INSIDERTe racing issue | July 2015 IN THIS ISSUE
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INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING rookie reVelation
The 2015 MXGP series could have come attached with a ‘Expect the Unexpected’ slogan thanks to the best and deepest line-up in the premier class in recent memory taking to the gate for the eighteen round and four continent FIM World Championship. While the action has been nothing short of gripping on the track it has also been unpredictable at the heart of the Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube team with ‘rookie’ Romain Febvre taking four Grand Prix wins in the middle phase of the season and rising to the position of red-plate holder as MXGP standings leader; the frst time a YZ450FM racer had managed
8 the feat since 2008. 9 Jeremy Van Horebeek, runner-up in 2014, found his frst podium trophy of the season by the time of round eleven after recovering from a broken foot and a two-race absence. Febvre caused a major stir with his speed and a frst MXGP triumph at his home GP in France and in the yellow of Yamaha’s 60th anniversary celebrations in Italy a week later for a golden period for the team and the birth of a new star. He won four GP’s back-to-back and clinched his frst double moto victory last weekend in Uddevalla.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING dream team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi started the MotoGP season as the championship leader after a win at the frst round in Qatar and hasn’t relinquished his crown since. He has stood on the podium at every round so far and holds the lead in the championship from his teammate by ten points. Jorge Lorenzo had a more challenging start to the year but always kept his fghting spirit. Once he had a breakthrough in Jerez, it opened the foodgates and the victories kept on coming. He has written four victories to his name to date and has broken the record of 10 consecutive laps led in the 11 premier class.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING 12 13
Yellow was the new blue in Maggiora. The MX Grand Prix of Italy marked the 60th anniversary of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. and Yamaha Motor Europe didn’t let the opportunity slip away retro to celebrate this landmark. It put on a big show both on and of track by revealing the 2016 YZ450F and YZ250F models and introducing a special retro livery. The new colour sheme received a lot of attention, partly thanks to rookie Romain raCinG Febvre who put in the spotlight when he rode the bright yellow bike to a second consecutive GP victory in the premier class.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING in the spotliGht The Milwaukee Yamaha team is living up to the media hype.
Josh Brookes left the international media in awe when he rode the to BSB regulations adapted YZF-R1 to a podium fnish at its debut in the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship. He followed this spectacular performance by securing double podiums at the next three rounds, making expectations run high when he arrived at Knockhill.
The Australian didn’t fail to deliver come race day and claimed two third places. He holds second in the standings 14 15 just 35 points from the championship leader. His teammate Broc Parkes has had a more difcult start to his debut in the championship, but his perseverance is paying of. He has found a good basis to work on and has shown improvements at every single session.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING dazzlinG debuts Standing Construct Yamaha brought the talents of Valentin Guillod and Julien Lieber into blue for 2015 with the YZ250F and the Belgian used the potency of the motorcycle to take a frst career podium fnish at the season-opener in Qatar. Guillod made a solid and steady start to the season but by round six in Spain the Swiss was fying; victories would fall at Talavera and then right afterwards in Great Britain. The ‘92’ machine has been a joy to watch, full of scrubs, ficks and superb handling this term. Kemea Yamaha’s work with Grand Prix rookies Brent Van Doninck and Benoit Paturel has been exceptional and the debutants have regularly been threatening the top ten of the leader board.
16 17
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING Josh Coppins
18 Still full gas 19
Josh Coppins is one of Yamaha’s best MX Grand Prix riders of the modern era. The Kiwi concluded his career three years ago, after almost twenty years of competing at the highest level. He now puts his attention to former team CDR Yamaha in Australia and the Yamaha New Zealand racing project, which he told us all about at the Grand Prix of Europe in Holland.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING Great impaCt Yamaha’s resurgent presence in the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup comes courtesy of the high performance YZF-R1M, with the main thrust coming from the French-based MRS Yamaha Team. After six of eight rounds Kev Coghlan is sitting in ffth place overall after some strong rides, including a podium place of third frst time out at Motorland Aragon. Coghlan has scored no result lower than sixth and in the past few races he has been fully in contention for more podium fnishes to add to his Spanish success.Injury for his team-mate Florian Marino has had an efect on his season at times but other YZF-R1M riders have also pitched in with positive results, including sixth-placed Jeremy Guarnoni (Team Trasimeno) who had a personal high point of a fourth place at Donington Park. 20 21
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING Claim to Fame Returning to international enduro competition for 2015, this year’s FIM Enduro World Championship has been full of excitement.
Yamaha France’s supported rider Marc Bourgeois wasted no time to race the brand back into the limelight with a closely fought second place in the Enduro 1 class on the very frst day of the championship in Chile, South America. Wrestling with a few injuries in Portugal, Bourgeois was once again on song at round four in Greece and tied for the
22 runner-up result on day one. 23
For Team Yamaha Miglio’s Cristobal Guerrero, the EWC has also yielded its share of success. Favouring the dry and dusty terrain of his home race in Spain, Guerrero demonstrated the capabilities of the all-new WR250F in deteriorating conditions and climbed onto the third step of the podium each day.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING 24 25
The FIM Women’s World Championship is heading for another thrilling and fascinating fnale with just two points dividing Yamaha’s Kiara Fontanesi and Livia Lancelot with only one round of the six-race competition to go at the Czech Republic at the end of July. The Loket circuit was also doWn to the setting of the series fnale in 2014 with the same participants. Fontanesi triumphed that day and is now hoping for a similar outcome on her YZ250F after her immaculate 1-1 performance in Germany recently for the penultimate meeting brought a fourth consecutive crown within the Wire touching distance.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING Fast and Furious Only the toughest racers are cut out to participate in the FIM Endurance World Championship.
26 27 Despite rider David Checa being injured and his GMT94 Yamaha teammates Kenny Foray and Mathieu Gines riding double stints to reduce his exertion, the reigning World Champions rode their brand-new YZF-R1 to a solid ffth at the opening round in Le Mans. The prestigious and challenging 24H hours Moto didn’t deliver as consistent results for the Monster Energy Yamaha YART. The Austrian team, consisting of Max Neukirchner, Sheridan Morais and Ivan Silva, showed the Yamaha YZF-R1’s huge potential by setting a new endurance lap record during qualifying at the Bugatti Circuit of 1’36.578, more than a second quicker than their nearest rival. They continued to impress in the race where they were contenders for the victory until halfway, but were unable to fnish the race.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING no limits Hélder Rodrigues was a man on a mission during the Rallye de Tunisie 2015.
Even 1437 km of treacherous dunes and unbearable heat and sand storms couldn’t stop him and his WR450F from winning four out of the fve stages. He claimed the overall victory on the 30th of May with an impressive 2h20m22 s advantage to the rider in second place! Fellow Yamaha Racing Yamalube rider Alessandro Botturi also rode a strong race and fnished.
28 29
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING 30 31
Yamaha Laglisse’s Carmelo Morales is turning heads in the Superbike class of the FIM CEV Repsol International Championship. He started the season strong with a 2-1 at the frst two races Full in Portimão, but still saw room for improvement. He and his team worked hard over the next seven weeks to be ready to face the competition once more in Catalunya. The hard work paid of; he won the race with an impressive 8.261s advantage over his closest rival and currently throttle holds a nine points lead in the overall standings.
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To say that Lorenzo is in great shape is an understatement. After a difcult start to the season, he arose like a phoenix from the ashes at the fourth round in Jerez and delivered a master class victory, sealing his 55th career win. One victory was all it took; the Spaniard has been untouchable ever since and expanded his winning streak to four consecutive GP victories and counting. Out of his now 58 win, 37 were with Yamaha. motoGp C V o R a m i l c e u 224 RACES a n n r c d i i t o a a WORLD Twin Ring Motegi n t 71 WINS T a o CHAMPIONSHIP r m 32 2 WINS 141 PODIUMS o 33 Ph 46 POLES illip Isl and Misano 222 World Circuit 2013 Marco Simoncelli GRAND PRIX CONTESTED IN TOTAL motoGp
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INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING amazing Yamaha were able to relish the skills and speed of JGR duo Weston Peick and Justin Barcia in the AMA 450SX Championship this year but it was in the 250SX West Coast series where the superlative development of teenager Cooper Webb really caught the eye. Webb’s team-mate in the Star Racing Yamaha Yamalube team, Jeremy Martin, used the YZ250F to win the motocross championship the previous year and Webb seized the same qualities of the race machinery to decimate the West Coast contest and claim the brand’s frst SX title in the category since 2008. Martin gained podium results and a victory on the East Coast but Webb only missed the box seven times and took the chequered fag on six occasions to continue Star’s grip on the
36 American 250 scene. 37
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING ups & doWns The 2015 IDM*Superbike International German Championship season has been a rollercoaster ride for Team Yamaha MGM. Max Neukirchner claimed multiple podiums and rode the brand- new YZF-R1M to its frst IDM Superbike victory at the third round staged at the Lausitring. It looked like the German was going to repeat his success at the Nürburgring, but an unfortunate crash in the frst race brought an end to his title chase.
The team planned on carrying on their challenge to the top by turning their full attention to teammate Damian Cudlin but - unlike lightning - misfortune struck at the same place twice. Cudlin sufered a small crash during QP1 at Hungaroring and sustained a shoulder injury prohibiting him to compete in the ffth round.
In the IDM STK class Mathieu Gines who’s the man to beat. After scoring two second places at the frst round, he and his YZF-R1M were unmatched at the Lausitzring and Zolder, claiming two double victories. He added two wins at the second race at the Nürburgring and the frst race at the Hungaroring, which put him in the lead of the championship standings with a 20 point 38 advantage over second place. 39
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING deFYinG GraVitY Great result from Clinton Moore and Tom Pagès in the Red Bull X-Fighters!
The two Yamaha riders were neck and neck in two epic fghts for victory at the rounds in Mexico City and Athens. Moore claimed victory twice on his YZ250 but the season is far from over. There are still three more rounds to go and Pages is heating things up. He is right behind Moores in the championship standing with a 20 points disadvantage and his superb win at the X Games in Austin
certainly didn’t hurt his confidence. Photography: Red Bull Content Pool
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INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING blue rules The 2015 season has now passed the midway stage and so far Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Superbike teammates Josh Hayes and Cameron Beaubier have called all the shots in the MotoAmerica AMA Superbike class. Hayes currently
42 leads by four points from Beaubier after winning seven out 43 of the twelve races ridden so far. The other fve races were claimed by Beaubier, and Yamaha is also dominating in other classes. The Superstock 1000 and Supersport category both see three Yamahas forming the top three. RoadRace Factory’s Jake Gagne has a 17 points advantage over his nearest STK rival, while Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves’s JD Beach has frmly grasped the SS lead by 44 points.
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING stars and speed
44 Valentino Rossi is going from strength to strength. 45 Fresh of the podium after a sensational win in Assen, he hurried to the United Kingdom to make his debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The Italian was personally invited by Lord March to make an appearance at the star-studded event that included many celebrities, Formula 1 drivers and motorsport legends such as Giacomo Agostini, Phil Read, and Kenny Roberts. Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. took the occasion to celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary with a special livery YZR-M1, ridden by the Doctor, to celebrate their racing heritage and thank the thou-
Yamahasands Lofaglisse’s attending Carmelo race fans Morales for their is support andto interest. be ready to face the competition once turning heads in the Superbike class of the more in Catalunya. The hard work paid Full FIM CEV Repsol International Championship. of; he won the race with an impressive He started the season strong with a 2-1 at 8.261s advantage over his closest rival and the frst two races in Portimão, but still saw currently holds a nine points lead in the throttle room for improvement. He and his team overall standings. worked hard over the next seven weeks
INSIDER RACING INSIDER RACING 46
New Yamaha YZF-R3. Warm Up.
Enjoy pure YAMAHA Supersport DNA with the NEW YZF-R3. The aggressive dual headlight fairing and the aerodynamic bodywork will make adrenaline start running through your body. The 320cc inline twin cylinder engine is perfect to satisfy your racing instinct, and the slim and light chassis makes the R3 agile and sporty. It will warm you up for pure excitement! Yamaha R3. Warm Up.
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