AMA Pro Racing News Release
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (November 7, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing is proud to announce the introduction of the XR Showdown, a $60,000 year-end points fund that…
Team Suzuki News Flash
CHINO, CA (November 7, 2011) - Yoshimura Racing and American Suzuki Motor Corporation are proud to announce plans for the 2012 AMA Pro Superbike Championship Series that…
Ducati Racing News Flash
After a positive first two days during the final round of the 2011 MotoGP season, the Ducati Team had an unfortunate and premature end to the Valencia…
Factory Yamaha Racing News Release
MOTOGP SEASON FINALE FREE PRACTICE: Yamaha Factory rider Ben Spies made it count this afternoon in difficult weather conditions to take third on the grid for…
It is with mixed emotions that Yamaha Factory Racing arrives in Valencia this weekend for the final Grand Prix of the 2011 season.
MotoGP’s tragic loss of rising star Marco Simoncelli…
Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies made it a double celebration today, taking second and third on the podium for the Grand Prix of Catalunya. World Champion Lorenzo grabbed the hole-shot off the line and team mate Spies shut the door neatly on Valentino Rossi to take third as they dropped into the first corner.
The end of lap one saw Casey Stoner take the lead at the end of the straight, Lorenzo tucking in behind him and holding until the line for his fourth podium of the season. A white flag to signal some rain on the track caused some concern with 13 laps to go but was not severe enough to cause any rider to pit in and change to wet tyres.
Spies delivered the same consistent race pace in evidence from the beginning of the weekend, secure in third position from the first corner to the chequered flag. The Texan built a lead of around a second from Andrea Dovizioso for the duration of the race to claim his first podium for the Factory Yamaha Team.
The riders head straight to Silverstone now for a back-to-back race, Lorenzo still leading the championship with a seven point advantage over Casey Stoner. Team mate Spies jumps an impressive five places up the standings to seventh with 36 points, eleven points behind fellow American Nicky Hayden in sixth.
Jorge Lorenzo Position 2nd Time +2.403
“I’m really happy with the result, I gave it the maximum! I overtook Casey on the start but I knew he could overtake me. I tried to stay with him and not to lose his back wheel for as long as possible. At the end it started to rain a little and it was tough to keep concentration in the last sector but we managed it. We are still leading the championship so let’s see what happens in Silverstone.”
Ben Spies Position 3rd Time +4.291
“We just kept pushing and pushing and we were slowly catching up to Jorge, not necessarily to try and catch and pass him but to stay away from Andrea. The bike was great and I felt good on it and just needed a good result. After the first couple of laps I realised we had a shot at a podium so I rode as hard as I could. The tyre was a good choice for us today; we did what we came here to accomplish and that’s good enough. Big thanks to the team who worked hard to deliver a great package this weekend, bring on Silverstone!”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“Not a very spectacular race but second and third places are of course very important to us. We closed the gap we feel this weekend even if it was difficult circumstances. We said at the beginning it’s important to finish every race on the podium. We need to solve some more issues and make some more steps but we are definitely heading in the right direction. I’m very happy for Jorge that he finished on the podium in front of his home crowd and for Ben for bouncing back from a difficult start to the year with his first podium.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“This weekend started well from Friday and everyday was better. To get both riders on the podium is a great success for the team. We were not so far from the leaders having worked hard and improved the bike a lot. We are optimistic thinking about the Silverstone race as that was also a good race last year for Yamaha.”
Super seventh for Crutchlow, Edwards targets Silverstone returnMonster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow heads to his crucial home race at Silverstone next weekend brimming with confidence after he stormed to a career best MotoGP result in the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya today.
Starting from the second row of the grid, the British rider quickly gained momentum on Bridgetone’s hard rear tyre and a series of consistently fast laps saw him easily reel in the factory Ducati of 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden. He eventually passed the American on lap ten and was able to comfortably pull away, despite some nervous moments from the halfway stage as spots of rain started to fall on the Montmelo circuit.
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 Grand Prix of Catalunya tomorrow from the front row in third position on the grid, his team mate Spies taking fourth for a second row start.
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 Position 3rd Time 1.42.728 Laps 25
“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 Position 4th Time 1.42.742 Laps 27
“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 behaviour 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 tyre 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.”
The Grand Prix of France at Le Mans was today witness to yet another incident packed race played out in front of the packed grandstands. World Champion Jorge Lorenzo suffered a low side in the morning warm up, sustaining a minor injury to his finger but was otherwise unhurt.
Lorenzo held his grid position off the line as the race got underway, battling up to fourth with 14 laps to go and taking Dovizioso on the second corner for the position. Having managed to close the gap to the second and third riders, a mistake caused him to run wide and lose ground, eventually crossing the line still in fourth.
With previous closest championship rival Dani Pedrosa crashing out of the race, the results mean Lorenzo has now extended his lead in the Championship to 78, 12 points clear of second place.
Ben Spies leaves France happy to have put the misfortunes of the previous two rounds behind him. The Texan also kept grid position off the line but made two small mistakes in the first laps, losing time to those in front. Consistent race pace saw him close down on Colin Edwards in fifth until an unfortunate crash by the fellow Texan caused Spies to run wide to avoid collision. He recovered and managed to fight off Nicky Hayden to eventually take sixth. The result doubles his point score to 20, placing him in 12th position, only 2 points from Marco Simoncelli in eighth.
Jorge Lorenzo Position 4th – Time +21.075
“I think the race has been good in general for us and the results and points are good for the Championship. Obviously I would like to fight with Casey and the other best riders for victory but at this moment it’s really hard. What I can do is try to finish with the best result possible, take the maximum from our bike as it is now and wait for future improvements.”
Yamaha Factory Racing Prepare for Round Three as MotoGP Returns to Estoril
The MotoGP paddock sets up at the Estoril circuit on the Atlantic coast in Portugal this weekend for round three of the World Championship after an extended break. The recent disaster in Japan and subsequent postponement of the Motegi round has resulted in a four week gap between races for Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.
Reigning MotoGP World Champion and current Championship leader Lorenzo returns to Estoril looking to extend a perfect score sheet from the Portuguese circuit.
So far the young Mallorcan has three consecutive pole position starts, race wins and fastest laps, taking nothing less than victory from every Estoril race of his MotoGP career.
The later scheduling of the Portuguese race in last year’s calendar meant Lorenzo raced at Estoril in 2010 having already been crowned World Champion. He went on to deliver Yamaha’s third consecutive Triple Crown that weekend with the help of his then team mate. A flawless performance under treacherous conditions in Jerez last month delivered Lorenzo’s first race win of the season, the incident filled first Spanish round leaving most of the competition struggling to stay upright and reach the chequered flag. He arrives at Estoril nine points clear of his closest rival at the top of the Championship standings.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies heads back from his four week break in the USA preparing for his first Estoril MotoGP race. The 2010 round which saw Monsoon weather disrupt qualifying had initially looked positive for the then satellite Texan rider, combined practice times giving him a second row start for the race. An unfortunate high side on the second of two sighting laps however resulted in a dislocated ankle meaning Spies has yet to complete a MotoGP race here and has yet to turn a wheel on a dry Estoril track. The 2010 rookie of the year had been on track for his first podium of the year at Jerez last month. He had been running in second behind his team mate until he joined the many riders to crash out as the changeable track surface took its toll on the worn out rain tyres. Spies arrives in Estoril sitting in 12th in the Championship with ten points.
The Autodromo Fernanda Pires de Silva sits just seven kilometres from the Atlantic coast and as such is notorious for dramatic weather changes; riders can see conditions change in seconds from warm sunshine to high winds and gusts of rain. Estoril provides one of the most challenging circuits for set up, featuring one of the longest straights of the MotoGP calendar combined with the one of the slowest corners. Lorenzo and Spies will need all their rider skills to negotiate the slow twisty sections then hold their nerve for the high speed 200km/hr kink at turn five and the infamous final Parabolica corner leading to the finish line.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo used his M1 to deliver a master class in wet riding today, delivering a flawless performance to take victory in front of his home crowd at Jerez. The second race of the 2011 MotoGP Championship was played out on treacherous track conditions that claimed a number of victims over the 27 laps.
Slipping comfortably into second in the first lap Lorenzo stayed in contention in the top three for several laps, keeping calm and graduating to first position as rivals Stoner, Rossi and Simoncelli all crashed out of contention. A steady rhythm and inch perfect lines finally saw the reigning World Champion take the chequered flag, his first ever professional race career win in the wet.
Team mate Ben Spies was denied his first MotoGP podium as a factory rider with just three laps remaining of the race. Having initially dropped to sixth from the start grid Spies’ riding style was on a par with Lorenzo, laying down smooth consistent laps on a track that was wet in some places and drying in others. Having gained half a second a lap on second place man Pedrosa he caught and passed him, raising the possibility of a Yamaha one two on the podium. Disaster then struck on turn five as slippery conditions and worn race tyres brought the Texan’s race to a premature end, losing the front and sliding off the track.
Lorenzo’s victory propels him to the top of the MotoGP Championship standings with a tally of 45 points, nine points clear of Pedrosa in second. Spies heads to the next round in Estoril in four weeks time having dropped to 12th in the standings with ten points and looking to make up for today’s disappointment.
Round two of the 2011 MotoGP Championship got underway at Jerez today with Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies getting their first European track time of the season.
Reigning World Champion Lorenzo spent the two free practice sessions testing a new set up for the circuit, improving from the morning’s fifth place finish to wrap up the afternoon’s final session in third, 0.522 seconds from the front. The combined times placed him fifth today ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying heat.
Jorge’s teammate Spies spent the two sessions working on different set ups between bikes, focusing on front end feel and differing electronic set ups.
The Texan finished in seventh place for both sessions, unable to improve on his morning time of 1’40.887 in the afternoon as a windier session slowed all riders a little. Both Spies and Lorenzo will start tomorrow looking to find a set up that delivers better traction for the fast corners and rapid direction changes of the circuit.
Jorge Lorenzo – Position 5th – Time 1’40.420 – Laps 23
“This morning the track was perfect with no wind but in the afternoon it came so the riding was more difficult. Finally we finished third, the gap to the front is less than before and we hope to improve the bike more for tomorrow. After the good race at Qatar we are more motivated and this is one of the special rounds of the year so we hope to have a great race on Sunday.”
The Factory Yamaha Racing pair concluded the opening day of the Sepang Test extremely pleased with their early accomplishments.
Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies completed day one at the Sepang Test in positive moods, having worked through plenty on Tuesday and with more to look forward to across the remaining two days.
Lorenzo made some significant set-up changes during the lunch period to uncover an effective setting, one which allowed him to lap consistently fast throughout the afternoon on his Factory Yamaha Racing M1 and place third fastest by the end of the MotoGP day.
“Today was a good day for me, we worked on the traction to improve it from the previous Test which helped us a lot in the set-up, I’m now very satisfied with it,” said Lorenzo, whose best lap of 2’01.468 was just under half a second off leader Casey Stoner.
“We have our chassis for 2011 now and we are working on it as well as our engine spec. With the improvements we’ve made we can now brake a little later and enter the corners a little more quickly as well so I was able to do some good fast consistent lap times this afternoon when it was still very hot on the track.”
Team-mate Ben Spies focused on suspension settings after spending the morning easing himself back into the M1 seat, and the Texan was also pleased with his feeling with the bike at the end of the MotoGP day.
“Today we came to this Test with the engine configurations we’re going to race with so both bikes have that. We just warmed up in the morning and spent the afternoon on one set of tyres,” said Spies, who was sixth fastest with a lap of 2’01.808. “We set our fastest lap of the day when it was very hot and mid race distance on a hard tyre. We’re saving some tyres for the end of the Test when the track’s good.”
He continued: “We worked on some race set-up and I also worked on some different riding styles. We’ll start again tomorrow with plenty more to do. We tried a couple of shocks and found a few tenths and were still consistently fast on used tyres which was promising. It’s definitely a good day and I’m happy with it.”
Yamaha Racing Press Release
The Grand Prix of France at Le Mans was today witness to yet another incident packed race played out in front of the packed grandstands. World Champion Jorge Lorenzo suffered a low side in the morning warm up, sustaining a minor injury to his finger but was otherwise unhurt.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo used his M1 to deliver a master class in wet riding today, delivering a flawless performance to take victory in front of his home crowd at Jerez. The second race of the 2011 MotoGP Championship was played out on treacherous track conditions that claimed a number of victims over the 27 laps.
Round two of the 2011 MotoGP Championship got underway at Jerez today with Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies getting their first European track time of the season.
Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies completed day one at the Sepang Test in positive moods, having worked through plenty on Tuesday and with more to look forward to across the remaining two days.