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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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 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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The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team completed a two-day test this afternoon at the San Marino circuit ahead of next week’s eighth round of the Superbike World Championship in Misano. At the close of the test riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland were the fastest riders on the board. The team spent the two days testing some different linkages on the bikes along with various electronic settings and also a new radiator design to aid cooling.

The first day started well with both riders posting competitive times – James Toseland in particular ending the morning session second fastest with a 1”36.7, and teammate Cal Crutchlow not far behind in fourth with a 1”36.8. The afternoon saw rainfall, which disrupted the test and made the track conditions slower this morning. The day gave very hot temperatures for most of the session, but cooled towards the end allowing the riders to post their fastest times.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (1st, 1”36.2 90 laps)
“It’s been a pretty good test for us, the weather’s been difficult, either really hot or wet which has been challenging. Still, we managed to get down to the fastest time here and I did that on a used tire which should stand us in good stead for next week’s races. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into it again.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (2nd, 1”36.3, 90 laps)
“We tried a lot with the electronics; all in all it’s been a good test for Yamaha. I’m putting a lot of time into the bike to try and find some extra time in the second half of the race and be more consistent. Everyone is doing a great job but we’re busy trying to catch up with the Aprilia.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“I am satisfied as the riders made their best times with used tires. If the race was tomorrow we are ready. I’m looking forward to the race weekend, it has been a very productive test and we are optimistic that we can build on this and produce some good results.”

On June 26, the legendary Assen circuit will witness the 80th edition of the famous TT race. To celebrate the event in style, the Yamaha Classic Racing Team will be present and will be displaying iconic Yamaha racebikes from across the decades of the manufacturer’s racing history. The Team will be joined by living legend Giacomo Agostini who will ride the circuit on a classic Yamaha racer.

Ago at Daytona in 1975, when the 200 still had significance in the world racing community.

Racing fans visiting the TT paddock area will be able to get up close and personal with historical GP machines raced to glory from 1964 to 1985 including: 125cc 1 cylinder, 350cc 3 cylinder, 750cc 4 cylinder and all two-stroke machines. Added to the lineup this year is the 1965 125cc V4 (RA31A) machine that delivered a 1-2 world championship victory to riders Bill Ivy and Phil Read and the manufacturer’s title to Yamaha in 1965. Another new iconic bike present will be the 350cc twin (OW16) that Agostini raced to world championship victory with in 1974 in the 350cc class.

In homage to the Assen TT, Agostini will ride his celebrated 1975 YZR500 OW23 racebike on the circuit. This is the original machine that he rode to his last-ever world title victory in 1975 and has special significance as it was also the machine he rode to victory on at the Assen TT in that year. This rare and historically important racebike is being flown over by Yamaha from Japan for this occasion, and is a rare opportunity to see and hear it being ridden by Agostini on track as he did 35 years ago.

For more information on Agostini’s victories with Yamaha and the build up to the 80th Assen TT, watch this Giacomo Agostini video.

“I am very happy to see that the interest for our classic racing activities is growing and growing,” said Yamaha Classic Racing Team Manager, Ferry Brouwer. “One thing that the public generally appreciates is that the historical machines as well as the racing legends can be approached quite easily, although depending a bit on the venue that we’re at. I’m very proud that Giacomo Agostini is participating on the major events this year and we are very grateful that the Yamaha headquarters in Japan have given Ago the opportunity again to ride on his original and legendary machine that he steered to his final word title in 1975.”

The Yamaha Classic Racing Team will return to Assen later this year for a second iconic event, the Centennial Classic TT on the 18th and 19th September. Agostini will again ride for the team at this event and will be joined by other iconic riders from the golden years of racing including: Rodney Gould (1970 250cc world champion with Yamaha), Dieter Braun (1973 250cc world champion with Yamaha), Chas Mortimer (1973 125cc vice champion with Yamaha), Bruno Kneubühler (1974 125cc vice champion with Yamaha) and Steve Baker (1977 500cc vice champion with Yamaha).

The Yamaha Classic Racing Team calendar for 2010 includes the following dates:

June 26 – Assen, Netherlands
July 24-25 – Imatra, Finland
Aug 14-15 – Schotten, Germany
Aug 22 – Eext, Netherlands
Sept 18-19 – Assen, Netherlands
Oct 2-3 – Imola, Italy

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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Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo Colin Edwards and Ben Spies were immediately on the pace in Mugello today as Yamaha made a flying start to the Italian MotoGP weekend. Edwards made a welcome return to form after a difficult opening to the 2010 season and a range of set-up changes on his YZR-M1 machine reaped immediate reward for the Texan. Reverting back to the same set-up he used to finish sixth in the 2009 Italian MotoGP, the confidence Edwards has lacked with the front-end of his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine in the early part of the campaign instantly returned.
Edwards was a permanent fixture in the top six before he surged into the top three shortly before the halfway stage. He briefly dropped out of the leading trio before a lap of 1.50.772 moved him behind dominant Yamaha duo Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo back into third spot in the closing stages. Only a late attack from circuit specialist Loris Capirossi prevented Edwards from helping Yamaha claim a stunning 1-2-3 start to the fourth round of the world championship. The spectacular Mugello circuit is one of the most technically challenging and physically demanding on the MotoGP calendar. But Spies once again exhibited his talent for learning tracks at a remarkably fast rate to clock the sixth quickest time and finish just over 0.2s behind Edwards.
Spies is still suffering slight discomfort from left ankle ligament damage he suffered in a practice crash in Le Mans. But the 25-year-old quickly got to grips with Mugello’s hard braking points, high-speed corners and undulation to finish with a best time of 1.51.004. Spies is confident with more time to work on the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine he’ll be able to fight for a leading position in Sunday’s 23-lap race.

Colin Edwards, 4th, Time: 1′50.772, laps: 21
“I’m really happy with today because the first three races have not been easy at all. Nothing had worked at all so far this season, so basically I completely changed the set-up of the bike today. I just told my team to change the set-up so it was completely the same as Mugello last year when I had my best result at this track. We changed riding position and got my weight moved forward because I’ve been having a problem keeping weight on the front this season. Now it just feels so natural and the bike does exactly what I want it to do. When I want the bike to do something it actually does it instead of me waiting and wondering why it didn’t work. Now it just turns and it feels like I’m spending much less time on the side of the tire. I turn in now really quickly and don’t run wide or have to work hard to get the bike round the corner. I want to say a big thanks to Tech 3 and Yamaha because it feels like my bike again and I’m riding with much more confidence.”

Ben Spies, 6th, Time: 1′51.004, Laps: 25
“This track is definitely a more difficult place to learn but it is a super fun track. There are a couple of corners that are really difficult to learn and it can take a while to get into a rhythm. But coming here on the back of a couple of bad results and being immediately this fast on such a technically challenging track is really good for me. It doesn’t feel like I should have been sixth and I guess that is a good sign. I thought I was doing fine so to see I was sixth, I was blown away with that because I thought I’d be about tenth or just outside the top ten. I’m still having a bit of trouble with the ankle I hurt in the practice crash in Le Mans. There’s quite a bit of ligament damage but the only time I really feel it is when I’m trying to tuck in tight on the straight. It’s not a major injury but it will take a few weeks to fully recover. On the bike it hurts but it’s not slowing me down. I’ll analyze the data tonight because as always when I’m starting fresh on a new track, there is more time to come from my riding and the bike. But to be sixth on my first day at such a difficult track is a good lift for my confidence.”

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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Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland are gearing up for the U.S round of the World Superbike Championship this coming Monday at the Miller Motorsports Park in Salt Lake City. Last year the team saw a double victory here at the hands of rider Ben Spies, success they will be looking to repeat in 2010 with British riders Crutchlow and Toseland.

The Salt Lake City round is the seventh of the 2010 Championship, with six rounds now remaining before the finale in Magny Cours in October. Toseland heads into this weekend in fifth place in the championship on 125 points, 16 points behind Carlos Checa in fourth. Team mate Crutchlow sits in ninth with 86 points, nine points behind Michele Fabrizio in eighth.

“I’m really looking forward to Salt Lake City,” said James Toseland. “It’s a brand new track for me. I got to drive a couple of laps in one of the Miller Racing School’s Mustang’s this week which has given me an idea of the track layout, but there’s nothing like actually riding it on a bike to understand it. I’ve always enjoyed coming to American tracks to race, I love Laguna Seca and Indianapolis so I’m looking forward to the challenge of learning this one and getting up to speed as quickly as possible. I hope we don’t have the grip level problems as we did in Kyalami.”

“It’s great to be back here again,” said Cal Crutchlow. “I loved racing here last year on the Supersport bike; it’s a great track so I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into it on the R1. I know the bike works well here, so I’m confident we can get up there and fight to be at the front to finish the weekend on the podium.”

Miller technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland’s Crew Chief
“Kyalami proved to be a tough weekend for the team, but James gained some valuable points towards the championship. Miller is a new track for James, so the key will be for him to do as many laps as possible in the first few sessions and learn the track. The second day we will work hard on the setting so that James can again fight for the top three places. Miller racetrack is very different to Kyalami and has hardly any change of elevations. We will work hard on making sure we can also maintain good grip levels for the whole race, as this is a key factor for us. We have some good data from last year and we will use this to our advantage to work towards an optimum set up as quickly as possible.”

Miller technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow’s Crew Chief
“The circuit has two or three different characters, and at least two different tarmac surfaces to deal with. You have the fast flowing part and then the last part which is more twisty with a different tarmac surface so we have to see what the grip situation is and what our level of traction is. We will start with one bike on our base set up and the second bike we will try something new. We want to have more dynamic transfer on the bike so we will adjust the bike to achieve this which will hopefully give us more traction without compromising steering. We will also try a new clutch to see if we can improve on our starts.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“Miller Motorsports circuit seems to be one of the good circuits for us, last year we ran very well here with no problems so we’re preparing for the weekend with confidence and determination, we believe we can achieve good results. After South Africa we haven’t worked on our bikes as they came directly from Kyalami to here but we are ready with a good base set up to begin on Saturday with the first session.”

The Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team riders will be looking to build on the current run of victories by both the R1 and the R6 in the USA national championships. Team Graves Yamaha R1 rider Josh Hayes took double AMA Superbike wins in California two weeks ago, with fellow Yamaha Pat Clark Motorsports R1 rider Ben Bostrom taking two second places behind him to make it a double Yamaha one-two on the podium. The R6 was also dominating the AMA weekend, with podiums by Tommy Aquino, Josh Herrin and Dane Westby. In AMA Pro Supersport, the Saturday saw five of the top six places taken by the R6 whilst Sunday saw it take the checkered flag.

*Please note that this Weekend’s World Superbike races at Salt Lake City will take place on the Monday, not the Sunday. First qualifying sessions will be Saturday and second qualifying and Superpole on Sunday.