap of 2'01.711. There was bad news, however, for fellow title candidate Dani Pedrosa (Honda), who suffered a knee injury in a high-speed crash this afternoon. Valentino Rossi (6th - 2'02.970; 41 laps) "It's been a difficult first day - more so in the morning than the afternoon, which means we are working in the right way. I was confident after the Brno test, especially about the tyres and the way they are working now with our M1. Unfortunately in the conditions we have found here that setting doesn't work so well and we had a few problems with tyre life. So in the afternoon basically we adapted the setting using the data we gathered in the January tests, when I was very fast, and things improved a lot. Tomorrow we'll move even closer to that setting and I'm very confident we can make a big improvement again. Loris was very fast today and it looks like it will be a tough challenge to beat him, but we have good base data for this circuit and I'm sure we can get back to the pace I know I am capable of here." Colin Edwards Colin Edwards (12th - 2'03.355; 41 laps) "That was a really hard day and not what we were hoping for at all. I'm pretty disappointed after the good test we had at Brno because I expected to be in good shape from the start here. I couldn't find the right set-up today and there was no way for me to ride the bike properly. We're going to have to work in a completely different direction tomorrow and try to sort the situation out before qualifying. Valentino seems to have improved by going back towards the settings from January, despite the fact that the bike we have now is very different from the one we had then, so maybe this is the way to work. We will have a think about things tonight and start again tomorrow!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Today everyone has had to work very hard! Both riders have been testing different things and now we have to put it all altogether to find the right package and make sure we are competitive both in tomorrow afternoon's qualifying session and Sunday's race. Valentino is very close to the top and I think with a little bit more work he can be in good shape tomorrow. Colin is struggling a little at the moment but hopefully he too can improve in the morning. Tomorrow the weather might change things but we hope that it stays dry so that we can continue to make progress." Circuit Length: 5548 Temp: 32 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Sepang 08/09/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 2'1.711 2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 2'2.021 3 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 2'2.563 4 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 2'2.710 5 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 2'2.918 6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 2'2.970 7 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 2'2.981 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 2'3.100 9 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 2'3.171 10 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 2'3.199 11 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 2'3.248 12 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 2'3.355 13 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 2'3.418 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 2'3.432 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 2'3.706 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 2'5.403

Round seven of the 2006 World Enduro Championship, the GP of Slovakia held in Krompachy 380km from the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, saw Spaniard Ivan Cervantes move closer to his second Enduro 1 world championship title after the KTM rider topped the E1 class on both days in Slovakia having performed faultlessly during the weekend. Finishing 42 seconds ahead at the end of the opening day's competition Ivan upped his pace on day two and extended his wining advantage to just over one minute. In claiming two class wins Cervantes is all but assured of winning the 2006 E1 world championship crown on day one at the series' final event in France. Placing as runner-up on day one was Cervantes' KTM team-mate Italian Alessandro Belometti. With Belometti looked in a day long battle with countryman Simone Albergoni just two seconds separated the pair, in favour of Belometti, at the end of day one. On day two it was Albergoni who placed in second position to Cervantes as Belometti had to fight his way back to third from fifth having crashed on the day's second enduro test. With UFO Corse Yamaha rider Arnau Vilanova unable to compete in Slovakia due to suffering a form of hepatitis, Italian Maurizio Micheluz was again the team's only competitor in the Enduro 1 class. Again performing consistently against more experienced WEC competitors aboard his WR250F Micheluz finished the opening day in sixth position having struggled to get on the pace early in the day. On day two, having started well, Maurizio made a small mistake during the second extreme test and after getting rope wrapped around his rear wheel lost five minutes. Placing in an eventual ninth position Maurizio finished as high as second on one special test, indicating that had it not been for his misfortune he might well have placed close to, or even on, the E1 class podium Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) - Day 1: Sixth, Day 2: Ninth "Day one went pretty good for me. I finished in sixth position but didn't ride so well on the first three special tests, I don't know why. At the end of the day I was just three seconds behind the fifth place rider, which I was happy with after my poor start to the day. Day two started much better than day one and I was confident that I could finish fifth or better. On the second extreme test I lost five minutes when I got some rope wrapped in my rear wheel. I was extremely disappointed because after my problem I was fast enough to finish fourth and I finished in second on some special tests. This is racing and apart from that I am really happy with the way I was riding." Temp: 20 Crowd: 12750 Weather: Sunny 2006 Enduro 1 Slovakia 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 41'57.650 2 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 0'42.160 3 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 0'44.520 4 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 0'50.940 5 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 1'12.270 6 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 1'16.050 7 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 2'20.000 8 Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 2'59.730 9 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 3'4.970 10 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 3'8.810 11 Peter Podhorsky Yamaha SVK 7'29.510 12 Peter Katai KTM HUN 8'39.550 13 Rostislav Ondracka Husqvarna CZE 19'28.550 Race 2 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 49'5.740 2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 1'2.030 3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 1'22.220 4 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 1'42.230 5 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 1'50.960 6 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 2'12.360 7 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 2'12.830 8 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 2'21.220 9 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 6'33.670 10 Peter Katai KTM HUN 11'9.010 11 Peter Podhorsky Yamaha SVK 15'25.940 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 338 2. Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 296 3. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 254 4. Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 244 5. Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 222 6. Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 166 7. Mike Hartmann KTM GER 139 8. Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 121 9. Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 102 10. Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 74 11. Anthony Roberts Yamaha AUS 58 12. Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 52 13. Shane Cuthbertson KTM CAN 49 14. Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 43 15. Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 41 40. Arnau Vilanova Yamaha ESP 10 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 338 2. Honda 296 3. Husqvarna 254 4. Yamaha 228 5. TM 166 6. Suzuki 90 7. Kawasaki 41 8. GasGas 23 9. Christini 19 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Yamaha dominates in Slovakia Johnny and Stefan on podium UFO Corse Yamaha team mates Stefan Merriman and Johnny Aubert claimed a Yamaha one-two in the Enduro 2 class on day one of the GP of Slovakia as the Australian and Frenchman placed in first and second positions respectively separated by an eventual 33 seconds. With Finns Samuli Aro and Mika Ahola making it a four-way fight it was reigning class champion Aro who eventually joined Merriman and Aubert on the podium in third but the day was all about the two UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Merriman and Aubert. With Merriman having the upper hand from the start the former world champion produced his best form of the season and during the second half of the day opened up what would become an unbeatable lead. Johnny Aubert On day two the same two riders placed at the head of the Enduro 2 class, but unlike on day one it was Aubert who topped the E2 class results. Winning six of the day's special tests in the E2 class and enjoying the rougher conditions Aubert placed 18 seconds ahead of his team-mate Stefan Merriman to prove himself once again in his first season of World Enduro Championship competition. With the Yamaha mounted duo finishing in first and second Finn Aro again placed in third. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha)- Day 1: Second, Day 2: First "It's been a great weekend for me. I am so pleased with my result, especially as the next round of the world championship is my home race in France. Day one went well but Stefan was just too fast so it wasn't possible to fight with him for the win. Day two was perfect for me. From the first enduro test I felt really good and was as fast as Stefan. I knew that I could win the day then so I pushed as hard as I could. The race was a little more technical, the tests were rougher and rutted. I seem to go better on the second day. I am really happy with my result." Stefan Merriman Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha)- Day 1: First, Day 2: Second "I've had a really good weekend. The event itself was really enjoyable, the special tests were typically Slovakian and thankfully it didn't rain. It's been a more traditional world enduro event. Day one went really well. I felt good right from the start of the day and didn't make any mistakes, which enabled me to win. On day two I wasn't quite quick enough to beat my team-mate Johnny Aubert but I was still happy with the way I rode. On Sunday I rode pretty much the same as I did on day one but Johnny went faster. Of course I would have liked to have won on both days but finishing in first and second is much better than my results at the last GP in the USA." Temp: 20 Crowd: 12750 Weather: Sunny 2006 Enduro 2 Slovakia 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 41'19.050 2 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 0'33.090 3 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 0'37.780 4 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 0'38.770 5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 1'14.430 6 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 1'27.120 7 Jari Juha Mattila Honda FIN 1'54.310 8 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 2'12.790 9 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 2'28.100 10 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 2'28.300 11 Stefan Svitko KTM SVK 2'55.290 12 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 3'4.560 13 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 3'5.440 14 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 3'6.730 15 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 3'10.520 17 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 3'36.400 Race 2 - 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 48'34.360 2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 0'18.130 3 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 0'37.430 4 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 0'43.620 5 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 1'39.850 6 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 1'40.650 7 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 1'48.370 8 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 2'1.730 9 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 2'18.870 10 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 2'22.990 11 Jari Juha Mattila Honda FIN 2'24.220 12 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 2'26.290 13 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 2'37.440 14 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 3'13.830 15 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 3'16.570 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Samuli Aro KTM FIN 315 2. Mika Ahola Honda FIN 283 3. Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 278 4. Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 277 5. Fabien Planet KTM FRA 202 6. Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 195 7. Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 185 8. Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 134 9. Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 124 10. Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 123 11. Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 117 12. Euan McConnell TM GBR 84 13. Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 75 14. Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 74 15. Kurt Caselli KTM USA 66 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 316 2. KTM 315 3. Honda 283 4. GasGas 195 5. Husqvarna 135 6. HusaBerg 134 7. Aprilia 117 8. Beta 89 9. TM 84 10. Suzuki 52 11. Sherco 50 12. Kawasaki 16

One of the closest MotoGP World Championships in history heads into its final stage this weekend as the series heads out to Malaysia for the first of a five-race spell across three continents. Races at Sepang, Phillip Island (Australia), Motegi (Japan), Estoril (Portugal) and Valencia (Spain), will decide the destiny of a title which for the past five seasons has been lifted by Yamaha superstar Valentino Rossi. For the Italian to retain that honour he must turn around a 38-point deficit to current leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), although no fewer than nine riders still have the mathematical odds to take the honours. Rossi's chances were given a huge boost at the last round three weeks ago in Brno, where a second place finish combined with ninth for Hayden saw the gap between the pair slashed by thirteen points. That race went down as the closest top-15 finish of all time in the sport, strengthening this season's reputation as one of the toughest ever and highlighting the number of points to be won and lost over the remaining five events. Brno also witnessed Rossi's 87th appearance on the podium in the premier class and another top-three finish in Malaysia would equal Giacomo Agostini's tally of 88 - a record bettered only by Mick Doohan. Rossi has finished on the podium at Sepang for the last five years, including a memorable victory for Yamaha in 2004 and a title-clinching second place behind Loris Capirossi (Ducati) last season. Colin Edwards says that his target for the remaining five races is to assist Rossi's title quest in any way he can whilst turning a consistent run of points-scoring finishes into at least a string of podiums. Tenth place in the last round at Brno was the 33rd successive race at which he has scored points - a MotoGP record again bettered only by Doohan on 37 - but the Texan's goal is a return to the potentially winning form he showed earlier in the season. Valentino Rossi: One of my favourites Valentino Rossi is predicting a repeat of last year's tough battle with fellow Italian Loris Capirossi this weekend as he looks to get one over on his compatriot after another memorable duel between the pair at Brno. The Yamaha man cites Sepang as one of his favourite tracks and he is hopeful that recent developments with the 990cc M1 machine will make it equally inclined towards the Malaysian venue. "As everyone knows, Sepang is one of my favourite tracks and it's always great fun to ride the M1 there," says Rossi. "We made some really good progress in Brno so hopefully everything will work well from Friday morning and we can fight at the top all weekend. Last year Loris was incredibly strong in Sepang, similar to how he was two weeks ago in Brno and I am sure that this will be the case again this time! "This year I can't win the title in Malaysia so our aim once again is to finish on the podium and take as many points as possible in order to stay in the fight. These three races in a row are going be very important and at the end of them the championship could be much clearer. It's always hard work, with a lot of flying and time changes in a short amount of time, but we will stay focused and do the best we can!" Colin Edwards: No looking back Colin Edwards, who lives in his hometown of Conroe, Texas, is used to long haul trips and is therefore undaunted by the demands of three 'flyaway' races in as many weekends. The 32 year old insists that thoughts of a poor run of form over the summer are now firmly behind him as he simply concentrates on a grandstand finish to his season over the final five races. "Things really haven't gone to plan lately and I think it's fair to say that I hoped to be in a better situation going into the final run of races," admits Edwards. "But there's no point dwelling on the past - we made some positive steps at the test in Brno so we'll see if that helps. We discovered last year that what works in Brno doesn't necessarily work everywhere else but we definitely understand the bike better after that test so hopefully we will be in a better position come Friday morning in Sepang. "I really like the Sepang track and then Phillip Island is one of my all-time favourites, so I am definitely looking forward to these races. We have two aims - one is to keep working with the team to find the best bike in order to give Valentino the tools to win the title, and the other is to get some good results and get on the podium. Having three 'flyaway' races in a row is always intense, but I am feeling ready for the challenge!" Davide Brivio: The final push Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is asking for one final effort from his team over the next two months as they cling on to the possibility of defending the crown they have won with Rossi for the past two seasons. The complicated logistics of five races across three continents always puts a further burden on every member of staff but Brivio is confident their extra exertions will once again be rewarded by results on the track. "After a very long and hard season, this is the start of the final 'push' for everyone and I know that the riders, the team and everyone involved will give 100% through these final two months," explains Brivio. "After Brno we did two days testing, and these were extremely important for the final few races. We tried a lot of new things and made some big steps forward with the setting and we got some very important information from our riders, which we hope will help us to remain at a competitive level until the end of the season. "Our number one aim now is to give Valentino the means to stay in the running for the championship title, and then we will see what the situation is in Valencia. We hope that the Brno test has also given Colin plenty of confidence and we hope to see him getting some good results now and ending the season on a high. Sepang and Phillip Island especially are favourite tracks of both riders so hopefully these races will be good to us!" Technically speaking: Sepang according to Jeremy Burgess Sepang is one of the widest tracks on the calendar, measuring 16 metres across in some areas, and always features high track temperatures in the tropical climate. Races can be won and lost due to the ability of machinery to hold a line during turn-in at several points of hard braking. With four major hairpins and some fast and frequent changes of direction in its 5542m layout, Sepang provides a stern workout for the entire bike set-up and its largely predictable, if demanding, climate makes it the ideal winter testing venue. "With the exception of Brno we have been to some tight and fiddly tracks recently but I would call Sepang a 'real' Grand Prix circuit," explains Jeremy Burgess, Valentino Rossi's Crew Chief. "Sepang is a great test track because it has a bit of everything - from two points that are fast enough for the riders to take in sixth gear to some tight and twisty first gear corners. As far as the corners are concerned there are some you accelerate through, some you stop at, areas where you are braking from high speeds - basically every area of the bike gets a workout. "Last year we got caught out on tyres but we put a lot of laps in during the winter tests and over the last couple of races this is an area we have focused on. A good front-end set-up is also crucial at Sepang because there are lots of points where the riders are braking at full lean, so they need full confidence to know that the front won't tuck. The heat is also an important factor and the rider must be careful not to push the tyres too early." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 168 (109 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 42 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: 60 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Sepang Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005, 2'02.993 Sepang Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005, 2'01.731 2005 Malaysian Grand Prix Results: 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, 43'27.523 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, +1.999 3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati, +2.069 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +22.275

It was a day of mixed emotions for the Yamaha Motor Italia team in Assen. Andrew Pitt grabbed two superb second places to move up to fourth in the championship but team-mate Noriyuki Haga dropped down to third after he failed to finish either race. The day's first race was wet and, with little more than 15 minutes rain testing in the morning warm-up, was to prove something of a lottery that caught out all of the main title contenders. Starting from second on the grid, Haga found himself in fourth place at the end of the first lap, behind series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and the Suzukis of Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama. Despite the conditions the racing proved close, with Haga fearless on the brakes as he took the lead for the first time on lap six. One by one Haga's rivals crashed out, leaving the Yamaha rider with an 18 second lead over team-mate Pitt in second. Unfortunately Haga also succumbed to the conditions, losing the front end on lap 13 of 22. That left Pitt in the lead, the Australian having worked his way diligently through after ending the first lap in seventh place. The Australian had found it hard to overtake, a situation caused as much by the proliferation of yellow caution flags as the slippery surface, but finally got past Michel Fabrizio (Honda) to take the lead on lap 13. Pitt rode steadily as the conditions worsened, but by lap 15 wet weather specialist Chris Walker completed his charge from the back of the grid to take the lead going into the chicane. The Englishman went on to take his first ever world championship win, while Pitt used his head to take his fourth podium finish of the season. Race two was run in dry conditions but proved to be short for Haga. The Yamaha rider had collided with Corser coming off the line but led into the first turn, only to be knocked off by another rider. With the accident also claiming Corser and championship contender James Toseland (Honda), Bayliss led from Pitt and Kagayama. Bayliss was able to make a break and take his 10th win of the year, while Pitt rode a superb race to take a comfortable second ahead of third placed Fonsi Nieto (Kawasaki). Norick Abe Norick Abe used all of his experience to take fifth place on his Yamaha Motor France YZF-R1 in the opening race. The Japanese rider avoided the carnage to move steadily through the pack, although he was unable to equal his best result of the season after being passed by Nieto on the final corner. Team-mate and countryman Shinichi Nakatomi gained three points for 13th place, although there was disappointment for Sebastien Gimbert on the third Yamaha France machine. He crashed out of a top 10 finish on lap 10 and was unable to make the second race due to a back injury. Abe and Nakatomi also failed to score in the second race after retiring with a lack of grip. Bayliss now leads the championship by 100 points from Toseland, who is two points ahead of third placed Haga. Pitt's 40 point haul in the Netherlands, the highest of any rider on the day, sees him move up two places, to fourth overall, with three rounds and six races of the championship remaining. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "At half distance I really thought that I could have won that second race, but in the end the front tyre was gone and I had to settle for second. I'm really pleased with how its went today and I'd like to give special thanks to my team, because they worked very hard and gave me a great bike for the races. When Chris passed me in the first race I tried to stay with him but I think that I was destined to be second. Fortunately the grip is quite good here in the wet but there were a few parts that were unbelievably slippery, probably from the oil that got spilled in the morning warm-up. You just had to work out where you could push and where you couldn't and thankfully I was able to bring it home." Noriyuki Haga Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "My pace in the first race was not so good but I was lucky that many riders crashed in front of me. In the second race I made a good start but slipped back because the grip wasn't right. I went out of the points and pulled in because it was too dangerous to continue." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "Very difficult weekend. Conditions were very hard in the first race and I was pleased to make the finish and score points. In the second race there was a problem with the rear grip, I think the suspension settings caused the tyre to wear too quickly, and I had to retire." Shinichi Nakatomi Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "A very bad day with many crashes. After crashing in the warm-up I had to ride my second bike for the first race. I had a good feeling with the bike but then I just lost the front without any warning. The second was also disappointing because I made a good start and was leading into the first corner. The next thing I knew another bike has hit me and I am out with Toseland and Corser." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "My back is very painful but I have been to the hospital and the scans say nothing is broken. This is good news and with the Bol d'Or endurance racing coming up soon I hope I can make a speedy recovery." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "It's been a mixed day for us in Assen. For Nori it's been a bad day, losing 25 points in the first race and then getting knocked off in the second. Andrew, however, rode two fantastic races. He scored more points than anyone else and has moved up two places in the championship, so this is a good result for him. His points have also moved Yamaha up to second in the constructor's championship. This is also important because it proves to us that we have a very good bike and that the team is working in the right way. Now we've got to go to Lausitzring next weekend. We had a good test there recently and we're looking forward to going back." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "It's been a crazy day because it stared out well and finished bad. The biggest problem is Gimbert's injury. Nothing is broken but he will not make the Lausitz race because the most important thing for him is the Bol d'Or. Abe made a very nice race in the first but it was a bad choice of tyre in race two. The tyre is completely destroyed, and I have never seen anything like it. He used the 200, but Nakatomi used the smaller one and had basically the same problem. So we had a soft tyre and hard tyre and both had a problem. Maybe we did not adjust the suspension properly for the conditions." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Changeable 2006 WSB Assen 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 44'23.501 2 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'4.965 3 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'24.130 4 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'36.968 5 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'37.178 6 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'37.324 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'40.930 8 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'41.857 9 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'53.382 10 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'55.869 11 Ivan Clementi Ducati ITA 1'39.835 12 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'59.724 13 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 14 Harry van Beek Suzuki NED -1 Laps 15 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA -5 Laps Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 40'0.000 2 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'9.342 3 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'11.648 4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'12.743 5 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'12.811 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'19.845 7 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'29.241 8 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'34.085 9 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'42.113 10 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'51.815 11 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 0'53.608 12 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 0'56.132 13 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 0'57.168 14 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'1.056 15 Joshua Brookes Kawasaki AUS 1'34.429 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'40.767 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 332 2. James Toseland Honda GBR 232 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 230 4. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 197 5. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 193 6. Alex Barros Honda BRA 175 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 139 8. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 123 9. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 115 10. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 112 11. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 109 12. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 95 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 88 14. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 80 15. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 76 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 32 20. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 351 2. Yamaha 299 3. Honda 292 4. Suzuki 282 5. Kawasaki 181 6. Petronas 13 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Curtain takes championship lead in Assen Kevin Curtain Kevin Curtain did a professional job in difficult conditions to take second place and the championship lead at Assen today, although there was disappointment for his Yamaha Motor Germany squad as team-mate Broc Parkes suffered serious injury after crashing. The experienced Australian finished second in each leg of the two-part race to pull out a seven point lead over defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda). Charpentier took the chequered flag 'on the road' but finished fourth on aggregate time. In wet conditions it was Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes who took the lead and quickly pulled away. The Australian had hoped a good result would put him right in contention for the title after winning last time out in Brands Hatch but his day ended on lap three when he suffered a huge crash. The rider lost the rear of his machine and tumbled spectacularly into the gravel. Parkes was taken to hospital where the initial diagnosis suggests he has suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and an injured shoulder. With Parkes out, Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu built up a big lead while Curtain slotted into a five rider battle for second. The Yamaha rider was battling with Kai Borre Andersen (Suzuki) when the red flags were brought out on lap 10 to allow medical staff to attend to an injured rider. Charpentier took the flag in a relatively incident-free second part, with Curtain and Sofuoglu content to ride sensibly and finish second and third on the road. Sofuoglu took the win, his first of the season, on aggregate time, with Curtain second, Andersen third and Charpentier fourth. Curtain now leads the championship on 151 points to Charpentier's 144, with three races remaining. Parkes stays third, on 119. Yamaha's other supersport riders faced mixed results in Assen. Yamaha Team Italia riders Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli brought their YZF-R6s home in seventh and eighth places respectively, while Yamaha GMT94's David Checa ran strongly until being sidelined with an electrical problem in the second part of the race. Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It was important to come here and get a good result for the championship. It's a shame for us that the race was wet, because we worked really hard all weekend to find a great set-up for the dry conditions. It was important not to throw it down the road and we can go to Lausitz in good spirits. I'm a lot more confident going to Lausitz than I was coming here, because we've tested there and have good settings while Assen was completely new to us with this bike." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm happy with the result today and felt confident because I normally go quite well in the rain and had a good rhythm in the practice. It's important to have a good end to the season, to remain in the top 10 of the championship and to build up my confidence for next season." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I felt a lot better in the second part of the race as I learned a lot about how to ride this track in the wet conditions. With Tibero and Harms crashing I thought about the championship and rode for the points. I'm satisfied because I am not normally strong in the wet but have scored some good points today." Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "When Broc was in the lead everything was looking OK but in the crash he had a bad head knock and other internal injuries. It is strange because it is great for Kevin to be leading the championship but tonight I my feelings are mixed, on one hand I am happy for Kevin but very sad for Broc." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 2006 WSS Assen 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 41'49.124 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'4.581 3 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 0'9.241 4 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'9.489 5 Arie Vos Honda NED 0'29.994 6 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'31.858 7 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'54.312 8 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'56.085 9 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'9.735 10 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 1'13.899 11 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'21.451 12 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 1'26.458 13 Alessio Velini Yamaha ITA 1'32.137 14 Vesa Kallio Yamaha FIN 1'37.377 15 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 1'45.357 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'55.516 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 151 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 144 3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119 4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 94 5. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 92 6. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 86 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57 9. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 10. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 46 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29 12. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27 13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 22 14. Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21 15. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 21 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 202 2. Yamaha 188 3. Ducati 54 4. Kawasaki 49 5. Suzuki 28 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Corti takes second 1000cc win at Assen Claudio Corti Yamaha Team Italia youngster Claudio Corti took his second FIM Superstock 1000 Cup win of the season in a thrilling Assen race. The Italian had looked strong all weekend, placing his Yamaha YZF-R1 SP second on the grid and riding an intelligent race to fend off the challenge of British superstock champion Brendon Roberts (Suzuki). The pair enjoyed a fascinating battle which was settled once and for all when Roberts braked too late trying to make a pass as they went into the final chicane for the last time. Corti's win sees him close in on the top three of the championship. The Italian remains fourth in the standings but is now 17 points from third placed Luca Scassa (MV Agusta) with three races remaining. Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) finished third to extend his championship lead to 22 points over non-finishing pole sitter Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta). Former European supersport champion Matteo Baiocco finished fourth on another Yamaha. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I am especially happy because I did not make a good start today. I was able to recover quickly though and when I got into the lead I had a good feeling that I could win. I knew that Roberts would try to pass at the last corner so I was aware of him and waiting for his mistake. It's a good result and now I will push hard and try to finish in the top three of the championship." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Crowd: 61000 Weather: Dry 2006 Superstock Assen 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 13 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 22'58.130 2 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 0'3.461 3 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'5.718 4 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'6.094 5 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 0'7.397 6 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'7.623 7 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'8.007 8 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'8.557 9 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 0'8.596 10 David Johnson Yamaha AUS 0'10.275 11 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'16.091 12 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 0'16.188 13 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 0'16.396 14 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 0'17.802 15 Herve Gantner Yamaha CHE 0'24.357 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 1'44.800 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 131 2. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 109 3. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 107 4. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 90 5. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 65 6. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 51 7. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 8. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 43 9. Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 42 10. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 34 11. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 12. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 29 13. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27 14. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 24 15. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 23 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 144 2. MV Agusta 129 3. Yamaha 108 4. Kawasaki 78 5. Honda 35

The Grand Prix of the Netherlands marked another important chapter in a truly memorable season for Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts as the 2006 World Champion dominated both motos in the Lierop sand for his 100th career success and his thirteenth triumph from fourteen rounds on the YZ450FM in the 2006 campaign. The penultimate meeting of the year occurred under dark clouds that freely dispensed rain all day over the Lierop circuit. 33,135 spectators gathered to watch the hardest GP of the term so far for the MX1 and MX2 riders. The sand quickly cut into a path of bumps, ruts and heavy, rough sections that tested the machines as much as the endurance and fitness of the riders. Everts claimed his eighth pole position of the season yesterday with a lap-time almost a second quicker than fellow countryman Steve Ramon as Belgian riders filled the top four positions on the leader-board. The 33 year old started well and was in second place negotiating the first corner behind Josh Coppins. By the fourth turn the World Champion was ahead and embarked on a trouble-free ride. He had to remain alert cutting through backmarkers that he lapped up to 7th position and the 41 second winning advantage at the flag was a clear indication of the dominance Everts enjoyed in his self-confessed 'playground'. The victory was his 24th moto success in 2006. In race two he delivered a repeat performance and was a class apart of the MX1 flock as he again pulled away from his Honda rival. 25 motos from 28 this year were duly confirmed and Everts danced and punched the air at reaching his phenomenal goal of 100 victories; 43 more than the next most successful rider Joel Smets and clinched in an 18 year career stretching back to 1989. Cédric Melotte attempted to ride this week but the bruising on his right foot as a consequence of three broken toes meant that pushing the Yamaha was still too painful for the Belgian. He should return to action next week in the Belgian Championship and be fit to ride at Ernee. Everts has already wrapped up the 2006 campaign but extended his point margin over Kevin Strijbos to 198. Melotte is tenth after his second non-start in a week. The fifteenth and final round of the World Championship will take place in two weeks time for the Grand Prix of France at the Ernee circuit, less than 100km west of Le Mans. Stefan on the podium Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "There is not much left to win now, maybe just the Motocross of Nations! This has been a tough little period for me. Mentally I have been a bit 'done' and physically it has been hard. Last week was a hard race; Josh said that the riders can learn from me physically but he was very strong in Ireland also so he is right there also. Anyway, it has been a long way to this 100th GP win. I started in 1989 and now we are in 2006, so that is eighteen years to try and win 100 GPs; it has been a long road. Counting from one to ten in terms of titles can take some time, but one to one hundred is something else. I am so, so happy, thanks to everyone who has supported me." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Only fifteen days after the crash the toes on my foot had recovered but there was a large bruise on the bottom of my foot and it was difficult to put a lot of weight on my leg so this race came too soon for me. I am able to cycle and the whole injury is getting better so I hope to be back to a good level by the time of Ernee." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "We have run out of objectives for this season! Stefan's achievement was unbelievable and the way he won today was excellent; he was riding far above the level of the others. Mentally and physically he is a little bit exhausted but his skill on the sand allowed him to win today. He dominated both motos and was just perfect all day." Circuit Length: 1875 Temp: 20 Crowd: 33135 Weather: Wet 2006 GP of Lierop, The Netherlands 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'57.876 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'43.152 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 1'32.032 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'37.711 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 1'40.262 6 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'41.951 7 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 1'47.567 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 9 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP -1 Laps 10 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 11 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -1 Laps 13 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA -1 Laps 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 15 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 16 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 17 Anne Advokaat Honda NED -1 Laps 18 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 19 James Noble Honda GBR -1 Laps 20 Aigar Bobkovs Honda LVA -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'20.984 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'36.728 3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'55.438 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 2'7.398 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 2'36.900 6 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 7 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA -1 Laps 8 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 9 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 10 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps 11 Mark Jones Honda GBR -1 Laps 12 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 13 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -1 Laps 14 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 15 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 16 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 17 Mike Kras Suzuki NED -1 Laps 18 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 19 James Noble Honda GBR -2 Laps 20 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 2'9.699 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 689 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 491 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 454 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 434 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 405 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 338 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 293 8. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 267 9. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 247 10. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 11. James Noble Honda GBR 202 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 161 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 153 16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 146 17. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 120 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 689 2. Suzuki 561 3. Honda 538 4. Kawasaki 420 5. KTM 416 6. TM 161 RACE REPORT 03/09/2006 Cairoli still defending his crown Tony Cairoli World Champion Antonio Cairoli finished as runner-up overall in a soaked MX2 Grand Prix of attrition and mere survival at Lierop. The Italian gained results of first and third for his third consecutive podium at the penultimate round of the series. Cairoli - who has sweet memories of the Lierop sand after his World Championship celebrations one year ago - initially led the opening moto but was pursued by David Philippaerts and had to let his countryman through to set the pace. Approaching the final stages of the moto Philippaerts crashed and slipped back to fourth place (before another spill dropped him further down the classification) giving the Sicilian a reasonably clear track to seal his 10th moto of the season. In the second race a bad start immediately ruled out a second victory as Pourcel drew clear at the front ahead of Rattray, and Cairoli had to beat a path to third; a job made easier once he had disposed of Rui Goncalves. It meant the five points gained on Pourcel from Moto1 were conceded before the end of the afternoon. Billy MacKenzie The Yamaha Team Ricci packed up early after their sole rider Kenneth Gundersen fell out of a top ten position in the first moto and hurt his right shoulder. The early diagnosis estimates no broken bones but the luckless Norwegian will have a further examination tomorrow and only then will he be informed as to the likelihood of being able to ride at Ernee. Davide Guarneri was in no condition to compete and Alessio Chiodi elected to miss the Grand Prix with a still painful broken finger. With one round remaining Cairoli has a mathematical chance of defending his crown. 50 points have still to be won and the De Carli racer trails Pourcel by 28. Billy Mackenzie is the next highest Yamaha rider in eleventh and dropped three places with a double DNF today. The trip to Ernee and the French Grand Prix will provide the MX2 competitors with their final outing of the season in two weeks time. The Motocross of Nations in which Cairoli, Gundersen and Mackenzie will represent their countries takes place immediately after the Gallic meeting. Antonio Cairoli Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "Christophe is a very good rider and has been consistent this season; this for the Championship is very important. This year I have lost a lot of points in three or four heats and I am far behind him now. I just want to win in France and I won't be thinking about the Championship because it is too hard. In the first moto I started well but Philippaerts was going very fast. I know that my physical condition is good and if I didn't make any mistakes I would be in contention for the win. David made two mistakes and I was ready to take the heat. I was really happy to win at this track because last year I took the world title here and this is always a big race for me. In the second race I was braking too late for the first corner and went wide. I got caught in the middle of the group in the second turn and then it was very hard to close down the gap." Circuit Length: 1875 Temp: 20 Crowd: 33135 Weather: Wet 2006 GP of Lierop, The Netherlands 03/09/2006 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'53.916 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'16.401 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'31.286 4 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 0'57.200 5 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'58.845 6 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'0.295 7 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'21.844 8 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 1'33.696 9 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'41.615 10 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'46.024 11 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'49.922 12 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'55.204 13 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 2'1.008 14 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 2'3.608 15 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 2'18.009 16 Wayne Smith Honda GBR -1 Laps 17 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 18 Nick Tuin Yamaha NED -1 Laps 19 Johan Carlsson Yamaha SWE -1 Laps 20 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40'43.318 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'21.464 3 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'40.615 4 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'59.948 5 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'13.800 6 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'18.715 7 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'21.487 8 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'35.252 9 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'43.760 10 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 1'58.452 11 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 2'12.457 12 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 2'22.505 13 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 2'26.282 14 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 15 Johan Carlsson Yamaha SWE -1 Laps 16 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 17 Nick Tuin Yamaha NED -1 Laps 18 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 19 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps 20 Wayne Smith Honda GBR -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time David Philippaerts KTM ITA 2'9.633 Rider Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 541 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 513 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 446 4. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 440 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 373 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 343 7. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 300 8. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 296 9. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 291 10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 286 11. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 281 12. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 215 13. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 183 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 149 17. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 141 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 106 19. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 97 20. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 43. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7 Manufacturer Standings 03/09/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 640 2. Yamaha 607 3. Kawasaki 566 4. Honda 232 5. Suzuki 22

Noriyuki Haga grabbed his third consecutive front row start after taking second place in today's grid deciding superpole session at Assen. The Yamaha Motor Italia star put in his fastest lap of the weekend on his superpole lap, boosting him up three places from his position at the end of regular qualifying. As always, Haga spent the day's two hour-long sessions working on finding a good set-up for tomorrow's 22-lap races. With his mechanics he was able to solve the tyre chatter problems that plagued him in Friday's practice and qualifying sessions. Team-mate Pitt was the biggest winner in superpole, elevating himself from 13th to eighth after setting his quickest lap of the weekend. The Australian has struggled to find a good set-up for the restyled Assen circuit this weekend, but finally made big progress in the afternoon's free practice session. Yamaha Motor France's trio of riders were typically close in qualifying, with just three-tenths of a second separating them after the two one hour sessions. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert was the fastest of the three. He qualifyed for superpole in 12th place but was marginally slower on his grid deciding lap, pushing him back to 15th position on tomorrow's grid. Team-mate Shinichi Nakatomi will line up alongside Gimbert after making the cut for superpole on his Dutch debut. The former Japanese 250cc champion cut over two seconds from his Friday time as his knowledge of the circuit improved although, like Gimbert, he was unable to up his pace on the sticky superpole tyre and was unable to advance up the grid. Norick Abe just missed the cut on the third Yamaha Motor France-entered YZF-R1 and will start from 18th position. Pole position for tomorrow's race goes to defending champion Troy Corser (Suzuki), with Haga, Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) completing the front row. Weather forecasts suggest a high chance of rain showers throughout the day, which could affect the races on a weekend when all track time has been in dry conditions. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We made some big improvements today and the feeling with the suspension is now very good. For tomorrow we will make some final changes and finish testing some tyres. If it rains then that will also change the situation. Anyway, it is important to make a good start here so I am happy to be on the front row. We'll try to make the extra changes and then we must see what happens tomorrow." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "We found a little problem with the bike and were able to make the bike better and more consistent. I was third fastest on the race tyre and although my superpole lap felt pretty good it was close but not close enough. Tomorrow's race is going to be tough and the last few laps are sure to be interesting!" Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "We have done a good job today although I was a little disappointed to lose some places on my superpole lap. I think that we're in good shape for the races and I hope we can get some good results." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I was very pleased to make such a big improvement today. We made a few changes but mostly the improvement was down to me learning the track better. I'm looking forward to the races tomorrow and hope that we can get some good points in both races." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We've been working step-by-step to improve the bike and get the bike set up for the races. There is a very grippy surface here and we haven't had the same lack of traction that we've had at the last few races, it's just a case of making some small improvements. I know that there is a chance of rain tomorrow but I really hope that it stays dry." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "Both the riders did an improvment today and there are still some things to try for tomorrow and will do some more tests with the tyres. I'm quite positive tonight but we have to wait until tomorrow as it may be wet. We want it to be dry because you just never know what will happen in wet." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 20 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Assen 02/09/2006 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'38.965 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'39.009 3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'39.176 4 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'39.304 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'39.419 6 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'39.543 7 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'39.565 8 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'39.758 9 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'39.958 10 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'40.149 11 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'40.251 12 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.264 13 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.388 14 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'40.503 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'40.585 16 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'40.742 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'40.171 2 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.191 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'40.242 4 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'40.380 5 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.397 6 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'40.415 7 Steve Martin Petronas AUS 1'40.458 8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.467 9 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'40.518 10 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'40.534 11 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.567 12 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.612 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'40.671 14 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'40.746 15 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.837 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 02/09/2006 Curtain and Parkes on the front row despite crashes Kevin Curtain Yamaha Motor Germany duo Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes will start tomorrow's ninth round of the Supersport World Championship from the front row, despite suffering a crash each in this afternoon's final qualifying session. Joint championship leader Curtain crashed his YZF-R6 immediately after setting the best time of the afternoon, a 1:42.056, with around five minutes of the session remaining. The 40-year-old was set to further improve his lap when he pushed too hard and lost front end grip going into the first corner. The incident meant he was unable to wrestle the pole position from his championship rival Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who denied Yamaha a fourth successive pole position in the class with his time from Friday. Earlier in the session Parkes had set his best lap of 1:42.170, only to miss the final 15 minutes of the session after crashing spectacularly next time around. The Australian escaped injury in the crash although his machine was badly damaged after flying through the air spectacularly. Yamaha Team Italia's Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli will start on the third row after ending qualifying in 10th and 11th places respectively, while Yamaha GMT94's David Checa was unable to improve on his Friday time and slipped back to 14th on the final grid. Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 22 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Assen 02/09/2006 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'41.906 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'42.056 3 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'42.170 4 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'42.320 5 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'42.388 6 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 1'42.554 7 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 1'42.554 8 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 1'42.759 9 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'42.869 10 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'42.894 11 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'42.933 12 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'43.002 13 Arie Vos Honda NED 1'43.057 14 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'43.077 15 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 1'43.087

Yamaha Motor Italia's Andrew Pitt ended today's first qualifying session in sixth position on his first acquaintance with the remodeled Assen circuit in the Netherlands, with team-mate Noriyuki Haga just behind in ninth. As usual, the Australian spent the day's two sessions working on a race setting for Sunday's two 22-lap races, spending most of his time circulating with used tyres and heavy fuel loads. The Misano race winner put on a new set of rubber on his last stint to find a one-second improvement in his lap time. His 1:40.474 places him just over a second behind fastest man Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The Assen track has been radically remodeled since the superbike series visited last September, with a shorter circuit making lap times around 25 seconds less than on the previous incarnation - much to the displeasure of many riders who miss the fast and flowing opening section of the old track. Haga remained unfussed with the new layout, spending the entire session on a single set of tyres to simulate a full race distance. The Japanese star was generally happy with his day's work but will work with his technicians in a bid to solve a tyre chatter problem and find some additional traction from his machine. Despite concentrating on race trim, Haga ended the session just a few tenths of a second behind his team-mate Pitt finishing the session in ninth place. Frenchman Sebastien Gimbert led the Yamaha Motor France trio, setting the 16th fastest time on has YZF-R1. Team-mate Norick Abe was the fastest rider through the speed trap, recording a top speed of 278 kph. Despite the obvious speed of his Yamaha, the former MotoGP rider struggled to find an ideal set-up for the twisting circuit, ending the session in 18th. Yamaha Motor France's third rider, Shinichi Nakatomi, was 25th fastest on his first visit to the legendary circuit. He spent the two hours track time learning the layout of the circuit and hopes to cut his lap time significantly in tomorrow morning's second qualifying session. Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I struggled for most of the session but we changed the balance of the bike at the end and found a big improvement. We tried to get through as much as we could today, just in case it rains tomorrow, and it was hard work. In the end I improved my lap time by a second at the end, although it didn't feel that fast when I was out there. We still need to work on the set-up for the race though, although I think we've found the tyre to use in the race. It's a shame that they've changed the circuit because the bit that's been taken out was my favourite part. The new section is not really a problem, though, as it is so slow that you can probably run anything through there, it's the rest of the circuit where I still have a few problems." Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "Not so bad. It's a new circuit now so it was important to learn the layout. The new part is slower not a problem for me, but we have a bit of chatter and I would like some more rear traction. We'll change some settings for tomorrow and I think that this will be a solution. I hope so, but as always we must just wait and see what tomorrow brings." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "It's been a busy time recently as I have been testing at Magny Cours for the Bol d'Or. I'm quite confident for this weekend. Already the feeling with the bike is good and I think that we will be able to have a good weekend here." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "I'm looking to improve on 19th place tomorrow and I think that if we can make some improvements to the settings then we can challenge for superpole tomorrow." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "After a month's break in Japan my wife and family are with me in Europe for the first time, which is very nice. Today I had to learn the Assen track, as I have never been here before, so I am confident that I can make some improvements to my time tomorrow." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "The settings for both riders were not the best today but they are in the top ten and making progress. Nori worked on his race setting and only used one set of tyres in the qualifying session, while Andrew had found it hard until the end, when he put a different tyre in and made a big improvement. It is only Friday so we must see what happens tomorrow." Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 24 Weather: Dry 2006 WSB Assen 01/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'39.336 2 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'39.888 3 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'40.171 4 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'40.242 5 Alex Barros Honda BRA 1'40.415 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 1'40.474 7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'40.567 8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'40.581 9 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'40.612 10 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'40.746 11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'40.796 12 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 1'40.837 13 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 1'40.848 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'41.001 15 Pierfrancesco Chili Honda ITA 1'41.034 16 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 1'41.104 18 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 1'41.661 25 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 1'42.787 QUALIFYING 1 REPORT 01/09/2006 Parkes second fastest in Assen opener Broc Parkes Yamaha Motor Germany's Broc Parkes set the second fastest time in today's first qualifying session for Sunday's ninth round of the Supersport World Championship in Assen. The Australian, winner last time out in Brands Hatch, was just four tenths of a second behind the day's fastest rider, defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), around the revised Dutch circuit. Joining the two championship front runners on the provisional front row are Suzuki riders Kai Borre Andersen and Barry Veneman. Parkes' team-mate Kevin Curtain, joint championship leader with Charpentier, ended the day ninth as he tried various settings on his YZF-R6. One place ahead of Curtain is Yamaha GMT94's David Checa with Yamaha Team Italia's Gianluca Vizziello and Massimo Roccoli in 11th and 13th places respectively. Circuit Length: 4555 Temp: 19 Weather: Dry 2006 WSS Assen 01/09/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 1'41.906 2 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 1'42.327 3 Kai Borre Andersen Suzuki NOR 1'42.554 4 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 1'42.554 5 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 1'43.035 6 Arie Vos Honda NED 1'43.057 7 David Checa Yamaha ESP 1'43.077 8 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'43.112 9 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 1'43.285 10 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 1'43.385 11 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 1'43.560 12 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 1'43.611 13 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 1'43.767 14 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 1'43.855 15 Julien Enjolras Yamaha FRA 1'44.121

After a break of almost a month the Superbike World Championship enters its hectic final leg with round nine of the series at Assen in the Netherlands this weekend. With four rounds over the next six weekends it promises to be a busy time for the teams and riders in what has been a thrilling championship so far. One man who can surely be expected to be in the thick of the action is Yamaha Motor Italia's Noriyuki Haga, who is the closest rival to series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati). The Japanese star gave his best form of the season last time out in Brands Hatch, winning the day's second race, and consolidating his second place in the championship. Haga rates Assen as one of his favourite circuits although, like his rivals, he has yet to experience the shortened circuit that awaits him this season. Previously boasting the longest lap time on the superbike calendar, the entire northern loop section has been removed to make way for a new car park and improved spectator facilities. The circuit now measures 4.55km, compared to 6km of the previous incarnation. Many riders have expressed their disappointment at the emancipated layout but the real winners will be the trackside spectators, who will experience 22 laps of superbike action, rather than the 16 laps of previous years. "Assen has always been one of my favourite circuits and I have had some good results there before," explains Haga. "I know that they have changed the track quite a bit but it does not bother me at all - the track is the same for all the riders and we must just go out and ride it. At Brands Hatch everything was good. Only a small problem with the bike stopped me from pushing as hard as I would have liked in the last laps of the first race, but otherwise the bike was perfect. "I'm not thinking about the championship and I just want to go out and win as many races as possible. It was a great feeling to win again in Brands Hatch and since then I have had a holiday back home in Japan. It was good to relax and spend some time with my family and I'm feeling in good shape for the last part of the season." Haga's team-mate Andrew Pitt was the rider of the day at Brands Hatch for many people. The Australian recovered from two bad starts to charge through the field and finish fourth and third in the races. If the former supersport world champion can get off the line better in Assen then there is little doubt he will be in contention at the Dutch round. Pitt currently lies sixth in the championship but, with former MotoGP winner Alex Barros (Honda) just nine points ahead of him in fifth place, his target for Assen is to add to his three podium finishes this year and move up the leaderboard. While Haga faces an uphill struggle to claw back the early-season advantage of Bayliss, the 2006 Supersport World Championship looks like going right down to the wire. Kevin Curtain heads to the Netherlands on equal points to defending world champion Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) with his Yamaha Motor Germany team-mate Broc Parkes also well in contention for the championship. Yamaha's third-generation YZF-R6 has flourished over the second part of the season, taking pole position and the win at each of the last three races, in the hands of Curtain, Parkes and Yamaha Team Italia's Massimo Roccoli, the winner in Misano. "It's back in our own hands now," says Curtain. "We were working on developing the bike at the beginning of the season and then had a few races where we ran into a bit of bad luck. We're working together much better as a team and our understanding the bike improves at every race. I've always maintained that the championship wouldn't be decided over the first half of the season and here we are going into the last four races with everything to play for."

Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team's Stefan Everts was beaten for the first time this season after a thrilling contest against Josh Coppins at Desert Martin for the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland. The Belgian was forced onto the second step after accumulating a 100% perfect winning streak of twelve rounds in succession when he lost a second race duel with Coppins. He had earlier taken his 22nd consecutive moto triumph by capturing the opening foray from the New Zealander and this haul of 25 points contributed towards the confirmation of Yamaha's ownership of the Manufacturer's title in MX1 with the YZ450FM. The powdery soil at the venue some 60 kilometres west of Belfast became increasingly rough after a day of practice and qualification. Quick, undulating and technical the layout demanded complete concentration but also offered several racing lines for some interesting and intense action. For only the second time this year the 35 minute and 2 lap Grand Prix motos encountered rainy conditions as brief showers scattered the scenic Irish landscape. Everts was too busy to notice the spurts of light rain as he faced his hardest challenge since the Portuguese round in April during Moto1. Coppins harried the World Champion for the duration of the sprint and the duo were only separated by more than a second when they had to negotiate backmarkers. It was entertaining fare but Coppins only really showed his front wheel to the Belgian in anger on several occasions, an overtaking move would have been another feat altogether. Everts started the second moto in a similar vein but Coppins was a renewed force and a fantastic race between the rivals with numerous lead changes occurred. They lapped all of the riders up to 3rd position but in the closing stages Everts had to concede the moto, and the Grand Prix, to the determined Kiwi who extended his lead throughout the last ten minutes. Everts has already claimed the 2006 campaign with an emotional victory three weeks ago at Namur. He heads the standings by 181 points from fellow Belgians Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon. Cédric Melotte was absent in Desert Martin after breaking three toes on his right foot last week in a Belgian Championship event. The 28 year old is hoping to be back in action for the following race at Lierop taking place next weekend for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands; the fourteenth and penultimate round of the Championship. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "It has been a tough race today. The track was hard. The first race was exciting and in the second Josh was so fast. At one point I could not stay with him anymore and physically I was finished. I think that we had the same speed but he was a bit stronger so I decided to go for a safe second towards the end. I am happy for Josh, he has been working hard for this. Of course I am a bit disappointed to lose but I still have two more chances to reach 100." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a long time since we have lost and this was a situation we were very used to! Second place overall is by no means a bad result and our moto classifications were the same as Josh's, but he deserved to win because in the second race he seemed more physically prepared than Stefan. Towards the end of the second moto Stefan struggled to keep the rhythm. It is a pity because we very much wanted to take the 100th win this weekend but I hope it is only delayed by one week or maximum to Ernee. In the meantime we have won the manufacturer's title which is important for Yamaha. It is possible that Cédric will be back next week, we should know by tomorrow." Temp: 18 Crowd: 18243 Weather: Changeable 2006 GP of Desert Martin, Ireland 27/08/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'50.848 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'0.722 3 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'58.605 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'9.286 5 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'27.028 6 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'51.475 7 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'59.467 8 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 2'1.314 9 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'2.284 10 Christian Beggi Honda ITA 2'5.783 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 12 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 13 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 14 Wayne Smith Honda RSA -1 Laps 15 Mark Jones Honda GBR -1 Laps 16 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 17 Neville Bradshaw Suzuki RSA -1 Laps 18 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 19 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 20 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 40'51.512 2 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 0'25.650 3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 2'4.676 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 5 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 6 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 7 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 8 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 9 James Noble Honda GBR -1 Laps 10 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN -1 Laps 11 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 12 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 13 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 14 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 15 Neville Bradshaw Suzuki RSA -1 Laps 16 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 17 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps 18 Wayne Smith Honda RSA -1 Laps 19 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -2 Laps 20 Tom de Belder Suzuki BEL -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 1'57.572 Rider Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 639 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 458 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 418 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 409 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 387 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 306 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 249 8. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 242 9. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 239 10. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 11. James Noble Honda GBR 198 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 161 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 153 16. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 129 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 106 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 Manufacturer Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 639 2. Suzuki 523 3. Honda 494 4. Kawasaki 391 5. KTM 384 6. TM 161 RACE REPORT 27/08/2006 Cairoli takes seventh podium of the season Antonio Cairoli World Champion Antonio Cairoli was third overall in the MX2 class at Desert Martin today for his second podium appearance in a row and seventh of the season. The Team Yamaha De Carli rider was 2nd and 7th for the bottom step of rostrum despite a crash in the second moto. The Sicilian completed a lonely race to second place in the initial race after Tyla Rattray had escaped. Unfortunately for the reigning number one, series leader Christophe Pourcel pushed through from a mediocre start to collect third and minimise any damage to his margin in the standings. Cairoli, who struggled with his suspension set-up on the rough and physical terrain, finally ended up giving his French rival two more points with a fall from third place on the second lap of Moto2, necessitating a hard trawl back into the top ten. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen withstood a pursuit by David Philippaerts in the second half of the first moto to make sure of sixth position and the second highest Yamaha rider home. It was the Norwegian's best finish from the last four Grand Prix. However, his poor luck struck again later in the day as he barely walked away from a pile-up of riders on the first turn. Slightly concussed Gundersen's moto finished only seconds after it had started. Fellow Yamaha Team Ricci representative Davide Guarneri's season hangs in the balance after several problems with illness, breathing problems and a virus that has left the Italian in a weakened state. He will now spend some time away from the sport to fully recover and although he may attempt to return for the final Grand Prix of the year at Ernee it depends on his progress and the results of a complete physical examination conducted in Italy this week. Alessi Chiodi opted to stay away from the trip to Ireland after his painful broken finger from Namur several weeks ago prevented the Italian from being able to ride and train. He climbed back on the YZ250F a day before the Grand Prix and is expecting a return at Lierop. Billy MacKenzie Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini finished out of the points in both motos. Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Billy Mackenzie also had a fall in each outing but finished 9th in the second race. Tyla Rattray won his fourth Grand Prix of the season with Pourcel assuming the status of runner-up. Cairoli now stands 28 points behind Pourcel at the top of the Championship table. Two more Grand Prix and 100 points remain. Mackenzie is the next Yamaha rider in eighth while Gundersen is twelfth. The finale of the World Championship is rapid approaching and the penultimate round of fifteen will take place at the flat, sandy Lierop circuit for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in seven day's time. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "I am not so happy because I wanted to take points away from Pourcel today. I made a stupid mistake and crashed in the second heat, losing a lot of time in picking up the bike and restarting. We had some suspension problems this weekend and we have to get it fixed for Lierop. I did not have a good feeling out there and had to use a lot of energy to push hard. In the first race I did my best and finished second but in the second I felt tired and it was harder." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "The first moto was quite good. I was riding a bit stiff at the beginning but at the end things were coming better and better. I was looking forward to the second moto to make an improved result but that ended in the first corner. I don't know what happened. I was right next to Cairoli but someone hit me from behind and I was thrown into the ground. I am going to go home and get healthy and try to do better in Lierop because I like the sand." Temp: 18 Crowd: 18243 Weather: Changeable 2006 GP of Desert Martin, Ireland 27/08/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 41'19.221 2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'7.757 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.579 4 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'20.357 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'32.583 6 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 0'34.607 7 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'40.106 8 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'51.108 9 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'54.777 10 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'58.962 11 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'2.674 12 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'8.972 13 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'10.743 14 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'14.177 15 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'21.390 16 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'25.612 17 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'31.068 18 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'32.734 19 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'40.206 20 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'43.836 Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 39'52.916 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'20.796 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'29.930 4 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'42.802 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'47.523 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'48.687 7 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'16.210 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'18.640 9 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'19.069 10 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'27.582 11 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'30.662 12 Martin Kohut Honda SVK 1'33.566 13 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'35.089 14 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'36.839 15 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'54.252 16 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'58.572 17 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 2'3.705 18 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR -1 Laps 19 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 20 Carlos Campano KTM ESP -2 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 1'57.584 Rider Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 496 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 468 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 427 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 402 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 373 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 315 7. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 291 8. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 281 9. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 278 10. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 267 11. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 264 12. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 215 13. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 183 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 119 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 118 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 98 19. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 82 39. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7 Manufacturer Standings 27/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 596 2. Yamaha 562 3. Kawasaki 521 4. Honda 210 5. Suzuki 22

Valentino Rossi picked up 20 vital points in the Czech Republic today after taking second place in a race which saw series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) stumble to ninth - a result which reduces the gap between the pair to 38 points with five rounds remaining. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) took a dominant victory, leading from the first corner to finish with a 4.902 second advantage, whilst Rossi had to fend off a valiant challenge from rookie Dani Pedrosa (Honda) four laps from the end before comfortably sealing the runner-up spot. It was an even tougher afternoon for Colin Edwards, who started out in equally impressive fashion to his team-mate but faded in the second half of the race to finish in tenth. The Texan started from eighth on the grid and was keen to get in touch with the leading riders as soon as possible, making up three places on the opening three laps. However, his efforts took their toll on the rear Michelin tyre of his YZR-M1 machine and, without the perfect set-up to rely on in the latter stages of the race, he was forced to drop back and settle for another top-ten finish. Valentino Rossi (2nd; + 4.902) "It was a good race today and I am very happy with the weekend. Obviously starting from pole position you hope that you can win but today Loris had a completely different pace to the rest of us and I couldn't believe the gap he made! We weren't perfect today and we still had a few problems, but anyway I was able to do a good race and fight hard to the end. I had a great battle with Pedrosa with many good overtakes, which was great fun, especially since I finally managed to finish in front of him! Even though I didn't win today this is a very important result for the championship; we are now third and we've gained on Pedrosa and Hayden. After this weekend the situation is much clearer for us with the bike and the tyres and now we have two days of testing, during which we have some new things to try in order to help us be even more competitive for the final five races. This weekend my M1 worked well from Friday morning, which is very encouraging after the problems we've had during practice this season. Everyone at Yamaha has worked so hard to come back to this level so I want to thank my team and all the engineers. Now there are five more races and five riders who can still fight for the championship, so I think it's going to be a very exciting end to the season!" Colin Edward (10th; + 19.435) "At the beginning things felt alright and over the first few laps I was actually quite excited. I was able to be quite aggressive and pass a few people, but then after a while things just went downhill. The balance of the bike didn't feel right and I just couldn't keep the same level. Then the tyre started to go off after about eight laps and that just acted as a limiter and my pace went right down. I was fighting really hard just to keep the pace I was running and it was nowhere near fast enough to be competitive. The bike didn't feel perfect under braking either and that makes life difficult here! We've spent all weekend playing around, trying to find the right balance but we just couldn't find exactly what we needed. Honestly we've worked hard all weekend but things just weren't right today. We've got two days of testing now and plenty of work to do if we're going to improve for the final few races." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "This has been a good weekend, despite the fact that we didn't win. We've achieved the most important goal of taking a lot of points back from Hayden and also gaining on Pedrosa. Valentino starting from pole position is a great improvement after the previous weekends and it's a good sign for the final part of the season. There are five riders now that can win the championship and it's clearly going to be a hard fight to the end, for which we need to be fully prepared! This weekend has shown how well Yamaha can react to problems and everyone has worked extremely hard to solve them, so a big thank you to the mechanics, engineers and of course Valentino! Colin made some big changes before the race and in the first part of it he looked very good. Unfortunately he couldn't keep that pace up and now these two days of testing for him will be very important in order to come up with some things that can help him finish the season well." Tech 3 Yamaha Team find satisfaction after a difficult weekend Carlos Checa Fifteenth place for Carlos Checa on his Yamaha YZF-M1 may not be the position that the Tech 3 Yamaha Team desired today, but after the difficulties of the previous day, the team is satisfied with the result attained in the Czech Republic Grand Prix at the Brno circuit in a race won by Loris Capirossi (Ducati) as teammate James Ellison struggled with his own problems to finish 17th. With a difficult race now behind them, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team is looking ahead to the two-day test at the circuit to endeavour to eliminate the problems that have surfaced after the positive results of the previous two races in the USA and Germany. Carlos Checa (15th, Fastest lap 1'59.630) "Considering yesterday nothing worked, today we should be satisfied with the job we did. We changed quite a lot on the bike but we were not too radical with the alterations we made. This morning the bike felt a lot better but in the different conditions this afternoon after a few laps we again had chattering and it increased during the race so by the end we had quite a lot. The tyre wasn't so bad even though I was getting some movement in the acceleration area but the chattering was the main limitation. "We knew it was going to be difficult today because many were doing 1" 58s lap times and we were struggling to match those times but we did quite a lot of laps in the 59 sec bracket and to keep that pace until the end was the most positive thing we can take from here. Also keeping in mind that we couldn't race with the tyres we have been using for the last two races, with the chattering problems we are having, today's race was fine." James Ellison (17thFastest lap 2'00.608) "That result was not what I wanted at all. I'm really disappointed. After yesterday I was definitely hoping for a top 15 finish but I was secretly thinking that a top 10 might happen. To finish 17th is a huge let down. I know I can do it - that's the frustrating thing to me. My lap times to Carlos weren't too bad for a few laps. He could keep that consistency with his times but after four or five laps my times dropped off. I lost traction on the rear exactly like what happened at Donington. I was getting a little bit of chatter but it was mainly rear wheel grip making it spin up everywhere. Tomorrow during this test I will get to test the frame Carlos is running so hopefully, we will be able to find a cure to these problems we have been having and move forwards pretty quickly so I can score some decent results that I know I'm capable of getting Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director Truthfully after the very average qualifying session yesterday, it was quite a good race. We had a lot of problems during the weekend that didn't help for the race but it is always a big handicap to start from so far back. We lost many seconds during the first two laps but we were able to fight back so Carlos was nine seconds behind Colin (Edwards) at the end of the race. Our pace was quick enough to be with the group fighting for 10th position so we're not happy with the position but we are happy that we were consistent with our lap times until the end. The bike still chattered but not as much as during practice and the gap to the guys in front of us was not that big. 15th is not a great result but there were no crashes and guys in front of us stopped so it's reasonable. The work we have done here is going to be helpful for Dunlop. Let's hope we can qualify better so we can have he results of the previous meetings. A positive point for Carlos is that he has scored points in every race but before going to the next three Grands Prix on the other side of the world, we have two days testing here to find solutions to these new problems and finish off the year on a good note. Circuit Length: 5403 Temp: 23 Crowd: 81.000 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Brno 20/08/2006 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 43'40.145 2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 0'4.902 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 0'8.012 4 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 0'14.800 5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 0'15.025 6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 0'15.699 7 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 0'16.775 8 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 0'16.942 9 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 0'17.061 10 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 0'19.435 11 Toni Elias Honda ESP 0'22.215 12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 0'23.978 13 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 0'24.967 14 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 0'28.961 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 0'29.296 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'2.982 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'58.157 Rider Standings 20/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 201 2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 176 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 163 4. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 161 5. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 151 6. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 101 7. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 92 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 90 9. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 83 10. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 75 11. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 67 12. Toni Elias Honda ESP 64 13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 61 14. Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 58 15. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 54 18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 20 Team Standings 20/08/2006 Pos. Team Points 1. Repsol Honda Team 377 2. Camel Yamaha Team 253 3. Fortuna Honda Team 225 4. Ducati Marlboro Team 216 5. Rizla Suzuki 144 6. Honda LCR 101 7. Kawasaki Racing Team 98 8. Team Roberts KR 92 9. Tech3 Yamaha 74 10. Konica Minolta Honda 67 11. Pramac D'Antin 22 Manufacturer Standings 20/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 262 2. Yamaha 201 3. Ducati 160 4. Suzuki 101 5. Team Robert KR 92 6. Kawasaki 83

Valentino Rossi will start a MotoGP race from the front of the grid for only the second time this season in tomorrow's Czech Republic Grand Prix after clocking an incredible pole record time in today's single qualifying session at Brno. Rossi's time of 1'56.191 was almost 1.5 seconds inside the previous best lap at this track and followed up an impressive performance yesterday, when he also set the pace. A trial run on a qualifying tyre in those first free practice sessions paid dividends today as the Italian defined his race set-up for the YZR-M1 machine before setting a devastating pace which knocked Loris Capirossi (Ducati) off the top spot in the dying moments of the session. Capirossi will line up in second place whilst Kenny Roberts (Team KR) completes the front row. Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also enjoyed a productive day working on his race setting and was on course to challenge for a place on the front two rows before a minor mistake in the first section of his fast lap cost him vital tenths. It meant that his final effort recorded 1'56.967 on the stopwatch - enough for eighth place and a third row start. Tomorrow's race is the first of a final run of six, which will determine whether Rossi can cut back a 51-point gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) and defend the title of MotoGP World Champion for a fifth successive season. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'56.191; 25 laps) "I think the practice today was a great emotion for everybody but especially for us! We worked well on the bike, especially the tyres, because we have suffered too much this season during the practice sessions and my team and Michelin did a great job today. When I saw Loris' time I thought it was very fast and didn't know if I could beat it but I was very determined and I pushed hard on all three qualifying tyres. In the end the final lap was great and to set a 1'56.1 was unbelievable! For tomorrow pole position is definitely better than starting from the fifth row like in other races so for this I am very happy. We still need to decide two or three things about the setting before the race, but I am quite competitive." Colin Edwards (8th - 1'56.967; 24 laps) "I really don't know what to think about today! Our race pace is okay, we're doing 58.6 which looks like it could compete for the top five, but I won't be happy with that! I think we need to make some more changes for tomorrow morning to the setting and see if we can find another three-tenths. With the setting we were using today, the race tyre was working well for 3 or 4 laps and then it was starting to lose grip and then the lap times were going. So we've got a few ideas and we'll fiddle with the setting in the morning a bit to see if we can sort that out. On the positive side, I think we're finally figuring out what we need to do with the setting in order to make the tyres work better with our bike, and today the qualifier especially worked really well for me. Unfortunately I lost half a second on the first split but the tyre was perfect so that's pretty encouraging after some of the problems we've had with qualifiers so far this season!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It is very nice to be back in pole position - our first target for the weekend was to qualify on the front two rows so we are delighted that Valentino has gone one better! The last three races have all been complicated for us because of the starting position but hopefully now this should not be a problem for us tomorrow. Now we need to fix a few things with the bike and find the best combination of the different settings we have tried over the course of the weekend so far. There are a few riders with a good pace so it will be a difficult race but we expect Valentino to be up there and if Colin can get a decent start then I believe he also has the pace to stay with the leaders and end the weekend with a good result. For Valentino this is a very important race because the championship could be a lot clearer tomorrow night." Back to the drawing board for Tech3 Yamaha Team James Ellison A promising opening day was a distant memory by this afternoon for Carlos Checa on his Tech 3 Yamaha YZF-M1 after he recorded his worst qualifying performance of the year. Carlos will start from 17th position on the grid as fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi stormed to pole position with an astounding lap time over two seconds below his own current lap record. The team battled valiantly to overcome handling problems that surfaced in Carlos's bike during the morning's final free practice session only for the situation to be magnified during the afternoon's critical qualifying session. It wasn't all bad news for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team as James Ellison managed to subtract over two seconds off his time from yesterday although he is only one spot ahead of his teammate in 16th position James Ellison (16th, 1'59.011, 24 laps) "It's been a long time coming and obviously I'm happing to be where I am in front of Carlos but you can see the guy has got a lot of problems - he is never three seconds off the pace. We both have things to work on I'm having chattering problems but we have managed to get it down to just two areas. We really need to find out where the problem is coming from. Everytime we improve the chatter I go half a second quicker, it's not just a little step. It's the quickest I've been around here and I know there is more that can come off but I can't believe how quick Rossi is going around here. That is incredible. I've come with the same attitude as ever to push as hard as I can but fortunately for this circuit has been quite good as we have been able to eliminate most of the chatter and I can push as hard as I want. We are by no means on the pace I would like to be but at least we are moving in the right direction. I don't want to change too much now and ruin it for the race. I've done 30 laps on the front tyre so I'm happy with that as it is the bigger tyre as well, so it's just a matter of finding a decent rear tyre for the distance. Carlos Checa (17th, 1'59.289, 22 laps) "I think that is the worst qualifying session of my entire life. I don't know what happened but everything we tried nothing worked. It is very frustrating after how we felt after the first day when we were seventh fastest. Today was a major disappointment because I couldn't lap quicker on qualifiers today that what we did yesterday We haven't got too much time to find a cure and even if we do it will be very hard work from so far back on the grid. I think I will have to put it down to one of those days and hope we can work a bit of magic overnight. Saying that it mightn't be as bad as it seems because the lap times during the race will be nothing like the qualifying laps so that may help us to stay in touch if I can get a good start and stick with the pack Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director Clearly this is not a good day for the team. We were expecting a lot better especially after the last race in the US before the break. Although yesterday we did quite a good pace we have never been on the pace. We seem to have a lot of chatter and we didn't find any real solution to get rid of it and that is what is upsetting Carlos the most. On the other hand, I am quite happy with James. He has been using his qualifying tyre really well to be over a second quicker than on his race tyre. That is the only good point of the weekend so far. We have been struggling. We're nowhere near where we are supposed to be. Dunlop brought many, many new products but we haven't been able to test them properl. We are not so far off on race tyres so hopefully that will help us tomorrow. The only good news is that we have another two days to test here after the race to try and understand what is happening and to fix the problem for the next three overseas races. The other thing that may help us a bit is the weather. We do not pray for rain but if the situation remains the same the race will be quite difficult for us. We will be looking for a few points and then to work hard on Monday and Tuesday. Circuit Length: 5403 Temp: 25 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Brno 19/08/2006 Qualifying 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'56.191 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'56.441 3 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'56.603 4 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'56.694 5 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'56.770 6 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'56.875 7 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'56.913 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'56.967 9 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'57.139 10 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'57.185 11 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'57.221 12 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'57.679 13 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'57.894 14 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'57.906 15 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'58.239 16 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'59.011 17 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'59.289

Valentino Rossi got back to dominant form today as the MotoGP World Championship returned to action in the Czech Republic following a brief summer break. The Italian was able to bounce back from his Laguna Seca disappointment with a series of fast laps at the Brno circuit after quickly finding a good base set-up for his YZR-M1 machine. After lapping second quickest in the morning practice, just 0.047 seconds behind series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), Rossi ended the day on top of the time sheets after improving by almost two seconds in the afternoon - with only Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki) able to lap within 0.5 seconds of his best effort. It was also a positive first day for Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, who started the day with one of his two bikes configured with the same settings used by Rossi on his way to victory and the circuit lap record last season. The information immediately put the Texan on the front foot and, after reacquainting himself with the YZR-M1 machine following his recent exertions on a Superbike in the Suzuka 8 hour race, he was also able to pick up the pace in the afternoon and lapped fourth fastest. Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'57.871; 34 laps) "Today was very positive for me because the bike worked well from the start and then we tried some things that improved it even more. We have experimented with some new suspension settings to help the tyres work properly, especially the rear, and they had the effect we wanted so I am happy about this. This year has been difficult because we have struggled so much in practice and then I have ended up on the third or fourth row of the grid, so I am pleased to start off like this. We also tried a qualifying tyre today, in order to give us more of an idea about what we need to adjust tomorrow in the afternoon session in order to challenge for a place at the front of the grid. This is really why I am in first place but anyway the race setting is also good and I was second fastest in the morning practice too so we know we have the pace. Tomorrow we need to continue working like this." Colin Edwards (4th - 1'58.851; 38 laps) "It's strange that after all the bad luck we've had this season we should roll up here at Brno and things suddenly seem to be turning around! We turned up here today and decided to start with two different settings - one based on what we found in the test last year and the other on Valentino's 2005 race setting. I have changed my riding style since then so I went out and tried both this morning and basically Valentino's setting worked and mine didn't! I felt really comfortable with that so we went with it in the afternoon and just continued making small modifications so that it suits me better. It's early days yet but it is important to get a good start and also a relief to know that we are onto something good. Hopefully the good work can continue tomorrow for both Valentino and I." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It was a good start to the weekend and just what we were looking for after the engineers worked so hard during the summer. This is only the first day and we all know the important thing is to continue like this and make sure we are prepared for qualifying and the race but it is nice to have such good result so early in the weekend. It looks like the bike has responded well for both Valentino and Colin so let's hope it continues to do so. Today has definitely given the team a boost and there is a very positive spirit here but it is still early days." Checa Czechs in to top ten at Brno After the opening two practice sessions for Sunday's Gauloises Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at the undulating Brno circuit, Carlos Checa on his Tech 3 Yamaha M1 clocked the seventh fastest time as fellow Yamaha rider and world champion Valentino Rossi claimed the top spot. Fresh from the summer break, Carlos was among the leaders from the outset and after the morning's opening stanza was just over a second off the pace. This afternoon he continued the progress to post a quicker time than series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) and is confident that changes overnight will improve his lap times even further. His teammate, James Ellison time was better than his 17th position indicated as his fastest lap was completed right at the end of the session but mysteriously was not included in the official lap times. As such, James is confident that he can move up the pack and hopefully secure his best grid position of the year in tomorrow's solitary qualifying session Carlos Checa (7th, 1'59.254, 45 laps) "This morning we had a little bit of trouble testing a few tyres that we thought would work quite well but they didn't. Then we found something in a better direction and this afternoon we started working with the tyres giving up better support and better grip. At this stage it seems we have good endurance. The grip level when the tyres have average wear is better than we expected so maybe we might go with a softer compound. So far the direction of the bike and tyres is quite clear. Our lap times are good but like many we used qualifiers at the end. Basically with the race tyre we have been in the top ten for all of the practices and I can be quite consistent in my lap times. We'll try to improve different areas of the bike tomorrow with the grip of the tyres, turning and reduce the chatter. If we can do that I know that we will go quicker and get an even better lap time. "The grip of the track is ok - its amazing for an old track it is still looking pretty good. Some areas have a few bumps but considering how long since the asphalt has been down maybe they can show the Americans how to make asphalt! "The chatter has nothing to do with the track but under hard braking on the front and flicking it in. Compared to this morning we have reduced a lot and I think that with a few changes to the settings we will make more progress. After the break it is good to be back and this is a good start for the rest of the year." James Ellison (17th2'02.426, 33 laps) "I don't know what happened to my fastest time because I passed the flag bang on time but they didn't count it. I don't know what happened. It came up on the computer but basically they erased the lap. It doesn't really worry me as it is only practice. We're just making steady progress with all the changes we have made. We have lowered it overall, softened the front and lifted the rear up again, just to get the balance right. It feels pretty good and, like Carlos, we have to eliminate the chatter but every tyre we are putting in it is getting less and less. With the qualifier it came back a bit but that's because you have better grip, you're pushing it harder and have more confidence braking later and things like that. Now we have to run those times on race tyres. We will be able to do it- I know that - because all the changes have been going in a positive direction. I reckon I can take at least a couple of seconds off because I did it last year on race tyres. That's the frustrating thing about it because I know I can do it and I'm on a much better bike than last year. You don't come back to a circuit 12 months later on a much superior bike and go slower so I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director It's good to be back after the summer break. I think everyone was looking forward to the holiday but after two weeks off we all wanted to go racing again. We are happy to be here as it is always a good GP in the middle of August. Our two riders stayed in the US after the GP to work on their fitness and they are in good shape. While we had a rest, Dunlop certainly didn't as after our good result in America, they have brought a new batch of tyres along for the weekend and first indications are that they are again an improvement on what we were using recently. For the first day of the second part of the season we have done a lot of consistent laps and we are happy so far. Every team has been testing qualifying tyres this afternoon and I think that Dunlop have made some improvements in the qualifying tyres as well because both Carlos and James seem quite happy with them although, James's fastest lap time wasn't recorded because something happened to his time when the flag came out. His time is over a second quicker than was recorded. We have to wait and see what tomorrow may bring but at this stage I feel we are in a good shape for the race. Circuit Length: 5403 Temp: 27 Weather: Dry 2006 MotoGP Brno 18/08/2006 Free Practice Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'57.871 2 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'58.028 3 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'58.470 4 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'58.851 5 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'59.119 6 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'59.240 7 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'59.254 8 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'59.258 9 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'59.313 10 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'59.406 11 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'59.515 12 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'59.607 13 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'59.919 14 Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'59.995 15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 2'0.507 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 2'2.426

The Camel Yamaha team return from a three-week holiday next weekend to tackle the first of a final spell of six races that will determine whether reigning MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi can turn around his fortunes and make a sixth consecutive defence of the title he has held since 2001. The Czech Republic Grand Prix takes place at the legendary circuit of Brno, located just over 200 kilometres south-east of the capital city of Prague, where last year Rossi took victory and the lap record as he edged towards his fifth straight title. The scenario is dramatically different for Rossi this time around but a similar performance is required as the Italian aims to close down the 51-point gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda). It is a tough task but certainly not impossible, as Yamaha legend Wayne Rainey proved in 1992 when he pipped the injured Mick Doohan to the title despite lying 65 points behind with only five races remaining. Fittingly this weekend marks the thirteen-year anniversary of Rainey's final 500cc victory for the factory at Brno and is also precisely a decade since Rossi took his maiden Grand Prix win at the very same circuit in the 125cc class. Since then Rossi has added to his Brno tally with a further 250cc success and three wins in MotoGP - including last year's dominant display on the Yamaha. Colin Edwards can't wait to reacquaint himself with his YZR-M1 machine after riding a specially prepared YZF-R1 SP Superbike alongside Noriyuki Haga in the Suzuka 8 Hour two weeks ago. The prestigious Japanese race proved to be a brief but eventful affair for the American after he was knocked to the ground on lap one and then mounted a stunning recovery, only to suffer a mechanical failure a few laps later - continuing a run of bad luck almost comparable to that of Rossi. Despite the shortened holiday Edwards was able to take crucial time out to recharge his batteries at home in Texas and he returns to Europe even more determined to turn things around. Valentino Rossi: Race by race This time last season Valentino Rossi arrived in the Czech Republic knowing that two more wins would be enough to seal the MotoGP World Championship title but, for only the second time in his premier-class career, 'The Doctor' must now accept that with six races remaining his destiny is out of his hands. The latest chapter in a catalogue of misfortune came immediately before the holidays at Laguna Seca, where a win for Nicky Hayden combined with a breakdown for Rossi left the Italian focusing simply on his performance in each approaching race. "This year I've had a lot of bad luck and Laguna could not have been worse, but now we have had twenty days of holiday to relax and forget about what happened there," says Rossi. "Hopefully after this rest we can try to do something better in Brno. It isn't one of my favourite tracks but last year it was a great race for me; almost perfect, with the fastest lap and the victory. I know that everyone at Yamaha and Michelin has been working hard in the break and hopefully in Brno we can come out fighting on Friday morning and make the most of the weekend. "I don't know what to say about the championship to be honest. We only have six races left which is maybe not enough to make up the difference but anyway I want to try to have some fun and win as much as possible. Right now I'm not even thinking about the championship. I want to take it race by race and try to find a better way forward with this bike and these tyres so I can have some fun and try to win some more races." Colin Edwards: Refreshed and relaxed If anyone has endured as much bad luck as Rossi this season it is his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards, whose Suzuka misfortune came on the back of illness at his home Grand Prix in the USA and, just a few weeks previously, a last-corner crash that denied him of his first MotoGP victory at Assen. However, after spending some time with his young family at home in America, the 'Texan Tornado' is confident he can kick up a storm at Brno. "It's been really good to have a holiday because this season, especially during June and July, has been incredibly hard and I definitely needed some time off to relax with my friends and family," says Edwards. "Now I am feeling ready to get back on my bike and enjoy the last six races. After the disappointment of Laguna I went to Suzuka for the Eight-Hour and sadly that didn't work out either - it was a long way to go for six laps! Anyway, I've since had two weeks holiday at home in Texas with my family and I'm feeling refreshed and relaxed now and ready to get going again for the last six races. "Things haven't worked out exactly how we would have liked up until now but I know that when our package is working we can fight at the top and this is what I am determined to do for the rest of the season. Brno is a track I really like and I've been racing there a long time so I know it pretty well. There's always a good atmosphere there as everyone's nice and chilled out after their holidays! I'm going to give the weekend everything I've got and hopefully the bike will work well so we can get a good result under our belts to set us up for the three flyaways." Davide Brivio: Keeping the faith Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio echoes Rossi's sentiments about the championship being a 'race by race' affair but outlined the determination of his staff to back up their World Champion with 100% commitment until the end of the season. The Italian admits his team faces a tough challenge over the final six rounds but insists that they will not give up on the title until it is a mathematical impossibility. "Brno is the start of the final stage of the season and we go into it finding ourselves in a difficult situation," admits Brivio. "We are obviously not where we would like to be in the championship with six races to go but we will not give up and every member of the team is ready to fight until the end. Of course we still want to win the title and we still believe we can do it. We have had a lot of misfortune during the season but we still have faith in our potential. "The break was good for everybody but after Laguna Seca we are looking forward to getting back on the track and trying to win races again. That is Valentino's goal for every Grand Prix between now and the end of the season. Because of the Eight-Hour Colin barely had a day off for seven weeks before the holiday so I think he needed the break more than anybody and we are looking forward to seeing him back in good shape. Our target for both riders is simply to improve our level of performance and try to win every race." Technically speaking: Brno according to Matteo Flamigni The current Brno circuit is encircled by the tendrils of the various 'real' road layouts that made up the Czech Grand Prix venues of yesteryear. Used for a Grand Prix for the final time in 1977, the old track was replaced in 1987 by what is basically the current incarnation, subtly altered in 1996 to measure 5.403km in length. Brno has come a long way since riders used to judder across its cobblestone sections but its winding chicanes and dramatic elevation changes still provide an interesting challenge for the riders and their engineers. "Firstly Brno is a difficult track for the riders because it is so wide - around 15m in some parts - and that makes it easy for them to run off line and make mistakes," explains Matteo Flamigni, Data Engineer for Valentino Rossi. "From a set-up point of view we have to give the rider a bike which is strong under braking because there are many areas where a rider can pass or be passed in downhill turns, which adds to the normal stress of braking. The bike must also be stable in the long fast corners, such as turns one, nine and thirteen, and then agile for the chicanes. This is always a compromise situation at any circuit but especially at Brno, where the chicanes are also combined with elevation changes. "The balance of the bike is critical towards the end of the lap because there is a lot of weight transfer between hard uphill acceleration, which naturally lifts the front end, and braking into the chicanes, where the rider must wait for the front to load up again before turning in. Brno is one of the circuits where you can most clearly see the evolution of the MotoGP bikes since changing from two-stroke to four-stroke because a good lap time has come down by around five seconds, even though the track hasn't changed. As well as showing the general improvement of the bikes and tyres, this outlines the need for a lot of horsepower on the long uphill straights, where gearbox settings are also crucial." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 167 (108 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 41 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: 59 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Brno Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005, 1'58.787 Brno Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005, 1'57.504 2005 Czech Republic Grand Prix Results: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 43'56.539 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati, +1.837 3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda +3.444 7. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Yamaha, +13.532

At a fitting, historic and emotional stage of his home Grand Prix and favourite circuit at Namur, World Champion Stefan Everts completed a successful title defence of his MX1 crown and gave the YZ450FM its third consecutive MX1 distinction this afternoon. By dominating both motos at the Citadelle for the 12th round of 15 in the 2006 FIM series the 33 year old Belgian remains undefeated every year since the inception of the MX1 competition in 2004. His tenth World Championship in a eighteen year career, achieved through 125, 250, 500, MXGP and MX1 classes, was also the sixth title in succession with Yamaha in an unparalleled streak of results and glory since 2001. In that time Everts has broken the record for most Grand Prix victories and won three classes on the same day when the 2003 season saw 125, MXGP and 650 categories run with just one moto. The '06 campaign has been momentous for the Rinaldi-led Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team and the new aluminium framed YZ450FM. Everts has won 21 motos in a row and all twelve Grand Prix. He now has reached a total of 99. After a bright and sunny day of practice Sunday dawned cloudy but also warm. The track, already rough and extremely technical after the wear of practice and qualification, was a severe test of concentration and stamina for the MX1 and MX2 competitors. On the brink of history Everts was cheered on by a willing 30,000 partisan crowd and the team had both of their riders flying formation for the first two laps of the opening moto as Cédric Melotte grabbed the holeshot and led Everts. The Champion soon took control and enacted a familiar scene of drawing away from his pursuers. The second race was a repeat with Everts owning the race by forging a blistering speed in the formative stages. On a day when his son celebrated his second birthday there was also the novelty of another generation of the Everts clan rolling back the years as Stefan's father Harry took to the track in the first ever Veteran's World Cup and finished second overall onboard a YZ250F. Cédric Melotte was competing at his home Grand Prix and the site of his first World Championship victory in 2003 (650 class). The local-born rider grabbed a sensational holeshot in the first moto and would go on to secure his best result of the season with two finishes of 4th and 5th for 4th overall. After treating a breathing problem during the week, Cédric set a decent pace within the top five and was able to produce two positive races for the third time this year. Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team With a lead of 168 points over Kevin Strijbos Everts cannot be caught in the three remaining Grand Prix due to take place in Ireland, Holland and France. He will have these opportunities to reach the magical 'ton' in terms of his career victory tally and a memorable send-off is planned for Ernee and his final race on September 17th. Melotte is currently holding eigth in the standings and six points from seventh. The MX1 paddock will now disperse for two free weekends before the Grand Prix of Ireland at the Desert Martin circuit brings the fraternity back together for round 13 on August 26th/27th. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "What a great day. I never dared dream of becoming World Champion here at Namur. It has always been a very special place with a special atmosphere. It is a unique track that is hard and demanding. Both races went pretty good. At one point there was a difficult moment for me in each moto because the terrain was so bumpy, slippery and so rough. I had to be really careful because this is one of the hardest circuits in the world and you can only really appreciate it if you get out there and try forty minutes. The motos worked out well though and I am so happy for my 99th victory and the Championship. I had such an exciting feeling going out on the track and unfortunately it is my last time here but I cannot think of a better way to go out. What else can I say?" Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I did not feel the pressure so much of racing at home this year. This is my best result so far and I could finish in the top five twice. I am happy because today was a tough track; very hard and physical. I made some tests with my lungs this week and found out that I have been suffering with an allergy and asthma. I took the right treatment and feel much better. In the first moto it was great to lead for two laps in front of my fans. I had the holeshot in my mind before the race so to take it was great and I just wanted to lead as long as I could. Stefan was pushing a little bit and passed me, I settled into a speed I could make and finished fourth. In the second moto I followed Strijbos for fifth and I was really happy for a good overall position." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a fantastic day and a great conclusion to the season, even if it isn't over yet. It was a familiar GP for us. Good starts and controlling the motos; Stefan may have had some more pressure than usual but he did not show it. What is unbelievable is not that Stefan wins, but how he does it; victory is all he wants. Yamaha is doing a great job. The new bike gave an extra boost to Stefan and with his motivation in his final season it was the perfect tool for a perfect job." Cedric Melotte Michele Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "There is not much I can say as you can imagine. I think Stefan managed something that not even he was expecting this season. He did a fantastic job and it even seemed to easy at times. We have had a great atmosphere in the team and he has won everything so far so his decision to finish his career with Yamaha was 100% correct. Our bike has never stopped this year and we have done a lot of work; the result of which can be seen on the track. We could not have imagined a season like this." Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe N.V. - Racing Division: "This is amazing and I think it will take a long time before people really appreciate what has happened. Ten titles for Stefan is unbelievable and for us six titles in six years is also something incredible. Technically we have had almost no problems at all in that period and for that we must give a big thank you to all the guys in the team. Success is about the rider and the bike but it is also about the guys who prepare the bike. The team have won all those titles but still remain so motivated to win. Overall this is a super day for everyone connected with the team and Yamaha." Circuit Length: 2477 Temp: 24 Crowd: 30000 Weather: Sunny 2006 GP of Namur, Belgium 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 43'13.152 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'11.409 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'14.665 4 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 0'16.980 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'19.086 6 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 0'34.115 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'54.119 8 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'8.640 9 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 1'13.201 10 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'24.525 11 James Noble Honda GBR 1'36.862 12 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'46.520 13 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'49.243 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'52.460 15 Cyril Coulon Suzuki FRA 1'54.428 16 Marko Kovalainen Honda FIN 2'4.810 17 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'7.248 18 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 2'12.617 19 Marc Ristori Honda CHE 2'14.930 20 Jaka Moze Suzuki SVN 2'16.058 Race 2 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 41'10.064 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'17.973 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'28.484 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'46.443 5 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 0'52.909 6 James Noble Honda GBR 0'57.447 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'2.393 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'14.458 9 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 1'23.714 10 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'27.292 11 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'31.291 12 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'39.857 13 Christian Beggi Honda ITA 1'43.852 14 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 2'4.429 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'17.104 16 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 2'22.634 17 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps 18 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 19 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 20 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 2'38.204 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 592 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 424 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 408 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 371 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 365 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 273 7. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 230 8. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 9. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 210 10. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 202 11. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 12. James Noble Honda GBR 186 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 138 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 137 16. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 127 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 106 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 592 2. Suzuki 489 3. Honda 447 4. Kawasaki 369 5. KTM 351 6. TM 138 RACE REPORT 06/08/2006 First 2006 double moto succes for Cairoli Antonio Cairoli The MX2 Grand Prix of Belgium took place at a bustling and vibrant Namur circuit today and World Champion Antonio Cairoli gave Yamaha a perfect afternoon with his first double moto success of the season and his second overall victory of the campaign. The De Carli racing representative - competing at the site of his maiden victory in 2004 - beat David Philippaerts in the first sprint after his Italian rival ran wide while leading and collected green fencing in his rear wheel. Cairoli was waiting in his tracks for a passing opportunity and moved through for his eighth moto triumph this term. In the second event he started brightly and resisted attention from Carl Nunn and then Christophe Pourcel for win number two in convincing fashion. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen experienced a Grand Prix in stark contrast to his Yamaha compatriot. The Norwegian got out of the gate poorly in both motos and hit the ground during each race. He only picked up three points for 18th in the opening foray. Team-mate Davide Guarneri had been feeling unwell in the build-up to the Grand Prix and retired in the first moto with a headache. He then crashed in Moto2 and again was forced to retire. Antonio Cairoli Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing rider Billy Mackenzie took a decent jump from the gate in Moto1 and finished 7th but a fall on a frantic set of opening corners on the Esplanade later in the day relegated him to the back of the pack. The third member of the Yamaha Team Ricci Alessio Chiodi was ruled out of contention on Saturday afternoon when a rock struck his right hand and broke one of his fingers. The Italian was in too much pain to take part in the rest of the Grand Prix. His withdrawal means the sixth non-score after a very promising opening to the season was wrecked by a knee injury at Sugo in May. Cairoli is second in the World Championship standings, 26 points behind Pourcel, with three Grand Prix and 150 points remaining on the 2006 schedule. Mackenzie is also part of the top ten and lies 7th. Antonio Cairoli - Team Yamaha De Carli: "We have a good setting on the 250 with De Carli for this track and I like it a lot since taking the win here in 2004. It felt great to win both heats and make a double here. I rode better than I did last year and could change my lines very easily with the suspension set-up we had, so the track was not so hard for me this time. I have been struggling with my physical condition this year but things are getting better now. I am not thinking of the championship I just want to ride well and win more heats. Christophe is very young but he is controlling the class well; he does not make big mistakes and is finishing every race." Kenneth Gundersen Kenneth Gundersen - Yamaha Team Ricci: "In the first moto I made a bad start but I was still in the top ten when I lost the front end into a corner and on the top of a step-down. I completed the rest of the race to get some training done. In the second moto I was last off the start and crashed after 15 or 20 minutes. I did not have much confidence and decided to stop. Normally this track is perfect for me and yesterday it was really good but things did not work out in the races." Circuit Length: 2477 Temp: 24 Crowd: 30000 Weather: Sunny 2006 GP of Namur, Belgium 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 43'9.307 2 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'2.531 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.378 4 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'36.668 5 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'37.729 6 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'38.835 7 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'4.262 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'4.687 9 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'16.247 10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'18.581 11 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'30.575 12 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'35.528 13 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'46.824 14 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'59.253 15 Shaun Simpson Honda GBR 1'59.537 16 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 2'7.078 17 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 2'10.294 18 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 2'15.929 19 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA 2'16.646 20 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 2'19.960 Race 2 - 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 41'55.640 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'4.597 3 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'6.644 4 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'18.363 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.627 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'39.360 7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'40.970 8 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'44.443 9 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 0'45.639 10 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 0'49.984 11 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 0'55.966 12 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'16.716 13 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 1'22.385 14 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'26.360 15 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1'27.561 16 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 1'52.850 17 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'59.849 18 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 2'9.095 19 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 2'30.325 20 Jonas Wing KTM SWE -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 2'38.198 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 458 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 432 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 393 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 352 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 338 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 307 7. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 264 8. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 259 9. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 254 10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 251 11. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 236 12. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 13. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 200 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 167 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 105 17. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 98 18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 97 19. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 80 37. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 546 2. Yamaha 526 3. Kawasaki 483 4. Honda 195 5. Suzuki 22

Yamaha Motor Italia rider Noriyuki Haga thrilled the large and passionate Brands Hatch crowd by taking his YZF-R1 to a spectacular win in the eighth round of the Superbike World Championship today. Team-mate Andrew Pitt rode brilliantly to take a hard fought third place to give the team its second double podium finish of the season. Haga was involved in a race long battle with series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) to take the race two victory by just two tenths of a second after 85km of breathtaking racing. Earlier in the day Haga finished third in race one after contesting the lead with Bayliss and Honda rider James Toseland. For the second outing Haga switched to his back-up machine, which used alternative settings, to take his fourth win at the venue in three years. In a thrilling race the pair were never separated by more than a quarter of a second as they crossed the line for lap after lap. Championship leader Bayliss applied considerable pressure in the final lap but the Yamaha man, wearing a new helmet design for this race, showed all of his experience and legendary late braking skills to take his first race win of the year and the 20th of his illustrious world superbike career. Team-mate Pitt proved to be one of the stars of the show at Brands, providing plenty of thrills for the fans as he overcame bad starts to take a third and fourth place finish. The Australian over-revved his YZF-R1 on the line on both occasions, relegating him to the middle of the pack. The former supersport world champion was able to match the pace of the very fastest men, working his way to fourth in the opener and a fine third in the second race to complete a great day for the Italian Yamaha squad. Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert brought their Yamaha Motor France machines home in the points in both races, with two 13th places for the Japanese and a 14th and 15th for Frenchman Gimbert. The team's Brands Hatch novice Shinichi Nakatomi improved each time he took to the technically demanding English circuit, finishing 17th in race two, an improvement of two places on his opener. Twenty-one-year-old wild-card Tommy Hill came home an impressive 11th on his Virgin Mobile Yamaha YZF-R1 in the day's first race but was forced to retire with technical problems in the second. With two thirds of the season gone, Haga retains second in the championship, 77 points behind Bayliss and 11 ahead of third placed James Toseland. Pitt stays sixth in the points and has reduced the gap to fourth placed Troy Corser (Suzuki) to 36 points. Honda's Alex Barros is fifth in the series. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "In the first race I could not push as hard as I wanted to in the last five laps and for the second race I used my other bike, which had other settings. I had a big fight with Troy and I was determined not to see his exhaust pipes again. It feels so good to win today. We have been close so many times, especially at the first race - where I crashed on the last lap - but for some reasons I have not been able to take the win. Today the feeling with the bike was very good and the tyres worked perfectly all the way to the end." Andrew Pitt Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I made a terrible start in both races, which is surprising as our R1 is normally one of the quickest bikes off the line. I think that I was a bit anxious and just gave it too many revs, but each time I lost a lot of places. I just had to get my head down and get through as quickly as possible. My rhythm was good and I was pleased with my fourth place in race one, so to top it off with a podium is a fantastic end to the day. I'm especially pleased as I have some friends over from Australia for this race. They've come a long way so it is great to give them something to cheer." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "Brands Hatch is difficult, very difficult, and until yesterday our chances were dead. In the race things were not so bad, and in race one I finally had a battle with many riders, and scored points. So compared to qualifying, it was a big jump up. It was the best I could do. We changed the setting between races and in the beginning it was not so bad, just at the end of the race the rear was moving and sliding and my lap time went up and up. But compared to qualifying, it was much better." Tommy Hill Tommy Hill (Virgin Mobile Yamaha) "These boys are on it, and it was definitely a fast pace out there. I just needed to get past Nieto to get up to Walker and Kagayama, but it took too long. We changed the rear tyre to get more grip on the rear in race two but the bike had no drive and I had to stop. That was disappointing but things are a different league here and I have learned a lot." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "In the first race I was able to make a good start but lost a few places when I made a small mistake. After around four laps the tyre lost some grip but I tried to push as hard as possible to get a point. In the second race my start was not so good and I had to fight hard to get 14th." Shinichi Nakatomi Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "This was a very difficult track. Enjoyable to ride but difficult to learn and go fast on. In race one, the feeling was better than in practice, and race two, it was better again. Results were not so good, but my feelings about the improvements were better." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "This is a great result for the team to take into the month's break. After the first race Noriyuki said to me that he could not go any faster on that bike - but he felt he could win on the other bike. I think he had only done about 10 laps on that bike over the three days but he knew what he was doing and rode brilliantly in the second race. Andrew rode well in the first race but said that he needed to make a better start. Unfortunately in the second race he made an even worse one but was able to make it through for our second double podium of the season." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Not so bad, because again we had each rider finish, six out of six. We also had two riders in the points so for us, as a team developing kit parts, this is not so bad. In front we only had factory bikes, so I am proud of this result." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 29 Crowd: 115,000 2006 WSB Brands Hatch 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 25 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 36'26.855 2 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'1.657 3 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'2.248 4 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'2.860 5 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'9.666 6 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'16.731 7 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'16.892 8 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'20.707 9 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'25.196 10 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'25.338 11 Tommy Hill Yamaha GBR 0'26.477 12 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'26.709 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'27.335 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'29.465 15 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'39.195 19 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'51.243 Race 2 - 25 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 36'29.709 2 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 0'0.184 3 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 0'2.242 4 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'6.523 5 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'7.073 6 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 0'7.521 7 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'10.903 8 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 0'19.715 9 Alex Barros Honda BRA 0'22.202 10 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'26.797 11 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'29.702 12 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 0'29.804 13 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 0'31.829 14 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'34.177 15 Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki ITA 0'35.267 17 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'43.413 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time James Toseland Honda GBR 1'26.351 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 307 2. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 230 3. James Toseland Honda GBR 219 4. Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 193 5. Alex Barros Honda BRA 166 6. Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 157 7. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 126 8. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 96 9. Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 96 10. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 87 11. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 84 12. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 83 13. Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 77 14. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 72 15. Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 66 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 29 19. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 18 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 317 2. Honda 267 3. Yamaha 259 4. Suzuki 259 5. Kawasaki 140 6. Petronas 4 RACE REPORT 06/08/2006 Parkes and Curtain make a perfect day for Yamaha Germany Broc Parkes Broc Parkes scored an exemplary start to finish win at Brands Hatch today as team-mate Kevin Curtain moved to the top of the championship table in Yamaha Motor Germany's second successive one-two finish. Starting from pole position Parkes was able to fend off early challenges from Honda team-mates Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu before consistently pulling away to win by almost two seconds at the end of a tough 23 lap race. For the second year in a row Curtain found himself crowded out at the first corner and resigned to fighting his way through the pack. The veteran Australian ended the first lap in seventh but carved his way through the field, setting a new lap record on lap five and joining the leading trio on lap four. After sitting behind Charpentier and Sofuoglu for the mid section of the race, Curtain took second place with an audacious move around Sofuoglu as they entered the daunting Paddock Hill bend for the 20th time. Curtain's 20 points takes him onto equal points with Charpentier, who slipped back to sixth at the chequered flag. Both men are tied on 131 points, with Parkes moving right back into the title chase - just 12 points behind the leading duo with eight of the 12 races run. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha's other competitors had a tough day at Brands Hatch. Misano winner Massimo Roccoli had been part of the group battling it out behind the leaders but was forced to settle for ninth after struggling for grip in the latter laps. His Yamaha Team Italia colleague Gianluca Vizziello ran in 11th for much of the race but was forced to pull in due to sickness. The Italian was suffering from a fever and decided to pull in on safety grounds after 14 laps. Yamaha GMT94's David Checa finished an unusually low 21st, suffering from a crash sustained in Friday's qualifying session. Parkes' win also takes Yamaha to within nine points of Honda in the manufacturer's championship in the latest YZF-R6's first year of world supersport competition. The series now takes a one month break, before resuming at the historic Assen circuit in the Netherlands on 3 September. Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "That was the perfect win for me. I knew that I didn't want to be playing around in a battle with these guys so I got my head down and tried to break away. It's not always easy when you've got a bit of a lead and although the bike ran perfectly I could hear all these imaginary engine noises in my head! I tried not to think about the win too much and just ran the laps down like it was a practice session. There's still a third of the season to go, at four tracks that I like, and with only a 12 points between me and Kevin I'm right back in the championship. It's between the three of us for the title now and I can't wait until Assen." Kevin Curtain Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "I got a bad start again and I wasn't sure if I could mow them down or not. In the end I was able to get the Hondas, but unfortunately by the time I got past Kenan I couldn't catch Broc on that other Yamaha! That said, I'm delighted with the result today. We had a few bad results from the middle of the season but we are right back on track now. Everything's level in the championship so it is back in our own hands again." Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start only to lose three or four places when I made a mistake at Druids on the first lap. I was with the second group and tried hard to get to the front but the bike started sliding around and I couldn't push as hard as I wanted. By the end by front tyre was sliding around too so I could only think about the championship and bring it home for as many points as possible." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I have had a high temperature all weekend but tried to push as hard as I could in the race. It was going ok but in one lap I just felt all the power drain out of my body and I decided that it was safer to pull in than trying to continue." Terrell Thien (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor Germany) "This is a great result for the whole team, who have worked so hard over the past few months. Since the Misano race we have brought in a few new working practices and, as a result, everyone is working better together. We've been able to make some small improvements to the bikes, in the suspension and engine, and our tyres worked very well today too. Broc made a smart decision by going for a harder rear tyre, which proved to be very consistent over the whole race. Kevin has a smoother style and chose the softer option, and would probably have been able to run a similar race to Broc if he hadn't had to come back from a bad start. Now our team can have a well earned week's holiday before the next race in Assen." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 29 Crowd: 115,000 Weather: Sunny 2006 WSS Brands Hatch 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 34'27.306 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 0'1.758 3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'2.088 4 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'12.146 5 Cal Crutchlow Honda GBR 0'12.309 6 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'12.570 7 Stephane Chambon Kawasaki FRA 0'15.144 8 Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 0'16.848 9 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'17.058 10 Leon Camier Honda GBR 0'17.380 11 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 0'19.834 12 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 0'20.967 13 Maxime Berger Kawasaki FRA 0'21.597 14 Mauro Sanchini Yamaha ITA 0'24.048 15 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'25.071 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 1'29.074 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 131 2. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 131 3. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 119 4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 87 5. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 78 6. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 67 7. Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 67 8. Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 57 9. Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 49 10. Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 37 11. David Checa Yamaha ESP 29 12. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 27 13. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 22 14. Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21 15. Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 21 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 177 2. Yamaha 168 3. Ducati 48 4. Kawasaki 44 5. Suzuki 12 RACE REPORT 06/08/2006 Corti fourth in Brands Hatch thriller Claudio Corti Yamaha Team Italia youngster Claudio Corti overcame a bad start to take fourth place in today's sixth round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at Brands Hatch. After qualifying in seventh place, Corti found himself down in tenth at the end of the first lap. The 19-year-old European Superstock 600 champion set about cutting through the field on his YZF-R1 SP. By lap nine of the 15 lap race Corti had slotted into fourth place but, with the leaders three seconds ahead, he was unable to challenge for a podium placing. Early in the race it was Australian Brendon Roberts (Suzuki) and Spaniard Ivan Silva (Kawasaki) who took turns at leading, only to slip back in the order after making mistakes. That left Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) to battle with MV Agusta riders Ayrton Badovini and Luca Scassa in an all-Italian punch up at the front. The three passed and repassed each other throughout the race, with all three remarkably making it to the finish line - Scassa taking the honours from Polita and Badovini. Corti brought his YZF-R1 SP home in fourth, six seconds behind the leader, to move himself up to retain fourth in the championship. Polita continues to lead the series, six points clear of Badovini and a further 13 ahead of third-placed Scassa. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start but lost some positions when I touched with Rocamora going into the first corner. That left me about three seconds behind the leading group and although I could run the same times as them the gap was too much to catch up. Overall though I am happy with the result. I have scored some good points and we have been able to make some changes to the set-up which has helped me to overcome the traction problems I have had in earlier races." Circuit Length: 4197 Temp: 24 Crowd: 115,000 Weather: Sunny 2006 Superstock Brands Hatch 06/08/2006 Race 1 - 15 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 22'48.907 2 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 0'0.449 3 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 0'0.583 4 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 0'6.200 5 Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 0'7.829 6 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 0'7.904 7 Brendan Roberts Suzuki AUS 0'10.196 8 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 0'12.933 9 Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 0'14.474 10 Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 0'14.520 11 Guy Sanders Kawasaki GBR 0'14.973 12 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 0'15.055 13 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 0'15.254 14 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 0'15.329 15 Nick Henderson Suzuki AUS 0'20.965 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 1'30.037 Rider Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 115 2. Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 109 3. Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 96 4. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 65 5. Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 55 6. Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 45 7. Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 43 8. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 38 9. Richard Cooper Honda GBR 34 10. Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 30 11. Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 29 12. Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 27 13. Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 25 14. Loic Napoleone Suzuki FRA 24 15. Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 23 Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Suzuki 124 2. MV Agusta 118 3. Yamaha 83 4. Kawasaki 78 5. Honda 35