MotoGP Returns to Spain for The Grand Prix of Catalunya

MOTOGP SPAIN - ROUND 5     Catalunya MotoGP Setup Report - 31/05/2011 MotoGP Returns to Spain for The Grand Prix of Catalunya The MotoGP paddock heads to Barcelona this week for the Grand Prix of Catalunya at the Montmeló circuit in Spain. Round five of the 2011 Championship, the second on Spanish soil this season, sees 2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo ready and prepared to defend his Championship lead in front of his home Catalan crowd. His last visit to the circuit proved a victorious one in 2010 with a decisive victory taken from pole. The Mallorcan born rider saw his points tally extended to 78 two weeks ago during an incident packed round four in France, he now leads closest rival Casey Stoner by 12 points. Ben Spies ended his recent run of misfortune with a solid performance at the last race in Le Mans. After two DNFs in the previous rounds the Texan Yamaha Factory newcomer made good use of the French round to rebuild his confidence, holding off fellow American Nicky Hayden for a sixth place finish and valuable championship points. Spies arrives in Barcelona in 12th position with 20 Championship points, just two points adrift of Marco Simoncelli in eighth place. The main grandstand at The Circuit de Catalunya sits over one of the longest main straights in the world; delighting the always capacity crowd with an unrivalled view of the action over the race weekend. The crews of Lorenzo and Spies will be focused on delivering their riders with the optimum chassis balance and front-end feel in their hunt for the perfect set-up for the circuit. These are needed to cope with the long radius and medium and high-speed sweeping corners, not forgetting the two tight left-hand hairpins and various camber changes. Jorge Lorenzo "We are now going straight to Montmeló and we don't even need to take a plane. It is amazing! I am so happy to be here, the closest track to my home. I remember last year's victory and also those in my 250cc days. This is a fast track with high speed and slow corners. It is the second race in Spain and I would like to be as fit as in Jerez. I know it's going to be tough; we need to improve a lot because our competitors are very strong and my finger is still recovering from the Le Mans warm up crash. Our aim in this GP will be the podium. We should be focused from Friday on, and I am quite confident that the team is ready to fight, as usual." Ben Spies I think Im looking forward to this race more than any so far this year! This is definitely a circuit I like to ride a lot more than the previous four. After a difficult start with some unlucky results we put in a solid ride at Le Mans, considering the pace of some of our competitors I was happy to finish where we did and get some points under my belt. As always were ready to give it 100% this weekend and will be looking again to build on the last round and hopefully move up a couple of places in the championship standings come Sunday. Wilco Zeelenberg Im quite happy to go to Barcelona as there will be a fantastic atmosphere there after they won the Champions League! Its also a special race for Jorge as its his home race. Weve been missing a little bit of pace so its a good moment to make a strong statement for the first of these back to back races to see if we can make a difference here. Massimo Meregalli We have been looking forward to this weekend to get back to the action and show what we are capable of. This is Jorges home track so the expectations are high and his results here have been good for the last couple of years. Ben really likes this circuit and hes got his confidence back following a difficult start to the year. The team are in confident mood and we are impatient for Friday morning to get started on track. Jorge Lorenzo Age: 24 Lives: Barcelona, Spain Bike: Yamaha GP victories: 36 (16 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc) First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc) First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc) GP starts: 150 (55 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc) Pole positions: 43 (16 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc) World Championships: 3 (MotoGP 2010, 250cc, 2006/7) Ben Spies Age: 26 Lives: Longview Texas / Lake Como Italy Bike: Yamaha GP victories: First GP victory: First GP: Donington, UK, 2008 (MotoGP) GP starts: 25 Pole positions: 1 World Championships: 1 (WSB 2009) Grand Prix Results: Montmeló 2010 1. J.Lorenzo Yamaha 43'22.805 2. D.Pedrosa Honda +4.754 3. C.Stoner Ducati +4.956 6. Ben Spies Yamaha Tech 3 +21.503 Montmeló Record Lap D.Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1'42.358 Montmeló Best Lap C.Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'41.186 Monster Yamaha Tech3 Preview After another break of two weeks break the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team rolls on with their 2011 campaign and will start the first of two consecutive races in Catalunya, Spain this weekend. The all-important home race for the French-based Tech 3 squad in Le Mans two weeks ago was overshadowed by some bad luck for Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow as they both crashed during the race and only Edwards could rescue some crucial points by finishing the race in 13th place. The American has worked with his crew to improve the chassis set up in recent weeks and the outcome of this work means he is is now looking forward to getting back on track in Montmelo this weekend. Crutchlow, who was disappointed for not being able to give his hard-working Team some glory in their home race, is looking forward to learning another new track in his rookie year in the premier class of motorcycle racing. The British rider is a big fan of the challenging and technical layout of the Catalunya venue and he hopes he will be able to fight for another top ten this weekend. Colin Edwards "I am looking forward to Barcelona and to some heat. It has been a little cold at the previous race in Le Mans. I never really had what I would say a great result there apart from 5th or 6th at the Dorna tests. But I like the track and I am looking forward to riding there with the new chassis set up that we have been running. It feels good but we should see how it goes there. Cal Crutchlow Catalunya will be another new race for me. I am looking forward to going there as the track looks good. I had a strong results in qualifying in Le Mans and it was a shame that I crashed in the race, but if we can continue where we were at the previous race without the mistake I would be happy. I think we are going in the right direction and as always I will be doing my best." 2011 MotoGP Spain Catalunya 31/05/2011 Circuit Length: 4727 Lap Record: 1'43.195 (Valentino Rossi, 1/1/2005) Fastest Lap Ever: 1'41.186 (Casey Stoner, 6/8/2008) Last Years Winner: Jorge Lorenzo

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Strong Performance in Miller for Yamaha World Superbike Team: Corrected

WORLD SUPERBIKE UNITED STATES - ROUND 5     Salt Lake City World Superbike Race Report - 30/05/2011 Strong Performance in Miller for Yamaha World Superbike Team Due to a technical issue, the overall championship standings were incorrect in the release sent previously, our apologies for the inconvenience. Yamaha World Superbike riders Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri fought hard in difficult conditions in Miller Motorsports Park today, U.S. " Memorial Day" Monday, to take home well-earned points and with both riders now in the top four on the 2011 Championship standings. Variable weather conditions throughout the weekend did not render the infamously difficult and technically demanding American track any easier. Melandri tried his R1 machine in Miller for his first time ever on a dry track in Saturday's first qualifying, conditions that did not represent themselves until today's races. With Sunday's extremely wet weather the Italian was unable to improve various potential dry chassis set ups on the second qualifying day. An eventful Race one saw several riders crash out of contention at the early stages. Laverty and Melandri got perfect initial starts off their front row places on the grid but unfortunately fell back several positions before entering the first corner. A shifting error on the long straight after the start saw Laverty falling to 15th place before entering the first curve. Impressive race craft was on display as the determined World Superbike Rookie put his head down, gradually closed in on contenders ahead, taking him up to fourth place by lap nine. The Irishman then took on Camier and Guintoli to sit in second place by mid race behind race leader and eventual winner Checa, until extreme tyre wear prevented him from continuing to perform to his full potential. Fighting hard Laverty relentlessly surrendered his podium and crossed the chequered flag in fifth place, just behind Camier in fourth. Melandri was subject to a difficult race one losing three places in early stages of the race, bumping him to seventh. The Italian fought hard to re-claim positions but suffering from tyre wear he completed the race in tenth place. Race two proved to be equally challenging for the Yamaha World Superbike riders. An ideal start allowed both riders to maintain their third and fourth grid positions. Laverty demonstrated to be a skillful rider yet again, pacing himself throughout the race to prevent tyre wear and eventually crossed the line in fourth place in a race won by Checa again. Melandri struggled to keep his initial position and fell back to sixth place by mid race. Fighting off advances from Guintoli and Smrz, the Italian completed the second race in sixth place. The Yamaha World Superbike Team leaves Miller topping the Team standings with 243 points. Marco Melandri remains in second position in the 2011 Championship standings, 61 points behind Checa in the lead and one point ahead of Biaggi in third while his team-mate Eugene Laverty has jumped up to fourth place in the classification with 109 points. Both riders head to Misano on the 12th June intent on demonstrating yet again to be strong contenders for the championship title. Marco Melandri Yamaha World Superbike Team - 10th, 6th "It was a very difficult day all round. In race one I got off to a good start but I touched Haga at the beginning and let several riders fly by. After a few laps I hit the kerb-stone with the engine cover and the bike leaked a bit of oil on the gearshifter so I had difficulty preventing my foot from slipping. Mid race I also had a problem with the rear tyre which seemed to move and it wasn't easy to keep the bike stable. Race two was another difficult race, the worst for me this year. I couldn't perform and prove my potential at any stage. I had set up issues from the very beginning especially on entering curves. I did my best to find a consistent race pace but it was impossible. This isn't the type of race I should be doing as this way you don't win championships." Eugene Laverty Yamaha World Superbike Team - 5th, 4th "I managed to get a great start off the line in both races and maintain my starting position into the first curve. In race one I made a mistake changing the gears which caused me to drop back to 15th. I climbed up to second by mid race but then I began to suffer from extreme tyre wear. We improved the chassis setting before race two and I was a lot more cautious with the tyre. I was sitting in third place from early on but I didn't want to push too hard in on Max to ensure the tyres would last to the end. I'm quite happy having finished fifth and fourth in the two races and I'm now fourth in the standings, which I'm pleased with." Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager "We expected Marco to have some difficulty this weekend due to the weather conditions and the fact that he was unfamiliar with the track. Having said this we hoped do better. Both riders had major problems with the tyres in race one as it seemed virtually all four cylinder bikes had. Fortunately in race two this was better perhaps due to slightly higher temperatures and less tyre spinning as a result of a cleaner track following the races earlier in the day. With Marco we lost too many points this weekend and cannot be satisfied. Eugene grit his teeth and would have been on the podium for sure had he not experienced tyre issues causing him to drop from second place to fifth in race one. He re-confirmed his quality and potential again in race two. Let's not forget that Eugene is still only a WSB Rookie and is performing extremely well. " 2011 World Superbike United States Salt Lake City 30/05/2011 21 Laps race I 1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38'46.915  2 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'02.766  3 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0'04.093  4 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'08.885  5 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0'15.718  6 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'20.477  7 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0'22.170  8 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0'22.267  9 Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 0'24.087  10 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0'27.150  11 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0'29.422  12 Josh Waters Suzuki AUS 0'33.428  13 Troy Corser BMW AUS 0'36.573  14 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 1'05.369  15 James Toseland BMW GBR 1'14.382  race II 1 Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 38'22.082  2 Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 0'07.194  3 Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 0'08.734  4 Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 0'14.214  5 Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 0'14.750  6 Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 0'21.634  7 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 0'24.079  8 Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 0'25.688  9 Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 0'29.621  10 Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 0'30.681  11 Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 0'31.033  12 Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 0'37.063  13 Leon Haslam BMW GBR 0'37.455  14 Maxime Berger Ducati FRA 0'40.509  15 Josh Waters Suzuki AUS 0'40.894  Best Lap   Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 1'48.827 World Superbike World Standing Rider Standings After Race 5 of 13 1. Carlos Checa Ducati ESP 195 2. Marco Melandri Yamaha ITA 134 3. Max Biaggi Aprilia ITA 133 4. Eugene Laverty Yamaha GBR 109 5. Leon Haslam BMW GBR 95 6. Jonathan Rea Honda GBR 94 7. Leon Camier Aprilia GBR 91 8. Michel Fabrizio Suzuki ITA 85 9. Jakub Smrz Ducati CZE 83 10. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 54 11. Noriyuki Haga Aprilia JPN 54 12. Ayrton Badovini BMW ITA 51 13. Tom Sykes Kawasaki GBR 50 14. Troy Corser BMW AUS 49 15. Joan Lascorz Kawasaki ESP 39 16. Ruben Xaus Honda ESP 31 Circuit Length: 4905 Temp: 14 degrees Crowd: 48,000 Weather: Cloudy Fastest Lap Ever: 1'47.081 (Carlos Checa, 5/31/2010) Last Years Winner: Max Biaggi Manufacturer Standings 30/05/2011 1 Ducati 202 2 Aprilia 172 3 Yamaha 171 4 BMW 117 5 Honda 98 6 Suzuki 89 7 Kawasaki 69

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