Spies pleased with equal opportunity

This weekend's Aragon Grand Prix provides one of the few opportunities for Ben Spies to be on an equal footing with the other factory MotoGP riders in terms of track experience.

MotoGP made its first visit to the demanding Spanish circuit last season, when rookie Spies finished fifth for Tech 3 Yamaha, after winning an exciting duel with Andrea Dovizioso.

Now a Factory Yamaha rider, Spies returns with a MotoGP victory under his belt and looking for his fourth podium of the season, as he also seeks to close the 15-point gap to Dani Pedrosa in the standings.

“It's great to come to a track on the calendar where I have the same level of experience as the rest of the field," said Spies.

"Last year was one of my most enjoyable races, it was great fun fighting with Dovi to keep fifth and we weren't so far from the battle for third until I made a small mistake. 

"I've had a chance to relax at my home in Como after the Indianapolis and Misano back to back races so I'm feeling good and looking forward to seeing what we can do.”

Team director Massimo Meregalli added that the trapped nerve which has hindered Spies since Brno continues to improve and that the layout should suit the M1.

"Ben is recovering well from his trapped nerve issue and is getting closer to full fitness again," he said. "Apart from one corner the Aragon circuit layout should be good for us and suit the YZR-M1, so our expectations are quite high for this weekend.”

The top Yamaha in last year's event was Jorge Lorenzo, in fourth.

source: crash.net

Yamaha confident for a podium at Aragón

The Mallorcan arrives in Aragón with renewed confidence and motivation in the battle for the title after taking a perfect victory last week in Misano. The race win reduces his points gap from leader Casey Stoner to 35 points with five races remaining. The 2010 Aragon race saw Lorenzo start from second on the front row having narrowly missed pole and finish just off the podium in fourth after a battle with Nicky Hayden.

Aragón provides one of the few circuits which put Lorenzo’s team mate Ben Spies on a relatively equal footing to the GP grid, all sharing the same level of track experience there. Spies delivered an exciting performance in last year’s race, battling and ultimately bettering Andrea Dovizioso with a last lap thriller to take fifth. The Texan prepares for the final five races in fifth position in the Championship, 15 points behind Dani Pedrosa in fourth.

Aragón was first scheduled as a replacement for the Hungarian MotoGP round last year. The track is situated near the town of Alcaniz in northern Spain, a few hours drive from Barcelona. Designed by Hermann Tillke, the circuit is impressive and challenging with spectacular elevation changes and fast, flowing corners.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

"I am very happy to be riding at home again and for a second time in Aragón. I’m looking forward to seeing all the fans there, and especially my Fan Club who are coming. Last year I couldn't get the podium which was a big shame. I wanted it because I was competing in Spain and the season had been perfect and also because I was wearing Shoya's helmet in his memory. I had a good race two weeks ago in Misano and now I am very confident we can obtain another podium, we believe we can again reduce our gap to Casey."

Ben Spies: 

“It’s great to come to a track on the calendar where I have the same level of experience as the rest of the field. Last year was one of my most enjoyable races, it was great fun fighting with Dovi to keep fifth and we weren’t so far from the battle for third until I made a small mistake. I’ve had a chance to relax at my home in Como after the Indianapolis and Misano back to back races so I’m feeling good and looking forward to seeing what we can do.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Yamaha, Lorenzo confirm Motegi presence

Yamaha has confirmed it will compete in the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi in October with a full strength line-up of Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies.

The manufacturer's commitment had been in doubt due to safety concerns with the Fukushima nuclear plant, approximately 110km away, which was heavily damaged during the earthquake and tsunami that rocked the east coast of Japan in March.

Indeed, with several riders – including title contender Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi - voicing their concerns over the event, which is rescheduled to run on October 2nd and passed as safe by the FIM, there are fears that some won't make the trip.

Nonetheless, with less than a month to go before the event, Yamaha has now become the first factory team to formally commit to its home event, with both Lorenzo and Spies, adding that it will run in the red and white livery that commemorates its 50th WGP anniversary.

A brief statement from the team read:

“Yamaha Factory Racing herewith confirms the attendance of its riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies to compete for round 15 of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship at Motegi in Japan on 2nd October. 

“The Yamaha Factory Racing team will race in Yamaha's WGP50th Anniversary red and white livery for the 4th time this year at the home GP of team owner Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.”

source: crash.net

Wayne Rainey 'overwhelmed' by Yamaha reception

Three-time motorcycling world champion and Yamaha hero Wayne Rainey admitted that he was 'overwhelmed' by the welcome he was shown when he was invited to the Japanese manufacturer's motor racing headquarters in Italy – following a return visit for the first time to the scene of his career-ending accident 18 years ago.

The legendary GP rider spent a day with employees of Yamaha Motor Racing, Yamaha Motor Italy and Yamaha Motor R&D Europe at the Yamaha Motor Racing base in Gerno di Lesmo close to Milan. The American officially opened the Wayne Rainey Boardroom at the facility before taking a tour of the site, where he was joined by current factory riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, the trio taking time to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the many gathered employees. 

Prior to that, Rainey had returned to Misano for the first time since his spine-breaking crash in the 1993 Italian Grand Prix there that left him paralysed from the chest down. He was warmly welcomed by the paddock before attending a special dinner of some 25 close friends from his racing past. Guests included riders, mechanics, journalists and others from the racing fraternity.

Ahead of last weekend's MotoGP outing around the same track, the 50-year-old took a special lap of the circuit by open-top car to a standing ovation from the thousands of fans present. He then witnessed defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo storm to victory, and was subsequently invited to take to the podium with the Spaniard. He accepted the manufacturers' trophy on behalf of the team to huge applause from the Misano crowd.

“It's been a great experience spending some time at the headquarters,” he enthused. “It's fascinating to get an insight into what happens away from the track and what it takes to run a successful modern team. I've been overwhelmed with the positive reception from all the people here. 

“It was also a wonderful weekend at Misano. Yamaha welcomed me so warmly and it was very special for [his wife] Shae and I to meet up with so many old friends and familiar faces. I'm honoured to be part of the Yamaha family and will be back again!”

“2011 is a very important year for us, celebrating Yamaha's 50th anniversary of Grand Prix racing,” added Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis. “The weekend's activity was truly unique. Wayne is not only one of the greatest Grand Prix riders in our racing history, but also one of the most respected Yamaha riders. To have him and his wife Shae make the trip to join us at Misano and at Yamaha Motor Racing Headquarters was something we will treasure. It has been a very special moment in our year.”

source: crash

New Yamaha potential thrills Lorenzo and Spies

Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies both expressed their delight at the early potential of Yamaha’s new 1000cc MotoGP machine after they completed a second successful test on next year’s bike in Misano yesterday.

Track conditions were far from ideal after strong winds and light rain on Sunday night meant the surface was dirty and slippery, but Lorenzo and Spies were still able to get in 134 valuable development laps between them.

Lorenzo, who dominated Sunday’s race to cut Casey Stoner’s points lead to 35 with five races remaining, set a best lap of 1.33.7 to better his quickest time on the 800cc YZR-M1 of 1.33.906.

Texan Spies completed 74 laps and he set a best time of 1.34.3, which ducked under his best race lap of 1.34.518 on the 800cc version.

Lorenzo and Spies had made shown the immediate competitiveness of the new bike in Brno last month, but the Misano test was a completely different challenge on a much tighter and slower layout.

Lorenzo told MCN: "I was quite impressed because we tried the 1000cc bike in a different track. Brno is much wider than Misano and faster and here it is much more difficult to be at the same level as the 800 at this moment but the bike has great potential and this is good.

"It is quite difficult to ride the 1000cc bike, especially in the first laps because with the 800 we exit the box and on the first fast lap we are close to the best time doing 34.0. But on the 1000 you are doing 35s and 36s before it comes better, so for this reason it is more difficult to warm up the tyres and have good confidence for the entry of the corners. I think the first two or three laps in the race will be more difficult and we might see some more overtaking."

Spies told MCN: "It is definitely a lot different riding the 1000 round here than the 800. In Brno everything was a lot faster but here you have to ride it a little bit different and it was a handful round this track but quite a lot of fun. We were trying to get more getting comfortable in the way you have to ride a 1000s. You have to shift the corner entry because it is a bit different.

"We had some different front-end options and some suspension stuff but I mainly worked on electronics with traction control. It was more about keeping it fast but tame and easy to ride at the same time. As a well-rounded package they’ve done a fantastic job so far and for only the second day on the bike it is right on schedule. I feel we have a great package but we need to wait until we’re on the line with everybody else and see where we stack up."

source : MCN

MotoGP: Yamaha has tested for the second time at Misano 1000

24 hours after the race that officially reported Jorge Lorenzo in contention for the title 2011, the Yamaha is held on the Misano track to complete a second test session on 1000 , we will see the version of the M1 on the track next year with three cubicfigureszeros. Once again the new bike has satisfied the pilots here have focused on new structures and small changes from last month tested the bike at Brno

Thus says Jorge Lorenzo once fell from the saddle: "It 'been a bit' more difficult here than in Brno, which is a very fast track. Misano is slower and the difference between 800 and 1000 feels less. It 'hard to understand what makes driving more, but we have made ​​much progress in a few hours and the bike has a huge potential. I can not wait to drive it again, we are working on electronics for help under braking but I'm trying to adapt the bike to my riding style than the other way "

Ben Spies : "We tried the same bike at Brno, but several things have changed and we worked hard on electronics. Misano circuit is a much more physical, it is normal here and slip wheelie with the rear, it's fun but the difference is very noticeable with the 800. I liked and I was fast, we had some good times. We collected a lot of useful data for engineers to take a new step for our next test, I will become a really good bike and I'm looking forward to racing with this bike "

source: motoblog.it

Lorenzo, Spies complete 1000cc test at Misano

One day after his third victory of the season, reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo and Yamaha team-mate Ben Spies were back on track at Misano - with the 2012 1000cc M1.

The bikes tested were the same as during their mid-August 1000cc debut test at Brno, with only minor changes to set-up and electronics to suit the tighter, twistier Italian circuit.

Lorenzo was again the quicker of the two riders, setting a best time of 1min 33.7sec during 60 laps. That was 0.2sec quicker than Lorenzo's new official lap record of 1min 33.9sec set during Sunday's race. 

At the Brno test - when Casey Stoner's 1000cc Honda led the way by 0.085sec from Lorenzo - Lorenzo had lapped almost one-second quicker than the best 800cc race lap from the day before.

“It's been a little bit more difficult here than Brno, which is a very fast track. Misano is a little bit slower so the difference between the 800 and the 1000 is much smaller," Lorenzo explained. "It's difficult to understand the riding style you must use straight away. 

"We've made a lot of progress in a couple of hours and the bike has a lot of potential. I'm very excited about the future. We've been working on the electronics to help in the braking area but mainly I've been getting used to the riding style of the bike and also adapting the bike to my riding.”

Team-mate Spies set a best lap time of 1min 34.3sec during 74 laps, which was also 0.2sec quicker than his best race lap, set on the way to sixth in the grand prix.

“We rode the same bike as we did in Brno but we changed a bunch of things and started working on a lot of electronics. Misano is a much more physical track; it's quite tight so there's a lot of wheelies and rear spinning. It's fun to ride but very physical compared to the 800," Spies said.

"I enjoyed it a lot and we went quite fast on it, getting some pretty good lap times. We've got a lot of data now for the engineers to go away and work on the next step for our next test. I think next year is going to be really good and I'm looking forward to racing the thousand!”

During the 2011 season manufacturers can test 2012 bikes for a total of 8 rider/days with their MotoGP race riders.

Yamaha has now completed four rider/days - the same number as Honda, but one less than Ducati. Suzuki is yet to announce a 1000cc project.

source: crash.net

Simoncelli, Dovizioso, Spies battle to the line

The most exciting battle during Sunday's San Marino MotoGP was a three-way fight fourth between Marco Simoncelli, Andrea Dovizioso and Ben Spies.

Italians Simoncelli and Dovizioso were together from lap 5 onwards, when Simoncelli overtook countryman Valentino Rossi for fifth position. Spies then joined the battle just after the halfway stage of the 28 laps and the trio were separated by just 0.739sec at the line.

First across was Gresini Honda rider Simoncelli, who passed Dovizioso for the final time on the very last lap.

"A podium finish is always more satisfying than fourth place of course but this result feels just as nice because it was such a close and hard fight at the end," Simoncelli said. "Unfortunately I made a mistake and chose the wrong engine map at the start which made me lose touch with the front three, otherwise I maybe could have run with them. 

"I had to make up ground and when I got to fourth place I defended it tooth and nail to win a wonderful battle with Dovizioso and Spies on the last lap. I had held fourth for 23 laps and I couldn't let myself lose it at the end. It was nice, I had fun and I think I provided some excitement for my fans."

Dovizioso, just 0.037sec behind Simoncelli, revealed that engine maps also played a part in his race, albeit before it had even begun.

“It was a tough race, I had to push hard and ride aggressively and we had to cut the power a lot due to fuel consumption issues," Dovi said. "We suffered from this during the whole race weekend, but after the warm up I received the bad news that we had to cut even more power. 

"This hasn't been such a big issue this year and in fact it has never been the case that I am unable to match Simoncelli in acceleration. This stems from the riding style and the set up of the electronics, especially the engine braking. I knew that with this cut in power it would have been impossible to fight for the podium, so this affected my motivation. 

"We had a good battle with Marco and Spies, on this occasion, for the first time this season Marco beat me so congratulations to Marco. It was a good battle but our target was to gain some points on Lorenzo and we didn't manage to."

Both Simoncelli and Dovizioso are yet to sign for 2012.

After a 'disastrous' change in morning warm-up, Factory Yamaha star Spies took a few laps to get comfortable on his M1.

“We started out with an ok set up but we didn't really go forward all weekend, struggling a lot with edge grip. I wasn't having a great feeling with the front either so we tried something new in warm up this morning which was honestly a disaster," Spies said. 

"We changed the front end of the bike dramatically before the race which proved to be good but took a few laps to get confidence in as it was such a big change. 

"Once I got around Rossi I got more comfortable and was able to get to the back of Dovi and Simoncelli but was still struggling with edge grip and couldn't get close enough to strike. I tried as hard as I could but just didn't translate into top five this time."

source: Crash.net

Lorenzo claims Misano for Yamaha with perfect victory

The reigning World Champion was quick off the line from second position, securing the front spot from Championship leader Casey Stoner in the first corner. As the Australian put the pressure on, Lorenzo responded, delivering an untouchable pace to gradually increase his lead. His flawless performance also delivered the new track record for the circuit on his 12th lap with a 1’33.906.

Lorenzo was joined on the podium by legendary Yamaha rider, three time World Champion Wayne Rainey to accept the trophies. Rainey made an emotional return to Misano this weekend for the first time in eighteen years as part of Yamaha’s 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix racing.

Ben Spies worked hard today, battling the hot and humid conditions with a less than perfect set up. Having started from fourth, the Texan initially dropped to seventh before slowly reeling in and passing local hero Valentino Rossi. Having dispatched the Italian, the hunt began for fifth and sixth place riders Simoncelli and Dovizioso. Spies was able to close the gap to less than 0.2 of a second but the battling Italians made it impossible to make a clean pass, finishing in sixth position.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

"Today has been an incredible day for us. I delivered a good race; it was a very tough and long one. Most importantly we won again and also reduced our gap to Casey. I want to dedicate this victory to Wayne who returned to Misano this weekend and I want to say thanks to all my team for their hard work. Now we have two weeks before Aragon, I hope to continue in this shape in my country. Tomorrow we will try the 1000cc Yamaha again; I am looking forward to riding my future bike. This has been one of the best days of my career!"

Ben Spies: 

“We started out with an OK set up but we didn’t really go forward all weekend, struggling a lot with edge grip. I wasn’t having a great feeling with the front either so we tried something new in warm up this morning - which was honestly a disaster. We changed the front end of the bike dramatically before the race which proved to be good but took a few laps to get confidence in as it was such a big change. Once I got around Rossi I got more comfortable and was able to catch Dovi and Simoncelli, but was still struggling with edge grip and couldn’t get close enough to strike. I tried as hard as I could but just didn’t translate into top five this time. I need to say thanks to the team for all their hard work trying to solve the issues this weekend.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Lorenzo starts second, aims for first

The reigning World Champion had continued to benefit from the hard work of his crew in the final morning free practice, holding second for most of the session to finally finish third just 0.323 from first. Lorenzo dominated the afternoon’s qualifying session, starting as the fastest rider from the outset before dropping to second with a gap of 0.578 to pole with 11 minutes to go. An extra burst of speed saw him drop the gap to a mere 0.120 seconds behind Casey Stoner on pole.

Ben Spies had a more challenging qualifying than his team mate today, spending the final free practice and subsequent qualifying working to improve rear grip levels on his YZR-M1. A last minute effort saw him deliver a fourth place grid start just off the front row, 0.809 from pole. The team will now work overnight to find an improvement for warm up to provide the best possible set up for the race.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

"Today has been a good day for us. We wanted pole position but the first row is a good start for tomorrow. We have tried some things today and in QP we could almost always be in front. The bike is very good after all the great work of my crew and we have a fast pace. I think we can be competitive tomorrow and try to finish in front of Casey so that's our aim. The weather conditions are being very tough this weekend, it might even rain tomorrow. The race will be very difficult in all aspects."

Ben Spies: 

“It was honestly a lot tougher than expected this afternoon. I wasn’t really happy with it We’re trying a lot of stuff with the bike and I don’t feel all that bad riding wise, we just don’t have the right setting yet and we’re not comfortable at a few spots on the track. Some are really good, some are really bad. We had to ride way over the limit to be where we were today. I’m glad we got it done and got on the second row but I’m not happy about how many risks I had to take to get there. The bike’s there, we can see it, Jorge’s going fast and I feel good, we just have to get my setting comfortable. We’ve got all night to work on it and see what we can do for tomorrow. “

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Lorenzo sets the pace in Misano

The reigning World Champion struggled to find a good pace in the morning practice but worked hard with his crew to make key set up changes over the lunchtime period. The afternoon session saw the improvements fire him straight to the top of the time sheets, where he remained unchallenged for the entire session, leading at times by over second.

Lorenzo’s team mate Ben Spies was one of the men to beat in the morning session, clocking some impressive lap times. He was the fastest rider until the last seconds of the session; ultimately finishing up in second, just 0.286 from first. The afternoon practice was spent trying a number of different set ups for rider position, the Texan ending in fifth 0.54 seconds from Lorenzo in first.

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“I feel much more comfortable on the bike this afternoon with the changes we made. The setting we used is very similar to the Mugello one, and I won the race there. To be honest, I didn’t expect such a big change because we improved more than one second. We are now quite close to a victory I think. Casey and Dani are still fast but at least we are there with them.”

Ben Spies: 

“Not bad today, it wasn’t a great second session but we had to try a lot of things. We’ve been working a little bit on rider position since before Indy and we came up with a good direction for me. We tried to go more in that direction this afternoon but it was too much, so we lost a bit of the second session on it. Other than that we tried all the tyres we wanted to and went pretty fast with quite a lot of laps on them. Overall a positive day, we tried some stuff that worked and some stuff that didn’t. We need to work harder for tomorrow and improve some grip levels but the overall feel and speed I’m happy with.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Stoner leads San Marino proceedings

Championship leader Stoner topped the first free practice of the weekend, with full sun and climbing temperatures indicative of what the rest of the 13th round of the MotoGP Championship season will bring.

Last year’s race winner Dani Pedrosa led much of the opening free practice session at the Misano World Circuit, with Yamaha Factory’s Ben Spies occupying the top spot after laying down a time of 1’34.466 in the final minutes. But it was the Australian who outpaced them all with a time of 1’34.180 on his final lap of the session, 0.286s quicker than the American and 0.349s ahead of Pedrosa’s best lap.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) stepped into fourth in the line up with a time of 1’35.011, ahead of San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli who posted a best lap of 1'35.088 at his home track.

Three Spaniards followed the top five, with defending title holder Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) sixth quickest lap, followed by Mapfre Aspar rider Héctor Barberá and Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki).

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was ninth in the timings and MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) had a good showing, posting the tenth fastest lap of the session. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) followed in 11th while his team mate Nicky Hayden was 13th.

source: MotoGP Official Website

Yamaha heads to 'home' race, Rainey returns

After mixing emotions last weekend at Indianapolis - when Jorge Lorenzo lost further ground in the championship, but Ben Spies scored a home podium - Yamaha is aiming for a strong result from both riders at Misano.

Reigning world champion Lorenzo insists he won't give up on the championship, despite dropping 44 points behind Casey Stoner with six rounds remaining.

“I hope to leave the last race behind us. We go straight to Misano now, a track I like and where I have won and got some podiums. My team and I will try to come back to the top and continue fighting for the Championship!” he declared.

Spies also has high expectations; the Texan displayed his impressive overtaking skills at last year's San Marino Grand Prix, recovering from tenth to take a respectable sixth at the line. Spies can also claim a World Superbike race win in 2009 on the twisty, challenging circuit.

“It's pretty tiring heading back to back across the Atlantic but I have always enjoyed racing at Misano. I had really good fortune there in my World Superbike year and enjoyed some great battles last year in my first MotoGP race on the track," he confirmed.

"We're taking the confidence of the podium finish with us from Indianapolis so I'm looking forward to setting up on Friday and tackling the track on a factory bike for the first time.”

Team director Massimo Meregalli hopes his riders can put on a good show in their 'home' event.

“The team headquarters are just a couple of hundred kilometres away so Misano is one of our 'home' races and we are all looking forward to it," he said. "Ben's fight back to the podium in Indianapolis proved that we have a competitive package and we know that Jorge is strong at this circuit and still fighting for the Championship. We will look to find a good set up quickly and I have confidence we can challenge for good results.”

This weekend will also see Yamaha legend and triple 500cc world champion Wayne Rainey return to Misano, 18 years after the accident that ended his career.

Yamaha is to host a special event for Rainey on Friday evening.

Misano poised for action following press conference

Casey Stoner arrives at this weekend’s Gran Premio Aperol di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini at Misano guarding a healthy 44-point lead in the Championship, with six rounds remaining in the 2011 campaign.

The Repsol Honda rider will be going for a fourth consecutive win this weekend having taken victory at Laguna Seca, Brno and most recently Indianapolis and despite his advantage at the top of the standings is taking nothing for granted.

“So far things are going well but we’ve had a fair lead taken down a bit in the Championship before, and we had to grow it back again,” said Stoner, who was joined by Dani Pedrosa, Ben Spies, Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi in the pre-event press conference. “There are still quite a few races to go and we need to make sure we stay as competitive as we can.”

He continued: “I hope to be able to fight for the win here and if not minimise the damage to the points. I think it’ll be another hot weekend here, and we’ll have to see how the track conditions and the tyres are.”

Stoner’s team-mate Pedrosa made it a Repsol Honda one-two at Indianapolis and the Spaniard, who won here last year, is targeting a better lead into the race having started from the second row last weekend.

“I hope here we can have a better qualifying,” said Pedrosa. “Of course if it’s warm again it’ll be harder, also with the jetlag, but it’s the same for everybody and hopefully we are fit enough to perform at our best.”

Pedrosa is also aiming for a strong final run in the campaign as it enters its final third: “In the Championship I’m really far down but I hope I can have some good races before the end of the season. I hope I can get some wins and podiums and have a good end.”

This weekend will see plenty of focus fall on Rossi with the Misano circuit so close to the Italian’s hometown. It will also have the added significance of the nine-time World Champion racing for the first time here on the Ducati.

“For me, Ducati and the fans this is important,” he said. “A lot of people will try to fight with us, but unfortunately this year we’ve been unable to give the right results. We have to try, not just for us but all the people here. It’s a difficult season and we come from a bad race last week, but we’ll have great support from the fans.”

Spies comes into Round 13 full of confidence after his podium finish in his home race where, despite a mistake on the opening lap which cost him many positions, he managed to finish third having run a good race pace.

“This is a track I like and it’s a special atmosphere,” said the Yamaha Factory Racing rider. “It was a good race for us in Indy, I made a mistake at the start but we had good speed and it’s a confidence booster. I just need to take that to this weekend and have fun again. Hopefully we have the same feeling with the bike as we did at Indy and we can challenge at the front throughout the weekend.”

Last to speak was Capirossi who announced that after a long and illustrious career in the World Championship, which has delivered three titles, 29 Grand Prix wins and 99 podiums, he will retire at the end of the current campaign.

“It’s difficult for me to say this because after 22 seasons this will be my last race in Italy as I have decided to stop,” said an emotional Capirossi, who received a standing ovation from the media present. “I have thought a lot about stopping and I think this is the right decision for me.”

source: MotoGP official website

[Pictures] Podium Indianapolis MotoGP 2011

Spies Strikes back to score home podium at Indy

Starting from second on the grid the Texan rider was caught up in first a bottle neck of riders in turn one, then came together with Andrea Dovizioso in turn four, dropping him back to ninth as he fought to stay on the bike. Despite the setback Spies went on to deliver one of the star performances of the day, taking an impressive number of overtakes and setting some of the fastest laps of the race. He finally took the chequered flag in third place and stood on the podium to a huge applause from the US crowd. Spies picks up 16 points, moving up to fifth in the standings, just five points behind Dani Pedrosa in fourth.

Team mate Jorge Lorenzo’s race was a battle not with his competitors but with the resurfaced Indianapolis track. The reigning World Champion continued to be plagued with a rapidly wearing front tyre causing critical control issues from as early as lap four. Lorenzo battled on regardless, having made a great start he eventually had to relinquish position to team mate Spies and crossed the line in fourth, pushing to stay ahead of Dovizioso to the line.

Ben Spies: 

“My actual start wasn’t too bad, just a couple of people got into turn one too hot and I got bottled in. I think Dovi came across in front of me in turn four and I was just glad to stay on the bike. I never even saw him. After that happened we just had to pluck away and not get ahead of ourselves. We rode well but just needed to be up there in the first four turns. I rode as fast as I could; it was tough to pass out there as we couldn’t get it done on the straight so we had to figure out some different spots. I was happy to be able to do that and still run good pace at the end.”

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“It's a shame; I thought I could reduce my gap with Casey at Indy but since the first practice I have had many problems with the asphalt and the front tyre. I've tried everything with my team to fix it, but we couldn't. After four or five laps the front tyre was destroyed. I saw the other three front riders and their tyres were perfect. I don't know if it was because of the track and I’m not the only one complaining. Now the Championship is much more complicated, but hope is the last thing you can lose. Next weekend we ride again at Misano, I looking forward to forgetting this result."

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Yamaha paint Indianapolis front row red and white

Local hero Spies continued to impress with the strong form in evidence from the beginning of the weekend. The qualifying session saw him quickly up to impressive speed. Despite repeatedly breaking under the pole time for the first two splits Spies was unable to topple Casey Stoner from the top spot so will start from second place for the race.

Reigning World Champion Lorenzo finally made a breakthrough mid-qualifying after struggling for the first three sessions to find a competitive set up on the newly surfaced Indianapolis track. A big set up change to his YZR-M1 with less than half the session to go changed his fortunes, allowing him to climb quickly up to third behind his team mate with two quick laps in succession. Lorenzo will now use the valuable warm up time tomorrow morning to test the consistency of the set up before the race.

Ben Spies: 

“It was good today, we didn’t have a fast lap in the end but we got on the front row. We did over 30 laps on a set of tyres and went quite quick at the end, still able to do 39s which is good. The last couple of laps we tried our hardest to catch Casey but with five minutes to go I think I ripped my tank spacer off that holds me back on the bike which didn’t help. I wasn’t disappointed as I knew we had a gap to fourth so we’d be on the front row. It wasn’t the perfect session and Casey was just too fast. I think the race will be different; the tyres will be pretty greasy after ten laps but my bike’s working really well on used tyres so we’ll see what happens.”

Jorge Lorenzo: 

“Qualifying was much better than the other three practices so far this weekend. I improved a lot and had a lot more confidence with the front, we changed one bike completely which worked. We are much more confident for tomorrow now. I would like to be closer to Casey, but seven tenths is better than one second and a half. It’s going to be a very tough race for everybody. The front tyre, especially on the left side is graining from the fourth lap so it’s going to be a complicated ride. Let’s see what happens.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Ben Spies attacks at the Brickyard

The Texan delivered an impressive performance in front of his home crowd, topping the timesheets in the morning session with a 1’43.260. The afternoon session saw the grip levels improve dramatically, allowing Spies to take nearly two and a half seconds off his time and record a best of 1’40.918. He led for the majority of the session, only dropping to second at the end, a mere 0.194 from provisional pole.

Jorge Lorenzo had a difficult start to the day along with the majority of the MotoGP grid, struggling to find grip on the newly resurfaced Indianapolis track. The 125cc and Moto2 classes helped to increase the grip level over the lunchtime period and some key set up changes by the team brought the World Champion out fighting in the second session. Lorenzo was straight up into the top three and was the only rider to contest the fastest spot with his team mate for most of the session. He ended the second session in fourth position, 0.737 from the front.

Ben Spies: 

“I feel a lot better now, almost ok but when I’m off the bike I’m more in pain which is frustrating. It was a good start today, the first session I was waiting to see if the track was going to stay the same but in the end in the afternoon it improved a lot. We were able to be in the top three in both sessions which is great. The track is going to get even better for tomorrow so we're looking forward to making another step forward and seeing what we can do.”

Jorge Lorenzo: 

"I started today struggling with the new asphalt. The morning was not good, but FP2 was much better and my feeling was really good. I've got grip on the rear now but I still have some problems with the front. I think we can still improve a lot in some parts. Ben is riding very, very well and it means I can be closer. I will try tomorrow to be at the same level as him.”

Yamaha Factory Racing press release

Spies holds off Stoner and Edwards

A clear and sunny day opened the first practice session for the premier class upon their return to the United States, with a newly paved track welcoming them to the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix weekend. While lap times would be expected to be quicker thanks to the resurfacing, it seems the track was slightly dirty and still needs a bit more rubber the help with the grip.

Last year’s pole man and second place race finisher Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) took the top spot with 18 minutes remaining, after progressing through the ranks at the beginning of the session to post a final time of 1’43.260.

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) had moved into the lead with a minute and half remaining with a lap of 1'43.552, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Spies, and the Australian finished the session sandwiched between two Americans on Yamaha’s when Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) stepped into third with a time of 1’43.574.

San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli is fresh off his first premier class podium in Brno and full of confidence. The rider’s time of 1’43.582 put him fourth in the timings, but the Italian had led much of the practice session.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) was the third American in the top five times, his lap of 1’44.236 was 0.126s ahead of his team mate Valentino Rossi. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) was sixth fastest with a time of 1’44.551, followed by Mapfre Aspar rider Héctor Barberá and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) in ninth.

Last year’s Indianapolis race winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) placed tenth in the session with a time of 1’45.192 after entering his box several times in the practice.

MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion ab Motoracing) had an issue with his machine on the first lap, the Czech rider was able to rejoin the session but had another mechanical problem and retired to his box in the remaining 5 minutes.

Yamaha: No official team orders

The Factory Yamaha team will not impose any 'official' team orders, in an attempt to help Jorge Lorenzo's flagging 2011 MotoGP title hopes.

Heading into this weekend's Indianapolis round, Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner has built a 32 point lead over Lorenzo, whose team-mate Ben Spies is 109 points from the top in sixth. There are seven rounds and a potential 175 points remaining.

Earlier in the year, Lorenzo indicated that he felt team orders were appropriate if only one rider in a team was fighting for the title.

"If your partner can help you - and they are not fighting for the championship - we are a team, no?" said the reigning champion. "Our salary is coming from our brand, so the partner should help you if it is possible. 

"MotoGP is not like soccer, but it is still a team and success for the brand is very important."

With Spies finishing in front of Lorenzo just once this season - during his debut MotoGP victory at Assen, where Lorenzo was knocked down on the opening lap - the question of team orders might sound academic.

But Spies outperformed Lorenzo as a satellite Yamaha rider in front of his home fans at Indianapolis last year, qualifying on pole and finishing second to Dani Pedrosa in the race.

The Texan is therefore expected to be in victory contention again this season, but Lorenzo - third at Indy last year - should expect no 'official' favours.

"We've never given official team orders and have no plans to do so!" a Factory Yamaha team spokesman told Crash.net. "I'm sure you remember Motegi last year!"

At last year's Japanese GP, title leader Lorenzo and then team-mate Valentino Rossi - out of championship contention - battled ferociously for third place, which eventually went to Rossi following contact between the pair.

After the race, Lorenzo and his side of the garage felt the level of resistance offered by Rossi had been disproportionate.

"Valentino took too many risks and touched Jorge a couple of times, which should not have happened when Jorge is fighting for the championship," said Lorenzo's team manager Wilco Zeelenberg.

Meanwhile Stoner, winner of six races this year, is firmly against team orders of any kind.

"I don't think there should ever really be team orders," said Stoner. "It's not football. You're not all on the same team, playing for the same thing. We're each our own person."