Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd is delighted to announce that current Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies will move to the Factory Team for the 2011 MotoGP season.

Lin Jarvis, Ben Spies and Herve Poncharal at Indy

The 26-year-old American, who won the World Superbike Championship with Yamaha in 2009, is enjoying an impressive first season in MotoGP. He is currently the leading rookie and the top satellite rider, lying seventh in the championship.

“We’re delighted that Ben will join the Factory Team for next season,” said Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing. “Ben has shown great promise in his first ten MotoGP races. He has learnt rapidly and recorded strong results, including a well-deserved podium finish at Silverstone – impressive for someone in their first full season.

“We believe that Ben will be a future title contender and that he will be a good fit with our team. His mission next year will be to continue learning, consistently challenge for podium places and try to win some races. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Herve Poncharal and the Tech 3 Team for taking care of Ben this season and for giving him such good training for the years ahead. I hope that he will repay them by getting some more podium results in the second half of this season and helping them to secure top satellite team status at the end of this year.”

Spies added “My first year in MotoGP has been a great learning curve and for that I have to thank Herve Poncharal, all the team at Tech 3 and especially my American mechanics who have stuck by me throughout this great journey so far. Having previously been to only four of the ten tracks to date, I have to be pleased with where I am and with having achieved my first podium so soon. I’m especially pleased that Yamaha have recognized the potential in me and given me the opportunity to step up to the Factory Team so early in my GP career. I believe that by working closely with the Yamaha staff and my mechanics we will be able to help develop the M1 and make the next step of challenging for regular podiums, followed by future championships.”

Fiat Yamaha complete important day of testing in Brno

Fiat Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi completed a one-day test at Brno yesterday alongside the rest of the MotoGP grid to set themselves up for the final eight races of the season. The test was cut short when it began to rain in the mid afternoon but not before both Fiat Yamaha men had the chance to do some important work on their M1s.

Lorenzo picked up from where he left off yesterday, the race winner once again topping the time sheets nearly half a second ahead of Casey Stoner. The championship leader tried a new engine upgrade and a new suspension setting for his M1 and also completed some laps on Yamaha’s 2011 prototype YZR-M1.

Valentino Rossi's test days with Yamaha are numbered

After struggling in yesterday’s race Rossi and his crew were keen to understand what had happened so they worked closely on their setting to do just that today, with the Italian completing more laps than nearly anyone else. Rossi also had the chance to try the new 2010 engine upgrade and finished the day fourth fastest.

The team now has a weekend off before flying to Indianapolis next week for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 1st Time: 1′56.269 Laps: 44
“This was an important and interesting test for us, both for the rest of the season and looking towards next year. We had a lot to do but unfortunately the rain forced us to stop early. As well as the ‘new’ prototype machine for next year we also tried an engine upgrade and a new Ohlins suspension, but it’s too early to know if they will be better for our M1, which is already very competitive. We got quite a lot of information though so hopefully it will help the engineers to improve things even more.”

Valentino Rossi – Position: 4th Time: 1′57.129 Laps: 50
“I’m happier today because we worked hard to understand what happened during yesterday’s race and at the end we have a clearer picture. We worked a lot on the setting and we found out some things, which we hope will be useful over the rest of the season and help us to have some more good races. I tried a new engine for the 2010 bike and it’s not so different but there are some small things about it which I think can help; I hope we can use it soon.”

Positive test for Spies and Edwards in Brno

Rossi isn't the only MotoGP rider trading in his Yamaha leathers for Ducati red. American Colin Edwards has signed on with the Xerox World Superbike squad for 2011

Less than 24 hours after a strong performance in the Czech Republic MotoGP race, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team was back hard at work for a one-day test session at the Brno circuit today.

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After a well-earned two-week summer break, the Fiat Yamaha Team will re-form this weekend for the Cardion ab Grand Prix of the Czech Republic at the Automotodrom Brno as the second half of the 18-race MotoGP season gets underway. Jorge Lorenzo lands in Eastern Europe as the runaway championship leader, and his teammate Valentino Rossi is hoping to be back to his best after the time off has given him further opportunity to recover from the broken leg and injured shoulder he sustained earlier in the season.

Lorenzo has won an incredible six out of nine races so far this season and come second in the remainder and he signed off the for the summer break in the best possible frame of mind, having won commandingly at Laguna Seca last time out. The 23-year-old has spent time fitness training and relaxing in the Dominican Republic during the holidays and is looking forward to getting back to the business of racing this weekend. He has three wins at Brno to his name, one in 125cc and two in 250cc, but he has had little luck there in MotoGP, and last year he crashed out when sparring for the lead with Rossi, something he will be hoping to forget this time around.

Brno is a historic track for World Champion Rossi, as it was there that he took the first of his 104 Grand Prix wins, in the 125cc class in 1996. Since then he has gone on to take a further six wins at the track, five of them in MotoGP and including the last two years. The 31-year-old Italian made a sensational return to the podium at Laguna Seca only seven weeks after breaking his leg but he was not yet back to peak physical condition. A two-week holiday has given the nine-time champion another chance to work on his strength and fitness, and he hopes to be in much better shape at this race and ready to mount a challenge for race wins over the remaining half of the season.

A Grand Prix was first held on the Brno road circuit in 1965, and since then more than 40 World Championship races have been contested there. Today the modern track retains much of the character of the original road circuit, with its winding chicanes and dramatic elevation changes, and it is a favorite track with the riders, often bringing as it does fast and close racing.

Jorge Lorenzo:
“The holidays were perfect. Ten days in the Caribbean for rest and fun, charging the batteries for the second half of the season. I needed it because the calendar has been busy in the last month and now I can focus on the rest of the season. We are going to Brno, a track I like and where I’ve won three times, but never in MotoGP. I haven’t even got a podium here and this is my challenge, my first podium in the second part of the season and in Brno. Czech Republic is a nice country, with amazing people at the race and also the track is impressive, fast and with some good hills. After the race I will stay in Brno to try something new on the bike, something to improve our bike until the end of championship. Good place to restart.”

Valentino Rossi:
“I’ve had a good break and it’s helped me a lot to have this time to work on my physical condition. I’m feeling good about my leg and my shoulder and I hope that this weekend I’ll be feeling much stronger. Brno is a great track for me and it’s always special because it’s the first place I ever won at. Last year I had a great race, this year will be harder because I’m not completely fit yet but I am looking forward to getting back on the bike. We have half the season still to go and our aim is to have a good second half.”

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California challenge calls for Fiat Yamaha Team

The Fiat Yamaha Team flies west today for the first North American stop of the season, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California. With Jorge Lorenzo leading the championship and Valentino Rossi back in action after six weeks out through injury, the team is in high spirits and looking forward to what is always a favorite race for all involved.

Jorge Lorenzo hopes to increase his lead over Dani Pedrosa and the rest of the GP field at this weekend's Red Bull GP

Barcelona-based Lorenzo has won five races this season and come second in the remaining three so he arrives in the States as the man everyone wants to beat, with a 47-point lead over Dani Pedrosa in the championship. His first visit to Laguna Seca in 2008 saw him fail to finish but last year he put in a brilliant performance while struggling with a shoulder injury to storm home in third behind his teammate, and he is hoping for another visit to the podium, at the very least, this time around. On route to Monterey, Lorenzo and Tech 3 Yamaha colleague Ben Spies will make a stop at the home of American talk-show host Jay Leno, where they will be shown round the star’s world-famous garage, which houses a incredible collection of over 200 cars and motorcycles.

When he broke his leg just a little over six weeks ago it was not expected that nine-time World Champion Rossi would be seen on track before Brno at the earliest, but the irrepressible superstar has surprised everyone yet again with a return to racing last weekend and a competitive one at that, missing out on a podium by just two tenths of a second. While not yet back to his best the Italian hopes to be stronger again this weekend and feels ready to face the demands of the spectacular circuit. He finished second last year but the memory of his incredible win there in 2008, which he still cites as one of his best ever races, is never far from the minds of his fans.

Laguna Seca sits on the side of a hill just outside the coastal town of Monterey, a couple of hours south of San Francisco. The sometimes intense dry heat, unpredictable asphalt and anti-clockwise layout provide a break from the norm and the riders are forced to adapt their style somewhat after a summer on the fast and wide European tracks. The track boasts some of the most spectacular elevation changes and dramatic corners on the world championship circuit, the most notorious of which is the famous Corkscrew.

Jorge Lorenzo – “Always aiming for the podium”
“This is the first time this season that we’ve left Europe and I’m excited to be going to Laguna Seca again, one of the most famous tracks in the world. I like riding there and one of my aims is to win there, some day! I have had some crashes there but last year I also took the pole and made it onto the podium. We come from a second place in Sachsenring and our target remains the same, to be consistent and to always aim for the podium. Before the race we will go to see Jay Leno and also I will hopefully visit the headquarters of Twitter in LA.”

Valentino Rossi – “Try to improve a little bit more”
“I was so happy to be back in Sachsenring and to be fighting for the podium, even though I just missed out, was more than we could have hoped for. I still have some pain in my leg but I am growing stronger every day and I hope this week that I will be in better shape once again and I can try to improve a little bit more. Laguna is different to anywhere else we go but it’s always great fun to ride there and the last two years I’ve had great races.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – “Feeling confident”
“This is the ninth race of the season and we have won or been second in every one so far so we come to America feeling confident. Laguna is a different track to anywhere else we go with different demands on both bike and rider, but Jorge seems to be able to cope with everything he comes to this season so we have no reason not to hope for another good weekend. We have a comfortable cushion in the championship and we will try to keep it that way by continuing to get on the podium each week.”

Davide Brivio – “You never know what will happen”
“We are arriving in the US after an incredibly exciting weekend in Sachsenring, when we not only enjoyed having Valentino back but also got to see him ride an amazing race so soon after his injury. You never know what will happen with him. Our target this time is the podium, so we will work with this in mind. We also need to try to improve some areas of our bike because our plan is to have a really good end of the season when he’s back to full fitness.”

Valentino Rossi : Information
Age: 31
Lives: Tavullia, Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 104 (78 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 231 (170 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 59 (49 x MotoGP/500cc, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
World Championships: 9 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 6 x MotoGP)

Jorge Lorenzo: Information
Age: 23
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 30 (9 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 135 (40 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 38 (12 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 2009
1. D.Pedrosa (Honda) 44′01.580
2. V. Rossi (Yamaha) +0.344
3. J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) +1.926

Brammo, Inc. has announced that 2004 AMA Superstock champion and current Australian Superbike competitor Aaron Gobert will be riding the Empulse RR race bike in this weekend’s FIM e-Power race. The Empulse RR is a purpose-built, race-ready version of the recently announced Brammo Empulse and will be revealed at the 2010 MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Brammo continues to use its race program to develop forward-looking vehicles that ultimately make their way into commercial production. The 2009 Enertia TTR race bike evolved into the stunning Empulse street bike which is now available for pre-order.

No stranger to Brammo race bikes, Aaron Gobert said, “I had the opportunity to test with Brammo in 2009 and really enjoyed my time on the TTR race bike.  Motorcycle racing is my passion and here’s an opportunity to experience a new chapter in bike racing and participate at the ground level in a branch of the sport that is almost certainly going to have an increasing impact on motorcycle racing in the future.”

Green racing. As part of its commitment to sustainability Brammo has officially offset the entire carbon load that will be generated when it attends the Red Bull Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca later this month. This has been achieved by working with CarbonFund.Org. to calculate Brammo’s total CO2 emissions in all aspects of its race program; from vehicle and airplane mileage, to electricity generation for the race bike, even taking into account accommodation and meals. CarbonFund.Org was then able to translate this information into a dollar amount and appropriately funnel this money into a carbon offset project based around sustainable forestation in America.

As a leading electric vehicle technology company it is clearly very important to Brammo and all of its employees, customers, suppliers and investors that our sustainable values should not be left behind once we leave our facility in Ashland and this initiative ensures that those values aren’t compromised by our passion for racing.

About Brammo:
Brammo Inc. is a leading electric vehicle technology company headquartered in North America. Brammo designs and develops electric vehicles including the award winning Brammo Enertia motorcycle. Brammo is also an OEM supplier of innovative electric drivetrain systems including the Brammo Power™ battery pack and Brammo Power™ vehicle management system. Brammo has vehicle distribution and marketing operations in North America, Europe and Asia.

About CarbonFund.Org:
CarbonFund.Org is leading the fight against global warming, making it easy and affordable for any individual, business or organization to reduce & offset their climate impact and hasten the transition to a clean energy future. CarbonFund.Org achieves its goals through Climate change education, Carbon offsets and reductions and Public outreach.

About Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge Reforestation Project:
This project is restoring native hardwood forests to a region in Northeastern Louisiana that once was covered by dense forest. It is restoring the habitat for estimated 400 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, including endangered/threatened species, such as the Louisiana Black Bear and the Florida Panther.

About The FIM e-power race:
The FIM e-Power race will take place at the Red Bull 2010 MotoGP. The race will see 15 electric motorcycle teams from around the world including Brammo compete on the demanding circuit at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on July 25th 2010.

Lorenzo Keeps Podium Record Intact While Rossi Seals Remarkable Fourth Place

Valentino Rossi came back from injury to capture fourth place after a battle with Casey Stoner reminiscent of 2008

The German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring today provided a thrilling afternoon’s racing, with Jorge Lorenzo finishing second and his resurgent Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi rounding off a remarkable return from injury to finish fourth by a mere whisker. A red flag after nine laps meant the race was restarted, with Dani Pedrosa eventually taking the win after a 21-lap ’second’ race.

Starting from pole for the fourth race in a row, Lorenzo lost ground to Pedrosa at the start but retook the lead on the first lap and led the way by a couple of tenths for the first nine laps. Rossi meanwhile, back racing just six weeks after breaking his leg, had dropped two places on his grid position to seventh. On the second lap he passed Hector Barbera and then loomed up behind Marco Simoncelli, passing his fellow Italian to take fifth on lap four. The World Champion had more than a second’s gap to Andrea Dovizioso but he quickly started to close down on him and was in range on the ninth lap, passing him on the tenth. By then however an incident involving three riders had caused the race to be red-flagged and, with positions then taken from the end of the ninth lap, that left the top five in almost their original grid order of Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Stoner, Dovizioso and Rossi.

Thirteen riders restarted the race and it was the same story all over again, with Pedrosa passing Lorenzo into turn one but the championship-leader getting back through before the end of the first lap. The next few laps saw the two Spanish riders in some superb wheel-to-wheel action as Lorenzo tried and failed to shake Pedrosa off, the pair maintaining a nail-biting distance of about a tenth for several laps. After three wins in a row however Lorenzo finally succumbed today and on lap nine he was unable to hold his compatriot off any longer, sensibly deciding to bring his M1 home in second place for 20 points. The 23-year-old has now finished in first or second place at every one of the eight rounds this season.

The restart saw Rossi again lose some ground but he passed Hayden second time around to retake fifth and set off in pursuit of the leaders. On the sixth lap he got by Dovizioso but with a near two-second gap to Stoner it looked unlikely that the Italian would make much headway on the Australian. Rossi is always one to amaze however and he was soon lapping at the same pace as the leaders to bring himself within striking distance of Stoner with a third of the race remaining. The final six laps saw some superb action between the two rivals, with Rossi looking as if he had never been away and several brilliant overtaking maneuvers from both riders. On the penultimate lap Rossi took the lead in what looked like a decisive move but on the final corner Stoner somehow found a way back through and the nine-time Champion was forced to settle for fourth, albeit probably the most impressive fourth position of his career.

Lorenzo’s championship lead now stands at 47 points from Pedrosa, whilst Rossi moves up one place to sixth. The paddock now heads directly to Laguna Seca in California for the US Grand Prix in one weeks time.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2ndTime: +3.355
“It’s always difficult when a race is split like this and I think I didn’t ride quite as well in the second race as I felt I had been doing in the first. Dani was very, very strong and I was on the limit trying to stay ahead. When he passed me I tried briefly to stay with him but he was much faster than me today and I was going to have to take a lot of risks to stay with him; the safest thing for me to do was finish second and take 20 points for the championship. I am happy because I never really liked this track and now I’ve been second here two years in a row. Now we go to Laguna and I am very excited about racing there again.”

Valentino Rossi – Position: 4thTime: +5.623
“I didn’t expect this! I thought it was maybe possible to make fourth or fifth place but I thought it would be very difficult. In the end I was fourth but I had a great battle with Casey and I was so close to the podium, so this is a fantastic result after missing four races. I need some more kilometers to really recover the feeling and feel completely okay with the bike again, but I think I did a great job and this was a very good comeback, better than we could wish for. I felt a bit of pain in my shoulder but more in the leg when changing direction, but at the end the battle with Casey was such fun that I didn’t think about it. Unfortunately though he just got the better of me on the last corner! Thanks to all my team for helping me come back and be competitive like this, we will try to do even better in Laguna.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“I said before this weekend that we can’t win them all and today Jorge rode another very sensible race to finish second and bring home 20 valuable points for the championship. It’s a pity about the restart because the final third of the race is generally Jorge’s strongest and with the shortened race he didn’t have that bonus, but he rode a great race nonetheless and tried his best to stay with Pedrosa, who was a bit faster than us today. This hasn’t been one of his best tracks in the past and he had some problems the first day so this is a good result for us all.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“In the end this race was something completely unexpected; one week ago we didn’t know if we’d be able to ride here at all and then day by day our targets changed. We would have been happy whatever with a top five today but finally we were really competitive and so close to the podium. It’s unbelievable and even more so because we were lapping at the same pace as the leaders. We’ve never been so excited by a battle for third position! It was very positive; Valentino worked so hard to be here and he made it in style, so now we will continue our plan in Laguna next weekend.”

Spies Storms to Battling Eighth in Sachsenring

Ben Spies continued his fantastic charge towards the top five in the MotoGP world championship standings this afternoon after a richly deserved eighth place in a restarted German MotoGP race.

Facing a difficult challenge after starting in a lowly 13th position following an incident-packed qualifying session, Spies was in hot pursuit of a top eight finish when the scheduled 30-lap race was red flagged on lap ten after a three-rider incident. The race was restarted over 21-laps and Spies lost contact with the group in front of him when Mika Kallio crashed at the first corner.

The 26-year-old sat in tenth position for the opening seven laps before he managed to expertly guide his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine by Marco Melandri on lap nine having already disposed of Hector Barbera.

At that stage Spies was over five seconds behind compatriot Nicky Hayden, but the reigning World Superbike champion was able to embark on a stunning charge in front of 98,477 fans.

His lap times were only bettered by the leading quartet at one stage and Spies was able to lap over a second faster than the group contending fifth spot in front of him. By the end he’d closed to within two seconds of Hayden and Spies was delighted with his pace, confident had he not started so far down the field that he would been able to seriously threaten for a place in the top five.

A difficult weekend for Colin Edwards ended in disappointing fashion. Despite numerous changes to the set-up of his Monster Yamaha YZR-M1 machine throughout the weekend, Edwards was unable to discover a setting that allowed him to push at the fast pace he is capable of. And his hopes of maintaining his proud record of scoring points in every race were ended when he crashed out of 16th position shortly before the race was red flagged.

Spies and Edwards now turn their attention to the all-important American MotoGP race at Laguna Seca. It is the eagerly anticipated home race for the Texan duo and both are determined to deliver strong results for an expectant and partisan crowd.

Ben Spies – Position: 8thTime: +20.957
“Eighth place does not reflect what happened on track today and it was quite clear that I could have been much higher. I had the misfortune in qualifying yesterday that was nobody’s fault, but starting that far back hurt me today. It wasn’t easy to pass Melandri because his bike accelerates really well but once I got by and could run my own race, I was really happy with how I performed. Dovizioso, Simoncelli and Nicky were five seconds clear at that point but I got to just over a second away from them. I was pretty much the fifth fastest guy on the track and I definitely had a fifth place result in me today, but I just had bad luck with the qualifying crash. But I leave with a top eight result and I’m not that far away from fourth in the championship now. Now I’m really looking forward to going home and racing at Laguna Seca. I love the circuit and I will have a lot of support and I genuinely believe I can run in the top five.”

Colin Edwards – Position: DNF
“I got pushed around a bit at the start and lost a bit of time and I was just pushing because what I would lose on acceleration I would try and catch it all up on the brakes. It was my mistake. I ran into the last corner wide and was probably a meter off line and when I tried to pull it back I lost the front. This wasn’t the result I wanted going into my home race next week at Laguna Seca but I’m more motivated than ever to get back on track and recover from a pretty difficult period in the season for me. I love Laguna and the atmosphere created by the fans and rest assured I’ll be aiming to get myself much closer to the front where I know I belong in front of my home crowd.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“Ben was once again very impressive this weekend and he showed that he is an expert at learning new tracks. Unfortunately his race was dictated by his qualifying position and being so far down through no fault of his own was difficult. It was a pity because we saw that he had the pace to run in t he group battling for fifth. He was catching them a lot and as always he was very fast at the end of the race. He finished the weekend on a high note and he is really fired up for Laguna Seca next week now. It was a shame that Colin crashed in the first part of the race and unfortunately he has not been able to reach the level of performance we know he can this weekend. He’s never given up and worked really hard with his crew but thankfully he wasn’t hurt in the crash and I know he is incredibly motivated to perform better at Laguna Seca. The whole Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is looking forward to Laguna Seca because the support for Ben and Colin will be incredible.”

Circuit Length: 3671
Temp: 21
Weather: Dry

Lap Record: 1′23.082 (Daniel Pedrosa, 01/01/2007)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′21.067 (Casey Stoner, 13/07/2008)
Last Years Winner: Valentino Rossi

Johann Zarco

Today is the last Friday of free practice before the summer break for the 125cc and Moto2, and as has been the case several times so far in the season, Thursday’s sessions brought rain, while today brings sunshine and hot temperatures.

125cc class rider Johann Zarco, riding today on his 20th birthday, had some trouble with his bike at the beginning of the session and lost twenty minutes trying to find a better setup. The team was quick to set up the motorcycle, and Zarco immediately started to improve.  However, due to his problems with the bike, he closed this session in only 17th position. His team is confident for tomorrow though, now that the young rider can focus his attention in riding and not on the setting of the bike.

Valentin Debise

Today’s practice sessions were also unlucky for Moto2’s Valentin Debise who went down while in 25th position. He came away uninjured, but damage to the bike made it impossible for him to return to the track for the final session.  He finished in 38th position without any real chance to improve his lap times.

JOHANN ZARCO – 17th position (1’30.102 – 19 laps):
“Today we were a bit unluckily. At the beginning of the session, we had a problem with the bike that didn’t switch on and we lost 20 minutes. Then I was quiet when I started and I only took my landmarks. We didn’t change my bike setting because our objective was to take the faster riders like models and try to follow them. Unluckily, I was unable to follow them, because every time someone stopped or eased himself, and for this reason I lost time and I didn’t improve my lap time.  Anyway, I well understood my errors and I gave important information at my chief mechanic. For sure tomorrow will be better.”

VALENTIN DEBISE – 38th position (1’28.859 – 9 laps):
“I started well, I was riding alone, I had a perfect rhythm and I was 25th. Then we changed the tires with new ones and probably I pushed too much. I made an error at the corner entrance, I lost the front and regretfully I fell down.”

Rizla Suzuki racers Álvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi head to the next round of the MotoGP World Championship at Sachsenring in Germany buoyed by the performance of the Suzuki GSV-R last time out at Barcelona.

Alvaro Bautista's fifth place at Barcelona gave Suzuki its best finish so far this season

Bautista has a good record at the German circuit over the past couple of seasons in the 250cc class. In 2008 and 2009 he qualified on the second row and raced to the third step of the podium in both races. He is hoping to carry some of the home form he showed at the last race in Spain – where he finished an excellent fifth – to Sachsenring and continue to improve on a MotoGP machine as his strength and confidence grows following his early season injury.

Capirossi will be looking to build on what he described as “the first real result” of 2010 last time out in Spain. He finished seventh in Barcelona and is certain that the huge steps the team took there will benefit them at the 3,671m East German circuit.

Sachsenring is traditionally one of the biggest events of the season with more than 200,000 fans turning up over the weekend. It is also the shortest race of the year with only slightly more than 110kms covered during the 30 laps. The first part of the track is as tight and twisty as any MotoGP circuit, followed by a sequence of six successive left-handers that really give the tires a hard workout before a blind right-hander leads to an epic downhill straight. It’s a track that’s all about grip rather than out-and-out speed and always a circuit that brings plenty of excitement.

Rizla Suzuki begins its preparations on Friday with an hour of free practice followed by a further hour on Saturday morning with qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s 30-lap race is round eight of the season, and the event gets going at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT, 8AM EDT).

Álvaro Bautista:
“The last race was the first time I have felt like I could ride the bike how I wanted to. I feel stronger now and I’m sure I will be 100% when we get to Germany. It is a quite a difficult track, but I have had a couple of good results there on a 250 so I hope that will help me on the MotoGP bike. We know we still have a lot of work to do, but as usual we will be working as hard as possible to get the bike right and trying for a good result.”

Loris Capirossi:
“We must continue to work how we did at Barcelona and find the best solution for the bike. We know that the bike can perform well and we need to keep the positions we got at Barcelona, this is where we should be and at some races we can be even higher. The team is still so focused and we know what we have to do. I think we can go well in Germany and the GSV-R will work there and we’ll get a good result.”

FTR Moto is looking for more Moto2 success in this Sunday’s seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship at the Circuit de Catalunya, near Barcelona, Spain with FIMMCO Speed Up Team rider Andrea Iannone looking to become the first rider to win three races in the inaugural year of the 600cc four-stroke class.

Iannone has taken the FTR M210 to wins in Italy and last Saturday in Holland and sits fourth in the World Championship, 33 points behind with 11 races to go. Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team M210 rider Alex Debon will race in his home GP despite suffering a shoulder injury at Assen last week.

Iannone’s FIMMCO Speed Up team-mate Gabor Talmacsi will be looking to improve on his 10th place in the World Championship while Czech Republic rider Karel Abraham continues to adapt to the M210 after his career-best ninth place finish at Assen on his Cardion AB Motoracing FTR machine.

FTR Moto's M210 Moto2 machine has been successful all over Europe in 2010

In addition to the Catalunya Grand Prix, FTR Moto has a presence at other major events this weekend – all in addition to retaining its focus on the CEV Spanish Championship and the Kev Coghlan - Monlau Competicion program and today’s test session at the new Motorland Aragon circuit.

The FTR M210 will make its debut at a British Superbike Championship round this weekend when Scottish rider Coghlan will perform demonstration laps on his Silverstone Grand Prix wild card machine at the Knockhill sixth round on Saturday and Sunday.

Also this weekend, the FTR Moto2 race machine will make an appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the Dunlop Live Arena. The event, held at Goodwood Estate in Sussex, Eng, runs today through Sunday and features a historic-vehicle hill climb, expo and celebration of motorsports.

FTR’s Steve Bones:
“From heading into the first round of the World Championship in Qatar less than three months ago with three riders we’ve now got four riders on the M210 and two more teams in discussions about running the FTR machine.
We’ve become the first Moto2 constructor to contest the Isle of Man TT races and this weekend’s activities probably typify just how far the FTR Moto name has come in such a short space of time. Obviously we’d like further success at World Championship level but success in the Spanish Championship also remains crucial to our machine and rider development program.
We hope that the BSB fans enjoy the sight and sound of the FTR at Knockhill this weekend and I’m sure the first ever Moto2 machine to be present at the Goodwood Festival of Speed will attract a lot of attention. We also need to say thanks to our various partners for their support in all of these activities.”

After two commanding wins in a row at Silverstone and Assen over the last two weekends, Jorge Lorenzo lands in his home city of Barcelona this weekend with a championship lead of 47 points and a plan to delight his Spanish fans with another win on home soil. He has flown the Fiat Yamaha flag alone for the last three races following Valentino Rossi’s accident in Mugello, but this weekend he will be joined by Yamaha’s experienced Japanese test rider, Wataru Yoshikawa. The two-time Japanese Superbike Champion will be riding Rossi’s M1 while the Italian is out of action, backed by Rossi’s usual crew who make a welcome return to the paddock this week.

Last year the Mallorcan-born Lorenzo lost out to his team-mate Valentino Rossi in a titanic last-lap battle, which Rossi named one of his best ever wins. With the Italian still out of action, Lorenzo is robbed of the chance to exact revenge on his team-mate but a second Spanish win of the season, following his victory in Jerez, would be sweet nonetheless for the 23-year-old and he will be going all out to stand on the podium once again.

As one of the key test riders in Yamaha’s MotoGP development program, Yoshikawa is well acquainted with the M1-Bridgestone package. He has ridden as a wild card once previously in MotoGP, at the 2002 Motegi round, but this will be his first visit to the Montmeló circuit.

The Circuit de Catalunya features one of the longest main straights in the world, watched over by a vast grandstand, which is always full to bursting from Saturday morning. The rest of the track is characterized by long radius, medium and high-speed sweeping corners, with two tight left-hand hairpins thrown into the mix. This variation combined with regular changes in camber makes the circuit particularly demanding on chassis balance and means that front-end feel is a key concern for every rider.

Jorge Lorenzo: “We should enjoy Montmeló”
“Montmeló is a very special track for me, it is the closest to Mallorca and I can feel the people supporting me. Last year I lost at the final corner but now I will try to come back to the podium to celebrate with all my fans. We have a big gap in the standings and it gives us confidence and allows us to be calm, but the team will be working at the same level, I am sure. We still have twelve more races, double what we’ve already had! We should enjoy Montmeló and then, after these three consecutives races, we have earned a little break – a week for a rest!”

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