Motourage

MotoGP 2012 finally got underway today with the first of three days of testing at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies took their first ride on the 1000cc YZR-M1 since last year. Both riders blew the cobwebs off quickly and settled down to an impressive pace, Lorenzo proving to be the fastest man on track with his team mate always close behind him.

The focus for the first day was to get back into the swing of riding and also to establish a good base set up. Tomorrow and the day after, Lorenzo and Spies will compare various new settings to provide valuable data for the second Sepang test in one month’s time.

Jorge Lorenzo, 1st, 2.01.657, 30 Laps:
“I’m very happy with today. For the first ride on the bike in some time, it’s been very positive. Yamaha has worked very hard over the winter for this M1. I can see very easily where I have to adapt my riding style for the bike and I can see a lot of potential. We have many areas where we can improve so I’m looking forward to beginning again tomorrow. I’m also very happy that my finger is fine and doesn’t affect my riding at all.”

Ben Spies, 4th, 2.02.234, 28 Laps:
“I’m happy. It was fun to get back on the bike today. I haven’t ridden any type of motorcycle since Valencia. It didn’t take too long to knock the rust off, we tried a few things in set up and every step we did made small improvements. We have a lot to do in the next couple of days and a lot more in the second test. It’s been a confidence inspiring start, Yamaha have put in a lot of effort for this season so we’ll work day by day to be even better.”

Test Times:
1. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’01.657
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 2’02.003
3. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 2’02.221
4. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.234
5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 2’02.392
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 2’02.751
7. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 2’02.773
8. Katsuyuki Nakasuga (JPN) Yamaha Factory Racing 2’02.829
9. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 2’02.869
10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 2’03.151
11. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 2’03.668
12. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 2’03.781
13. Franco Battaini (ITA) Ducati Team 2’04.986
14. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 2’07.163
15. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2’08.240
16. Jordi Torres (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’10.671
17. Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 2’11.267

Sepang Record Lap:
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2007, 2’02.108

Sepang Best Lap:
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2009, 2’00.518

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo kicked off 2012 on Wednesday with a visit to New Delhi, India. The MotoGP star was in India for a personal appearance at the 2012 Auto Expo to meet racing fans and the national Indian media. Lorenzo also took time in the afternoon to visit the Budh International Circuit, a potential newcomer to the MotoGP calendar in the not-too-distant future. After a lap of the circuit aboard a Yamaha R15 in full Yamaha Factory Racing leathers Lorenzo met with a selected few new R15 owners before holding a short press conference at the track.

The Yamaha rider will now fly on to Indonesia to be joined by teammate Ben Spies for two days of PR activities in Jakarta on January 14-15. The trip will be hosted by Yamaha Motor Kenkana Indonesia  (Semakin di Depan), a main sponsor of Yamaha’s Factory Racing MotoGP Team .

“It’s been great to visit the Budh circuit,” said Lorenzo. “The track is very modern and wide. I think it is quite prepared and ready to be on the calendar. I believe it will be exciting to ride with many overtaking opportunities. The Indian people I have met have been very kind and gentle, I would like to see more of India in the future with more time; we didn’t get to see so much in just two days here. Now I’m very excited to go to Jakarta to see all my Indonesian fans there.”

Ben Spies

It is with mixed emotions that Yamaha Factory Racing arrives in Valencia this weekend for the final Grand Prix of the 2011 season. MotoGP’s tragic loss of rising star Marco Simoncelli in Sepang two weeks ago has left all with heavy hearts but determined to put on a good show in honor of their fallen competitor. The race is the last in Yamaha’s 50th anniversary of Grand Prix racing, so the team will wear the red and white YZR-M1 WGP50th Anniversary Edition livery for the last time.

2010 World Champion Jorge Lorenzo continues to recover from surgery to his hand following his injury sustained in Australia. As a result he will not participate in this weekend’s Grand Prix and will be replaced by Japanese Yamaha test rider and All Japan Superbike competitor Katsuyuki Nakasuga.

Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies arrives for the last race of season committed to racing, although still recovering from injuries sustained in Phillip Island. The Texan was also recovering from injury for the 2010 season finale at Valencia. Despite the pain, he impressed, qualifying sixth and finishing just off the podium in fourth.

Ben Spies:
“I can’t believe I won’t be battling Marco on the track this weekend, it’s an incredibly sad way to finish the season. I’m going to honor him in the best way I know how, on the track. As with last year I arrive in Valencia recovering from injuries, but will of course give 100% of my efforts into performing to the best of my ability.”

Katsuyuki Nakasuga:
“It was a great honor to be chosen to ride for Jorge at Sepang and here at Valencia. Due to the tragic loss of Marco Simoncelli in Malaysia the race was cancelled. This weekend the track will be new for me but I will try as hard as I can to deliver good results.”

Wilco Zeelenberg:
“This is the last round of the season, looking to the condition of the Championship and riders, and more significantly the tragedy in Sepang it’s good that we can now wrap it up. The feeling of the crew, like all those in the paddock has been affected deeply by what happened, we intend to honour Marco through our actions this weekend. Jorge continues to recover well from his surgery but unfortunately not quickly enough to ride to his potential this weekend. We look forward to having him with us on Saturday and Sunday to provide support for our replacement rider. The team are ready to give Nakasuga-san all the help he needs to get to grips with the Valencia circuit as quickly as possible.”

Massimo Meregalli:
“This is going to be a difficult and challenging weekend for many reasons. Everyone is affected by the sad passing of Marco Simoncelli. This last race of the season would usually be marked by a party to celebrate our year but this is not now in keeping with the mood and feeling of the team. As such we will wrap up with our yearly technical presentation and a quiet team dinner. We have Nakasuga-san with us having to learn the Valencia circuit for the first time, and Ben still not 100% after his crash in Australia. Despite this we will give our maximum effort to mark the final race of our 50th anniversary year and to honor the memory of Marco Simoncelli.”

Ben Spies
Age: 26
Lives: Longview Texas / Lake Como Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 1
First GP victory: Assen, Netherlands, 2011
First GP: Donington, UK, 2008 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 36
Pole positions: 1
World Championships: 1 (WSB 2009)

Grand Prix Results: Ricardo Tormo Valencia 2010
1. J.Lorenzo, Yamaha, 46’44.622
2. C.Stoner, Ducati, +4.576
3. V.Rossi, Yamaha, +8.998
4. B. Spies, Yamaha Tech 3, +17.643

Ricardo Tormo Valencia Record Lap
C.Stoner, Ducati, 2008, 1’32.582

Ricardo Tormo Valencia Best Lap
V.Rossi, Yamaha, 2006, 1’31.002

Katsuyuki Nakasuga

Yamaha Factory Racing has announced its rider, Jorge Lorenzo, will not participate in this weekend’s Valencia Grand Prix – the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana  - season finale. Lorenzo continues to make good progress in recovery following surgery to repair damage to the ring finger of his left hand sustained at Phillip Island uring the Iveco Australian Grand Prix three weeks ago. The Mallorcan’s injuries require further recovery time to allow him to ride at a competitive level.

Japanese Yamaha test rider and All Japan Superbike competitor Katsuyuki Nakasuga will make his second appearance in the MotoGP premier class on behalf of 2010 World Champion Lorenzo.

Yamaha Factory Racing’s rider line up for the 1000cc test next week will be confirmed on Monday, November 7.

http://www.motogp.com/en/events/Australia/2011

Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga has been drafted in to replace injured Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo for this weekend’s Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Reigning MotoGP World Champion Lorenzo received an injury to the ring finger of his left hand during the Sunday morning warm up session prior last weekend’s Iveco Australian Grand Prix. He has since received surgical treatment and is now recovering at home in Barcelona.

30yr old Nakasuga-san is a current Japanese Yamaha test rider with an excellent working knowledge of the YZR-M1 and Bridgestone tires. He is also competing in the 2011 All Japan Road Racing Championship, JSB1000 class, and is currently third in the standings.

A decision on Jorge Lorenzo’s participation in the final race of the season at the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana will be made within the next two weeks.

Rider Profile
Name: Katsuyuki Nakasuga
Date of birth: 9/08/1981
Age: 30
Nationality: Japan
Place of birth: Fukuoka
Team: YSP Racing Team with TRC (current ranking 3rd – Series not yet complete)
Championship series: All Japan Road Racing Championship, JSB1000 Class
Career: – 2000/2004: All Japan RR GP250 class (best ranking 5th) – 2005/present: All Japan RR JSB1000 class (2008/2009 Champion, 4th in 2010

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo made the weekend’s hard work count today, taking his first-ever Aragon Grand Prix podium with third place. Having dropped from fourth on the grid in the early laps, the reigning World Champion gradually picked up the pace, running well under his qualifying time to gradually reel in the front runners. By lap 10 he had caught teammate Ben Spies and Marco Simoncelli, passing them both to take third, which he held to the line. The results mean the gap to Championship leader Stoner has now increased again to 44 with four races remaining of the season.

Fellow Yamaha Factory Racing rider Spies had probably his best start of the season so far, shooting off the line to outride both Stoner and Dani Pedrosa for the lead into turn one. Having then dropped to third the Texan was maintaining a gap to fourth, scoring the third fastest lap of the race on lap four with a 1’49.593. A dramatic drop off in grip on the sixth lap then affected his pace. He was passed by team mate Lorenzo and then Simoncelli, dropping to fifth place. The result sees Spies retain fifth in the Championship standings, now 24 points behind Pedrosa in fourth as they head to Motegi next week.

Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd, +14.209:
“We struggled a lot from the beginning of the race, losing positions and having to recover step by step. We couldn’t get more than a podium; that is the best result we could get today! I didn’t have confidence in the rear and it is impossible to catch Dani on this track. It’s a pity, but at least I got the podium I couldn’t get last year. We are still fighting for the Championship and that’s the most important thing, we are going to Japan with hope still alive.”

Ben Spies, 5th, +27.739:
“I knew the start wasn’t going to last long the way Casey and Dani were riding but I felt pretty good in the beginning. Even when we got to the fourth or fifth lap I thought our advantage to fourth place was growing. I felt really comfortable and thought we had a podium fight in us. Then the sixth or seventh lap the tyre just made a huge drop and just kept going down. Usually they make one drop then stay consistent. I had no confidence in the rear and no grip. I’m frustrated as before that we were riding well and the bike was working great.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager:
“For Jorge P3 was maximum damage control so we are happy with the result today. This morning we discussed that this was the maximum possible. Finally in the race he was going half a second faster than in qualifying which is pretty good so he must be happy to be on the podium. I’m sorry for Ben, tyre drop off means you can’t do anything; luckily we didn’t have that problem. We had a lack of grip in the beginning and couldn’t do 49s but were very consistent on low 50s which is the only reason we were able to finish in third place. The team worked really hard all weekend to deliver the best possible set up for Jorge, so a big thank you to them.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director:
“The drop in temperature this afternoon probably compromised the work we’ve done up to this morning in set up. Ben really couldn’t do more because the rear tire was really bad after just a few laps. Jorge achieved the best result possible, I think he did good job and thinking about the final championship standings, third place is still a good result. For sure it doesn’t make it so easy but we’ll keep going to the end.”

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo put on a perfect performance yesterday at the Grand Prix of San Marino, leading from the start to claim an incredible race victory. The reigning world champion was quick off the line from second position, securing the front spot from championship leader Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner into the first corner. As the Australian put the pressure on, Lorenzo responded, delivering an untouchable pace to gradually increase his lead. His flawless performance also delivered the new track record for the circuit on his 12th lap with a 1’33.906. Lorenzo was joined on the podium by legendary Yamaha rider, three-time world champion Wayne Rainey, to accept the trophies. Rainey had made an emotional return to Misano this weekend for the first time in 18 years as part of Yamaha’s 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix racing.

Ben Spies worked hard as well, battling the hot and humid conditions with a less-than-perfect set up. Having started form fourth, the Texan initially dropped to seventh before slowly reeling in and passing local hero Marlboro Ducati’s Valentino Rossi. Having dispatched the Italian, the hunt began for fifth and sixth place riders Simoncelli and Dovizioso. Spies was able to close the gap to less than 0.2 of a second, but the battling Italians made it impossible to make a clean pass, finishing in sixth position.

Lorenzo’s stunning performance keeps the championship alive, reducing the gap to Stoner in first to 35 points with five races remaining on the calendar. Spies picked up 10 points and holds fifth as they head to Aragon in Spain for round 14 in two weeks time.

Jorge Lorenzo, 1st:
“Today has been an incredible day for us. I have delivered a good race; it was a very tough and long one. Most importantly we have won again and also reduced a little bit our gap to Casey. I want to dedicate this victory to Wayne who returned to Misano this weekend and I want to say thanks to all my team for their hard work. Now we have two weeks before Aragon, I hope to continue in this shape in my country. Tomorrow we will try the 1000cc Yamaha again; I am looking forward to riding my future bike. This has been one of the best days of my career!”

Ben Spies, 4th:
“We started out with an OK set up but we didn’t really go forward all weekend, struggling a lot with edge grip. I wasn’t having a great feeling with the front either so we tried something new in warm up this morning which was honestly a disaster. We changed the front end of the bike dramatically before the race which proved to be good but took a few laps to get confidence in as it was such a big change. Once I got around Rossi I got more comfortable and was able to get to the back of Dovi and Simoncelli but was still struggling with edge grip and couldn’t get close enough to strike. I tried as hard as I could but just didn’t translate into top five this time. I need to say thanks to the team for all their hard work trying to solve the issues this weekend.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager:
“It’s a very great feeling to win again. I think Jorge rode a fantastic race, the bike looked really good and consistent over the whole race. He was pushing it to the limit but he knew he would have to do that to still have a chance at the Championship. Now we can start thinking about the last races being 35 points behind instead of more. It was good that Dani came in between to give us some extra bonus points. We need to keep on winning now!”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director:
“A brilliant victory today, Jorge ran an unbeatable pace; this is the best possible finish to the weekend. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a really good set up for Ben here at Misano. He got good points finishing sixth which are important for the Championship. We’ll go away now and look at the data to make sure we come back fighting in Aragon in two weeks time. I have to thank the whole team who have worked extremely hard in really hot conditions here to do the best they can for both riders.”

2011 MotoGP San Marino
Misano, San Marino 04/09/2011
1 Jorge Lorenzo	        Yamaha	ESP	44'11.877
2 Daniel Pedrosa	Honda	ESP	0'07.299
3 Casey Stoner	        Honda	AUS	0'11.967
4 Marco Simoncelli	Honda	ITA	0'17.353
5 Andrea Dovizioso	Honda	ITA	0'17.390
6 Ben Spies	        Yamaha	USA	0'18.092
7 Valentino Rossi	Ducati	ITA	0'23.703
8 Alvaro Bautista	Suzuki	ESP	0'30.678
9 Hector Barbera	Ducati	ESP	0'37.502
10 Cal Crutchlow	Yamaha	GBR	0'37.720
11 Hiroshi Aoyama	Honda	JPN	0'39.548
12 Karel Abraham	Ducati	CZE	0'40.506
13 Colin Edwards	Yamaha	USA	0'53.349
14 Randy De Puniet	Ducati	FRA	1'02.366
15 Toni Elias	        Honda	ESP	1'20.156

Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies put in a superhuman effort yesterday, coming back from ninth place to take a hard-fought podium spot at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. Starting from second on the grid, the Texas rider was caught up in first a bottle neck of riders in turn one, then came together with Andrea Dovizioso in turn four, dropping him back to ninth as he fought to stay on the bike. Despite the setback, Spies went on to deliver one of the star performances of the day, taking an impressive number of overtakes and setting some of the fastest laps of the race. He finally took the checkered flag in third place and stood on the podium to a huge applause from the US crowd.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo’s race was a battle not with his competitors but with the resurfaced Indianapolis track. The reigning World Champion continued to be plagued with a rapidly wearing front tire causing critical control issues from as early as lap four. Lorenzo battled on regardless, having made a great start, he eventually had to relinquish position to teammate Spies and crossed the line in fourth, pushing to stay ahead of Dovizioso to the line.

The results of yesterday’s race see Lorenzo’s gap to Casey Stoner in first extended to 44 points with six races remaining. Teammate Spies picks up 16 points, moving up to fifth in the standings, just five points behind Dani Pedrosa in fourth. The team now head across the Atlantic with no break to the GP Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at Misano next weekend.

Ben Spies, 3rd, +10.603
“My actual start wasn’t too bad, just a couple of people got into turn one too hot and I got bottled in. I think Dovi came across in front of me in turn four and I was just glad to stay on the bike. I never even saw him. After that happened we just had to pluck away and not get ahead of ourselves. We rode well but just needed to be up there in the first four turns. I rode as fast as I could; it was tough to pass out there as we couldn’t get it done on the straight so we had to figure out some different spots. I was happy to be able to do that and still run good pace at the end.”

Jorge Lorenzo, 4th, +16.576
“It’s a shame; I thought I could reduce my gap with Casey at Indy but since the first practice I have had many problems with the asphalt and the front tire. I’ve tried everything with my team to fix it, but we couldn’t. After four or five laps the front tire was destroyed. I saw the other three front riders and their tires were perfect. I don’t know if it was because of the track and I’m not the only one complaining. Now the Championship is much more complicated, but hope is the last thing you can lose. Next weekend we ride again at Misano, I looking forward to forgetting this result.”

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Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies secured fourth and fifth places respectively today in a tough battle for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic. Defending world champion Lorenzo made a great start from second place on the grid, taking the lead on the first lap and holding off his rivals until a small mistake dropped him to third. As race leader Dani Pedrosa crashed out he was promoted to second, but having opted for a softer front tire than the rest of the grid, the Mallorcan struggled to maintain his pace, eventually succumbing a couple of places to finish fourth at the line. Despite his lack of grip, he started to close back in on third placed rider Marco Simoncelli in the final laps and was less than a second behind at the checkered flag.

Ben Spies put in a valiant effort this afternoon, holding a strong pace for the duration of the race despite being in less-than-perfect condition. He continued to be hampered by physical issues with a numb arm resulting from a trapped nerve in his neck. Having lost one position off the start to fifth, he held that for the 22-lap race, gradually closing in on his teammate Lorenzo in front, finishing just 1.5 seconds behind him.

Lorenzo heads to the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix in the USA in two weeks time holding second in the Championship, trailing leader Casey Stoner by 32 points. Teammate Spies retains his position of sixth in the Championship standings, now nine points behind Valentino Rossi in fourth and just one point behind Pedrosa in fifth.

Jorge Lorenzo, 4th, +8.513:
“The front tire we chose was not the best option today. We tried it in qualifying and yesterday morning and it gave me a really good feeling and very constant pace. Today with the different conditions and temperature it was not working. From the beginning of the second lap I was really close to losing my front in every corner so it was difficult to improve on fourth position. The Championship is now even more difficult for us but that doesn’t mean it is finished. There are still a lot of points to be played for so we must focus on winning the most races we can. Now we must forget this race which is probably one of the worst this season and possibly in my MotoGP career, I am excited to try the 1000 bike and improvements to the current 800 engine tomorrow as well.”

Ben Spies, 5th, +10.186:
“That was a hard race; I wanted to quit every lap past the ninth. I tried as hard as I could and didn’t make too many mistakes. I just thought with Valentino coming behind me and being ahead in the Championship I’ve just got to keep on going until I fall of this thing. I didn’t fall off and I finished so it was a good result. Now it’s the complete opposite, it’s my right arm that’s completely dead because that’s all that was working in the race. Again I’ve got to thank the team; the bike was really good and definitely a podium bike. I’ve also got to thank the Clinica guys; I’ve never been in there so much, every day. That was the hardest physical race I’ve ever done. We got it finished, put it behind us and we scored some points.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager:
“We expected a lot from this weekend because Casey was struggling and Jorge felt really good after qualifying. We decided to go with the softer option front tyre which felt really good yesterday but was not the right choice. In the race it gave the opposite results, he couldn’t do the 1’57 lap times. It’s very strange but that’s the reality, Jorge was struggling to stop and lean the bike. Let’s look forward; we are 32 points behind so we have to catch up. Indy is very soon and we have seven races to go so we don’t give up.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director:
“I was surprised by Ben’s result, he was worried at the beginning of the race, and especially after warm up he didn’t think he could do more than 12 or 13 laps pushing. He did a great job; we knew it wouldn’t be easy. He pushed hard and consolidated his position. Unfortunately Jorge couldn’t do what we expected. Anyway there are still some more races to come and we will be ready for the next one.”