Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Maverick Viñales ended the Gran Premio d'Italia Oakley today with a strong performance. The Spaniard held firm at the front of the field to earn a second place, his fourth podium of the season over six races. His still recovering teammate Valentino Rossi had the passionate Italian crowds at the Autodromo del Mugello in a frenzy as he battled at the front of the field. He finished the race in fourth position.

Viñales had a good start from pole and slotted in behind his fellow Movistar Yamaha rider. After a few tussles with various rivals in the opening stages, he hit the front of the field on lap four and put his head down to get a bit of daylight between him and the chasing riders. Though he was unable to completely break away, he held on to the lead for ten laps, after which he had to let Andrea Dovizioso pass.

Small mistakes in turn 15 on lap 15 and in turn one on lap 17 caused the young contender to lose some time and he found himself in third place. However, Viñales refused to give up the fight and, with four laps to go, he took back second position and was on the hunt for Dovizioso, 1.215s ahead of him. He shaved off some time in the last few laps, but decided to abort his mission on the home stretch. He crossed the line in second place, 1.281s from first, scoring valuable points for the championship.

The Repsol Honda riders had quite a challenging time at the Italian Grand Prix today. Marc Marquez struggled to manage front-tyre life for the entire race and settled for bringing home 10 solid points, finishing in sixth place. Dani Pedrosa also struggled a lot with the front tyre and was trying to obtain the best result possible when he crashed out of 11th position on the last lap, unintentionally taking down fellow Honda rider Cal Crutchlow.

Continue Reading

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi is declared fit to participate in this weekend's Gran Premio d'Italia Oakley.

Earlier this afternoon the nine-time World Champion underwent a routine medical check-up at the Autodromo del Mugello. VR46 fans from all over the world can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that FIM Medical Director, Dr Giancarlo Di Filippo, the Chief Medical Officer of the Mugello Circuit, Dr Remo Barbagli and the MotoGP Medical Director, Dr Angel Charte have found Rossi to be in a suitable condition to take part in his home Grand Prix, starting with tomorrow's free practice sessions.

Continue Reading

Yamaha reached the 500th Grand Prix victory milestone at the Grand Prix de France at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit. This exceptional achievement is a splendid occasion for Yamaha's racing stars of earlier years to celebrate the highlights of the company's 56-year run in Grand Prix racing.

Yamaha is proud to have reached the 500th Grand Prix milestone today at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit in France. This achievement has been reached through solid partnership and teamwork within the 'Yamaha family'.

Yamaha secured victories in the 125cc (47 wins), 250cc (165 wins), 350cc (63 wins), 500cc (120 wins), and MotoGP class (105 wins), adding up to 500 Grand Prix wins in total, according to FIM statistics.

Continue Reading

Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Viñales came out fighting, dominating the MotoGP field to take a sensational victory at the Grand Prix de France, sealing Yamaha’s 500th Grand Prix win. Valentino Rossi also showed a blistering pace in the French sunshine at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit. He was scrapping with his teammate in an epic podium battle for the win, but suffered an unlucky fall on the last lap.

Viñales was strong right from the beginning of the 28-lap French round. Starting from pole, he flew off the line to take the holeshot and slotted into second as he dived into turn 3, behind Johann Zarco. The Spaniard was on the case, shadowed by his teammate. With 22 laps Viñales made a textbook move on the satellite Yamaha rookie to take over the lead.

Now at the front, the Spaniard put the hammer down. He did everything in his power to escape from Zarco. He managed his pace to perfection and made sure he held on to his P1 position until he got in a fierce battle with a rapidly approaching Rossi, but the number 25 rider held firm. He was leading on the last lap, when the Doctor crashed out of the race, allowing him to bring his YZR-M1 over the finish line, 3.134s ahead of his closest rival.

Continue Reading

MotoGP could be going electric in just over two years, with a series planned to run alongside the established three classes at selected events from 2019.

Plans are still at a formative stage, and the current outline is for something of a novelty series – but Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta has now confirmed talks are already in progress with more than one interested supplier. Some reports suggest as many as four manufacturers are interested, but Ezpeleta has confirmed that it will be a one-make series with identical machines.

One aspect of the plan that has filled the paddock with doubt is Ezpeleta’s assertion that the riders will be drawn from MotoGP and Moto2 classes. Teams reacted with surprise at the notion that they would be prepared to release contracted riders to take part in an inevitably risky novelty race.

Continue Reading

Dani Pedrosa took a master-class victory at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España, starting from pole position, leading the race from the first corner to the chequered flag, and setting the race’s fastest lap on the way to taking his 30th win in MotoGP, the 53rd in his career.

In winning the 3,000th Grand Prix race ever held, Dani also earned the Repsol Honda Team’s 100th victory in the MotoGP class and became the only rider to have won at least one race for 16 consecutive years. Dani is now fourth in the Championship, with 52 points.

To complete a perfect weekend for the Repsol Honda Team, Marc Marquez scored a brilliant second-place finish after chasing his teammate for 27 laps. The reigning World Champion is now third in the standings with 58 points, just four down on the leader.

Tomorrow the Repsol Honda Team and a few other MotoGP teams will take part in a one-day post-race test.

Continue Reading

Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi secured a superb second place at the Circuit of The Americas (COTA). Teammate Maverick Viñales was on the move in the early stages, but a slide down the track in lap 2 prevented him from completing the race.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi showed an impressive pace in the Grand Prix of The Americas to claim his third consecutive podium finish of the season. Teammate Maverick Viñales was looking confident, but his race ended prematurely 20 laps before the end.

Rossi was strong out of the gates and settled into third position exiting the first corner. He chased Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa in the opening laps, careful not to let them clear off into the distance.

With 15 laps to go the Italian went wide in the first corner and got into a scrap with Johann Zarco. After a touch between the two Yamaha riders in turn 4, the Doctor was pushed wide, but he quickly rejoined the track and held on to third position.

Continue Reading

Incredibly, the only factory MotoGP bikes to score any points in the Argentina race were the Yamaha’s of Maverick Vinales and Valentino Rossi and the brand new Red Bull KTMs of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro, as Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Aprilia all crashed out or failed to finish.

Yet it wasn’t down to track conditions or tires, as the weekend saw the lowest number of crashes over a Grand Prix weekend since records began, with only 30 fallers across all three classes.

So what caused it all to go so wrong for the factory teams? Quite simply, pressure. MotoGP has never ever been as competitive as it currently is, as demonstrated by an incredible showing from staelite bikes, a whole host or riders at the front, and six manufacturers battling it out for top honors.

Continue Reading

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi stormed to their second consecutive double podium of the season in round two of the MotoGP World Championship at the Termas de Río Hondo Circuit.

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team gave an astounding performance in today’s Gran Premio Motul de la República Argentina, securing an immaculate 1-2 finish. Maverick Viñales was in a league of his own in the 25-lap sprint, as he flew from sixth on the grid to first place. Valentino Rossi was a man with a plan for his 350th Grand Prix start and was in hot pursuit, to ultimately secure a brilliant second place.

Viñales stormed off the line from the second row and soon muscled his way to third place, putting pressure on Cal Crutchlow in second. He attacked in turn 7 on lap 3 and soon after took over the lead as Marc Marquez crashed out of the race.

Continue Reading

Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall’lgna was angry when winglets were banned, so you can imagine his delight when his aerodynamicists showed him their latest work. The Ducati Desmosedici GP17’s so-called ‘hammerhead shark’ bodywork does what MotoGP engineers are supposed to do: push the rules to the very limit. And it does more than that. The radical design has had jaws dropping up and down pit lane because none of the other factories had expected anything like this.

The Ducati Desmosedici GP17’s upper fairing looks like an on-board stereo system, with the speakers missing. Ducati have cleverly worked their way around the rules to create four ‘wing’ surfaces in front of the handlebars.

Continue Reading