Talking to the Italian magazine, Rossi says “I think I can race at the top for another three years. Racing is the thing in my life that I love the best: it’s my passion, I don’t need any other motives.” Rossi is rumored to stay with Yamaha in 2011, and says that he’ll discuss his future in June. “To change, you have to think of going where you can feel better. For me it’s hard to think that there’s something better than Yamaha. Fans would be happy to see me in Ducati, but these decisions can’t be made by factoring in emotions,” says the Italian motorcycling god.

To us this looks like the most qualified speculation on what is better known as the MotoGP silly season. Reserved usually for later in the season, the rumors seems to be starting early simply because of how large of a force Rossi is in MotoGP racing. There’s still a long way to 2011 though, and the intense rivalry between Rossi and Lorenzo is just heating up. If we see a move by Fiat-Yamaha to further support Lorenzo, you can be certain to hear a change of tune from the Rossi side of the wall.

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The 22-year-old has spent the time recuperating at home in Barcelona and he has now been given the all-clear by his doctor to get back on his bike. The recovery has gone well and the hand is no longer swollen, but he needs to continue with physiotherapy in order to keep repairing the muscle around the break.

His doctor has confirmed that there is no risk to the broken bone from riding, but he will need to wait until testing starts in order to ascertain if he will be able to ride and use the brake at full strength.

This week’s test takes place on Thursday 18th and Friday 19th of March under the Qatar floodlights, the last test before the season starts in April.

Jorge Lorenzo
“Today we are leaving for Qatar for the last winter test. I think that it is important that we are there. The fracture happened less than five weeks ago, but we could not have missed this last test because it would have been negative for our preparation; we are not far from the first race of the season! The doctor has made a special carbon fiber protection and Dainese have modified my glove, in order to further protect the fracture, so we will see how we get on.”

Wilco Zeelenberg
“We are happy that Jorge will be back for this last pre-season test at Qatar! Of course we have had to miss a whole test but we are confident that we can make up for lost time because the 2010 bike has proved to be very competitive from the first time we have used it. We will have to wait to see how Jorge’s hand feels when he starts riding, but we do not take anything for granted. The doctors have prepared a special brace for the thumb, Dainese have prepared special gloves and also a modified handlebar grip has been produced. Yamaha will give him all the support and time he needs to return to full strength.”

For more discussion on Yamaha Racing go to link

While the FZ8 looks well and good, Yamaha has proven that a copy of a copy never carries over well. The FZ8 motor is in essence a smaller bored FZ1 motor, which is itself a de-tuned R1 powerplant. As such the Yamaha FZ8 puts out a solid 104hp, which may disappoint many riders. Torque lovers rejoice though, the 2010 Yamaha FZ8 makes an impressive 62lbs•ft of wheel turning power from its 779cc’s.

Yamaha insists the lack-luster top-end power is made up for with breakneck power lower down in the RPM range. Without riding one ourselves, we’ll have to take Yamaha’s word on that one, but considering the FZ6 puts out 96hp and 46lbs•ft of torque, we’d say the larger stroke motor is doing it’s job adequately by adding almost 50% more power to the middleweight street bike. For comparison, the FZ1 motor achieves a more similar torque figure to the FZ8, with 78lbs•ft coming out of its lump, albeit with nearly 50 more ponies under the hood.

The 2010 Yamaha FZ8 will start at €8,190 in the EU, and comes in white, blue, black color schemes. Check the photos out below, and the technical spec’s that follow them.

For more discussion on the Yamaha FZ8 go to link

The new fully-faired XJ6 Diversion F is also available in an ABS version, for riding in cold and wet weather. The machine is powered by a 600cc liquid-cooled parallel 4-cylinder engine, developing 57.0 kW (75.5PS) at 10,000 rpm and a peak torque of 59.7 Nm (6.1 kg-m) at 8,500 rpm.

Other highlights of the new model include a powerful t-disc braking setup for a secure stopping, lightweight cast wheels, large 41 mm diameter front forks and Monocross rear suspension, for better handling, as well as adjustable handlebars for an increased riding comfort.

Technical Highlights

* Engine type: Liquid-cooled, 4-stroke, forward-inclined parallel 4-cylinder, 4-valves, DOHC
* Displacement: 600 cc
* Maximum power: 57.0 kW (75.5PS) at 10,000 rpm
* Maximum torque: 59.7 Nm (6.1 kg-m) at 8,500 rpm
* Fuel System: Fuel injection
* Clutch type: Wet, multiple-disc
* Ignition system: TCI
* Starter system: Electric
* Transmission system: Constant mesh, 6-speed
* Fuel tank capacity: 17.0 liters
* Chassis: Steel, diamond shaped
* Easy-to-handle power delivery
* Lightweight cast wheels
* New full fairing for added wind protection

The XJ6 Diversion F is available in Viper Blue or Midnight Black color options.

For more discussion on the Yamaha XJ6 go to link

Race two saw a fiercely contested battle for points with both riders fighting off riders including Biaggi, Corser and others to stay within the top ten. Combined with a less than perfect set up on both bikes and struggling for grip the riders put in an incredible ride to bring their bikes home in the points, Crutchlow in ninth and Toseland tenth.

Crutchlow moves on to round two in Portimao in 12th position in the championship on seven points, team-mate Toseland sits just behind in 13th with six points.

Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 9th)
“Race one was unfortunate, I felt we had good pace and were running up in the top five quite comfortably, I just made a little mistake. I was a bit better than Rea into the hairpin so had to run wide to avoid him and lost the front on the dirt. The second race was hard, I felt like I had no grip from the start and still some chattering. If we had better grip we could have pulled more out of it. We need to go back to the drawing board and work some stuff out.”

James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (DNF, 10th)
“I really needed to finish the second race after the crash in the first. To only finish 14 seconds from the front with the issues we’ve had this weekend is not so bad. I was really disappointed with the first race, with my injury on Friday I wanted to have two good finishes today. Full credit to the team they’ve tried so hard but unfortunately we haven’t had the software here to solve the issue. We know what the problem is and I’ve given enough feedback and input to give the guys a direction to go in. We’ve got a lot of work to do, no doubt, but even with all the problems we’re not actually that far away. The package, the power, the balance and the suspension have come on leaps and bounds. On to Portimao now, it’s a long season so we can do it.”

Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“It was definitely a really tough weekend for us. We solved some problems, and some we still have to work on. As we spent the two day test and the first day of the race weekend resolving the chatter issue, qualifying and race day was our first opportunity to really test the 2010 bike set up. We’ve seen that we have the potential to do well so we will go home and start working on the solutions to be ready to fight for the Portimao races. The team have worked really hard over the last few days to try and solve the issues and both Cal and James have given 100% to meet the challenges.”

Phillip Island Circuit, Victoria, Australia
Circuit Length: 4.445
Weather: Windy
Lap Record: 1′32.402 (Troy Bayliss, 01/01/2006)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1′31.069 (Ben Spies, 01/03/2009)
Last Year’s Winner: Ben Spies
2010 WSB Australia – Phillip Island 28/02/2010

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The YS 250 Fazer has new, redesigned rear suspension and new instrumentation with LCD feature on the handlebars. The exhaust has also received an overhaul and it gets new graphics, but it’s still recognisable as coming from YBR stock. The price for the Brazilian market should be somewhere around the equivalent of 4,000 euros.

The Italian – who was quickest on Thursday and also at the first test at the track three weeks ago – was 0.247s seconds faster than the time he set to qualify on pole position for the 2009 Malaysian GP. The Fiat Yamaha rider was followed on the timesheet by Ducati Marlboro pair Casey Stoner (2’00.512) and Nicky Hayden (2’00.703), both of whom felt the benefit of the new engine in the Desmosedici GP10 prototype on which new swingarms were tested. Hayden’s time was an improvement of just over 1.5s on his Thursday best lap.

Making it three Yamahas inside the top five times were Monster Yamaha Tech3 pairing Colin Edwards and Ben Spies. The former overcame electronic problems from Thursday to post a best lap of 2’00.988 on Friday – the fourth and final rider of the test to come in under the 2’01” barrier – whilst rookie Spies’ time of 2’01.014 shows that he is already finding a superb level with his M1 as he prepares for his first full season in MotoGP in 2010. Spies completed a race simulation on the second day and was pleased with his consistently fast times.

The Rizla Suzuki team tested their new GSV-R engine for the first time at this test and veteran Loris Capirossi made progressive improvements across the two days to post a 2’01.320 on Friday, making him the sixth quickest of the two days. He tested a range of other aspects on the bike first tried three weeks earlier and rode just over 100 laps this time out.

Repsol Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa were seventh and eighth fastest respectively on their RC212V machines. Dovizioso enjoyed a productive two days and on the second went round in 2’01.439, whilst Pedrosa was 0.039s behind. The Spaniard experienced a fall on Thursday and was uninjured, returning to the track later in the day and working throughout Friday as well.

Rookie Hiroshi Aoyama made impressive strides throughout the two days, with the Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider ninth in the timings with a 2’01.692 set on Friday as he felt vast improvements on the RC212V. He was followed by fellow MotoGP debutant Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) who set a best time of 2’01.732, despite having hurt his arm the previous day in a slide.

Randy de Puniet of the LCR Honda team was the final rider to break the 2’02” mark with his 2’01.980, and was followed on the timesheet by Mika Kallio who completed the highest number of laps across the two days (just over 140).

Marco Melandri of the San Carlo Honda Gresini team continued to adapt to the RC212V, and rookies Héctor Barberá (Paginas Amarillas Ducati), and Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) – whose fall on Thursday had no ill effects – were all present as they amassed laps on their respective Desmosedici machines.

Another MotoGP debutant for this season, Marco Simoncelli of San Carlo Honda Gresini, suffered a crash early on Friday morning. The Italian had completed just two laps when he fell, cutting short his day’s work, and was taken to hospital as a precaution. Later in the day Simoncelli confirmed he was feeling better.

A notable absentee from this test was Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, who is still recuperating from a training accident which happened two weeks ago in which he injured his right hand.

You can see the full testing results from both days at Sepang here.

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Source: MotoGP

The Monster Yamaha Tech3 team ended the first day of the second test at Sepang in high spirits after a good display from riders Ben Spies and Colin Edwards. Riding their respective M1 machines the two riders came inside the top six times on Thursday, both showing improvements on their best laps from the first test three weeks earlier.

Continuing his learning process on board the MotoGP machine Spies’ time of 2’01.843 was the fifth quickest of day one, as the American carried on his learning process on board the MotoGP bike in ideal track conditions. Work on revised geometry settings to improve rear grip helped Spies get 42 laps under his belt, and he is pleased with the progress he is making.

“It was hot out there today but I’m happy with how I performed and I feel I’ve accomplished a fair bit,” said Spies. “I automatically picked up where I left off here because my fourth lap today was only three-tenths slower than my best time at the first test. I’m close to half-a-second faster than the last test and I’m more consistent. My fastest laps were all on tyres that had done race distance and that makes me happier than anything else. It’s not so much that I got under the 2’02” barrier but I did it on worn tyres and I think that will be one of my big strong points this season. I feel like I’m getting closer to finding the limit of the Bridgestone tyres and I’m getting more comfortable on them, but we still need to do more work.”

Spies continued: “Today we played around with the bike a bit more than previously just to understand a few things but it was nothing major. Some changes were good and some were bad and I feel we made some important progress and I definitely had more grip. Everyday I’m trying to learn something and go a little bit quicker and that’s what I achieved.”

Edwards overcame a minor technical issue in the morning which cost him some track time to clock in at 2’01.897 – the sixth fastest lap of the day – and worked on a new swingarm, as well as evaluating new electronics.

“After the small problem I had this morning I had to play catch up pretty quick to the rest of the guys, but I managed to do some good laps and I’m happy with my pace,” commented Edwards. “It was a productive day and I feel like we’ve learned a few things. Everybody is testing electronics and Yamaha have done another good job because what I tried definitely has some good points and they are moving in the right direction. Yamaha might have dominated last year but they definitely haven’t just taken the easy option and sat back. They’ve worked really hard on improving what was already a great bike, and some of the improvements have really helped me.”

Edwards added: “I did more work on the new swingarm and I like it. It seems to help the front and the rear of the bike and it gives me a lot more confidence. And it helps a lot with my front feeling, which I had an issue with a bit last year.”

For more discussion on Yamaha Racing go to link

Source: MotoGP

With 1,199cc under the hoood, the XT1200Z Super Ténéré is aiming its sights on the class-leading BMW R1200GS and new-comer Ducati Multistrada 1200. The powerplant features a parallel twin motor with four valves per cylinder, and makes 108hp @ 7,250 RPM and 84lbs•ft @ 6,000 RPM. Read more about the Yamaha XT1200Z Super Ténéré after the jump.

For a wiz-bang factor, the Super Ténéré features a bevy of techno-goodies like ride-by-wire throttle control, three-mode linked & ABS brakes, dual-riding modes (street and touring), and Yamaha’s traction control system (YCC-T). Ensuring that the fun doesn’t stop is the bike’s 6.07 gallon gas tank, which should make all the die-hard adventure/touring folks very happy. However, the bike’s 575lb wet weight is likely to turn a few upside down frowns the wrong way around.

As was done on the YZF-R1, Yamaha seems to be taking the lessons learned on the MotoGP race track, and is applying their cross-plane crankshaft design (if you can call it that on a two cylinder motor) to the Super Ténéré. The 270° crank allows the Super Ténéré to deliver its power pulses in a manner that allows for better traction between the tire and road, which has a huge benefit in off-road situations.

No price has been announced yet, but expect it to undercut the KTM, BMW, and Ducati’s of the world…and for real bad news, the Super Ténéré has not been confirmed for the US market.

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more discussion on the XT1200z Super Ténéré

Scheduled for three days from February 24-26 the opening day on Wednesday will be for test riders only, with Thursday and Friday offering valuable time for the team riders to further the customisation of their 2010 machines.

Valentino Rossi set the standard at the first test with the only sub-2′01″ lap of the test on his M1, and the Fiat Yamaha rider and reigning World Champion will again be working on new aspects of the setting on his bike. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo will not be testing however as he continues his recovery from a hand injury sustained in a training accident.

Casey Stoner was pleased with the reaction of the new engine in the Desmosedici GP10 of the Ducati Marlboro team, as was team-mate Nicky Hayden, and the duo will again focus on finding their comfort zones. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was happy with his RC212V after the first test and both he and team-mate Andrea Dovizioso will maintain their acclimatisation to the bike.

Rizla Suzuki will have their new GSV-R engine for Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista to test, and Monster Yamaha Tech3 pairing Ben Spies and Colin Edwards will look to build on what was a pleasing opening test on their M1 machines. Pramac Racing’s Aleix Espargaró and Mika Kallio will have their second rides on the GP10, and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) will both persist with the RC212V.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP), Héctor Barberá (Paginas Amarillas Ducati) and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) will all gain more important experience ahead of their debut seasons in the premier class.

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