Monster Yamaha Austria on the podium for the World Endurance Final at Doha The Monster Yamaha Austria Racing Team fought hard last weekend for the 8 Hours of Doha to secure a second place finish on the podium for the last race of the 2010 FIM World Endurance Championship. Riders Igor Jerman, Steve Martin and Gwen Giabbani put in strong performances over the qualifying and scored third place on the grid for the race. Martin put in the fastest of the Superpole laps with a 2’02.398. The team battled for the lead, running an equal pace as the race leaders until a forced tyre change with Giabbani onboard relegated them to second, four laps adrift of the lead at the finish line. The second place podium helped to deliver the 2009 world champions third in the 2010 final standings. The team’s results were even more impressive having missed most of the free practice time due to the team’s YZF-R1 race bikes being held in Frankfurt and delivered late to the circuit in Qatar by air freight. Mandy Kainz – Team Manager “This is a great podium after a tough weekend,”said Team Manager Mandy Kainz. “With this result we’ve moved up from sixth to third in the championship standings, so our difficult season has a better conclusion. We are already focused on next year, we want to bring the World Endurance crown back to Austria!” The Yamaha France GMT94 Ipone Team had a less fortunate race at Qatar. Despite a promising start rider David Checa crashed twice, the first time from fifth position, costing valuable time returning to the pits for essential repairs to be able to continue. The team eventually took ninth in the overall standings for the 2010 season. They weren’t the only ones to suffer bad luck in Qatar, having finished strongly with a podium at The 24Hours of Bol d’Or, the YMES Folch Endurance Team recorded a DNF at the final round, meaning they finished seventh overall in the championship standings. Notable by their absence were the Yamaha Biker’s Days Team who did not travel to Qatar to fight for the 2010 Superstock World Endurance title. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Melandri shines on the mud at MX event New Yamaha World Superbike Team rider Marco Melandri showed his prowess on a motocross track last weekend as he took a YZ450F, supplied by the factory Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, to second and first positions in two cold and muddy races for charity at the Faenza circuit. The 28 year old finished as the overall winner and was competing against other road racers and other Italian celebrities at the event created to raise funds and awareness for the Wings for Life foundation, assisting their research into cures for spinal cord injury and paralysis. The hills of the Faenza a track that closed the 2008 FIM Motocross World Championship and at which Yamaha Monster Energy motocross Team celebrated capturing the MX1-GP title with David Philippaerts saw Melandri gun his YZ450F past the likes of Andrea Dovizioso and Supermoto racer Cristian Ravaglia. It was the first outing for Melandri in blue colours after his test on the YZF-R1 at Valencia last week and was a throwback to the days when the Italian took to the local motocross circuit at Donington Park with Carlos Checa on YZ450Fs in 2003; the year that he made his MotoGP debut with the legendary M1. “I feel very happy about everything! It was a great charity race, the motocross guys were pushing really hard so it felt good to win,” said Melandri, who is a big fan of the sport, is friends with world champion Antonio Cairoli and is a frequent visitor to MX-GPs. “It was good fun and a big satisfaction; it was my first ride on the 2011 Yamaha YZ450F, it is a great bike and it’s my first victory for Yamaha!” he added with a smile. Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team Manager – Massimo Raspanti “We lent Marco a standard 2011 YZ450F and made the shock spring a little softer because of his weight and also added an Akrapovic pipe; he was really happy with the bike and was impressed with the power,” commented Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team Manager Massimo Raspanti. “He was battling it out with Dovizioso in the two heats and I was surprised by his ability. I knew he would be quick but not that fast and his style was also good. He didn’t change much on the bike, no handlebar positions or levers and was a pleasure to work with. We chatted about World Superbike and he seemed pretty pumped about the Valencia test and the new challenge he has.” Melandri will now head to Australia at the beginning of December to continue tests on the 2011 R1 in preparation for his first attempt at the World Superbike Championship next year. More, from a press release issued by Powersports Outlet Racing: Powersports Outlet Racing Wins CCS SW Lightweight Championship Firebird Raceway, Chandler, AZ: After a long season beginning back in January, Powersports Outlet Racing won the CCS Southwest Lightweight Championship aboard their Hyosung GT 650R. The weather was perfect for the last race of the season and the team took advantage with two race wins and two second places on the day. Although a rules change this year did not allow the Lightweight Bikes to fight for the Overall #1 plate, the team took pride in knowing that they amassed the most points and would have won the overall expert plate any other year. When all was said and done the team won all classes they contested: LW GP, LW Superbike, ULW Superbike, Thunderbike and the Overall Lightweight Championship. Matt Kellerman: 2nd LW GP, 2nd LW Superbike, 1st ULW Superbike, 1st Thunderbike “It was a great year for the team. We have been racing the Hyosung GT 650R for 4 seasons and all the hard work really paid off this year. We jumped out to an early lead this year, winning the first 9 sprint races in a row, and only finished off the podium in once all year. I have to thank my friends and pit crew Tim and Annette Flood for all their support. Also, a big thanks to Powersports Outlet for their sponsorship, Jim Cox Racing for providing the great Dunlop tires, the Crew of CCS SW for putting on a great race series, and Hyosung Motors USA for their parts support.” Powersports Outlet Racing is currently gearing up to contest the WERA West series in 2011. The little Korean bike that could, has proven itself to be a reliable, race winning machine and we are proud to be associated with a great up and coming brand. We look forward to competing on a larger stage next year and showing off the potential of the Hyosung GT 650R. Powersports Outlet Racing is based out of Prescott, AZ and has raced the Hyosung GT 650R since 2006. They have had countless podium finishes, multiple race wins, and class championships. If you are interested in the unique sponsorship opportunities they can provide contact the team at 928-778-7910 or email: [email protected] More, from a press release issued by Team Desmomaniacs: Miami Team Desmomaniacs place in Latin American Championships Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic November 13-14, 2010 Team Desmomaniacs / Ducati Miami’s Barrett Long finished fifth overall in the Latinoamericano Superbike championship event in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, last weekend. The island’s Latin American Championship Motovelocidad races hosted approximately 150 riders from more than ten countries, all competing for the championship title over the weekend. Long had struggled with suspension issues on his 1098R during practice sessions on Friday and qualified ninth with a lap time of 1:18.67, just under two seconds behind the best time for pole position of 1:16.92. With some minor changes on Saturday, Long was able to drop his lap times down to 1:17.88 and finish fifth in the first race of the day. In the second race, Long finished ninth after experiencing difficulties and tire compound issues. But, on Sunday, with a few minor changes and new tires, Long finished third in the day’s first race and ran the second fastest lap of the event at 1:16.86. During the second race, Long got stuck in traffic back in fifth place, put his head down and was able to gain two positions to finish third. Felipe MacLean, Long’s teammate and 600 Supersport class competitor, worked hard to finish third in his race on Sunday. MacLean got off to an unusually bad start, but was able to work his way through the field, pick up his pace and into a battle for third place to the finish. The entire Desmomaniacs / DucatiMiami team will compete next in the final round of the CCS Florida races at Homestead-Miami Speedway on December 4-5.