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Sunday, 27 June 2010 00:00 |
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There were no easy points to be had today for the Yamaha Sterilgarda team as a hot track surface and rapidly disappearing grip tested the skills of both riders. Despite being mobbed by riders in the first corner of race two, Cal Crutchlow fought back with an inspired push, coming from ninth all the way up to take third from Michel Fabrizio by lap 19. He held for a further three laps but was passed back with two laps to go, taking fourth at the line. Race one had seen Crutchlow lose the front early on as he pushed on to catch the leaders, forcing retirement from the race. Race two also saw Crutchlow make the new lap record as he worked his way through the pack, scoring an impressive 1'36.546. Team mate James Toseland also experienced a tough race day at the Misano circuit. Starting from a less than perfect 13th on the grid on the hard to overtake track, Toseland fought to pass several riders, taking tenth at the line. Race two saw him losing the front end going into a corner on the tenth lap and forcing early retirement. Crutchlow leaves Misano in tenth place in the championship standings on 120 points, just ten behind Leon Camier in ninth. Team mate Toseland sits in seventh on 138 points, just 23 points adrift of Checa in fifth as they head to Brno in two weeks time.
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Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 4th) "I had an ok start in race two, but got beaten up a bit in the first corner on the first lap and basically had to recover from then on. I was disappointed to lose out to Fabrizio at the end, I just lost a bit of drive out of the corner and he managed to get back under me. To come here and do the race pace we did at these grip levels was incredible, hopefully we can make some improvements at this week's Imola test and be even better. Race one was a stupid mistake, I had a full tank of fuel and just pushed the front a bit too hard trying to catch the front runners and lost the front, but I think I redeemed myself in race two."
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James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team, (10th, DNF) "What can you say, another tough weekend. I've got the pace when the tyre grip is good but just find it difficult when losing the grip on the bike to keep with the other bikes coming off the corners. We need to work hard on this area as it's so important. We'll meet about it tonight, if we can improve that it'll be a big help. The time I'm losing on the corners to the others means I have to keep catching up on the brakes which means pushing the front, which is why I crashed in the second. Brno is a little bit faster and flowing so if we can keep the revs high we shouldn't have too many problems." Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "After the test last week we were expecting better results. By Friday we realised this weekend was going to be tougher than we thought. Cal did a good job in the second race, although unfortunately he crashed in the first. He didn't have the best start in the second and he was pushing really hard to catch the front pack. Unfortunately this meant he destroyed his rear tyre which meant at the end the rear grip was suffering but he pushed to the line for fourth. James had a difficult weekend, for sure starting from the fourth row is always hard. He did what he could and unfortunately he didn't finish the second race due to a crash. Fortunately he is not hurt. Tuesday and Wednesday we will go to Imola to test and hopefully we can fix some of the issues we have."
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Sunday, 27 June 2010 00:00 |
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Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi sent the following message today from his home in Italy. The reigning World-Champion is currently convalescing after breaking his leg at the Italian MotoGP round three week's ago.
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"Three weeks have passed since the accident and two since I was discharged from hospital, and I am very happy about how my recuperation is progressing. I am feeling a lot better and I'm starting to live a semi-normal life again, although for a completely ‘normal' life I will have to wait until I'm back on my bike! I am walking with crutches and since a few days I've been able to put my foot to the floor. Honestly, I didn't expect to feel this good just a few weeks after the incident, and I mean both physically and in my ‘spirit.'
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"The rehabilitation is continuing as usual, both sitting in the hyperbaric chamber and with some exercises in the gym. Unfortunately my shoulder is still giving me some pain but I am working on the muscles to reduce the pain a bit. If the rehabilitation proceeds without trouble and if everything continues in this way, then my objective is to return at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno.
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"I have started to leave the house and my good friends haven't left me on my own for even a minute, although I'm not used to spending so much time in Tavullia! I miss my bike, my team and the paddock a lot and this ‘new' sensation is pushing me to get better as quickly as possible.
"I'll speak to you, but more importantly see you, soon.
Ciao, Valentino Rossi." |
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Saturday, 26 June 2010 00:00 |
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Jorge Lorenzo put in another textbook performance at Assen today, leaving his rivals trailing as he led from the front to win the 80th Dutch TT and take his fourth victory of the season. In doing so he becomes only the seventh rider in history to have won in three or more classes at the historic racetrack, with 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP wins to his name. Meanwhile Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies ensured that there were still two Yamahas in the top four, despite the absence of Valentino Rossi, with another brilliant performance to back up his maiden podium last week.
Mallorcan Lorenzo had looked the man to beat all weekend after topping both practice and qualifying and he got a great start from pole position and quickly pulled out a second's gap, but by lap five Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were looming large behind him and for a few laps it looked as if a tense three-way battle was in the offing. However Lorenzo's choice of the harder Bridgestone tyre soon began to pay off and, with a lighter fuel load by mid-race distance, he was able to step things up a notch and gave himself an unassailable lead, crossing the line 2.935 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, with Stoner third and Spies fourth.
The Fiat Yamaha man's second win on the bounce sees him extend his championship lead to an impressive 47 points from Pedrosa, while Rossi remains fourth in the standings. The next round comes in just a week's time at Barcelona in Spain, when Wataru Yoshikawa will join the Fiat Yamaha Team to fill in until Rossi is back on board his M1.
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Jorge Lorenzo - 1st, Time: 41'18.629
"This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone because Dani was so fast with the softer tyre early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point. I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tyre would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice. It wasn't easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish! I am really happy that I have won here in all three classes because it's such a historic place and the football I had in Parc Ferme was to celebrate this 'hat-trick.' Thanks to all my Yamaha guys and also to Bridgestone for this win, we have a big lead in the championship so we can afford to stay calm and relaxed. Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans."
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Friday, 25 June 2010 00:00 |
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The Fiat Yamaha Team, the Yamaha Classic Racing Team and multiple-World Champion Giacomo Agostini joined together for a very special celebration at Assen this evening, ahead of the 80th edition of the historic Dutch TT.
Giacomo Agostini, Shigeto Kitagawa, President of Yamaha Motor Racing and Ferry Brouwer, owner of the Yamaha Classic Racing Team presented the celebrated 1975 YZR500 OW23, on which Agostini won his last ever world title in 1975 and also the Dutch TT in 1974. In addition Yamaha unveiled a surprise ‘Agostini' 2010 YZR-M1 in Fiat Yamaha Team colours, with the Italian's famous Number One stickers.
Yamaha legend Agostini will ride a display lap of Assen on both motorcycles tomorrow at 13.10 to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the TT.
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Shigeto Kitagawa, President of Yamaha Motor Racing, said: "I am very pleased to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Dutch TT with Yamaha's first and latest premier class championship-winning bikes. It is going to be a great pleasure to see both machines ridden by the great and legendary champion Giacomo Agostini."
Giacomo Agostini added: "It's a double pleasure and honour for to be here at Assen on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Dutch TT. First of all, I was honoured to be invited by the TT for this important occasion and secondly I am very excited to celebrate this event riding for Yamaha, to whom I gave a first world title in the 500cc series. I have a beautiful memory of this TT race and of these fans. I remember that when I used to ride here, many years ago, there were 160,000 fans all around the track. Unbelievable! Tomorrow I will have the chance to ride the "past" and the "present;" the first and the latest world champion bikes. My OW23 was like a bicycle with 120bhp, but used to get power at 6000rpm...whilst the M1 has 240bhp! When you ride the M1 for the first time, it seems that it's very easy: engine, gear, brakes, it seems that it does everything itself, but then when you open the throttle you discover its power and you realize how difficult it is to control such a force!"
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Ferry Brouwer, Team owner of Yamaha Classic Racing Team, concluded: "This is going to be a very special moment during the 80th Dutch TT. Yamaha's past and present has joined forces to bring about a fantastic spectacle for the public here on Saturday. We sincerely hope that the fans will enjoy watching these bikes being ridden by Giacomo as much as we have enjoyed preparing everything for this moment." |
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Wednesday, 23 June 2010 00:00 |
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Yamaha Motor Racing is pleased to announce that Wataru Yoshikawa, their experienced Japanese test rider, will join the Fiat Yamaha Team from the Barcelona round of the MotoGP World Championship. The two-time Japanese Superbike Champion will ride in the place of the injured Valentino Rossi, with Rossi's team and the YZR-M1, until the Italian is back to full fitness following his broken leg.
It is expected that Yoshikawa will be with the Fiat Yamaha Team for at least three races, after which more should be known about Rossi's expected return date.
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Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, said "we have considered many different scenarios and candidate riders to fill the temporary vacant seat in the Fiat Yamaha Team. We had always planned to use a rider from within the Yamaha Motor and Tech 3 family but for each rider we considered who is in active competition, their move to the Fiat Yamaha Team would have created another problem for their own racing program or for the teams in which they are engaged. Finally, after a great deal of consideration, we have selected Wataru Yoshikawa, our Japanese YZR-M1 Test rider, to join us as our substitute rider. We provisionally plan for three races (Catalunya, Sachsenring and Laguna Seca) but we will adjust the plan accordingly when we know more about Valentino's expected date of return.
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"The benefit of Wataru's presence in our team will be threefold. Firstly he brings with him a wealth of experience riding the YZR-M1. Secondly his presence allows us to fulfill our contractual obligations and to join the team's quest to accumulate points for the Team Championship. Thirdly he will gain valuable first hand MotoGP race experience in three challenging circuits which will surely be very useful to assist him and Yamaha with the future development of the YMR-M1.
"We look forward to welcoming Wataru into our team while we wait for Valentino's return to full fitness."
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Wataru Yoshikawa added "I'm happy to have this chance to stand-in for Valentino while he is recovering and to compete in MotoGP again for the first time since 2002, when I raced at Motegi. Looking at the Fiat Yamaha Team results with the 2010 YZR-M1, I can see that the winter developments were correct and now I am looking forward to having the chance to gather some ‘real racing' data, which will be very helpful for the future development of the M1."
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Wataru Yoshikawa Racing Biography
Nationality: Japanese
Born: 26th September 1968, Tokyo
Wataru Yoshikawa won the Japanese Superbike Championship for Yamaha in 1994 and 1999. Between 1992 and 2002 he made many wild-card appearances in the World Superbike Championship for Yamaha and in 1996 completed a full season, finishing 9th. He raced as a wild card once in MotoGP in 2002, finishing 12th. Since then he has been heavily involved as a test rider for the Yamaha MotoGP programme, giving him an in-depth knowledge of the YZR-M1. |
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