Alex Asigno

Coming into the fourth round of the '06 World Enduro Championship leading the highly competitive Enduro 2 class French UFO Corse Yamaha rider Johnny Aubert started the GP Valli Bergamasche suffering with Influenza. Disappointingly for Aubert things were to get worse rather than better as a crash in the closing stages of day one resulted in him failing to start day two. Unable to perform at his best due to feeling far from 100 per cent Aubert still managed to push reigning Enduro 2 world champion Samuli Aro hard for much of the day one but crashed heavily on the last special test of the day, which dropped him to third. Managing to fit new tyres to his Yamaha in readiness for day two Aubert was advised my event medical staff to go to hospital prior to the start of the second day as he was suffering with pain in his chest, which was feared might be blood clot. Aubert's pain was diagnosed as being a broken rib but having travelled to hospital he was unable to start day two. With Aubert placing in third on day one his UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Stefan Merriman claimed the runner-up spot with Finn Samuli Aro topping the class. On day two Aro again claimed the E2 class win with Merriman second and Finn Mika Ahola third. By placing in second on both days in Italy Merriman, who scored poorly at the first round of the series in Sweden, lifted himself to the runner-up spot in the E2 championship standings, just 11 points behind class leader Samuli Aro. Despite being unable to match the pace of Aro, Merriman performed consistently on both days having not wanted to take any risks in the dry and rocky conditions. With four rounds of the WEC series remaining Stefan is now looking forward to the first ever WEC events to take place outside of Europe when the world champion ship travels to Canada and the States for rounds five and six. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: third, Day 2: DNS "Day one was going really well for me but it was hard for me because I was suffering with Influenza before the race. I pushed as hard as I could but I wasn't going to beat Samuli. I think that second should have been my place on day one. But I crashed really hard on the last lap and dropped to third, which was disappointing. It was still a good result though but I could have been second. When I crashed I hurt my ribs so I went to the doctor before the start of day two. I wasn't in so much pain but I was blue and there was one place that hurt a lot. They told me to go to the hospital to get checked out properly, which I did, because they were afraid that I might be a blood clot. Thankfully I wasn't but I had broken some ribs. Because I went to the hospital I was not able to make the start of day two." Stefan Merriman (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 2 class - Day 1: second, Day 2: second "If my team-mate Johnny Aubert hadn't of crashed on day one then I would have been third, so I guess his mistake was good for me and bad for him. Both Samuli Aro and Johnny were really fast on day one but I was happy to have finished in second. It was too easy to get injured here or to DNF because there were so many rocks. I wasn't prepared to take any risks.I made a few mistakes on both days but I didn't have any really big crashes. It would have been nice to have won but finishing second on both days is good for my championship. It was an extremely difficult race and it's frustrating that the organisers only made changes to the race during the race because it was clear that four laps on both days was going to be too difficult before the start of the event." Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 4 - Bergamo, Italy Circuit: Valli Bergamasche Race 1: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Aro KTM FIN 83' 3.690 2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +1' 46.720 3 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +1' 55.720 4 M. Ahola Honda FIN +2' 13.980 5 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +3' 48.200 6 X. Galindo KTM ESP +3' 57.970 7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +4' 0.090 8 F. Planet KTM FRA +4' 8.010 9 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +4' 54.290 10 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +4' 58.770 11 K. Caselli KTM USA +5' 30.780 12 A. Beconi Beta ITA +5' 32.860 13 S. Tonelli Honda ITA +5' 34.050 14 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +5' 40.450 15 A. Toresson Suzuki SWE +6' 38.020 16 E. Albepart Honda FRA +6' 38.050 17 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +7' 1.950 18 J. Curvalle Kawasaki FRA +7' 12.230 19 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +8' 21.350 20 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +9' 11.400 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Aro KTM FIN 85' 44.810 2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +24.010 3 M. Ahola Honda FIN +1' 42.480 4 A. Belotti KTM ITA +2' 9.930 5 X. Galindo KTM ESP +2' 12.030 6 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +2' 51.210 7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +2' 57.570 8 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +3' 11.140 9 F. Planet KTM FRA +3' 15.080 10 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +4' 5.860 11 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +4' 15.290 12 K. Caselli KTM USA +4' 38.410 13 S. Tonelli Honda ITA +5' 7.390 14 E. Albepart Honda FRA +5' 25.050 15 A. Beconi Beta ITA +5' 56.630 16 A. Toresson Suzuki SWE +6' 58.340 17 G. Canova Husqvarna ITA +7' 1.240 18 G. Falgari Kawasaki ITA +7' 28.290 19 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +8' 6.920 20 F. Mancinelli Beta ITA +10' 52.500 Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 178 2 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 167 3 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 160 4 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 150 5 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 109 6 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 108 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 104 8 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 74 9 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 73 10 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 72 11 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 70 12 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 62 13 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 61 14 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 45 15 Euan McConnell TM GBR 44 16 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 39 17 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 28 18 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 21 19 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 20 20 Kurt Caselli KTM USA 19 Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 184 2 KTM 178 3 Honda 160 4 GasGas 113 5 HusaBerg 73 6 Aprilia 72 7 Beta 67 8 Husqvarna 53 9 TM 43 10 Sherco 31 11 Suzuki 24 12 Kawasaki 16 Enduro 1 : Micheluz produces his best ever result & Vilanova back in Championship Round: 4 - Bergamo, Italy Circuit: Valli Bergamasche Date: 18 June 2006 Crowd: 28500 Temp: 28ºC Weather: Sunny Italian UFO Corse Yamaha rider Maurizio Micheluz produced his best ever World Enduro Championship result at the 40th GP Valli Bergamasche finishing in third place in the Enduro 1 class on day one. Having performed consistently in the first three rounds of the '06 WEC series Maurizio claimed his first ever world championship podium aboard his WR250F placing behind reigning E1 world champion Ivan Cervantes and countryman Simone Albergoni. Winning the first test of day one in the E1 class, and then going on to perform well throughout the day, Maurizio again rode well on day two to finish fourth. Despite not managing to place on the podium for a second time Maurizio's results lifted him to fourth in the Enduro 1 world championship standings where he lies just nine points adrift of third. The fourth round of the '06 World Enduro Championship saw Spaniard Arnau Vilanova make his debut ride for the UFO Corse Yamaha team having been forced to sit out the first three rounds of the WEC series due to injury. Disappointingly for Arnau a lack of race pace and fitness resulted in him placing in 11th on day one. With day one having taken its toll on Arnau he opted not to start day two. Claiming a double class win in Italy was reigning Enduro 1 world champion Ivan Cervantes. With his team-mate Alessandro Belometti having set the pace for much of day one Ivan inherited the lead when Belometti bent his rear sprocket and dropped seven minutes. Joining Cervantes on the podium on day one were Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz while on day two it was Belometti and Albergoni who stood either side of Cervantes on the rostrum. Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: third, Day 2: fourth "I am really happy with my weekend because I finished in a good position on both days. I am really happy with my result from day one because I claimed my first ever world championship podium. Finishing on the podium for the first time at my home GP is great. It was a really difficult race though, especially because of the heat and the dust. It was really physical on both days. Although it was a difficult race we have to remember that this is enduro. But I hope that the races don't get any harder than this." Arnau Vilanova (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1: 11th, Day 2: DNS "It was a really difficult race to start my '06 world championship. Since I injured my foot I have been training at home but that is very different to racing at world championship level. I struggled a little bit but I didn't make any big mistakes. I need to work on my speed because the other riders have been racing all season." Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 4 - Bergamo, Italy Circuit: Valli Bergamasche Race 1: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 84' 21.040 2 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +6.790 3 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +1' 51.530 4 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +2' 17.810 5 R. Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA +2' 29.000 6 F. Blanc KTM FRA +4' 8.760 7 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +4' 56.750 8 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +5' 9.630 9 J. Gauthier Honda FRA +5' 49.710 10 M. Pievani KTM ITA +6' 15.740 11 A. Vilanova Yamaha ESP +7' 6.700 12 F. Georgsson KTM SWE +9' 5.270 13 N. Nicoli KTM ITA +9' 44.670 14 N. Joye KTM CHE +11' 0.710 15 A. Belometti KTM ITA +21' 21.230 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 85' 0.410 2 A. Belometti KTM ITA +40.500 3 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +1' 31.020 4 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +3' 21.490 5 R. Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA +4' 46.090 6 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +5' 12.850 7 M. Hartmann KTM GER +5' 35.200 8 M. Pievani KTM ITA +6' 30.140 9 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +6' 44.330 10 F. Scovolo Suzuki ITA +7' 46.440 11 F. Blanc KTM FRA +9' 54.470 12 F. Georgsson KTM SWE +11' 1.650 13 N. Nicoli KTM ITA +11' 27.800 14 N. Joye KTM CHE +14 ' 25.940 15 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +20' 47.250 Championship standings Enduro 1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Ivan Cervantes KTM ESP 194 2 Simone Albergoni Honda ITA 165 3 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 138 4 Mauricio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 129 5 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 127 6 Petri Pohjamo TM FIN 105 7 Helder Rodrigues Yamaha POR 97 8 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 75 9 Freddy Blanc KTM FRA 74 10 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 70 11 Peter Bergvall Suzuki SWE 52 12 Julien Gauthier Honda FRA 43 13 Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 41 14 Roberto Bazzurri Husqvarna ITA 32 15 Joan Jou Yamaha ESP 27 16 Robert Carlsson Yamaha SWE 26 17 Manuel Pievani KTM ITA 24 18 Andre Raphael Kawasaki FRA 24 19 Pär Olsson Yamaha SWE 19 20 Evrard Gutkin TM FRA 18 26 Fernando Ferreira Yamaha POR 13 27 Alexandre Mendes Yamaha FRA 12 30 Arnau Vilanova Yamaha ESP 10 32 Andre Fernandez Yamaha POR 6 34 Santos Helio Yamaha ESP 4 Manufacturers standings Enduro 1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 194 2 Honda 165 3 Husqvarna 137 4 Yamaha 134 5 TM 105 6 Suzuki 77 7 Kawasaki 24 Click here to view the news

Just five days after their stunning showing at the Sachsenring circuit in Germany the Camel Yamaha Team will be back on track on the other side of the Atlantic as the MotoGP World Championship takes another whirlwind trip across the globe from the east of Europe to the west coast of the USA. Following an absence of almost a decade, the Laguna Seca circuit near Monterey in California plays host to the world's premier motorcycle race series for the second consecutive season and represents a crucial date with destiny for both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards. Last season both riders finished on the podium, an ideal way to celebrate Yamaha's 50th Anniversary and a fitting reward for the factory's role in bringing the sport back to the continent. This time, however, nothing less than a victory will satisfy the Italian and the American, who both have their own agendas as they tackle one of the most important races of the season so far. For Rossi the eleventh round of seventeen represents another key opportunity to close the gap to series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda) and provides a chance to strike a major psychological blow on the Kentucky rider, who used his explicit local knowledge of the circuit to take victory last season. However, crucial data gathered by Rossi and his team in that race, as well as track modifications that have taken place since then in the interest of safety, have levelled the playing field and the reigning World Champion is confident the advantage can swing in his favour. The goal for Edwards is to take his first ever victory in MotoGP racing after coming desperately close in the Dutch TT earlier this season. The American has shown flashes of winning potential this season and he would like nothing more than to finally savour the top step of the podium at his home Grand Prix before heading to Japan with an identical target at the prestigious Suzuka 8-hour race. Valentino Rossi: Strong from the start Following on from his remarkable victory in Germany, Valentino Rossi is looking forward to his second visit to California thanks to an enjoyable and promising Laguna Seca debut one year ago. The reigning MotoGP World Champion was the first non-American rider across the line as he took third place in his first ever USGP but this year he doesn't plan to have anybody in front of him at all as he looks to sign off for the summer with another maximum points haul. "Even though I didn't know the track last year I was able to follow Nicky for many laps and then Colin too, so I learnt a lot from both of them," explains Rossi. "By the end of the race I was getting stronger and I actually set my best time on the last lap so I hope that this year we can be strong from the start and this time beat the Americans! We had some difficulties with the bike in Germany and we don't have time to make many big changes before this weekend, but hopefully the good setting we found for the race on Sunday and the data we have from last year will be enough. "The latest modifications to the track will make a difference and we will see how they are when we get there. After last year we discussed everything with the Safety Commission and we made some more suggestions to improve the track, because really it was not at the level of the rest of the championship. It's okay for Superbikes but we are coming into the corners 40km faster, so it was necessary to make some more changes, especially at turn one. Now we have to wait to see if it is better and safer this year." Colin Edwards: Victory still the target Colin Edwards is approaching the second home Grand Prix of his career with his focus completely set on taking victory, despite his set-up troubles with the YZR-M1 in Germany. After finishing second to Nicky Hayden in Laguna last year and battling with the same rider for victory at Assen in Holland earlier this season - only to lose out in the final corner - conceding ground to his compatriot is a scenario the Texan does not plan on repeating as the pair tussle for home glory this time around. "Before Sachsenring I said that I am not hoping to win at Laguna Seca, I am expecting to win, and that remains the case," affirms Edwards, who will be in Los Angeles on Tuesday to take part in a MotoGP bike parade along Hollywood Boulevard before attending the screening of the new MotoGP movie 'The Doctor, The Tornado and The Kentucky Kid', in which he stars. "We had our problems in Germany but we also had problems at Catalunya earlier in the season and seven days later I was fighting to win at Assen. It seems the bike that we have works at some circuits and not so well at others so, like Assen, Laguna will be a bit of a shot in the dark. One thing for sure is that I'm going to fight and barge and do whatever it takes to win. If it comes down to a scrap between the Americans, Hayden and I, then I know I can come out on top this time. Hopefully the bike will work as well as it did at Assen and if it does than I definitely won't make the same mistakes." Davide Brivio: Double top the target Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is confident that both riders can take the role of protagonists in what promises to be another groundbreaking step for the sport's popularity in America. Brivio watched Edwards and Rossi finish on the podium in last year's inaugural event and he is hopeful of a repeat performance on Sunday - this time with one of the pair on the top step. "Last year both our riders were on the podium and the target is the same this time, but in better positions," says Brivio. "The competition in MotoGP is getting tougher and tougher as the season goes on but we need to keep working as we are now because there is a long way to go. With six rounds left after the summer it would be nice to go on holiday with the psychological boost of victory at Laguna Seca. "We know that Nicky Hayden is fast at this circuit but this is the challenge. We are all in racing because we enjoy the battle and on the evidence of what we saw last year I think both our riders can be up there giving Nicky a hard time this Sunday. We're going there with great confidence after Valentino's win in Germany and I think Laguna comes at the perfect time for Colin, who needs to get back on the podium. It is only a few days but for him and for us the race can't come soon enough." Technically speaking: Laguna according to Daniele Romagnoli Famed, feared and revered for the world-famous 'Corkscrew' corner, the Laguna Seca circuit near Monterey in California lived up to its billing as one of the most exciting circuits on the calendar when MotoGP visited for the first time ever last season. With only a few short straights, a series of fast and sweeping corners and elevation changes that leave front wheels frequently spinning through thin air, the 3.602km circuit provides the ideal viewing spectacle for fans but is surprisingly straightforward when it comes to machine set-up. "Actually Laguna was not as technical as we thought it might be when we visited for the first time last year," explains Daniele Romagnoli, Chief Engineer for Colin Edwards. "It is a special circuit because there are almost no straights so there is no need to use the full gear range or the maximum power of the bike. Power delivery is much more important than top-end power and it must be smooth and easy for the rider to manage. At the same time the circuit is very 'up and down' so the chassis is important because the bike needs to keep turning in several different conditions. You need good traction when the bike is leaned over - especially at the end of the main straight when the bike is at an angle at high speed and in the Corkscrew. The Corkscrew also requires stable suspension and good performance under braking because, as we saw with Colin last year, it is a place he likes to overtake. "Honestly it was quite easy to find a good set-up for Colin last year. His experience at the circuit meant that we already had some good information for the gear and suspension settings before we arrived. This time things are a little different because, even though we can dial in the same settings on the bike, the tyres have changed a lot from last year so we will need to work on something new to adapt the chassis and the suspension. We had a difficult weekend finding the right setting in Germany but Colin will not let this affect him and we will come out fighting like we did at Assen." Valentino Rossi: information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 83 (56 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 166 (107 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 41 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 58 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Laguna Seca Lap Record: Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 2005, 1'23.915 Laguna Seca Best Lap: Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2005, 1'22.670 2005 United States Grand Prix Results: 1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 45'15.374 2. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +1.941 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, +2.312 Click here to view the news

Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga each took a second podium position in today's World Superbike races at Misano after starting in pole and third respectively. Haga got a good start in race one and maintained his second with his team mate right behind him in third and Bayliss leading the pack. Together with Biaggi in fourth, the pack created some distance from the rest of the field with all four riders battling throughout the race. Haga and Bayliss had an exciting fight for the lead on lap 16 but it was Bayliss who came out on top with Haga second, Biaggi third and Corser fourth. Then, on the penultimate lap Biaggi tried to overtake Haga the second curvone corner but crashed, taking both riders out. As a result of this Corser grabbed second place and his 111th Superbike podium. Race two saw the Yamaha Motor Italia team mates challenge each other for second place in the first couple of laps before Haga won the battle. Haga then turned his attention to front man Bayliss whom he diced with for first place. Unfortunately, he started to feel sick due to painkilling injections he had been given following injuries received in the race one incident. He was forced to relax his challenge on Bayliss and settle for second as his condition worsened. Following his battle with Haga early on in the second race, Corser found himself battling with Biaggi and Kagayama for the rest of the race. Despite a last lap charge to overtake Kagayama Corser had to accept fifth place and eleven points. Corser has now scored over 300 points at the same circuit - 325 to be precise. This has only been achieved three times before and by only two riders. Carl Fogarty achieved this record at Assen (350 points) and Donington Park (308 points), while Corser first achieved it in Phillip Island (330 points). Shinichi Nakatomi had a mixed day today but finished 14th in race two to take two points away. He was forced to retire from the first race on lap seven with engine problems. Today's results have reduced Yamaha's championship points deficit to just seven behind Ducati. Haga sits in third five points behind Bayliss and an accessible 26 behind Toseland. Corser remains fifth in the championship standings with the next race in a month's time. The team has two tests before the next round, which is at Brno. Troy Corser (2nd and 5th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Today has been unbelievably disappointing after such a good day yesterday. In race one I had a rear grip problem and didn't get a good start either. Those two factors together just made for a tough race. I changed bikes between the two races and the engine in the second bike felt better but the set-up wasn't quite right, giving me all sorts of problems. I kept losing the front throughout the second race. I was actually crashing at one point but I landed back on the bike, hit the screen and managed to keep going. It is such a disappointment after getting my fortieth pole yesterday - a sorry end to an otherwise good weekend." Noriyuki Haga (DNF and 2nd - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "I was unlucky in race one. Mistakes can happen to anyone; I'm not angry about the incident in race one but I'm very disappointed that there has been no acknowledgement or apology for what happened. That isn't professional in my book. I hurt my right elbow and wrist in the race one incident and so had to have some painkillers for the second race. The race was going well when, about halfway through, I started to feel sick, which was caused by the painkillers. I had to slow down. Also, only a few laps into the race my rear brake pedal broke leaving me without any rear brake. All in all I am quite happy with second. But today was an unlucky day for me." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator, Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Mistakes can happen but it was perhaps unexpected from such an experienced rider; Nori was unlucky to be involved. Today was a good opportunity for us to get more points in our campaign to catch Toseland but we haven't achieved that. The day didn't go as planned but the result is actually quite good for the team as we don't traditionally have a good record at Misano. I am very pleased that we were able to fight for wins in both races here as it means, if we can do it here, we can do it anywhere. Nori's second race was very good considering he felt ill and it is a good result for Troy to get pole as well as a second place." Shinichi Nakatomi (DNF and 14th - Team Yamaha YZF) "The first race was frustrating for me; I was very disappointed to have to retire. In race two I managed to make up some places but lost a couple at the end of the race. At least I have two more points." Martial Garcia (Team Manager, Team Yamaha YZF) "Race one was difficult for us today with Tomi suffering from engine problems. He got a good start in race two and was having a good race when he unfortunately had to slow down one some of the last laps. We came here hoping to get two good results but at least we got fourteenth and two points." Circuit Length: 4060 Temp: 27 Crowd: 68,000 Weather: Dry 2007 WSB Misano 17/06/2007 Race 1 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 38'52.856 2 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'2.374 3 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'8.965 4 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'11.110 5 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'18.709 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'20.467 7 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'2.072 8 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'25.424 9 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'30.891 10 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'37.724 11 Marco Borciani Ducati ITA 0'44.898 12 Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki ITA 1'1.538 13 Luca Morelli Ducati ITA 1'37.781 14 Dean Ellison Ducati GBR -1 Laps 15 Christian Zaiser MV Agusta AUT -1 Laps Race 2 - 24 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 38'43.506 2 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 0'2.537 3 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 0'6.386 4 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 0'8.905 5 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 0'9.130 6 James Toseland Honda GBR 0'13.967 7 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 0'16.708 8 Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 0'16.781 9 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 0'17.312 10 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 0'33.065 11 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 0'33.605 12 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 0'41.251 13 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'42.723 14 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 0'56.644 15 Mauro Sanchini Kawasaki ITA 1'0.739 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'36.356 Rider Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. James Toseland Honda GBR 260 2. Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 239 3. Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 234 4. Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 217 5. Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 182 6. Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 133 7. Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 130 8. Roberto Rolfo Honda ITA 109 9. Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 100 10. Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 89 11. Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 76 12. Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 59 13. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 53 14. Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 50 15. Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 40 17. Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 24 Manufacturer Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Ducati 284 2. Yamaha 277 3. Honda 274 4. Suzuki 233 5. Kawasaki 102 6. MV Agusta 1 RACE REPORT 17/06/2007 Yamaha 1st and 2nd in Supersport Race The Yamaha World Supersport Team took first and second in an exciting two-part race today at Misano with Anthony West taking the win and Broc Parkes finishing second. This is the first time since Brands Hatch last season that the both riders in the team have stepped on the podium together. The pair started the race on the front row with Parkes in pole and West in second. Unfortunately Broc got a bad start and went back to fifth while Anthony leapt into the lead and wasted no time setting the fastest lap. Parkes had climbed up to second place and was chasing West when the race was red flagged doe to oil on the circuit. The race was re-started, with times being calculated on aggregate, and West and Sofuoglu fought for the led from the off. The pack of riders behind, which included Parkes, were in a close battle of their own, allowing West and Sofuoglu to get some distance ahead. But by lap 12 Parkes had broken through to third and set about catching the leaders. It was only two laps later when Parkes made his move on Sofuoglu but was re-taken when he dropped back suddenly on lap 20. This was caused by him hitting the pit lane limiter as he swerved the bike while removing a visor tear-off. Meanwhile West had put in a textbook performance and lead the race from lap 14 to take his second win for the Yamaha World Supersport Team. Parkes took second by 0.143 seconds from Sofuoglu after recovering from his tear-off incident. Massimo Roccoli got a good start in the second heat of the race to go from tenth to fifth where he was contending with Parkes for position. He put in a strong performance to finish fourth. Anthony West (1st - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It's great to win another race and I'm even happier to win it in the dry because I now feel that I have really proven myself and that people won't necessarily say I only won at Silverstone because of the weather. I was very nervous on the front row but I just focused on watching the gaps open up in front of me. I wasn't sure what to expect in the second half but I saw riders in front making mistakes which gave me confidence and kept me focused. I'd like to thank the Yamaha team for all their hard work and I'm pleased to win for them as much as for me." Broc Parkes (2nd - Yamaha World Supersport Team "I got a really bad start in the second heat but I just put my head down and worked my way through the pack. It still took me a while to catch Anthony once I'd passed everyone else; I had three seconds to make up and that's not easy to do in a race. Then I ripped off a tear-off and hit the pit lane limiter, which lost me over a second and let Sofuoglu passed. I knew I had to be within half a second at the finish line to beat him overall but we were both riding completely on the limit for the last bit of that race! I've crashed three times now while in second place so, despite the fact that I wanted to catch Anthony, I decided that points are more valuable than to risk another crash at this stage in the championship. I'm just so happy to step on the podium again! Thanks to the team for their efforts and support this weekend, it has all come together nicely." Massimo Roccoli (4th - Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm disappointed about the first half of the race as there was an eight second gap between me and the riders in front. I was not happy about starting on the third row either but I got a good start in the second half and was in the front group. It is very important to me to have had a good result here. It might be my home track but I don't know it well at all. I want to thank the team for all their efforts this weekend." Circuit Length: 4060 Temp: 25 Crowd: 68,000 Weather: Sunny 2007 WSS Misano 17/06/2007 Race 1 - 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Anthony West Yamaha AUS 36'47.866 2 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 0'4.197 3 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 0'4.340 4 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 0'15.123 5 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 0'18.429 6 Simone Sanna Honda ITA 0'18.741 7 Javier Fores Honda ESP 0'18.915 8 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 0'25.082 9 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 0'30.240 10 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 0'31.633 11 Yoann Tiberio Honda FRA 0'32.743 12 Matthieu Lagrive Honda FRA 0'33.093 13 Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 0'33.592 14 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 0'35.678 15 Gilles Boccolini Kawasaki ITA 0'37.193 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Anthony West Yamaha AUS 1'39.109 Rider Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 161 2. Fabien Foret Kawasaki FRA 100 3. Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 77 4. Robbin Harms Honda DNK 70 5. Anthony West Yamaha AUS 66 6. Barry Veneman Suzuki NED 50 7. Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 47 8. Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 46 9. Gianluca Nannelli Ducati ITA 43 10. Andrew Pitt Honda AUS 40 11. David Salom Yamaha ESP 34 12. Lorenzo Alfonsi Honda ITA 34 13. Simone Sanna Honda ITA 30 14. Pere Riba Kawasaki ESP 30 15. Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 29 19. Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 25 23. David Checa Yamaha ESP 20 24. Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 15 Manufacturer Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 181 2. Yamaha 132 3. Kawasaki 111 4. Suzuki 57 5. Ducati 43 RACE REPORT 17/06/2007 Baiocco Takes His Second Win of the Season for Yamaha Team Umbria Bike rider Matteo Baiocco took his second race win of the season today at the sixth round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup. The 23 year old Italian had shown good form all weekend on his YZF-R1, taking the first pole of his Superstock career yesterday. Baiocco led both parts of the two-heat race from start to finish in a textbook ride to retake the lead in the championship from Aitchison. Baiocco got a good start in the first heat and broke away from the pack with Simeon right behind. The race was then red flagged on lap four after Badovini's bike leaked fluid on the track before bursting into flames. With the race reduced to nine laps from fourteen, Baiocco went on to repeat his good start in the second heat to take the race win and twenty five points. Today's win comes only one week after Baiocco's win in the national Italian championship at Vallelunga last week. Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti also had an exciting race finishing fourth after starting in ninth. He suffered a minor elbow injury at the start of the weekend when he crashed in practice on Friday but went on to take six seconds off his time during the qualifying sessions to start on the second row. In the first heat he started well and moved up to third before the red flag. In the second heat he battled throughout the race for fourth, where he eventually finished. Corti's team mate Michele Pirro struggled in today's race after crashing in qualifying yesterday, losing valuable time in which to find the right set-up. Although he was the fastest rider in Friday's practice, the young rider could only manage a qualifying position of 19th, which he found hard to come back from in the start/stop race. Baiocco now leads the championship on 95 points with an eight point lead back to Aitchison. Corti lies in sixth on 64 points with team mate Pirro right behind in seventh on 59 points. Matteo Baiocco (1st - Team Umbria Bike) "I knew I was fast from the first free practice session on Friday. Simeon tried to make my life hard in the race but I closed all his windows of opportunity to pass me. The bike was sliding so much with very little grip but I'm fortunate that I won. I don't want to think about leading the championship again though, because I want to stay focused and on fighting form." Claudio Corti (4th - Yamaha Team Italia) "I started badly and I struggled because of my bad set up. I lost set-up time because of my crash on Friday and we paid for it today. I tried to attack Dionisi on the last lap today but I couldn't get past. I hope to have a better result here in the national championship round here next weekend and I will use it as an opportunity to sort out some of the issues we had today." Michele Pirro (13th - Yamaha Team Italia) "Today was very difficult because I started from a way back on the grid, not up the front like normal. My target was to finish in the top ten but that proved impossible. I tried to push but I couldn't due to the bad set-up I had caused by the lack of set-up time I had after crashing in qualifying. I didn't want to crash again today and so couldn't really push for positions." Circuit Length: 4060 Temp: 28 Crowd: 68,000 Weather: Dry 2007 Superstock Misano 17/06/2007 Race 1 - 3 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 15'6.692 2 Xavier Simeon Suzuki BEL 0'0.581 3 Ilario Dionisi Suzuki ITA 0'10.969 4 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 0'12.790 5 Nicolo Canepa Ducati ITA 0'13.188 6 Sheridan Morais Ducati RSA 0'13.527 7 Mark Aitchison Suzuki AUS 0'14.415 8 Daniel Sutter Yamaha CHE 0'17.010 9 Rene Mahr Yamaha GER 0'17.015 10 Brendan Roberts Ducati AUS 0'18.154 11 Arne Tode Honda GER 0'19.638 12 Leonardo Biliotti MV Agusta GER 0'23.353 13 Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 0'23.435 14 Matej Smrz Honda CZE 0'28.126 15 Olivier Depoorter Yamaha BEL 0'30.456 Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Xavier Simeon Suzuki BEL 1'39.337 Rider Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 95 2. Mark Aitchison Suzuki AUS 87 3. Nicolo Canepa Ducati ITA 71 4. Xavier Simeon Suzuki BEL 71 5. Ilario Dionisi Suzuki ITA 70 6. Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 64 7. Michele Pirro Yamaha ITA 59 8. Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 45 9. Brendan Roberts Ducati AUS 41 10. Matej Smrz Honda CZE 33 11. Rene Mahr Yamaha GER 33 12. Sheridan Morais Ducati RSA 29 13. Cederic Tangre Yamaha FRA 23 14. Marko Jerman Suzuki SVK 23 15. Arne Tode Honda GER 18 Manufacturer Standings 17/06/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 126 2. Suzuki 111 3. Ducati 96 4. Honda 48 5. MV Agusta 28 6. Kawasaki 4 Click here to view the news

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

Five years to the week since he won the MotoGP World Championship for the first time, Valentino Rossi heads into the penultimate round of the 2006 season at Estoril in Portugal next Sunday aiming to finally overthrow Nicky Hayden from the top of the standings and set-up his sixth premier-class title in a row. After an amazing run of form for the Italian, who has made up 39 points over the last four races, he is now just 12 behind and on course to catch the American by the final round at Valencia. A slip-up for Rossi, of course, could see Hayden take the number 1 plate this Sunday, but the formbook suggests that this should not be the case, with Rossi having finished on the podium in each of his previous six visits to Estoril. The 27 year old has won the race four times, including his first appearance there for Yamaha in 2004, whilst conversely for Hayden it is one of his least successful circuits - his best result coming last year when he finished seventh. Estoril's location on the western tip of Europe, just seven kilometres from the Atlantic coast, makes it vulnerable to dramatic changes in weather and high gusts of wind, meaning the riders can take nothing for granted. An autumn visit promises to deliver similarly wild conditions to those encountered when the event was held last year in the spring, culminating in the first ever flag-to-flag race in MotoGP - although unlike at Phillip Island three weeks ago none of the riders opted to come in and change bikes. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards was a victim of the conditions on that occasion, the Texan sliding off his bike on lap twenty-four and then remounting to finish in sixth place. This year the 31-year-old is hoping for much better fortune as he looks to build on excellent recent progress with the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine, including sensational lap times in the recent one-day test at Motegi, and end his season on a high. Valentino Rossi: Two difficult tracks Valentino Rossi remains confident that he has the speed to beat Nicky Hayden in any situation although he admits that the upcoming circuits are not amongst his favourites. An intense summer of hard work by Yamaha's engineers on the YZR-M1 has given Rossi a competitive and adaptable package that he believes can adjust to the demands of both Estoril and Valencia and give him every chance of retaining the title, which he has made his own in recent seasons. "Now we have two difficult tracks but I think our M1 can be fast at both of them," says Rossi. "Since Brno, when we finally understood everything about what we needed to do to make our bike work at 100% again, we've been very strong everywhere and on the podium each time. I think that we're as strong as our rivals now and when we're at the maximum we're always going to be fighting at the front. Of course we know we could have won more if we'd been like this earlier in the season but we can't do anything about that. Anyway we know our potential and when we've started from the front lately we've been on the podium each time, so we have to carry on like this. "Everyone involved has helped bring us back to this level. I think the team's level of motivation and concentration is the best in the paddock, it's incredible, more than anyone else, so I have to say thank you again. I actually like Portugal - the '04 bike especially was very good there. It's twisty but we can go well there. In '05 we had some problems with the tyre, plus it was only the second race and early in the year so the weather was bad. I hope that it will be a bit warmer and won't rain, and that we can find a good tyre with Michelin." Colin Edwards: Our turn for sunshine Colin Edwards is also hoping that recent hard work on the YZR-M1 can bear fruit in a final two-race swansong for the 990cc machine. With development of the 800cc bikes now well underway ahead of the rule changes in 2007, the American is hoping he can end the era on a high and finally fulfil the promise he has shown on the current bike in brilliant flashes over the past two seasons. "We made a big step forward at the test after the last race in Motegi and I was pretty much flying round the track that day," says Edwards. "We've only got two more races with this bike but it is always important to improve in testing so that you can translate that to race conditions, which is what we hope will happen in Portugal. Even though we haven't had the exact results we've hoped for at the last two races, the overall feeling with the bike has been much better and so with any luck the recent adjustments we made in Motegi will give us a competitive package in Estoril. "I was unlucky to be one of the ones that went down in the rain last year but I did get back on and finish sixth, although I had better improve on that this time around! I don't have any particularly strong feelings one way or another for the track, it's got a bit of everything but I think it suits our bike quite well. As a place it's not bad either - the coastline is beautiful and the food is great. The only problem is the weather, but we've been fairly unlucky with that this season so hopefully it's our turn for some sunshine!" Davide Brivio: Keeping the focus After such a good run of recent form, Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio says that the most important requisite from his staff over the final two rounds is that they maintain their focus. From being 51 points behind just four races ago Valentino Rossi is now within striking distance of the championship summit and Brivio is determined not to let this opportunity slip. "The championship is now in its final, vital stage and it's important that we don't lose focus," says Brivio. "Our target for Estoril is to continue in the same way as at the last few races and arrive at the last round in a position to fight for the championship there. Estoril is going to be very important because we need to try to close the gap as much as possible to put us in the best position to win in Valencia. "Colin did a great test on Monday in Motegi and made some really important steps forward. If we're able to confirm this improvement in Estoril and Valencia then I think we can definitely see him back fighting at the front at these two races. Unfortunately he's struggled quite a bit this season with finding the perfect setting on the bike, but we're not giving up! We have confidence in him and we know that we can see him in a better position for the final two races." Technically speaking: Estoril according to Mike Norton The Autodromo Fernanda Pires de Silva is a circuit of extreme contrasts. One of the lengthiest main straights in MotoGP allows speeds of over 340km/h to be reached and yet the chicane is one of the slowest corners on the calendar. The track itself has the slowest average speed and the throttle is seldom overworked on the extensively twisty and tortuous infield sections, riddled as they are by a host of second and third gear bends. However, the 200km/h kink at turn five and the final Parabolica corner are two of the toughest tests of any rider and machine's cornering prowess. With such contrasting challenges to overcome, the team mechanics and Michelin tyre technicians have no choice but to opt for compromise settings. "Suspension front and rear has to be generally set to work best towards the end of the race, to aid the tyres after such an extensive workout on the circuit's nine right and four left hand corners," explains Mike Norton, Öhlins' Suspension Technician to Valentino Rossi. "It's not particularly technical but it is quite hard on the tyres so the setting needs to help them out as much as possible. "Estoril needs a good compromise in order to be able to deal with the difference between the very twisty and quite slow infield sections and some much faster corners, such as turn five and the final Parabolica corner. The biggest problem last year was the temperature of the tyres because it was so early in the year and it rained, but hopefully this time the weather will be a little better and it will stay dry!" Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 84 (57 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 171 (112 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 43 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 64 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Estoril Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2004, 1'38.423 Estoril Best Lap: Alex Barros (Honda) 2005, 1'37.202 2005 Portuguese Grand Prix Results* : 1. Alex Barros (BRA) Honda, 47'14.053 2. Valentino Rossi(ITA) Yamaha, +2.771 3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Honda, +6.071 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +44.216 * Wet Race Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motocross rider Josh Coppins experienced a dream debut in blue colours by toasting overall MX1 success today in front of 25,000 fans packed into the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard just south of the city of Eindhoven for the opening meeting of the fifteen rounds of the 2007 FIM World Championship and the first visit of two planned stops in the Netherlands this season. The Grand Prix of Benelux occurred under very pleasant conditions. The winding Eurocircuit boasted a slower lap-time and average speed compared to past years thanks to several new corner sections and a layout that reversed the traditional direction. The brown sand churned into rutted waves of terrain that was slippery in places making it physically very demanding. Coppins started well on the YZ450FM and was placed in the top three alongside Steve Ramon and Ken de Dycker in the first moto. The battle for the lead narrowed down to a duel with De Dycker and the New Zealander hounded the Belgian for four laps before moving through and swiftly breaking his pursuer's tow. The second half of the moto was straightforward for the 30 year old kiwi as he eased to his GP debut race success with his Yamaha. The second race saw Coppins face slightly more adversity as he combated a mediocre start and a problem with his goggles, but he pushed through to the runner-up position. Despite an earnest attempt to slice the advantage carved by Jonathan Barragan at the front the Coppins had to be content to settle for second spot which easily delivered his maiden Yamaha victory by six points overall from the lively Spaniard. Marc de Reuver also had a Yamaha debut to remember. The 24 year old scored sixth and third positions for fifth in the final ranking. Riding under pressure at his home GP De Reuver hit the sand on the first lap of Moto one but then embarked on a determined charge from last spot to seize a creditable sixth place by the chequered flag; in what was arguably the most eye-catching - but tiring - performance of the 40 minute fare. Later in the day a more effective getaway from the line allowed the Dutchman to forage away in third, some distance behind his team-mate. Josh Coppins - first "Ken is super fast but I knew he could not keep that pace for the whole race. He is a little bit wild so I held back and then attacked when Steve was coming closer to us. I put some good laps together at the end of the race and then I could pull away easily. My start was not as good in the second moto. I was spinning out of the gate and had to grab the clutch again; it was not a perfect launch. I lost some time and was quite far back. I passed many guys but had problems with my goggles and was held up in third for a little while until I could sort it out. Again I made some decent laps and took second. I looked towards Jonathan but he was riding very well and I had some cramp. I did not know who would be the main challenger this weekend and I still do not know who will be my main rival for the championship. My job is to do the best I can and if I cannot win then I will settle for second." Marc de Reuver - fifth "I am happy. When I crashed in the first moto I thought 'what a disaster' but I picked up the bike and my pace. I kept looking at my board and rode my own race. The lap-times were pretty good and consistent, I passed a lot of guys but it also cost me a lot of energy. In the second moto it was much traffic the first few laps. I managed to get to third place but I was quite tired. The bike is working well although we need to practice more on our starts. It wasn't a bad first GP for me in MX1. I thought MX2 was aggressive in the first laps and believed that MX1 would be different but it is pretty similar actually" Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager: "It was a perfect start today. Josh was smart enough to make a good start and not lose any ground in the first laps. He was under pressure and it was easy to make a mistake, but he didn't. He was steady and this consistency helped him win the GP; this was the best we could have expected from him. I am very happy with Marc. He never gave up despite that bad start. He looked very motivated and to come back from last to sixth place was very encouraging. He was pretty tired though and this showed in the second moto but we are satisfied. I have, and had, absolutely no doubt in the capabilities of the bike. It worked well this weekend and we have a very good machine in our hands for the season." Circuit Length: 1750 Temp: 19 Crowd: 25000 Weather: Sunny 2007 GP of Valkenswaard, Benelux 01/04/2007 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 41'1.884 2 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'16.953 3 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'25.220 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'35.705 5 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'58.269 6 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 1'3.069 7 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'4.679 8 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'6.490 9 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 1'9.355 10 James Noble Honda GBR 1'11.339 11 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'34.417 12 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'43.315 13 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'49.928 14 Mike Brown Honda USA 1'52.619 15 Antoine Meo Honda FRA 2'3.627 16 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 2'9.254 17 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 2'18.764 18 Manuel Priem TM BEL -1 Laps 19 Bas Verhoeven Suzuki NED -1 Laps 20 Marko Kovalainen Honda FIN -1 Laps Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 41'44.389 2 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'10.386 3 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 0'21.442 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'28.440 5 Manuel Priem TM BEL 0'38.574 6 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'52.584 7 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'57.350 8 James Noble Honda GBR 1'1.456 9 Mike Brown Honda USA 1'3.833 10 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'38.302 11 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'44.922 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 2'4.822 13 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 2'26.141 14 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 15 Julien Vanni Honda FRA -1 Laps 16 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 17 Antoine Meo Honda FRA -1 Laps 18 Marko Kovalainen Honda FIN -1 Laps 19 Bas Verhoeven Suzuki NED -1 Laps 20 Christian Beggi Honda ITA -1 Laps Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 2'6.620 Rider Standings 01/04/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 47 2. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 41 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 37 4. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 36 5. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 35 6. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 34 7. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 25 8. James Noble Honda GBR 24 9. Manuel Priem TM BEL 19 10. Mike Brown Honda USA 19 11. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 17 12. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 13 13. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 13 14. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 12 15. Antoine Meo Honda FRA 10 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 10 17. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 9 18. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 9 19. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 9 20. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 8 Manufacturer Standings 01/04/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 47 2. KTM 41 3. Suzuki 40 4. Honda 34 5. Kawasaki 19 6. TM 19 RACE REPORT 01/04/2007 Cairoli rules supreme at the Benelux GP Antonio Cairoli aced the MX2 class with a double moto sweep for his eleventh career victory. The De Carli Yamaha rider won both races at a reasonable canter for an authoritative launch to the World Championship. The 2005 number one and '06 runner-up toyed with leader Gareth Swanepoel in the formative stages of Moto one but pulled clear on lap seven to a enjoy an untroubled run to the finish line. The second race followed a similar script once he had moved past reigning champ Christophe Pourcel, who had made a mistake and fallen. Ricci Yamaha's Kenneth Gundersen carried some decent speed through the weekend and was a distant fourth in the first race after a less than perfect start. The Norwegian took another top five result with fifth after lunch and was pleased to leave the circuit with 34 points and sixth overall. His new team-mate and super talent Nicolas Aubin enacted a solid first appearance for the squad with seventh in the classification. The young Frenchman was sixth and eighth in the two Moto's and followed Gundersen in the final listing with seventh overall. Davide Guarneri was unable to compete due to a twisted ankle sustained recently in the Italian Championship at Malpensa. He is expected to be fit for the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks time. Both riders of the Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon racing team failed to appear at the season opening GP due to injuries. Antonio Cairoli - first "The first heat was a little bit easier than the second. I didn't start that well for the first moto but I felt better on the track because it wasn't so rough compared to the second race. My physical condition was good and I am happy because I have not been training that much in the sand this year. I thought Rattray was the closest rider to me today in terms of speed so I am lucky that he did not get good starts. I knew that Christophe's condition is still not great so I thought that I could win the second moto even before he crashed. I was waiting for his mistake, after which it made things easier." Kenneth Gundersen - sixth "For me it's a good day, fourth in the first and fifth in the second despite a bad start. I feel strong and the bike is working very well so I am really happy. My plan is not to be totally 100% strong at this early stage so I am pleased with the results." The Easter holidays prompt a break in the World Championship next week but the paddock then heads to southern Europe for the Grand Prix of Spain at Bellpuig followed immediately the weekend after with the Portuguese round at Agueda. Circuit Length: 1750 Temp: 19 Crowd: 25000 Weather: Sunny 2007 GP of Valkenswaard, Benelux 01/04/2007 Race 1 - 17 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 41'41.618 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'7.537 3 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'10.919 4 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'16.115 5 Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 0'20.211 6 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'31.436 7 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'46.444 8 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'58.769 9 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'5.893 10 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 1'9.858 11 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'13.239 12 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'18.060 13 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'22.387 14 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'25.946 15 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 1'45.961 16 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'47.848 17 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'49.832 18 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'51.800 19 Rob van Vijfeijken KTM NED 1'53.890 20 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 1'56.756 Race 2 - 17 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'58.304 2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'8.354 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'27.872 4 Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 0'34.476 5 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'39.353 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'43.755 7 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'58.299 8 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'9.640 9 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'13.504 10 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'30.672 11 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'35.155 12 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'43.632 13 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'44.678 14 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'48.772 15 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 1'52.002 16 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'56.835 17 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 2'13.948 18 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 2'21.565 19 Rob van Vijfeijken KTM NED 2'25.639 20 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps Rider Standings 01/04/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 50 2. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 44 3. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 35 4. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 34 5. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 34 6. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 34 7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 28 8. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 27 9. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 22 10. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 22 11. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 18 12. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 17 13. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 11 14. Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 9 15. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 9 16. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 9 17. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 8 18. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 7 19. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 7 20. Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 5 Manufacturer Standings 01/04/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 50 2. KTM 44 3. Kawasaki 40 4. Suzuki 34 5. Honda 22 Click here to view the news

It is with great pleasure that the Yamaha Tech 3 team wishes to announce the signing of two world champions to contest the 2008 MotoGP World Championship. American rider Colin Edwards, will be joined by Brit, James Toseland with both riders bringing a wealth of riding experience to the Yamaha Tech 3 Team. Texan Edwards, after four years in the elite class and winning two World Superbike Championships in 2000 and 2002, possesses an invaluable amount of development knowledge while Toseland is the recently crowned 2007 world superbike champion after first claiming his first world title in 2004. In another exciting development for the vastly experienced French team both riders will compete on Michelin tyres as well as commencing the season on the latest version of the Yamaha M1. The entire Tech 3 team is very happy to welcome these two great riders with their first outing at the next winter test this week at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia (15-16-17th November). The team will then head to Jerez in Spain from the 27th to 29th of November for the next stop of the hectic winter schedule before the December test ban comes into effect. Colin Edwards quotes: “I’m honestly really excited about coming to Tech 3. I think the overall package that Yamaha has put together for next year – four good bikes and four World Champions and four different crews giving Yamaha a whole lot of information means we will be on the pace from the start and it’s pretty exciting. I’ve known Herve well and I know that Tech 3 is a very good outfit and I’m also really looking forward to sharing a garage with James. I’m positive that it’s going to be a great team.” James Toseland quotes: “I am over the moon about coming to MotoGP. It seems to have been a long time coming to get this opportunity but it has come at the right time and is the opportunity of a lifetime. It is a massive transition in my life to make and I am really looking forward to it. I don’t know who was happier as my mum was in tears when we got the news! am really thankful to Yamaha and I appreciate the chance they have given me and I want to thank everyone for the opportunity they have given me. have met Herve on a couple of occasions and he is a genuine nice guy and I truly feel the Tech 3 Team will be a good place to start my MotoGP career so it’s nice to be welcomed into the team. t will also be good to be working with Colin again as we have had a 10 year separation. He has said some really nice things in the press as to how he will help me. We get on really well together so I think we should make a good team. I’ve been employed to do a serious job so I am not coming in with the mental attitude that there won’t be any pressure on me; there will be and I want to do the best job possible and be near the front.” Click here to view the news

Yamaha Motor Europe (YME) is very pleased to announce a new partnership with current FIM Motocross Women’s World Cup winner Katherine Prumm.The 19 year old New Zealander will steer a YZ250F for 2008 and strive to add the very first FIM female world championship to the two World cup titles she claimed in 2006 and 2007. Prumm’s union with Yamaha four months ahead of the inaugural FIM endorsed championship is a major coup as the women’s competition will enjoy top billing alongside the MX1 and MX2 world series and embark on a five round schedule as part of the 2008 Grand Prix campaign. The Kiwi will work from the Dutch Van Beers Yamaha set-up in the paddock, alongside Aigar Leok (MX1) and Evgeny Bobryshev (MX2), using YRRD (Yamaha Rinaldi Research and Development) parts on her number one plated YZ250F. With her victories in Europe, (two from two rounds in 2006 and two from three outings in 2007) numerous female Australasian titles, and several female AMA wins on the other side of the Atlantic, Prumm is presently one of the leading figures in Women’s motocross. “The move to Yamaha is really exciting for me,” said the reigning champ. “It will be a whole new bike and new team and I am really looking forward to being part of the Yamaha environment. Yamaha is behind me 100% and I feel that they can give me the best chance of success in 2008.” “I cannot wait for the upcoming season and the FIM Women’s World Championship where I will try for my third title on my new Van Beers YZ250F,” she added. “At the end of the year I will also compete in the Men’s New Zealand Motocross Championship under the MXDK Subway Yamaha team banner and my goal is a top ten finish in the Men’s MX2 class after having attained a 12th place in 2007. I will also be going for my fourth New Zealand Women’s championship. For my activities back home I am officially supported by Yamaha Motor Australia and Yamaha Motor New Zealand.” “Yamaha is happy to see that the number of women riding and racing our machines is growing along with their interest and participation in off-road motorsport,” commented YME Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “The upgrade of the FIM Women’s World Cup to a World Championship is a good example of how the sport is progressing and we are very much looking forward to competing in this new class with Katherine as well as promoting women and motorcycling in general.” The Women’s World Championship was officially sanctioned towards the end of 2007 after the World Cup had seen growing entry lists in its three year existence and an increasing level of interest from female competitors across the globe. The series now has the recognition it deserves and is no longer merely a sideshow to the MX1 and MX2 motos. The 2008 calendar will see the ladies in action in Bulgaria, Italy, France, Germany and Holland. The first event will be at the Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria on May 11th. Katherine Prumm Date of Birth: 04/06/1988 Place of Birth: Johannesburg, South Africa Residence: Auckland, New Zealand Nationality: New Zealand Height: 172cm Weight: 66kg Hobbies: Cycling, running, Graphic design, spending time with friends and family Career Highlights 2007: FIM Women’s World Cup winner, AMA WMA Women’s Cup winner, Australian Champion 2006: FIM Women’s World Cup winner, winner of two WMA (USA) rounds 2005: FIM Women’s World Cup runner-up, Oceania Champion, Australian Champion, NZ Champion 2004: New Zealand Women’s Champion senior and junior classes Click here to view the news

The challenging weather that started on Friday continued throughout today, making riding conditions very difficult and slippery. A damp qualifying session this morning was followed by a wet Superpole, in which the top 16 riders go out at the same time for a maximum of 12 laps during a 50 minute session. Corser felt happier with engine changes that had been made overnight following on from yesterday's initial qualifying session. These changes included trying some of the settings that had been used at Donington two weeks previously. Haga focused on continuing to find the right wet set-up. Overall, the wet conditions meant that everyone's lap times were slower, with no one improving on their best times from yesterday. Track conditions did not improve at all for Superpole this afternoon, with sunshine but no dry line anywhere on the circuit. Corser had a good start to the session moving up to third position from yesterday's provisional start position of sixth. With such wet conditions, he then waited to see the progress of other riders. Honda rider Joshua Brookes took third position on a flying lap, forcing Corser to try and reclaim it. Unfortunately, conditions were too slippery and he was unable to succeed and so will start from fourth tomorrow. Haga was one of the many to struggle with grip throughout the 50 minute session and moved down to ninth from fourth. He managed a flying lap with less than three minutes to go to take seventh place Kagayama. Team Yamaha YZF rider, Nakatomi, continued to try and improve with his confidence in the wet weather today. Having achieved a best qualifying position of 18th in this yesterday's qualifying, he then spent today's track time doing lots of laps to build up his confidence. The team is also trying various new engine and chassis parts this weekend, so focused on putting in as much track time as possible to maximize the best opportunity from these new parts. Tomorrow's world superbike races will start with Bayliss (Ducati) in pole position after an impressive day's riding. Local rider Ruben Xaus (Ducati) will start in second and Joshua Brookes (Honda) lies in third. Troy Corser (4th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "This morning we went back to the Donington set-up and that seemed to help. The engine and bike are working well and we have made some changes to the rear suspension set-up during the day. Unfortunately, none of these changes have given us the extra grip that they normally would, and that we need. It's partly the geometry of the bike but we still have more work to do. My objective for tomorrow is to stay upright, especially if the track is as slippery as it was today." Noriyuki Haga (7th - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "Today I tried some rain settings but I have not yet found the best set-up for this possibility - we still need to work on the best rear tyre option as I can find good grip but no tyre life, or good tyre life but no grip. I am happy with a second row qualifying position and that I didn't crash today in the wet! Today's conditions were unbelievable with no grip anywhere. Tomorrow I will push hard for a podium finish at the very least, whatever the weather." Shinichi Nakatomi (18th - Team Yamaha YZF) "I really don't like the rain after a nasty incident I had last year, when I lost a lot of confidence. But, we had some success today finding a good set-up for the race. Tomorrow, I am hoping for dry weather though, and I want to finish in the points at the very least." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team) "This is our first time in the rain here at Valencia with the new R1, so we have been concentrating on preparing the bike as good as possible. Unfortunately, we haven't found the best set-up yet so tonight we will check all the data and see what we can improve for tomorrow. I am very pleased with the front row position for Troy and the second row is fine for Nori, who has a history of making good starts." Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 24 Weather: Changeable 2007 WSB Valencia 14/04/2007 Superpole Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'51.982 2 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 1'52.085 3 Joshua Brookes Honda AUS 1'52.199 4 Troy Corser Yamaha AUS 1'52.733 5 James Toseland Honda GBR 1'52.801 6 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 1'52.942 7 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 1'52.961 8 Yukio Kagayama Suzuki JPN 1'53.634 9 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 1'53.750 10 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 1'54.108 11 Giovanni Bussei Honda ITA 1'54.972 12 Max Biaggi Suzuki ITA 1'55.196 13 Max Neukirchner Suzuki GER 1'55.965 14 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 1'56.275 15 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 1'56.332 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Nat. QUAL I QUAL II 1 Troy Bayliss AUS 1'34.599 1'53.576 2 Ruben Xaus ESP 1'35.023 9999'0.000 3 James Toseland GBR 1'35.147 1'53.408 4 Noriyuki Haga JPN 1'35.440 1'52.866 5 Max Biaggi ITA 1'35.453 1'55.306 6 Troy Corser AUS 1'35.483 1'52.425 7 Lorenzo Lanzi ITA 1'35.709 1'53.804 8 Max Neukirchner GER 1'35.767 1'53.334 9 Fonsi Nieto ESP 1'35.804 1'55.209 10 Karl Muggeridge AUS 1'35.814 1'53.786 11 Joshua Brookes AUS 1'35.856 1'51.638 12 Yukio Kagayama JPN 1'36.012 1'55.330 13 Giovanni Bussei ITA 1'36.016 1'55.000 14 Carmelo Morales ESP 1'36.032 9999'0.000 15 Michel Fabrizio ITA 1'36.094 1'54.298 16 Shinichi Nakatomi JPN 1'36.755 1'58.322 QUALIFYING 2 REPORT 14/04/2007 Curtain confirms his third place in qualifying Kevin Curtain and Broc Parkes played it sensible today as wet weather made the track slippery and riding conditions difficult. As a result of the rain, today's lap times were slower than during the first qualifying session yesterday and therefore there were no changes from yesterday's provisional qualifying positions. Kevin will start tomorrow in third place on the grid, while Broc will start from 11th. Data gathered during testing last month allowed both riders to be cautious and not push too much today. Not wanting to risk a crash on top of his collar bone injury, Curtain sat out this morning's free practice session. With conditions no better in the afternoon, he didn't take part in the weekend's second qualifying session either. Under championship regulations he is entitled to do this as he had already qualified within 107% of the fastest time set this weekend. And, with lap times almost 30 seconds slower than Friday, there was little risk of him being knocked off third spot. With high chances of rain tomorrow, Parkes was keen to get a wet set-up though, so he participated in both practice and qualifying today. Athough knowing he would not be able to improve his best time from yesterday due to the weather conditions, he was keen to try and find a good set-up and get some confidence in the bike and track conditions. Massimo Roccoli was unable to improve his qualifying position of 16th today, due to the worsening weather conditions. The Yamaha Italia rider made the most of the two sessions, though, to concentrate on improving his mental state and finding the best wet set-up. With no change to the gird from yesterday's qualifying positions, Sofuoglu (Honda) will start in pole position and Japanese rider Fujiwara (Honda) will start in second. Curtain maintains his third start position for the race. Kevin Curtain (3rd - 1'37.885 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "Sitting out of today's sessions was hard but it was the right thing for me to do. It has given me an extra day's recovery - and on such a short term every day counts. A broken collar bone isn't a simple injury - any kind of crash at this stage could cause a lot of problems and it just wasn't worth the risk today, especially as I got such a good qualifying position yesterday. If it rains tomorrow I will have to go out in the morning though, as I need to check my rain set-up. Tomorrow is when we will take more risks than so far this weekend - race day is what counts." Broc Parkes (11th - 1'38.681 - Yamaha World Supersport Team) "It was like riding on ice out there and far too tough for us to find a good wet set-up. It was really difficult and risky with lots of people crashing - I'm just glad I wasn't one of them. I still haven't found the right race set-up though - what with the rain and my collar bone - so I will just have to go out tomorrow morning to find it out before the race." Massimo Roccoli (16th - 1'39.016 - Yamaha Team Italia Lorenzini by Leoni) "The fourth row is not a good position to start in - we tried to improve on this today but it was not possible with the weather conditions. I was very fast here at the Pirelli tyre test in March so I am hoping to be able to regain some of the mental and technical condition I had then for tomorrow's race. I just hope it is dry tomorrow!" Circuit Length: 4005 Temp: 16 Weather: Wet 2007 WSS Valencia 14/04/2007 Qualifying 2 Pos. Rider Nat. QUAL I QUAL II 1 Kenan Sofuoglu TUR 1'37.521 2'5.339 2 Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN 1'37.729 2'6.995 3 Kevin Curtain AUS 1'37.885 n/a 4 Pere Riba ESP 1'38.095 2'2.363 5 Andrew Pitt AUS 1'38.478 2'2.845 6 Fabien Foret FRA 1'38.524 2'11.158 7 Barry Veneman NED 1'38.532 2'5.999 8 Gianluca Nannelli ITA 1'38.564 2'4.356 9 Robbin Harms DNK 1'38.568 n/a 10 Joan Lascorz ESP 1'38.649 2'2.138 11 Broc Parkes AUS 1'38.681 2'8.183 12 Javier Fores ESP 1'38.734 2'4.583 13 Lorenzo Alfonsi ITA 1'38.753 2'6.852 14 Davide Giugliano ITA 1'38.915 2'0.659 15 David Salom ESP 1'39.008 n/a 16 Massimo Roccoli ITA 1'39.016 2'6.185 19 Gianluca Vizziello ITA 1'39.243 2'3.504 21 David Checa ESP 1'39.283 2'4.693 23 Sebastien Gimbert FRA 1'39.575 n/a Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will line up in pole position for the first time in almost a year when the MotoGP World Championship riders take their place on the grid for the seventh round of the season at Catalunya tomorrow. The Italian has been in excellent form all weekend and after continuing yesterday's job to set his YZR-M1 up for the 25-lap race, he was able to concentrate fully on a burst of quick laps at the end of this afternoon's qualifying session. His fastest lap registered a new pole record of 1'41.855 and put him at the front of the MotoGP grid for the first time since the 2005 British Grand Prix last July. Colin Edwards also followed up positive work on his two machines yesterday with further progress in the morning free practice, when he set the fourth fastest time on race tyres. However, slight changes to the setting of his bike and the extra grip offered by a softer rear tyre had a detrimental effect as he pushed for a quick lap time at the end of the qualifying session, the American eventually dropping to twelfth place on the grid as a host of riders posted one-off flying laps, despite not matching the consistency demonstrated by Edwards. Rossi will be joined on the front row by two of Edwards' compatriots, John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Kenny Roberts (Honda KR). Valentino Rossi (1st - 1'41.855; 26 laps) "I am really, really happy - it is a big satisfaction to be back on pole after such a long time. The bike has been working really well all weekend and I have to say a big 'thank you' to everybody at Yamaha and all my engineers because they have worked so hard to build this new chassis and then make it work so well in such a short space of time. I said yesterday that we have been able to work in a normal way and this meant that today I was able to focus on finding a good setting for the qualifying tyre and putting some fast laps in at the end. It is the first time I have had this pleasure in a long time and to do it at this track is amazing because it is so much fun to ride here. There are some tough riders out there but I have a special feeling in front of these fans. They always treat me so well and I want to put on a good show for them tomorrow." Colin Edwards (12th - 1'42.655; 26 laps) "I don't seem to be getting any kind of luck in qualifying lately. We haven't had so much time yet with the new chassis and unfortunately when I put the softer tyre on it kept folding the front end, so I couldn't push harder for a time and get the place on the grid that my pace would otherwise reflect. Also we made a couple of changes to the setting - nothing major, just a millimetre here or there - but it seemed to add to the extra force on the front so we perhaps would have been better sticking to what we found in the morning. Tomorrow we'll have to go backwards a little bit with the setting and no doubt we can go forwards a lot during the race!" Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "Of course it is very nice to be back on pole but the most pleasing thing is to see the constant progression we have made with the bike from Le Mans to Mugello to here. To come off the back of that win in Italy to take pole here is a reflection of the excellent work the team has done with the bike and we hope that this situation is now the 'norm' until the end of the season. It will be a difficult race tomorrow and we are still not sure of the conditions, but we know we can be involved and it will be up to Valentino to keep fighting to the end, as he always does. Colin has a good race pace but he didn't manage to get the best out of the qualifying tyres at the end. He will have another fight on his hands over the first few laps so we will see what happens." Carlos Checa (16th, 1'43.606, 29 laps) ."On race tyres we are stronger than we have ever been and during qualifying we did over 70% of the race distance to show that we now have the consistency. This is very positive but what is disappointing is the lack of performance in the qualifying tyres. We were doing the same times on the qualifying tyres as we managed on race tyres yesterday. After being 11th yesterday it is very disappointing because with qualifying tyres we should be able to go at least a second quicker... On race tyres we can do 1.44s and this is the pace we can run at. If we can get a good start and maintain the lap times that we have done over the last two days on race tyres it should be a good race for us. I had the best race pace today I have ever had and we were able to maintain the same lap times so I am looking forward to having a good battle with a bunch of riders that are close to me. When it was time for the qualifying tyres we tried three but none of them worked so we still have to work on this also. To be frustrated in this way is not the best way to understand the situation. Also on the race tyres we have found much more grip so we have to play around with the setup. To be just 1.2 seconds away from the leaders when everyone is on race tyres is very good for us but we have to improve the qualifying tyres so we may be able to get a better grid position and so be in a better place to battle with a big bunch of riders James Ellison (18th 1'44.727, 25 laps) "It hasn't been the best of days but at least - like Carlos - we are getting some consistency with the race tyres but it's pretty frustrating that our qualifying tyres aren't working too well so we drop down the field. Saying that I have a pretty good race pace and we know that we now have the Dunlop tyres that can last the distance." We are working very hard with Dunlop to come up with a solution and the hard work they have been putting in has been reflected with the improvement to the race tyres. Also we have found some improvements to the chassis and that is allowing me to ride the bike the way I like to ride. Now I can slide it and back it in with a lot more confidence that I have been able to do in previous races. Now that we have tested the tyres for almost an entire race distance it should bring us some better results." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "A bit disappointing with the starting position as we definitely have to work on the qualifying tyre to get a better grid position. We were doing 43.6 Friday morning with a race tyre and we are 43.6 with a qualifying tyre on Saturday afternoon. Sure when we see what the opposition is doing there is a gap between race and qualifying tyres and we have to work on that. Having said that, I think we are the closest we have ever been on race tyres and race pace. We have been doing race distance this morning and again this afternoon with a high track temperature and we are very consistent in the low 44's. it wont be enough to be in front but I think for the first time if everything goes like we are planning we will have a race without any drop off in tyre performance where we can be all race long in the 44's and we will see where it will take us. I look forward to this race and I especially hope that our riders will be able to stay with other riders and we will have a nice battle through the race instead of seeing the others just disappear and just racing on our own. On this track that is a real distinct possibility. I am happy. I'm not happy with the grid position but if we get a good start I think we can carry a pretty good lap time for the whole race. We did 18 laps this afternoon on the one tyre and maintained the lap times and the race is 22 so I think we should be ok. Round: 7 - 2006 MotoGP Catalunya Circuit: Catalunya Circuit Length: 4727 Lap Record: 1' 43.195 (Valentino Rossi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 41.855 (Valentino Rossi, 2006) Date: 17 June 2006 Temp: 28ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 41.855 2 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 41.984 3 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 42.055 4 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 42.211 5 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 42.216 6 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 42.247 7 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 42.305 8 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 42.344 9 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 42.492 10 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 42.620 11 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 42.648 12 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 42.655 13 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 1' 42.712 14 T. Elias Honda ESP 1' 42.853 15 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 42.869 16 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 43.606 18 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 44.727 Click here to view the news

Next weekend the Circuit de Catalunya hosts the MotoGP World Championship for the fifteenth successive season since opening to coincide with the Olympic Games in 1992 and sees the Camel Yamaha Team looking to strike gold for the second consecutive race. Following on from Valentino Rossi's epic victory at his home Grand Prix in Italy less than two weeks ago, and backed up by encouraging data from a subsequent day of testing at the Mugello circuit, confidence could not be higher for a repeat result as the team look to close down the points gap to joint series leaders Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Nicky Hayden (Honda). Rossi travels to Barcelona, one of his favourite cities in the world, having reached several milestones thanks to his 55th career MotoGP victory at Mugello. As well as taking him above Mick Doohan to second place in the all-time winners list behind Giacomo Agostini, it was also his 22nd success with Yamaha - the same number achieved by Kenny Roberts and bettered only by Wayne Rainey and Eddie Lawson - and it made Rossi the second highest points-scorer of all time behind Doohan. He will join the Australian as one of only two riders ever to pass 2000 career points if he finishes first or second at Catalunya. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards has also been making his mark in the history books despite not yet hitting his best form this season. Despite running into the gravel early in the race at Mugello, the Texan managed to fight his way back to finish in twelfth place to extend his run of successive points scoring finishes to 27. Only Mick Doohan, Wayne Gardner, Eddie Lawson and Valentino Rossi himself have ever put together a longer run. Edwards' target this weekend is to celebrate number 28 on the podium. Virtually 57 years to the day since the first ever World Championship Grand Prix at the Isle of Man TT in 1949, this weekend's event will provide the latest chapter in one of the most exciting and unpredictable eras in the history of the sport. After six rounds there are just 34 points covering the top six riders. Valentino Rossi: Lucky seven? Catalunya is one of Valentino Rossi's most successful events, being one of three circuits where he has already stood on the top step of the podium on seven occasions - the others being Donington and Phillip Island. For the past two seasons he has taken victory for Yamaha and he is hopeful of repeating that feat as he aims to reduce a 34-point deficit to the championship summit. "Barcelona is always a great race for me and I've won there the last two years with Yamaha, so hopefully we can do it again," says Rossi. "Last year Gibernau set a fast pace and I tried 100% to follow him. Then I set the fastest lap three laps from the end, which at a track like Catalunya is amazing. Hopefully we can get this level of performance out of the bike and tyres again. Also I get a really good reception in Spain and it is always a pleasure to ride there. "I am looking forward to this weekend because now I think we have finally arrived where we should be with the bike. It worked really well at the Mugello test and now I think we've really shown that we can fight at the front again and win. From a technical point of view, since the new chassis has been available we've been able to ride like in the past. Now we're very fast but it's still hard to win races! This championship is very balanced between Ducati and Honda and Yamaha and the other riders are at a great level so it was very important for us to win at Mugello. Now we have an eleven race championship and we have to be on the podium at every round." Colin Edwards: Double chassis bonus After a week's break with his family on the beaches near Barcelona, Colin Edwards tackles the seventh round of the campaign in refreshed and determined mood following an indifferent run of early season results. The American has been hindered by a series of unfortunate incidents in recent races but the news that two units of the updated YZR-M1 chassis, which he tested with positive results at Mugello, will be at his disposal from the opening practice of the Spanish round has given him a vital boost. "I've been run into the gravel for the last two rounds but we've come out of them both in the points so I have to use that as springboard to better things over the next few races," admits Edwards. "There is no use lamenting about what could have been - I have never done that and I won't start now. The positive thing to come out of Mugello was the performance of the new chassis and I'm really looking forward to adapting the setting even more at Barcelona. It's another fast circuit so hopefully the bike adapts quickly and we can be on the pace from the start." Like Rossi, Edwards has positive memories of the Catalunya circuit thanks to his performance there in the official pre-season tests, when he drove home in a new car as a prize for setting the fastest time. "That seems a long time ago now but it's true that we went well there with an early version of this year's bike. We've made progress since then but the conditions will be very different so we'll have to wait and see." Davide Brivio: Triple target Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is targeting a three-pronged attack on the MotoGP World Championship this weekend as he leads a continued revival for his team following a mixed start to the season. As well as building on positive recent development with the YZR-M1 machines, the Italian is hoping for another maximum points return from Valentino Rossi and a second podium of the season for Colin Edwards. "Before Mugello I said that our mission for the next few races was to recover points for Valentino and we had the perfect start to that with the victory," says Brivio. "Now we have an extremely important run at Barcelona, Assen and Donington where we must continue with this job and try to win every race. Valentino likes all three tracks and this is another reason why he was still so upbeat and optimistic after the disappointments in China and Le Mans. "For Colin this is also an important weekend because he found a good way with the new chassis at Mugello and we have high hopes that he can make a lot of progress with it in Barcelona. Both riders will be on the same specification bikes, with two units of the new chassis each, so we are starting from a good point. Continuing evolution with the bike, recovering more points for Valentino and getting Colin back on the podium; these are our three targets for Catalunya." Technically speaking: Catalunya according to Nicolas Goubert The Circuit de Catalunya offers a main straight capable of encouraging speeds exceeding 335kmh, and is completed by a sequence of long radius, medium/high speed sweepers and two tight left-hand hairpins. The combination of long radius corners riddled with a variety of cambers makes it demanding on chassis balance and means front-end feel is a key concern for every rider. These characteristics also mean that tyre life is a key topic in many pit box discussions between riders, crew chiefs and tyre technicians. "Catalunya can be very demanding on the front because there are a lot of downhill corner entries," explains Nicolas Goubert, Michelin's chief of motorcycle competition. "For the rain we've got only one specification, one profile with different programs depending on the conditions we have. For the slicks it is much more interesting because we have two different profiles. One has a smaller width, which means that the tyre is lighter and it's easier to tilt the bike from one side to the other. We have also started to work with a bigger size but the Yamaha riders prefer the small one. The reason is because they want to keep the character of having durability for the bike. For them it is an advantage and it is suited to their needs on their bike." "We are quite confident with both types of tyre from last year because we had very good results at Catalunya. It was the first time ever that the surface was new, the lap time was really good and Valentino set a new lap record at the very end of the race with a time that would have put him tenth on the grid. It was the first time ever that this happened so we are very happy with that and we just hope that our Yamaha riders will be as fast or faster this year." Valentino Rossi: information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 81 (55 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 163 (103 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 54 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Montmelo Lap Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2005 - 1'43.195 Mugello Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005 - 1'42.337 2005 Results 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Yamaha, 43'16.487 2. Sete Gibernau (ESP) Honda, +1.094 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Honda, +7.810 7. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, +18.762 Click here to view the news

The list of adjectives to describe MX1 World Championship leader Stefan Everts and his YZ450FM is growing perilously short after the reigning number one maintained his 100% record this season by winning the Italian Grand Prix in front of 26,000 fans at Montevarchi today. The 33 year old claimed both motos to stretch his haul of consecutive victories to eleven, and seven from seven Grand Prix. His career total now stands at a phenomenal 94 and he has eight remaining rounds from which to reach a magical 100. Everts claimed his second pole position of the season and his second inside one week on Saturday with a lap-time over a second quicker than nearest pursuer Suzuki's Kevin Strijbos. The result of the Timed Practice ran straight into the first moto where the World Champion enjoyed the holeshot and promptly set his own pace ahead of the Suzuki representative. Despite running close together Everts was again faultless and stretched his run of consecutive moto victories to ten. The Montevarchi course was dry, fast and twisty under sunshine and windy conditions but the Yamaha Intur Sports representative proved that he is a true master of all terrain by leading both races from start to finish. He was handicapped slightly by a cracked exhaust in the second heat. The Yamaha YZ450FM was extremely close to exceeding noise limits and Everts himself had to weather a fiercer attack from Strijbos but he reeled off a series of laps at a crucial stage to again break his countryman. Cédric Melotte was feeling better after his light concussion from Bulgaria last Sunday even though he is still endeavouring to regain full fitness after a recent blood test revealed deficiencies in his body's vitamin levels. The Belgian's confidence can best be described as fragile after his poor luck with physical problems and a lack of results to justify his obvious speed. He did however obtain a decent start in the first moto and was holding third for the first half of the race until he was swamped in the final stages and slipped back to eighth. Later in the afternoon a collision with KTM's Jonathan Barragan led to a broken rear brake and he retired for the third time in the last four motos. Everts has stretched his lead to 89 points with almost half the season gone. Melotte rests in tenth spot. The eighth round of the World Championships will commence the second half of the 2006 campaign and ends a busy three week consecutive run of events. The British Grand Prix will get underway next Saturday at the new Matterley Basin circuit. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I don't get bored with winning because every race is a hard job! Kevin did well today to put some pressure on me, especially in the second moto. He is keeping me focussed lately and I have to keep pushing to stay in front. It was a good close race for the crowd. It is not coming that easily for me. Every weekend is a new challenge, there are still many races to go and I want to stay in good shape." Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I am just riding to do my best and enjoy myself now. In the first race I made a great start and could follow the leaders for four or five laps. I had to slow down because I needed to find my own rhythm. We have a set-up on the bike from the start of the year and because of my problems we have not been able to work on it. I hope to test after the British GP to help get me riding smoother on the bike because I cannot make that same speed from the first ten minutes of the moto for the entire duration. The bike was moving around a lot and it was frustrating to lose those positions but I did my best. In the second race I crashed together with Barragan and he took away my front wheel. I restarted but the rear brake was broken and I had to stop. I enjoyed the first part of the day but the track was horrible." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Stefan once again was close to perfection. He had very good starts and the pattern of the races was similar to one we have already seen this season. He made the gap just big enough to keep the lead and his concentration. Cédric was looking better after Bulgaria and had recovered quite well during the week. In the first moto he proved that the speed is still there but physically he is not 100%. It was a shame that Barragan's bike broke his rear brake and he could not continue. Stefan had a small crack on the exhaust in the second moto but it was not very loud and everything turned out OK." Race classification MX1 Round: 7 - 2006 GP of Montevarchi, Italy Circuit: Montevarchi Circuit Length: 1650 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 39' 58.623 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +7.556 3 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +15.670 4 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +20.976 5 J. Barragan KTM ESP +23.426 6 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +24.285 7 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +27.861 8 C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +45.620 9 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 1.739 10 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 5.510 11 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 9.784 12 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 10.435 13 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1' 10.905 14 R. Jelen Suzuki SVN +1' 22.435 15 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1' 26.128 16 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 26.501 17 J. Moze Suzuki SVN +1' 31.077 18 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1' 32.498 19 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 37.790 20 K. Salaets Yamaha BEL +1' 43.482 Race 2: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 26.487 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +8.683 3 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +26.828 4 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +40.982 5 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +46.607 6 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1' 7.361 7 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 13.155 8 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 17.459 9 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 23.597 10 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 23.750 11 J. Noble Honda GBR +1' 33.642 12 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 38.337 13 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 38.801 14 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 40.490 15 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 41.047 16 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 46.482 17 R. Jelen Suzuki SVN +1' 47.245 18 W. Avis KTM RSA +1' 58.566 19 J. Dobes Suzuki CZE +1 lap(s) 20 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 342 2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 253 3 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 245 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 231 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 227 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 166 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 147 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 120 9 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 120 10 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 118 11 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 115 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 108 13 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 107 14 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 91 16 James Noble Honda GBR 89 17 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 73 18 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 47 19 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 46 20 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 40 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 342 2 Suzuki 289 3 Kawasaki 245 4 Honda 241 5 KTM 221 6 TM 91 MX2 : Cairoli runner-up at home Grand Prix thriller Round: 7 - 2006 GP of Montevarchi, Italy Circuit: Montevarchi Date: 11 June 2006 Crowd: 26000 Temp: 26ºC Weather: Sunny World Champion Antonio Cairoli entertained his many fans with two exciting motos at a sunny Montevarchi today for the seventh round of the MX2 FIM World Championship. The De Carli Yamaha rider had the 26,000 attendance on its feet as he fought with friend and rival David Philippaerts for victory until the last laps but eventually had to settle for a brace of runner-up positions. Cairoli aced his qualification heat yesterday and, along with Philippaerts, looked easily the strongest rider on the tight and stony course. 'Toni' started well in both motos but lost the lead to KTM's Philippaerts and then second place to Tyla Rattray in the first race as he struggled with a sore wrist that was numbing his arm. He eventually found a better rhythm to pass Rattray and set off after the leader resulting in the first of two finales that proved to be the highlights of the Grand Prix. The second race quickly became 'part two' of the all-Italian scrap and Cairoli was again powerless to pass Philippaerts who had recovered well from a crash while leading that had dropped him to third. With Christophe Pourcel not enjoying one of his best days, Rattray falling out of the second moto and De Reuver also registering a DNF because of a faulty gearbox, Cairoli has narrowed the margin in the World Championship standings and now lies 15 points from second place. Kenneth Gundersen could, and should, have finished higher than his final classification of 10th. The Norwegian started badly in the first moto and rose only as high as 8th, without a rear brake, on a track that was not easy to pass and afforded varying levels of grip. A promising start and third position was squandered on the first lap when the front wheel of his YZ250F slid out and dumped the number '12' on the floor. His resulting effort terminated with 17th spot by the chequered flag. Davide Guarneri was unlucky not to take pole position on Saturday as the Italian's silencer on the Ricci Racing Yamaha unbelievably came loose again (as in Bulgaria last week) and the resulting one minute penalty for violating noise regulations meant that he had to qualifying for his home Grand Prix via the Last Chance session and confirmed 26th spot. He was 7th in the first moto but could not make the finish in race two. Bike it Yamaha's Billy Mackenzie was no match for the Italian's speed on home turf. The Japanese GP winner was taken out of the race by Luigi Seguy in the first foray and slipped back to 13th after a decent start in the second outing. The 22 year old is still bothered by a broken bone in his left hand. Alessio Chiodi could not avoid the fallen Fabio Mossini on the first lap of the second MX2 heat yesterday and the crash relegated him to the back of the pack. The former multi World Champion left his fast lap late in the Last Chance session (and needed the help of team-mate Guarneri) and disappointedly entered the gate in 28th. During the motos he was always struggling to make up ground but tried his best in front of a willing partisan crowd. He finished the day with 18th and 11th for 14th overall. The eighth round of the series will take place at the new Matterley Basin circuit in England for the British Grand Prix. The visit to the UK will end a hectic three week spell of consecutive races. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "For sure I wanted to win in my country but today David was very fast. I lost concentration in the second heat when I saw Rattray and Goncalves crash. I was riding a bit stiff and didn't have a good feeling but afterwards when David came back I was able to pick up my speed. It was very hard to pass him here and I didn't want to make a mistake because the standings would be much closer. For me and for the Championship this is a good GP." Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I felt really good in the first race but after twenty minutes I lost the rear brake. Otherwise I believe I could have finished top three in that race. In the second moto I lost the front end and was half a lap behind before I was really going again. Normally I could have finished on the podium at a track like this but again bad luck." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I have to say thank you to Davide in the Last Chance yesterday because he gave me a tow and helped me qualify. I did not have the speed to make a single lap like that. To be low in the gate was not good but I tried my best. The first moto was not that bad but I crashed and hit my knee again and after that it was so difficult. One point is better than none though so I kept pushing. This was a hard GP for me. I am disappointed for the fans because their support was fantastic. I hope I will be OK for the British GP, I have one more week to recover now." Race classification MX2 Round: 7 - 2006 GP of Montevarchi, Italy Circuit: Montevarchi Circuit Length: 1650 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA 39' 36.141 2 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +0.574 3 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +16.917 4 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +17.706 5 T. Rattray KTM RSA +23.075 6 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +36.401 7 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +45.930 8 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +53.511 9 M. De Reuver KTM NED +55.889 10 A. Leok Yamaha EST +1' 1.470 11 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 6.108 12 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 9.536 13 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 12.376 14 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 16.020 15 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1' 16.379 16 C. Campano KTM ESP +1' 23.003 17 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 23.712 18 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +1' 24.317 19 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1' 32.455 20 J. Wing KTM SWE +1' 36.226 Race 2: 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA 39' 12.775 2 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +3.369 3 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +23.136 4 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +27.544 5 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +32.296 6 R. Goncalves KTM POR +35.024 7 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +52.100 8 C. Campano KTM ESP +56.315 9 M. Seistola Honda FIN +56.779 10 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 1.998 11 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +1' 2.677 12 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 8.173 13 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +1' 13.787 14 F. Mossini Suzuki ITA +1' 14.195 15 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 15.457 16 A. Pellegrini Suzuki ITA +1' 25.976 17 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +1' 30.079 18 A. Meo Honda FRA +1' 32.919 19 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1' 37.490 20 J. Wing KTM SWE +1' 43.147 Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 274 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 246 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 235 4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 231 5 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 210 6 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 168 7 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 159 8 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 140 9 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 139 10 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 134 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 132 12 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 129 13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 124 14 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 94 15 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 16 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 73 17 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 66 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 64 19 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 61 20 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 46 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 318 2 Yamaha 306 3 Kawasaki 280 4 Honda 114 5 Suzuki 13 Click here to view the news

The dramatic scenery of the Mugello circuit in Tuscany provided the backdrop to one of the most exciting MotoGP races in living memory today as Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi clinched his second victory of the season in a heart-stopping Italian Grand Prix. The local hero produced one of his best ever performances in front of the adoring 89,200 crowd, emerging from an intense battle with his compatriot Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and a host of other riders to take the chequered flag with a 0.575 second advantage after 23 laps of pure drama. Rossi got an excellent start from the front row of the grid, passing early leader Sete Gibernau (Ducati) on the first lap and attempting to escape a hungry chasing pack. However, the Spaniard refused to lie down and after a brief battle between the pair the Italian took control to lead for ten laps. Capirossi soon recovered from a bad start and by lap fourteen he was in the hunt for the lead, passing both Gibernau and Rossi, who dropped back to fifth place as Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden (both Honda) also came through. Within four laps Rossi was back on Capirossi's tail and the pair went head-to-head in a thrilling finale, which saw the Yamaha rider snatch the lead on the last lap and open out a crucial gap that carried him to the line. Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards, meanwhile, battled through another tough race after being run wide into the gravel on the second lap. The Texan fought back from last place to finish in the points in twelfth place but has lost ground in the championship, dropping to eighth. Rossi's win moves him up to fifth overall, 34 points behind leaders Capirossi and Hayden, who are currently tied on points. In addition to the activity on the track, Valentino's dance around the Mugello hills were enjoyed today 1,500 Yamaha fans at the Factory's Materassi stand. Every time the Yamaha riders passed the Yamaha tribune, the sound of the engines was accompanied by a standing ovation from a sea of yellow. Valentino Rossi (1st; 42'39.610) "That was for sure one of the toughest battles of my entire career. I got a really good start and after I passed Sete I tried to escape but it was impossible, he was so strong today. For a long time I didn't know where Loris was because he had a bad start but once he arrived I knew I was in for a hard fight. I decided to let him pass and run behind him for a while but I didn't realise so many other riders were so close and they all came through! Suddenly I was down in fifth and had it all to do again. It was just an amazing fight for everybody and I think it is fantastic that it went down to the final lap between two riders, two factories, two tyre manufacturers but just one Country! This is great news for our sport. If I had to bet on who would win the last lap I honestly wouldn't have been able to choose. I don't think I took a breath over the last two laps but I made it and I am unbelievably happy. To do it in front of so many fans, family and friends is a special emotion and I won't be thinking about the championship tonight - just this wonderful race." Colin Edwards (12th; + 0'30.678) "We made a dramatic change this morning and I went for the new chassis with Valentino's settings because I knew the bike we had from yesterday was not going to be good enough for the race. Basically I braked a little earlier than normal into turn one and Makoto Tamada drafted up the inside, pulled straight in front of me and left me with nowhere to go but the grass. After that the race was just a test session for me really with the new chassis. It felt good but we need to adapt the setting to me because I didn't have enough grip on the rear. We've got a day of testing tomorrow so we will have time to do that and get the chance to complete some of the work that we weren't able to do during the Grand Prix." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "It has been a perfect day for Valentino and for Italy after this fantastic battle to the final corner. It was just what we needed after the bad luck of recent races - Valentino needed to win and you could see how much it meant to him. Yamaha have done a great job to bring our package back up to a competitive level and now I hope we can keep fighting for wins until the end of the season. My sincere thanks to all our staff because it has been difficult over the last few weeks but once again we have seen that this is a team that never gives in and this is a great reward for all the hard work and belief. Colin's race didn't go as we had hoped it might, after the problem he had on the second lap, but he's taken some important information away from here and hopefully he can come back to the top in Barcelona next week." Disappointment for Tech 3 Yamaha Team in Italy The encouraging signs of qualifying for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team turned to disappointment in the Grand Prix of Italy as Carlos Checa and James Ellison struggled throughout with tyre problems to finish in 15th and 16th places respectively at the undulating and technically demanding Mugello circuit situated in the picturesque hills of Tuscany. Both Carlos and James had encouraging starts to be among a hard battle with a group of riders but after just a handful of laps encountered problems that negated their charge. The team will remain at the Mugello track for a day of testing tomorrow. Carlos Checa (16th, Fastest lap 1'51.652: lap 3) "I am very disappointed in the result as I really expected that we would have a good race pace especially after what we learnt at the Le Mans test. We thought the tyre we chose for the race was a strong one but it only lasted a few laps. After three laps the performance dropped off, then after eight laps it dropped again and so for the final half of the race the feeling from the rear was very bad. "I was in a good battle with some riders on factory bikes and I was sure that I could stick with them and fight hard but unfortunately this didn't last very long. "Again the problem is with the consistency of the rear tyre and this is why I couldn't keep the right pace for the whole race. We tried one way to go and everyone was optimistic after the Le Mans test and what we learnt during practice and qualifying for this race. "Now we have lost that optimistic feeling so I guess we just have to keep on trying to improve. We have the test tomorrow so hopefully we can learn some more things and find another direction that we can move forward. James Ellison (16th Fastest lap 1'52.224: lap 2) "The race wasn't too bad at the start. I got off the line well and picked off a few riders through the first few turns. I thought that I could get away from them and stick with Carlos but only a few laps later the rear tyre lost grip and I couldn't maintain the pace of the opening laps. "It's very frustrating as before the grip drops off, we know we can run with these guys and you can see where you are faster. We lose out when the tyres start moving about. "There are some good tyres in Dunlop. It's a matter of finding the mixture and obviously going to all the different circuits it's always changing. I'm sure for the test tomorrow we will get some better results but truthfully it is really, really frustrating not being able to race so hopefully we will find some solutions very soon and we can all get back to riding hard for the entire race." Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Honestly this is a disappointing result because after qualifying yesterday we thought we would be much closer to Vermeulen an de Puniet . Although we did an ok start and the first few laps were quite quick, we lost grip so the second part of the race was quite long. Carlos tried everything but it was impossible to finish in a better place. After the good test in Le Mans and the first two days at Mugello we thought we would be much closer. We hope we will have good weather tomorrow for our one day test and we also have something to try from Yamaha. We just have to keep on working "For James his first three or four laps were quite fast as well but then the same thing happened, so it is all very frustrating. "We knew this year would be hard but to get a good direction that lifted the team and for this to happen is difficult to accept but this is racing and we have to understand that sometimes it will be very hard. We can just hope for better weather at the next race in Barcelona and that we can continue the direction we were heading before this race." Race classification MotoGP Round: 6 - 2006 MotoGP Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 50.117 (Max Biaggi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 48.959 (Sete Gibernau, 2006) Race: 23 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 42' 39.610 2 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +0.575 3 N. Hayden Honda USA +0.735 4 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +2.007 5 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP +3.070 6 M. Melandri Honda ITA +11.793 7 T. Elias Honda ESP +18.999 8 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +19.172 9 M. Tamada Honda JPN +19.231 10 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +19.821 11 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +19.863 12 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +30.678 13 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA +37.198 14 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +41.712 15 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +56.256 16 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1' 13.387 17 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1 lap(s) Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 50.195 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 99 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 99 3 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 89 4 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 86 5 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 65 6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 65 7 Toni Elias Honda ESP 53 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 49 9 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 44 10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 40 11 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 37 12 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 28 13 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 27 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 21 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 16 18 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 5 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 131 2 Ducati 99 3 Yamaha 94 4 Suzuki 41 5 Kawasaki 37 6 Team Roberts KR 28 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 185 2 Ducati Marlboro Team 143 3 Fortuna Honda Team 142 4 Camel Yamaha Team 114 5 Honda LCR 65 6 Rizla Suzuki 48 7 Kawasaki Racing Team 48 8 Konica Minolta Honda 40 9 Team Roberts KR 28 10 Tech3 Yamaha 21 11 Pramac D'Antin 6 Race classification GP250 Round: 6 - 2006 GP250 Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 54.332 (Alex de Angelis, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 54.332 (Alex de Angelis, 2005) Race: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 40' 35.185 2 A. de Angelis Aprilia SMR +0.111 3 A. Dovizioso Honda ITA +0.320 4 Y. Takahashi Honda JPN +0.334 5 A. Debon Aprilia ESP +3.315 6 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA +3.327 7 M. Simoncelli Gilera ITA +7.930 8 A. West Aprilia AUS +26.048 9 S. Aoyama Honda JPN +26.616 10 A. Ballerini Aprilia ITA +30.570 11 S. Guintoli Aprilia FRA +32.854 12 M. Poggiali KTM SMR +33.743 13 S. Porto Honda ARG +1' 13.549 14 A. Tizon Honda ESP +1' 16.159 15 F. Perren Honda ARG +1' 18.533 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 R. Locatelli Aprilia ITA 1' 54.749 Championship standings GP250 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 108 2 Jorge Lorenzo Aprilia ESP 88 3 Yuki Takahashi Honda JPN 80 4 Hector Barbera Aprilia ESP 78 5 Hiroshi Aoyama KTM JPN 75 6 Roberto Locatelli Aprilia ITA 67 7 Alex de Angelis Aprilia SMR 55 8 Sylvain Guintoli Aprilia FRA 43 9 Marco Simoncelli Gilera ITA 40 10 Shuhei Aoyama Honda JPN 34 11 Jakub Smrz Aprilia CZE 27 12 Anthony West Aprilia AUS 27 13 Martin Cardenas Honda COL 22 14 Sebastian Porto Honda ARG 20 15 Manuel Poggiali KTM SMR 17 Manufacturers standings GP250 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Aprilia 131 2 Honda 113 3 KTM 79 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will start from the front row of the grid for the first time this season in tomorrow's Grand Prix of Italy after the home hero set the third quickest time in today's single qualifying practice. The session took place under a blanket of thick grey cloud, with cool ambient temperatures of 16ºC and just 18ºC on track, but the threat of rain held off and the teams and riders were afforded crucial dry track time as they adjusted their machine set-up ahead of tomorrow's 23-lap race. Rossi's best lap of 1'49.167 came on his penultimate effort and was inside his previous pole record here by almost a tenth of a second. However, it wasn't quite enough to dislodge Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi (both Ducati) from the top two grid spots as the Spaniard took his first pole position of the season for the Italian factory. After falling behind with set-up work due to adverse weather conditions yesterday, Rossi's Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards was unable to make up for lost time today and he could only manage the 14th fastest time, meaning he will start from the middle of the fifth row tomorrow. This afternoon Rossi will present a brand new R6 in unique Yamaha MotoGP colours to Marco Ponti, from Gallarate in the Varese region of Italy, who took part in a contest as part of the 'Yamaha Open Weekend.' Valentino Rossi (3rd - 1'49.167; 26 laps) "It is a good feeling to be back on the front row - I don't think I've been there since Phillip Island last year so it is a long time and I'm glad it came here at Mugello. For sure this is one of my favourite tracks and with all my fans, family and friends here I really want to get a good result. The front row is important for this because in the past few races I have had to fight really hard at the start of the race to pass riders so hopefully I can get a better start tomorrow. We're not on pole but Michelin and Yamaha have worked really hard to improve our performance on a qualifying tyre and this is a big step forward. Anyway my race pace is quite good so I hope to give my fans a lot of reasons for a party tomorrow night. My new helmet design is by a famous Italian cartoonist called Milo Manara. He has drawn a kind of mythical story of my life, with some of my heroes like Steve McQueen, Enzo Ferrari and Jim Morrison, with other characters like my dog Guido, Osvaldo the chicken and lots of beautiful women! I really like it and Milo is somebody I have admired for a long time." Colin Edwards (14th - 1'50.405; 26 laps) "I'm not too happy at all. This track seems to have a curse over me because I always seem to be unlucky here. Yesterday the weather played against us when we were trying to find some settings for the new chassis so we had to stick to the old one today and for whatever reason it hasn't worked. We haven't managed to work out the root of the problem yet but it seems everything that was good at China and Le Mans has evaporated here. It's not for a lack of trying - I'm pushing really hard but maybe I'm pushing in the wrong place, I don't know! We've had no time this weekend to test and use the new chassis so maybe we're paying the price for that. All we can do is squeeze the most out of what we have in the warm-up and see how much progress I can make in terms of positions in the race." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "I'm very happy for Valentino, it's nice for him to be back on the front row. We've made some improvements to the performance of the bike on qualifying tyres, which is an area we have struggled with so far this season, so we are very satisfied with that. It looks as though Valentino also has confidence with the race setting and he set a good rhythm on race tyres so we hope he can put on a great show tomorrow. Unfortunately Colin was unable to get anything extra out of the qualifying tyre so he is starting from a difficult position. He isn't comfortable with the setting of the bike so our goal is to improve this situation during the warm-up and give him a chance of producing the kind of ride he showed in the last race at Le Mans, when he fought back from a lowly position to score some good points." Round: 6 - 2006 MotoGP Mugello Circuit: Mugello Circuit Length: 5245 Lap Record: 1' 50.117 (Max Biaggi, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 48.959 (Sete Gibernau, 2006) Date: 3 June 2006 Temp: 16ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 1' 48.969 2 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 49.058 3 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 49.167 4 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 49.212 5 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 49.328 6 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 49.343 7 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 49.478 8 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 49.516 9 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 49.915 10 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 50.084 11 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 50.181 12 T. Elias Honda ESP 1' 50.196 13 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 50.347 14 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 50.405 15 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 50.430 16 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 50.597 17 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 51.866 Click here to view the news

The UFO Corse Yamaha team claimed their best results of the 2006 World Enduro Championship at round three of the series, the GP of Euskadi staged at Gernika, Spain, where team riders Stefan Merriman and Johnny Aubert claimed a day win each in the highly competitive Enduro 2 class. Having both performed well at the GP of Portugal, where they also claimed a day win each, it was Merriman who was first to top the E2 class podium in Gernika after a consistent and incident free performance on day one. On day two Aubert claimed the win and moved to the top of the 2006 Enduro 2 world championship standings. With conditions wet and slippery on day one Merriman claimed the E2 class win and 25 important world championship points largely due to making fewer mistakes than his rivals. Remaining upright on all tests Stefan finished 15 seconds ahead of team-mate Johnny Aubert to make it a Yamaha one-two. Finishing third was Finn Samuli Aro. On day two WEC debutant Aubert simply proved too fast for his Enduro 2 class rivals and placed 47 seconds ahead of Merriman who claimed the runner-up spot. Despite having reversed their finishing order from day one Aubert's and Merriman's performances again ensured that Yamaha claimed a decisive one-two result with Aubert also moving to the head of the E2 world championship standings. Placing third, as he did on day one, was Samuli Aro. Johnny Aubert Enduro 2 class - Day 1 Second, Day 2 First: "I know that I am fast in muddy and rutted conditions but when I heard that the race was going to be difficult I thought that I would struggle, especially in the time checks. Finishing second on day one and winning day two is much better than I ever thought I could do. I am so happy to have won again, especially now that it puts me in the lead of the Enduro 2 world championship. I made one big mistake on the extreme test on day one, which cost me some time, but apart from that it went well. I did also make one mistake on one of the difficult up hills on the enduro test but I was pushing hard at the time so mistakes happen when you are riding hard. Despite my errors I wasn't so far behind Stefan so I knew that if I could ride well on day two I could win. Day two went really well for me. I felt good all the day, although a little tired at the end, and put in some really good test times. I didn't make any big mistakes, in fact my only mistake was hitting neutral once on the motocross test on lap two. I am really, really happy with the way the race has gone for me. Leading the world championship is fantastic." Stefan Merriman Enduro 2 class - Day 1: First, Day 2: Second: "It's been a good weekend for me finishing in first and second in the Enduro 2 class, which I'm pleased with. Obviously I would have liked to have won on both days but Johnny Aubert was really fast on day two. Mika Ahola was actually a little faster than me on day one but he made a big mistake on the enduro test, which lost him a lot of time. I rode consistent on day one and that really helped me. I didn't have any problems and things went really well. On day two I found things really hard. Not being the biggest of riders it takes every bit of my energy to hold on to the bike when I'm pushing hard, especially on a long enduro test like we had. The race was a little too hard, I think. All the riders were really tired at the end of the first day and then at the end of the second day they were absolutely exhausted. We were lucky with the weather really because if it had rained hard on either day then it would have been extremely difficult." Race classification Enduro 2 Round: 3 - Gernika, Spain Circuit: Gernika Race: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS 39' 58.620 2 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA +40' 13.180 3 S. Aro KTM FIN +40' 36.810 4 M. Ahola Honda FIN +41' 43.410 5 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +41 ' 43.410 6 F. Planet KTM FRA +41' 50.300 7 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +42' 15.530 8 X. Galindo KTM ESP +42' 23.910 9 A. Belotti KTM ITA +42' 34.130 10 A. Beconi Beta ITA +42' 53.710 11 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +42' 57.500 12 E. McConnell TM GBR +43' 19.960 13 C. Nambotin Husqvarna FRA +43' 25.640 14 E. Albepart Honda FRA +43' 39.360 15 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +43' 51.510 16 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +43' 58.500 17 J. Curvalle Kawasaki FRA +44' 30.900 18 E. Memmi Sherco FRA +45' 31.110 19 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +46' 23.360 20 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +46' 43.080 Race 2: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 J. Aubert Yamaha FRA 51' 41.940 2 S. Merriman Yamaha AUS +52' 29.600 3 S. Aro KTM FIN +52' 55.990 4 C. Guerrero GasGas ESP +53' 11.890 5 M. Ahola Honda FIN +53' 11.500 6 P. Edmondson Honda GBR +53' 50.290 7 X. Galindo KTM ESP +54' 50.570 8 A. Belotti KTM ITA +54' 27.520 9 C. Nambotin Husqvarna FRA +55' 21.260 10 F. Dini Yamaha ITA +55' 2.510 11 N. Paganon Husqvarna FRA +55' 21.260 12 E. McConnell TM GBR +55' 23.440 13 A. Botturi Aprilia ITA +55' 31.660 14 V. Salonen HusaBerg FIN +56' 44.240 15 F. Planet KTM FRA +56' 52.920 16 F. Mancinelli Beta ITA +59' 52.920 17 J. Simoncini Suzuki ITA +59' 45.060 Championship standings Enduro 2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 130 2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 128 3 Stefan Merriman Yamaha AUS 123 4 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 122 5 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 83 6 Cristobal Guerrero GasGas ESP 81 7 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 73 8 Paul Edmondson Honda GBR 62 9 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 52 10 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 49 11 Andrea Beconi Beta ITA 47 12 Euan McConnell TM GBR 44 13 Andrea Belotti KTM ITA 43 14 Alessandro Botturi Aprilia ITA 41 15 Nicolas Paganon Husqvarna FRA 31 16 Petteri Silvan KTM FIN 28 17 Emmanuel Albepart Honda FRA 27 18 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 21 19 Christophe Nambotin Husqvarna FRA 20 20 Riku Rihelainen HusaBerg FIN 19 Manufacturers standings Enduro 2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 140 2 KTM 128 3 Honda 122 4 GasGas 85 5 Beta 52 6 HusaBerg 49 7 TM 43 8 Aprilia 41 9 Husqvarna 39 10 Sherco 31 11 Suzuki 13 12 Kawasaki 10 Enduro 1 : Micheluz faces gruelling conditions succesfully Round: 3 - Gernika, Spain Circuit: Gernika Date: 14 May 2006 Crowd: 6000 Temp: 24ºC Weather: Sunny Just as at the second round of the 2006 World Enduro Championship the UFO Corse Yamaha team were without the services of Spaniard Arnau Vilanova for the GP of Euskadi, staged in Gernika, Spain, due to the team's number one Enduro 1 class rider being unable to compete through injury. In his absence Italian Maurizio Micheluz, who claimed his best ever world championship result at the GP of Portugal one week earlier, again performed well aboard his WR250 to finish in sixth on both days of competition. Hoping to improve on his fourth place finish on day two at the second round of the WEC series Micheluz rode consistently on day one in Spain despite the wet and extremely challenging conditions. Finishing close behind former 125cc World Enduro Champion Petri Pohjamo on day one, Maurizio was one of just 12 Enduro 1 class finishers on day two - an indication of just how tough the race was. Having placed in sixth on both days Maurizio is now placed in sixth in the Enduro 1 world championship standings just 12 points behind the fifth placed rider. Reigning Enduro 1 world champion Ivan Cervantes topped the E1 class on both days finishing ahead of team-mate Alessandro Belometti on day one and ahead of Italian Simone Albergoni on day two. Maurizio Micheluz Enduro 1 class - Day 1 sixth, Day 2 sixth: "It has been a good weekend for me really. It was an extremely hard race on both days, but a good one. I crashed several times on day one and lost a lot of time, which affected my result a little. I wasn't able to match the pace of the top three riders in the E1 class, so I know I have some work to do on my speed, but I was happy with my riding. I finished in sixth on both days, which I am happy with so it has been a good enough race for me." Race classification Enduro 1 Round: 3 - Gernika, Spain Circuit: Gernika Race: 1 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 I. Cervantes KTM ESP 40' 50.200 2 A. Belometti KTM ITA +41 ' 8.170 3 B. Oblucki Husqvarna POL +41' 9.540 4 S. Albergoni Honda ITA +41' 35.040 5 P. Pohjamo TM FIN +42' 44.750 6 M. Micheluz Yamaha ITA +43' 2.440 7 H. Rodrigues Yamaha POR +43' 36.600 8 N. Deparrois Husqvarna FRA +43' 41.860 9 P. Bergvall Suzuki SWE +44' 5.900 10 J. Gauthier Honda FRA +44' 16.400 11 M. Hartmann KTM GER +44' 47.850 12 J. Jou Yamaha ESP +46' 42.170 13 E. Gutkin TM FRA +47' 57.040 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards charged from the front row of the grid to the podium today with a determined performance in the Grand Prix of China. Whilst his team-mate Valentino Rossi was denied the chance to challenge for a top three spot after pulling in with a tyre problem on the sixteenth lap, Edwards reaped the rewards of a blistering start to the race, when he snatched the hole-shot and led the field over the opening stages. In sunny and warm conditions Edwards set a scorching pace that only a handful of riders were able to follow, but finally succumbed to pressure from Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on lap ten, the young Spaniard forcing his way past and taking his team-mate Nicky Hayden along for company. Rossi, meanwhile, had been making positive progress through the field, working his way up from thirteenth on the grid to fifth place in the race before bad luck struck once again. The Italian began to feel that there was something wrong with his bike and initially thought it was being caused by the rear tyre. After a swift change he attempted to rejoin the race, only to return to the pits next time around after realising the problem was coming from the front tyre. Edwards consolidated third place for his first podium appearance of the season as Pedrosa held off the challenge of Hayden to clinch his maiden MotoGP win. Colin Edwards (3rd; + 14.634) "I got a really good start and just decided to go as fast as I could over the opening laps. I was close to losing control on a couple of occasions but I decided that I'd rather crash out of the lead today than miss my chance of finishing on the podium, which meant I just couldn't back off. I had some chatter and I could only push the bike so hard; if I went any faster than 2'00.7 then the chatter forced me to slow down, so I didn't have much choice but to hang in there! The freight train came past with Dani and Nicky but I couldn't hang on to the back, they were both just too fast. We've had some problems this weekend and I didn't expect to be on the podium but I can't thank my team, Yamaha and Michelin enough for the way they worked to put me in a competitive position. I think I scored my first podium in round four last season too, so hopefully this can be a sign to kick on from here." Valentino Rossi (DNF) "I didn't get a bad start to the race and I passed a lot of riders but I had a battle with Marco Melandri that cost me some time. Some of his moves were quite strong, which I could understand if we were fighting for the win on the last lap but not for eighth place at that stage of the race. Anyway, the bike felt good but just as I got my pace to 2'00.1 it suddenly started to feel wrong and I thought I had a problem with the rear tyre. I came in to change it but as I went back out I realised it was actually the front tyre, so that was the end of the race for me. I'm really disappointed because I felt in the race that I had the pace to at least pass Hopkins and Edwards, so as far as I am concerned we have lost 16 points and a podium, which would have been a good result after the problems we've had this weekend. We've lost some ground in the championship so I am feeling very disappointed right now but there is a long way to go yet." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "First of all my congratulations to Colin and all his crew - they have kept going after a difficult start to the season and today they got their reward. Third place is good and I hope it can be the start of much better things from him for the rest of the season. Valentino had a bad day, and even if we had changed the front tyre the first time he came in, it would have taken too long and the race would have already been lost. He has been very unlucky this year - firstly with the incident in the first corner at Jerez and now this time with the tyre. It's always upsetting when your results are decided by things that are out of your control but there is nothing he can do about it, only look forward to making up for lost ground over an important run of races in the next few weeks." Step forward in tyre consistency for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Some may say that finishing 14th and 17th in the Polini Grand Prix of China is an unacceptable result, but the Tech 3 Yamaha Team believes that after a weather effected weekend, positive steps have been made in the consistency of the Dunlop tyres, and are confident that now that has been attained, it will lead to further progression in the remaining races of 2006. By the completion of the today's race, Carlos Checa and James Ellison finished closer to many teams than in any of the season's previous races. Now that the question of the durability of Dunlop tyres has been answered, the next item on the team's agenda is to increase the performance and believe that the next level will be possible in the near future. Carlos Checa (14th, Fastest lap 2'02.610) "We have been working hard through the weekend and we knew that it was going to be difficult but our mission has been to reduce the difference to the large second group of bikes. We have come far in making the tyres last the distance but now our objective is to ensure that we improve our level of performance to lower our lap times over the entire distance. We haven't got the speed in the middle of the turn, especially in acceleration at the moment, but now that the tyres are lasting we need to increase the performance so we can go faster for longer and not be so far off in lap times. What Dunlop has been able to do in these four races makes me confident that they will be able to improve in the areas we need, to bring the lap times down and get even closer to those that are in front. I don't want to be negative but when the lap times are not there, everyone should be concerned. I knew that this was the situation in Dunlop when I came here so it is no surprise. I must carry on and fight against this situation and improve. We must not give up, - completely the opposite - we must work harder, more harder than the others if we want to catch them. I think we can improve one or two steps. The top level will be difficult if we compare with the other tyre rivals but we have to keep trying". James Ellison (17th, Fastest lap 2'03.139) "We're improving the durability of the tyres, but then the side grip dropped away and at a place like China where you're on the side of the tyre for a long period this is going to cost you a lot. To compensate for this I couldn't run the lines I wanted to, so I had to get over the front more. Don't get me wrong, we've made a big step with consistency but towards the end of the race I couldn't carry the corner speed I wanted. Obviously we still have work to do with the bike and the tyres to get the whole package working. The Dunlop guys have got a heap of new stuff coming to Le Mans and the test afterwards. They have been working very hard to improve the situation so we'll see what happens". Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "I am reasonably happy, although you can't jump up and down when you are finishing 14th and 17th, but I think that is the best race of the season for us so far. There was no major drop off in the lap times, the pace wasn't good enough to be in front but we were quite close to Kenny (Roberts Jr) with a factory engine on Michelin's and not far from de Puniet. We are happy with race distance durability but now we have to upgrade the performance because I think we need to be a second a lap quicker to be with the group we are looking at. "We have made some quite big improvements since the start of the project. There are another 13 races to go; Carlos working the way he is working, giving good feedback; James being closer than where he has been before; we have a two-days test after the French Grand Prix next week: hopefully Dunlop will continue the progression we are seeing. We go out of China with the feeling we have done quite a good Grand Prix". "We are seeing progress, everyone is working so hard and we must not stop. We must continue pushing and pushing." Race classification MotoGP Round: 4 - 2006 MotoGP Shanghai Circuit: Shanghai Circuit Length: 5451 Lap Record: 1' 59.318 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 59.009 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Race: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 44' 7.734 2 N. Hayden Honda USA +1.505 3 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +14.634 4 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +19.265 5 C. Stoner Honda AUS +23.061 6 M. Tamada Honda JPN +23.879 7 M. Melandri Honda ITA +24.101 8 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA +24.467 9 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP +28.358 10 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +33.851 11 T. Elias Honda ESP +35.316 12 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA +52.004 13 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +56.293 14 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +1' 3.575 15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER +1' 11.172 16 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1' 23.075 17 J. Cardoso Ducati ESP +1' 35.150 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 59.318 Championship standings MotoGP Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 72 2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 59 3 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 57 4 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 54 5 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 52 6 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 40 7 Toni Elias Honda ESP 37 8 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 35 9 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 28 10 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 25 11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 24 12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 20 13 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 20 14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 13 15 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 10 17 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 3 Manufacturers standings MotoGP Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 90 2 Ducati 59 2 Yamaha 59 3 Suzuki 29 4 Kawasaki 28 5 Team Roberts KR 20 Team standings MotoGP Pos. Team Points 1 Repsol Honda Team 129 2 Fortuna Honda Team 91 3 Ducati Marlboro Team 84 4 Camel Yamaha Team 75 5 Honda LCR 52 6 Kawasaki Racing Team 36 7 Rizla Suzuki 33 8 Konica Minolta Honda 24 9 Team Roberts KR 20 10 Tech3 Yamaha 13 11 Pramac D'Antin 3 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards will start from the front row of the MotoGP grid in tomorrow's Grand Prix of China after setting the third fastest time in a dramatic single qualifying session today. After battling through torrentially wet conditions yesterday, the riders enjoyed a cloudy but dry free practice this morning as they sought to find a suitable dry set-up for their machines. The afternoon started in similar conditions but a brief rain shower midway through the session confined the riders to a tense spell in their pit garages before a thrilling late shootout for grid positions. Whilst Edwards battled for the top spot with eventual pole setter Dani Pedrosa (Honda) and second-fastest John Hopkins (Suzuki), his Camel Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was unable to repeat the kind of form that saw him dominate proceedings in the wet conditions yesterday. The Italian was one of several riders to struggle with a lack of dry practice time as he looked to iron out set-up problems and find his pace. He now faces another battle through the pack after setting the 13th fastest time, meaning he will start from the fifth row of the grid. Colin Edwards (3rd; 1'59.383, 15 laps) "This has been a really strange weekend because we started off by finding a setting for the wet and then converted it to the dry - usually it is the other way around! I felt so comfortable with the bike yesterday and I was disappointed when I saw that I was down in thirteenth, but I knew the reason for that and I was really confident about today. I can't really explain why we were off the pace in Turkey but have been right on it here in China, because we have hardly touched anything with the bike, just played around with the suspension. We've got some chatter in certain areas of the track but it's worse when the grip is good, especially when we put a qualifying tyre on. On race rubber you can hardly notice it so I think we have a good setting to go the distance tomorrow and I am happy with my tyre choice. I've had some decent starts to races so far this season but haven't been able to maintain the pace, so hopefully I can turn that around tomorrow. It feels good to be back on the front row." Valentino Rossi (13th; 2'00.720, 18 laps) "For sure we have a lot of problems and it's disappointing to be back in this position again after such a good day yesterday. When the grip becomes normal again, like today, we have a lot of chatter and it's very hard to ride the bike. Really this situation is quite bad, as the chatter has returned again today and it is similar to how it was in Jerez. Now we have to start from the fifth row and so it's going to be a very hard race. We have talked a lot tonight in the garage and now we will try some things in the morning during warm-up and hope that we can make some final improvements. Now I need to ride a defensive race, try not to make any mistakes and try to take as many points as possible." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "A very good result for Colin - it's been a while since he was on the front row so it is good to see him back there. He seems much more comfortable on the bike and it's good to see that he is able to ride it so effectively. Unfortunately Valentino wasn't able to follow up his good performance from yesterday with a similar result today, so we will have to take a look at the data with the engineers and try to come up with some ideas for the warm-up tomorrow." Clouds clear to allow progress for Tech 3 Yamaha Team The rain clouds of the opening day cleared sufficiently to permit steady progress for the Tech 3 Yamaha Team during Day Two of the Polini Grand Prix of China at the technically demanding Shanghai International Circuit. However, the solitary qualifying session for all important grid positions was briefly interrupted when a light sprinkling of rain covered the circuit to curtail proceedings for a quarter of the one-hour period. With a new batch of Dunlop qualifying tyres, team riders Carlos Checa and James Ellison secured 14th and 17th positions respectively, the most encouraging aspect for the team being both riders are closer to the leading lap times than in previous Grands Prix. With race weekend's doubling as tyre tests, it has confirmed that the team is heading in a positive direction in both wet and dry conditions. Carlos Checa (14th, 2'01.052, 18 laps) "Considering everything that has happened with the weather, it hasn't been too bad. In the morning session on race tyres we have found a direction to move forward and now physically I'm feeling ok after my injuries from Jerez. I have all my strength and gives me more confidence to push hard for the entire race which is quite important to me. I hope tomorrow can be a dry race as we have a few solutions to try in the warm-up and we'll see if we can improve a few other areas to make better and better. The front tyre is working quite well, but the rear we need to increase grip and stability. We already know the race tyre but after the break in qualifying we couldn't run any more race tyres tests as we had to use the new qualifying tyres to make sure we kept within range of the others". James Ellison (17th. 2'02.088, 16 laps) "The qualifying tyres are working quite well now. We've made a massive improvement compared to what we have done previously. I'm also just a second from Carlos and that is the closest I've been all year which is another encouraging sign for me. Tomorrow in warm-up we're going to try the race tyre I prefer which is a slightly bigger one and run the whole session with it. With the bigger tyre we have found the stability we were missing so that's a good confidence boost and if the temperature is hotter as the forecast indicates that's going to help us as well. We've been making big improvements every session this weekend and we're getting closer on the race set up considering we really only had that one hour session this morning. During a meeting we have to test qualifying, slicks and wet tyres so it's hard to find a race setup but that's what we have to do. After four races we've now found a good direction to push forward and unlike other teams we have no data from previous years to work on so with everything considered I think that we are finally making the progress we have been aiming for". Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "We've had a good two days and given a lot of information to Dunlop about wet weather tyre development. Carlos found a good feeling with his tyre for the dry and so did James. We've done all our times since Qatar on race tyres but now the qualifying tyres seem to be working well. Carlos is in between Elias and Rossi which shows we are between good riders and different bikes. I'm very pleased with James this afternoon. I'm sure when James gets some more confidence he will improve a lot. Hopefully the race will be dry, because nobody has done a lot of laps but we are happy. We are progressing and we are improving. We won't win the race or be on the podium tomorrow but we are performing our mission as we started from scratch with Dunlop. Also, now that Carlos is recovered I think it will help him racing more aggressively and more comfortably". Round: 4 - 2006 MotoGP Shanghai Circuit: Shanghai Circuit Length: 5451 Lap Record: 2' 13.716 (Alex Barros, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 59.009 (Daniel Pedrosa, 2006) Date: 13 May 2006 Temp: 19ºC Session 1 : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying 1 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 59.009 2 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 59.373 3 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 59.383 4 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 59.570 5 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 59.574 6 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 1' 59.639 7 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 59.890 8 M. Melandri Honda ITA 2' 0.014 9 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 2' 0.044 10 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 2' 0.078 11 M. Tamada Honda JPN 2' 0.176 12 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 2' 0.304 13 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 2' 0.720 14 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 2' 1.052 15 T. Elias Honda ESP 2' 1.275 16 A. Hofmann Ducati GER 2' 1.972 17 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 2' 2.088 Click here to view the news

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top of the MotoGP time sheets today as hard work during practice and testing following the last round at Istanbul began to bear fruit on the opening day of the Grand Prix of China. In soaking conditions caused by a steady downpour of fine rain throughout the day, Rossi repeated the form that saw him take a wet victory at the Shanghai circuit last season with the fastest times in both today's free practice sessions. After setting the pace by just 0.002 seconds from Casey Stoner (Honda) in the morning, the Italian moved up a gear in the afternoon to improve his time by almost three seconds, holding off the challenge of Loris Capirossi (Ducati) by 0.355 seconds with an exemplary display of wet-weather riding. Meanwhile, his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also reported improved feeling with his YZR-M1 machine following positive progress during the Turkish test session, although the American was struggled to turn that into outright pace this afternoon. Valentino Rossi (1st; 2'09.393, 36 laps) "In Turkey we were able to understand some of the problems we were having with the bike and we found some good solutions. The modifications we made using that data here this morning were really good and now I can ride the bike at 100%. Even though it was wet the grip levels were very good, I was able to get a lot of lean angle in the corners and it was really good fun to ride as I want to. I'm really happy because I was fastest in both free practices today and this is a good sign for the weekend. The bike is working well in the wet but I think the solutions we have found for the setting will also work in the dry. Hopefully we will get the chance to find out tomorrow because the worst scenario would be to have another day of wet practice and then a dry race on Sunday." Colin Edwards (13th; 2'11.838, 24 laps) "I'm reasonably happy with today. We did some good work on the setting of the bike but when we got it to where I wanted to push for a good time we had a minor setback with the tyre and I had to go for a different compound, which didn't quite work out. The main thing is that I'm comfortable with the bike and I'm confident I can go much quicker tomorrow whether it's wet or dry. We basically started out with the dry setting we found in Turkey and made small adaptations for the wet conditions here. We found a really good suspension solution at the end so now we just need to put the whole package together with the right tyres tomorrow and run with it." Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director "That was a very good session, especially after the problems we had in Istanbul. The engineers made some good steps with the setting and, thanks to their good work at the test in Turkey, Valentino was able to be fast again today. Watching him ride to the best of his ability is always very enjoyable and the situation here is clearly very different to what we found when it rained in Turkey. As far as Colin is concerned his lap time today does not reflect his true potential here. He has found a good setting and, although he couldn't finish the session off as he would have liked, there is a lot more to come from him. We have started off well at other races this year and not ended up with the right result so we have to make sure this good work continues right through until Sunday afternoon." Rain dampens proceedings for Tech 3 Yamaha Team Although the rain overshadowed proceedings, the conditions gave the Tech 3 Yamaha Team an excellent chance to continue testing the ever improving range of Dunlop wet weather tyres. Both riders tested many different combinations of tyres during the two, one-hour practice sessions and recorded valuable data should the showers continue for the remainder of the weekend with Carlos Checa and James Ellison in 16th and17th positions respectively. Carlos Checa (16th, 2'14.914, 36 laps) "It has been a busy day testing tyres and these wet conditions have given us a perfect chance to find a direction to head with the amount of wet-weather tyres Dunlop has for us. But it's what we have to do to continue and hope we can improve further soon. I am not very happy as I'm five seconds off but that is what happens sometimes when we are testing at the same time as trying to find a setup. Now we have to find the tyre to settle on should these conditions continue over the weekend". James Ellison (17th. 2'15.880, 36 laps) "From this morning we made some adjustments by lowering the bike and softening the bike right off and it worked well as the lap times started to come down. We tried a few different tyres during the session and the last tyre we tried was pretty good. Carlos liked it as well so we have something to work on in the morning but we just have to find a way of generating more heat in the side of the tyre which is the problem we're having. Once we do that we should be in much better position. Testing during a meeting is a bit hard but at the end of the day that is what we are here for". Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director "Although the positions of Carlos and James are not the best, we are quite satisfied with the work that has been done today because again, we have done a few hours in the rain and they both have been through a lot of different tyres. "It's a tough job but this is "year one" with Dunlop in MotoGP with a factory bike and they have a lot to learn and a lot to understand to catch up to the other brands. We have to go through this testing program - that is something we have to do - and not everything we test is always suitable. But this is our mission and we have to continue. I'd like to thank my riders - especially Carlos - for the good job he is doing. Hopefully, by the end of the season, with all the tyre testing we do during a Grand Prix, we will be a lot closer. The target is to be a pretty competitive in 2007 but we're not going to catch up with the other two immediately." Round: 4 - 2006 MotoGP Shanghai Circuit: Shanghai Circuit Length: 5451 Lap Record: 2' 13.716 (Alex Barros, 2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 59.710 (Sete Gibernau, 2005) Date: 12 May 2006 Temp: 17ºC Free Practice : Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice 1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 2' 9.393 2 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 2' 9.748 3 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 2' 10.007 4 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 2' 10.187 5 N. Hayden Honda USA 2' 10.247 6 M. Melandri Honda ITA 2' 10.411 7 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 2' 10.815 8 C. Stoner Honda AUS 2' 11.016 9 M. Tamada Honda JPN 2' 11.313 10 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 2' 11.425 11 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 2' 11.438 12 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 2' 11.615 13 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 2' 11.838 14 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 2' 12.496 15 T. Elias Honda ESP 2' 12.807 16 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 2' 14.914 17 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 2' 15.880 Click here to view the news

The whirlwind start to the 2006 MotoGP World Championship continues next weekend as the paddock's globetrotting journey heads eastwards across Asia to the Shanghai International Circuit in China. After visiting Spain, Qatar and Turkey in the opening three rounds of the series, the Camel Yamaha Team take their points quest back to the skies for another 'flyaway' race, before returning to start a European road trip that covers seven races in nine weeks - starting at the Le Mans circuit in France only seven days after the Chinese event. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards arrive in the country known locally as 'The Big Land' with a mixed bag of results under their arms after an unpredictable start to the campaign. Rossi followed up a first-corner fall at Jerez with victory in Doha before battling to fourth place in Istanbul after a weekend dogged by technical difficulties and bad weather. It has been a similar story for his Texan team-mate, who has shown excellent pace in practice but has yet to find a set-up package that will enable him to compete for race victories and podiums. The Shanghai circuit was designed by architects Hermann Tilke and Peter Wahl and its layout was inspired by the shape of the Chinese character 'shang', which stands for 'high' or 'above'. Other symbols represented in the architecture of the circuit facilities originate from Chinese history, such as the team buildings, which are arranged like pavilions on a lake to resemble the ancient Yuyan-Garden in Shanghai. One of the circuit's most impressive features is the extraordinary main grandstand, which holds capacity for 29,000 spectators and provides a spectacular view of almost 80 percent of the circuit. Valentino Rossi: Tight and technical After taking a surprise wet-weather victory at this circuit last season, Valentino Rossi is hoping for an identical result in different conditions this time around. The torrential rain that fell during the inaugural event at Shanghai one year ago set the scene for one of the most impressive performances of Rossi's career but, given the choice, the World Champion is hoping for a much more straightforward way to demonstrate his superiority next Sunday. "Out of all the victories in my career, China last year was the one I least expected because of the problems we had with the bike during the weekend and with the rain on race day," explains Rossi, who became the all-time record points scorer in Grand Prix history thanks to his fourth place finish in Turkey last week - a result that outs him fifth in the championship. "It was the first time I had won in the wet on the Yamaha, so it was a special victory, but this year I would definitely prefer a dry race. The 2006 version M1 didn't work as well as we had hoped in the wet practice sessions in Turkey and we need as much dry track time as possible to get the bike setting as I like it." Like Turkey the Shanghai circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, but it is much more similar to the German architect's other effort at Sepang in Malaysia, with tight bends and long straights that, according to Rossi, make the rider's skill in setting the bike up even more important. "My first impressions of the circuit last year were very good but then it wasn't as much fun as I expected," explains the Italian. "It is actually quite tight and technical and is very much a Formula 1 track, so all the riders have a lot of hard work to do finding the right setting for the bikes. It is not ideal for MotoGP - it is a very demanding circuit and it will test the riders and the bikes to the maximum." Colin Edwards: Expect the unexpected Colin Edwards says he is unsure about what to expect in China after experiencing such mixed fortunes at each of the opening three rounds this season. Like his team-mate, the American is hoping for favourable circumstances from the opening practice in order to gather crucial set-up data for the 2006 version YZR-M1 machine. "Because we had so little dry time at Shanghai last year I think there is a big question mark for everybody about what is going to happen," says Edwards, who currently lies ninth in the championship on 19 points. "It will be important to find a good setting for the bike as quickly as possible so that we can get some endurance testing in before the race and make sure we don't have the problems we've struggled with in previous weekends. This is a very important Grand Prix for us and we simply have to end it with a decent result before the championship heads back to Europe. "The test at Istanbul on Monday was quite beneficial because it gave us an idea of the lap times we could have done in the race if we weren't interrupted by the rain on Saturday, which was encouraging, although it didn't win us any points back! We got a lot of laps in, which is what we need right now, so the engineers have some good data to work on over the next week before the race and I'm confident they can come up with something for us in China." Davide Brivio: Positive thinking Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is looking towards the Grand Prix in China as a major opportunity to turn around the team's early-season fortunes. Having enjoyed a particularly fruitful weekend in Shanghai at this stage last season, the Italian is hoping the event can prove to be a turning point for the team at the start of a critical phase of the championship. "Last year's race in China was very important for us because we won, and won well, in the wet and this helped us to find the solutions to some problems we had with the dry setting, so we are hoping it can be the same this time," says Brivio. "It has been a difficult start to the season but despite the bad luck of Valentino's crash in the first round at Jerez he is still very close to the top. We're looking forward to seeing what both he and Colin are capable of when the problems are solved and hopefully that can start in China. "Now we have eight races in eleven weekends, which is a lot and puts pressure on everybody. For example our drivers will be going straight from China to pick up the trucks and driving them to France without a break, but I think it is worse for the riders because they have no time to rest. In any case the next three months are the core of the season and a period where the situation regarding the championship becomes much clearer. The conditions are the same for everybody so we have to make sure we work to the best of our abilities and come through with a good share of the points." Technically speaking: Colin Edwards' suspension technician Robert Gronlund Despite being drawn by the same hand as the Istanbul Circuit in Turkey, Shanghai has different characteristics that bring to mind closer comparisons with the other Herman Tilke circuit of Sepang. Combining fast straights and hard braking zones with a series of slow and difficult corners, bike set-up is again a question of finding a compromised balance, whilst the big unknown this weekend will be the conditions - with last year's mixed bag of weather and the typically hot and humid climate making grip levels a complete mystery until Friday morning practice. "In some ways Shanghai is similar to Turkey but in other ways it is very different," explains Robert Gronlund, Colin Edwards' Ohlins suspension technician. "For instance, it doesn't flow as much as that track but it does have a mixture of fast corners and very hard braking zones, so in terms of the set-up the key is again to have a good compromise - especially with the suspension. The bike needs to turn well into the slow corners because, like with the final section in Turkey, you can lose a lot of time there. "The thing about Shanghai is that we have only been once and it was sometimes wet and sometimes dry, so we have a very limited amount of data. Really we're not worried about that though because we feel we made an important step during the test in Turkey. We have reduced the vibration problems we had at Jerez and Qatar and found a solution to the difficulties we had at Istanbul - just generally making the bike easier to ride. A lot will depend on the grip levels at Shanghai and it certainly won't be easy, but we are looking forward to it." Valentino Rossi: Information Age: 27 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 80 (54 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 160 (100 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 40 World Championships - 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 32 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 51 x MotoGP World Championships - 2 World Superbike Shanghai Lap Record: Alex Barros (Honda) 2005 - 2'13.716* Shanghai Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005 - 1'59.710 Shanghai 2005 Results*: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 50'02.463 2. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) +1.700 3. Marco Melandri (Honda) +16.574 8. Colin Edwards(Yamaha) +31.033 * Wet Race Click here to view the news

Noriyuki Haga gave the Tifosi plenty to cheer about with a fine podium finish at Monza today. The ever-popular Yamaha Motor Italia star equaled his best ever result around the historic circuit with third place in race two to the delight of his locally based team and a large and passionate crowd. Race one saw Haga involved in a three-way battle for second place with Troy Corser (Suzuki) and Alex Barros (Honda), which ultimately saw him finish fourth at the end of 18 grueling laps. For race two the Japanese star made some small changes to the suspension of his YZF-R1, allowing him to lead the way with Corser and Troy Bayliss (Ducati) until a lack of grip in the closing stages forced him to consolidate his podium finish. Team-mate Andrew Pitt also gave two stirring performances despite failing to get off the line cleanly. The Australian found himself boxed in at Monza's notoriously slow first chicane, which meant that he was unable get away with the leading group. In both races Pitt was able to run similar lap times to the leaders, allowing him to work his way up to the second group. In both instances he was able to finish at the head of the pack, for fifth place in race one and sixth in race two. Bayliss won both races to extend his lead in the championship to 36 points over Corser, who was third and second in today's races. Haga lies fifth in the championship but with a reduced gap to third. The Yamaha rider is just four points behind James Toseland (Honda) and two adrift of fourth placed Barros. Yamaha Motor France's riders had mixed fortunes in Monza. World superbike rookie Shinichi Nakatomi continued to impress with a season best tenth in race one and 12th in race two. The Japanese rider came from 20th on the grid and was dicing with illustrious company throughout the races, one of whom was team-mate Sebastien Gimbert, who finished 12th in race one before retiring with clutch problems in the second. But Norick Abe suffered a nightmare in Monza and received no reward for a gritty performance. After missing the Saturday practice sessions through injury, Abe must have wished he had stayed in his motorhome after becoming one of seven riders to go down in a first corner pile-up in race one. For race two he came from 27th on the grid to finish the race 16th, a fine performance for a rider suffering neck and wrist injuries but unfortunately not one which brought any championship points. Despite his failure to score, Abe remains in the championship's top ten, dropping just one place to ninth. Nakatomi moves up to 17th and Gimbert 22nd. The next race takes place at the Silverstone circuit in three weekend's time. Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) "I'm very happy to finally get on the podium in Monza. We had two hard races and in the second I thought that I could stay with Bayliss and Corser but I had a small problem with rear grip. Our bike has worked very well this weekend and I am pleased for that I can make this good result at the home race of my team. I am now looking to get another good result in Silverstone as this is a track I like very much and where we had the first podium for the R1 last year." Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia) "It was all about making a good start and unfortunately in both races I couldn't get cleanly through the first chicane. I thought that I rode well and my lap times were the same as the guys in the front group but they had already made a break and it was impossible to catch them. I'm disappointed as I expected more and thought we could be on the podium today but in both races I beat the guys I was racing with and that's about as much as I could do." Shinichi Nakatomi (Yamaha Motor France) "I was too far behind on the start but on the track I could catch people. After ten or 11 laps I was catching again but l missed a gear and lost about five positions. After that, I had to work very hard but we got some points in both races. It was a positive for us." Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha Motor France) "It was a difficult weekend, for the team and for me. We had big problems with the clutch. In the first race it was not so bad but the second race was no good for me." Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) "We had very bad luck this weekend. My big crash on Friday was my mistake but also caused by the rainy conditions. So in first race I made a good start but somebody made a big mistake and many riders went out. That one was not my fault. In race two my right hand was in more pain than the first race and we didn't not have ideal settings because we had to miss practice sessions." Massimo Meregalli (Team Coordinator - Yamaha Motor Italia) "On Friday we felt that a podium was possible and although it didn't go so well in final qualifying I was confident that both riders could challenge after a good performance in the warm-up this morning. I'm pleased for Noriyuki because on Thursday he said to me that he never finishes on the podium here. Andrew also rode well and has been strong all weekend, so we can go to Silverstone confident of challenging for the podium again." Martial Garcia (Team Manager - Yamaha Motor France) "Nakatomi confirmed his good result of the first race in the second one, although this time there was no big crash like in race one, so more riders finished. Gimbert had a big problem with the clutch so he could not ride the bike. For Abe the situation was clear and he only rode for the team, only for us, so true thanks to him. He tried his heart out but missed a point by only one position in race two." Race classification WSB Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 46.815 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 46.815 (Troy Bayliss, 2006) Race: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 32' 23.100 2 A. Barros Honda BRA +3.982 3 T. Corser Suzuki AUS +4.216 4 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +4.395 5 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +13.605 6 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +13.665 7 R. Laconi Kawasaki FRA +14.066 8 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA +19.170 9 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +25.729 10 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN +28.350 11 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +29.639 12 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA +30.354 13 F. Foret Suzuki FRA +43.838 14 L. Alfonsi Ducati ITA +44.312 15 I. Clementi Ducati ITA +44.530 Race 2: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 32' 17.705 2 T. Corser Suzuki AUS +1.916 3 N. Haga Yamaha JPN +6.479 4 A. Barros Honda BRA +10.227 5 J. Toseland Honda GBR +11.910 6 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS +17.551 7 K. Muggeridge Honda AUS +17.720 8 F. Nieto Kawasaki ESP +17.825 9 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR +22.873 10 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA +31.603 11 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA +31.610 12 S. Nakatomi Yamaha JPN +34.282 13 F. Foret Suzuki FRA +35.273 14 M. Fabrizio Honda ITA +35.306 15 R. Xaus Ducati ESP +40.552 16 N. Abe Yamaha JPN +51.516 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 1' 46.815 Championship standings WSB Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Troy Bayliss Ducati AUS 175 2 Troy Corser Suzuki AUS 139 3 James Toseland Honda GBR 97 4 Alex Barros Honda BRA 95 5 Noriyuki Haga Yamaha JPN 93 6 Andrew Pitt Yamaha AUS 79 7 Lorenzo Lanzi Ducati ITA 59 8 Roberto Rolfo Ducati ITA 46 9 Norick Abe Yamaha JPN 40 10 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki ESP 37 11 Michel Fabrizio Honda ITA 36 12 Ruben Xaus Ducati ESP 34 13 Chris Walker Kawasaki GBR 33 14 Regis Laconi Kawasaki FRA 31 15 Karl Muggeridge Honda AUS 30 17 Shinichi Nakatomi Yamaha JPN 18 22 Sebastien Gimbert Yamaha FRA 7 Manufacturers standings WSB Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Ducati 176 2 Suzuki 149 3 Honda 124 4 Yamaha 113 5 Kawasaki 57 6 Petronas 4 WSS : Roccoli tops the R6s in Monza Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Date: 7 May 2006 Crowd: 90000 Temp: 22ºC Weather: Sunny Italian youngster Massimo Roccoli had his best result as a world supersport rider, bringing his Yamaha YZF-R6 home fourth at Monza today. The Yamaha Team Italia rider survived a last lap scare when he touched Kenan Sofuoglu (Honda) as he entered Parabolica corner for the final time. The pair, who had an intense battle in last year's superstock 1000 race at Monza, crossed the line side-by-side with the Yamaha man getting the verdict by just two-tenths of a second. Roccoli had been running a quiet race just behind the leading group for much of the 16 laps, only to be caught as he succumbed to arm pump in the latter stages of the race. He was unable to fend off the challenge of championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda), who was charging through the field after a ride-through penalty, but successfully defended his place from Sofuoglu and the intense race-long battle between Yamaha Motor Germany's Broc Parkes and Ducati rider Stuart Easton. After qualifying down in 11th position Parkes had a difficult race. He found himself baulked at the first chicane and after picking off a few places he was unable to find a way past Easton and came home a disappointed seventh. It was day that promised so much but delivered so little for Yamaha Motor Germany. Kevin Curtain led for much of the way, until a technical problem halted him with four laps remaining. The Australian had been involved in a thrilling battle with eventual winner Yoann Tiberio (Honda) when his engine expired at the end of the home straight. Despite failing to score Curtain retains his second place in the championship standings. Third place for Charpentier sees him extend his lead over Curtain to 31 points with second-placed Monza finisher Robbin Harms (Honda) a further eight points adrift in third. Parkes remains fifth in the championship with Roccoli sixth. Roccoli's team-mate Gianluca Vizziello was another rider to leave Monza without any points. The Italian had been in sparkling form to qualify second but he spectacularly crashed out of sixth place after being baulked by another rider on lap three. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha Team Italia) "I got a good start and felt that I could fight for the podium today, but in the end I had some problems with my arm. When Charpentier came past me I wanted to try and stay with him but he was just too fast and I had to concentrate on getting the best result possible. The pain in my arm made it hard for me when entering the corners but I was determined to get a good result and when Sofuoglu passed me I fought straight back. I'm happy to get a good result today and finishing so close to the podium has only made me more determined." Broc Parkes (Yamaha Motor Germany) "The main problem was qualifying back on the third row. I was able to make some good progress until I came across a Ducati that I had difficulty getting past. Sometimes I was able to get past on the brakes but I was never quite able to make enough of a break to stop him coming back at me down the straights." Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) "It's disappointing not to be able to take advantage of Charpentier's penalty and to take some points back but that's life and no one will go through a season without some bad luck, so hopefully this is ours for the season. There are still a lot of positives to take from this weekend and we just have to work hard and focus on Silverstone." Gianluca Vizziello (Yamaha Team Italia) "I'm not happy because I knew that I could fight for a good position and possibly the podium today. Someone cut across me going into Ascari so I had to brake hard and this made me crash out with Fujiwara." Race classification WSS Round: 4 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 51.403 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 51.403 (Sebastien Charpentier, 2006) Race: 16 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 Y. Tibero Honda FRA 30' 14.618 2 R. Harms Honda DNK +1.924 3 S. Charpentier Honda FRA +4.255 4 M. Roccoli Yamaha ITA +7.224 5 K. Sofuoglu Honda TUR +7.499 6 S. Easton Ducati GBR +9.015 7 B. Parkes Yamaha AUS +9.117 8 J. Stigefelt Honda SWE +10.866 9 X. Fores Yamaha ESP +10.997 10 S. Chambon Kawasaki FRA +21.842 11 T. Lauslehto Honda FIN +25.332 12 S. Cruciani Honda ITA +25.478 13 D. Checa Yamaha ESP +26.654 14 V. Kallio Yamaha FIN +34.012 15 K. Andersen Suzuki NOR +38.406 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Charpentier Honda FRA 1' 51.403 Championship standings WSS Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Sebastien Charpentier Honda FRA 91 2 Kevin Curtain Yamaha AUS 60 3 Robbin Harms Honda DNK 52 4 Yoann Tibero Honda FRA 48 5 Broc Parkes Yamaha AUS 38 6 Massimo Roccoli Yamaha ITA 36 7 Xavi Fores Yamaha ESP 30 8 Johan Stigefelt Honda SWE 28 9 Kenan Sofuoglu Honda TUR 27 10 Joshua Brookes Ducati AUS 21 11 Gianluca Vizziello Yamaha ITA 17 12 Katsuaki Fujiwara Honda JPN 16 13 Christian Zaiser Ducati AUT 15 14 Sebastien Le Grelle Honda BEL 12 15 Stuart Easton Ducati GBR 10 25 David Checa Yamaha ESP 3 26 Didier Van Keymeulen Yamaha BEL 2 Manufacturers standings WSS Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Honda 100 2 Yamaha 73 3 Ducati 33 4 Kawasaki 14 5 Suzuki 7 European Superstock : Corti tenth in Monza Round: 2 - Italy Circuit: Monza Date: 7 May 2006 Crowd: 90000 Temp: 22ºC Weather: Sunny Yamaha Team Italia rider Claudio Corti finished tenth in today's second round of the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup at his local Monza circuit. Starting from tenth on the grid following a gear selection problem in the second qualifying session, the YZF-R1 SP rider made a superb start to lie third at the end of the opening lap. The 18-year-old from Como struggled for traction and slipped back into a fierce battle for seventh place but found himself slipstreamed across the finish line. In a photo finish, fellow R1 SP riders Ilario Dionsi and Matteo Baiocco passed Corti across the line - the three Yamahas covered by just one hundredth of a second at the finish. Emilio Rocamora was 11th on another Yamaha, a further two hundredths of a seconds behind. Italian Alessandro Polita (Suzuki) led from start to finish to take his second win of the season, with Riccardo Chiarello (Kawasaki) and Ayrton Badovini (MV Agusta) making it an all Italian podium. With two of the ten rounds gone, Polita leads with a perfect 50 points, 18 ahead of second placed Badovini. Corti is the top placed Yamaha rider, with 14 points in ninth place. Claudio Corti (Yamaha Team Italia) "I made a good start but after a few laps I lost all feeling with the bike. From then all I could think about was getting some points for the championship. It's not good but at least I have scored some points today." Race classification FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Round: 2 - Italy Circuit: Monza Circuit Length: 5792 Lap Record: 1' 51.212 (Alessandro Polita, 2006) Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 51.212 (Alessandro Polita, 2006) Race: 11 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Polita Suzuki ITA 20' 31,118.000 2 R. Chiarello Kawasaki ITA +0.357 3 A. Badovini MV Agusta ITA +9.079 4 A. Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP +9.449 5 L. Scassa MV Agusta ITA +9.531 6 D. Dell'omo Suzuki ITA +10.066 7 D. Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA +15.548 8 I. Dionisi Yamaha ITA +16.711 9 M. Baiocco Yamaha ITA +16.714 10 C. Corti Yamaha ITA +16.725 11 E. Rocamora Yamaha ESP +16.979 12 L. Napoleone Suzuki FRA +19.278 13 S. Saltarelli Kawasaki ITA +25.388 14 M. Jerman Suzuki SVK +28.751 15 P. Solli Yamaha NOR +30.366 Fastest Race Lap: Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Polita Suzuki ITA 1' 51.212 Championship standings FIM Superstock 1000 Cup Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Alessandro Polita Suzuki ITA 50 2 Ayrton Badovini MV Agusta ITA 32 3 Luca Scassa MV Agusta ITA 22 4 Riccardo Chiarello Kawasaki ITA 22 5 Alex Martinez Mas Kawasaki ESP 20 6 Ivan Silva Kawasaki ESP 20 7 Denis Sacchetti Kawasaki ITA 19 8 Enrique Rocamora Yamaha ESP 18 9 Claudio Corti Yamaha ITA 14 10 Danilo Dell'omo Suzuki ITA 13 11 Matteo Baiocco Yamaha ITA 12 12 Ilario Dionisi Yamaha ITA 9 13 Simone Saltarelli Kawasaki ITA 9 14 Sheridan Morais Suzuki RSA 9 15 Richard Cooper Honda GBR 4 Click here to view the news

Cristobal Guerrero The opening round of the '07 World Enduro Champion saw Finland's Juha Salminen claim a double Enduro 1 class win in Ostersund, Sweden where the five-time WEC champion and two-time US GNCC series winner claimed two commanding day wins. With the snow covered special tests expected to favour the Scandinavian riders Juha placed ahead of Swede Niklas Gustafsson on day one with Poland's Bartosz Oblucki third. On day two Salminen was followed home by Fredrik Georgsson from Sweden with Finn Tomi Peltola third. For the three UFO Corse Yamaha team riders competing in Sweden the event proved to be a difficult one. With conditions playing right into the hands of the Scandinavian competitors it was the team's newest member, former Enduro Junior World Champion Cristobal Guerrero from Spain, who recorded the best results. Despite his lack of experience in the winter conditions Cristobal placed in eighth on day one and then a highly impressive sixth on day two. Italian UFO Corse Yamaha team riders Simone Albergoni and Maurizio Micheluz had a hard time of things in Ostersund with reigning E1 class runner-up Albergoni struggling to master the frozen conditions placing just inside the top 10 on day one in ninth before dropping to 13th on day two following numerous crashes on the one-lined special tests. Picking up a five minute penalty on day one after receiving help untangling a track banner from his rear wheel, Micheluz dropped from ninth to 14th before going on to finish seventh on day two. Cristobal Guerrero (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 eighth, Day 2 sixth: "It has been a very hard race. The enduro test on day one was incredibly long, and because of the conditions very difficult also. Finishing eighth on day one was ok, but I made a few small mistakes. Finishing sixth on day two is really good. I crashed twice on the motocross test and then in the last test my chain came off. I think that with out my problems I could have finished sixth overall or even fifth. The next race of the championship is my home race in Spain, which I'm looking forward to." Simone Albergoni Simone Albergoni (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 ninth, Day 2 13th: "I've had too many crashes this weekend. On Saturday I was crashing a lot and again on Sunday I found it really difficult in the frozen conditions. I just couldn't find a good rhythm. If I pushed too hard then I crashed if I tried to ride smooth I was just too slow. It is so difficult riding a special test when it is just one long frozen rut from the start to the finish. I'm really disappointed with my results." Maurizio Micheluz Maurizio Micheluz (UFO Corse Yamaha) Enduro 1 class - Day 1 14th, Day 2 seventh: "Day one wasn't good. I finished ninth but I was penalised five minutes because someone helped me take some track marking banner out from my rear wheel. It was a stupid penalty and I dropped to 14th. "Day two was better because I finished seventh. I only crashed once, which I was happy with considering the conditions. I haven't enjoyed the race. The conditions were really difficult with the snow and mud on day one and then the cold and snow on day two." Crowd: 3750 2007 Enduro 1 Sweden 19/03/2007Race 1Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 103'35.490 2 Niklas Gustafsson KTM SWE 2'53.910 3 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 3'51.880 4 Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 3'59.600 5 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 5'4.720 6 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 5'16.970 7 Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 5'38.310 8 Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 5'47.920 9 Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 7'22.000 10 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 8'6.130 11 Tobias Burman KTM SWE 8'19.190 12 Per Korsell Husqvarna SWE 8'59.250 13 Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 10'47.280 14 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 11'0.490 15 Juraj Dozsa KTM SVK 13'10.500 Race 2Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Juha Salminen KTM FIN 71'43.690 2 Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 2'53.150 3 Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 2'56.160 4 Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 3'39.970 5 Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 3'49.320 6 Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 3'59.090 7 Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 4'7.030 8 Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 4'23.430 9 Niklas Gustafsson KTM SWE 4'31.340 10 Tobias Burman KTM SWE 5'13.760 11 Torbjorn Back Honda SWE 5'15.850 12 Per Korsell Husqvarna SWE 5'48.560 13 Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 6'5.590 14 Mike Hartmann KTM GER 7'3.310 15 Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 8'56.930 Rider Standings 17/03/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Juha Salminen KTM FIN 50 2. Tomi Peltola Suzuki FIN 38 3. Bartosz Oblucki Husqvarna POL 38 4. Frederik Georgsson KTM SWE 36 5. Niklas Gustafsson KTM SWE 34 6. Alessandro Belometti KTM ITA 32 7. Marc Germain Yamaha FRA 28 8. Cristobal Guerrero Yamaha ESP 28 9. Maurizio Micheluz Yamaha ITA 21 10. Tobias Burman KTM SWE 21 11. Simone Albergoni Yamaha ITA 20 12. Mike Hartmann KTM GER 18 13. Per Korsell Husqvarna SWE 18 14. Anthony Roberts Honda AUS 14 15. Juraj Dozsa KTM SVK 11 Manufacturer Standings 17/03/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 50 2. Suzuki 38 3. Husqvarna 38 4. Yamaha 30 5. Honda 18 RACE REPORT 19/03/2007 2007 FIM World Enduro Championship - Round 1, Ostersund, Sweden, March 17-18 Johnny Aubert Finnish riders Samuli Aro and Mika Ahola shared victory in the Enduro 2 class at the opening round of the '07 World Enduro Championship with Aro topping day one and Ahola day two. Revelling in the typically Scandinavian winter conditions the two riders placed comfortably ahead of countryman Valtteri Salonen on both days as the three ensured that the podium on both days was an all Finnish affair. Knowing that the Scandinavian riders he will be battling against during the '07 Enduro 2 world championship would be all but impossible to beat in the specialist winter conditions in Sweden, Yamaha mounted Frenchman Johnny Aubert simply did the best he could considering the unfamiliar frozen terrain and claimed two solid fifth place finishes. In doing so he placed as the first non Scandinavian rider in the E2 class results on both days. Aubert's UFO Corse Yamaha team-mate Fabrizio Dini found the conditions tough and finished in 17th and 12th. Johnny Aubert (UFO Corse Yamaha Enduro 2 class - Day 1 fifth, Day 2 fifth: "The first day went pretty well for me really and I finished fifth. I crashed on one of the motocross tests and I got stuck under my bike, which cost me one minute. The Scandinavian riders at the top of the Enduro 2 class are so fast in the winter conditions. I am happy with fifth. Day two was much the same as day one. I made one mistake on the enduro test, which cost me about 45 seconds. I went into a big hole full of snow and I had to get off my bike and push it out. Apart from that things went well and I was just trying to make the best result I could. The E2 championship is going to be very competitive all season so it was important for me to finish both days as best I could, which I did." Crowd: 3750 2007 Enduro 2 Sweden 19/03/2007Race 1Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 103'1.720 2 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 0'0.230 3 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 3'44.870 4 Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 4'58.110 5 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 5'9.890 6 Patrik Wicksell KTM SWE 6'21.580 7 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 6'49.960 8 Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 7'53.520 9 Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 8'23.350 10 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 9'20.020 11 Fritz Andersson KTM SWE 9'43.930 12 Nathan Kanney Husqvarna USA 10'32.220 13 Patrick Caps GasGas BEL 10'38.000 14 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 11'10.220 15 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 11'28.140 17 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 13'27.770 Race 2Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Mika Ahola Honda FIN 69'51.090 2 Samuli Aro KTM FIN 0'47.090 3 Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 2'33.660 4 Patrik Wicksell KTM SWE 2'56.180 5 Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 3'54.560 6 Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 4'16.660 7 Fabien Planet KTM FRA 4'40.930 8 Fritz Andersson KTM SWE 4'50.720 9 Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 5'58.630 10 Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 6'17.530 11 Rodrig Thain Suzuki FRA 7'25.950 12 Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 7'30.230 13 Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 8'24.960 14 Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 8'29.090 15 Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 8'33.140 Rider Standings 17/03/2007 Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Samuli Aro KTM FIN 47 2. Mika Ahola Honda FIN 47 3. Valtteri Salonen HusaBerg FIN 40 4. Jari Juha Mattila Beta FIN 33 5. Patrik Wicksell KTM SWE 33 6. Johnny Aubert Yamaha FRA 32 7. Fabien Planet KTM FRA 28 8. Stefan Merriman Aprilia AUS 24 9. Nicolas Paganon Aprilia FRA 24 10. Fritz Andersson KTM SWE 23 11. Xavier Galindo KTM ESP 18 12. Nicolas Deparrois Husqvarna FRA 14 13. Thierry Klutz Sherco BEL 13 14. Fabrizio Dini Yamaha ITA 13 15. Patrick Caps GasGas BEL 13 Manufacturer Standings 17/03/2007 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Honda 47 2. KTM 47 3. HusaBerg 40 4. Beta 33 5. Yamaha 32 6. Aprilia 25 7. Husqvarna 17 8. GasGas 13 9. Sherco 13 10. Suzuki 10 Click here to view the news

While the third round of the World Superbike Championship was happening at Donington Park in the UK last week, Yamaha were busy making sure that a selection of national race teams from all over Europe were getting the best training to help them maximize the potential of their race bikes, and push for Yamaha race success from Norway to the south of Spain. For the past five years, Yamaha Europe’s Racing Division has run the Yamaha Race Training (YRT); a three day course aimed at providing European Yamaha race teams the opportunity to learn about how to make the most of their R-series race bikes. Within this training Yamaha’s best Japanese and European Yamaha Racing engineers help teams with their pre-season preparations and raise the knowledge level in terms of the technical set-up and machine tuning of their YZF-R6 and R1. This exclusive course is only open to Supersport, Superbike, Endurance and European Superstock teams and covers a series of theoretical seminars as well as three days on circuit riding to put the theory into practice. In addition to the engineers from Yamaha Racing; expert advice is available from Yamaha’s technical partners, such as Öhlins and 2D. Completing the exclusive package is Michelin, who provide tyres and tyre advice throughout the three-day program. For 2007, YRT was held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit at Valencia between 28th and 30th March. 80 riders in 35 teams from 13 European countries took part, making this no small event to organize. Valencia’s complicated track, excellent facilities and favourable winter weather conditions mean that the circuit is in use for 95% of the year by everything from trucks to Formula One cars, MotoGP to national championship teams. Perhaps because of this, grip levels can be unpredictable causing conditions to change by the hour and requiring constant adjustments to the set-up of the bike – ideal for training the teams in best set-up practice. During the three days, technicians and riders from each team attended seminars that covered key topics, such as: * A detailed technical presentation of the 2007 R-Series models – all the major new technical aspects of the brand new R1 were covered in detail * 2007 YEC racing parts seminar – All the new and modified racing parts, that Yamaha offers under the brand name YEC, were explained in detail to all the teams * 2007 R1 Fuel injection workshop (incl. YCC-T and YCC-I) – in this workshop the teams learnt how to modify their ignition and fuel base settings to match their rider and the track conditions using the YEC ECU and accompanying software * Engine workshop, including a camshaft-timing seminar Learning all this theory is one thing, putting it into practice is another. Every rider was designated four sessions a day on the track, in order for them and their technical team to try out what they had been taught in the classroom. Wet weather during the first day of the event gave the teams the perfect opportunity to practice finding their ideal wet race set-up. On the second and third day the riders could enjoy dry sessions and were able to work towards a competitive basic set up. And with the best lap times of below 1’39.000, it proved that the teams are ready to start competing in their championships. With the three-day session over it is now down to each individual team to make the most of their training, putting into practice what they have learnt to go for gold in the various championships. Click here to view the news

Valentino Rossi completed a mainly positive first day of testing in Malaysia today as the first of four pre-season tests began for the Fiat Yamaha Team. Rossi’s second test on Bridgestone tyres was interrupted when he crashed entering turn two on his twentieth lap of the day, but the Italian was unhurt and completed 44 laps and some important development work. It was a typically hot and humid Sepang day and the track surface caused some problems with several riders, including Rossi’s new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, also hitting the gravel at some point. Rossi and his team concentrated on a variety of things throughout the day as they continued to work on the development of the 2008 YZR-M1, recording positive results with a new 2008 specification pneumatic-valve engine, new electronics and of course some tyre work with Bridgestone. Rossi’s time of 2’02.490, recorded on his final lap of the day, put him in sixth place. Valentino Rossi - Position: 6th Time: 2’02.490 Laps: 44 “It feels good to be back on the bike after the winter break, and me and all my team are feeling very motivated about the task ahead. I still have some pain in my hand but I had it checked out again last week and the fracture is okay, so I know it’s not a problem to ride. Today we continued where we left off with Bridgestone and it seems we’re making good progress, we did many laps with the same tyre and I’m pleased with things so far. Unfortunately I had a crash today; I was on an out lap and maybe I pushed a little bit too hard, too soon, with not enough temperature in the tyre and I lost the front. Luckily I was not hurt, my hand is okay and I was able to continue with the day’s work! As well as tyres we tried a new-spec engine and I was quite pleased with this, as well as with some new electronics. The surface wasn’t good today and it wasn’t possible to go so fast but I hope tomorrow it will improve and we will be able to keep improving in all areas.” Davide Brivio - Team Manager “It was unfortunate that Valentino crashed, as well as quite a few other riders, but he is fine, the bike was okay after some work and it didn’t interrupt things too much. The surface was quite poor and this caused problems for everyone but anyway we were able to get quite a lot of work done and overall it’s been a good first day, despite Valentino’s problem! Of course we’re working a lot with Bridgestone, continuing from the work we did in Jerez, and so far we seem to be going well. Tomorrow we might try a long-run and check the situation with the tyres over many laps, so this will be interesting.” After being officially welcomed into the Yamaha fold at the Team’s presentation in Turin last week, Jorge Lorenzo was out on track in Fiat Yamaha Team colours for the first time today in Sepang. The three-day Malaysian test is the first of four pre-season tests before the Spanish rookie makes his MotoGP debut in March. It was an interesting day for the Michelin-shod 20-year-old, who completed some promising work despite an incident at turn 13, when he lost the front and slid into the gravel. Like his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a similar fate, Lorenzo was entirely unhurt and was back out on his second bike almost immediately. He completed 43 laps on a scorching Sepang day, trying out a new 2008-specification engine and also some new electronics, registering improvements with both. The Michelin rider stayed on base tyres today and will begin tyre-testing tomorrow as he continues in his task of getting to grips with his new YZR-M1. His time of 2’02.563 was good enough for ninth place. Randy de Puniet was fastest today after recording a lap of 2’01.377. Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 9th Time: 2’02.563 Laps: 43 “Unfortunately I lost the front and crashed at turn 13 but it wasn’t a big fall and I wasn’t hurt at all. I went back to the pits and went out on my other bike, forgot about the problem and started improving straight away! In this way it was a positive day for me. We had the chance to test a new engine, with which I found to be an improvement compared to the previous one, and we also worked on some new electronics. I still need to improve some things about my riding style, and we need to work on the bike in the hard braking areas because I am lacking some stability there. Today we didn’t change anything with the tyres but tomorrow we will start some tyre testing with Michelin.” Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager “Luckily Jorge wasn’t hurt so despite his crash it was a good day’s work for us. We continued with the base set-up we had in Jerez, where he was quite fast, and it seems to work okay. The main area we need to work on is the hard braking areas, where we still have some vibration, so we need to concentrate on improving the bike for those parts of the track. We tried a new-specification engine and some new electronics and Jorge felt very comfortable with these. Tomorrow we will continue with general set-up work and also start testing new tyres with Michelin; we have a lot to do but so far things are going quite well.” First day of action for new-look Tech 3 in Sepang The Yamaha Tech 3 MotoGP team began their 2008 campaign under hot Malaysian sun at the Sepang circuit today for the first of three days of testing.New riders James Toseland, the 2007 World Superbike champion, and Colin Edwards, a former two-time Superbike number one, completed 74 laps between them and posted best lap-times to rest 13th and 7th respectively from a full complement of MotoGP teams and riders. The first shakedown test of the year saw the Briton and American getting re-accustomed to their machinery after two sessions towards the end of 2007 and before the forced winter break. The pair worked on the data accumulated last time at Sepang and Jerez in Spain to begin building the competitive basis of their M1 motorcycle for this season. Colin Edwards - Position: 7th Time: 2:02.549Laps: 29 “We are not quite on the new stuff yet but we are slowly morphing into the next version; we will have a new chassis for tomorrow,” commented Edwards who rounded the fast layout for 29 laps and is currently preparing for his fourth season with Yamaha in MotoGP. “We started out getting the setting right and backing up what we found out from the last November test. Everything went well in the morning. We did not test anything special from Michelin but more the good tyres we had selected from the last outing.” Edwards was third quickest early on but relentless sunshine baked the asphalt in the afternoon and caused some problems, even prompting a slow-speed spill for the Texan. “After lunch the temperature on the ground went up to sixty degrees or something crazy like that and then things became difficult,” he recounted. “It was hard to stop the bike and I had perhaps the most stupid crash I’ve ever done. I was braking for the hair-pin and the bike stepped sideways. I tried to manage it straight, but it flicked back again and high-sided me in a straight-line. I was fine and the bike was the one we were going to change the chassis on anyway. We still have some work ahead.” Toseland –a MotoGP debutant and the only British rider in the premier class of the world championship – understandably circulated the breezy but sizzling Sepang circuit for as much track mileage as possible. He lapped 45 times in what was his third outing on the Yamaha M1. James Toseland - Position: 13th Time: 2:03.264 Laps: 45 “Today was pretty good even if it did take me a bit of time to get back into things after the break. My quickest time here in November was 2:03.5 and then I was mostly in the 04s and 05s. On my last run today, when the track was at its hottest, I was constantly in the low 03s, so we have made progress and I am pretty pleased with that,” he said. “We have got some new forks which are quite stable under braking,” he added. “Along with an increase in engine performance this is the main thing that I noticed compared to the old bike. The new rear swinging arm was working well and I did not feel as much chatter around this track as I did before. The bike is not hugely different so far but the subtle changes are a step in the right direction.” With all the manufacturers on the 2008 MotoGP grid represented at Sepang, the test gave the team a decent chance to set their benchmarks against the opposition they will battle through the eighteen round calendar that begins on March 9th in Qatar. The French crew will continue work on Wednesday and Thursday before shipping out to Phillip Island in Australia for further development next week. Results 1. Randy De Puniet - Honda Lcr 2:01.377 2. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Hrc2:01.864 3. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki 2:02.074 4. Loris Capirossi - Rizla Suzuki 2:02.416 5. Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro 2:02.457 6. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.490 7. Colin Edwards - Yamaha Tech32:02.549 8. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Hrc2:02.558 9. Jorge Lorenzo - Fiat Yamaha Team 2:02.563 10. Shinya Nakano - Honda Gresini2:02.622 11. John Hopkins - Kawasaki Racing2:02.628 12. Andrea Dovizioso - Jir Team Scot2:02.783 13. James Toseland - Yamaha Tech32:03.264 14. Alex De Angelis - Honda Gresini 2:03.301 15. Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing 2:03.387 16. Olivier Jacque - Kawasaki Racing2:03.863 17 Toni Elias - Alice Team 2:03.954 18 Marco Melandri - Ducati Marlboro 2:04.414 19 Niccolò Canepa - Ducati Test2:05.580 20 Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Team2:06.000 21 Tamaki Serizawa - Kawasaki Racing2:23.590 Sepang Lap Record Casey Stoner (Ducati) 2007 - 2'02.108 Sepang Best Lap Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2006 - 2'00.605 Click here to view the news

The 2008 Dakar rally has been cancelled just one day before the 30th edition of the historic competition was due to start in Lisbon, Portugal. The late move was initiated over security concerns with at least eight of the fifteen stages passing through Mauritania in western Africa. An announcement issued by the event organisers A.S.O today stated that: “Based on the current international political tension and the murder of four French tourists last 24th of December linked to a branch of Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, but also and mainly the direct threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organisations, no other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken by A.S.O.” “A.S.O.’s first responsibility is to guarantee the safety of all: that of the populations in the countries visited, of the amateur and professional competitors, of the technical assistance personnel, of the journalists, partners and rally collaborators.” 52 Yamaha riders from a list of more than 250 were set to take the start in Lisbon. A.S.O has vowed that the future of the rally is not at threat. “The Dakar is a symbol and nothing can destroy symbols. The cancellation of the 2008 edition does not endanger the future of the Dakar,” the statement also read. Click here to view the news

While a great many people across the world ate, drank and relaxed over the end of year festive period a select group of well-trained and courageous sportsmen made last minute checks and nervously counted the hours until the day they had to travel to Lisbon, Portugal on January 5th. The 30th edition of the Dakar rally sees the largest entry list yet of 540 teams using motorcycles, quads, cars and trucks traverse the longest course to-date with over 9000km to be covered across Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal in just fifteen days. The third launch from the Portuguese capital will see 52 WR450F-engined Yamaha machines (bikes and quads) compete for positions and aspire to last the distance from a roster of more than 250 riders. Not only hoping to reach Dakar in Senegal on January 20th but also ambitious of capturing a top finish in the motorcycle class – as well as defend Yamaha’s crown in the increasingly growing division for 450cc bikes – are Frenchmen David Frétigné and Michel Marchini and Czech Republic’s Martin Macek. In terms of results Frétigné will be looking to match the heights of his 2005 attempt in which he took fifth position overall (an achievement that was repeated last year by Portuguese Helder Rodrigues). The WR450F has a fine tradition in the 450cc category with Frétigné winning that particular section of the competition in 2004 and 2005. The bike was steered to victory again in 2007. Frétigné led the 450s up until the seventh stage before sustaining a KO and Rodrigues went on to take the overall honours. Five times French Enduro champion Frétigné boasts seven stage wins in his Dakar career and will again be going up against motorcycles from 400cc to 690cc capacity. “I expect a very technical Dakar in 2008, which maybe will allow riders on smaller motorcycles to make time,” he said. “This gives a big hand to the 450 and it means that the bike could produce some surprises. When I first arrived at the Dakar in 2004 on the 450 people thought I was crazy. I have since won seven stages, two of which were in that first year. This time we must strive to make the difference with our navigation and the 2008 route seems to favour this aspect of the rally. I was really close to the podium in 2005 and missed it by only a few minutes. Therefore for 2008 I will be aiming for a place among the leading trio. I want to prove that a 450 can have a place on the podium.” The Yamaha Europe backed team of Frétigné and Marchini uses a six-wheeled truck, a 4x4 assistance vehicle. There are two drivers, three mechanics, a team manager and press officer. Michel Marchini finished 7th and as the second best Yamaha rider in 2007. The Corsican is more than aware of the extreme task that faces him but insists the experience he has gained will stand him in good stead. “Arriving in the first five would be the main goal,” commented Marchini, “every year you get to know the land better, you can read the road book better and every little thing that is easier helps save time.” “The body becomes a machine,” he added. “It is only necessary to eat, sleep and drink when you can.” 39 year old Macek, from Smrzovka, was Yamaha’s third highest finisher in 2007. He reached Senegal with 15th position overall in the bike category and was 6th in the 450s. The Czech Enduro expert, who has an ambition to build an Enduro school/training area in his native country, stated that his aim for 2008 was to break into the top ten. He has assembled a suitable back-up squad and was testing in Tunisia during October. In 2008 the fifteen days of action see the participants covering more than 500km a day on average (with just one rest day). The route consists of fifteen stages, each of which contains a ‘special’. The ‘specials’ are timed and the subsequent results make up the race standings. The longest stage takes place in Morocco at more than 800km. Entering Mauritania means a number of ‘specials’ across the dunes and terrain of the Sahara desert. Aside from the competitive element of the specials (the riders and drivers are timed for almost 6000km in total, longer than the previous two Dakars) the ‘liaisons’ also have to be negotiated; a set distance until a vehicle completes a stage. Although liaisons do not contain the pressure of a special, the added kilometres – the most in Africa involves 326km through Mauritania on Day Fourteen – increases the high endurance demands of the rally. There are few motorsport competitions that push the limits and resolve of man and machine quite as hard as Dakar. Yamaha have a fantastic record in the rally with nine overall victories stretching back from 1979 and six successes thanks to Dakar ‘legend’ Stephan Peterhansel. Frétigné’s first effort in 2004 saw the introduction of the famous ‘2-Trac’ mono WR450F and he won three stages against the might of the twin cylinders. The Dakar organisation is vast and the popularity of the event continues to grow. Almost 500 accredited media follow the rally and over 600 televised hours are beamed out from the desolate but beautiful depths of western Africa. Dakar 2008 START-FINISH 05/01/08 Lisboa-Portimão 486 km 06/01/08 Portimão-Málaga 535 km 07/01/08 Nador-Er Rachidia 717 km 08/01/08 Er Rachidia-Ouarzazate 584 km 09/01/08 Ouarzazate-Guelmim 834 km 10/01/08 Guelmim-Smara 625 km 11/01/08 Smara-Atâr 829 km 12/01/08 Atâr-Nouakchott 531 km 13/01/08 Rest Day 14/01/08 Nouakchott-Nouhadibou 648 km 15/01/08 Nouhadibou-Atâr 685 km 16/01/08 Atâr-Tidjikja 692 km 17/01/08 Tidjikja-Kiffa 531 km 18/01/08 Kiffa-Kiffa 515 km 19/01/08 Kiffa-Saint-Louis 757 km 20/01/08 Saint-Louis-Dakar 304 km TOTAL 9273 km Dakar 2008 Yamaha Competitors 7. MARCHINI Michel (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 12. FRETIGNE David (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 16. PAIN Olivier (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 19. MACEK Martin (CZE) YAMAHA WR450F 28. CROQUELOIS Eric (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 34. PISANO Michael (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 37. MATEUS Nuno (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 44. RANDYSEK Dusan (CZE) YAMAHA WR450F 47. WILLEMSEN Daniel (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 64. CORNILLE Franck (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 65. MORO Joel (FRA) YAMAHA 450F 85. RIGAUDEAU Pascal (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 91. ALGERI Luigi (ITA) YAMAHA 450F 92. BIANCHI PRATA Pedro (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 119. FERREIRA Luis (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 121. SARR Alioune (SEN) YAMAHA 131. MEIER Christina (DEU) YAMAHA WR450F 134. DE GROOT Richard (NLD) YAMAHA WR250F 135. FROSTAD Gjermond (NOR) YAMAHA WR450F 141. VAN DER WAL Paul (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 143. DE ROO Herwin (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 146. CARDOSO Paulo (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 153. LENOBLE Andre (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 154. PENNARUN Philippe (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 159. SZILVASI Peter (HUN) YAMAHA WR450F 161. BODELIER Loek (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 162. HOFLAND Jan (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 167. ROSA Joao (PRT) YAMAHA WR450F 173. BARDAUSKAS Balys (LTU) YAMAHA WR450F 177. ANO Julio (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 182. MARCANT Dominique (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 189. OLIVEIRA Pedro (PRT) YAMAHA 450F 190. RIBEIRO FERREIRA Fernando agostinho (PRT) YAMAHA 450F 193. FRANKEN Dirk jan (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 202. LECOMTE Antoine (FRA) YAMAHA 450F 218. LIST Gerard (NLD) YAMAHA WR250 219. VAN BERGEIJK Henno (NLD) YAMAHA WR450 220. SCHUTTEL Dirk (NLD) YAMAHA WR450F 223. PEDERZOLI Claudio (ITA) YAMAHA WR450 229. GABARI Harite (MAR) YAMAHA WR450 236. DOTTORI Alberto (ITA) YAMAHA WR450F 237. SLETHOLT Asbjorn (NOR) YAMAHA WR450F 239. MEES Yvan (BEL) YAMAHA WR450F 240. PALIOKAS Sarunas (LTU) YAMAHA WR450F 250. MACHACEK Josef (CZE) YAMAHA 252. PENA Jose maria (ESP) YAMAHA 254. DECLERCK Christophe (FRA) YAMAHA 255. MONTEIRO Miguel (PRT) YAMAHA 256. OLIVEIRA Alexandre (PRT) YAMAHA 257. GONZALEZ Joan manuel (ESP) YAMAHA 259. HERBE Philippe (FRA) YAMAHA 260. CHARROING Alderic (FRA) YAMAHA Click here to view the news