x roadie

Lorenzo stuns with crutches to second.

Monday, 19th May 2008

Illustrious team-mate Valentino Rossi may have stolen the limelight with his 90th grand prix victory in Sunday's French Grand Prix, but injured rookie Jorge Lorenzo arguably produced the ride of the day.

Fractures to both ankles at the previous Shanghai round have left Lorenzo needing a wheelchair or crutches when off the bike, and the Estoril winner raised serious doubts about his ability to race at Le Mans when he fell twice in practice - in addition to several other off-track moments.

The reigning double 250cc world champion had dug deep to qualify fifth on the grid, but later admitted he was 'dreaming' of a sixth or seventh place finish in the race - especially after lapping just 11th quickest in morning warm-up and plummeting to that same position by lap two of the grand prix.

Whilst championship rivals Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Rossi battled with Colin Edwards at the front, Lorenzo initially looked to be struggling and was still only ninth by lap seven.

However, the 21-year-old suddenly 'found his feet', bursting past John Hopkins, Loris Capirossi and Nicky Hayden on the following lap, before chasing down last year's winner Chris Vermeulen.

Lorenzo overtook the Rizla Suzuki rider on lap 15, by which time Rossi had escaped out front, but Edwards, Stoner and Pedrosa were well within reach. The #48 made short work of the trio, helped by an engine failure for Stoner, and crossed the line five seconds from Rossi.

The amazing ride marked Lorenzo's fourth podium from his first five MotoGP races, and he is now joint second with Pedrosa in the championship standings - just three points from Rossi.

The message was clear, if Lorenzo can finish in second with two broken ankles - at a track he had never ridden an M1 at before this weekend - what will he do when he is fit? His rivals must be worried...

"Firstly I want to say congratulations to Yamaha because it's fantastic to have three on the podium and it demonstrates how strong our bike is," said Jorge, who climbed the podium with the aid of crutches, and was given a seat to help rest his feet.

x roadie

Rossi: 180 victories on one bike!

Monday, 19th May 2008

Unlike some sporting stars, Valentino Rossi is very conscious of his place in history - and paid a special tribute to Angel Nieto after equalling the superstitious '12+1' world champion's 90 grand prix victories on Sunday.

Rossi, who had carried a flag 'apologising' to the late Mike Hailwood for matching the Englishman's total of 76 wins in 2005, was able to pull off a much bigger surprise after joining Nieto as the second most successful rider in grand prix history.

Following a convincing victory in Sunday's French Grand Prix at Le Mans, Rossi stopped at the side of the track where Nieto - who won six 50cc titles and seven 125cc titles during the '60s, '70s and '80s and now works for Spanish television - was waiting.

Angel, wearing special leathers to mark the occasion, congratulated Rossi - then took control of the Italian's YZR-M1, which he rode for the remainder of the lap with Rossi sat behind him holding a large '90+90' flag.

"To arrive at 90 wins like this and equal Angel's record is a dream for me," said Rossi, after his second victory of the 2008 season. "I had quite a lot of pressure because Angel was waiting with the special leathers to join me on the bike, so I really needed to win! It was great to ride with him - I think maybe with some practice he can be as fast as us! 180 victories together on one bike is quite impressive I think!"

Rossi had dropped from fourth to sixth on the opening lap, but some close racing and exciting overtaking moves saw him take the lead from world champion Casey Stoner on lap 8 of 26.

From then on Rossi was too strong for the chasing pack, stretching his lead lap after lap until a light rain threw his victory into doubt. The sun soon came back out however - negating the need to change bikes - and the Italian crossed the line 4.997 seconds in front of injured Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo to take his first back-to-back victory since 2006 and become the first double race winner of 2008.

everything about YAMAHA R15

Yamaha YZF R15 150cc

xroadie

1) Yamaha YZF R15 150cc: The R15 evokes the image of the legendary YZF R1 in styling. The razor sharp design, aerodynamic front cowl, twin headlamps and small tail area will easily make the most impressive looking machines in India.

2) Yamaha YZF R15 150cc: YZF R15’s race inspired complete fairing improves both aerodynamics and style, in addition, it also offers complete protection to the riders. The fairing features a slant nose front profile for aerodynamic streamlining, with engine revealing side cut outs. Embedded between the large fairings is the muscular tank. But the 12 litre fuel tank is sure to make you often visit the petrol bulk. Lightweight alloy wheels with wide-section tyres adds charm to the YZF R15.

3) Yamaha YZF R15 150cc: Yamaha has done a good thing, unlike in other sports bikes you can enjoy the ride with your love in YZF R15. Yes, it features a regular pillion seat. The upfront rear cowl ends in non LED tail lamp. The exhaust is chunky but its mouth is not that much inspiring.

4) Yamaha YZF R15 150cc: Deltabox design is known to be one of the lightest and best-handling frame designs in the supersport category, and its use on the new YZF R15 150cc underlines Yamaha’s total commitment to come back strongly into the Indian bike market.

Yamaha has been refining the deltabox design for more than 10 years to bring out the best from steel and aluminium. This frame is very rigid or stiff at the head pipe, engine mounts and swingarm pivot point. In other areas, material has been carefully removed to allow “tuned flex”. In addition the engine is a fully stressed chassis member to maximize handling. YZF R15 will be the second bike to come with mono suspension after Honda’s Unicorn in India. Complementing the race-bred Deltabox frame is a cast aluminium swinging arm. By keeping unsprung weight low, this high quality swinging arm allows the linked type Monocross suspension system to operate more efficiently and deliver more responsive handling qualities. Suspension at the front and the rear have been tuned to provide maximum lean angle. To control this high performance machine, the fierce bite comes from large disc brakes at the front and the rear. R15 has a minimum ground clearance of 160mm.

5) Yamaha YZF R15 150cc: The area which might not excite you like the handling and performance characteristics of YZF R15 might its features. Credits to the Bajaj and TVS, both of these manufacturers have already brought in lot of exciting features to the Indian market.

Beneath the large triangular visor is an instrument panel featuring a digital cluster and a large analogue rpm meter which shows the stratospheric 12000 rpm red limit. Handle bar controls are standard. Though Yamaha offers split grab rails, YZF R15 misses the LED tail lamp.

6) Yamaha YZF R15 150cc: Yamaha’s YZF R15 is sure to set new standards for performance in the literbike class with a combination of a sick motor and track-inspired good looks. But the use of advanced technologies in this motorcycle has shot up the price considerably. Yamaha might demand a 50% premium over the existing 150cc products - pulsar, apache,hunk and unicorn. YZF R15 150cc is likely to be priced around Rs1 lakh. Yamaha is back, all you have to do is start saving big bucks to buy this beast. From mid 2008 YZF R15 will start fighting with the Bajaj Pulsar 220cc and Hero Honda Karizma for the crown and the hearts.

P.S: special thanks to Yamaha Motors India

Yamaha to introduce forged piston in India

March 18, 2008

Keeping up with new technology and constantly bringing it to the next level, Yamaha Motor India is set to introduce forged piston which enables lighter piston design and excellent power development, in the Indian market. The forged piston is used on the new 150cc YZF-R15, which was unveiled at Auto Expo 2008, as the first on an Indian market model and a feature that reduces the reciprocating mass of the piston by approximately 20%.

Introduced in 1997, Yamaha “controlled forging technology” has been used successfully for over a decade for the mass production of forged aluminum pistons because it utilizes a system of precise control of the piece temperature, mold temperature and the forging force. Yamaha’s controlled forging technology tightly controls the forging conditions, including (1) the initial heating of the work piece, (2) controlling the temperature of the mold so that it keeps the work piece in the ideal 400 to 500 ℃ range (3) applying just the right amount of pressure to the mold in the forging process and many more factors.

According to Mr. Sanjay Tripathi, Head of Dept- Product Planning & Strategy, “Pistons for car and motorcycle engines are usually cast by pouring molten aluminum alloy into a mold. The other type of piston is the forged piston, with which the alloy is not melted but heated to the point where it can be forged into a mold under pressure. Since the aluminum is not melted in the forging process, it retains a stronger metallurgic quality. This makes possible a thinner, and thus lighter, piston that has less reciprocating mass and also contributes to weight reduction. The result is better revving and lesser engine vibrations”.

“However, there are exacting requirements involved in manufacturing a complex shaped piston and difficulties in maintaining precise temperature in the "forging" process. Due to which such pistons are expensive to produce. But Yamaha’s "controlled forging technology" enables production of the forged pistons at a lower cost”, he adds further.

The forged pistons made with Yamaha “controlled forging technology” have excellent strength characteristics that enable the design of a thinner, lighter piston with smaller reciprocating mass achieve higher rpm and performance as well as providing the greater reliability of the higher strength aluminum. For this reason they are used in YZF-R15 and many Yamaha motorcycles.

Yamaha and Mitsui enter into a joint venture in India

March 5, 2008 Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka Pref.; President: Takashi Kajikawa) (hereafter YMC) and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Shoei Utsuda) (hereafter Mitsui) today announced the agreement that Mitsui will become a joint investor in the new motorcycle manufacturing company India Yamaha Motor Private Limited (IYM) established by YMC in October 17, 2007. Mitsui's investment will take the form of an allocation of new stock shares to a third party issued by IYM for the equivalent of 30% of the company's capitalization. In this way, IYM will increase its total capital to a planned 5.6 billion rupee (approx. 16 billion yen) and utilize the same factory and office facilities used by its predecessor, Yamaha Motor India Private Limited (YMI), to take over YMI's manufacturing and business operations beginning from April, 2008. Based on this, YMI will promptly begin the closing of its books and corporate liquidation. It will be business as usual for the employees and business partners of YMI. Through the "Yamaha-Mitsui Strategy Committee" that was established following Mitsui's acquisition of 3% of YMC stock (announced May 2007), YMC and Mitsui have reviewed the possibilities for Mitsui's participation in various areas of YMC's business activities with the aim of strengthening its overseas business and cooperative ventures in other areas of business. The decision announced today is a result of these reviews and repeated discussions with a focus on a "comprehensive joint business venture in India." YMC started manufacturing of motorcycles in India by establishing a joint venture company with local partner Escorts in 1996. In 2001, YMI became a 100% owned subsidiary of YMC. Then in 2005, a separate sales company, Yamaha Motor India Sales Private Limited, was established, after which the Yamaha motorcycle business in India was conducted by two companies specializing in manufacturing and marketing respectively. With the stable growth of the Indian economy as a whole, the Indian motorcycle market has grown to 7.3 million units in 2007, making it the world's second largest market in terms of demand. The aims for the future are for YMC to aggressively introduce new high value-added models and promote a sales network strategy that includes expanding the establishments of directly-run showroom/dealerships and for Mitsui to use its strengths in logistics and dealer network development to achieve a synergistic effect that will stimulate a growth in sales of Yamaha motorcycles from 120,000 units (domestic only exclusive of exports: 60,000 units) annually in 2007 to 650,000 units (domestic only exclusive of exports: 90,000 units) annually in 2010 while improving the brand's presence in the fiercely competitive Indian market.

India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd. (IYM) Head Office: A-3 Surajpur Industrial Area, Noida-Dadri Road, Surajpur - 201306, Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P., India Foundation: Oct. 17, 2007 Start of operation: April 1, 2008 Headed by: Mr. Tsutomu Mabuchi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Capital: 1.5 billion rupee (as of Mar. 5, 2008), with plans to eventually increase capital to 5.6 billion rupee (approx. 16 billion yen) Capital ratio: 70% by Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. 30% by Mitsui & Co., Ltd. Number of employees: 2000 (approx.) Areas of business: Development, manufacture and sales of motorcycles, spare parts and accessories. Export of locally assembled motorcycles and parts Scale of operations: First year (nine months beginning Apr. 2008) projected sales of 10 billion rupee (approx. 30 billion yen) Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (YMC) Location: 2500 Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan Foundation: July 1, 1955 Headed by: Mr. Takashi Kajikawa, President and Chief Executive Officer Capital: 48,300 million yen (as of December 31, 2007) Sales: 1,756,707 million yen (consolidated, year ended December 31, 2007) Number of employees: 46,850 (consolidated, year ended December 31, 2007) Areas of business: Manufacture and sales of motorcycles, outboard motors, boats, sail boats, water vehicles, 4-wheel ATVs, side-by-side vehicles, snowmobiles, automotive engines, surface mounters and others. Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (Mitsui) Location: 2-1 Ohtemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Foundation: July 25, 1947 Headed by: Mr. Shoei Utsuda, President and Chief Executive Officer Capital: 323,213 million yen (as of March 31, 2007) Sales: 15,357,656 million yen (consolidated, year ended March 31, 2007) Number of employees: 41,761 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2007) Areas of business: Sales, manufacturing, exportation / importation, and international trade and services in metal products, machinery, information, chemicals, energy, consumer products and services, logistics and financial markets; diversified services including natural resource development and technology development in new fields.

Ducati s big rage for india

Eying a big potential for luxury bikes in India, where tastes are changing from mass-market machines to high-end bikes, Italy's Ducati Motor Holding on Tuesday announced entry into the country with its full range of premium bikes, priced between Rs 15 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.

Ducati 1098R

Ducati 848

Ducati 1098

Ducati Hypermotard

The engine power of the Ducati superbikes would be in the range of 90 horsepower to 180 horsepower and would comply with Euro III emission norms, Chordia said. Ducati motorcycles would first be available through two exclusive showrooms in Mumbai and Delhi, he said. "By early next year, we will open three more exclusive showrooms in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai," Chordia said.

"We are very impressed with evolution of the Indian market. It is no longer an emerging market, but a strong Economy. I am very proud to officially announce our entry in the Indian market," Ducati Motor Holding CEO Gabriele Del Torchio said in New Delhi.

The company has entered India with the objective to be a market leader in the premium segment, he added.He, however, refused to give any specific volume or revenue target for the company.We will be importing 50 bikes this year. If we will be able to sell these (50 units) in the current year, then it will be more than enough," Torchio said.
Besides, the company is also exploring possibilities for considerably increasing its component sourcing from the Indian market.

"We are currently sourcing engine parts and other key components from here. We plan to increase it considerably and holding discussions to five different players," Torchio said without divulging details. A group of engineers from the company's facility would be visiting India next week to finalise the sourcing partners here, he added.
The company currently sources auto components to its only manufacturing facility in Italy worth 50 million euro from all over the world, of which India accounts for less than five million euro.

The Italian racing bike manufacturer today introduced four different models in multiple variants, which would be available in the range of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, said Ashish Chordia, Chief Executive Officer of Precision Motor India Pvt Ltd, the sole distributor of Ducati bikes in India. "We are not introducing 'Monster 696' model, which is currently going through homologation here. After the due processes get over, we will launch this model also," he added.

Below are the prices from CubicCapacity guys

Ducati model and price list for India.

Multistrada	Price in Rs lakh
MTS 1100	1,820,971
MTS1100S	2,072,205
HyperMotard
HM 1100	1,820,971
HM 1100 S	2,072,205
Monster
M 695	1,341,516
S2R1000	1,667,545
S4R	1,946,588
S4RS	2,204,535
M 696	1,378,097
M 696 +	1,423,598
S4R S Tricolore	2,263,396
SBK
1098	2,561,250
1098 S	3,025,362
1098 R	4,803,710
848	2,177,623
Sport Classic
Sport 1000 S	1,882,341
Sport 1000	1,763,436
GT 1000	1,667,545
GT1000 Bicolore	1,731,744

Via:The Financial Express

Ducati announces entry into Indian market

xroadie : Ducati INdia

Ducati has announced its official entry to the Indian motorcycle market

The 2007 MotoGP World Champion manufacturer’s entry to the young and exponentially growing Indian market was announced today by Ducati CEO Gabriele Del Torchio during a meeting with representatives of the international press at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi.

The opportunities offered by the burgeoning Indian market have led Ducati to begin a long-term partnership agreement with Precision Motor India Private Limited as the exclusive importer of Ducati motorcycles in India. Precision Motor India is an established company which represents prestigious brands in India; including Porsche, Audi, Fendi and Dolce&Gabbana. The Ducati brand; which is synonymous with racing success, innovative technology, and the highest quality standards is a perfect addition to the premium brands Precision Motor India currently represents. The partnership promises to strengthen significantly over time thanks to a marketing plan that provides for gradual penetration of the Indian market.

The signing of the partnership agreement is the first step towards a fruitful relationship between the two companies. Over the next few months, a detailed launch strategy will be developed by Ducati and Precision Motor India for this demanding new market.

Video: Schumacher racing at Misano

x roadies - Schumacher racing at Misano

A bit of footage of Michael Schumacher winning his first motorbike race.

Some video footage of Michael Schumacher taking part in the KTM Superduke race has surfaced on YouTube.

Unfortunately, there's not a great deal of race action, but it's quite a cool video anyway.

Check out the two 'Schumacher replicas' either side of him on the grid, we'll leave the reasons for those two being there up to your imagination.

Honda CB1000R

x roadies - Mossy Rides

Mossy's back, and this time he's aboard Honda's 'not-quite-a-streetfighter' CB1000R in Italy.

Italy is legendary for style and chic and home to some world-famous brands such as Ducati, Ferrari, D&G and Gucci to name just a few. Taking full advantage of the Latin nation’s flair for design, Honda has cleverly involved the Italians with the new CB1000R street-bike. Being built at its Atessa plant near Rome, Honda is proudly championing the bike’s non-Japanese influence further by saying the CB is modelled and created by Europeans for Europeans. Although it’s also admitting it will sell the bikes worldwide if there’s enough demand for them.

It’s not the first time Honda has allowed ‘outsiders’ to play a part with the development of one of its bikes, and the effect is proving successful. That’s definitely the case with the style of the new CB1000R. It’s one of the best-looking Hondas made, and ever since being unveiled at the Milan show last year the CB has been hailed as a real success – aesthetically at least. The fashionable street-bike should have performance to match given the high spec it has. And thanks to many parts borrowed from the ‘07 and ‘08 Fireblades, the CB1000R ought to be a fantastic bike to ride.

I say ought to, because thanks to poor weather I can’t admit to being anything more than just very impressed by the bike. The launch of the Honda was largely blighted by rain, which restricted a full and proper test of the bike. And even though I did eventually get the chance of thrashing it for an hour on dry roads in the sun, that didn’t happen on the sort of routes I needed to form a full and final verdict.

I’m very confident that when I ride the CB again in ideal conditions, you won’t be able to me get off it as there’s plenty to praise the bike for. As I said, it’s a real head-turner. The sharp, inclined lines of its bodywork, even in the sombre olive-green hue all the test bikes were painted in, really do deserve attention. OK, it’s no Triumph Speed Triple or Aprilia Tuono, but that still can’t stop you admiring its sleek and sexy shape. The Honda is perhaps a bit too polished to be labelled as a street-fighter, but there’s still a hint of aggression about it.

The black finished engine, chassis and wheels help to create a moody and sophisticated air, and the single-sided swingarm is especially classy. It’s got quite a squat stance to aid the brutishness. Only the projector-beam inset in the triangular-shaped headlight was questionable in my book. But as I was to discover, a detail like that can’t dent your enthusiasm for the Honda.

As luck would have it, the day started as a dry one for the trip through the streets of Italy’s style and fashion capital, Milan. There the usual Honda qualities of poise and balance were obvious, and though Saturday morning traffic was hardly at gridlock level, it never presented much of a challenge for the 1000. The sit up and beg riding position lets you dominate the bike and boss it around with only the slightest persuasion. Combined with a good view of what’s ahead and what’s likely to be dealt with, traffic-busting is certainly a forte of the Honda. Plush suspension and friendly brakes also help with the feeling of security in the urban zone. Getting onto the arterial road complex heightened the need for anticipation thanks to the unpredictability of Milan’s drivers who were now out in greater number, but the CB just got on with the job of avoiding them more than competently. And then the rain came.

The moisture wasn’t exactly the end of the world, and did in fact help me to make a finer judgement on some of the Honda’s abilities. But it also restricted me from giving a view on how well it dealt with being pushed hard. The motor, based on the one fitted to the ’07 Fireblade was a great ally in these conditions. Even with reduced road grip, you can still use the in-line four without fear thanks to its user-friendly manners. Tuned more for torque than outright power, the motor is very tractable, with each tug on the throttle bringing a really linear build up of extra strength. The prompt and positive response makes increasing speed less daunting than it might be in these conditions. It will even pull from just 2000rpm readily and cleanly in top gear, and underlines the care and attention to detail that’s gone into the way it makes its power. Even wheelies are incredibly simple and straightforward because of the civility of the delivery. Friendly isn’t a word good enough to describe the manners of this engine.

Valentino Rossi does it in China.

xroadies : motogp news

Rossi smashes losing streak in China.

Sunday, 4th May 2008

Valentino Rossi smashed a seven-race losing streak with his first ever Bridgestone victory in an action-packed Chinese Grand Prix, as the Italian became the fourth different MotoGP race winner in as many 2008 events.

Slicks were the tyres of choice for the damp track conditions - the lengthy Shanghai circuit drying steadily after heavy morning rain - and Rossi earned his breakthrough victory after a tense race-long battle with Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa.

Pedrosa took advantage of some frantic opening laps to make a small break up front, before being caught and passed by Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi, who took the lead for the first time on lap 6 of 22.

But Pedrosa then matched Rossi blow-for-blow and was still just a fraction from the Italian ten laps later, when Rossi made his victory push - pumping out new lap records to finally break the Jerez winner and take a 1.3secs lead with three laps to go.

Pedrosa later explained that there a strong tailwind along the giant 1.km back straight - which pushed up the top speeds substantially - had caused his Repsol Honda to over-rev and he was happy to settle for second under the circumstances.

Pedrosa had thus dropped rapidly away from Rossi by the flag, The Doctor taking his first victory since last September's Portuguese Grand Prix - with both fists waving in delight - by a margin of 3.890secs.

Having broken his longest losing steak since his debut 2000 season, a relieved Rossi parked his M1 at the side of the track, took off his helmet and soaked up the moment - before kissing his Yamaha and making his way slowly back to the pits.

MotoGP world champion Casey Stoner also looked set to play a starring role, after qualifying on the front row for the first time this year and holding the lead several times in the early stages, but was forced to watch in frustration as the top two rode away from him.

The Ducati Marlboro star, who hit a staggering 343.2km/h along the back straight, finally finished 12secs behind Pedrosa and 6.5secs ahead of fourth placed Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner later revealed that a softer tyre, in response to the cooler weather conditions, had proved his undoing.

orenzo came into the race holding a perfect podium record and the joint world championship lead, but had badly injured his ankles during a huge Friday highside - then stalled on the grid as the formation lap began.

The MotoGP rookie attempted to re-fire his Fiat Yamaha with a bump start, doing little to reduce the pain from his injured ankles, before getting assistance from officials and taking his fourth place on the grid.

The Spaniard, who celebrated his 21st birthday today, looked understandably cautious in the early stages - and had been mercilessly pushed back to eighth by the halfway mark - but retaliated with a combative performance during the last ten laps to pull a comfortable 4.4secs clear of fifth place.

Kawasaki endured a race to forget, John Hopkins managing just 14th after several mistakes whilst trying to force his way forwards from 12th on the grid, while team-mate Anthony West finished in a distant last place - where he had started.

In the world championship standings, Pedrosa has now broken seven points clear of Lorenzo, with Rossi just two points behind his team-mate in third. Stoner remains fourth, but has slipped 25 points - one race win - behind Pedrosa.

Sunday's race was rumoured to be the final Chinese Grand Prix for the foreseeable future - a new round in Hungary, feeding on the huge support for 125cc world champion Gabor Talmacsi, is tipped to replace the Shanghai event from next season.

xroadies : motogp race results

Race results - Shanghai.

Sunday, 4th May 2008

Full race results from the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai, round four of the 2008 MotoGP season.
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 44min 8.061 secs
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 44min 11.951 secs
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 44min 23.989 secs
4. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 44min 30.555 secs
5. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 44min 35.018 secs
6. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 44min 36.430 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 44min 37.841 secs
8. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 44min 38.286 secs
9. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 44min 39.501 secs
10. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 44min 44.030 secs
11. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 44min 44.307 secs
12. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 44min 51.252 secs
13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 44min 51.503 secs
14. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 44min 53.916 secs
15. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 44min 54.391 secs
16. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 44min 58.654 secs
17. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 45min 13.654 secs

DNF:
Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 12min 37.734 secsotoGP (B) 12min 37.734 secs

Lorenzo's monster crash

xroadies : lorenzo
Saturday, 3rd May 2008

This huge highside looks set to end Jorge Lorenzo's incredible start to his MotoGP career.

The 20-year-old rookie - who has taken three podiums from his first three races, including a debut win last time out in Estoril - was ejected spectacularly from his Fiat Yamaha midway through Friday's first free practice at Shanghai, ending his hopes of a fourth consecutive pole position.

The accident occurred as the Spaniard switched direction from right to left, the rear wheel of his M1 losing traction before launching the reigning 250cc world champion into a huge 360-degree somersault.

Lorenzo landed hard on his feet, fracturing his left ankle and sustaining severe trauma and bruising to parts of his right ankle and foot.

The joint world championship leader was taken to a nearby hospital to have his injuries examined and missed the second free practice session as a result - but returned on Saturday to claim a brave fourth on the grid for Sunday's race.

BUT Lorenzo RIDES AWAY !

2008 Yamaha YZF-R6 is the first to cross 170mph in 600cc Motorcycles

Yamaha’s 2008 YZF-R6 has just become the first 600cc supersport motorcycle to hit a genuine 170mph. At 172.34 mph, the 2008 R6 beat the next fastest bike by nearly 7 mph – Kawasaki’s ZX-6R managing 165.97mph with the same rider in the same conditions at Bruntingthorpe proving ground.

This year, Yamaha’s YZF R6 got a few tweaks in an effort to add mid-range power boost, they incorporated over 50 changes aimed at increasing engine power and durability, as well as reducing an engine's arch nemesis - friction. while still retaining its class-leading high-RPM punch, including a higher compression ratio, Yamaha’s Chip Controlled Intake (YCC-I) and Yamaha’s Chip Controlled Throttle (YCC-T). These changes helped the R6 to break the 170 mile-per-hour barrier. This is the first for a 600cc machine.