Motourage

Rossi and Lorenzo first and third on day one in Malaysia

The MotoGP paddock was back in action today at Sepang and the usual scalding Malaysian temperatures greeted the riders as they made their first foray onto the track. The Fiat Yamaha Team made a strong start to the 15th round of the season, with Valentino Rossi finishing on top of the time sheets and Jorge Lorenzo not far off him in third.

Jorge Lorenzo finished fourth in Sepang

The biggest problem facing the riders today was the lack of grip on track, with the circuit very slippery after a period of inactivity. It was therefore difficult for them to make their Bridgestone tires work at full potential but despite this the Yamaha riders were quickly on the pace, rarely out of the top three for the whole session. It was Rossi who put down the best lap of the day but Lorenzo, who has his first championship title shot this Sunday, was less than two tenths off his team-mate. Both the Italian and the Spaniard are looking forward to making further improvements tomorrow as more rubber is laid down and the grip levels get better.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 2’02. Laps: 21
“It’s been another good start for us here and we found a good setting straight away. I am feeling very comfortable on the bike and so far my shoulder is okay here. The track is quite dirty but that will get better and I love riding at this track, it’s one of my favorites and I am always happy to be on the bike here. We are confident that we will be able to make some more improvements tomorrow and be in good shape to try for the front row tomorrow afternoon.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: 2’02.898 Laps: 22
“Today conditions were quite difficult, with the high temperatures and a dirty track. I’m happy though because I felt good on the bike, I rode fast and I was close to the first position. We rode with the old engine again today but maybe we will try the new one tomorrow. We need to work on the fourth sector, which is where we’re losing time at the moment, so tomorrow we will concentrate on that and try to improve further.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“It’s nice to start the weekend at the front again and this was a good session, with Valentino fast from the beginning. It seems he has a good pace here but of course it’s only the first session and we have more work to do. The track isn’t in great condition; it’s quite slippery at the moment but this will improve throughout the weekend. Tomorrow we will work on our Bridgestone tire choice and fine-tune the setting ahead of qualifying.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“The track hasn’t been used for a while and our first impression is that there’s not much grip and it’s quite slippery. We tried two different settings to try to work around this but in fact they were both quite similar. We expect it to be better tomorrow but of course we can’t just rely on the track improving, we need to work on our setting as well. Anyway we were still fast today, the speed is okay and we’re close to the front so we’re already competitive, we just need to improve our package a bit more tomorrow.”

Edwards and Spies target improvements in hot Sepang

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies are optimistic they can make big set-up improvements ahead of Sunday’s Malaysian MotoGP race after an encouraging start in Sepang.

Boosted by a season best fifth place in Japan last weekend, Edwards spent the majority of a closely contested opening free practice session concentrating on improving front and rear grip with his YZR-M1 machine.

Edwards is a seasoned campaigner at the 5.548km Sepang circuit but he needed to call on all his experience to improve traction during a session that saw air temperatures peak at a grueling 38 degrees. Scorching hot conditions make Sepang one of the most physically and mentally demanding challenges on the calendar with humidity and temperatures posing a serious examination of rider stamina.

Edwards made several set-up changes to the front and rear suspension of his YZR-M1 machine on his way to recording the sixth quickest time, a lap of 2.03.393 only 0.055s away from the top five.

Ben Spies arrived in Kuala Lumpur confident that he would be competitive from the off having impressed in two visits to the long and technical circuit during the winter testing campaign.

The 26-year-old quickly established himself in the top ten and like Edwards dedicated most of his time working on improving front and rear grip as a slippery track surface meant conditions were far from ideal this afternoon.

He occupied a place in the top four in the early stages before a la p of 2.03.477 left him ninth on the timesheets but less than a tenth away from the top six.

Today’s session was a closely contested affair with less than a second covering the top 12.

Colin Edwards – Position: 6th Time: 2’03.393 Laps: 18
“It’s nice to start the weekend at the front again and this was a good session, with Valentino fast from the beginning. It seems he has a good pace here but of course it’s only the first session and we have more work to do. The track isn’t in great condition; it’s quite slippery at the moment but this will improve throughout the weekend. Tomorrow we will work on our Bridgestone tire choice and fine-tune the setting ahead of qualifying.”

Ben Spies – Position: 9th Time: 2’03.477 Laps: 24
“The track hasn’t been used for a while and our first impression is that there’s not much grip and it’s quite slippery. We tried two different settings to try to work around this but in fact they were both quite similar. We expect it to be better tomorrow but of course we can’t just rely on the track improving, we need to work on our setting as well. Anyway we were still fast today, the speed is okay and we’re close to the front so we’re already competitive, we just need to improve our package a bit more tomorrow.”
Circuit Length: 5548
Temp: 38
Weather: Dry

Lap Record: 2’02.993 (Nicky Hayden, 01/01/2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 2’00.518 (Valentino Rossi, 25/10/2009)
Last Years Winner: Casey Stoner
2010 MotoGP Malaysia – Sepang 08/10/2010

The MotoGP paddock heads to Motorland Aragon this weekend for its last European stop before the triple-leg overseas tour later this month. The Spanish track is a new addition to the calendar and both championship leader Jorge Lorenzo and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi are looking forward to getting to the grips with what is known as a spectacular racing circuit.

This will be 23-year-old Lorenzo’s third race on home soil this season and, with wins already chalked up at Jerez and Barcelona, the championship leader is eager to get another chance to thrill the Spanish fans. He continues in the imperious form he has shown all season, having won or stood on the podium at every round and with his podium last time out in Misano his 30th since he began in MotoGP in 2008. Lorenzo spent a day testing a Yamaha road bike at Aragon last month in order to familiarize himself with the track and is excited about the challenge of racing there.

Rossi took a trip out to Aragon last week, like Lorenzo taking a day to learn the nuances of the track aboard a Yamaha R1, and reporting back positively. The nine-time World Champion is gradually building back to full strength and was delighted with his podium in Misano last time out, feeling that both his bike and he are nearly back to their best after his injury-hit season. He currently lies fourth in the championship but third is a possible target and would be a superb result considering his troubles this year.

Aragon was drafted in as a replacement for the doomed Hungarian MotoGP round and will remain as a reserve circuit for the MotoGP championship for the next five years. The track lies near the town of Alcaniz in northern Spain, a few hours drive from Barcelona. It was designed by Hermann Tillke and is well known to be an impressive track with spectacular elevation changes and fast, flowing corners. In order to give the riders adequate time to get to know the new track there will be four 45-minute practice sessions over Friday and Saturday instead of the usual three one-hour sessions.

Jorge Lorenzo – “A fun place”
“It’s our third race in Spain but the first time at Aragon and I’m excited. I went to test there last month and it’s an amazing track. The first corner reminds me of Turkey and there’s a lot of up and down, it’s a fun place. I would like to do a great race and dedicate it to Tomizawa. I hope lots of people but especially my fan club are coming because I think it will be a good weekend. My aim is to get on the podium again and to push as hard as I can. We’re ready to start working.”

Valentino Rossi – “Complicated and fun”
“Last week I rode an R1 at the track and I really like it. It’s quite complicated but it’s a lot of fun, and it’s fast, so I think it will be a real test. I think the best bit is the entry to turn 16 and I am looking forward to riding my M1 there. Misano was a very sad weekend for our sport but now we’re looking forward to a new race and we are hoping for a good weekend for everyone in memory of Tomizawa. I am feeling stronger and fitter every day so I will be aiming for the podium again this time.”

Wilco Zeelenberg – “Not easy to learn”
“It’s a great circuit and Jorge really loved it when we went there last month. It’s very hilly, which is always fun, and it has many different types of corners so it’s not too easy to learn but is an exciting challenge for the riders. Our target once again will be the podium and to keep working towards our target of the championship.”

Davide Brivio – “A new challenge”
“It’s exciting to be heading to a new place and of course after Misano it will be very interesting to see Valentino’s progress on his way to recovery. It’s a fantastic track. We went to see it last Wednesday and Valentino had the chance to learn it; he liked it a lot. It’s very technical, fun to ride and for sure all the riders will enjoy the new challenge.”

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: 235 (175 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: 33 (13 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 140 (46 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 40 (14 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 2 (250cc, 2006/7)

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

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

Valentino Rossi will ride a Yamaha YZF-R1 at a private test in Misano, Italy this afternoon. The Italian has made an excellent recovery so far since breaking his leg at Mugello on 5th June and he has decided to proceed with the test ride today in order to better understand his current physical condition. Riding a racing motorcycle will help Valentino and his doctors to plan the next stage of his rehabilitation program in order that he may return to racing as soon as he feels confident to do so.

The test will take place using a YZF-R1 WSB machine provided by the Yamaha World Superbike Team to the Fiat Yamaha Team. Yamaha will inform the media later today of the results of the test and of Valentino’s condition.

Lorenzo extends title lead with second place in Mugello

Jorge Lorenzo gave the Fiat Yamaha Team a reason to smile in Mugello this afternoon as he brought his M1 home in second position, extending his MotoGP Championship lead after two wins and two seconds so far this season. Lorenzo took to the podium wearing a yellow number 46 shirt as a nod to his team-mate Valentino Rossi, who watched the race from his hospital bed after breaking his leg in practice yesterday.

Lorenzo got a good start behind Dani Pedrosa but soon realized he was not able to keep yesterday’s blistering pace, quickly losing ground to his fellow Spaniard as he became embroiled in a fight with Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian passed Lorenzo on lap three but the Mallorcan got his nose back in front three laps later, the pair then remaining locked closely together until three-quarter race distance, when Lorenzo managed to stretch his lead to over half a second. By then Pedrosa was several seconds clear and the 23-year-old had no choice but to settle for a safe runner-up spot, meaning he has taken an impressive 90 points from a possible 100 so far this season. His lead is now 25 points over Pedrosa in the championship, with the injured Rossi in third.

This was the first time Rossi has not started a race since he began his illustrious career over fourteen years ago in Malaysia at the age of 16, and the Italian holds the record of 230 consecutive starts. He is currently recuperating at the Centro Traumatologico Ortopedico in Florence following surgery yesterday to repair his broken right leg.

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2nd, Time: +4.014
“Unfortunately my pace today wasn’t as good as yesterday and I could only finish second; something happened and I couldn’t ride in the same way but in the circumstances I am happy with my result. Anyway Dani had a perfect race today; he had an amazing pace and I don’t know if I could have beaten him even if I had been as fast as yesterday! To take 90 points from 100 is great and I am leading the championship, so I cannot ask for more. I need to make some improvements to my riding style and Yamaha needs to try to improve the power of the bike a bit so we have some things to work on, but I am confident about the next weeks. It was very strange today without Valentino, I am so glad the fans honored him so well. I wanted to win to dedicate the victory to him but that wasn’t possible so all I can do is say ‘get well soon!’”

Wilco Zeelenberg – Team Manager
“After the weekend our team has had with what happened to Valentino this was a good result for us, we have 90 points, two wins and two seconds and we are happy with our season so far. Jorge had some issues today and we need to analyze why it happened and why he couldn’t keep the same pace, but we are not too worried and he rode a good race today. We are 25 points clear in the championship which is great but we all know why, because Valentino isn’t here, and it’s a sad situation. We all wish him the best.”

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Valentino Rossi looked as happy as ever at his beloved home track of Mugello this afternoon, shaking off the pain of his shoulder injury to set the fastest time on the opening day. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was 0.369 seconds behind him in second and the pair looked in command of the situation as this fourth round of the season got underway, deep in the Tuscan countryside
Local hero Rossi has won here an incredible nine times in his career and professes to this being one of his favorite tracks, and the 31-year-old certainly looked at his best today as he topped the standings for almost the entire session. He is still suffering from lingering pain in his right shoulder from the injury he sustained over a month ago, but a good base setting went a long way to allowing him to ride more comfortably today and he and his crew are hopeful of continuing in the same vein tomorrow.
After two wins on the bounce championship leader Lorenzo looked the same confident package today as he lapped consistently fast to finish the day second behind his team-mate. The Mallorcan is planning to try a few changes tomorrow to try to maximize the potential of his M1 around this high-speed track, but he is feeling relaxed after a good start to the weekend.

Valentino Rossi, 1st, Time: 1’49.751, Laps: 26
“I am so happy to be back here in Mugello and we did a good first practice. We worked well, trying a lot of different settings as well as soft and hard Bridgestone tires, and we are quite fast. I still have pain in my shoulder but it seems that this track isn’t as bad and today I wasn’t suffering like I did in Le Mans. Of course we don’t know how the shoulder will feel over the weekend but at this early stage I’m quite confident. The important thing is to work at 100% to find the right setting and make sure we’re as fast as possible for Sunday.”

Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd, Time: 1’50.120, Laps: 27
“I’m happy about this session and I’m feeling quite good. It’s always difficult to be fast straight away here, because you need many laps to understand the track with all its changes in direction, but after I had done some laps I improved a lot. Now we have to try to improve some things on the bike. The most important thing is to get on the front row tomorrow and to do that we need to make some small changes. The weather is hot but it’s okay, I’m fit, well prepared and have a good pace already.”
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This weekend, the Fiat Yamaha Team heads to its home track of Mugello, which lies about 180 miles south of its European base near Milan. The team arrives in Tuscany flying high at the top of the championship, with Jorge Lorenzo just ahead of Valentino Rossi in points. The riders have three wins and three additional podiums between them this season.

The 23-year-old Lorenzo is in dominant form, having won the last two races in Spain and France to take his MotoGP win tally to seven since 2008. The Spaniard enjoys the high-speed Mugello circuit, where he won in 2006 on the way to his first 250cc title. He crashed out on his Italian Premier-Class debut in 2008, but in 2009 he recovered from a sighting-lap crash to take a strong second and get a taste of Mugello mayhem from the podium, when the fans traditionally storm onto the track to flood the finish straight.

Reigning World Champion Rossi has an unequalled record with his beloved Mugello, having won there nine times in 14 years, which included an extraordinary run of seven consecutive victories to 2008. Last year he had to be content with a slightly different view from the podium in third place, but he will be out for win number ten this weekend as he bids to close the gap to his teammate, which currently stands at nine points.

The spectacular Mugello circuit is one of the fastest in the world, with the 1,141m main street tempting the 800cc bikes to speeds of more than 200mph, before braking into the awesome downhill right-hander. The track is also one of the widest on the calendar and boasts some high-speed chicanes and frequent changes of gradient. It generally brings about some superb racing, all played out in the unrivalled atmosphere created by the fanatical Italian fans who throng the hillsides to cheer on their heroes.

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