Motourage

This weekend’s final round of the 2011 MotoGP season, the Grand Prix of Valencia, got underway yesterday in difficult track conditions. The morning practice was run on a partly damp but drying circuit and the afternoon session was fully wet. Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies took his first ride since withdrawing from the Malaysian Grand Prix, gradually building up speed to finish in sixth, 0.7 seconds from first in the difficult conditions. The afternoon session saw the Texan crash out after a small mistake braking into turn one, crossing the white paint and losing grip on the slippery surface. Spies escape relatively unscathed but sore and unable to complete the session, wrapping it up in 14th place.

Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement rider, Katsuyuki Nakasuga, was fully committed to the challenge of learning Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit in treacherous weather conditions. Nakasuga-san gradually built up confidence over the day as his circuit knowledge increased, moving from last place in the morning practice to 11th in the second session.

Ben Spies, 6th, 1.46.259, 26 laps:
“I’m a little beat up, but that’s normal after a crash. I got a little wide over the white line and hit a puddle and hydroplaned the front, lost it and went down. The bike was starting to feel pretty good and we were getting up to speed. It’s not the best way to come back; I’m not really happy about it, but we’ll look forward to tomorrow and make it better. We made a change at the beginning of the second session which was bad, then went back to the settings from the morning and were making progress so we’ll continue with that set up in final practice.”

Katsuyuki Nakasuga, 16th, 1.46.581, 37 laps:
“This is my first time at this track and it was pretty difficult at the beginning to learn the way. I’m more comfortable now as I can remember the layout. I would prefer a dry track as I think it’s very easy to crash here in the wet. On Sunday I believe I can challenge for a good position, this is my target.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager:
“A rainy first day in Valencia. We were afraid because it can be very slippery and Nakasuga-san has never ridden here before. He did quite well in the end, step by step he improved and quickly understood the track conditions. The weather actually gave him a little extra time to slowly learn the track and build up pace. We are quite satisfied with the set up so far and also his performance. We’re not sure what the conditions will be like tomorrow but we believe he still has room to improve. A tough day for Ben, hitting the white line is bad under these conditions but thankfully the crash was not so serious and he is ok for tomorrow.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director:
“Unfortunately, Ben crashed today and hit his shoulder on the ground. For sure this isn’t going to help his physical condition over the weekend as he’s pretty sore. Hopefully he can manage the pain and keep pushing to deliver as strong results as possible. Nakasuga-san did a good job today for his first time here in wet conditions. By Sunday he should be used to the track so we’ll see what he can do.”

Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies managed to escape the threat of rain today and enjoy a third free practice and subsequent qualifying session under dry and sunny conditions. Lorenzo will start the
Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya tomorrow from the front row in third position on the grid, his team mate Spies taking fourth for a second row start.

Ben Spies hopes to get back to his rookie-season performance

Both riders made big steps forward from yesterday with the improved weather; the reigning World Champion Lorenzo finding over a second from day one to wrap up qualifying 0.315 seconds from pole. The improvement from Spies was even more impressive, the Texan finding nearly two seconds today and running as high as second place during qualifying. A front row start was looking possible until a concerted effort by his Mallorcan team mate relegated him to the second row at the end of the heat, just 0.014 seconds behind Lorenzo.

Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd, 1.42.728, 25 laps
“It has been a tough session today. In the morning it was good but in the afternoon we struggled a little bit. I pushed as hard as I could for pole but it was not possible. The race will also be tough because we are still quite far from the front but not as far as yesterday. If we can take one or two tenths we can fight for something, but I think a win would be a miracle.”

Ben Spies, 4th, 1.42.742, 27 laps
“It was a good session although we were missing a little bit of time out there. Looking at the ideal split times it would have put us on the front row. We’re in a good position in fourth all the way to the left of the grid so hopefully we can have a good start and have a good first couple of corners. The bike is working really well and we’ve been top five for most of the weekend. The weather’s looking like it might be ok for tomorrow now so I’m looking forward to the race. It’s been a while since we’ve been consistently quick so hopefully we can make the bike better, we’re going to try some set up changes in the morning and I’m feeling a lot happier on the bike.”

Wilco Zeelenberg, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“Not the best qualifying we’ve had so far. This morning it went well and we made some adjustments after that. This afternoon they didn’t really work out, Jorge was missing some front end feeling so was pushing hard, we need to solve that for tomorrow. Anyway we are happy to be on the front row because that’s important but it’s more important now to solve our front end problem.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“I’m satisfied with the results, Ben is feeling a lot more comfortable and has a better feeling on the bike; he rode very well in all the sessions and is clearly enjoying riding the bike. It’s very important to start the race from a good position which he has in fourth on the grid. The crew is working really well and Ben is happy with the behavior of the bike; he is being smooth, fast and consistent which is a good signal for tomorrow. We completed a long run with good pace so now we have to decide which tire to use tomorrow, other than that we are pretty much set. Jorge is starting from the front row which is very important for his race here at his home track. He will for sure fight for the best result possible.”

2011 Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya
1. Marco Simoncelli, Honda, ITA, 1’42.413
2. Casey Stoner, Honda, AUS, 1’42.429
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 1’42.728
4. Ben Spies, Yamaha, USA, 1’42.742
5. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 1’42.749
6. Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha, GBR, 1’43.202
7. Valentino Rossi, Ducati, ITA, 1’43.223
8. Nicky Hayden, Ducati, USA, 1’43.228
9. Alvaro Bautista, Suzuki, ESP, 1’43.447
10. Hector Barbera, Ducati, ESP, 1’43.656
11. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, JPN, 1’43.734
12. Randy De Puniet, Ducati, FRA, 1’43.764
13. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, ITA, 1’44.068
14. Toni Elias, Honda, ESP, 1’44.510
15. Karel Abraham, Ducati, CZE, 1’45.661

Circuit Length: 4727
Temp: 25 deg C
Weather: Dry
Lap Record: 1’43.195 (Valentino Rossi, 1/1/2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1’41.186 (Casey Stoner, 6/8/2008)
Last Year’s Winner: Jorge Lorenzo

Lorenzo extends championship lead with win at Assen

Jorge Lorenzo put in another textbook performance at Assen on Saturday, leaving his rivals trailing as he led from the front to win the 80th Dutch TT and take his fourth victory of the season. In doing so he becomes only the seventh rider in history to have won in three or more classes at the historic racetrack, with 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP wins to his name. Meanwhile Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies ensured that there were still two Yamahas in the top four, despite the absence of Valentino Rossi, with another brilliant performance to back up his maiden podium last week.

Lorenzo had looked the man to beat all weekend after topping both practice and qualifying, and he got a great start from pole position and quickly pulled out a second’s gap. But, by lap five, Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner were looming large behind him, and for a few laps it looked as if a tense three-way battle was in the offing. However Lorenzo’s choice of the harder Bridgestone tire soon began to pay off and, with a lighter fuel load by mid-race distance, he was able to step things up a notch and gave himself an unassailable lead, crossing the line 2.935 seconds ahead of Pedrosa, with Stoner third and Spies fourth.

The Fiat Yamaha man’s second win on the bounce sees him extend his championship lead to an impressive 47 points from Pedrosa, while Rossi remains fourth in the standings. The next round comes in just a week’s time at Barcelona in Spain, when Wataru Yoshikawa will join the Fiat Yamaha Team to fill in until Rossi is back on board his M1.

Jorge Lorenzo – 1st, Time: 41’18.629
“This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone because Dani was so fast with the softer tire early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point. I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tire would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice. It wasn’t easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish! I am really happy that I have won here in all three classes because it’s such a historic place and the football I had in Parc Ferme was to celebrate this ‘hat-trick.’ Thanks to all my Yamaha guys and also to Bridgestone for this win, we have a big lead in the championship so we can afford to stay calm and relaxed. Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans.”
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Yamaha Motor Racing Srl is pleased to announce the appointment of Wilco Zeelenberg as Team Manager for Jorge Lorenzo in the Fiat Yamaha Team.

Dutchman Zeelenberg joins the team from Yamaha’s World Supersport Team, where he won the World Championship in 2009 with Cal Crutchlow.

Zeelenberg previously had a successful career as a rider, contesting 100 Grands Prix from 1986 to 1995, racing with three different manufacturers including Yamaha. From 1995 to 2000 he then raced in the World Super Sport championship.

Wilco Zeelenberg takes the reins of Jorge Lorenzo's half of the Fiat Yamaha MotoGP team

On retirement from racing he joined Yamaha Motor Europe as Technical Coordinator and Test Rider until 2008, when he took over the role of Team Manager for the Yamaha World Super Sport Team.

Zeelenberg lives in Holland and is married with two children.

Lin Jarvis, Managing Director for Yamaha Motor Racing Srl, added, “I would like to congratulate Wilco on his appointment and wish him every success in his new challenge. I am confident that the Team and Jorge will benefit from Wilco’s long experience as a rider, a Yamaha racing technician and more recently as a successful Team Manager. We look forward to integrating him into the Fiat Yamaha Team working alongside Davide Brivio, both Team Managers being under the supervision of Team Director Masahiko Nakajima.”

“After nine years working for Yamaha I am very proud to be joining the official Yamaha MotoGP team,” said Zeelenberg. “It’s a big reward and I am very excited about this new challenge. Jorge is a fantastic rider and I cannot wait to start working with him and the crew. The team is already a well-oiled machine and I am thrilled to be fitting into it. It’s clear that there are four main contenders for the title and Jorge is one of those four. I am a very competitive person, I will do everything I can in the team to create the right atmosphere and fight for the championship title.”