Alex Asigno

James Toseland Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow have wrapped up the final day of the two day test in Phillip Island. Both British riders spent the two days working on the chassis set-up of the new 2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 in what was its first outing of the year. The riders now take a few days of rest before heading back out onto the Australian circuit for the first race of the 2010 season this weekend. James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World superbike Team (11th, 1’32.7) “It’s been a solid two days of testing working on the new bike. I still have some chatter problems as does Cal. The guys are going to go through the data and see what they can come up with for us over the next couple of days.” Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (14th, 1’32.8) “We worked through a lot of stuff, unfortunately it’s not all worked yet. If we can get going in the right direction over the next couple of days for both of us then we can move forward. I’m looking forward to race weekend as always and will do the best job I can.” Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda world Superbike Team Manager “We have had a problem with chatter so we will spend the next few days before the race weekend studying the data to find a solution. We are confident that we will find the right one and give both James and Cal the best possible bike to race with.” Click here to view the news

Philippaerts Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team’s David Philippaerts took a perfect 1-1 set of results at a cold and dark Montevarchi circuit for the first round of four in the Italian MX1 Championship. Completing a decent day of competition for the team Gautier Paulin enjoyed a successful debut on the 2010 YZ250F and in Monster Energy colours by also claiming two victories in the MX2 category. Ken De Dycker meanwhile triumphed at Lommel in Belgium. Philippaerts beat former Yamaha GP rider Davide Guarneri in both motos for an encouraging scorecard in what was just his second outing on the new fuel-injected rear slanting YZ450F. The Italian took to the tight, twisty and hard-pack track in order to gather more data and learn more about the settings of the machine under race conditions. It was a useful day as the wet terrain as slick and bumpy and far from easy. ‘I am happy with today, we had two good results and the races were not so easy,’ the 2008 MX1-GP World Champion said. ‘We worked a little bit on suspension and I am pleased with how everything is going. Even though there were not too many Grand Prix riders here the pace was still pretty good.’ Paulin In MX2 Paulin, who only returned from the USA and his brief outing in the AMA West Coast Lites SX series last week, was unstoppable in an emphatic opening statement for the team. He took the holeshot in both motos and won the first sprint by almost half a lap, going on to celebrate another victory later in the afternoon. ‘Two good starts and a positive way to begin the year with the team,’ he remarked. ‘I am pleased with what we did here and now we head to Valence and will continue to work and get ready for the season ahead.’ In second place behind Paulin was 2009 European Champion and Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi Racing’s Christophe Charlier. The French teenager will enter his first world championship term in 2010 and begin his racing activities this year with 3rd and 2nd positions. Team-mate Harri Kullas was an encouraging 4th overall. Further north in Belgium Ken De Dycker showed his customary precision in Belgian sand by taking the 2010 YZ450F to first place overall at a snowy and icy Lommel. The Belgian took a 3rd and 1st and celebrated his first garland with Yamaha by virtue of his second moto classification. Both Yamaha Monster Energy teams will line-up again this coming weekend, this time just south of Lyon for the Valence International. Click here to view the news

Josh Hill at A3 Yamaha LandM San Manuel rider Josh Hill shares the points-lead in the 2010 AMA Supercross/FIM World Championship after scoring his fifth successive podium result and his fourth runner-up position in a row last Saturday in the final visit to the Angel Stadium, Anaheim in Los Angeles. The 20 year old finished the sixth round of seventeen behind Ryan Villopoto after a good start on the '10 YZ450F and is now tied on 123 points with Ryan Dungey. The third and last trek to Anaheim this year took place in front of over 34,000 spectators. Hill gated behind Villopoto and then had to deflect the attentions of Kevin Windham in the final stages to again ascend the second step. The consistency of the rider from Oregon has been impressive in 2010, especially as he has represented the team alone in the absence of champion James Stewart due to a broken right scaphoid. Hill 'I'm honestly starting to get sick of second place, but Ryan rode well tonight and the track was sketchy,' he said. 'I just tried to ride smart. I had to protect my lines from Windham for a while, too, and Ryan got away. I do better on the eastern tracks sometimes, so hopefully I can get a win next week.' Stewart gave an update through his official website last week: 'It's been five days now since my surgery, and my wrist is already feeling a lot better! Right now I'm following my doctor's orders so I can get back on the track racing as soon as possible. My plan is to be back out there just as soon as I can ride without pain. There's not an exact date yet, but if progress continues as is, I hope to be back very soon.' Hill is neck-and-neck with Dungey in the points and Valli Yamaha's Ivan Tedesco (who fell on lap one of the main event in Anaheim) is fifth with Joe Gibbs Racing's Justin Brayton in sixth. Brayton's team-mate Josh Grant still remains on the sidelines with an injured left shoulder and could make a return to the Indoors by the end of the campaign. Broc Tickle in LA In the West Coast Lites class Broc Tickle obtained his second rostrum finish of the season on the YZ250F and his best result so far in 2010 with second place. The Star Racing rider is currently 4th in the standings with just two more rounds to run in the category. He faces a gap of 14 points to the top three. A crash in the qualification Heat for Max Anstie meant that the British teenager could not participate in the main event and had to visit the hospital for a suspected pelvis injury. Round seven takes place next Saturday in the Lucas Oil Dome of Indianapolis as the series moves away from the West coast for the first time. Crowd: 34,227 Weather: Dry Lap Record: 0'44.601 (Ricky Carmichael , 01/01/2006) Last Years Winner: James Stewart 2010 AMA-SX Anaheim, CA 14/02/2010 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 20'28.224 2 Josh Hill Yamaha USA 0'04.678 3 Kevin Windham Honda USA 0'06.259 4 Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 0'09.609 5 David D Millsaps Honda USA 0'25.131 6 Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 0'27.819 7 Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 0'46.547 8 Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 0'47.526 9 Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 0'58.368 10 Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 1'00.565 11 Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 1'02.472 12 Chris Blose Honda USA -1Laps 13 Grant Langston Yamaha RSA -1Laps 14 Jarred Jet Browne Kawasaki USA -1Laps 15 Fabien Izoird Kawasaki FRA -1Laps 18 Weston Peick Yamaha USA -1Laps  Rider Standings 13/02/2010 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Ryan Dungey Suzuki USA 123 2. Josh Hill Yamaha USA 123 3. Ryan Villopoto Kawasaki USA 120 4. David D Millsaps Honda USA 98 5. Justin Brayton Yamaha USA 87 6. Ivan Tedesco Yamaha USA 87 7. Kevin Windham Honda USA 86 8. Andrew Short Honda USA 69 9. Nicholas Wey Kawasaki USA 61 10. Thomas Hahn Yamaha USA 56 11. Kyle Chisholm Yamaha USA 53 12. James Stewart Yamaha USA 51 13. Michael Byrne Yamaha AUS 49 14. Grant Langston Yamaha RSA 40 15. Chris Blose Honda USA 35 19. Dan Reardon Yamaha USA 20 27. Jason Lawrence Yamaha USA 4 30. Weston Peick Yamaha USA 3 32. Josh Grant Yamaha USA 1  Manufacturer Standings 13/02/2010 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 133 2. Suzuki 123 3. Kawasaki 120 4. Honda 119 5. KTM 3 Click here to view the news

Crutchlow & Toseland The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team today unveiled their new livery for the 2010 racing season. The team launched the new design on location at the Sterilgarda headquarters in Castiglione delle Stiviere to an audience of international journalists and sponsors. Riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow revealed their 2010 YZF-R1 racebikes then took time to answer questions about their upcoming season. Both two-time World Superbike champion Toseland and reigning World Supersport champion Crutchlow have the potential to fight for the championship title this year. New racing developments to the 2010 bike based upon the production crossplane crankshaft R1 include: • Increased engine power – Maximum engine power increased by 8hp, considerable power benefits over the full rev range. • Weight reduction – Overall bike weight reduced by 3kg without losing the electric starter. • Different radiator shape – For increased cooling capacity and also to reduce drag. • Different fuel tank – Now made entirely from carbon fibre with greater capability and lighter. • Re-designed bottom fairing – Narrower design for less drag, design allows for easier heat dispersal • New exhaust system – For increased power in the middle of the rev range. James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team “The first race is coming up in two weeks and testing has been really promising after riding a GP bike for two years. After the test in Phillip island personally and machinery wise everything should be set to compete at the front from the first race.” Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team “I’m looking forward to the year ahead, it’s going to be a good challenge, but tough! Testing has gone well, hopefully we can turn that into good results from the first few races and build from there. I know we can do a good job.” Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Yamaha Motor Europe Racing Manager “After an incredibly successful season last year it’s back to business. We have two new riders and we’ve taken the bike to the next level over the winter, we want to keep the world title at Yamaha. The grid is looking really tough this year but we have two of the toughest guys at the front.” Nando Sarzi, Sterilgarda Alimenti Spa CEO “We were delighted to be able to join up with Yamaha in Monza in 2009, it was amazing to be able to share the year of successful racing together. We are very excited about 2010 and are looking forward to more success and our relationship continuing to develop.” Sterilgarda joined up with Yamaha as a key Sponsor midway through the 2009 race season at the Monza round in Italy. The relationship has continued to grow successfully with Sterilgarda sharing in the championship success of 2009. For 2010 Yamaha and Sterilgarda have remained committed to strengthening their partnership further and continuing to work closely together, sharing a common passion for racing and the desire to be the best. Sterilgarda Alimenti Spa is the second largest UHT dairy manufacturer in Italy, operating from their headquarters in Castiglione delle Stiviere (Mantova, Italy) with a turnover of 258 million € (2009), main products include UHT milk and cream, béchamel sauce, pudding, yogurt, mascarpone, fruit juices and soft drinks. Photography of the 2010 livery launch along with riders Toseland and Crutchlow is available for download from Yamaha-racing.com. -ENDS- Sterilgarda company facts: - Sterilgarda Alimenti Spa founded in1969. - Based in Castiglione delle Stiviere (Mantova, Italy). - Second largest UHT dairy manufacturer in Italy. - Main products include UHT milk and cream and mascarpone etc. fruit juices and nectars, iced tea and soft drinks. -Turnover: 258 million € (2009). - Aprox. 90 % of turnover in Italy, 10 % outside Italy (mainly mascarpone – famous soft cheese). - 500 employees. - Production capacity exceeding 2.5 million products per day (aprox. 1.400 tons). - Most modern production and filling UHT/ Tetrabrik machinery in Italy. Click here to view the news

2009 Videos online Yamaha were able to celebrate titles across the board of major FIM world championships in 2009 thanks to success in MotoGP, World Superbike, World Supersport, MX1-GP Motocross and Supercross (also AMA). Fans of riders like Ben Spies, Cal Crutchlow, Tony Cairoli and James Stewart, not to mention motorcycles like the YZF-R1, R6 and YZ450F, can now watch exciting and action-packed highlight-videos of the victorious campaigns on www.yamaha-racing.com What about Spies’ impressive World Superbike debut win at Phillip Island and Crutchlow’s dramatic last corner charge at Assen? Stewart’s celebrations in front of a massive crowd at Las Vegas for the final round of the championship and Cairoli taking the title in his maiden MX1-GP season; all-in-all some priceless memories in what was a historic year. To re-live these special moments and more click on the following links: 2009 Yamaha World Superbike video 2009 Yamaha World Supersport video 2009 Yamaha World Motocross and Supercross video Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning. The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards' team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries. The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane. After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage. He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort. Colin Edwards (1st - 1'38.144; 28 laps) "The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track. Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here. I've ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike - we've barely had to touch it today. I've always gone well here and it's a circuit I've always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track. I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don't think we can call this 'The Cathedral' of MotoGP anymore - certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate. I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow." Valentino Rossi (12th - 1'39.458; 23 laps) "I'm okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it's been quite hard for me to ride! I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it's really hard. I don't have much power or feeling. Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn't breathe well for a long time. I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon. The problem this morning was that we started with a tyre that was a bit too hard on the left. When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn't have enough grip on the left side. I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air! It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard. It's a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown. The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it's not so bad. I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "I suppose it is fair to say that was a different day to normal! On one hand it was very positive because Colin was fast throughout and both he and his bike look good around this circuit. Of course Valentino had a big problem this morning but it was amazing to see him back out on track in the afternoon after such a heavy fall. Despite the pain he was in he managed to complete some laps and also gave us some feedback so let's just hope his condition improves. If Colin can continue like this and Valentino can get back to a decent level of fitness, then we should see them both on top on Saturday." Tech 3 Yamaha Team second fastest in opening practice The Tech 3 Yamaha Team proved today that persistence, hard work and dedication are rewarded as Carlos Checa finished the initial practice sessions in second fastest position for the A-Style Dutch TT on the new look Assen circuit. Checa's superlative time was just over a tenth of a second behind fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards who was fastest. Team mate, James Ellison also scored his most impressive practice time of the year to date to be only 1.5 seconds behind Edwards in 13th position, marginally behind number one Yamaha rider and multiple world champion, Valentino Rossi. As the season approaches the half-way point, the results confirm the ongoing improvement of the Dunlop race tyres, reflected in the ever decreasing gap to the top of the leaderboard. Carlos Checa (2nd, 1'38.259, 39 laps) "This is an excellent result for myself and the team and confirms all the hard work we have been doing. I now have the feeling with the Dunlop tyres that I can push more. I can go into the turn and exit the turn faster as rear stability and grip has been improving all the time. Of course we are always looking fro more but the question now is to get the endurance to last the entire race. There has been nothing changed on the bike since Barcelona and there we had improved a lot to give a better feeling but 85% of the improvement is all down to the tyres. It has been awhile since I have been in this position and sure I am happy but as a rider this is what I expect and desire. Sometimes you can't always be in front but I know the limitations and what we have We are racing in the top level with one of the best bikes in the world and I always have tried to be happy no matter how difficult the situation. This situation is getting better every race as since the tests at Le Mans and Mugello there has been a very big improvement so I feel that we a re getting closer Tomorrow, we need to make sure that we can qualify well to stay near this position and make sure we have a good tyre to do the job. We also need to find the suitable race tyre as today with the conditions and learning the new track we did not have enough time to do a proper distance but we have a good idea of which direction to go. I feel confident that after Barcelona we are closer now than we have been all year. James Ellison (13th 1'39.645, 35 laps) "This is definitely the happiest I have been all year. We just got pipped in the last few moments by Rossi and Pedrosa so maybe the position could have been even better but I'm not worried about that at the moment as we're still progressing. We're all very happy. We knew that once we could get the bike set up properly with the tyres I would be able to ride the bike the way I want to. I still don't feel like I'm right on the limit but it's the first time I'm riding like I was riding last year. It's been frustrating in the earlier races not being able to move around on the bike and use the bike aggressively. I've just had to sit on top of it and the bike was riding me. I feel a lot better on it now and I'm having fun every time I go out. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed on it, letting the bike move underneath me instead of fighting it, I'm telling it where to go and the improvements are coming now. The tyres are always improving. To be only 1.5 seconds off is a huge boost to me and a great inspiration to the team. We've been getting better every weekend and this has been a great improvement. Hopefully tomorrow is like everywhere else where the leading guys don't improve that much and I can narrow the gap a bit more because my aim this weekend is to be within a second of pole position because we always seem to be able to run quite a good race pace but we start too far back. Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "This has been a very good day today after the great weekend we had in Barcelona. We have continued to work hard with Dunlop and in the end it shows that what we are doing is paying off. Both Carlos and James had a really good race in Barcelona and that has been an inspiration to keep on pushing harder here. Dunlop has always been quite good here in Assen, so hopefully this will continue. The weekend has started in a really positive way for us and it is very satisfying to see Carlos in second position and show what the Yamaha and the Dunlop tyres can do. For sure James is also a lot better than he has ever been. Ok, it is only day one but so far we have started the weekend well and we hope we can continue in this way for qualifying and the race. It is not only just one fast lap either as both riders are putting in the consistent lap times now as they both did a lot of fast laps s o naturally we'd really like to be in this same position tomorrow afternoon We knew from the start of the year it would take time to get the results. We will test the qualifying tyres tomorrow morning to see what works and I know both riders will be endeavouring to set even faster times and hopefully we have qualifying tyres that can do the job. The only real concern is the weather forecast as we will be hoping for the dry conditions to for the weekend. Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen Circuit: Assen Circuit Length: 4555 Lap Record: new track Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.144 (Colin Edwards, 2006) Date: 22 June 2006 Temp: 18ºC Free Practice : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice 1 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 38.144 2 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 38.259 3 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 38.416 4 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 38.510 5 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 38.610 6 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 38.659 7 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 38.720 8 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 38.921 9 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 38.965 10 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 39.142 11 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 39.166 12 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 39.458 13 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 39.645 14 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 39.647 15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 1' 40.248 16 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 40.688 Click here to view the news

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

Yamaha Motocross Team's Joshua Coppins continued his 100% podium record with third place overall at a cloudy and windy Sugo circuit - crowded by 24,000 spectators -for the Japanese Grand Prix and the sixth round of fifteen in the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship today. The New Zealander rode to a brace of third positions on the works YZ450F-FM in front of the attending Yamaha president Mr Kajikawa and company employees, and thanks to a poor day for his most direct title rival, Kevin Strijbos, he extended his lead in the championship standings to more than one Grand Prix with 63 points in total. The immaculate Sugo track was again a technical and difficult prospect for the MX1 and MX2 classes. A long period of rainfall on Friday afternoon softened the terrain that was already well prepared and mixed deeply with wood chippings. The result was a mud that swiftly became rough and rutted with several lines providing ample choice and strategy for the riders. It was the third year in succession that the World Championship had visited the venue close to the city of Sendai and the third time this century for the Japanese round. Sugo, in Yamaha ownership, lies a few kilometres from the road racing complex and was established 32 years previously. After hot and bright conditions on Saturday, in which Coppins sealed his second consecutive pole position by two tenths of a second, race day was windy and cloudy with frequent sunny spells. The first moto saw a battle for second as Billy Mackenzie ran away for the first ever British win in MX1. Coppins held a position as runner-up for almost the entire moto under pressure from David Philippaerts and then Jonathan Barragan. The Spaniard was eventually able to push through with two laps to go as Coppins admitted that his riding was not the best as he sought the quicker lines. In the second sprint he again rode a lonely race to third after Ken de Dycker experienced brake trouble ahead and retired. He was close to Mackenzie and the chance of taking second place approaching the final two laps but could not get level with the eventual overall winner to overtake. Marc de Reuver had a difficult day. The Dutchman started poorly in the opening moto and then slipped off in the deeply rutted corner after the pit lane. He circulated outside of the top twenty just behind leader Mackenzie and set similar lap-times but then fell again in the final laps, this time heavily off the biggest jump on the course, and suffered a concussion with nasty black eye. Feeling dazed and dizzy De Reuver did not take to the waiting zone for the second moto. Team Jubilo Yamaha - the squad that competes in the Japanese National Championship - boasted the talents of former AMA competitor Akira Narita. The three times Japanese Champion failed to finish the first moto and picked up four points for seventeenth in the second. The Yamaha Motocross Team now travel directly back to Europe and both Coppins and de Reuver will have a free weekend before making preparations for the comparatively short trip to St Jean d'Angely in western France. The French round will constitute the seventh round of the championship and precedes the Bulgarian Grand Prix two weeks afterwards. Joshua Coppins - Yamaha Motocross Team: "I did not have a good feeling on this track, even on Saturday but I was able to push for a fast lap. I was surprised with pole position because I was struggling a little bit. I could not find the lines I wanted and couldn't get a rhythm going in the first moto. I was fighting the bike and not enjoying the race so for the second moto I tried riding a gear higher and making the bike work more for me instead of the other way around. It did not go as well as I hoped but I tried my best. I knew there would be many winners and many different guys on the podium this year but I am the only one to be here every week so far. I want to continue to do what I am doing. If 3-3 is a bad day then I am pleased with that. For sure this season is more stressful for me and the championship is always in the back of my mind but I want to win more GPs. Sometimes you have to lose the battle to win the war and that was the case today for me." Marc de Reuver - Yamaha Motocross Team: "I was fifth at the start of the first heat but made a small mistake just before the finish line. I lost some time because I had to bash the bars and levers back into position. Billy Mackenzie lapped me and I ran behind him without any problem until the big crash over the table-top. The front wheel just washed out on the landing and I hit my head hard. I don't even remember how I got back to the paddock and Michele and Carlo thought it was better that I don't ride. It is a disappointing weekend but I am lucky that I only have a black eye." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Overall it was a positive day but I cannot say that I am satisfied. In both motos Josh did not ride as well as he can and it is important to flow on this track because it is very rough. He showed his strength however to take third place both times and that was good in the circumstances. It was a very bad day for Marc. He looked very fast but made a mistake and crashed. He then fell again in a big way and luckily was not seriously injured; it was not convenient for him to race the second moto." Circuit Length: 3737 Weather: Dry 2007 GP of Sugo, Japan 27/05/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 39'31.947 2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'8.939 3 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'13.608 4 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'27.369 5 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'31.616 6 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'40.288 7 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'42.846 8 Yoshitaka Atsuta Honda JPN 0'43.191 9 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'46.266 10 James Noble Honda GBR 1'1.475 11 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'5.560 12 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'9.411 13 Kazamusa Masuda Honda JPN 1'48.276 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'49.305 15 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'51.752 16 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'5.433 17 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps 18 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL -1 Laps 19 Kohij Ohkawara Yamaha JPN -1 Laps Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Mike Brown Honda USA 40'20.363 2 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'3.066 3 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'7.996 4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'27.232 5 Yoshitaka Atsuta Honda JPN 0'9.033 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'40.274 7 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'48.099 8 James Noble Honda GBR 0'53.372 9 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'6.877 10 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'8.637 11 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'45.054 12 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'54.087 13 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'3.623 14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 15 Kuraudo Toda Suzuki JPN -1 Laps 16 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL -1 Laps 17 Akira Narita Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 18 Kohij Ohkawara Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 19 Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 20 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps Rider Standings 27/05/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 274 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 211 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 186 4. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 154 5. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 148 6. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 146 7. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 143 8. Mike Brown Honda USA 141 9. James Noble Honda GBR 128 10. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 126 11. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 120 12. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 115 13. Manuel Priem TM BEL 103 14. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 95 15. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 80 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 70 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 57 18. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 49 19. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 45 20. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 38 Manufacturer Standings 27/05/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 274 2. Suzuki 229 3. KTM 201 4. Honda 188 5. Kawasaki 187 6. TM 103 8. Aprilia 2 RACE REPORT 27/05/2007 Cairoli stays on podium after tricky Japanese GP Yamaha De Carli's Antonio Cairoli saw his winning streak of five Grand Prix come to an end in Japan but the Sicilian - who announced a new three year agreement with Yamaha the same day - took a second moto win and second position overall behind arch-rival Christophe Pourcel in the sixth meeting of the MX2 campaign. Sugo was another capable circuit on which Cairoli could show off his speed and skills. The mud was hugely technical by virtue of the holes, dips and bumps that carved very quickly into the surface. The course demanded concentration but also allowed for individual expression thanks to the choice in racing lines and vast jumps. On a warm but overcast Saturday Cairoli dominated the second qualification heat for his fifth Saturday win of the season and one that he claimed was the easiest so far. His speed ensured selection of second place in the start gate for Sunday. After an unfamiliar bad start and then a small (and rare) race crash by Cairoli in the first moto, while closing fast on Tyla Rattray for second position, the Italian lost the chance to fight for the win and he had to accept a distant third place. The 21 year old, who had won the last seven motos in succession and whose previous lowest result had been a second position in Spain, re-evaluated his approach for the next race of 35 minutes and 2 laps. He rounded the first corner at the front of the pack and unveiled a more familiar sight that motocross fans are quickly becoming accustomed to in 2007 by setting the pace ahead of Rattray and Pourcel. Both of his pursuers would crash deep into the moto giving the YZ250F pilot a clear run to the finish line for his tenth win from twelve. Pourcel was able to recover to overtake a lagging Tommy Searle for second spot in the final stages and post a better overall score for the win. Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen was again unfortunate to only place eighth overall. The Norwegian was slow out of the gate in each moto and then had to ditch his goggles twice as sand and dirt had entered the eyewear. With the roost kicked up by the rear wheels of the machines ahead he was limited in whatever progress he could make, posting twelfth and ninth by the end of the afternoon. Nicolas Aubin suffered the effects of a long trip during the week, and was not able to operate at the level normally shown by the French youngster who has arguably been one of the breakthrough performers this season. He was thirteenth and sixteenth for thirteenth overall. His team-mate David Guarneri could not score in Moto1 due to a third lap crash in which he broke his clutch. He was stronger in the second race and took ten points for eleventh in only his third Grand Prix this year. Bike It Yamaha Dixon Racing's Carl Nunn was tenth overall. The British Champion simply could not gel with the track in the first race and was disappointingly dragged down to eighteenth. The Briton gave a better account of himself in the second moto and took part in an entertaining tussle with team-mate Martin Barr (who grabbed a career best twelfth) and Guarneri. Nunn eventually moved past Gundersen for eighth place by the end of the distance. Cairoli conceded two points to Pourcel in the World Championship standings but his margin still rests at a hefty 66. Gundersen and Aubin are seventh and eighth respectively. The Grand Prix of France at St Jean d'Angely will form the seventh round of the World Championship and will take place in two weeks time. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha De Carli: "I was a bit unlucky at this GP because I felt very good in the second moto. I did not start so well in the first race and Christophe took a lead of many seconds. I lost a lot of time stuck behind a Kawasaki rider and the track was so wet; I did not want to make a mistake. My lines were not great either. After I got through I chased Christophe and Tyla. The gap was around twenty seconds and I got it down to five but I made a small error and crashed. Before the second race I watched the MX1 moto for some lines. When I got the holeshot I found my speed right away and leading the race was easy, especially after the first twenty minutes. Christophe and Tyla made some mistakes and Searle was a long way away. I want to win again in France for sure and start to take more points away from the other guys in the championship. I don't want to repeat my mistakes from last year so when the win is there I will go for it but otherwise the top three is acceptable." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I don't know why but in both motos I got sand inside my goggles and had to take them off, after that it was very difficult to ride. I had two bad starts but I gave everything I had today and I could not do any better, so in one way I am happy." Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha Team Ricci: "I had a very long journey here and as a result only slept two hours last night. I felt like I was asleep on the bike; I could not react and was making stupid mistakes. My crash in the first moto was like the mistake of a junior. Anyway, I have learned a lot for the future and I have to work hard in the next few GPs now to regain the points that I lost today." Carl Nunn - Bike it Dixon Yamaha Racing: "The first moto was really bad. Things were OK at the beginning but I then just went backwards; I did not even have any rhythm to lose. The bike wasn't working because I was not riding it correctly. I felt terrible and made everything hard work. I went down and then after that I lost all momentum. The second race was a lot better and had some good battles. I finished eighth and was happy with that because I was able to raise my game significantly. It was the first time all weekend I enjoyed the track and was able to put the bike where I wanted it to go." Circuit Length: 3737 Weather: Dry 2007 GP of Sugo, Japan 27/05/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 39'45.553 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'5.524 3 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'38.981 4 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'50.085 5 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'8.766 6 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'20.922 7 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'29.208 8 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'32.731 9 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'33.926 10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'52.268 11 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 2'2.674 12 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR -1 Laps 13 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 14 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 15 Youhei Kojima Suzuki JPN -1 Laps 16 Yu Hirata Honda JPN -1 Laps 17 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps 18 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR -1 Laps 19 Yuya Ozaki Yamaha JPN -1 Laps 20 Elliott Banks-Browne Suzuki GBR -1 Laps Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'44.387 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'5.667 3 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'9.007 4 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'30.867 5 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'44.728 6 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'47.756 7 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'3.866 8 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'7.021 9 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 1'12.036 10 Youhei Kojima Suzuki JPN 1'17.201 11 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'19.994 12 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'26.537 13 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'32.576 14 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 1'34.426 15 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'35.437 16 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'36.083 17 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'43.889 18 Tadashi Kugimura Yamaha JPN 1'56.363 19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR 2'5.405 20 Yu Hirata Honda JPN -1 Laps Rider Standings 27/05/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 292 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 228 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 218 4. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 175 5. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 173 6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 147 7. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 139 8. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 134 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 115 10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 95 11. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 90 12. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 69 13. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 65 14. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 62 15. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 58 16. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 55 17. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 54 18. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 54 19. Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 53 20. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 50 22. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 42 Manufacturer Standings 27/05/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 292 2. Kawasaki 239 3. KTM 237 4. Honda 173 5. Suzuki 103 Click here to view the news

UFO Corse Yamaha rider Simone Albergoni put his disappointing result at the opening round of the '07 World Enduro Championship series behind him at round two of the series staged in Puerta Lumbreras, Spain, where the Italian placed in third and second position in the Enduro 1 class. Feeling completely at home on his WR250, and having recorded some strong results in the opening rounds of the Italian Enduro Championship ahead of the Spanish event, Simone showed that despite his frustrating start to the WEC series he now has the speed to battle for E1 class victory. With conditions much different to those found at the series' opening winter enduro in Sweden, day one proved to be extremely difficult in places as a result of heavy rain on Friday evening. Leaving each of the events three special tests extremely slippery it was Finn Juha Salminen who managed to deal with conditions the best and claimed victory ahead of Italian Alessandro Belometti with Albergoni 10 seconds behind in third. Winning the third timed test of the day had it not been for a costly mistake in the day's eighth timed tests Simone would have placed as runner-up. Following Albergoni home on day one, and finishing less than half a second behind his more experienced team-mate, was Spaniard Cristobal Guerrero. Encouraged by his home crowd Guerrero, like Albergoni, topped one special test to claim his best result since winning the Enduro Junior world championship in '05. On day two it was again Finn Salminen that set the pace winning all but four of the day's special tests in the E1 class. But behind the six-time enduro world champion both Simone Albergoni and Cristobal Guerrero managed to get ahead of Alessandro Belometti to claim the runner-up and third place positions respectively. With Albergoni winning two special tests to place 28 seconds behind Salminen. Guerrero again placed less than one second behind his team-mate in third. In finishing third Cristobal claimed his first ever podium finish in senior WEC competition. Disappointingly for the UFO Corse Yamaha team's third E1 class rider Maurizio Micheluz the second round of the '07 WEC series didn't go as well as the Italian had hoped. Having shown good speed in the Italian championship Maurizio struggled to get to grips with the conditions and as a result placed in seventh on both days. Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 third, Day 2 second: "I am really pleased with the way the GP of Spain has gone because the first round of the championship in Sweden was terrible. I am really happy because I now have a good feeling with the bike and am able to push hard. Finishing third on day one was really good. The start of the season was difficult for me because I struggled to adjust to my Yamaha as quickly as I hoped I would, but now I am really pleased with the performance of the bike. "The second day was tough - there were several riders that we really fast so to finish second is great. I had a really good fight with my team-mate Cristobal Guerrero, which was good. I am much happier with my result and the way I am riding." Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Fourth, Day 2 Third: "It's been a great weekend for me and my first podium finish in the WEC since I won the Enduro Junior championship in '05. On day one I missed the podium by one second, which was disappointing but at the same time it was good to know that my speed was good enough to fight with the riders at the top of the class. I only made one crash so it was a good day. "Day two was really tough. The tests were much rougher than on day one and it was really close between myself, Simone Albergoni, Bartosz Oblucki and Alessandro Albergoni. I could have finished second but Simone finished less than one second ahead of me. I am really pleased with the way the weekend has gone. I'm looking forward to Portugal now." Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 Seventh, Day 2 Seventh: "It's been a bad weekend for me. I didn't feel good on the bike and just didn't have a good feeling with the special tests. I finished seventh on both days, which isn't good. I crashed many times on day one and things weren't much better on day two. I hope things will be better in Portugal." Temp: 20 Crowd: 5600 Weather: Sunny 2007 Enduro 1 Spain 29/04/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 50'3.520 2 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 50'14.070 3 Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 50'44.690 4 Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 50'45.140 5 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 51'8.520 6 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 51'33.690 7 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 51'50.430 8 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 52'10.220 9 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 52'12.080 10 Luca Cherubini Honda ITA 52'47.890 11 Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 52'57.100 12 Miquel Damien Kawasaki FRA 53'40.870 13 Danielle Tellini KTM ITA 54'23.110 14 Gonzalo Reis KTM ITA 55'14.550 15 Gregory Eyries Yamaha FRA 55'35.030 Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 49'53.300 2 Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 50'21.750 3 Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 50'21.830 4 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 50'23.930 5 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 50'48.840 6 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 50'51.260 7 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 51'14.940 8 Luca Cherubini Honda ITA 52'17.090 9 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 52'21.400 10 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 52'26.210 11 Fabio Mossini Honda ITA 53'15.260 12 Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 53'16.410 13 Danielle Tellini KTM ITA 53'49.770 14 Miquel Damien Kawasaki FRA 50'1.470 15 Gonzalo Reis KTM ITA 54'29.070 Rider Standings 28/04/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Juha Salminen KTM FIN 100 2. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 72 3. Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 69 4. Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 66 5. Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 62 6. Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 59 7. Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 49 8. Mike Hartmann KTM GER 41 9. Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 38 10. Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 36 11. Niklas Gustafsson KTM SWE 34 12. Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 33 13. Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 25 14. Luca Cherubini Honda ITA 24 15. Tobias Burman KTM SWE 21 Manufacturer Standings 28/04/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 100 2. Yamaha 72 3. Husqvarna 69 4. Honda 44 5. Suzuki 38 6. Kawasaki 16 7. TM 3 RACE REPORT 29/04/2007 Johnny Aubert wins first Enduro 2 race Yamaha mounted Frenchman Johnny Aubert produced the best result of his enduro career to date at the second round of the '07 WEC series staged in Puerto Lumbreras where he topped the highly competitive Enduro 2 class on both days aboard his WR450. Hardly putting a foot wrong on day one, and then managing to claim victory on day two despite two falls and constant pressure from reigning E2 world champion Samuli Aro, Aubert signalled his intentions to claim his first enduro world title in '07. With conditions in Spain starting wet on day one following heavy rain on Friday evening Aubert started the event in the best possible way by winning the six opening special tests on day one. Dropping just a few seconds to his E2 championship rivals on the seventh test of the day the former motocross rider then returned to his winning ways and topped a further three special tests before the day's close to win by close to one minute. Placing along side Aubert on the podium were Finn Mika Ahola and Australian Stefan Merriman. With conditions much drier and much rougher on day two than they were on day one Aubert again started well and topped the first three tests on day two. Opening up a slender lead at the head of the E2 class only to lose it following two crashes, Johnny remained focused during the second half of the day and maintained his lead to claim a deserved win. Winning a total of eight special tests in the E2 class on day two Aubert also finished as the event's overall fastest competitor on both days one and two. Finishing on the podium alongside Aubert on day two were Finns Samuli Aro and Mika Ahola. Italian UFO Corse Yamaha team rider Fabrizio Dini recorded two top 10 results aboard his WR450 in Spain placing in 10th on day one and in ninth on day two. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1 First, Day 2 First: "Day one was a little strange for me because I won the race quite easily. I didn't make any mistakes and felt really comfortable on all the special tests. Day two was a little harder because the special tests got really rough, but I still rode well. I crashed twice, and got stuck in a big rut in the extreme test on one lap, but still managed to stay at the top of the E2 results. Samuli Aro was also really fast, which meant that if I had made one more mistake I would have lost the lead, but I managed to stay in front and won like I did on day one. It's my first double victory so I am really pleased. I hope I can continue like this in Portugal next weekend." Temp: 20 Crowd: 5600 Weather: Sunny 2007 Enduro 2 Spain 29/04/2007 Race 1 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 49'10.520 2 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 50'8.540 3 Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 50'33.870 4 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 50'56.410 5 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 51'7.070 6 Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 51'25.170 7 Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 51'31.890 8 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 51'39.370 9 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 52'1.110 10 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 52'16.280 11 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 52'37.570 12 Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 53'17.950 13 Joel Smets BMW BEL 54'32.560 14 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 54'43.560 15 Sascha Eckert BMW GER 54'55.700 Race 2 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 49'16.350 2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 49'23.310 3 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 49'42.130 4 Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 50'20.590 5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 50'29.140 6 Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 50'50.750 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 51'8.130 8 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 51'11.360 9 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 51'18.680 10 Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 51'28.500 11 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 52'34.310 12 Patrick Caps GasGas BEL 52'41.180 13 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 52'54.010 14 Felipe Zanol Yamaha ESP 53'9.370 15 Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 53'35.290 Rider Standings 28/04/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Mika Ahola Honda FIN 89 2. Samuli Aro KTM FIN 85 3. Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 82 4. Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 62 5. Fabien Planet KTM FRA 62 6. Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 59 7. Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 45 8. Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 42 9. Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 39 10. Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 39 11. Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 36 12. Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 33 13. Patrik Wicksell KTM SWE 33 14. Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 32 15. Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 27 Manufacturer Standings 28/04/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 89 2. KTM 87 3. Yamaha 82 4. Aprilia 63 5. Beta 59 6. Husqvarna 42 7. HusaBerg 42 8. Suzuki 39 9. Sherco 33 10. GasGas 22 11. BMW 12 12. TM 9 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts was not able to win his home Grand Prix at a wet Mantova circuit but certainly captured the admiration and attention of the 29,000 spectators with a captivating flight from last position to fifth spot in the first moto. The performance on his YZ450FM was backed-up by a strong second place in the following race to allow the series leader to tread the third step of the podium and increase his advantage in the standings even further. Josh Coppins was content with sixth position overall. Usually a safe bet for reliable weather the Italian round of the series, on this occasion hosting the fifth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship, was wet and overcast for both days. Frequent light rain tested the resolve of the sandy all-weather venue and the Monster Energy-backed riders had to contend with both dry and wet motos during Sunday. A slippery, rough and rutted terrain provided a formidable prospect. Philippaerts, winner of the Starcross International here in February - an event that represented his race debut for the team - was just over half a second from his first pole position on Saturday but second place still marked his best qualification performance in MX1-GP. Coppins had a difficult time on the first day. Set-up issues caused him to lose track time and then he was unable to post a satisfactory lap in qualification. The New Zealander was unable not to get into a groove with the track, of which he openly professes a dislike, but also admitted that the slower, more technical conditions thanks to the rain were more to his benefit. Nevertheless he went to the gate in sixteenth. Considering his handicap Coppins produced two excellent starts. The 31 year old almost had the holeshot in Moto1 and actually accomplished the honour in Moto2. Philippaerts' was holding third position approaching the fourth turn of the opening lap in Moto1 when a rider fell in front of him. The pack was still very congested and the hold-up caused another person to hit the Italian and put him on the ground. Restarting from last the 24 year old took almost two laps to steady himself but then exploded on a 30 minute whirl of lap-times and overtaking moves that saw him pass 16 riders and arrive to fifth position behind his team-mate. His progress was cheered by the crowd on virtually every lap and he deservedly earned plaudits from the team and his followers. Coppins hit the front in Moto2 but was passed by eventual winner Max Nagl. Philippaerts, in third spot and through the first turns safely this time, gave chase to the German but it wasn't until the final circulations that he was able to break down a barrier of some five seconds to the back wheel of the leader. Coppins took another top-five finish with a relatively lonely ride but was satisfied with his day's work. Van Beers'Aigar Leok obtained his best moto result of the season with a decent eighth place in the first moto but the Estonian was unable to finish the second outing. The points table makes favourable reading for the team and also for Yamaha. In just his second season in the category Philippaerts is already setting a high pace for the title. With 28 points advantage over world champion Steve Ramon Philippaerts has a gap of just over one moto. Coppins is keeping close and is only 10 points adrift of the Belgian. Yamaha head the manufacturer's standings by 8 points. The world championship now pauses for a week before the series reconvenes at the new Mallory Park circuit for the British Grand Prix on June 1st. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 3rd: "Someone went down in front of me and when I was hit from behind I went over the bike that was lying on the ground. It was a big crash and also disappointing because I knew it would be hard to win the GP after that. I tried as hard as I could. I was watching my lap-times and I knew they were fast; I did the best lap of the race near the end and that was a good thing. In the second moto I pushed to get near to Nagl so that he would see me and maybe make a mistake but it was raining a lot and I did not want to make a mistake. I thought of the points and did not take any risks. I wanted to win here but to be on the podium is OK. The bike and the team are so good and this is a big reason why we have this lead in the championship." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 6th: "It is quite close at the front of the championship and we saw another new winner this weekend. I am the only guy from the first few in the standings who has not won yet, but it will come. I think everyone knows that I have had a hard couple of weeks and I am not riding as well as I would like, so I think we did a good job in the motos; I believe fourth and fifth was not too bad. I closed some points to Ramon and pulled away from Mackenzie. I was pleased with my starts today even if I did ride badly in the first ten minutes of both motos; I was just too slow. In the last ten minutes I am as fast as the leader but I am too stiff and not relaxed in the first moments of the races. My confidence is getting better though. I don't like this track and it is the only one of the fifteen that I struggle with, so that's another reason why I am pleased with the result. I am looking forward to England now; that is like a home GP for me. I like to think I have a chance to win there." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager: "This was good for us because from a bad day David still make a positive result. After the first two laps his speed was fantastic in the first moto. Josh was a different rider to the one we saw on Saturday so we are happy for him. He is still third in the championship but gained some points on Ramon." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 41'10.667 2, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'6.173 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'8.384 4, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'10.939 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'20.259 6, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'24.082 7, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'26.078 8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'39.106 9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'41.779 10, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'45.875 11, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 0'49.613 12, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'51.609 13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'1.909 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'25.208 15, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'30.363 16, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'37.412 17, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'40.828 18, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'44.755 19, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'55.139 20, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 2'13.916 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 40'35.621 2, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'5.258 3, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'29.696 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'36.498 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'40.720 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.055 7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'43.392 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'3.004 9, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'5.679 10, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'25.490 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'39.479 12, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'47.193 13, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'51.099 14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'57.335 15, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 2'6.591 16, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 2'9.944 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 2'11.116 18, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 2'12.155 19, Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, 2'14.916 20, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 187 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 159 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 149 4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 135 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 130 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 129 7, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 116 8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 114 9, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 105 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 98 11, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 74 12, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 73 13, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 70 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 67 15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 59 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 41 17, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 38 18, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 20, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 29 25, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 189 2, Suzuki, 181 3, Kawasaki, 170 4, KTM, 161 5, Honda, 158 6, TM, 26 ---------- RACE REPORT - 18/05/2008 Cairoli lights-up Mantova with second 2008 victory MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli bounced back from his mishap in Bulgaria, defied two injured ribs and also recovered from a second corner crash - similar to countryman David Philippaerts in MX1-GP - to win his second Grand Prix of the season at Mantova. The fifth round of fifteen in the 2008 series was again cursed by rain; bad weather has now affected four of the five events run so far. 29,000 people still braved the damp conditions to watch the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider take his second success in a row after victory in 2007 at the Italian Grand Prix. Despite the grey clouds and rain overnight the MX2-GP motos were thankfully devoid of showers. Cairoli started the weekend positively with a strong performance in his Heat race to earn his third consecutive pole position. The Sicilian needed a pain-killing injection for both days of action but even the rutted and rough Mantova sand did not seem to put him off his stride. The first race started dramatically as the reigning number one - using special colours on his kit and helmet - was felled by Erik Eggens in the second corner. Retrieving his YZ250F Cairoli began one of his 'comeback specials' and over the course of the next 35 minutes and 1 lap passed more than 20 riders to reach an incredible fourth place. The only chance of triumph in front of his many fans lay in his capabilities to own the second moto and the double world champion duly obliged. He set a distance from the pack almost immediately and clinched his fourth race win of the year, and fourth from the last six. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin was unfortunate not to take his first podium finish of the season after he rode brilliantly to celebrate his first chequered flag by beating Tommy Searle in Moto1. The Frenchman led the opening stages of the race before the Briton took control. Aubin was able to keep in his rival's wheel tracks and on lap 14 of 18 regained the advantage. The next sprint was a different affair as Aubin could not find sufficient speed to enter the top five and ended up sixth, for fourth place overall. The top four were separated by only three points in the closest GP ranking of the season. Team-mate Davide Guarneri was disappointed to have to withdraw from the Grand Prix. The Italian suffered a slow but awkward crash on Saturday and immediately feared he has broken a ligament in his right knee. Although the extent of the damage will not be known for a few days and when the Spanish GP winner has a scan, Guarneri - who has already suffered a similar type of injury - was understandably feeling low after this latest set-back. The rest of the De Carli team made the qualification cut. Matteo Bonini, still finding his way back to full speed after recovering from a dislocated shoulder, endured a hard day of work. He was out of the points in Moto1 but rallied to take fifteenth for six points in Moto2. Alessandro Lupino finished in the points on both occasions for the first time in 2008. The teenager was twentieth in each moto. The MX2-GP stars, like their MX1-GP counterparts, will be in action again in two weeks time when the British Grand Prix, at a new track within the Mallory Park motorsports venue, hosts the sixth stop in the 2008 FIM competition. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "For sure I wanted to win both races but the second corner was a big problem. Out of the gate I started well but then I had some contact with Tommy. I tried for a good line in the second corner but Eggens was on the inside of me and decided to come across to the outside and hit my front wheel. I lost time taking and restarting the bike but then I pushed hard. I thought that it might still be possible to win the GP so I gave it everything I had. I put my head down and concentrated on good lap-times and catching the next rider. We have had a lot of wet races now and these are not my favourite conditions; although the track was not as slippery as Bulgaria!" Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th: "I was very happy with that first moto. When Tommy passed me he was very fast but he was attacking so much and I could still follow him. I knew he would not be able to do that the whole race so I kept close and picked the right moment. I don't know what happened in that second moto. I did not get the start I wanted but it was not that bad. I just could not find the same speed as the first heat. I tried some new lines but it wouldn't come. It was positive to get that win but my goal right now is to make good results in both races." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 21st: "During the week I could not train well because I was very tired after Bulgaria, which was my first GP of the year. I did not get a good start in the first moto and there were a lot of problems in the second corner that held me up. I tried hard to push and regain positions but I felt short of breath and had to lower my rhythm. Things were better in the second moto, including my start but after 20 minutes I felt tired and then just looked to getting as many points as I could. I took one more position on the last lap which was good but overall I still frustrated because I worked very hard in the winter and because of the injury it is like I am starting at zero. At least it can only get better." Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 39'32.202 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'0.972 3, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'22.192 4, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'40.411 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'52.926 6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'16.135 7, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'20.448 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'24.259 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'30.111 10, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'31.529 11, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'39.228 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'45.136 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'45.719 14, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'49.505 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'56.218 16, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'56.758 17, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 2'3.286 18, Kounsith Vongsana, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'8.805 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 2'12.605 20, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'31.009 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'18.667 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'23.490 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'8.418 5, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'10.863 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'21.967 7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'36.613 8, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 1'55.742 9, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 2'1.461 10, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 2'7.780 11, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, -1 Laps 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 14, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, -1 Laps 15, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 16, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps 17, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 18, Jason Dougan, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, -1 Laps 20, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 199 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 196 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 191 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 146 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 132 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 124 7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 113 8, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 109 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 99 10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 97 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 86 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 63 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 55 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 54 16, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 17, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 50 18, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 48 19, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 46 20, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 43 23, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20 28, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 12 29, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 10 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 236 2, KTM, 228 3, Kawasaki, 147 4, Suzuki, 138 5, Honda, 67 ---------- RACE REPORT - 18/05/2008 Prumm makes the podium in Italy Double FIM Women's World Cup number one Katherine Prummtook her Van Beers Racing YZ250F to second position for her first podium result of the season at Mantova for the Italian Grand Prix and the second round of five in the first ever FIM Women's World Championship. The 19 year old underwent a scan during the week that confirmed the ACL in her right knee has detached but made the decision to compete in Mantova regardless and aim for her first podium. After taking third position in a wet practice - indeed the whole weekend would be hit by rain, creating a rougher and slower sandy terrain - Prumm launched out of the gate inside the top four of both motos. The first race saw her trailing winner Stephanie Laier for second place and she enjoyed a brief but entertaining tussle with series leader Livia Lancelot in the second moto until the French rider stalled her machine. Prumm, naturally, still lacks a little confidence and speed in the corners but took another runner-up position to Laier to strengthen her position in the standings. The points table has narrowed and Prumm lies just two behind Lancelot. Prumm heads back to her home this week and will begin a programme of physical work to build-up the required muscles in her knee to help compensate for the missing ligament. She will not be in Europe again until mid-June to prepare for round three of the series which will take place at the Teutschenthal circuit for the Grand Prix of Germany. Katherine Prumm, Yamaha Van Beers Racing, 2nd: "It was good to make the podium this weekend but to be honest I am not so happy with my riding. My confidence had taken a hit in Bulgaria and while things were better this weekend I still did not find the speed I know I am capable of and that I do in practice. I fought with Livia and she did not have the best day so it is positive that I am back in the championship hunt. Despite the knee I want to be here fighting for the championship. I will work the muscles I need to and I hope I can build my confidence to get faster. It is good to see how the championship is progressing. I was surprised when I came over for the first GP and found a lot of the girls are now members of teams and it is great that the manufacturers are supporting us. It was a big change for me to switch to Yamaha but I love the engine of the YZ and every weekend I am learning something new about the bike with the different conditions that we find." Race 1 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'52.655 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'22.005 3, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'31.040 4, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 0'39.712 5, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'44.853 6, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'53.707 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'34.577 8, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'43.842 9, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'46.214 10, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 2'4.474 Race 2 - 10 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 25'39.392 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 0'17.045 3, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'22.528 4, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 0'25.084 5, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 0'25.835 6, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 1'32.232 7, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 1'36.685 8, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 1'49.657 9, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 1'51.538 10, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 1'53.496 Rider Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Livia Lancelot, Kawasaki, FRA, 82 2, Katherine Prumm, Yamaha, NZL, 80 3, Ashley Fiolek, Honda, USA, 72 4, Larissa Papenmeier, Suzuki, GER, 61 5, Maria Franke, Kawasaki, GER, 58 6, Elien De Winter, KTM, BEL, 53 7, Marianne Veenstra, Suzuki, NED, 51 8, Stephanie Laier, KTM, GER, 50 9, Elin Mann, KTM, SWE, 45 10, Nicky Van Wordragen, KTM, NED, 37 11, Sandra Adriansson, Suzuki, SWE, 30 12, Marielle De Mol, Yamaha, NED, 12 13, Anne Borchers, Suzuki, GER, 11 14, Niki Scott, Kawasaki, NZL, 11 15, Brenda Wagemans, KTM, BEL, 11 Manufacturer Standings 18/05/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Kawasaki, 85 2, KTM, 81 3, Yamaha, 80 4, Suzuki, 76 5, Honda, 72 Click here to view the news

A sun-blessed and roasting Grand Prix of Portugal at the stunning Agueda circuit was the perfect remedy for the FIM Motocross World Championship after the sea of rain and mud that washed out the Spanish visit last weekend. The splendid stage for round three of fifteen, south of the city of Porto, witnessed the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team score a double podium result with David Philippaerts finishing second and Josh Coppins third on the works YZ450FMs. Philippaerts won a moto and was second in the other race, while Coppins seized his first silverware of the season after a thrilling move past champion Steve Ramon for third spot on the final corner of the last lap. On the podium Philippaerts picked up the red-plate to signify his new status as MX1-GP championship leader for the first time. He is also the first Italian to sit at the top of the points table since the inception of the MX1-GP class in 2004. The dry circuit provided a technical test for the riders with the combinations of jumps and alternate line options meaning that the 'perfect' lap was tough to find and mistakes were heavily punished by the high pace. Philippaerts suffered a fast crash on Saturday that left the Italian with a sore back and lack of sensation in his arms during the qualification practice. He was still a bit stiff Sunday morning but put aside any discomfort to remain one of the protagonists in the first moto. After hunting down Billy Mackenzie and taking the lead on the seventh lap of twenty-one the 24 year old kept a good rhythm to retain control of the race until the chequered flag. It was his first moto success for the team and his first set of '25' points since the Grand Prix of Belgium last August. In Moto2 the Italian did not have the best first lap and had to work hard from fifth position to take advantage of another error by Mackenzie and also a crash by Jonathan Barragan to rise to second place. Although he tied on points with overall winner Sebastien Pourcel, the second moto ranking determined the final standing. It was the second consecutive runner-up position for Philippaerts. Josh Coppins tried a new rear suspension set-up on Saturday as well as some experimentation with different Pirelli tyres. The New Zealander was unable to match the pace of his peers at the start of both motos (even though he exited the gate in the top five both times) but was easily one of the strongest riders at the end of the races. In the first he pushed Mackenzie hard to take fifth but it was his determination and dogged pursuit of the lagging Ramon in the final two laps of the second sprint that really gave an indication of the Kiwi's 'steel'. Closing down some four seconds to the back of the Belgian, Coppins took the fight for third right to the last corner where he cut tighter and snatched the position - and the last podium spot - by four tenths of a second. The result was a message but the manner in which he delivered it was equally devastating, that Coppins - who missed five weeks of riding through two broken twos on his right foot prior to the start of the campaign - is hungry for the title. The championship standings now make good reading for the team. Philippaerts holds a 6 point gap over Ramon while Coppins is third and just 19 behind. Yamaha are second in the manufacturer's standings by 6 points. The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team now travel back to their Italian base near Parma for several days and a free weekend before packing up and heading east across to Europe to the impressive Sevlievo circuit and the Grand Prix of Bulgaria. The meeting will precede the squad's home round at Mantova seven days later. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: 2nd "I am really happy to have the red plate because this is the first time for me. The first moto was unbelievable. My start was pretty average but I passed Mackenzie and Barragan and found some effective lines. When Sebastien came near in the last moments I looked to pull another second on him and controlled it until the end. I started well in the second moto but on the second corner my line meant that I had to be careful and lost some time, which let Sebastien and Mackenzie escape. It was a long race so I did not want to go crazy at the beginning and also the track was not easy. I knew the others would slow their pace by the end so I wanted to be strong the whole distance. My aim now is to try and stay in the top five each GP and this will be good for the championship." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: 3rd "It was an exciting end to the Grand Prix and one that even I did not expect. I could see that Steve was fading and, of course, after last year I always like to pass Steve, so I put in that extra effort. He went wide in the last corner and I could not believe that. My eyes lit-up and I made the pass. We tried a new rear shock during Saturday which was a bit softer and suited me better. We also tested some tyres with a different compound moose and also sliced some of the nobs on the rubber. I think we had a pretty good set-up so I was happy with the bike. The extra options the team provided made things even better, which I was surprised about. It was finally nice to have a real race; a race where the best rider wins instead of the terrain being good for some or just being a lottery. Today it was Pourcel but it was a GP where the degree of racing fitness and skill comes into it and that was really positive. It has been a tough season for me so far with a few 'downs'. I don't quite have the speed at the moment, especially at the start of the race; all I have is the consistency in the laps I make. I have to be patient, which is hard because I am not a patient person! With sixth, fourth and third things have gone well but you always want better. Everyone around me has been really supportive and I am sure I will get up to a higher level very soon. I was one of the strongest out there at the end, and this makes me proud." Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team: "I really great Grand Prix for us; to have both riders on the podium is really good. They continue to work hard and perform well. David's win was deserved I am very happy for Josh also. These are some difficult moments for him but he is trying so hard. David and Josh are both happy with the bikes and Josh more so after we made a small change with the shock. We will work now and look ahead to Bulgaria, and Mantova the week after." Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 38'56.063 2, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'4.287 3, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'12.368 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'16.139 5, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'17.169 6, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'34.548 7, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'40.307 8, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'41.921 9, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0'44.229 10, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'46.637 11, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 1'3.842 12, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 1'6.481 13, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'9.133 14, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 1'11.582 15, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'12.339 16, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'13.578 17, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'16.105 18, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'18.885 19, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'26.162 20, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'28.134 Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 39'42.975 2, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'8.473 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'11.360 4, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'11.774 5, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0'16.237 6, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'22.697 7, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'29.193 8, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'35.176 9, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'39.940 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'48.334 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'50.370 12, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'52.219 13, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'2.410 14, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'14.846 15, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'22.129 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'31.529 17, Paulo Goncalves, Honda, POR, 1'38.142 18, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'44.695 19, Marvin Van Daele, Suzuki, BEL, 1'48.894 20, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'51.571 Rider Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 102 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 96 3, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 83 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 79 5, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 77 6, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 58 7, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 54 8, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 52 9, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 50 10, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 48 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 43 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 42 13, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 40 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 40 15, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 27 17, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 20 18, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 20 19, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 20 20, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 19 28, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 8 Manufacturer Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Suzuki, 108 2, Yamaha, 102 3, Kawasaki, 92 4, KTM, 85 5, Honda, 82 6, TM, 13 ---------- RACE REPORT - 27/04/2008 Sensational Cairoli sweeps Portuguese GP MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli stormed the Grand Prix of Portugal at a sun-soaked Agueda circuit in front of 18,000 spectators to win both motos and claim his first victory of the season and also take the lead in the 2008 standings after three rounds of fifteen. Despite still suffering from the last affects of a throat infection - he only stopped taking antibiotics on Friday - Cairoli was back to his stylish and ruthless best; the sort of form and spectacular flamboyance that won 13 from 14 Grand Prix in 2007. The Sicilian of the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team defeated main title rivals Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle with two dominant displays on his YZ250F. Across the dry, stony and technical terrain the reigning number one shone as brightly as the blue sky overhead. A fantastic duel with Searle in the first laps of Moto1 was decided when Cairoli attempted and succeeded with an audacious overtaking move that saw him gain the lead and brake away from the Briton. The second moto was over from the second corner, when number '222' was in no mood for further games. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin, who celebrated his 20th birthday yesterday with a pit-board salutation from his team in the first session Saturday morning and also received a pie in the face from his French peers in the evening, was 5th overall with results of 8th and 4th. The Frenchman suffered from a crash in the first moto that caused him to lose positions but was more consistent in the second after sprinting away from Stephen Sword. Team-mate and Grand Prix of Spain victor Davide Guarneri admitted that the heat of the scorching Saturday timetable left him fighting for breath during the qualification race in which he captured third. The Italian rode to a decent 5th after vying for fourth during one stage of the moto but had to pull up to avoid his fallen team-mate which kept him outside the top four. In the second race a poor start meant a lot of work but he came through the pack before being hit to the ground by local hope Rui Goncalves. From that point 12th was all he could salvage to take 7th. Cairoli's triumph means that he now holds an advantage of 5 points from Rattray. Guarneri is fourth and Aubin in seventh. Alessandro Lupino qualified for his second Grand Prix of the season and just the third of his career. The teenager scored two points with 19th position in Moto1. Some good news for the De Carli crew is that Matteo Bonini has recovered from his dislocated shoulder and subsequent operation and will begin to ride this week. The Italian could be in action as early as the Grand Prix of Bulgaria in a fortnight but will almost certainly bring the team back to full strength for their home round at Mantova on May 18th. The fourth round of the FIM World Championship will take place at the Sevlievo circuit in two weeks time. The Grand Prix will also witness the start of the inaugural Women's World Championship. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli: 1st "I am starting to get a much better feeling with my bike because in the winter we tested and practiced a lot with the 450. It was nice to have a 'normal' race because with the sand and then the mud last week I did not get a chance to have a look at my condition. I am really happy with the race today though. We had some fun in that first moto and Tommy had some good lines. His style is similar to mine; we both play a lot with the bikes on the jumps. We fought for three or four laps but then I had some more speed through one section and decided to make the break once the move worked. I only stopped taking antibiotics for my throat infection on Friday, so physically it was a hard day and now I can look after my body with the free weekend we have. Taking the lead in the championship is important but there is a long journey ahead still." Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing: 5th "The result is not so good and I could not take two top four positions, which I was capable of. I need better starts in the next GP. I'm pleased with my speed and physical condition I just need to get nearer the front right at the beginning. The level in MX2-GP this year is very close so getting those good starts is more important than ever." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing: 7th "It was so hot and hard today. In the first moto I made a good start, around the top seven. When I was in sixth I tried to pass Sword but in one corner I found Aubin had crashed and was right there in the middle of the line and I lost some time there, fifth was OK though. In the next moto I was quite far back at the start and after two laps I pushed hard and passed many riders. I was in the top seven and tried Goncalves for sixth but in one corner he went straight on and took me out. I was a bit tired when I restarted and took twelfth." Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'22.503 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'6.909 3, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'10.391 4, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'43.783 5, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 0'46.371 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'47.906 7, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'55.172 8, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'55.725 9, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'9.019 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'18.458 11, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'19.138 12, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 1'33.412 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'37.467 14, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'39.138 15, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'40.158 16, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'41.942 17, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 1'52.164 18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'57.571 19, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 20, Shannon Terreblanche, Suzuki, RSA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 22 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 39'45.757 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'12.867 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'17.992 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 0'33.529 5, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'44.135 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'50.537 7, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 0'56.905 8, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'0.459 9, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'3.120 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'7.252 11, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'12.610 12, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 1'21.877 13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'25.215 14, Shannon Terreblanche, Suzuki, RSA, 1'28.935 15, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'38.980 16, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'49.453 17, Julien Vanni, KTM, FRA, 1'58.650 18, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, -1 Laps 19, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps 20, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps Rider Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 126 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 121 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 102 4, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 86 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 81 6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 80 7, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 78 8, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 60 9, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 60 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 57 11, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 55 12, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 49 13, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 48 14, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 38 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 34 16, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 27 17, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 23 18, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 23 19, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 23 20, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 22 21, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20 27, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 8 Manufacturer Standings 27/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 141 2, KTM, 137 3, Kawasaki, 86 4, Suzuki, 81 5, Honda, 28 Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards continued the good work they began yesterday with a second day at the top of the time sheets at the desert circuit of Losail, Qatar today. Spending the majority of the day testing tyres for Michelin, Rossi and Edwards completed 60 and 76 laps respectively on their 2006-spec YZR-M1s. Rossi was once again fastest, setting a best lap of 1'56.53 with Edwards close behind him with a time of 1'56.81. Yamaha Tech 3 rider Carlos Checa was third fastest, according to the unofficial lap times, setting a time of 1'56.95. The Camel Yamaha Team will continue for one final day of testing tomorrow whilst Yamaha Tech 3, Suzuki and the Kawasaki and Ducati test teams have finished their Qatar testing today. Valentino Rossi (1'56.53, 60 Laps) "We managed many laps today, everything went very well and I am quite pleased. In the morning we worked mostly on settings and we have now nearly fixed the chatter we were experiencing. We made some small modifications and the bike responded quickly and it is giving me a very good feeling now. After that we worked for the rest of the day with Michelin and tested most of the tyres that they brought with them; the new things they have brought here seem to be extremely good. Our main target with them is to keep the performance level of the tyre up after 15 or 20 laps, and it seems we're improving in this area and our times were consistent throughout the day. With these new tyres and the new M1 combined we have much better stability and grip. For sure we don't have most of the other teams testing here so it's hard to judge exactly where we are, but I think anyway we can tell that we are doing okay." Colin Edwards (1'56.81, 76 Laps) "Today has been great, I'm really happy. We got going on the new Michelin stuff after lunch and they've made some great improvements. We had some new things to try for Yamaha, but we mostly concentrated on tyres. I'm really starting to feel confident with the bike and to believe in myself again. This is my first time in MotoGP to be with the same team for two years running and it's great not to have to worry about adjusting to a new bike and team at the start of the season. It feels really good to be back with the best team and on the best bike! I can concentrate entirely on my race preparation without any distractions or worries and the new style I adapted to last season now feels totally natural. I feel like I have all the tools in place for a really good season. Tomorrow we're planning to do a long run and we have a few more tyres to test; I am sure we'll make some more progress." Jeremy Burgess - Valentino Rossi's Crew Chief "Everything is going well so far. The test has been successful and the weather has been good. We've been able to test everything that we wanted up to now and we've confirmed everything that we found out in Malaysia. We're proceeding well towards the first race!" Tech 3 Yamaha Team The three-day test at the Doha venue saw the Tech 3 team complete for the first time. It was the first possibility for newly-signed Carlos Checa to ride the 2006 YZR-M1. Even with the new Dunlop tyres Checa was straight on the pace, while his teammate James Ellison also made great progress. Carlos Checa (1'56.95) "I am satisfied with this first test although of course we have many improvements to make. It's important to be realistic, even though the times have been good, and to keep focused and working hard. Obviously one of the main areas we need to work on is the tyres. They work well in these conditions and I am happy with the front, but we need to work a lot on the rear. We need to do as much testing as we can during the next days in Sepang to find the right mix and to find a better situation for the rear. "I really want to say thank you to Yamaha, Dunlop and all the other people who helped to make this possible given me the chance to be back on the grid. In January my situation was not so good and I have had to fight hard to come back, but now I have this chance and I am happy for it. I think this new M1 is definitely the best Yamaha I have ever ridden so this is very exciting. "Now we need to go to Sepang and continue to work in the same way. Everyone will make comparisons and look at the times but at this time that should not be our focus. We have started work and we have a lot more to do. We must not hurry to be in front at the moment, but focus on development. For myself I have finished to think about my previous situation and now I just want to focus on my sporting activities for this season." James Ellison (1'58.98) "I feel like I am improving slowly. I've had to change my style a bit but I am getting there. It's been great to have Carlos here, I have really learnt some things from following him, especially about lines and the use of the rear brake. I hit a bit of a wall on Monday and Tuesday morning but once we got over that things have really got better. Now I am going about two seconds faster and, as I said, following Carlos and then Valentino a bit also today has really helped me to understand some of the changes I need to make. I'm now trying not to ride so fast round the corner but just to use the bike's own power to take me round. The tyres are much better here and we've improved in that area since the last test in Sepang. There were a couple of different tyres that I liked here last year and Dunlop have made a combination of those two and that's the main one we've been using here. I wasn't looking forward to going back to Sepang but after today I am feeling much better about it. The stability is much better and we're using a bigger wheel on the front which is working well. It will be interesting to go back to Sepang now and see if we can improve there also." Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director "A very good test altogether. I think it's been a really good idea to come here to test; the facilities and track are great, it's close to the conditions we can expect in the race and everyone is very helpful here! Our biggest news of course is that we now have two riders and it's been great to come here with a full team and with Carlos. It's been a good three days. The performance of Carlos has been better than anyone expected for his first outing on the Dunlops, so this is encouraging. There were three Yamaha's at the front today and this makes me very happy. Carlos is already riding well and fast and James has improved considerably over the three days. We're looking forward to Sepang although we know it won't be so easy for us there. Anyway, we're looking to the future. Once again I want to thank Yamaha, Dunlop and everyone involved for making this a possibility." Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 1'56.53 2. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 1'56.81 3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 1'56.95 4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1'57.87 5. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1'58.33 6. S. Ito (JPN) Ducati, 1'58.85 7. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 1'58.98 8. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 1'59.46 Qatar Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 1'57.903 Qatar Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 1'56.917 Ambient temperature: 25.9 degrees Track temperature: 39.0 degrees Humidity: 64.6% Click here to view the news

DP in Mantova Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team and the Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team kicked off their 2010 schedules at the Starcross International at Mantova last Sunday. After revealing the new black and green liveries and designs to be worn by the YZ450F and YZ250F the Friday prior to the gathering at the venue, the 2010 MX1-GP machine made its debut in front of a reasonable attendance that braved the temperate conditions. David Philippaerts was 5th overall under the Italian sunshine in what was very much a shake-down outing for the team. The 2008 MX1-GP World Champion started well in all three motos (of 20 minutes and 2 laps duration) and his finest finish was a determined push through to the runner-up slot in the first race. The sand was bumpy and rough after heavy rainfall. A small crash in the next outing dropped him to 8th while a steady run to 6th in the last moto of the day – with low sunshine obscuring some of the jumps - assisted in his priority to further refine the set-up of his new machinery. De Dycker at the Starcross Ken De Dycker was the sole representative of the Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX crew with Loic Larrieu still recovering from his shoulder injury and Alessandro Lupino nursing a sore wrist. French 19 year old Larrieu started riding three weeks ago. De Dycker, making his maiden appearance in Monster Energy colours and with Yamaha, again used the motos to flex his muscles after the off-season and learn more about his new mount in race conditions. He finished 9th twice before struggling slightly in the last race that necessitated a visit to the pits. He ended the day 12th overall. The opening round of the Italian Championship takes place next weekend at Montevarchi and will see a virtually full entry of the Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Teams. Larrieu will hold off participation until the International event at Valence in France in two weeks. Gautier Paulin will compete with the 2010 YZ250F for the first time after arriving back from the United States last week. Mantova Starcross International Classification: Moto1 1. Tony Cairoli, ITA 2. David Philippaerts, ITA, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team 3. Marc de Reuver, NED 9. Ken De Dycker, BEL, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team Moto2 1. Tony Cairoli, ITA 2. Clement Desalle, BEL 3. Tanel Leok, EST 8. David Philippaerts, ITA, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team 9. Ken De Dycker, BEL, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team Moto3 1. Tanel Leok, EST 2. Clement Desalle, BEL 3. Tony Cairoli, ITA 6. David Philippaerts, ITA, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team 38. Ken De Dycker, BEL, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team David Philippaerts: “I am pretty happy. Today the first moto was good and we did some work with the bike. My main goal was to get time on the track and running the speed with the others. Many riders crashed and I did not want to make mistakes; the track was difficult. We collected some data, which was important and we are ready for the next step. The season has started earlier this year and I am not 100% but this is fine and I am pleased with the level we have.” Ken De Dycker: “Today was a start. We did some work and development of the bike to get the setting right for me and that was the main reason for coming here. The last moto was not going well and it was a little dangerous with the sun so low. We will continue with what we need to do and I may travel down to race at Montevarchi next week.” Click here to view the news

Yamaha's world superbike stars made their final preparations ahead of the 2006 campaign, with the Yamaha Motor Italia squad testing in Qatar and Yamaha Motor France in Valencia. Testing alongside Yamaha's MotoGP teams, the Yamaha Motor Italia squad proved the performance and reliability of their new specification engine and fine-tuned the updated Magneti Marelli electronics in their three-day outing at the Losail circuit. The team's 2006 YZF-R1s feature a host of new parts over the 2005 version, designed to give the bike improved power delivery and controllability for the riders. The squad also evaluated a number of chassis parts, including a new swingarm and 2006 specification Ohlins suspension. With Pirelli supplying only 2005-spec race rubber, the squad was able to concentrate fully on the machine performance rather than testing development tyres. Using these tyres, both riders were quicker on race tyres than at December's Pirelli test, confirming the progress made by the team over the winter months. Haga was the faster of the two riders, setting a 2:00.4, with Pitt fractionally behind on 2:00.8. The Australian was slightly detuned on the final day after picking up a stomach bug but gamely completed his test programme, while Haga's day came to a premature end when he suffered a spectacular highside just 30 minutes before the end of the session. The Japanese rider was uninjured in the crash, although his bike suffered damage. Over in Spain, Norick Abe spent two days at the Valencia circuit. Having tested extensively at Phillip Island last month, the Japanese rider was back on the Ohlins suspension which he will run in the 2006 season. Abe was the sole Yamaha Motor France rider in attendance at Valencia. Shinichi Nakatomi, who will run Japanese Soqi suspension, elected to miss the test having twice tested his R1 at the circuit, while Sebastien Gimbert was also absent. The Frenchman did not test as he will not race in Valencia due to a date clash with the Le Mans 24-hour race. Abe suffered some fueling glitches as the team tested new injection mappings and he was also one of the few riders at the test not running development tyres. His best of the day was a 1:36.4. Fastest at the test was Troy Bayliss (Ducati) with a 1:34.4 lap. Noriyuki Haga "Not so bad a test although it was a shame to end with a crash. Going through the last of the high-speed right hand corners I lost the rear and had a big crash. I am ok but maybe I hurt in the morning! The new bike is a real improvement although we are still trying to find the perfect settings. The engine for sure is much nicer: less aggressive and stronger coming out of the corners, and the team has made some improvements in all areas. At the end we made some big changes to the front and, for me, it was a good direction. I am happy with the progress made by the team, but we have not tested with our rivals, so only at the first race will we know how competitive we are." Andrew Pitt "I was happy with how it went over the three days. I feel some big improvements from last year, especially with the electronics and the engine braking. We got through a lot here and we're running the 2006 suspension front and back now and it's working well already. The lap times are good and consistent and there was none of the chatter problem that we have had here in the past, so that's also a big step forward. There's a few more things to try before the race and I've still got to find a front tyre that will work good over the race distance." Norick Abe "Today we worked mainly on the injection system. We wanted to get a good setting for this and then try for a good suspension setting. It was difficult to get a good setting on the mapping and it is still not perfect. Because of this we didn't get to try any new settings on the suspension." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "We have been able to get through a lot of work over the last few days. Often at these first tests we face a lot of small problems but other than a few minor electrical things on the first morning these three days have been very good. The team has been working hard over the winter and it has been good to hear the riders' feedback confirm what we had seen on the dyno. We started trying a lot of new parts yesterday and we lost our way a little bit with the set-up, but today both riders found some good settings and were happy with the results. Of course we tested many development tyres when we came in December and we do not know yet which other tyres Pirelli will bring for the race, but we are happy with our settings on the ones we had here. Our times have been under what the tyre technicians predicted so this is a positive sign for the first race." Click here to view the news

Testing for the first time at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were pleased to get back in the saddle on their new 2006-specification YZR-M1s today. Both riders made the most of good temperatures to put in some fast laps at a track where both of them enjoy riding. Although they are only joined on the track here by the MotoGP Teams of Suzuki and Tech 3 Yamaha, as well as test riders from Ducati and Kawasaki, Rossi and Edwards were encouraged to finish the day at the top of the time sheets and are looking forward to more improvement over the next two days. Both Rossi and Edwards were inside the lap record of 1'57.903; the World Champion with a time of 1'57.36 after just 48 laps and his American team-mate just behind after 77 laps with a best time of 1'57.52. Suzuki rider John Hopkins was third fastest with a time of 1'57.66 and Tech 3 Yamaha pilot Carlos Checa, making a return to Yamaha after a year's absence, was fourth with a lap of 1'57.94. Valentino Rossi (1'57.36, 48 Laps) "It's always nice to be fastest, although of course here we don't have Honda or Ducati. Everything went very well today and I am pleased with this first day of work. As we're quite close to home I have no problem with jet-lag, unlike at Sepang, so I feel like I have plenty of energy for these three days! The temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than at the race last year and so we are able to have quite good grip and to use the tyres at 100%, enabling us to go quite fast. Anyway with the new bike we have much more grip than with the old M1, but as in Sepang we have a tiny bit of chatter, so we are doing a lot of work with Michelin to fix that. Michelin have come here with many new tyres and so we are working a lot with them to test as much as possible. The new bike is already at a good level and now we are working hard on finding the right settings for it. I'm looking forward to the next two days." Colin Edwards (1'57.52, 77 Laps) "Unlike Valentino I get pretty bad jet-lag here, coming from the US, so I felt pretty tired today! I hope to get a good night's sleep tonight and to have a bit more energy tomorrow. The track is getting cleaner by the minute as more rubber gets laid down, so the grip is improving all the time; it's already much better than in the race last year. Michelin have a lot of new tyres here so we're spending a large part of our time on testing the new stuff with them. I really like this track, I've always gone good from the first time I came here so it's an enjoyable place for me to test, plus the weather is great. The new bike really is better in every way and now I've just got to build my confidence with it. At the moment I am feeling stronger with every lap. It was a good first day and I was pleased to be able to get going so well so quickly." Daniele Romagnoli - Colin Edwards' Crew Chief "We very quickly found a good base-setting here today, much better than what we had at the race here last year. We've improved the front-end grip a lot and therefore Colin has much more confidence already in the front. It seems the new bike works well at this track and the lap times were good today. We made a good start." Unofficial Lap Times: 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 1'57.36 2. Colin Edwards(USA) Yamaha, 1'57.52 3. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 1'57.66 4. Carlos Checa (SPA) Yamaha, 1'57.94 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 1'58.62 6. S. Ito (JPN) Ducati, 1'58.90 7. James Ellison (GBR) Yamaha, 1'59.81 8. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki, 2'00.43 Losail Lap Record: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005 - 1'57.903 Losail Best Lap: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2005 - 1'56.917 Ambient temperature: 24.7 degrees Track temperature: 38.0 degrees Humidity: 73% Click here to view the news

The UFO Corse Yamaha team have signed a new agreement with multiple enduro world champion Stefan Merriman. The Australian rider has decided to renew his contract with the team, with which he has won the world championship title in 2004 in the Enduro 1 class. Stefan Merriman will start in the Enduro 2 World Championship and in the Assoluti d'Italia 450 class, riding the Yamaha WR450F. Director of UFO Plast, Vito Consoloni, said after confirming the agreement; "I am very enthusiastic having reached an agreement with Stefan again. For me it feels like a victory, as I am one of Stefan's biggest fans. Also as entrepreneur I am proud to associate the name UFO Plast to a champion of such big stature. Over the years, Stefan has consistently shown he is a tenacious and determined rider, the UFO Corse team and UFO Plast company therefore have the highest respect for him. His arrival makes it possible for the team to compete for the world championship title, so that we can add further to our impressive tally in Enduro." Claudio Consonni, Technical manager Yamaha Motor Italia, stated; "We achieved another important goal by re-confirming Stefan Merriman. The partnership with the UFO Corse team goes back many years, in which we achieved many goals: four world championship titles, both rider and manufacturer, four national (Italian) titles and two Six Days events. These successes definitely prove the quality of our WR machinery and are evidence of the professional qualities of the team. Mr. Vito Consoloni truly has a great racing spirit and remarkable entrepreneurial qualities, which really meets with Yamaha's philosophy and our will to succeed." Stefan Merriman's first race appearance in the UFO Corse Yamaha colors will be during the Assoluti d'Italia, 4 - 5 March at Acireale (CT), riding the WR450F in the 450 class. Click here to view the news

The Tech 3 Team will compete in the 2006 MotoGP World Championship with two riders, Spaniard Carlos Checa and Briton James Ellison, both on Yamaha M1s fitted with Dunlop tyres. "Thanks to the combined efforts of Dunlop, Yamaha Motor and Tech 3, we have been able to finalize this project", explains Herve Poncharal, Team Manager of the French team. "After a difficult winter during which we developed our project with Dunlop, Yamaha and the young rider James Ellison, we are now really excited to see Carlos Checa joining the team. "Carlos is the most experienced rider on this year's MotoGP grid. During his ten-year career as one of the top riders in the sport's premier category, he has ridden different bikes on different tyre brands and, based on this experience, his input to our development will be of great value, especially for Dunlop. "With Carlos partnering James Ellison, one of the emerging talents and who raced on Dunlop tyres last year, we complete the ideal line-up of our team, a blend of youth and experience, in which we have strong hopes." Carlos Checa will get his first experience of his new Yamaha M1 on Dunlop tyres during the team's next tests in Qatar on 5th, 6th and 7th February. Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, adds: "Yamaha is very pleased to be able to finally complete its two team, four rider line-up for the 2006 season. It was always our desire to try to have four riders on the grid, both to continue Yamaha's MotoGP participation at the optimum level and also to support the MotoGP sport which is very important for our business and provides us with great exposure and promotion for motorcycling worldwide. Yamaha would like to thank all the parties that contributed to the completion of this project and we wish the Tech 3 Yamaha Team every success in 2006." Click here to view the news

Yamaha ends promising first R6 test 15/12/2005 Yamaha Motor Germany completed a promising two-day test at Valencia today, the first outing for the team's 2006 model YZF-R6. Experienced Australian Kevin Curtain was satisfied with the performance of the new machine, recording a best lap time of 1:38.6 on a machine that is still in its first stage of development as a race bike. The 39-year-old was able to enjoy two dry and trouble free days on the circuit, allowing him to complete a full test programme, evaluating numerous suspension and tyre options on the R6. Curtain's team-mate Broc Parkes was only able to complete a handful of laps today after crashing at the final corner on his first session of the morning. The 24-year-old lost rear end grip, no doubt due to the low track temperature. Parkes took a knock to his ankle but escaped serious injury, although his bike fared less well and his test was curtailed due to a lack of spare parts. His best lap time was a 1:38.8, set yesterday. Yamaha Motor Germany's next test is scheduled to take place at Phillip Island in Australia next month. Round one of the 2006 Supersport World Championship takes place at the Losail circuit, Qatar, on 25 February. Three other R6 riders were in attendance at the test. David Checa rode a machine fitted with prototype YEC 2006 kit parts while the Lorenzini by Leoni squad was also in attendance. The Yamaha Motor Italia supported squad only received their bikes last week, although Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello recorded respectable times despite their machines being virtually stock. Kevin Curtain "I'm really happy with how things went over the past two days. The guys did a really great job to get the bikes ready in time and running without any problems, although it shouldn't be a surprise as they are such a meticulous team. The temperatures were still a bit low today but we were able to get through pretty much everything we planned. I've been really impressed with the bike. The engine has so much more mid-range than the R6 I rode last season and the chassis, especially the levels of front end grip, is amazing. I'm going home to Australia confident that the bike can challenge for the title next year." Broc Parkes "It was a big crash I'm hurting all over and I can't move my left ankle much, but at least it seems that nothing's broken. It was early and cold and I got caught out, lost the back end and that was it. It's a shame I wasn't able to get more time on the bike but at least we were able to get through most of what we needed to yesterday. Despite everything though it's been a good first test and we've already got a good base to work from. I'm heading back to Australia tomorrow and the boys will no doubt have made some more developments for our test in Australia next month. After three days in Phillip Island we should be in good shape for the start of the season." Terrell Thien (Team Manager) "It's been a positive first test, although it was a shame that Broc wasn't able to finish his test programme today. The track temperature was only about 5°C and he lost the back end. Unfortunately the bike was too badly damaged to continue and we do not yet have enough spares to rebuild the bike. Overall though it has been very positive. At present our bike is maybe only 50 per cent of its potential, so it's very encouraging to already be at the level of last year's bike. We have three days testing at Phillip Island next month, after which we should be in good shape for the start of the season." Lap times Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6) 1:38.6 Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany YZF-R6) 1:38.8 Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni YZF-R6) 1:39.7 Gianluca Vizziello (Lorenzini by Leoni YZF-R6) 1:39.9 David Checa (Yamaha GMT94 YZF-R6) 1:39.9 Nakatomi debut ends on a low note 15/12/2005 Shinichi Nakatomi's first ride for the Yamaha Motor France team with whom he will compete in the 2006 Superbike World Championship ended on a low note after the Japanese rider ended the day in hospital with a hand injury. The 27-year-old joined team-mates Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert at the two-day test at the Valencia circuit in Spain, impressing on what was his first ride on any circuit outside his native Japan, despite ending the day in the medical centre after crashing during his final session. Like many riders at Valencia, Nakatomi lost the front after pushing too hard on a cold tyre. He has been taken to hospital and is undergoing further examination. The team worked on development of Yamaha's YEC kit parts and tested numerous parts, including new suspension and swingarms, with Abe and Nakatomi running new Soqi suspension today and Gimbert concentrating on engine development. The team will use the data gained from the test to build its 2006-specification machines over the winter. Abe ended the test as the fastest rider, setting a best lap of 1:36.8, with Gimbert recording a 1:37.0 and Nakatomi 1:38.2. Also in the Yamaha Motor France garage was David Checa, who was running a YZF-R6 fitted with prototype YEC racing parts. Norick Abe "We tried three different types of front suspension and one new rear. On one of the front forks I was able to do a 1:36.8, which is probably my best ever testing lap around here! I was quite happy with this fork and I would like to carry out further tests when we go to Phillip Island next month so that we can decide which brand to use on the race bike." Sebastien Gimbert "Quite a good test. I concentrated on evaluating the engine parts and I think we have found some good improvements from the bike I rode last year. I'm feeling fit and I'm happy with my times, especially considering the cold weather makes grip levels low at these tests." Shinichi Nakatomi "I had been enjoying my first experience in Valencia until the crash. I was making good progress to learn the bike and tyres and I was happy with my lap times. Now I must wait for a full diagnosis from the doctor and hope that the injury is not too serious." Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Germany riders Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes had their first outing on the race-spec YZF-R6s they will race in next year's Supersport World Championship at the Valencia circuit in Spain today. The two Australians flew into Spain especially for the test and spent the day making shakedown runs on their bikes, respectively completing 72 and 60 trouble-free laps around the 4.05km circuit on the first of two days testing. The German squad has been working hard in conjunction with its suppliers over the past months to prepare two immaculate machines for the test. Both bikes have been fitted with Öhlins race suspension, although further development work is still to be carried out on the engine prior to the first race of the season, at Qatar in late February. Sunny conditions ensured that the riders were able to get maximum track time, although cool track temperatures meant that grip levels were limited. Today's test programme concentrated mainly on checking systems and machine familiarisation for both the riders and mechanics rather than setting outright lap times. Tyre supplier Pirelli has also brought along a range of rubber for the team to test. Sharing the Valencia circuit were the Yamaha Motor France world superbike team, who gave Japanese newcomer Shinichi Nakatomi his first outing on their YZF-R1 alongside team-mates Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert. Also at the test were the Yamaha Motor Italia-supported Lorenzini by Leoni team, which will enter Massimo Roccoli and Gianluca Vizziello in the world supersport series and Claudio Corti in the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. David Checa, riding a YZF-R6 for the Yamaha GMT94 team, and the Virgin Mobile Yamaha British superbike team are also in attendance. Copyright-free photography (for editorial use) from today's test is available from the photo gallery section of www.yamaha-racing.com - further information will be available after tomorrow's final day of testing. Kevin Curtain "I really can't say how happy I am with the new bike. Even at this stage everything is an improvement over the R6 I rode last year. At the moment we're still running one of Öhlins off-the-shelf shocks but even so I felt really confident with the chassis. I really noticed it when I had a slide coming out of one of the right hand corners - I was half expecting it to pitch me off, but instead it was really predictable. Of course there were a lot of little things we had to fix today, like the gear lever and handlebar positions, but overall it's a very positive start. My lap times are already matching what we did last season and I can't wait for when we've got everything finished and how I want it." Broc Parkes "For a first day it's been perfect really. The bike feels good and so are the times. The track temperature has been too low to really push the bike but already my lap times are close to what we did last year, although that wasn't really the point of today. It's been two months since I last rode and so it was as much a case of remembering where the handlebars are as much as anything else! We've still got heaps of improvements to make, especially with the suspension settings, but that's the whole point of today and we've got a good idea of the direction to take." Terrell Thien (Team Manager) "It's been a good start. This is our first time running these bikes yet any problems we encountered today were small - like the gearlever position not being to Kevin's liking - but generally everything has worked well. All the electronics: the YCC-T system and our Motec engine management system, have worked perfectly and the rider's comments have both been good. The chassis is a major step forward and this bike has been built to race. Our lap times are already good and we will find improvements tomorrow. I'd like to thank all of our suppliers for their hard work in supplying us with the parts we needed to be ready for this test, especially Becker Carbon and Gillies Tooling, and to our mechanics, who have worked constantly for the past month, often through the night, to get the bikes ready." Click here to view the news

Tracks Anglesey http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=238583&Y=367476&A=Y&Z=5 Brands Hatch http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=557500&Y=164500&A=Y&Z=5 Cadwell Park http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=529375&Y=380854&A=Y&Z=5 Castle Combe http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=385709&Y=176572&A=Y&Z=5 Croft http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=428440&Y=507201&A=Y&Z=5 Donington Park http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=442060&Y=325995&A=Y&Z=5 Goodwood http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=487989&Y=107485&A=Y&Z=5 Knockhill http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=305368&Y=693745&A=Y&Z=5 Lydden http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=623127&Y=146768&A=Y&Z=5 Mallory Park http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=445468&Y=300594&A=Y&Z=5 Mondello Park Oulton Park http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=358874&Y=364584&A=Y&Z=5 Pembrey http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=240923&Y=203804&A=Y&Z=5 Rockingham http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=489735&Y=291273&A=Y&Z=5 Snetterton http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=600446&Y=289139&A=Y&Z=5 Silverstone http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=467709&Y=242286&A=Y&Z=5 Thruxton http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=428235&Y=145810&A=Y&Z=5 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Valentino Rossi scored his sixteenth podium from seventeen races in the final round of the 2005 MotoGP World Championship to put the shine on Yamaha's 0th Anniversary celebrations at Valencia. The Italian started from his lowest grid position of the season but produced a dramatic ride to end the race in third place, lapping quicker than eventual winner Marco Melandri (Honda). A crowd of 124,520 watched Rossi make up seven positions with an incredible surge on the first lap, although the early pace of Melandri and Nicky Hayden (Honda) provided them with an advantage that proved impossible to breach in the second half of the race. Round: 17 - MotoGP Valencia Circuit: Valencia Date: 6 November 2005 Crowd: 124520 Temp: 21ºC Weather: Sunny Rossi's Yamaha Factory team-mate Colin Edwards suffered a disappointing end to his first season with the team, losing three positions on the first lap after starting from sixth and only managing to recover one place by the end of the race. Nevertheless, the American has made significant progress with a new riding style over the course of the weekend and he is now looking forward to winter testing as he prepares for his second season as a Yamaha rider. In the meantime, Yamaha is left to reflect on a stunning Anniversary season, in which it has swept the board, taking the riders', teams' and constructors' World Championship titles. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Team), 3rd "The second part of the race was very positive because my pace was fast and I rode well but if you want to win a race then you can't start from fifteenth on the grid. I made a mistake yesterday with the crash but the truth is that we were struggling all weekend with the setting and we didn't understand until this morning what the problem was. We worked it out and in the race I was able to ride how I wanted to, but it was too late. It was good fun, I pushed hard but it wasn't enough. In the future we have to make sure we work better in practice. It's been a fantastic season and everyone has worked hard to achieve all our targets. Now we look forward to some holidays and some hard work during winter testing!" Colin Edwards (Yamaha Factory Team), 8th "I didn't ride great today. In the middle of the race I started to push hard and caught up again with the middle of the pack, but by that time I had abused my tyres a lot, they were moving around and so I decided to hold station. I have never been at the last race of a season counting down the days for winter testing to start. We have a lot of work to do and I want to get going as soon as possible. It's been an average season but we've learnt a lot for next year and the whole team has worked very hard for me. I want to thank them and thank Michelin and I'm looking forward to working with everyone over the winter and coming out strong next year." Davide Brivio - Yamaha Factory Team director "Basically we lost the race in practice, both with the setting difficulties we had and Valentino's starting position for the race. It is always going to be difficult from the fifth row, but he was 4.9 seconds down on the leader after four laps and by the end it was 2.9 so his pace was even better than the race winner. It's been a long season from January, when testing started, to November. We have won everything available, scored eleven race victories and right now I would accept the same statistics next season - only with Colin higher in the championship. That is our aim for next year but for now I just want to say thank you to all our staff, engineers, crew and both of our riders. It has been a fantastic season." Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 10th "We had a difficult weekend as we could not solve the problems we had on the first day. However, I still gave my best. I think it was a season where I built up very valuable experience. I have learnt a lot and, despite the injury that kept me out for a while, I think I have progressed well. Now I am going to rest for a few days which I think I deserve! I want to thank everyone at my team, the mechanics and everyone who has supported me." Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 15th It has been a difficult year in which I have been battling to adapt to the YZR-M1, but it has proved difficult. Today was another hard one, but despite not enjoying myself much on the bike, we got one point. I must look forward now and keep fighting." Race classification MotoGP Round: 17 - MotoGP Valencia Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005 Lap Record: 1' 33.043 (Marco Melandri, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 31.874 (Sete Gibernau, 2005) Race: 30 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. Melandri Honda ITA 46' 58.152 2 N. Hayden Honda USA +0.097 3 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +2.959 4 C. Checa Ducati ESP +18.718 5 A. Barros Honda BRA +20.706 6 M. Biaggi Honda ITA +21.254 7 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +23.142 8 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +25.678 9 M. Tamada Honda JPN +36.710 10 T. Elias Yamaha ESP +39.116 11 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +41.136 12 R. Kiyonari Honda JPN +45.691 13 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +46.507 14 A. Hofman Kawasaki GER +49.856 15 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP +1' 19.443 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 33.043 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 367 2 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 220 3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 206 4 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 179 5 Max Biaggi Honda ITA 173 6 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 157 7 Sete Gibernau Honda ESP 150 8 Alex Barros Honda BRA 147 9 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 138 10 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 98 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 91 12 Toni Elias Yamaha ESP 74 13 Kenny Roberts Suzuki USA 63 14 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 63 15 Troy Bayliss Honda AUS 54 16 Ruben Xaus Yamaha ESP 52 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 381 2 Honda 341 3 Ducati 202 4 Kawasaki 126 5 Suzuki 100 6 Blata WCM 13 7 Proton KR 1 8 Moriwaki 1 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Yamaha Factory Team 546 2 Repsol Honda Team 379 3 Team Movistar Honda MotoGP 370 4 Ducati Marlboro Team 295 5 Honda Camel 220 6 Kawasaki Racing Team 150 7 Fortuna Yamaha Team 130 8 Team Suzuki MotoGP 126 9 Konica Minolta Honda 103 10 D'Antin MotoGP 25 11 Blata WCM 14 12 Team Roberts KR 1 Race classification GP250 Round: 16 - Valencia GP250 Circuit: Valencia Circuit Length: 4005 Lap Record: 1' 35.792 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 35.298 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2005) Race: 27 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 43' 33.395 2 J. Lorenzo Honda ESP +3.448 3 C. Stoner Aprilia AUS +14.372 4 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +17.771 5 H. Barbera Honda ESP +26.233 6 H. Aoyama Honda JPN +31.244 7 Y. Takahashi Honda JPN +35.518 8 R. de Puniet Aprilia FRA +36.488 9 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA +43.129 10 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +43.960 11 A. Debon Honda ESP +55.494 12 J. Smrz Honda CZE +57.265 13 M. Cardenas Aprilia COL +58.185 14 S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +58.545 15 T. Sekiguchi Aprilia JPN +1' 1.485 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 35.792 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 309 2 Casey Stoner Aprilia AUS 254 3 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 189 4 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda JPN 180 5 Jorge Lorenzo Honda ESP 167 6 Sebastian Porto Aprilia ARG 152 7 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 151 8 Randy de Puniet Aprilia FRA 138 9 Hector Barbera Honda ESP 120 10 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 84 11 Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 77 12 Alex Debon Honda ESP 67 13 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 61 14 Simone Corsi Aprilia ITA 59 15 Mirko Giansanti Aprilia ITA 36 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 349 2 Aprilia 339 3 KTM 30 Click here to view the news

Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt will race for the Yamaha Motor Italia squad in the 2006 Superbike World Championship, fulfilling the team's desire to retain the services of both its riders from the 2005 campaign. Both men played an important role in developing Yamaha's YZF-R1 in its first year of world superbike competition with Japanese ace Haga recording 10 podium finishes, including two wins, on his way to third place in the championship. Australian Pitt ended the year eighth in the standings with a best result of fourth in the opening race of the season in Qatar. The Yamaha Motor Italia squad will again benefit from the official backing of Yamaha Motor Europe and for 2006 will use the updated YZF-R1 as the base for their world superbike contender. Preparations for the new season have already begun, with the first test of the 2006 season due to take place in Valencia on 14-15 November. Noriyuki Haga "I wanted to stay with Yamaha as we ended the year very strongly and I am very pleased that we have been able to agree terms. We had a good first year together and it would have been a shame not to take advantage of all the development work we carried out. Yamaha knows what it has to do to make the bike into a championship winner and it was important for me to know that I have the support needed for 2006. We came close to winning the title in 2000 and my motivation to become champion is still as strong as it ever was. Becoming world superbike champion is the goal I still have to achieve and I believe that Yamaha can give me what it takes to turn this dream into reality." Andrew Pitt "When I signed for last year we always knew that it would be 2006 before we could really see the benefits of our work, therefore I'm delighted to continue with the team and hopefully take advantage of the hard work we put in last year. I enjoy working with this team and we've seen that the bike can be a winner. We know what we have to do to take it to the next level and with a year's experience of the class, the bike and the Pirelli tyres I feel that I can show my true ability next year." Laurens Klein Koerkamp - Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe "We were quite late in starting this project last year and I said that our objective would be to develop the bike and put ourselves in a situation where we were winning races by the end of the year. By the middle of the season we were well on track, and we have shown that we can compete with the best in the class. For 2006 we can take advantage of our year's knowledge. We now have base settings for each circuit we race on, a year's development work behind us and some chassis improvements from the new YZF-R1. The team will again be run by Massimo Meregalli and working with Andrew and Noriyuki gives us great stability. Our learning year is over and we now know exactly what is required to challenge for the title. It will not be easy, but ultimately it is our goal for 2006." Click here to view the news

David Frétigné (Yamaha WR450F - Yamaha Moto France Ipone) confirmed his ambitions for the legendary Dakar rally raid by claiming his fourth consecutive win in the Shamrock rally, that took place in the Marroccan Sahara from the 28th of October to the 6th of November. After his season competing in national and international enduro races, 'the Shamrock' marked Frétigné's traditional switch to rally-raid. The likeable Frenchman quickly adapted to the terrain and his bike. Frétigné, 35, took five day wins at the eighth edition of the Shamrock and added his fourth overall victory to his already impressive tally. David showed great speed in both fast and technical stages, making the best of his past experience in Marocco. However the main goal of the race was to let Frétigné and his team get used to his new WR450F and prepare for the Dakar. The 28th edition of the Dakar rally will take place from the 31st of December to the 15th of January 2006. After the rally had already started in France and Spain, it will this time take off from Lisbon, Portugal to end nearly 10,000 kilometres later at the coast of Dakar, Sénegal. In only his second Dakar participation this year David Frétigné finished fifth overall. He was the only rider to have won three specials in 2005 and he repeated his 450 class win of last year. David Frétigné (Yamaha WR450F - Yamaha Moto France Ipone) - overall winner "Above all I have used the Shamrock to prepare for Dakar. It's nice that I have won with an advance of more than 2 hours over the second, but for more it's even more important to know that we have done our homework for the Dakar. I have concentrated on getting the right setting for my suspension over the past week and everything turned out great. Apart from that we did the usual stuff with a new bike: adjusting pedals and handlebars, learning to work with the new GPS and so on. We have not touched the engine, but even under demanding situations the WR450F engine behaved brilliantly. In general the bike gave me even more confidence than before, and we will keep the bike as it is for the Dakar. The next step in my preparation is to rest and perfect my physical shape till the end of November, after that I will start studying the maps to get my mind set for the 2006 Dakar. I will also have the bike with me to continue to ride and practice my navigation." FINAL STANDINGS SHAMROCK RALLY 2005 1. David Frétigné (Yamaha), 2. Thierry Bethys (Honda), 3. Christophe Meillat (Honda), 4. Olivier Cubaynes (Yamaha), 5. Patrick Moreno (Suzuki), 6. André Lenoble (Suzuki), 7. Christophe Rougeot (Yamaha), 8. Philippe Pennarun (Yamaha), 9. Jean-Michel Redal (Polaris), 10. Eric Beaudoin (Kawasaki) Click here to view the news

Biker Meets Ace Café, Old North Circular Road, Wembley – Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=519550&Y=183850&A=Y&Z=1 Tel: 020 8961 1000 http://www.ace-cafe-london.com Boxhill, Ryka's Cafe, Old London Road, Dorking - Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=517150&Y=152050&A=Y&Z=1 Carlisle Parade, Carlisle Parade, Hastings, Sussex - Wed Evehttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=581550&Y=109250&A=Y&Z=1 Cat & Fiddle Inn, Macclesfield Forest, Cheshire - Saturday, Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=397850&Y=372950&A=Y&Z=3 Tel: 01298 23364 Devils Bridge, Kirkby Lonsdale, Lancashire - Tue, Fri Eve, Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=361550&Y=478250&A=Y&Z=1 Dick Turpin, Arterial Rd, Wickford, Essex - Tue Evehttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=575150&Y=190950&A=Y&Z=3 Tel: 01268 726205 Hartside Top Café, Alston Moor, Cumbria – ???http://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=368776&Y=543049&A=Y&Z= Tel: 01434 381036 Earl of March, Lavant, Chichester, Sussex - Thu Evehttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=485750&Y=108250&A=Y&Z=1 Tel: 01243 774751 Matlock Bath, Matlock, Derbyshire - Saturday, Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=430050&Y=360050&A=Y&Z=1 Rivington Barn, Hampson St, Horwich - Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=363550&Y=411850&A=Y&Z=1 http://www.rivingtonbarn.com Squires Milk bar, Newthorpe Lane, Newthorpe, Leeds – Wed Evehttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=445751&Y=432956&A=Y&Z=1 Tel: 01977 684618 Westgate Street, Newcastle upon Tyne – Saturday, Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=423950&Y=564150&A=Y&Z=1 Whiteways, A29, Arundle, Sussex - Saturday, Sundayhttp://www.streetmap.co.uk/streetmap.dll?G2M?X=500150&Y=110950&A=Y&Z=3 Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Italia completed their first year in the Superbike World Championship yesterday, taking part in a three-day test session at the Losail circuit in the Gulf state of Qatar. The test, organised by championship tyre suppliers Pirelli, was attended by all but one of the series' designated development teams and gave riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt an opportunity to test some new Ohlins suspension parts on their YZF-R1 machines, as well as a host of new tyre options. In contrast to the rain which affected last February's race at the long Losail circuit, the riders were welcomed by surfaces temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius. Typically, Haga chose not to run a qualifying set-up - recording a best of 2:00.46 on race settings. Pitt did run the soft qualifying rubber on the third day to set a best lap of 2:00.56. Both riders were over two seconds faster than in their last visit to the desert circuit, almost 10 months ago, an indication of the development of both the machine and tyres. Ducati rider Troy Bayliss topped the timesheets after three days of running, with a 1:58.66 lap on qualifying tyres. Yamaha Motor Italia completed their first year in the Superbike World Championship yesterday, taking part in a three-day test session at the Losail circuit in the Gulf state of Qatar. The test, organised by championship tyre suppliers Pirelli, was attended by all but one of the series' designated development teams and gave riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt an opportunity to test some new Ohlins suspension parts on their YZF-R1 machines, as well as a host of new tyre options. In contrast to the rain which affected last February's race at the long Losail circuit, the riders were welcomed by surfaces temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius. Typically, Haga chose not to run a qualifying set-up - recording a best of 2:00.46 on race settings. Pitt did run the soft qualifying rubber on the third day to set a best lap of 2:00.56. Both riders were over two seconds faster than in their last visit to the desert circuit, almost 10 months ago, an indication of the development of both the machine and tyres. Ducati rider Troy Bayliss topped the timesheets after three days of running, with a 1:58.66 lap on qualifying tyres. The next official superbike test takes place at Phillip Island in Australia, between 17 and 20 January. Round one of the series takes place at Losail on 25 February. Noriyuki Haga "The new suspension is very good. The front worked straight away without any changes! The rear is also good and with some changes we should find some further improvement. Now I am happy to go on holiday. We have hardly stopped since the end of the season and even as early as January we are back testing." Andrew Pitt "It's been a satisfying test and I was pleased to find that on the few times I was lapping with Bayliss my R1 was a little faster than his Ducati. Certainly the engine upgrades are working good, as is the new suspension. We also fitted a new shock at the end of the test and this will be one of the key development areas at our next test." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator) "We have improved massively since the first race of last season, especially with the chassis, and we suffered none of the front tyre wear problems we had when we raced here. We still have to work on the settings of the new shock absorber, but this looks like a step forward. We also tested engine durability here and completed almost 1,600 kilometres without any problems whatsoever. Also at this test we tried various different injection mappings to give a sweeter power delivery and better drive. Over the next few weeks we will build our 2006-specification engines and at the next test we expect to have several new developments, especially with the engine." High resolution copyright free (for editorial use) images are available from the photo gallery section of www.yamaha-racing.com Click here to view the news