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

Title chase no influence on Motegi decision, says Jorge Lorenzo

Jorge Lorenzo has brushed off suggestions he will have to race at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan next month to have any hope of retaining the MotoGP world title.

Lorenzo’s brilliant victory in Misano last weekend cut Casey Stoner’s series lead to 35-points with five races remaining after the Aussie faded to third with severe fatigue.

But Lorenzo said the title run-in would have zero impact on his decision on whether to race in the re-scheduled Japanese Grand Prix on October 2.

The factory Yamaha rider has expressed major reservations about racing in Japan because of the circuit’s proximity to the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was badly damaged when a devastating earthquake struck the Far East nation in March.

The world’s top riders, including Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Stoner, have still to come out in public and say whether they will ride at the Twin Ring Motegi or boycott the event.

But triple world champion Lorenzo said his judgement would be made on personal rather than professional grounds.

He said: "My decision on Japan is not going to be based on the championship. If I am really convinced to go then I will go. If I am not I don’t care about the championship because as I said always this year my first priority is my health."

Yamaha confirmed to MCN recently that it will still participate in the Motegi round even if Lorenzo or team-mate Ben Spies fail to attend. It is understood its Japanese test riders are on standby in case they are required.

source: MCN

Pictures: Jorge Lorenzo Misano 2011

source: motoblog.it

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

Lorenzo: One of the best days of my career!

Jorge Lorenzo kept his MotoGP title defence alive with his third victory of the season at Misano on Sunday.

Heading into the San Marino Grand Prix 44 points behind pole sitter Casey Stoner, Lorenzo snatched the lead at turn one and led to the finish. 

Stoner lurked menacing behind the Yamaha rider for the first half of the race, but the jet-lagged Australian dropped back thereafter and was passed by his own Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.

That meant a nine-point gain for Lorenzo, who is now 35 points behind with five rounds and 125 points remaining.

"Today has been an incredible day for us. I have delivered a good race; it was a very tough and long one. Most importantly we have won again and also reduced a little bit our gap to Casey," said Lorenzo.

“The team have done a great job and all the weekend we have been so quick. I had a great bike and a great feeling in the corners. I really wanted to be first in the first lap to try and open a gap but I was really worried about the situation of the weather so I prayed for it to not rain. 

"I expected a hard fight with Casey but fortunately for me he lost a bit of pace mid-race and I could win again. This is a big result for me and for Yamaha and it is great to be back and win again. This is very important.”

Lorenzo was joined on the podium by three time 500cc world champion Wayne Rainey. Rainey made an emotional return to Misano this weekend, 18 years on from his career-ending accident.

"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," said Lorenzo, who then revealed he will have his second ride Yamaha's 1000cc bike on Monday.

"Tomorrow we will try the 1000cc Yamaha again; I am looking forward to riding my future bike," said Lorenzo, adding: "This has been one of the best days of my career!"

Team manager Wilco Zeelenberg commented: "Jorge was pushing it to the limit but he knew he would have to do that to still have a chance at the Championship. It was good that Dani came in between to give us some extra bonus points. We need to keep on winning now!”

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 returns to victory in San Marino

It was Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner who looked like he would take the lead in turn one, but defending World Champion Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) fought back and moved to the front in the first corner, holding onto the lead position until crossing the finish line to take his third win of 2011 and reducing the gap to Stoner in the Championship lead to 35 points.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) was third off the start, a deviation from his usual hole shot into the first corner, the Spaniard gradually gaining ground on his team mate until he over took the Australian on lap 22, to cross the line second. In an unusual bout of fatigue, Championship leader Stoner was unable to retaliate and finished the race in third.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) fell back to seventh on the start, then made his way back through the pack up to fourth, where he then engaged in a tussle with his rival Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), emerging ahead of his fellow countryman on the last lap to take fourth. Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), whose poor start saw the American drop to seventh on the second lap, caught the dueling Italians and looked capable and prepared to make the pass into fourth, but instead got baulked in the final corner to finish sixth behind Dovizioso.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) had a terrific start from his 11th place on the grid, moving up into fifth by lap two, until Simoncelli got ahead of him on lap four and Spies passed him on lap 15. The seven time premier class Champion completed the race in seventh, ahead of Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) who fulfilled his fourth top ten finish of the season.

Mapfre Aspar rider Héctor Barberá achieved his sixth top ten finish of the season with ninth place, ahead of Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who ended his challenging weekend the final finisher in the top ten, just over two seconds in front of Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini).

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) crashed out of the race on lap three, while Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) retired to the pits early in the race with tire problems.

source: MotoGP official website

Lorenzo: I can fight Stoner for victory

Having lost 29 points to MotoGP title leader Casey Stoner over the last three races, Jorge Lorenzo is confident he can take on the Repsol Honda rider in Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix.

Stoner and Lorenzo will start first and second on the Misano grid, having been separated by just 0.120sec in qualifying. Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa will complete a front row covered by 0.180sec.

"Today has been a good day for us. We wanted pole position but the first row is a good start for tomorrow," said Lorenzo. "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," he warned.

Team-mate Ben Spies had a more challenging session, which ended with fourth on the grid, but 0.809sec from pole. 

“It was honestly a lot tougher than expected this afternoon," confessed Spies. "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. “

source: crash

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

Stoner regains the lead in Misano qualifying

Casey Stoner set out into the afternoon qualifying session intent on taking pole position for the San Marino race on Sunday, and not only achieved his goal but broke his own lap record set in 2008 with a lap time of 1’33.138.

Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo made a late push for the pole after leading the majority of the session, but missed out on the top spot by 0.120s to take second beside Championship leader Stoner. Last year’s pole man and race winner Dani Pedrosa’s time of 1’33.318 gave him the final spot on the front row.

Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), who started from fifth last year and finished the race sixth, will start his Yamaha YZR-M1 at the head of the second row after posting a time of 1’33.947. The American is joined by Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), whose time of 1'33.990 landed him fifth, while Andrea Dovizioso of Repsol Honda takes the sixth spot on the end of row two.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) heads the third row, with Álvaro Bautista,whose eighth place start is his best yet of the season, joining American. Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar ) who finished ninth and was the first non-factory Ducati last year in the MotoGP race at Misano, qualified ninth to complete row three.

Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) completed the top ten riders, while Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) follows in 11th, 1.538s off the pole position time set by Stoner.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) had a crash when pushing hard at the end of the qualifying session, ending up 13th on the grid just behind Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), while Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) had a crash early in the qualifying practice, falling just after posting the sixth fastest time. The French rider ended the session in 14th place, ahead of ahead of Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) in 15th.

source: MotoGP official website

Stoner steps it up in FP3

In slightly cooler weather than the day before, the premier class set out in the final practice outing before afternoon qualifying, with Casey Stoner leading the way with a best time of 1’33.567, the fastest lap of the weekend. The Australian improved his time by close to a second with his quickest time set on his fourth lap, and was 0.099s ahead of team mate Dani Pedrosa, who bettered his time by over half a second from the previous day.

The Yamaha Factory Racing team had smaller improvements, with Lorenzo bettering his previous time by less than a tenth, posting a time of 1’33.890 on lap eight of 22, while Ben Spies improved by slightly less than two tenths, placing him fourth in the field.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) made big strides jumping from tenth to fifth in the field, posting a time of 1’34.321, over one second faster than his best lap of Friday. The American was 0.099s ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) who improved by five tenths, while Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) stepped it up two tenths with a time of 1’34.60 to place him seventh.

Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar ) was the first Ducati in the times and eighth fastest of the field, while Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) moved from 15th to ninth in the times, ahead of Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) in tenth, whose small morning improvements to his Desmosedici GP11.1 moved him up from 13th in the timings.

source: MotoGP Official Website

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

Lorenzo leads day one in Misano

The hot and humid weather on the Adriatic coast produced rain drops in the final minutes of the session, but it held off long enough for all but one in the MotoGP field to better their times from the morning session. Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) topped the field with a 1’33.929 on lap ten of 22, bettering his time from the first practice outing by 1.213 seconds and the only rider to break below the 1’34 mark.

Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) made a run for the front with his best lap of 1’34.005, just missing the top spot by 0.076s to rank second for the day. The Australian out paced team mate and last year’s dominating man at Misano, Dani Pedrosa, by 0.200s .

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) improved his time by over half a second, posting a 1’34.444 to place him fourth in the combined times for the day. Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) was the only rider unable to improve his time from the morning session, posting a time one thousandth of a second slower in the afternoon meet, placing him fifth in the session and remaining fifth of the day.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) took the sixth spot with a time of 1'34.989, improving his earlier time by 0.153s, ahead of Rizla Suzuki’s Álvaro Bautista who suffered engine problems at the start of the session, but switched bikes and posted a time of 1'35.023 which was half a second quicker than his FP1 time.

Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar ) posted the eighth quickest time with a 1'35.111, 3 tenths better than his morning lap, while Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) ranked ninth of the day with a 1'35.282 lap time on his penultimate lap, an improvement of eight tenths.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) took the tenth spot of the day in the timings, Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) in 11th with a time of 1’35.331, 0.087s ahead of Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing).

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) was 13th, followed by Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Loris Capirossi (Pramac Racing) and Toni Elías (LCR Honda).

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.

Dovizioso on hunt for Lorenzo at Misano

Andrea Dovizioso is setting his sights firmly on securing a second podium on home soil at Misano as he continues his bid to close down Jorge Lorenzo in the overall standings.

The Italian slipped further behind Lorenzo with a fairly lacklustre run to fifth position at Indianapolis, but with just 25 points between the two heading to Misano, he feels he has plenty of time to make up lost ground and challenge for a runners-up spot.

For the moment, Dovizioso is confident he can shine at what will be his most local circuit of the season, the Repsol Honda man determined to add to his emotional Mugello rostrum finish.

“We arrive in Misano after a disappointing result in Indianapolis but we are determined to turn the page and return on the podium. The conditions in Indianapolis were very demanding but we managed to record our fastest time on the very last lap. This shows that we are fast and therefore we arrive in Misano stronger and with an extra motivation. 

“We are third in the Championship and this is the important point. We will continue fighting and we will give our best every race weekend, because we believe that second position in the World Championship is not impossible. 

“Last year in Misano I finished fourth behind Valentino. This year we want to take the next step and get the podium spot. I'm sure that with the experience gained this year, we can be strong at Misano. I don't live far from Misano and after the podium finish in Mugello I would love to have another good result in front of the Italian crowd.”

source: crash

Lorenzo's title hopes on the ropes

Looking to recover from a bad race in Brno, Jorge Lorenzo instead found himself on the back foot relative to MotoGP title leader Casey Stoner throughout the Indianapolis weekend.

Yamaha's reigning world champion never really found a set-up for the resurfaced track and struggled with front-tyre wear from as early as lap four of the race.

Third behind Stoner and his Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa for the first 16 laps, Lorenzo was caught and passed by team-mate Ben Spies, before just holding off third Repsol rider Andrea Dovizioso in the closing stages.

With Stoner winning his seventh race of the year, Lorenzo has now dropped 44 points behind the Australian with six rounds to go.

“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," confirmed Lorenzo.

"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."

source: crash.net