MotoGP Jerez test - Day two

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News  28/11/2008  Rossi signs off for winter holidays with fastest time in Jerez World Champion Valentino Rossi set the fastest time in Jerez today on the final day of testing for the year. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was third fastest, making it a successful concluding test for the year's leading team. Rossi spent most of his time today on the new 2009-prototype M1, working on developing the setting and also trying out some new parts for the engine, amongst other things. He set his best time of the day on his 52nd of 54 laps, dipping nearly seven tenths of a second under the lap record with a time of 1'39.429. It was another cold day in Jerez and Lorenzo did not make his first foray on track until 1.30 pm, completing 58 laps before ending his day at 5pm. The 21-year-old spent the entire time today on a test bike, which carries some new prototype parts, familiarising himself with the different machine, working on establishing a base setting and continuing to improve his feeling with the new single-brand tyres. He showed his improvement with a best lap of 1'40.426, just over 0.3 seconds off the current lap record. The team will now have two months to recover from a hard season while the MotoGP testing ban is in force. The next on-track action will be at Sepang in Malaysia on 5th, 6th and 7th February 2009. Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 1'39.429 Laps: 54 "The track was a bit drier today and so we were able to improve even more and do a great job. We worked a lot on the new bike and tried some different parts to yesterday, including for the engine and we were quite fast. It seems we're going in the right direction with this new bike and I am happy about this. I hope that the information we have gathered here will help the engineers to improve the bike and I look forward to the next evolution in Sepang. I think these first tests with the one-tyre rule have been quite positive and Bridgestone have done a good job so far, although for sure they will have a difficult job to decide which tyre for which track. Anyway, I hope that we will have some exciting battles next year with everyone at the same level with their tyres. Now I am looking forward to some holidays and next week I will go to Wales for the rally, which I hope will be a lot of fun. It's been a fantastic year and I am really happy I have finished at the top today, it's not a big thing but it gives a good feeling to me and all the team and means we can enjoy our holidays confident that we are in good shape!" Davide Brivio - Team Manager "This has been a positive test for us, and we have finished the year very well. Despite the cold weather allowing us just a few hours to test over these two days, we have been able to go through more or less our entire programme and check everything on the agenda. This means that we have given a lot of valuable information to our Japanese engineers, and this will help them in their development work over the winter. Valentino finished fastest today, which is a great conclusion to the year, and shows that we're on the right track with the 2009-prototype M1. Now we have some time for rest and so I would like to thank all of the team once again for their hard work and wish them happy holidays!" Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 3rd Time: 1'40.426 Laps: 58 "Today we concentrated on the evolution bike, which has some prototype parts, with a new setting from Valentino. It seems we had a small advantage with this bike and I was able to improve my time, so I am happy about this. This 'new' bike is also more stable under acceleration, with less wheelie and the throttle is a bit easier to handle so these are important improvements. The final conclusion of these two days is very positive I think, although we know there is still a lot of margin to improve, both in the bike and in my riding style and of course we need to keep working to better understand the new tyres. Now we start a long holiday and I am looking forward to starting training immediately, because since Valencia I have really been too busy! It will be good to have two months off with my friends and family but I am also looking forward to February in Sepang, when hopefully I will get to try the new engine." Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "This has been a very good test for us, and today we improved our lap time by quite a lot compared with yesterday. Jorge focused on the new bike today and he likes it and was able to make some good laps. The team worked on finding a new setting, which helped us to improve our lap time and, although there is a lot more to work on, it seems with the new bike we have more potential to improve than with the old one so this is very encouraging. We are very happy about Jorge's lap time because he is the first rider who is using new tyres, behind Valentino and Dani who have had a lot more experience with them. Of course we need more time to understand the tyres and how we can use them to their full potential, but we have time. Now finally we have a long winter break for the team, but Yamaha will continue to work hard to improve our bike before the next test in Sepang in February." Test Times 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.429 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'39.447 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'40.426 4. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 1'40.448 5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 1'40.486 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'40.486 7. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 1'40.564 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'40.604 9. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando 1'40.856 10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1'40.966 11. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'41.077 12. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'41.740 13. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'42.906 14. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) JiR Team Scot Honda 1'42.918 Jerez: Record Lap D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1'40.116 Jerez: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'38.189 Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com

MotoGP Jerez test - Day one

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News  27/11/2008  Rossi second in chilly Jerez The Fiat Yamaha Team began a two-day test in Jerez, southern Spain yesterday and Valentino Rossi made a positive start to the second winter session, finishing the day second fastest behind Dani Pedrosa. With this being the final test for the team until February, these two days are especially important in order to gather as much information as possible for the Japanese engineers to work with over the next two months, as they continue to develop the 2009-spec M1. Clear skies and a cold wind meant track temperatures were very cool in the morning and Rossi chose to wait until 1.30pm, when the newly-resurfaced track had warmed up slightly, to begin. As per the new single-tyre rule there are just two front and two rear specifications available for the test, with the riders supplied with two tyres of each specification, making eight in total. The world champion completed 20 laps on the 2008-spec bike and 20 on the new 2009 prototype M1, on which he set his fastest lap of the day in a time of 1'40.135. As at the post-race test in Valencia one month ago Lorenzo has two bikes available to him here; the 2008 M1 and a test version of the bike, with some new prototype parts, but with the new single-tyre rule having now come into force he spent today on the 2008 bike, working on adapting his set-up to the new tyres. He completed 51 laps with a fastest time of 1'41.163, putting him third fastest behind Dani Pedrosa and his team-mate Rossi. Valentino Rossi - Position: 2nd Time: 1'40.135 Laps: 40 "I am happy about this first day because my performance has been good from the beginning and I have been fast all day. Unfortunately it's been quite cold and there was only three hours when it was possible to go fast, but we were able to get quite a lot of work done in this short space of time. We have tried some different things on the old 2008 bike and we were able to make some improvements and then we also tested several new things on the prototype bike, and I am happy because I did my fastest lap with this bike. Bridgestone have brought good tyres here; so far I don't see any problems with the new rule and it seems they're doing a good job. They have resurfaced the track and it has made a big difference; they have got rid of all the bumps and like this it's great fun to ride around. I think we will be able to go faster now. Today was very cold, especially with the wind so now I hope it's a bit better tomorrow and that it doesn't rain because we have a lot more work to do and I would like to improve my lap time a bit more." Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 3rd Time: 1'41.163 Laps: 51 "Overall today has been a good day, even if the cold weather hasn't allowed us too much time on track. It's only my second day testing since the new tyre rule and I think we're doing a good job so far, but we still have to improve because we're not yet sure of the perfect configuration for our bike with the tyres. We are still using the 2008 bike with the old setting at the moment, I have a test bike with some new parts but we didn't use it today – maybe tomorrow. Anyway I feel good because I can see that we have the potential to improve more. The new track surface is a lot better, there are fewer bumps and so you can go faster and ride more how you want to. This is a good improvement to the track. Tomorrow it seems there is a chance of rain but I really hope not because we have a lot to do and I would like to leave here having improved further. This is a very important test because it's the last one until February, when we will have a new bike, so we need to gather as much information as possible for the engineers." Test Times 1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'39.525 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'40.135 3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'41.163 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'41.390 5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 1'41.468 6. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'41.539 7. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1'41.655 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 1'41.679 9. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'42.074 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'42.098 11. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 1'42.837 12. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando 1'42.943 13. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'43.642 14. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) JiR Team Scot Honda 1'44.360 Jerez: Record Lap D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1'40.116 Jerez: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'38.189 Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com

WMX-GP: Prumm on the mend after surgery

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News  20/11/2008  Prumm on the mend after surgery Prumm Yamaha rider and one of the leading figures in Women's World Championship motocross, Katherine Prumm, was given good cause for optimism after a seven hour operation to repair three broken vertebrae was successful earlier this week. The 20 year old New Zealander is now facing a six month period of recuperation and rehabilitation. Prumm damaged her T6, T9 and T12 in a practice crash last week and the subsequent surgical procedure involved reparation through her back and extensive work to fix the tendons surrounding the troublesome and most seriously affected area around the T12. Prumm has full feeling and use of her legs and can look ahead to recovery after being fitted with a custom-made brace for her torso that must be worn for three months. After the shock of the accident and the aftermath – in which she briefly lost sensation in her limbs – the post-op news and perspective at last provided some much needed hope for the racer. 'Somebody was watching over me, I was really lucky not to be paralysed and I am looking forward to getting fit and strong and to being back where I want to be,' she said. Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com

MX-GP: Team Gariboldi carry Yamaha Youth MX hopes

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News  17/11/2008  Yamaha Gariboldi ready with potent Youth MX attack Team Gariboldi The Yamaha Gariboldi Racing Team will be making a credible push for the 2009 European Motocross Championship and therefore helping to strengthen the future of Yamaha's off-road racing programme. With the age limit of 23 years coming into force for the 2010 FIM MX2-GP Motocross World Championship, a shrewd view to the new generation of competitive talent has become a even higher priority for Yamaha and their aim in continuing a distinguished line of success at the top of the motocross ladder. The Italian Gariboldi set-up will be fielding a multi-national roster of four riders, all supported with YZ250F YRRD (Yamaha Rinaldi Research and Development, a partnership between Yamaha Motor Europe and the Rinaldi Group) kitted machinery and taking the advice and tutelage of Yamaha's 2007 MX3 World Champion Yves Demaria. Slovenian Klemen Gercar (18 years old and European Junior Champion in 2007) won a moto and finished second in two races during the 2008 campaign while Spaniard Jose Antonio Butron (17 years old and Spanish Junior champion in 2007) also took notable results by winning the Spanish round and taking a further four top three moto finishes. The duo will be joined by two new French riders for 2009 with Christophe Charlier (17, 2007 French Supercross champion) who was 8th overall in the '08 European championship, racing alongside national junior champion Mathias Bellino (17 years old). Charlier and Butron both qualified for world championship events in 2008 while Gercar actually scored an impressive 6 points for 15th position at Faenza in Italy for the final meeting of the series. At work "We are delighted to have these 4 youngsters for 2009, we have big hopes for them and we believe they are quite special," remarked Team Manager Giacomo Gariboldi. "They have been selected together with the co-operation of Yamaha Motor Europe and the Rinaldi group and for us it's really great to launch this new program with them and try to shape new champions starting from the European Championship, which is becoming more and more like a MX2-GP feeder class. The top six riders can easily take points in a GP; signifying how competitive it is right now." "With the age restriction coming into place it's very important to nurture young riders and have them ready in time to compete at top level in the world championship and this is the goal for the team," he added. Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com

WMX: Prumm suffers back injury

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News  15/11/2008  Prumm suffers back injury Katherine Prumm Double Women's World Cup winner Katherine Prumm will undergo surgery in the coming days after a practice crash in her native New Zealand left the 20 year old with several broken vertebrae. The YZ250F rider, who led the 2008 FIM Women's World Championship before her season was curtailed by a broken collarbone, over-jumped a triple step-down and in the ensuing tumble caused damage to her spine with the T6, T9 and T12 most affected. Prumm who was training in preparation for attempts at the 2009 title as well as national success both in New Zealand and Australia was naturally shell-shocked with the injury set-back. Until the exact date and nature of surgery is known the duration and form of rehabilitation is difficult to determine. A further update will be issued next week. Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com

Yamaha sweeps Qatar 8 hour podium

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News Losail, Qatar 10/11/2008  Yamaha sweeps Qatar 8 hour podium YART-team After eight intense hours around the impressive Losail circuit in the Qatari desert the YZF-R1 claimed all three podium spots in the final round of six in the Endurance FIM World Championship. Yamaha Austria Racing Team, represented by Igor Jerman, Steve Plater and Steve Martin finished ahead of Yamaha Folch Endurance and Maco Moto Racing. For Jerman and Martin it was a case of sweet revenge after narrowly missing out on victory in Losail twelve months previously. Their triumph, together with Plater on this occasion, gave YART their first set of winner's garlands in 2008 and confirmed their vice-champion standing in the '08 competition. The team ended the meeting three laps ahead of Folch Endurance; the Spanish duo of Daniel Ribalta and Pedro Vallcaneras losing precious time to a rear wheel problem. The crew were nevertheless pleased to end their first season at world level with a decent third place overall in the championship. Small problems impeded the progress of Maco Moto Racing but Jason Pridmore and Thomas Hinterreiter were joined by WSB runner Jakub Smrz for a final and memorable podium placing with the R1. The Qatar event represented the third consecutive podium finish for YART as they took 2nd position at Oschersleben in August and 3rd spot at the Bol d'Or in France in September. Yamaha Racing Communications Hoogte Kadijk 61hs / 1018 BE Amsterdam / The Netherlands T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539 / F. +31 (0) 20 420 9470 E. office@yrc.nl W. http://www.yamaha-racing.com