Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo continued his unbroken premier class podium run at Jerez for the third year running today, taking second in the Grand Prix of Spain. Starting from pole, Lorenzo initially dropped to third, then swiftly moved up to second by lap three behind race leader Casey Stoner. The gap never grew to more than a second, then closed to just over 0.2 seconds in the last laps. Unfortunately by this point the soft front tyre choice left Lorenzo unable to make a pass. He crossed the line 0.947 seconds behind Stoner, taking 20 Championship points and as a result heads to Estoril leading the Championship by four points with a total of 45.

Ben Spies suffered a second disappointing race today, despite starting well the Texan was unable to find a good feeling from the front end of his M1 and was cautious to push to hard and risk a fall. He took the same result as in Qatar, finishing in 11th to take a further five Championship points, bringing his total to ten and 11th in the standings.

The Monster Energy Yamaha – YART team will enter the 35th “Coca Cola Zero” Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Road Race at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan on July 26th-29th. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, currently competing for the Yamaha YSP Racing Team in the pinnacle JSB1000 class of the All Japan Road Race Championships, will join forces with Japanese rider Noriyuki Haga and British rider Tommy Hill, both of the Swan Yamaha Team.

Competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours for the 10th time, Haga is a well-known rider in Europe and is putting his sharp riding skills to the test in the British Superbike Championship this season. Joining him as the youngest member of this ‘dream team’ is 2011 British Superbike Champion Tommy Hill who will be competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours for the first time.

The 76th edition of the Bol d’Or at Magny Cours in France signaled the start of the 2012 Endurance World Championship last weekend. A strong Yamaha presence on the starting grid included proven race winners Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani (Monster Energy Yamaha YART) and David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matthieu Lagrive (Yamaha GMT94 Michelin Yamalube). YART rider Jerman took his slick-shod YZF-R1 to the limit in the final three hours of the race, battling the damp conditions and GMT94 to take a hard-fought podium spot with third. The timesheets revealed an impressive run from the Yamaha rider, running nearly four seconds a lap faster than the closest competitors at the end.

Three R1 teams where competing in the top five throughout the 24 hour race with the closing stages witnessing an intense battle between Monster Energy Yamaha and GMT94. Spanish entrants Yamalube Folch Endurance also put in a strong performance to finish fifth while GMT94, led by Christophe Guyot, eventually took fourth after losing some of their optimum racing speed.

In the Superstock class the Belgian Yamaha DG Sport Herock team with riders Didier Van Keymeulen, Alex Cudlin and Gianluca Vizziello finished just off the podium with a respectable fourth.

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo wrapped up the final pre-season test of 2012 today in Jerez with an impressive 84 laps covered. Lorenzo spent almost the entire day as the only rider to drop under the 1’39 mark, with rival Casey Stoner joining him to lead by 0.173 seconds in the last moments of the session. The Mallorcan delivered an impressive race simulation, showing his trademark lap time consistency over the distance.

Team mate Ben Spies also covered some distance, putting in 61 laps as he worked on final set up solutions for his 1000cc YZR-M1. The Texan ends the test as the fourth fastest rider, 0.715 seconds from the front. Spies also worked on a race simulation earlier in the test and was satisfied with a competitive pace.

The MotoGP paddock now moves to Qatar where the first race will be played out under the floodlights in the desert on the 8th April. With the gap to their rivals much closer than last year in testing, both Yamaha riders are keen to line up on the grid and get the season started.

With anticipation building ahead of the start of the new 1000cc MotoGP World Championship era in 2012, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team unveiled its exciting new livery at the Jerez circuit in Spain. Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso showed off the new design, incorporating the instantly recognisable logo of title sponsor Monster Energy, on the eve of the final pre-season test session, which commences in Jerez tomorrow (Friday).

British rider Crutchlow and Italian Dovizioso have enjoyed a successful pre-season campaign so far, with both posting fast and competitive times during two test sessions at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

The impressive performance of the new Yamaha YZR-M1 1000cc machine means Dovizioso and Crutchlow are both optimistic they can fight for top five finishes when the new sea son gets underway in Qatar on April 8.

Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha star Andrea Dovizioso is now primed to continue his training activities and indulge further in his first hobby after taking delivery of a renowned Yamaha Rinaldi Research and Development (YRRD) kit for his 2012 YZ250F last week.

The soon-to-be 26 year old – who finished 3rd in the 2011 MotoGP World Championship and who has only dropped out of the top five twice in ten seasons of Grand Prix road racing in three categories – took in the action at the Mantova Starcross MX International two weeks ago and then travelled to Parma to the factory Monster Energy Yamaha MX Team’s workshop managed by Team Owner, former world champion and motocross legend Michele Rinaldi (pictured).

“I’m really passionate about the world of motocross and I try to get to see the world championship events as much as possible,” the former 125cc World Champion said. “When I first tried the ‘12 YZ250F I liked it a lot because I found the chassis allowed me to be very precise and it felt very stable on the front end. I am very excited to try the special cylinder head, camshafts and other YRRD bits because you always want a little bit more power on a 250. The YZ250F is enough for me though in a training moto of thirty minutes and regular intensity.”

“I love to jump – not like supercross, but really big jumps – and riding in the sand is OK but I don’t have the training to have complete control in this terrain.”

Dovizioso has been a regular at MXGPs in the last few years, once famously driving several hundred kilometres the day after the TT Assen to be seen at Teutschenthal for the Motocross Grand Prix of Germany. The Italian does not plan to stop his spectating habits: “For sure I want to go again! I have to check the calendar and see where the dates are good but, when I can, I will get there. For me it is great to be with Yamaha because I can really enjoy the two sports I love most in my life; to be able to ride motocross and be able to race in MotoGP is a dream.”

As he picked up the package of YRRD racing components that augment the performance and potential of the famed YZ technology ‘Dovi’ admitted that his love of dirt-bikes extends to something beyond fun. “I can’t train as much as I want with a motocross bike but when I am home I reckon I am out once a week. I do most of my physical training in the gym but it [MX] helps. Riding motocross is something else completely to a street bike, but I see a difference in the riders who don’t train with motocross in terms of their feeling. It helps you be more sensitive to the race bike sliding. Overall though I love the whole thing, looking after the bike, getting it in the van, riding with friends.”

YRRD, a programme of Yamaha Motor Europe (YME) is the specialist supplier of official racing parts for Yamaha YZ motocross machinery, formed in the early 1990s when YME joined forces with former World Motocross Champion Michele Rinaldi. YRRD parts are developed by a team of expert racing engineers. Each year the racing kits are carefully adapted to the latest YZ model line up using the experience from teams and riders racing from national level to Grand Prix.

The 2012 range of YRRD Racing Parts kits have been fully tested and evaluated by Yamaha MX1 and MX2 riders in the intense heat of world championship competition.

The 2012 YRRD Racing Parts line-up includes components for the YZ450F, YZ250F and two-stroke YZ125 and these are available through official Yamaha (off-road) dealers that can also provide further information and guidance. To learn more click here: www.yamaha-racingparts.com

Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo were back in action today for the second of three days of testing at the Sepang International circuit in Malaysia. The Yamaha Factory riders took advantage of another day of mixed weather to test out the wet settings of the 1000cc YZR-M1 for the first time. A dry morning’s riding saw both make big improvements on yesterday’s dry times, wrapping up the day in first and second respectively.

Spies used today’s sessions to focus on set ups on the wet and the dry whilst team mate Lorenzo concentrated on refining the power delivery of his M1 with throttle and engine control. Tomorrow will mark the final day of testing for the MotoGP riders here in Sepang.

Yamaha is very pleased to announce that it has become an official Partner of the 2012 Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship.

Following on from back to back MX2 championship wins in 2010 and 2011 with British-based team Bike-It Cosworth Yamaha riders Zach Osborne and Arnaud Tonus respectively, Yamaha has decided that the time is right to increase its involvement with the sport.

Yamaha UK’s Marketing Co-ordinator, Karl Radley said “We are really pleased to be able to become a partner for the British Motocross championship. Having been the recipients of the manufacturers MX2 title for the last two years, we felt that it was time to offer support to the championship.” He went on to say “The UK is renowned for generating some of the most hotly contested domestic racing in the world and we want to play a more active part in that success by supporting the series.”