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| Fiat Yamaha Team looking to continue domination in Laguna Seca | | |  | The Fiat Yamaha Team arrives in the United States this week in stunning form with Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo lying first and second in the championship, separated by just five points. Rossi, who clinched his 100th career victory in Assen on Sunday, has three wins to his name so far and Lorenzo has two, while both riders have finished on the podium in six out of seven races this season to leave Fiat Yamaha leading the Teams' standings and Yamaha the Manufacturers'. The Italian and the Spaniard will make a short stopover in Los Angeles for a visit to Yamaha US on Wednesday before heading north to the coastal town of Monterey and the spectacular Laguna Seca track.
Before last year Rossi had just one podium to his name at Laguna since MotoGP returned there in 2005, but he produced one of the performances of his career in 2008 to win an important victory, which went on to prove one of the key turning points of his season. A race-long battle with Casey Stoner threw up some nail-biting moments between the pair but the Italian prevailed to take his first win on American soil. After two wins on the bounce he is heading stateside in flying form and will be hoping to extend his championship lead this weekend with another great result. Thursday sees the now traditional Laguna Seca Superkart race and Rossi this year will make a few display laps in a Superkart before Yamaha legends Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson and Kenny Roberts Senior take centre stage for the real thing.
Lorenzo was a Laguna Seca first-timer last year and a promising showing during practice came to nothing when he high-sided on the first lap. The 22-year-old went on to taste American success later in the season with a podium in Indianapolis and he is determined that he will get to grips with the tricky Laguna track this time around. The youngster has had a brilliant season to date and will undoubtedly be in the mix once again this weekend as he seeks to better his team-mate with a return to the top of the podium.
Laguna Seca is an all-American track where the intense dry heat, unpredictable asphalt and anti-clockwise layout reward the loose and aggressive riding style of the US dirt-trackers. The track boasts some of the most dramatic elevation changes on the world championship circuit as well as fast, sweeping corners, the most notorious of which is the world-famous 'Corkscrew'. Machine set-up is relatively straightforward, with throttle connection a much more important factor than top-end power and a well balanced chassis the key to those elevation changes and diverse corners.
Valentino Rossi - "Back to normal!"
"The wonderful memory of the 100th win is still fresh, but now we have just a few days to recover before the next race, which is hard for everyone. We have to try to relax as much as possible and recharge the batteries a little, because Laguna is always a tough weekend and often very hot. Last year I had a great battle with Stoner and for me it was for sure one of the turning points of the championship and a very important win; I have some good memories. I think this year it will be hard again because Lorenzo is in brilliant form and I am sure Stoner will also be back to his best. Laguna is a great place to race and an exciting track, I also have a little trip to Los Angeles and Yamaha US first which I am looking forward to. The championship is very open at this point so we need to keep focus, get back to normal after Assen and try to get another good result this weekend."
Jorge Lorenzo - "Looking forward to the challenge"
"Last year Laguna wasn't good for me but I don't think about this. It's the only time I've been there but I don't see that as a problem - until 2008 I'd never won in Portugal before and I won my first race there in MotoGP, and then again this year I won in Motegi where I'd never won before, so I don't consider any track 'bad' for me - the past doesn't matter. We are feeling very strong after the last races and everyone is very motivated to continue in the same way so I am looking forward to the challenge and learning more about the track. I will do my best and hopefully that will mean we can run at the front again."
Davide Brivio - "Focus on the championship"
"We still have great memories from Laguna Seca in 2008 and we're happy to be arriving there after two wins and leading the championship. It's a great place to race and the American fans are always brilliant so we hope we can give them another good show! Our package is working well everywhere now so hopefully the case will be the same again this weekend. Now that the 100 target has been reached we can focus on the next target - the championship! Now we race for that."
Daniele Romagnoli - "A consistent package"
"After the last great race in Assen this is a very short break for everyone but we have to move straight on to the US for the next round! The high motivation in our team continues after another strong performance from Jorge and we are looking forward to having the chance for another good result. This year our package is much more consistent and we know that we can put up another good fight, despite Jorge's inexperience at Laguna. Everyone in the team enjoys going to Laguna - it's a great place - so we're looking forward to another exciting weekend."
Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 30
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 100 (79 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 217 (157 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 53 (43 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 8 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 5 x MotoGP)
Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 22
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 24 (3 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 118 (24 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 33 (7 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 (250cc, 2006/7)
Laguna Seca: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'21.488
Laguna Seca: Best Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'20.700
Grand Prix Results: Laguna Seca 2008
1. V. Rossi (Yamaha) 44'04.311
2. C.Stoner (Ducati) +13.001
3. C.Vermeulen (Suzuki) +26.609
. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) NF |
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| Cairoli extends lead with first Latvian win | | | Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Tony Cairoli claimed his second MX1-GP event in the space of a week to extend his lead in the FIM World Championship to 57 points - more than one Grand Prix - with just five meetings left to run in the 2009 contest. The first ever trip to Latvia took place at the Kegums circuit and saw the stylish Sicilian race to 2nd and 1st positions in two sweaty but cloudy motos and watched by 32,000 spectators.
The tenth round of fifteen in the '09 schedule and the second of three GPs inside three weeks occurred within a presentable and well-structured circuit, 50km south-east of the capital city of Riga. A long, loose-soiled and technically difficult track awaited the protagonists of the MX1-GP category. The soft surface quickly became rough with many deep ruts and bumps littering the jumps, waves and rollers. |
|  | Cairoli opted for a different tyre profile choice to his peers which hindered his launch from the start gate slightly but the 23 year old claimed worked better for him across the course. With inventive and effective lines through the whoops section and ripping through the long uphill waves, Cairoli made time and positions from inside the top ten in both races. He pushed leader Clement Desalle all the way to the line in the first moto in what was yet another exciting finale. The De Carli representative just missed the chequered flag by two tenths of a second and incredibly set his quickest lap on that circulation after almost forty minutes of racing. In the second outing he again built up his speed to pass riders such as Leok, Coppins, De Dycker, Philippaerts and Nagl to reach Desalle and sprint ahead with three laps remaining.
Cairoli has now won 8 motos from 20 and 4 grand prix from 10 in his first season in MX1-GP. He has 29 career victories and enjoys a gap of 57 points over Nagl in the standings with just 250 left to win. |
|  | Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Josh Coppins returned to the podium for the first time since his win in Bulgaria at round two. The New Zealander picked up his second piece of silverware this term thanks to his strength and resilience around the course; traits that he has not been able to call on in recent GPs. He took 4th place in the first race but it was his late charge to 2nd, equalling his best finish of the year, that really caught the eye and confirmed the 32 year old's presence on the podium, continuing his recent spurt of good form.
Team-mate David Philippaerts, who had made some suspension tests during the week, was 6th overall but was suffering in the wake of two days of illness in the lead-up to Latvia. The world champion started well in both motos but faded away from the battle for the top three in the second half of the races. He was 5th and 7th for his ranking.
Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's other rider Tanel Leok was competing at 'almost' a home Grand Prix and a decent section of the crowd certainly voiced their support for the determined Estonian. Sadly a reasonably-secure 4th position was lost two-thirds of the distance into Moto1 when the 24 year old crashed and lost three laps restarting his bike. A more assured performance in the second half of Moto2 dragged him up to 4th for 11th overall.
After Cairoli increased his margin in the table by 16 points in Latvia, Philippaerts needs to reduce a deficit of 58 points to catch his countryman and fellow 2009 Motocross of Nations team member. Coppins is 4th and 13 points behind the reigning number one. Leok is 7th. Yamaha can count on a 58 point lead in the Manufacturers standings with the YZ450F.
Round eleven, and the third race in succession, will take place next week at Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden and precedes a summer break for the rest of July.
Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st:
"I am really happy with this GP, for sure. When I first saw the track I thought it would be hard to win because I still need to learn how to ride forty minutes in the sand with the 450 but my technical ability was good here and my lines also so I did not get as tired as I thought I would. I did not start so well but I took it easy in the first few laps and slowly pushed more and more. I worked really hard this winter so I know I am in good shape and that helped me make that fastest lap at the end of the first moto and also win a lot of time in the second. I am making good results at an important part of the season."
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 3rd:
"I was close to the podium last week in Germany so I knew it was possible here. For the six or so GPs before Teutschenthal I was struggling but I think I have fixed the problem and now I expect to be fighting up here for the rest of the season. I enjoyed the Grand Prix here and thought the track was pretty good." |
|  | David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 6th:
"My body is not 100% and today was difficult because it was hot and the track was very hard. I had good starts, good first laps and tried to push on from those but after the first half there was nothing left in the arms. I am not happy with the result but it is acceptable considering the week I have had. I should be better for Sweden."
Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 11th:
"In the first heat I was not pushing hard and was just trying to stay consistent but I came to that corner and the rut was broken and I had lost a bit of concentration under braking. I turned into the corner and the front wheel went over the berm and I crashed. I couldn't restart the bike. I tried many times and it made me so tired. At the start of the second race the air felt different, harder to breathe. I could not find my rhythm easily but things were going better towards the end of the race. It was nice to race here with many fans from Estonia coming to watch; I just wish that first moto could have been different." |
| Circuit Length: NA
Crowd: 32,000
Weather: Cloudy | | | 2009 GP of Latvia 28/06/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 40'05.568 | | 2 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 0'00.258 | | 3 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'23.770 | | 4 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'44.151 | | 5 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 1'17.536 | | 6 | Aigar Leok | TM | EST | 1'27.503 | | 7 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 1'38.978 | | 8 | Gregory Aranda | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'41.537 | | 9 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 1'46.161 | | 10 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | 1'49.773 | | 11 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'54.333 | | 12 | Tom Church | CCM | GBR | -1Laps | | 13 | Johan Carlsson | Suzuki | SWE | -1Laps | | 14 | Ivo Steinbergs | Honda | LVA | -1Laps | | 15 | Shannon Terreblanche | Kawasaki | RSA | -1Laps | | 16 | Lauris Freibergs | Yamaha | LVA | -1Laps | | 18 | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | -1Laps | | 19 | Davis Livs | Yamaha | LVA | -1Laps |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 39'10.586 | | 2 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'05.777 | | 3 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'14.985 | | 4 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 0'17.525 | | 5 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'32.897 | | 6 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'51.444 | | 7 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 1'00.833 | | 8 | Aigar Leok | TM | EST | 1'05.582 | | 9 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'15.691 | | 10 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | 1'29.377 | | 11 | Jason Dougan | CCM | GBR | 1'35.663 | | 12 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 1'38.606 | | 13 | Bryan Mackenzie | Honda | GBR | 1'39.695 | | 14 | Lauris Freibergs | Yamaha | LVA | 1'40.417 | | 15 | Loic Leonce | Aprilia | FRA | -1Laps | | 16 | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | -1Laps | | 19 | Davis Livs | Yamaha | LVA | -1Laps |
| Rider Standings | 28/06/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Points | | 1. | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 385 | | 2. | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 328 | | 3. | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 327 | | 4. | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 314 | | 5. | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 309 | | 6. | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 298 | | 7. | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 270 | | 8. | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 215 | | 9. | Aigar Leok | TM | EST | 167 | | 10. | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 151 | | 11. | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 137 | | 12. | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 117 | | 13. | Gregory Aranda | Kawasaki | FRA | 104 | | 14. | Billy MacKenzie | Honda | GBR | 103 | | 15. | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 100 | | 19. | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | 63 | | 27. | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | 27 | | 37. | Lauris Freibergs | Yamaha | LVA | 12 | | 42. | Davis Livs | Yamaha | LVA | 4 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 28/06/2009 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | Yamaha | 446 | | 2. | KTM | 388 | | 3. | Honda | 344 | | 4. | Suzuki | 313 | | 5. | Kawasaki | 197 | | 6. | TM | 167 | | 7. | Aprilia | 141 | | 8. | CCM | 99 |
| Guarneri 5th at first Latvian Grand Prix | | |  | The Grand Prix of Latvia at the Kegums circuit represented the tenth round of fifteen in the FIM MX2-GP World Championship and Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri took yet another top five finish (his fifth of the year) to keep pace with the front runners in the 2009 series.
The sandy track, not so far from Riga and the Baltic Sea, was physical, technical and very demanding thanks to the many bumps and deep ruts carved into the terrain. Stuffy conditions also made the going difficult for the riders.
Guarneri, who along with fellow countrymen Tony Cairoli and David Philippaerts was presented to the press as the representatives of Italy in the 2009 Motocross of Nations, wasn't able to banish his trend of posting one decent and then one average result across both motos. A mediocre start saw the 24 year old edging through from 13th to 7th place. A more determined and competent getaway in Moto2 saw him circulate mostly on his own in 4th for the duration. Guarneri has yet to finish outside the top seven this year on his YZ250FM but the podium still eludes him in 2009.
Team-mate Nico Aubin had a weekend to forget with mistakes in both motos leaving him with a DNF on his scorecard. The Frenchman was buried in the second half of the field in both starts and although a recovery from almost last to 11th was promising in Moto1 a crash in the second affair dumped him far behind his peers and forced his retirement.
The third member of the team Loic Larrieu was riding with a weak right wrist after his incident in Germany last week. The French teenager negotiated his second GP in sandy terrain and was 18th overall with 9 points in total. |
|  | Performing in front of some fans and friends Evgeny Bobryshev enjoyed his best meeting of the season so far for the Yamaha Van Beers team to finish 8th overall. The Russian was 10th and 9th.
After completing four days of riding this week Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne attempted another comeback to GP action after suffering his broken left wrist in Portugal in May. The American felt uncompetitive after pushing to the maximum for 23rd position in the qualification Heat and will now restart his preparation and training and only return to world championship duty when he feels capable of making a difference to the MX2-GP pack.
In the championship standings Guarneri remains Yamaha's best hope of title success and keeps in 4th position, 5 points from the top three and 75 from the lead.
Round eleven will take place next week at Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden.
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team, 5th:
"This track was sandy but not really that deep and you could use your normal style. It was difficult out there because it was so rough with many square-edged bumps and holes. I felt fast and the podium should have been possible if I had made a better start in the first moto. I took some iron supplements this week and I feel the results. I believe I will be strong in Sweden also and I really want to fight for the win there. It is a good and competitive championship and now I am fourth. On the hard tracks I think I can beat Rui so a top three is for sure the goal."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team, 17th:
"I made two bad starts and in the first moto I made a mistake on the second corner and everybody passed me. I restarted 37th and came back to 11th, which was a good race but not where I wanted to be. In the second one I was in the second half of the group again and after three laps had a crash. I lost maybe one minute recovering and restarting the bike. I came back to the pits and then re-entered the race to try and make a rhythm before stopping again; not a good weekend."
Loic Larrieu, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team, 18th:
"This track is not like Ernee! It was hard work out there. My wrist is a little bit sore but did not bother me too much. I still have to learn about GP speed at places like this."
Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com:
"I did my best yesterday to get a result. I went out in the first practice and it was OK because the track was still smooth and I felt alright. As it began to get rougher then it got worse and worse for me. I slipped off in the qualifier and it did not affect my wrist but I could see that I was not ready to run at that pace with the strength I have in the wrist. It is a big disappointment for all of us because we are all paying for something that was not our fault. I was fifteen points down from the guy who now has the red plate when we had the accident and that is disheartening. Now we are just going to wait until I am 100% and we know I can win another race." |
| Circuit Length: NA
Crowd: 32,000
Weather: Cloudy | | | 2009 GP of Latvia 28/06/2009 | | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Marvin Musquin | KTM | FRA | 39'56.178 | | 2 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 0'05.504 | | 3 | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 0'05.765 | | 4 | Steven Frossard | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'12.918 | | 5 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'16.400 | | 6 | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 0'17.077 | | 7 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 0'35.406 | | 8 | Dennis Verbruggen | Honda | BEL | 0'35.870 | | 9 | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 0'36.058 | | 10 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 0'59.012 | | 11 | Nicolas Aubin | Yamaha | FRA | 1'02.638 | | 12 | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 1'09.039 | | 13 | Matiss Karro | Suzuki | LVA | 1'11.486 | | 14 | Anthony Boissière | KTM | FRA | 1'22.286 | | 15 | Jose Antonio Butron | Suzuki | ESP | 1'26.538 | | 18 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 1'28.958 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 40'32.203 | | 2 | Marvin Musquin | KTM | FRA | 0'14.133 | | 3 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'23.789 | | 4 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 0'46.401 | | 5 | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 0'50.211 | | 6 | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 0'51.150 | | 7 | Dennis Verbruggen | Honda | BEL | 1'27.441 | | 8 | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 1'33.664 | | 9 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 1'36.924 | | 10 | Jose Antonio Butron | Suzuki | ESP | 1'37.871 | | 11 | Jeremy Van Horebeek | KTM | BEL | 1'48.724 | | 12 | Matiss Karro | Suzuki | LVA | 1'50.665 | | 13 | Arnaud Tonus | KTM | CHE | 1'57.661 | | 14 | Valentin Teillet | KTM | FRA | 1'59.395 | | 15 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 2'01.172 | | Rider Standings | 28/06/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Points | | 1. | Marvin Musquin | KTM | FRA | 371 | | 2. | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 322 | | 3. | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 301 | | 4. | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 296 | | 5. | Steven Frossard | Kawasaki | FRA | 264 | | 6. | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 200 | | 7. | Nicolas Aubin | Yamaha | FRA | 197 | | 8. | Xavier Boog | Suzuki | FRA | 197 | | 9. | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 165 | | 10. | Jeremy Van Horebeek | KTM | BEL | 157 | | 11. | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 146 | | 12. | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 135 | | 13. | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 124 | | 14. | Anthony Boissière | KTM | FRA | 122 | | 15. | Arnaud Tonus | KTM | CHE | 120 | | 16. | Zach Osborne | Yamaha | USA | 100 | | 21. | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 80 | | 24. | Alessandro Lupino | Yamaha | ITA | 56 | | 37. | Mel Pocock | Yamaha | GBR | 11 | | 40. | Deny Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 6 | | Manufacturer Standings | 28/06/2009 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | KTM | 420 | | 2. | Kawasaki | 385 | | 3. | Yamaha | 344 | | 4. | Suzuki | 306 | | 5. | Honda | 254 | | 6. | TM | 9 |
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