Insider - Mototribu

INSIDER
The official Yamaha racing magazine
Winter 2005/2006
Issue four
Nitro Nori
The cult of Haga
YZR-M1
Ahead of the pack
Riders’ psychology
Into the zone
R6: Supersport revolution
INSIDER 2
INSIDER
Publisher
Yamaha Racing Communications
by
Editor
Paul Taylor
Creative director
Tom Jacobs
Design/production
Peter Henneman
Contributors
Bas van den Biggelaar, Graeme Brown,
Mike van Cleven, Gary Freeman, Milagro,
Mat Oxley, Pixelpony, Gordon Ritchie,
Bertie Simmonds, Mike van den Toorn,
Massimo Zanzani
Printing
Habo DaCosta BV, Vianen, The Netherlands
Insider is produced on behalf of Yamaha
Motor Europe by Yamaha Racing
Communications, a service of p’ZAZ,
Hoogte Kadijk 61hs, 1018 BE Amsterdam,
The Netherlands. Telephone +31 20 62 56 539.
Reproduction of any text, photograph or
illustration in this magazine is prohibited
without permission from the publisher.
While care is taken to ensure that the content
of Insider is accurate, the publisher can not
accept any liability for errors or omissions.
Welcome to the fourth edition of Insider.
What a great way to celebrate Yamaha’s 50th anniversary year. As you certainly
know, 2005 was a sensational year for Yamaha on the race track with Valentino
Rossi putting in a thoroughly dominant display in MotoGP to take his seventh
world crown and help Yamaha towards the team and manufacturer’s titles.
Yamahas also proved to be the bikes to beat in motocross, with Stefan Everts
winning his ninth world title in the premier MX1 class and young Antonio
Cairoli coming out on top in MX2. We also saw Yamaha return to the Superbike
World Championship in 2005, with Noriyuki Haga putting in some great performances to win two races and finish third on his YZF-R1.
I was also proud to see two youngsters win high profile titles on Yamahas.
Didier van Keymeulen won the FIM Superstock 1000 Cup riding a YZF-R1 and Claudio Corti won the
European Superstock 600 Championship on a YZF-R6. Not only was it satisfying to see two young talents winning their first title, it is also proof that the products we sell in the showroom are also winners
on the circuit.
But as one season ends a new one begins and there’s no time to rest on our laurels. Yamaha has an
exciting line-up of bikes planned for the 2006 and in this issue we’re bringing you a first look at the R6
that will challenge for the supersport world title next year. This is one special bike and if you think it
looks great in the pictures just wait ‘til you see it in the metal. It looks amazing!
Remember that Insider is you, the Yamaha enthusiast’s magazine. In this issue we’ve taken on board
many of the comments you’ve made on the Insiders message boards and from the next issue we’ll be
running a club section in the magazine, complete with a letters page. Send us your thoughts by email
to [email protected] we’ll publish the best ones.
For me it has been a great privilege to have been a part of Yamaha’s amazing anniversary year. I really
enjoyed seeing the special liveries we introduced at the Laguna Seca and Valencia races, which were a
great tribute to our racing heritage. Now it’s time to look forward to the next 50. But before then I hope
you enjoy reading this edition of Insider and look forward to catching up with you again next season.
©2005 Yamaha Motor Europe NV
Laurens Klein Koerkamp
Racing Division Department Manager
Yamaha Motor Europe NV
Contributors
Mike van den Toorn
Bertie Simmonds
Mike van Cleven
Amsterdam fashion photographer
Mike had a different kind of supermodel in his studio recently - the
Yamaha YZF-R6 that adorns the
front cover of this Insider.
Few journalists know Colin Edwards as
well as Bertie, who wrote a biography
on the Texan two years ago. The pair
sat down again to give Insider the
lowdown on Colin’s first season as a
Yamaha factory MotoGP rider.
Belgian Mike is a lover of all
things extreme. He’s also a
darned great photographer, as
witnessed by his opening shot
for our ‘Blue army’ feature on
page 42.
Gordon Ritchie
Bas van den Biggelaar
Gordo’s being doing what he does best
for this issue: going around the paddock
and speaking to the guys behind the
scenes. This time he’s asking how they
got the lucky break for their dream jobs.
A graduate of Eindhoven’s famous art
academy and self confessed bike nut,
Bas is responsible for the cool illustration
in this issue’s Noriyuki Haga feature.
INSIDER 3
INSIDE...
14
Pitlane The latest
news from Yamaha
HQ, Pitlane provides
you with VIP access
all areas to the wide
ranging world of
Yamaha.
20
28
The cult of Haga
Insider spoke with
Noriyuki Haga to discover his thoughts on
the season gone by
and the relationship
with his legions of
fans.
Ahead of the pack
Insider takes a look
under the skin of the
bike that won all three
MotoGP world titles in
2005: the Yamaha
YZR-M1.
32
38
The homecoming Colin
Edwards returned to
Yamaha in 2005, taking
a fine fifth place in the
MotoGP world championship. Insider grilled
the Texas Tornado on
his homecoming year.
42
4 INSIDER
46
50
Into the zone Racing
might be all about fast
bikes and strong men,
but there’s another
aspect that’s often overlooked. Tuning the rider’s
head is just as important.
Mat Oxley investigates.
Living the dream To
most fans, the idea of
working in bike racing
is just a dream. But
Insider talked to nine
such people who
turned the dream into
a reality.
Next generation
Yamaha’s 2006 YZF-R6
looks set to move the
600cc supersport class
to a new level. It’s also
been designed to win
in world supersport.
Here’s the inside story.
54
56
Blue army The 2005
MX2 world championship was a story of
many men... but just
one bike - Yamaha’s
YZ250F. Insider charts
the history of this
quarter-litre classic.
Meet Mr Öhlins For
almost 30 years, Swedish
company Öhlins has
led the way in suspension technology. We
met founder Kenth
Öhlin to find out more.
60
Review 2005 saw a
Yamaha victory feeling
sweep across the globe.
Relive all the best bits
in our season review.
66
Standings A statistical
round-up of the 2005
season in Yamaha’s
officially entered race
classes
INSIDER 5
Move over JB...
Wouldn’t you have mechanics like this in your fantasy MotoGP team?
With a pit crew like this, it’s little wonder Colin Edwards and
Valentino Rossi had an extra spring in their step at Laguna Seca.
6 INSIDER
PICTURE: MILAGRO
INSIDER 7
Lessons from The Doctor
Valentino Rossi and his Yamaha YZR-M1 dominated MotoGP in 2005… again!
The Doctor won 11 of the 17 races to secure his seventh world title and ensure
Yamaha topped the team and manufacturer championships.
PICTURE: MILAGRO
8 INSIDER
INSIDER 9
Moment of truth
The 2005 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup was a thrilling affair that was only settled
at the very last corner of the championship. Turkish starlet Kenan Sofuoglu
set the early pace in the championship, but by the final round it was his more
consistent Yamaha Motor Germany team-mate Didier van Keymeulen that led
by one point. The Belgian saved his best to the very end, passing Sofuoglu
on the penultimate corner to take the race win and the title. Sofuoglu was
distraught but greater things will surely await both these young talents.
PICTURE: GRAEME BROWN
10 INSIDER
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Dressed for success
If you wanna be a winner, you gotta stay
safe. It’s a code Yamaha’s world champion
Stefan Everts knows only too well. With a
wardrobe designed to keep his Belgian body
in pristine condition, it’s no wonder the
champ takes a little longer than most to get
dressed in the morning. And hey, ya gotta
look cool if you’re the champion, right?
PICTURES: GARY FREEMAN
12 INSIDER
INSIDER 13
Pitlane
Quick
news
Party time
YAMAHA RIDERS ONCE again
dominated the prestigious
International Six Day Enduro
(ISDE), this year held in Slovakia.
Following on from the WR450F’s
outright wins in 2003 and 2004 (in
the hands of Stefan Everts and
Stefan Merriman), Australian
Merriman once again took top
honours in 2005, with his UFO
Yamaha’s golden anniversary year proved
a memorable one on the track, and the
company’s three world champions all
made sure it was a year to remember
away from the circuits too. Insider sent
intrepid snapper Pixelpony along to
capture the action!
Corse Yamaha team-mate, Poland’s
Bartosz Oblucki, winning the
Enduro 1 category on his WR250F.
NO CHANGE FOR Yamaha Motor
Europe’s official entries in the 2006
Superbike and Supersport World
Championships. In superbike,
Yamaha Motor Italia have re-
ANTONIO CAIROLI, STEFAN Everts and Valentino Rossi
all had the expected heroes welcome in their hometowns,
with all three riders repaying their fans by throwing giant
free parties in return.
Top Belgian artist Praga Khan and his band (pictured
right) even turned up to celebrate Everts’ ninth title success, taking to the stage wearing replica S72 motocross
shirts of course! Yamaha also thanked their riders by inviting them to a corporate evening at the final MotoGP
round in Valencia, where Everts and Rossi took to the
stage in front of a specially invited audience. As you can
see from our photos, these guys know how to party as well
as they can ride!
Henry strikes gold
AMERICAN MOTOCROSS LEGEND Doug Henry’s amazing career continues to glitter after he
won his first gold medal at the 11th annual X Games, held in Los Angeles. The man who is synonymous with riding Yamaha’s first generation of four-stroke motocrossers Stateside took a YZ450F
prepared by the Graves Motorsports team to gold in the supermoto event. On an exciting track
featuring asphalt, supercross-style dirt and a breathtaking jump, Henry beat Jeremy McGrath and
Yamaha’s Chad Reed in an exciting 40-lap race that featured a mandatory pit stop for tyres and
fuel. Reed had grabbed the holeshot on another YZ450F before Henry took the lead on lap six.
"This is quite an event," 36-year-old Henry said afterwards. "I really love it."
14 INSIDER
signed Noriyuki Haga and Andrew
Pitt, while Yamaha Motor Germany
retain Australian duo Kevin Curtain
and Broc Parkes to ride the new
YZF-R6 in supersport. FRENCHMAN
DAVID FRETIGNE confirmed his
intentions for the 2006 Dakar rally
by winning the recent Shamrock
rally in Morocco on his WR450F 2-
What if he’d never tried it?
ALREADY THE SUBJECT of dozens of books at just 26-years-old,
Valentino Rossi has decided to tell his remarkable story in his own words.
Charmingly titled ‘What if I had never tried it’ his autobiography gives a
real insight into the circus that is MotoGP. Choosing to largely ignore his
private life, the multiple world champion instead recalls a number of
tales from track. With revelations of secret meetings held under tables
and way past people’s bedtime, the real story behind his Formula One
drives and Vale’s take on his feud with Max Biaggi, it really is a fascinating
read. Out now in English and Italian, this will be one gift every Doctor
fan will want for Christmas.
Trac. Yamaha Motor France is also
offering a service package for the
many private riders who are running the two-wheel-drive machine
in January’s punishing three week
event. YAMAHA’S ANNUAL RACE
training for R-series racers takes
place at the Valencia circuit in
Spain between the 22-24 March.
The event is open to qualifying
European racing customers. Visit
www.yamaha-racingparts.com or
contact your local national Yamaha
distributor for more information.
THE DAINESE SUIT worn by
Valentino Rossi at this year’s
German Grand Prix was recently
auctioned on eBay for a whopping
38,850 Euros. The crash-damaged
leathers were bought by a British
bidder. The money raised goes to
motorcycle safety research.
INSIDER 15
Quick
news
Pitlane
2006 models
break loose!
Always at the cutting edge of
technology, Yamaha’s 2006 lineup of street bikes is the most
formidable yet. Headed by the
awe-inspiring new YZF-R6, you’re
gonna have to be quick if you
want to catch one of these in
the showroom
THE ALL-NEW YZF-R6 isn’t a race replica, it’s a race bike built to
win in world championship supersport racing and available for discerning riders everywhere to ride on the street. This latest R6 features performance never before available in a 600cc machine - 130 horsepower
at 14,500rpm - and technology you won’t find on any other supersport
bike - its groundbreaking Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle (YCC-T) is
Evolution of yellow
The introduction of Yamaha’s YZR-M1 MotoGP machine in yellow, white and black colours
at the American Grand Prix caused such a stir that Yamaha has bowed to public demand and
offered the YZF-R1 in a similar colour scheme. Yellow is back and Yamaha expects it to be one
of the biggest selling R1s of the year. With a heritage like this it’s little wonder…
the biggest breakthrough for throttle control in decades. But it’s not
just the R6’s engine that’s getting everyone talking. Yamaha’s straightframe concept aligns the steering head, swingarm pivot and rear axle
for lightning-quick steering and super-responsive handling. To find out
more about the new YZF-R6 and how it is being turned into a world
supersport contender turn to page 32.
YZF- R1SP
MT- 03
FZ1
FJR1300AS
The limited edition YZF-R1SP is a
tribute to Yamaha’s 50 years of innovative technology, embodying the
brand’s Art of Engineering philosophy
- total man-machine integration for
superbly responsive performance.
European-spec bikes come in a matt
black colour scheme with a slipper
clutch, gold Öhlins suspension and
Marchesini wheels contributing to
this philosophy and creating the
world’s most desirable one-litre
supersport bike.
MT-03 was born for roads where bigger bikes struggle to unleash their
potential. It has instant low-down
power from its fuel-injected 660cc
single-cylinder engine and new chassis
concept engineered for hardcore
street sports riding. A short wheelbase, low seat and forward-biased
riding position give hyper-manoeuvrability, superb rider feedback and
traction. And with side-mounted
shock, aluminium swingarm and
underseat pipes, the MT-03 looks as
trick as it rides.
At the heart of Yamaha’s new FZ1
beats an engine transplanted straight
from the legendary YZF-R1. Iwata’s
finest bolted this world championship
winning motor into their trickest
streetbike chassis yet. The FZ1 gets
an all-new aluminium frame and
swingarm with optimal balance between
torsional, lateral and vertical stiffness
for a great-handling, responsive ride.
The result is a squat, muscular powerhouse that will take your breath away,
every day.
The FJR1300 has been given a serious
overhaul with the introduction of a
new ‘AS’ version for 2006, featuring
some amazing journey-enhancing
technology in the form of YCC-S
(Yamaha Chip Controlled Shift).
YCC-S is an electronically controlled
clutch-less shifting device. YCC-S
uses a dedicated ECU to deliver quick,
perfect shifts every time. It’s up to
you whether you shift with the handlebar-mounted switch or foot lever.
16 INSIDER
1978 OW35K 499cc in-line four, 135bhp, 125kg
The bike that Roberts rode to the 1978 and 1979 500cc
crowns was the first two-stroke to feature an exhaust powervalve system (Yamaha’s being called YPVS - Yamaha Power
Valve System) which endowed the ‘K’ model with mid-range
performance to match the previous model’s prodigious topend, substantially reducing lap times.
2005 YZR-M1 990cc in-line four, 240bhp, 145kg
Valentino Rossi’s title winning bike is itself an evolution of
the M1 that took him to the 2004 MotoGP crown. You can’t
buy one, but even if you could the specialized, hand-made
nature of each bike makes it virtually impossible to put a price
on an M1. That said, Yamaha uses MotoGP as a proving ground
for new technology. So this bike may well be an indicator to
what we will all be riding in a few years time.
2006 YZF-R1 998cc in-line four, 175bhp, 173kg
With 175bhp in a package weighing 173kg, the YZF-R1 is a
bike factory racers could only have dreamed of at the turn
of the century. Cutting-edge technology is derived from the
MotoGP programme but adds tractability and reliability for
everyday use. Add a race kit and slick tyres and your R1 is a
machine capable of winning world superbike races.
YAMAHA’S ON-LINE GIFTSHOP
has gone retro crazy with a new
range of items in Yamaha’s traditional yellow/black and white/red
colours to celebrate the company’s
50th anniversary. Among the items
on offer are a top quality leather
jacket, sweatshirts, caps and an
ever so sweet cuddly teddy bear.
The giftshop has also taken delivery
of a new line of Valentino Rossi’s
personal merchandise, as well as
the usual exclusive range of high
quality Yamaha Racing clothing
produced by Alpinestars. Go to
www.yamaha-motor-giftshop.com
for more details and ordering information. MORE BLACK AND yellow
mayhem comes in the form of the
fiendishly wonderful ‘Laguna Seca’
YZR-M1 papercraft model! The
designs can be downloaded from
the ‘Fun Stuff’ section of
www.yamaha-racing.com although
don’t expect a five minute job building one requires the skill and
commitment of a factory racer!
Yamaha’s papercraft team is currently developing a model of Stefan
Everts’ world championship winning
YZ450FM motocrosser. YAMAHA US
HAS announced a three-rider squad
to take on the AMA road racing
championships in 2006. Eric
Bostrom will join existing riders
Jason DiSalvo and Jamie Hacking in
the factory team semi. All team will
run the YZF-R1 LE (known as the
YZF-R1SP in Europe) in superstock
and YZF-R6s in Formula Extreme
and supersport. JAPANESE RIDER
SHINICHI Nakatomi is coming to
Europe to race in the 2006
Superbike World Championship. The
27-year-old former Japanese 250cc
champion will race for the Yamaha
Motor France squad alongside
Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert.
INSIDER 17
Pitlane
ACCESS
ALL ARE
AS
53-2802-9439
INSIDERS MEMBERS WERE grinners this
year as www.yamaha-racing.com offered
members more exclusive prizes than ever
before. Among the prizes were VIP visits to
world superbike rounds, exclusive 50th
anniversary clothing, Stefan Everts signature
wear and many other money-can't-buy items.
Spanish member Pablo Ferrero and his
partner (pictured above) were our special
guests at the Valencia MotoGP, where they
attended the race and Yamaha's exclusive end
of season party, from where Pablo brought us
this report: "Sometimes I have to pinch myself
to know that it wasn't a dream, that I was the
lucky person that was invited to Yamaha's
world champions party.
"After parking my R1 the Yamaha guys
accompanied my girlfriend and me to the
party location where we got a warm welcome
from Leon Oosterhof of Yamaha Europe's
Racing Division. At that moment everybody
was still busy preparing the event so
I could see all things coming, like a real
Insider. The party started at half past
seven with a speech of the chairman of the
Yamaha Motor Company, who had arrived
directly from Japan. At this moment I understood how important this event was! I felt like
being a witness of a part of Yamaha's history.
"It was a great sensation to be surrounded
by many people who represent the past, the
present and the future of Yamaha Racing. In
fact being at a party with riders like Agostini,
Lavado, Rossi, Edwards, Elías, Xaus and Everts
is something that doesn't happen every day. It
wasn't that formal so I could take some pictures as a nice souvenir of this great moment.
"Stefan Everts' YZ450FM and even the
Valentino's M1 in white, red and black, were
also present, directly from the track. How close
I was to these fantastic machines was incredible.
I could really touch with my fingers the
Yamahas that won the world championships.
"After an exciting presentation of Yamaha's
racing history, and some words of riders and
the team managers the party came to the end
with a big collective toast to celebrate the
successful racing year and the 50th anniversary. I never forget these moments and I hope
to celebrate many more Yamaha wins and
championships in the future!"
8-339363-61
FROM THE NEXT issue of Insider we’ll
be having pages dedicated to the Insiders
community with news, events and exclusive competitions that are only available to
club members. We want you to contribute
by sending in your emails and photographs.
Do you have a story to tell about the time
you met one of our riders? Or any comments on the magazine or website? Or
would you like to share your photos with
us? Maybe you painted your Yamaha in
Valentino Rossi colours or met Noriyuki
Haga at your local supermarket. Whatever
you’ve got we’d love to hear from you, and
we’ll give prizes to the best ones. Send us
your emails to [email protected]
If you’re not yet an Insider but would like
to be, visit www.yamaha-racing.com and
click on the ‘become a member’ icon in the
top left of the page. Insiders can access
special content on the website, download
exclusive photography, enter competitions
and read Insider magazine on-line.
Rius rules the waves
YAMAHA ENJOYED A great year on the water in 2005, with
Nicolas "The Fighter" Rius taking the world title in the runabout pro
category of the 2005 World Speed Championships in Lake Havasu City,
Arizona, on his GP1300R Waverunner.
Riding his Yamaha Motor France-backed two-stroke, Rius gave a
sterling display, defeating some fancied opposition to win his opening
heat and following it up with two second places to win his 10th world
title. Japanese Nakano Nohito, also riding a Yamaha GP1300R, made it
a great event for Yamaha, ending the two-day finals third overall.
Waverunner riders were ripping up the waves in the other classes
too. In the expert ski limited category, Belgium’s Anthony Beernaut
took a deserved bronze on his Superjet while in the Amateur Ski Open
category the marvellously named “Smurf” Mangerud finished second,
with his fellow Norwegian Christer Sandtorv taking up the fourth
position, also on a Superjet700. For more information on Yamaha’s
marine racing visit: www.yamaha-marine-racing.com
18 INSIDER
There is much myth and legend surrounding
Noriyuki Haga. When he rode on to the world
stage in 1997, the little Japanese fellow wowed
fans with his loose riding and his party animal
antics. Now, nine years later, Nitro Nori’s a somewhat calmer family man, although that hasn’t
diminished the adoration for the man who has
the biggest cult following of them all
WORDS: PAUL TAYLOR PICTURES: GRAEME BROWN
AND
FROM JAMES DEAN to Bart Simpson,
rebels have always had a place in the public’s
ILLUSTRATION:
BAS
VAN DEN
BIGGELAAR
And I just didn’t get it…
Part of Haga’s mystery may be his some-
heart. In the world of professional bike
what introverted nature. Universally feared
racing Noriyuki Haga is definitely a man
by the paddock’s press corps, journalists
who likes to do things on his own terms,
everywhere have a Haga nightmare story.
becoming the cult hero of his generation.
Even though eight years in Europe have
But ask Haga for the reason why he has
given him a good understanding of both
such a huge following and the answer is
the English and Italian languages, Nori’s
short. “I don’t know,” he says with an
not exactly known for giving in-depth
embarrassed look. “But if you find out,
interviews. It’s not that he can’t speak, it’s
please tell me.”
just that Nitro Nori likes to do his talking
Like most Europeans, my first recollections of Haga came from watching him
on the track.
Not that this stopped TV presenter Suzi
decimate the opposition at the start of the
Perry from building up a rapport with the
1998 Superbike World Championship.
new Japanese sensation when they first
What made Haga different was that he
met at the beginning of the 1998 season.
wasn’t just a hometown hero. While most
Like Haga, Perry, who now presents MotoGP
of his countrymen sank without a trace on
for BBC TV in Britain, was new to the
foreign soil, the Sultan of Slide, as com-
championship. After being blown away by
mentators quickly dubbed him, proved he
Nori in practice, the young presenter used
could win on any track and in all conditions.
her limited Japanese skills, gained while
In normal circumstances, riders become
working as a model in Tokyo, to attempt
heroes in their native countries.
Occasionally, and only very occasionally,
20 INSIDER
GOLD & GOOSE
an interview with the young hot shot.
“I think I was the first western journalist
someone will come along who, through
to face Nori,” she says. “It was in 1998,
their incredible talent and personality,
when I worked for Sky Sports. He had looked
become adored throughout the world.
so good in practice that we knew he would
Valentino Rossi is one such example, Kevin
be the man to beat. I had lived in Japan
Schwantz another. But why Haga? Grown
for a while when I was younger so felt
men around Europe, aka The Haga Louts,
confident enough to bluff my way through
would dress up in samurai outfits in tribute
a chat. We set the whole thing up before,
to the their hero and ensure Nori-chan
but effectively the interview was conducted
had the rudest welcome at the race track.
in Jap-lish and went down a storm, as8
INSIDER 21
did young Nori, who went on to take a win.
I made the effort to get to know Noriyuki
and I think he knew that he had a friend
in me. I never found it difficult to grab a
word with him, though our infamous ‘chats’
were usually short but always amusing!
“He would always tell me that he was
going to give 100 per cent and that he
was ichi-ban (number one). For me, he has
a superb style and can out-ride the best of
them, thinking nothing of overtaking in
places that you shouldn’t be able to, he’s
scintillating and often has fans gasping in
awe, that’s a 100 per cent racer! I have a
lot of very fond memories of Nori and he
deserves the huge following he’s gained.
He’s also a lot brighter than people give
him credit for, although he once described
me in an article as his perfect woman… so
I guess he must be a nutter after all!”
Yamaha MotoGP rider Colin Edwards is
22 INSIDER
another Haga fan. His first meeting with
at and away from the circuit - although
The Haga name has been inextricably
R1 unbearable. But while both views
the Japanese was in 1996, during practice
not, he insists, on the track. “My children
linked to Yamaha thanks to his stint as the
proved to be inaccurate, the Japanese
for that year’s Suzuka Eight-hour race,
are very important to me and I suppose I
factory’s leading superbike rider between
showed a remarkable calmness, no doubt
where he was so impressed by the wild-
have grown up since I first came to Europe.
1998 and 2000. Since the R7 project ended
a mark of his recent MotoGP experiences,
riding youngster that he asked to be paired
Am I the same? Hmm, yes and no. On the
in 2000, Haga’s had a somewhat nomadic
and knuckled down to the job with remark-
with him for the race. The rest is history, as
track? Yes, I am same Nitro Nori. At home
career. Starting with Red Bull Yamaha in
able commitment. “Compared to the R7, the
they went on to win the race and spent
it is a little bit different as I now have to
2001, he struggled to adapt to the charac-
R1 is totally different. I like the R7 very
the next few years battling, either as
clean up after the babies! At the track it is
teristics of the two-stroke engine, the
much and I still think that it is ‘my bike’.
team-mates or rivals. “He’s completely
different because we take the children in
Michelin tyres and, just as importantly, the
The R1 is different: tyres, engine power,
crazy but I love him,” says Edwards. “You
the motorhome. There are many small chil-
Grand Prix paddock. After one unhappy
chassis - everything different. Now
can never count Nori out! We won the
dren in the paddock and they all play with
season, Nori returned to his beloved world
I like the R1 too, but in different way. This
1996 Suzuka Eight-Hour together, we fought
each other. It is funny. They are all different
superbikes, and Dunlop tyres, as Aprilia’s
year, every time the feeling change
for the 2000 world superbike title and we
nationalities. Akito plays with Kevin Curtain’s
sole superbike rider for a year that started
because every time new parts arrive and
were together at Aprilia in MotoGP in 2003,
Australian sons. They only speak English.
promisingly but faded. The Italian manu-
bike never the same. I always do the best I
so we’ve been bumping fairings for a few
Akito understand Japanese and Italian! But
facturer’s withdrawal from superbikes at
can and now, when the bike has quite
years now. Quite literally some times... It
they get on well and play together. The
the end of the year led to another brief
good feeling I can have fun and enjoy
sure would be good for Yamaha to take
superbike paddock is a good place for the
sojourn into MotoGP, this time as team-
riding R1 too.
the title. They deserve it for all the hard work
children and I am happy that they are
mate to Edwards on Aprilia’s wild RS Cube,
they put in over the years and what more
experiencing different cultures.”
before returning to superbike in 2004,
always want to have a good feeling with
taking a private Ducati to third in the
the bike and be fighting for the win but
championship.
even at the start of the season it did not
popular winner would there be than Nori?”
Despite his kids’ boundless energies and
Sadly for Haga’s many female fans, Nori
apparent fascination with bikes, Nori says
“In some ways it is difficult because you
is happily married to Yurie. Haga’s turbo
he won’t push them into a life of racing.
charged sons, three-year-old Akito and
“When Akito, for example, become 15
from where he left off with Yamaha in
always understood that this was a learning
two-year-old Ryota, are rarely away from
years old I not recommend riding bikes.
2000, others foretold him finding the
year for us; the first year with the R1 and
his side and have changed his outlook both
But if he want to ride then I will help.”
strain of taming the initially recalcitrant
the first for the team with superbike, so8
While some expected Haga to continue
affect my motivation. When I signed I
INSIDER 23
we did not expect immediate results. My
motivation was always good because the
team always listened to me and worked to
get the bike how I wanted it and give me
the parts I needed.”
For team boss Massimo Meregalli, working with Haga was a new experience and,
despite a slightly rocky start to the relationship, he has been seriously impressed
with his rider’s ability. He said: “For sure
Noriyuki has a very particular way of working. At the first tests it was quite unbelievNitro Nori’s still on the
edge when it comes to
racing, but Papa Nori
(left) has grown up
from the rebel of 1997
able to see our bike in the garage with the
big number 41 on it and it did take us
some time to learn his way of working.
Haga fans will go
to all extremes to
show their loyalty
Once Nori got familiar with the R1 he
showed his ability to make many big changes
tyres at a higher rate than most. A double
was poor, in particular Qatar, Misano and
Haga won in Assen in September 2000. “At
Brands Hatch circuit showed that Nitro Nori
a little bit more drive than me in the first
to the bike and still be able to give accurate
DNF in Phillip Island was followed by a
Imola. The next round at Misano saw Haga
the test in Brno we made change to the
was back to his explosive best. Haga and
race, so for the second we made some quite
feedback. For example, he will not think
brief respite in Valencia, where a fourth
still struggling to find a good feeling with
geometry and suddenly the feeling is good.
world champion-to-be Troy Corser slugged it
big changes, especially making the gearing
twice about changing the suspension, gearing
and fifth was a reward for the team’s
the bike and badly affected by a lack of trac-
Compared to Suzuki and Honda we were
out at the head of the time sheets from the
lower, and this gave me better acceleration.”
and tyre all in one session, yet he can still
improved set-up, but the team’s home race
tion. Qualifying was a disaster: 21st on the
still down on engine power but because the
very first practice session. Both races were all
With the R1 finally tamed, Haga actually
go out and analyse each part individually.
at Monza confirmed that things were still
grid, but Nori-chan’s talent and sheer
feeling with the front is good we are able to
out war, with the two superbike legends
outscored eventual champion Corser over the
Always in practice he is working towards
from perfect, with Haga again outraced by
determination brought the R1 home with a
push much harder and brake much later. This
clashing fairings at almost every corner in
second half of the season, taking 183 points
the race rather than just setting one good
his team-mate and finishing ninth and 11th.
brace of sixth places.
was the difference. In qualifying I had still
front of an enthralled crowd. Corser took the
to Corser’s 179 and scoring nine podium fin-
some problems with rear traction but for
win by less than two-tenths of a second in
ishes to the Australian’s six, a record that
lap and even between races he is not afraid
There’s no doubt that the team were later
Practice for the next round at Brno
to make sometimes big changes to the set-up.
than most when it came to developing the
showed no major improvements, with Haga
race two we made a few small changes and
At first we found this a little strange but
bike, but by May it was looking like their
complaining of a lack of grip as he quali-
found solution.”
now we understand how Nori works and I
target of challenging for podiums and wins
fied 18th for the races. The doom mongers
think this has been reflected in the results.”
in the latter part of the year was way off
were sharpening the knives as he came
slimline Haga. The Japanese ace shed five
Brno also marked the debut of the new,
could’ve been bettered had Haga not been
“You can never count
Nori out”
knocked off in a hairy opening race at Magny
Cours. Only championship runner-up Chris
Vermeulen outscored Haga in those last six
Certainly the early rounds of the 2005
target. However, Haga hit back at Silverstone,
home an improved, but still distant seventh
kilos in the break, spending more time in the
race one, before the Yamaha rider gained
rounds (198 points and eight podiums) but
campaign proved difficult as Haga adapted
one of his favourite tracks, with a front row
in the first race, before producing one of
gym and taking more care with his diet. “Of
revenge in race two, outbraking his rival on
it was Haga’s early season results that saw
to the R1. Fifth in the two-part opening
start and a third place in race two - the R1’s
the performances of his career to carve his
course, it’s important for a motorcycle racer
the final lap and forcing him into a desperate
him ultimately finish third in the standings,
Qatar race (behind team-mate Andrew Pitt)
first podium in world superbikes. It proved
way through the pack and win race two by
to be fit. I work out regularly and I am taking
manoeuvre that saw him take to the gravel. “I
162 points behind Corser.
disguised the fact that the R1 was proving
a false dawn though as the R1 still strug-
over three seconds, his first win of the sea-
care about what I eat and drink. Before when
don’t know why, but I have a real connection
difficult to ride and consuming its Pirelli
gled badly at circuits where surface grip
son and Yamaha’s first in the class since
I ate in the evening I would also drink a can
with Britain and the British people, even
then it is Yamaha Motor Europe’s racing chief
of Coca Cola, now I will drink some sparkling
though the weather is always so bad!” jokes
Laurens Klein Koerkamp. He worked with
water. I still allow myself a beer every now
Haga. “Brands Hatch was the highlight of
Haga during the rider’s first tenure with
and again, but only one. I am watching calo-
the year. I had been on holiday in Japan and
Yamaha, between 1998 and 2001, and was
ries. It is a help for me when I am riding.
before I left the team had told me that we
the man responsible for signing him up to
I can move the bike from side to side more
would have a new engine for the race.
ride the R1 in 2005. “I first met Nori in the
easy, which I notice when I am following
Unfortunately when I arrive they told me
winter of 1997,” he recalls. “He was a shy kid
riders through chicanes.“
that not all the parts were ready but still all
who didn’t say much, even in Japanese. Since
weekend Troy and I were so close together
then he’s learned his languages and, when
Haga/Yamaha partnership was back on form -
and the feeling with everything: the bike,
you know him, you discover his funny side.
but the following round at England’s famous
the tyres and the circuit was perfect. Troy had
Brno proved an exciting taster that the
24 INSIDER
If anyone within racing knows Nori-chan
“Sometimes it looks like he can be very8
INSIDER 25
Hockenheim 2000. Colin Edwards discovers that
Nitro Nori never gives as the Japanese rider
goes past to take the win
rude or difficult to work with, but I’ve
hard to even stay in the slipstream, but at
manoeuvres is the icing on the cake.
found that he is just so focused on getting
every corner he would just brake later to
And talking of the title, Nori-chan is clear
results and getting a good set-up for
make up the distance - only to lose it
in his objectives for 2006. For the first
Sunday. I respect him a lot because you can
again at the next straight. Lap after lap
time he goes into a season running the
guarantee that Nori will always give 110
you could see everyone standing up as they
same bike, with the same team and the
per cent but, equally, he expects those
came into the stadium section and, on the
same tyres, a stability he hopes help him
around him to give 110 per cent too -
last lap the noise was incredible as Nori
lift the title.
that’s what you need in race team. He is
worked his way past Colin. The feeling
able to make a clear distinction between
among the team was incredible because if
the development work from this year.
work and his own time. When the race is
there was any track where he shouldn’t
More engine power is still number one
over he becomes a different man, much
have been able to win then it was there.
priority for 2006. The chassis is now very
more relaxed.
“I think it’s easy to see why the fans love
Nori. Probably my best memory of what
“He has a Pandora’s
Box of tricks”
“I think that sums up Nori. He’s a true
“It is good to stay and take advantage of
good but we can make better still: for
racer but I don’t think anyone will ever
example this year we tried maybe four or
truly understand him. He has this wonder-
five special swingarms but still we use
ful Pandora’s Box of tricks inside that is
a standard one which has been extended
secret to all but him. He opens it during
a bit because this has the best feeling. In
races at moments and places where nobody,
every way we can make some improvement
including his competitors, expect it.
but top end power is most important.
But beneath the bravado necessary to be
“Important for me is that bike develop-
makes him so special came from Hockenheim
a world class bike racer, Haga displays the
ment is improving always. The feeling with
in 2000, when he beat Colin (Edwards) with
vulnerability that is quite possibly the
the R1 is good now and most important
an incredible move between the last two
essence of what makes him so popular. For
is to start the year with bike capable of
corners. Nori was riding the R7 and
all his devil may care attitude, Nori’s a
winning. I have won many superbike races
although it was a superb handling bike,
good guy who loves his family, wants to
and come close to the title before. This is
possibly the best ever, it didn’t have as
please his fans and is desperate to win the
still the big thing I have to achieve and
much top end power as some other bikes,
world title that has so far eluded him -
always this is my goal at the start of a
which was especially telling on the long
that he possesses the ability to pull off
year. I hope that next year is my best
Hockenheim straights. Nori was finding it
some of the most exciting overtaking
chance to win.”<
26 INSIDER
Ahead of the pack
Yamaha’s YZR-M1 has dominated the MotoGP world championships
in 2005, winning the rider, team and manufacturer titles. Insider
went to Valencia to ride Valentino Rossi’s bike and uncover its
winning secrets
WORDS: MAT OXLEY PICTURES: MILAGRO
YAMAHA’S MIGHTY YZR-M1 ruled MotoGP in
2005, a result of five years hard work by
Yamaha’s race department.
“No question, it’s the best bike out there
now,” says Jeremy Burgess, Valentino Rossi’s
crew chief. “At the start of 2004 it was maybe
75 per cent as good as the best, by the end of
last season it was 90 per cent there and now I’d
say we’re five per cent ahead.”
Developing a racing motorcycle is a three-way
process - between the factory, the pit crew and
the riders. Each development cycle commences
with the rider giving feedback to his pit crew
which is then analysed and related Yamaha’s
Technology Development Division.
When Rossi joined Yamaha at the start of
2004, the M1 was already well on its way to
becoming the best-balanced MotoGP bike.
Yamaha began work on a new engine configuration during 2003, using an uneven firing order
and four-valve heads. They also modified the
chassis, shortening wheelbase to take full
advantage of the inline four engine’s inherent
compactness. Rossi immediately appreciated the
new bike’s ‘sweeter’ power delivery and superb
manoeuvrability. This combination took Rossi to
nine wins from 16 starts during 2004.
For 2005 Yamaha engineers improved top-end
power, optimising fuel consumption, enhancing
mass centralisation and making the bike perform
better across a broader range of conditions.
Even a mere mortal like myself could feel the
improvements when I tested the bike the day
after the season-ending Valencia GP. The latest
M1 engine produces perfectly linear power like
an electric motor, and it steers and handles
more like a 250 GP bike than a big four-stroke.
Overall, it is astonishingly user-friendly, like a
240 horsepower R1!
The M1 is the epitome of Yamaha’s ‘humachine’ technology which acknowledges that
motorcycles are not merely about machinery,
they are about flesh and metal - a combination
of the human and the machine. This is exactly
the same philosophy that Yamaha employs when
designing and engineering its street bikes.8
28 INSIDER
INSIDER 29
GEOMETRY
ENGINE BRAKING SYSTEM
The M1 features a multi-adjustable chassis. Wheelbase, swingarm pivot position, ride height, fork
offset and castor angle can all be adjusted but generally geometry is not changed from one track to
another, so that riders can feel at one with their machines throughout the season. This adjustability
is instead designed to allow the standard M1 chassis to be set up for the different riding styles of
Yamaha’s four MotoGP riders. The 2005 model features a shorter engine, thanks to a redesign of the
main shaft, drive shaft and counter shaft positions. This allowed engineers to mount the rear shock
on the back of the engine to improve mass centralisation. The fuel tank is also lower than before,
lowering centre of gravity and centralising mass.
Slipper clutches improve corner entry performance by reducing the negative effects
of engine braking. Creating an effective engine braking system is arguably more crucial than increasing horsepower because at most MotoGP tracks the throttle is fully
open for only 15 per cent of the lap but closed for 40 per cent. The M1 uses a ramptype slipper clutch plus an Idle Control System which reduces engine braking by raising the engine’s idle speed. The ICS uses real-time inputs to adapt to changing track
conditions and increasing tyre wear.
DATALOGGING
The YZR-M1’s datalogging system monitors more than 50 different engine
and chassis factors, so engineers have the information they need to further
improve performance. Data is downloaded for analysis in the pits after each
run. Engine functions monitored include speed, rpm, temperature, cylinder
combustion and cylinder pressure. Chassis factors monitored include suspension stroke, G-force and brake pressure.
AERODYNAMICS
MotoGP aerodynamics aren’t only about making the motorcycle go fast in a straight
line. It is also about improving air flow for the engine and rider, as well as improving
performance in corners and side winds. For 2005 the M1 aerodynamics team’s focus
was reducing side-on resistance, which makes the bike easier to lay into corners and
easier to control in side winds. The fairing-nose intake was also modified to increase
airflow to the airbox.
ELECTRONICS
The M1’s power-versus-fuel consumption settings are minutely adjusted during
practice but engineers alter the mapping as little as possible so the rider feels
familiar with his machine. Riders can choose from six mapping options via a
handlebar switch. The medium setting is usually used, but low can be used to
conserve tyres during the late stages of a race. In the wet, hard is for a damp
track and low for a soaking track. The Idle Control System reduces torque in the
lower gears by controlling throttle valve opening during acceleration and features an anti-wheelie system, while the M1’s Traction Control System (TCS) has
sensors that monitor wheel speed, lean and slip angle to control wheelspin.
Yamaha’s priority was to create a TCS that gives the rider a natural feeling and
the latest system is simpler but more intelligent than the pre-2004 TCS.
FRAME
The Deltabox frame has been revised for 2005, being more rigid
in some ways and less rigid in others. Lateral rigidity is reduced so
the frame gives improved feedback and works like suspension,
minutely flexing at ultra-high lean angles, where conventional
suspension becomes less efficient. The reduction was achieved by
removing the frame’s upper-rear crossbar, which used to carry the
now engine-mounted rear shock.
SUSPENSION
TYRES
Öhlins’ renowned TTX pressurised damping technology is used on the
YZR-M1 and has taken performance to new levels with improved consistency, better feel and reduced tyre chatter. The M1’s suspension is now
so good that Öhlins has been able to reduce adjustments to just preload
and low-speed rebound and compression damping. This greatly simplifies
the set-up procedure, so riders need only a few clicks to get the correct
settings for each track.
Riders get to choose from a selection of Michelin tyres
designed specifically for each track. Michelin usually supplies five or six rear slicks and three or four front slicks of
varying compound and construction for each event. Riders
use 30 to 35 tyres during practice as they look for the best
race tyres. Soft qualifying tyres, which offer maximum grip
but only last a few laps, intermediate and full rain tyres
are also available.
BRAKES
ENGINE
The M1’s engine produces rider-friendly 240 horsepower
performance, thanks to its uneven firing order and perfectly tuned
engine-management system. For 2005 Yamaha successfully focused
on increasing acceleration, top-end power and improving fuel
consumption by eight per cent, to meet tighter fuel capacity limits
(down from 24 to 22 litres) introduced at the start of the year.
30 INSIDER
The latest Brembo MotoGP brakes are beautifully crafted and stunningly effective. The twin front carbon discs and pads operate at temperatures of up to 650° Celsius and provide massive deceleration
of up to 1.4g. The 2005 one-piece radial-mount calipers use a new
aluminium alloy developed in F1 that is stiffer and lighter than before.
The rear brake is a conventional steel disc with two-piece caliper.
INSIDER 31
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32 INSIDER
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INSIDER 33
NORMALLY RIDERS HATE these sort of
The serious sportsbike rider expects, nay
Yamaha had addressed all the things that
fer from the YZR-M1 MotoGP machine,
things. Twenty-four hours ago Kevin
demands, his machine to be race track
we asked for. Even in that virtually stock
it’s pedigree looks ideal for the cut and
Curtain won his first world supersport race
developed, an aspect project leader Makato
specification and with no proper testing I’d
thrust of supersport competition. One
of the season at the EuroSpeedway venue
Shimamoto and his team were well aware
have raced that new bike in the last two
such example is the fuel injection system
in the former East Germany, today he’s
of. "The whole bike concept has become
rounds. The pick-up in the mid-range is just
with its secondary injectors, working in
tired, emotionally drained and 100km west
more racing orientated,” he explains. "We
so strong, I guess down to the second
tandem with the main injector to ensure
at the Oschersleben circuit - taking his
developed a brand new engine for a new
injector and the short-stroke engine, and
optimum fuel injection efficiency in the
first ride on the bike he hopes will take
performance level and the engine defined
the front end grip is a big, big improvement.
higher rpm range and giving a huge bene-
him to the 2006 Supersport World
everything around it. We wanted to find
This was one of the problems we had when
fit to the supersport racers, who are
Championship crown.
and translate innovative solutions. That’s
racing the previous bike: there wasn’t as
bound by the rules to use the production
why we could make such a big step for-
much weight over the front wheel as I
machine’s throttle bodies, injectors and
ward with this new R6."
would have liked for a race bike, and when
butterfly mechanisms - hardly a handicap
The very word testing has a slightly
glamorous ring to it. In reality, testing is
about stopping and starting, chopping,
So the third generation R6 was conceived
the fuel load went down it was easy to lose
when the stock bike features equip-
changing and burning off the laps all day
as a racer first and a road bike second.
the front. Even on the stock suspension this
ment like this. Racers can further
long. It’s a tiring, monotonous task without
Yamaha took a no compromise attitude
bike feels so planted and the feedback
benefit by fitting a race ECU
the buzz and competitive edge that the
when it came to building their flagship
you’re getting is unbelievable. We’ll have
made by the Yamaha
competition of a race weekend brings.
600, right down to ensuring that the com-
our first tests of the full world supersport-
Engineering Corporation (YEC),
ponents that do not belong on a race bike
spec bikes in December and already I’m
which allows the fuel mapping
testing, pleasantly surprised that a near-
are not integrated in the bodywork of their
looking forward to it.”
and ignition settings to be fine
stock bike feels almost as good, and in
new baby. The designers didn’t think they
some areas better, than the bike he’s taken
should be part of the basic shape of the
But today Kevin is actually quite enjoying
“Yamaha has addressed all the things
we asked for”
Curtain’s Yamaha Motor Germany squad
took delivery of their first pre-production
tuned on a laptop computer.
Perhaps one of the most groundbreak-
bikes before the end of the 2005 season
ing features to come from the M1 is the
to give them every opportunity to hit the
Yamaha Chip Controlled Throttle (YCC-T).
ground running in 2006. The outgoing
Yamaha’s engineers made the decision to
machine that took Curtain and Parkes to
use this highly advanced new throttle
two one-two finishes in the last three
control system on the R6 because it is
rounds was producing a staggering 140bhp
ideally suited to the extremely wide rev-
to second in the world championship. The
bike. After all, when was the last time you
at the rear wheel, so this is the initial
range of the new 600cc motor.
bike he’s riding is the first YZF-R6 to hit
saw a world supersport contender with a
target for the Yamaha Germany team to
the track in Europe, it’s not even a full
licence plate attached!
achieve with their new steed.
world supersport-spec bike - rather a stock
While the 2005 R6 remained one of the
Supersport racing is one of the most
YCC-T features an engine management
unit with around five times the capacity
of that of the 2005 model, and this mas-
pre-production machine fitted with a few
most powerful bikes in the Supersport
popular racing classes at both world and
sive processing power ensures that the
kit parts and a race fairing - and the pur-
World Championship, there’s no doubt that
national levels. Part of that popularity
new throttle delivers outstandingly
pose of the test is to get his initial feed-
she could be somewhat difficult to ride
comes down to the fact that although tuning
smooth and highly responsive action.
back on what he wants to make the bike a
right on the limit. As a result, the engineers
is allowed, many of the key components
In particular, the YCC-T system optimises
winner when the lights go green on the
of the new model have given Curtain and
must remain as they left the factory -
the relationship between the engine
2006 season in Qatar in February. Yamaha
his team-mate Broc Parkes the improve-
making supersport one of the most cost
speed, intake air flow and drive torque
and the Yamaha Motor Germany squad are
ments they have been craving for, namely
effective championships today.
curve, to give a smooth and controlled
serious about reclaiming the world super-
stronger mid-range power and front end
sport crown they last won in 2000.
grip, plus a hell of a lot more.
The latest R6 marks a shift in emphasis
Yamaha makes a range of kit parts to
allow racers to change the parts permitted
power delivery for such a high revving,
high performance engine.
“When I rode the new bike for the first
under the regulations, but the company
for Yamaha. Previous models were con-
time I couldn’t believe it,” says Curtain, an
knows only too well that in this class the
suddenly, the amount of fuel delivered to
ceived as road bikes first and foremost but
12 time Australian champion and veteran
base bike has to be good if you’re going to
the cylinder head can be excessive, result-
racing, and naturally winning, in the super-
of developing production bikes into race
have a chance of winning. And as the third
ing in less efficient combustion processes
sport class was always high on the list of
winners. “I didn’t really know what to
generation R6 is one of the first models in
and reduced performance. However, with
priorities. Not that the two are so far apart.
expect but straight away I could see that
the Yamaha range to use technology trans-
34 INSIDER
When a conventional throttle is opened
YCC-T the computer constantly 8
INSIDER 35
processes data from various sensors -
materials and weight must be the same as
including air temperature, intake air pressure,
on the standard bike. As the new R6 fea-
atmospheric pressure, crank position, engine
tures titanium valves, the teams too will be
speed, temperature, throttle position and
able to take advantage of the lightweight
oxygen. The data from the ECU enables
valves - resulting in increased rpm and, in
YCC-T to control precisely the opening of
turn, increased power output. Other impor-
the throttle valves to suit the conditions,
tant technical features which make a sig-
and in doing so it ensures that the opti-
nificant contribution to the performance
mum fuel/air mix - and therefore higher
of both the road and race bikes are the
performance - is delivered every time.
new crank and pistons. These are two more
YCC-T has been developed specially by an
areas where the racers must remain
independent project team, while hours of
absolutely standard, with not even polish-
development work by Yamaha’s test riders
ing allowed. The inertial mass of the crank
have ensured a natural feeling for the
has been reduced compared with the 2005
rider. The result is a system which delivers smooth, linear, carburettor-like
throttle response in the low to medium
model, and this ensures that the new
engine is able to offer improved pick-up
and acceleration, while the new pistons are
rpm ranges, with remarkable levels
each 13 grams lighter, reducing horsepower
of power above 10,000rpm. To
losses and vibration while running at a
ensure a fail-safe system the bike is
also fitted with a conventional throttle
cable to close the butterflies when the
twistgrip is shut.
The engine itself is a short-stroke motor
phenomenal 17,500rpm.
One of the most original design features
on the new R6 is its exhaust system with
its YZR-M1 inspired silencer mounted
midships, both laterally and longitudinally.
capable of revving to 17,500rpm in stan-
Slovenian exhaust company Akrapovic have
dard trim. The switch from the old 65.5 x
produced a race version which will be
44.5mm dimensions to 67 x 42.5mm of the
available over the counter to racing cus-
all-new 2006 engine should provide a plat-
tomers as part of Yamaha’s YEC range.
will no doubt be excited by the fully-
form for more power. The combustion
But there’s much more to the new YZF-
adjustable 41mm upside-down-front-forks
chamber design has been made more
R6 than its engine. A new Deltabox chassis
which feature a unique two-way compres-
compact, which has led to an increased
has been designed following a ‘straight
sion stroke damping adjustment allowing
compression and at the same time the
frame’ concept that see the steering head,
both low and high speed damping to be
tuned for even more control on the race-
With YEC parts you can turn your R6
into a racer like this
track. Öhlins is developing a range of front
fork springs and rear shock absorbers
which Yamaha will offer as part of it’s YEC
kit parts range. The massive air induction
36 INSIDER
valve angles have been reduced. Intake
swingarm pivot and rear axle lying in a sin-
system is another M1-derived feature,
angle is now 11.5 degrees, compared with
gle plane to achieve the desired balance
going straight through the machine’s
the 2005 model’s 14 degrees while exhaust
and rigidity using information gained from
headstock and using the inside of the
angle is now 12 degrees to the old bike’s
the YZR-M1 project. The new chassis meets
frame as the air cleaner box.
14. In addition to the reduced valve angle,
Curtain’s call for more weight over the
Journalists are already claiming the YZF-
the valve diameter has been increased to
front wheel, it’s 52.5/47.5 weight distribu-
R6 to be the most significant bike of 2006.
27mm inlet and 23mm exhaust. While race
tion again replicates Mr. Rossi’s M1. As
For Yamaha Racing, proof of this will only come
teams may change the actual valves under
world supersport rules insist on the stan-
if Curtain or Parkes bring home the super-
FIM supersport regulations the diameter,
dard front fork being used, Broc and Kev
sport world title come October next year.<
Racing teams can transform their R6s with the Yamaha Engineering Corporation
(YEC) range of parts. For E4,535*, you can purchase the basic engine kit consisting
of the camshafts, ECU and ancillary parts required to give a ‘stage one’ tune.
Further parts are available to convert your YZF-R6 into a fully-kitted like the
bike in our photos, featuring all YEC engine parts, close ratio gearbox, Akrapovic
titanium exhaust, high capacity radiator, 2D datalogging system and Öhlins
suspension. YEC also produces a range of parts to turn the YZF-R1 into a world
superbike contender. Visit www.yamaha-racingparts.com for more information.
* Pan-European recommended retail price excluding VAT
INSIDER 37
Double superbike world champion Colin Edwards returned to the Yamaha
factory in 2005 as team-mate to Valentino Rossi in the Gauloises Yamaha Team.
In his first year on the YZR-M1 the Texan finished an impressive fourth overall
in the championship but, as he told Insider, he's aiming higher for 2006
WORDS: BERTIE SIMMONDS PICTURES: MILAGRO
What was it like coming back to Yamaha?
Like coming home, really. I was brought up
through Yamaha’s off-road family when I
rode motocross in the States and then
when I went to road racing I hooked up
with them again. I won the 1992 250cc
title on a Yamaha and then we went superbike racing with Vance and Hines. From
1995 I did two years with the factory
Yamaha team in world superbike. Many
of these guys are in the MotoGP team,
including the team manager Davide Brivio.
It was like getting back in with old friends.
You were the only rider to score points
in all 17 Grands Prix, what do you put
your consistency down to?
I guess it’s because you don’t win anything
if you fall down, so I try my best not to.
I’ve learned that the hard way. I’ve said
before that I consider myself an intelligent
rider, so I know that falling down can hurt
both you and your title chances. Thing is,
you get some riders that may not think
that way and they’ll take a few more
chances and get a result.
You mentioned that you’re having to
change your style for the M1, why is that?
It’s a necessity. I’ve had three seasons in
MotoGP, but each on a different bike. I’m
now working towards my second season
with the same team and the same bike for the first time in my MotoGP career. So
I’ve finally realised that you have to ride
these bikes different to a superbike.
In what way?
Well, you have to carry much more corner
speed on these things and to be honest I’ve
got a classic superbike style. Brake hard, get
into the corner, turn it and fire it out. That
worked for me and won me two titles, but
38 INSIDER
I’ve seen what Valentino has been doing
with the bike and I realise that my style is
not the answer. I’ve got to get more corner
speed with the M1 to succeed. I’ve worked
hard at this for the last few races of the
season. It was difficult to do, but I had to
treat those last couple of races as a test.
Can a rider really change his style?
Sure. Valentino can do it in the middle of a
race! My good results came at places where
we had traction thanks to a bit of banking
or camber, or at super silky-smooth tracks.
As soon as we had bumps, we struggled.
You’d speak to Valentino and he’d just say:
‘traction not a problem.’ It was because of
his style being so different. He’s braking
hard, earlier. I’m braking around the same
place, but I’m leaning on the brakes just a
little, before getting progressively harder,
so when I’m about to turn in, the bike’s
just not underneath me, it’s stopped. Making
this conscious effort to change is difficult.
You try it next time you ride! It’s real easy
in practice, there’s no pressure, but come
the race and it’s very different. The red
lights go out, there are people around you
and you go back to how you normally ride.
I’ve got to get this new style to be automatic.
Is it simply about being faster mid-corner?
It’s not just that, it’s the tyres. With the old
style, the Michelins always did the same
thing: maybe three or four good laps and
then they’d take a drop in consistency. With
the new style, it’s its eight or nine laps
before the drop. If I get this thing sorted,
the tyres should stay better for longer.
You must be looking forward to going
testing then?
I’ve never wanted to go testing as much as
I do now! I’m starting to get a good feel
from the bike and I’m eager to go testing
and chuck different tyres at the thing.
That’s what I’m good at. You can’t do all
this on a race weekend as you only have
about four hours on the bike. You don’t want
to crash otherwise you’ll lose time getting
back to the pits. We’ve got three trips to
Sepang planned and one to Qatar. I just
want to spend three days going around in
circles to complete the job.
What is it like being Vale’s team-mate?
It’s good. We work well together and he’s
a good guy. We’ve got on well for a good
few years now, so that helps.
Does teaming up with the world’s best
motorcyclist put more pressure on you?
Not really. Who better to measure yourself
against? I’ve been wanting to be
Valentino’s team-mate for years, it’s just
that years ago everyone - including me probably thought that we would be on a
different make of bike.
How do you go about beating Rossi?
You’ve got to be able to put pressure on
him. Like anyone, sometimes he makes
mistakes. These come from pressure and it’s
up to the rest of us to apply it, if we want
to beat him.
Does he get preferential treatment from
anyone at all?
I’ve heard whispers that Vale gets the best
tyres from Michelin. Man, that’s the biggest
load of bull. I know what goes on. I know
we get the same stuff.
But can he party as hard as Colin Edwards?
(Laughs) Ha! I loved being out with him
after the Laguna GP. I think I had a hangover for three days! He’s the main man in8
INSIDER 39
Thanks to Manwood & Raoul de Thouars.
Europe, but over in Las Vegas where we
were partying, he was just another high
roller who had to pay for things like
everyone else! We had a stretched Hummer
and a crew of people. Some of the
nightspots were charging $375 for a bottle
of vodka - minimum purchase two bottles!
It normally costs $65.
How was it having a GP in your home
country at last?
Man, it was awesome. I felt so proud to
be there in front of the fans and wearing
that special yellow and black Yamaha
North America colour scheme. All my
heroes rode in that colour so to get a
podium was very special.
Was that the highlight of the year?
I guess. There’s only one guy ahead of you
when you’re second! But Nicky had a
dream weekend. That’s the sort of weekend I’m shootin’ for at Laguna next year.
So when is Colin Edwards going to step
up on top of the podium?
I believed it would be this year, I really
did. We’ve got some work to do, but the
team are behind me 100 per cent. With
some good winter testing coming up and
after that I want to be on it every weekend next year. I’ve been on the podium, so
I know I can do it. Now for 2006 I want to
be fighting for the podium every weekend
- just like Valentino does.
Do you ride much on the road?
I rode a while back with my friend Matt
LeBlanc, who played Joey in Friends. He’s
got loads of bikes and has been riding
since he was a kid, so he’s pretty good on
two-wheels - going off-road - the whole
nine yards. So we’re going down these roads
and I’m freaking out! There’s cars coming
the other way! As soon as we hit some
canyon roads I could relax a little, but it’s
still way different to riding on the circuit.
“I want to be fighting
for the podium
every weekend like
Valentino does”
40 INSIDER
So have you had the opportunity to ride
any of Yamaha’s new bikes for 2006?
Yamaha asked me to help out with some
promotional videos so I rode a couple of
the bikes, the R1 and R6. Man, the R6 was
amazing. It feels great. I couldn’t believe
it... it feels just like my M1! Compact, sweethandling. Seriously, it does. But I have to
temper that with the next quote, it feels
the same… but with about 130bhp less.
Which is as it should be for the street! It’s
pretty awesome, all the same.<
BLUE ARMY
Yamaha riders and their YZ250Fs dominated MX2 this year. Antonio Cairoli wrapped
up the championship and the blue riders claimed 11 out of 17 GPs. The bad news for
the competition is that the YZ250F has gotten even better for 2006…
WORDS: TOM JACOBS PICTURES: MIKE
VAN
CLEVEN
IN ONLY HIS second full season of Grand
from Andrew McFarlane, Billy Mackenzie,
Cairoli’s rise to the top has been nothing
less than stellar. “I remember people were
Prix racing, Antonio Cairoli reached his
Anthony Boissiere and Davide Guarneri
goal of winning the MX2 world champi-
underlined the series’ variety, but Cairoli
very surprised by my results last year. I had
was the man to beat with 13 moto wins,
never scored points before in my career
Yamaha effort that saw the YZ250F claim-
becoming the youngest Italian motocross
and I only qualified twice so it was a big
ing the top three places in the champi-
world champion and the country’s first
shock to see me riding in front. Actually it
onship, winning 21 of the 34 motos in the
since Andrea Bartolini and Alessio Chiodi
was even a bit of a shock for me!” grins
hands of five different riders. Heat wins
in 1999.
Cairoli. “The big change came when I8
onship. The tiny Italian spearheaded a
42 INSIDER
INSIDER 43
enthusiasm that the production 400cc
but at the same time it will accelerate out
four-stroke created and Yamaha wanted to
of bends like nothing else. The overall
push the envelope even further. (We knew)
package is very hard to beat.”
the 250 four-stroke could be the bike that
Tony Cairoli: first YZ250F world champ
Yamaha test rider Doug Dubach in action
the ultimate user-friendly race weapon has
forever and that’s how it turned out! In
inspired Yamaha engineers to move the
mid-June 2000 Yamaha America hosted an
game on once again. The 2006 YZ250F
off-road bike introduction for the
combines an improved liquid-cooled, four-
American press and they showed the
stroke DOHC single cylinder five-valve
YZ250F for the first time in public and I
engine with a newly-designed aluminum
needed to be very cautious about what to
frame. The frame is designed to achieve
say. I was actually a bit low-key about the
the desired strength and rigidity balance
performance, because people would not have
while maintaining right amount of for-
believed how incredibly competitive it was…”
giveness and making the YZ250F even eas-
The first race came at the last round of
Stefan Everts won eight Grands Prix on his YZ250F in 2003
ier to ride over a gruelling 40-minute
the All Japan MX championship in 2000
moto. Engine developments were focused
where Ernesto Fonseca would ride the
on power characteristics at low and mid
YZ250F. “We always believed in the poten-
range and improving the engine power at
tial of the YZ250F, but we could not have
high revs. Other exciting 2006 features
hoped for a better debut,” Nakayama
include a new exhaust system, dry sump oil
recalls of that Sunday in October. “Ernesto
system and high capacity radiators.
took the holeshot in both races and won
Eyes on the prize: Yamaha’s MX2 contenders can’t wait to ride the aluminiumframed 2006 YZ
However, the desire to make the YZ250F
would change the face of the 125 class
From amateur rider to world level pro,
twice.” Many race wins and championships
the YZ250F is extremely versatile.
would follow. From the middle of the 2003
Something world champion Cairoli
season, Stefan Everts entered 125cc GPs on
acknowledges: “My GP bike is still fairly
a virtually production YZ250F. Despite
close to the production stuff, only the
missing the first quarter of the season, the
characteristics are a bit different. There
switched to the Yamaha De Carli Team at
125cc west supercross championship.
in motocross, also to ensure high power
Belgian legend still won eight races to
is something of a hard-revving two stroke
the end of 2003. For the first time I was in
Results on the track only confirmed the
and engine torque at the same time. To
come second in the championship. Not bad
bike in my YZ250F but you can ride it
a professional team who believed in me. I
major coup YZ engineers had pulled off
keep the reciprocating masses to a minimum
considering he only rode the 125s as a
extremely hard for a long time without a
also found it easy to change to the 250cc
because, at that time, four-stroke engines
we used titanium for valves, for example.”
four-stroke bike.”
in motocross had only made their point in
Of course one of the initial reasons for
Strong pre-season results in the 2004
the 500cc or open class. Despite Bartolini’s
the development of four-stroke motocross
Italian championship were not a fluke and
1999 world title defining the brand’s pio-
bikes was the desire to create cleaner engines.
the Sicilian kid took the GP world by storm.
neering role, there was still a degree of
But another came from racing, and even
He scored his first podium, heat win and
scepticism with the announcement of a
the joy of riding itself. Over time controlla-
overall GP to finish third overall, grabbing
250cc four-stroke.
bility had become an increasing problem
However the legend of the ‘small’
fact that I almost always win the holeshot.
with powerful two-strokes. The YZ250F
Yamaha four-stroke mx-er is not only
I used to think that four-strokes were for
the title one year later. Cairoli’s perform-
“Generally, a four-stroke engine is about
From amateur rider to world level pro,
the YZ250F is extremely versatile
warm-up for the MXGP races!
lot of effort. I like that, and of course the
ance is seldom seen in motocross, however
20 per cent heavier than a two-stroke,”
launched a revolution in the light class,
based on race wins. Year after year the
old men. The YZ250F certainly changed
it seems the perfect complement to the
explains YZ project manager Yoshiharu
coupling hardcore race performance with
YZ250F has moved forward, offering a
my mind about that!”<
record setting nature of his machinery.
Nakayama. “In developing the original
ease of use. Renowned Yamaha test rider
complete and unique riding experience.
YZ250F, we sought a design that would
and multiple champion Doug Dubach vivid-
Tim Olson test rider for the American mag
motocross world in the same way that the
bring out the strong points of a four-stroke
ly remembers the development stage of the
Motocross Action is a fan. He said: “The
revolutionary YZM400 had in 1997. Even in
and keep the weight down. We already had
YZ250F. ”At the end of 1998 we received
YZ250F just doesn't tire you out, it’s proba-
its very first season it made a huge impact,
experience with five-valve engines in road
the first YZ250F prototype and it was all
bly the easiest to ride motocross bike that I
with Ernesto Fonseca winning the AMA
racing, so it was obvious to use this layout
very exciting, because we saw the great
have ever ridden. It’s very stable and agile
At its launch the YZ250F stunned the
44 INSIDER
Yamaha Rinaldi Research & Development
produces a range of official kit parts for
YZ models. For more information visit
www.yamaha-racingparts.com
THE WONDER
YEARS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE YZ250F
FIRST TIME WINNER
2000
Ernesto Fonseca wins the 11th
round of the All Japan 125cc
championship, the YZ250F’s first
ever race.
JAPAN CALLING
2001
Hisashi Tajima dominates the
championship, winning ten heats.
FONZ WRITES THE RULES
2001
Costa Rican Ernesto Fonseca
writes history, making the YZ250F
the first four-stroke bike to win
a major 125cc title when he
wins the 2001 AMA west coast
supercross championship.
REEDY TAKES IT EAST SIDE
2002
Chad Reed wins the 125cc east
Supercross championship with
six wins out of seven rounds.
EVERTS TAKES SECOND
2003
Stefan Everts participates in
selected 125cc GPs but still
manages to come second overall.
50TH MAJOR WIN
2004
Mike Brown wins the second heat
of the AMA Michigan National
marking the 50th victory for the
YZ250F in major competitions in
Japan, Europe and north America.
ONE TEAM PODIUM
2005
Andrew McFarlane leads Ricci
team mates Guarneri and Chiodi,
during the GP of Europe in
Teutschenthal. All three rode
YRRD-kitted YZ250F bikes.
YOUNG GUNS GO FOR IT
2005
Dennis Verbruggen wins the
Junior world title in Jinin (Czech
Republic) giving Yamaha a backto-back win after Ivo Steinbergs’
win in 2004.
WORLD DOMINATION
2005
Antonio Cairoli claims the MX2
world champonship as Yamaha
takes the manufacturers’ title.
WINNING DEBUT
2005
Brett Metcalfe wins the AMA
Supercross Lites US Open in his
first race on the 2006 YZ250F.
INSIDER 45
INTO
THEZONE
It’s more important than a ten horsepower engine boost, more
important than a super-sticky rear slick, and it’s all in your head…
Mat Oxley delves into the Zen-like psychological state of mind
that every racer craves
ALL GOOD RACERS have pre-race rituals,
transcendental state of mind experienced
I can say something about that or they
none more famous than Valentino Rossi.
by sportsmen on rare occasions, during
won’t let me do the next race’. That race
The world champ’s routine allows him to
which normal capabilities are effortlessly
was awesome, the best I’d ever done, I
slip into an almost dream-like state, so he
surpassed - everything seems to go right,
think I was having so much fun on the
can maintain his focus and maybe enter
you’re riding faster than ever and if you
bike, probably more than ever in my career.
the zone, because he doesn’t need his con-
make a mistake you seem to have corrected
I could manoeuvre the bike, put it in dif-
sciousness to do anything. In racing, the
it before you even made it. The world
ferent areas of the corner and kinda intimi-
tiniest diversion can disrupt your whole
around you seems to slow down and you’re
date everybody and enjoy that. It was like
mental state - like losing a glove and pan-
operating in an altered state of conscious-
turning around and sticking your tongue
icking for 30 seconds while you look for it
ness, the thinking part of your brain shut-
out at them, that’s the way I felt. When
- which is why Rossi always keeps his
ting down while the intuitive part fires up.
you can think that way and you’re in a
leathers, helmet and gloves in the same
Dean Miller, Wayne Rainey’s trainer dur-
world championship race, when there’s so
place, and why he keeps the same break-
ing his GP years is a firm believer.
much on the line, I was just feeling like a
fast, lunch and dinner schedule. It’s all
“Valentino’s record is superb, because he’s
kid thinking it wasn’t meant to be that
about routine. “If I know exactly where my
never changed anything,” he says. “He still
much fun!”
things are it gives me a feeling of calm and
stays up late, still turns up for morning
security, so I can think only about the
practice with his hair all matted and side-
gist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who investi-
bike,” says Rossi. The Italian’s pre-ride rou-
ways, but he’s consistent, he keeps the
gated flow in the early Seventies. He sur-
tine is renowned and goes something like
same pattern of behaviour.”
mised that flow is “a common subjective
this: fiddle with earring, pull on helmet,
Rainey’s experience tallies with psycholo-
Rainey still has memories of flow. “Some
experience of pleasure, interest and even
slip on gloves, walk towards bike, bend for-
were really strange and some were a lot of
ecstasy, derived from activities that per-
ward, squat down, grasp the right footpeg
fun. But the ones that really stand out
fectly match one’s skills with the demands
- apparently performing some kind of com-
were the ones that were just odd. At
for performance”.
munion with the M1 - climb aboard and
Suzuka in 1993 I had an out-of-body expe-
tug the seat of the leathers while riding
rience. It was like I was looking down at
down pit lane.
“Friday and Saturday were a waste of
time,” says Rainey. “I was always building
myself going into the fast right before the
to Sunday. I had a ritual before the race
hairpin and laughing, smiling and giggling.
that would get me into the right state of
logical condition called ‘flow’, or ‘in the
It was so odd, I remember thinking in the
mind. I’d be dancing around my motorhome
zone’ as Americans say. Flow is an almost
post-race press conference: ‘there’s no way
or kicking my leathers, or I’d sit there,8
What we’re talking about is the psycho-
46 INSIDER
INSIDER 47
INTO
THEZONE
Valentino Rossi’s ritual is
probably the most famous of all
Suzuka 1985: Kenny Roberts visualises
his way to pole position on the FZR750R
focusing on the feeling of being excited
Kenny says: ‘let’s go back to the hotel’. He
of braking, a lot of cornering. And if it
and wanting to spit nails and rip the han-
told me not to let anyone knock on the
works, it just flows. It’s an ethereal situa-
dlebars off the bike. It was like going out
door, he didn’t want anyone bothering him.
tion of everything coming together from
to fight. The music depended on the mood I
He lay flat on the bed, doing lap after lap
everything you’ve ever accomplished and
was in, maybe a bit of country, or it could’ve
after lap for about 50 minutes, then gets
everything you’ve ever worked for.
been pop or rock ’n’ roll. It was never the
up and says ‘I’ve found it, I’ve found half a
same, but when I left the motorhome I was
second here and a second there’. We go
paddock who needs a sports psychologist.
always ready.
back to the track and he qualifies on pole,
Back in 1990 Kenny brought in a psycholo-
just like that.
gist to work with John because he thought
“I always looked forward to the preparation, it was one reason I raced. I’d think
“Everyone has their own way. Some guys
“I don’t think there’s one person in our
the kid had a problem with obsessive com-
about the race completely, so when I got
put the left glove on first and their helmet
pulsive behaviour. This guy also said he
on the bike I was pretty relaxed. It was
goes on in a certain way. You get these
thought John had a problem and I said (to
much more intense getting ready. I enjoyed
crazy situations where guys are trying to
him): ‘Well I’m under the impression that
that part of my career - those one or two
put themselves in that zone. Rossi’s process
John’s here to race motorcycles and he’s
hours before the race by myself. It was very
obviously works for him, it’s repetitive and
winning everything and now you’ve alerted
intense and very exciting. But it was also a
it’s in his best interests not to change it.
the guy to the fact that he’s got a problem’.
lot of work, a lot of commitment, a lot of
“Wayne listened to music but Eddie
So I fired him. Kenny wanted to know what
dedication and desire. You give up a whole
would sit in his darkened motorhome and
was going on, so I told him: ‘I know you
lot for that.”
prepare his helmets, anybody who went in
think John’s strange but did you ever see
Miller worked with some of the greatest
there would think he was a caveman sitting
yourself lay down in a motorhome and do
Yamaha riders of the past 20 years, from
in the dark, but that was just his visualisa-
the things you did to prepare for a race? I
multiple 500cc champs Rainey, Kenny
tion process. Then there was John, people
think all these guys are crazy - because
Roberts and Eddie Lawson to 1990 250cc
used to think he was a little crazy but all
they all ride motorcycles real fast!”
world champion John Kocinski. He believes
that cleaning was the way he alleviated his
no one has ever been better at pre-race
anxiety to do his job. It’s all about having a
racing that really keeps the sports psychol-
visualisation than Roberts, recalling one
specific routine before you do whatever
ogists out of bike paddocks. Trying to mess
episode when Yamaha brought Roberts out
you’ve got to do, some sort of an ambience
with the darkest recesses of a racer’s
of retirement to contest the 1985 Suzuka
going on.
brain might only destroy the magic. Which
Eight Hour race aboard the brand-new
Maybe it’s the danger of motorcycle
“Your entire life goes into that process
is why the sport of motorcycle racing
FZR750. “We were struggling about a sec-
and it all comes together in one moment -
sometimes feels like much more than
ond and a half off pole. So one lunchtime
that’s a lot of laps, a lot of practice, a lot
just a sport.<
48 INSIDER
Karol Teruzzi
cook
Living
the
dream
For hardcore race fans, the only thing better
than paying to be at Grand Prix and superbike
races is the prospect of actually being paid to
be right there in the paddock. As Gordon Ritchie
For Alex Briggs, a native of Australian capital
Canberra, a chance phone call from Mick Doohan’s
then crew chief Jeremy Burgess changed the course
of his entire working life. He is currently Valentino
Rossi’s mechanic.
Bikes were not around in Alex’s youth and it was
only when he got to ride a motocross bike during a
school trip to the outback that he became hooked.
Leaving school to take up an apprenticeship as a
bus mechanic, he rode motocross but never became
a world champion. He did, however, help two other
riders go on to become world champion.
Years later Alex planned to go to Europe to work
in motocross as a mechanic, but a phone call from
Burgess was to change all that. “Jeremy phoned
me, but I didn’t know him from a bar of soap. Turns
out a friend of Mick’s knew me from motocross,
and wanted me to join in the team for Darryl
Beattie. I remember JB saying to me, ‘don’t worry,
The clanging pots and pans of a busy kitchen were
the soundrack of Karol Teruzzi’s early years, as his
mum and dad ran a restaurant in Italy. No surprise
then that he followed in their footsteps when it
came to a career choice.
But Karol became a chef with a difference, combining a love of racing with his passion for great
food. He got the job after being recommended to
the team by a friend, starting as one of the chefs
helping out at the busier races. Now Karol is not
just chef, but truck driver and, when the team is
back at its Monza base, a versatile all-rounder.
Yamaha Motor Italia’s six strong catering division
moves every plate, oven and spiral of pasta from
the team’s headquarters to whichever European
destination world superbike is off to. For many in
the paddock the way to go to races is to get a
plane but with tons of equipment, furniture and so
on to carry, this is not an option for the catering
we can sack you if you’re no good.’ That was
the first phone call I ever had with the guy and I’ve been on work experience ever since!”
Briggs maintains another opinion which he
extracts from his now vast experience of
winning. “Most people end up in positions
they don’t even dream of. Most CEOs of
companies don’t dream of the jobs they end
up with. You just keep making turns along
the way. The best people at their jobs here
are the ones who are not fanatics. If you are
a really big fan of something it’s difficult to
see it for what it really is - grown men helping young men go round in circles as fast as
they can. If you’re in love with it, I don’t
think you can do it as well. Don’t get me
wrong, I love the sport and the racing, but
I’m not in love with it.”
staff, who drive their ‘office’ with them from race
to race. After driving the truck and helping set up
the mobile hospitality unit, Karol is almost a permanent fixture in the galley kitchen. At nonEuropean races Karol goes too, cooking up traditional Italian food for the Yamaha Italia troops.
He explains: “I got the job five years ago I had
to go and sit a test to get the licence to drive the
big Yamaha truck to races! Normally we leave Italy
on a Monday afternoon, then there is usually one
and a half days of driving. We start to make the
hospitality on Wednesday. We close the hospitality
Sunday evening. After races in Europe we usually
go back to Italy, have a clean up of the truck and
prepare it for the next race. This is a big job in
itself. When at races we arrive at the track for 7am
to start breakfast, then lunch. Then maybe we have
one free hour in the afternoon and we finish
working - usually - 11pm, so it is a long day.”
Alex Briggs
mechanic
discovered, all around the world ordinary
people have realised their dream to work as
part of the cosmopolitan family that is the
Continental Circus
ILLUSTRATION: BAS
VAN DEN
BIGGELAAR
Isabelle Lariviere
public relations
50 INSIDER
Although the competitive world of MotoGP is not
always friendly, it can always be thought of as a
kind of cosmopolitan family. For Isabelle Lariviere
the family connection is real however, as it was her
sister Helene who helped her make the unusual
career change from nursing to motorsport communications. She explains: “I was a district nurse for
16 years. I enjoyed it but it got too busy and I
thought then that I wanted to change my life. I
wanted to travel, but I did not imagine I would get
an opportunity like this. Helene is in charge of a
communications agency in Paris and she got a new
contract. It can be difficult to employ new people
some times, and as she needed somebody quickly,
that’s why she made me an offer. I guess she
already knew I was a difficult employee so she
didn’t need to find out about anyone else!
“I had a lot to learn but with the help of everyone (in the paddock) I made it. Within two months
of speaking to Helene I had started the job, in
February 2000. All my friends around me said that
I was crazy, starting something completely new at
such short notice. In the beginning it was quite
difficult, especially as I started out working with
Kenny Roberts and I found it impossible to understand him!”
Unlike most of the paddock, Isabelle relishes
visiting new places, making the most of each venue
when work allows. “The travelling is the best thing
for me, that and the constant contact with different
cultures and people. You need a good understanding
of people and that is why Helene asked me, even if
I had no real experience of this world or this job.
She knew that as a nurse I had to have good relationship skills. You cannot learn that kind of thing
in school, you have it or you do not. You have to
like people.”
INSIDER 51
Terrell Thien
team manager
Sometimes, a job in GP racing comes as almost a
simple accident of birth or domestic geography.
Michelin’s centre of world operations is Clermont
Ferrand, and it seems that most of the town ends
up grafting for what is one of France’s biggest
manufacturing companies. During an incredibly
chequered route from school leaver to the person
who Yamaha riders communicate with about their
tyres at GPs, Saldes has been around the paddock a
bit. He even did a ‘reverse Aussie’ - moving down
under to get a job when most of those blokes are
coming up here for a job in racing.
Going almost straight from school to Michelin,
Saldes takes up the story. “I am from Clermont
Ferrand, and it is a big Michelin town. I left school,
did national service, and now I have worked for
Michelin since 1991.”
After four years in the factory, the racing division needed someone for the French Championship,
Graeme Brown
photographer
52 INSIDER
The job of team manager is about as multi-faceted
one as you could imagine. Not only does he do the
usual pitbox job of organizing everyone in his control, he is the link to the outside world, other
teams, media, tyre companies… the list goes on.
Some are more hands on than others, but the uniting trait required by all is organization and setting
others to their most effective use. For Terrell, this
has been something he always showed flair for. “I
had no ambition to do this job, but I was always
good at organising things. I felt I had a talent for
that, but I used to even organise football teams
and things like that when I was younger.”
Working in the DTM car championship as a tyre
fitter, after applying to be a test driver, Thien soon
moved upstairs partly because of his American
father’s influence. “Because I was the only one who
spoke a little bit English I would get involved in
other things and it was then that I realised I had a
and Pierre volunteered. “The reason a racing job
with Michelin came my way is because motorsport in general was my passion. I put my hand
up for the job, then after that went to the world
superbike team, in stock control.”
Counting tyres in world superbike sounds
glamorous enough, but for Pierre another
change was in the air.
“After that I went to the GPs in 1999, with
the Yamaha Red Bull team, when they switched
to Michelin. I also worked for the D’Antin team
until 2002. After I went to work for Michelin in
Australia, in the racing and sales department in
Australia and the French Islands.” It was not a
permanent move, as most things in racing aren’t.
“I came back in 2004, with Yamaha again, in the
team with Valentino.” The rest of his story, as
they say, is history.
Forced into a job he disliked for well meaning reasons, Graeme realised that a conventional career
path was not really for him. “I wanted to be an
architect or a photographer, but got advised
against it in school. There was also parental pressure to get a ‘real’ job, as photography was seen as
a hobby, not a career, so I trained as a town planner at university and worked at that job for years.”
His success since taking up the offer to go to
world superbike full time in 2000 came through
going to rallies and races in his native Scotland. “I
used to read magazines that did not run any coverage of Scottish races, and when I asked them why,
they said no-one sent them any pictures. So they
commissioned me to do the championship.”
From that moment on Graeme knew that first
chance he had, he would make the full time move.
“I intended to do world rally, but Castrol asked me
little bit of talent to understand rubber. After
another year they sent me to the technical school
in Birmingham, he then had an offer to work with
the Benelli superbike team, with Peter Goddard. I
gained most of my racing experience there.”
It paid off, as he describes. “In 1999 and 2000,
because I spoke German and English, I also went to
work as Yamaha Motor Germany’s Dunlop supersport tyre man, so this was where my relationship
with Yamaha was born.”
He obviously impressed, as he was offered the
team manager’s job! “They reckoned I fitted into
the team, everything worked well. Before I had
moved away from the motorsport tyre fitting and
service side, and been in charge of the entire tyre
service centre for Dunlop at races, so I was used to
all the logistical things, placing the trucks and
organizing the people, so I had the experience
needed to run the team.”
Pierre Saldes
A few things seem to unite all of the disciplines
in the paddocks of the world. You have to have
a variety of skills to get involved in racing. One
is that for almost every top team the working language is English so, if you want to work in top
flight bike racing it’s almost compulsory to learn it.
For Italian Andrea Zugna, this was necessary
even before he wound up in the MotoGP paddock
as Colin Edwards’ data engineer. “You need to have
good English for this job, so I went to learn English
in England three times. For my previous job in
Belgium I was living and working in English
anyway. Also many books were written in
English for engineering, so now I can also think
in English not just thinking in Italian and then
speaking in English.”
Andrea’s path to MotoGP came not just because
of his expertise, but personal contact through a job
unrelated to racing. “I went to work for an auto-
Gigi Soldano
photographer
tyre engineer
to go and do superbikes. It was one of those
moments, when I realised that I could do it for a
living. I had worked myself into the mentality that
photography would be just a sideline, covering
costs and having fun, but I was wrong. Now I’m
working for many magazines and commercial
clients worldwide, including Yamaha.”
Graeme cites the best part of his job as standing
beside a warm racetrack, camera in hand, and
remembering what his previous job was like. The
biggest problem is being away from family and
travelling, “At Brands Hatch I missed my son’s
birthday for the third year running but he has
grown up with me going away when work requires
it, and I make sure I enjoy my family time when I
get home. Sitting in airports for hours on end is
one of the few downsides of the job.”
Unlike many of his peers, Paul comes from a
motorcycling background. “I had always been
around bikes,” he says. “My dad bought me a PW50
but when I outgrew it I got out of bikes for a few
years, until I was 15. Then I got into speedway but
wasn’t that talented, and my work ethic wasn’t as
good as it could have been either. I got an illness
when I was 18 and that stopped me doing much of
anything for two years. After that I rode for my
local team but had decided I wasn’t going to make
it as a rider.”
Having been a self promoter of some talent back
home in Britain he decided that he could make a
go of it for other people.” I had set up a website
when I was a speedway rider and regularly wrote to
the local newspapers. At the time I didn’t know
that was PR, it just seemed common sense. When I
quit speedway I went off to do a degree in communication and wanted to work in radio. There wasn’t
motive noise and vibration company in Belgium,
then I cooperated with Yamaha on the road bike
side, where I worked on the
FJR1300. For me coming to MotoGP was
a game of chance. I read in Moto Sprint that
Furusawa-san (Yamaha MotoGP boss) whom I
had worked with on the roadbike project, was
moving to MotoGP, and I got in contact with
him - originally just for GP tickets! We got
talking and a year after he offered me a job.”
Has it all been what Andrea expected, or is
the lustre dimming with familiarity? “Still I
have about 90 per cent passion for the job. I
wanted a job that involves my passion. I wanted a job where I would not wake up in the
morning and think, ‘Oh no, I have to go to
work…’ What has maybe changed is that this
(amazing job) is now normal.”
Andrea Zugna
datalogging engineer
As one of the more senior members of the MotoGP
media paddock, photographer Gigi Soldano, has
less fresh memories of exactly when he decided
that this is where his life would end up. “I first
worked in the motorcycle world in 1984. I lived in
Varese (in northern Italy) and my start was with
Cagiva in motocross. It’s difficult for me to think if
there was a plan to arrive where I am now,” he
stated. He has certainly packed in a lot in the past
21 years. “For a period of time I also did video
camera work in GPs, as I was working in both still
pictures and video at home.”
The job itself has changed immeasurably since
then, and the workload is now huge. So if you’re
dreaming of sitting around snapping a few sessions, then going home, dream of something else.
“Sometimes you need to work with people of
many different nationalities, shooting pictures for
a lot of different purposes, because it is impossible
much doing there so I applied for a job with
the PR agency of former racer Roger Burnett
and got offered a job. I spent two years there,
doing PR, contract publishing, covering racing.
It was a great education and I’ve been involved
in those things ever since. Ultimately my passion is for communication, not the racing itself,
and I’m probably as determined to produce
good work as any rider is to win a race. I’m in
my third season working for Yamaha. My job is
basically writing stuff and I’m lucky to work in
an environment I enjoy. At world superbike
races I’m also a kind of media coordinator and I
also help create Insider magazine. That’s probably my favourite job. It’s great to produce
something you can touch and feel, something
that people can comment on - whether it’s
good or bad. Communication is all about emotion. I like to create an emotion in people!”
to just have one client now. It is no longer a job
where you can go click, click and then finish for
the day. It is half photography and half information
technology, sending pictures by e-mail, updating
websites, knowing how to use the computer to its
maximum,” says Gigi.
His job means getting the most out of people,
but in MotoGP, relationships can be complicated
and delicate. So for Gigi, man of many hats, that
is not necessarily a disadvantage. “I studied in
university to start, social sciences, then I studied
marketing. Maybe this is useful now and sociology
is very important for relationships with everyone.”
What keeps Gigi’s interest up is the subject
matter, the men and the machines. “I always
had passion to work with motorcycles - to be in
this world and not have a great passion for them
is stupid.”
Paul Taylor
writer
INSIDER 53
INSIDER 54
INSIDER 55
..
Meet Mr Ohlins
Not happy with bike suspension available on the market, young motocross
rider Kenth Öhlin set out to come up with solutions himself. Now, 30 years
later, Öhlins has become the leader in suspension technology. And if that’s
not enough they have some innovations that could change the face of
motorcycling forever…
WORDS: TOM JACOBS PICTURES: PIXELPONY
ÖHLINS RACING WAS established in 1976,
you. If you do not understand how some-
workshop but his big breakthrough came
winning its first world title with Gennady
thing works you read about it and learn.
when factory Kawasaki rider Thorleif Hansen
Moiseev in 250cc motocross two years later.
That’s the way I progressed and that’s also
and his team came to him. ”Kawasaki asked
how I run the company today.”
me to modify this bike, so we changed the
Kenth Öhlin’s facination for all things
mechanical came at a young age. His
chassis and we gave the suspension longer
a living on the international circuit,
travel. Other riders saw what we had done
and that attention to detail was to be
although his real talent was in the technical
and soon we were doing suspension for 10
handed down to young Kenth.
field. He noticed how frames and suspen-
riders!” The secret of Öhlin’s success was
“I was fooling around in my father’s
56 INSIDER
Öhlin, now 56, was a young rider making
father made precision medical instruments
sion were not suited to deal with the
simple, he set about designing and manu-
workshop when I was only six or seven,”
engine power and it wasn't long before
facturing shock absorbers that he would
he recalls. “He bought me a lathe to play
Kenth realised that better performance
wish to have for himself. The combination
around with and brought me up with the
could be achieved by improved suspension.
of engineering skill, attention to detail and
wisdom that if you can’t do something
Öhlin often renovated shock absorbers for
superior raw materials achieved results and
yourself you go to someone who can help
his fellow motocross riders in his dad’s
launched the legend of Öhlins.8
INSIDER 57
and revolutionary concept because at that
the tyres, chassis or suspension. Without a
time nobody else was thinking of coupling
doubt it’s a great blessing for a team to
computer technology and mechanics. It
work with Rossi.
was a computer driven electronic valve and
Swedish suspension helped Nigel Mansell to the 1993 Indycar title
we started off by strapping a computer to
range of racing categories, you would
a bike. Fortunately we soon learned that it
imagine it is easy for the Swedes to
would be better to build a smaller computer
become blasé. But competiton has always
ourselves! In 1984 we took out a patent,
been very important for the company and
but by then it was very clear that we were
Öhlin still holds a few special memories.
too small to finance the complete R&D
“The first world title with Hakan Carlqvist
setup. Öhlins was looking for a company
was amazing,” says Öhlin. “We raced
who would like to become partner in the
together in Sweden and to see a friend
project and Yamaha turned out to be the
become world champion is awesome,
perfect fit. We have the freedom to work
especially because I played my part in
with different parties and keep on produc-
helping him reaching that goal. I was also
2-TRAC - TWO WHEEL DRIVE
ing for other companies, but Yamaha has
proud when we started to work with
the rights to new technology.”
Kenny Roberts, but even in those days
Öhlins and Yamaha were the first to come up with
an effective two-wheel-drive system. A hydraulic
pump driven from the gear output shaft delivers
hydraulic pressure to a small motor built into the
bike’s front wheel hub, making a totally automatic
system that the rider does not need to adjust or
turn on. Power is only applied to the front wheel
according to the amount of slip being experienced
at the rear wheel. Yamaha introduced two-wheel
drive to the public with the 2004 WR450F 2-Trac
enduro machine. The system has been race proven
in off-road events like the Dakar rally, but equally
it offers huge advantages on road bikes. You can
expect some exciting applications to follow the
coming years.
Assisting clients at the track has been a
Specially developed Öhlins suspension features on Yamaha
production models like the YZF-R1SP (pictured above) and
XJR1200SP, as well as of the YEC kit part range
During the early years Öhlins built a
Öhlins MotoGP technician Mike Norton
talks to Valentino Rossi and Jeremy Burgess
Kenth’s personal friend Hakan Carlqvist
brought Öhlins two world titles
”With over 100 world titles across a wide
technology was not as advanced and it
key element for Öhlins since the company’s
was quite easy to improve. When we
inception. In 1978, Kenth himself travelled
entered CART in 1993 we were quite new
Europe in a beat up Mercedes truck to
to car racing. Nobody knew about us in
service his clients in 250cc motocross racing
America and we were the underdogs. So
and, to this day, blue and yellow service
was Nigel Mansell, our driver in the
vehicles can be seen at world champi-
Newman-Haas team. He was Formula One
onship events around the globe.
world champion but nobody had heard of
are involved in racing as well, but in the
success of his company. “Of 200 staff
remarkable reputation in the after-sales
long run I also believe that you cannot do
working for us we have 40 engineers who
Yamaha’s MotoGP squad, headed by R&D
off. We dominated the championship and
market. But Husqvarna’s appointment of
without production. It’s so motivating for
are involved in R&D. We have a lot of
manager racing Mats Larsson, who
won the title in our first year. Away from
Öhlins as their OEM supplier was crucial
everyone to see that the work on the track
inventive people, a lot of good ideas and
explains: “Servicing teams takes a lot more
the track I’m pleased with the impact Öhlins
step for the company: racing is at the
pays off, that we make better products and
we give them freedom to exploit their
than technical knowledge and understand-
has had and will have on motorcycling.
heart and soul of the company but without
that the volume grows every year.”
potential. Most of our profit is invested
ing products. Communication is the key, so
back into R&D, so you could say that we
you need to have human skills as well. We
possible with 2-Trac, for example. We have
production the wheels stop turning as
Testing methods and materials have
There are eight alone people working for
him in the US, but together we pulled it
You have not seen half of what is
Kenth explains. “Just working in racing
improved drastically in the field of motor-
are orientated towards the future.” Apart
cannot get upset when a rider comes in
made tests with a 2-Trac R1 and even on a
would not be viable for the company. We
cycle suspension over the last 30 years.
from its engineering talent, Öhlins can
and throws his helmet. It is not so bad, as
short circuit the average rider is five sec-
need to have production, because you need
pride itself in high precision production.
it shows he has emotion and a will to win.
onds faster in the wet and two seconds
a certain volume with suppliers to obtain
A walk through the factory shows only too
Perhaps the impression of a rider is techni-
faster in the dry. People will go faster but,
well the staff’s drive for perfection. Build
cally not always 100 per cent but their
especially for powerful bikes, the benefits
quality is a well understood concept in
input can make a huge difference.
are huge. Highsides will be reduced
Sweden and Öhlins has introduced a ruthless
Generally very few riders can explain why
because as soon as the bike starts to slide
quality control programme, that ensures even
or how things happen. Eddie Lawson had a
the slip is corrected. The 2-Trac is just one
the smallest flaws are detected.
great ability to translate his feelings to the
example because we have many amazing
parts and materials. If the minimum order
for a certain type of steel is 20 tons you
can not say: well we need just material for
“Hakan Carlqvist’s
world title
was amazing”
our 200 highly specialised racing forks! Of
course most of our technology comes from
Extensive computer simulations replaced
racing. Whether its WRC, MotoGP, Indycar,
high-speed cameras to study the behaviour
Since 1987 Öhlins Racing has been
team and Jean-Michel Bayle is another
projects in the pipeline and I’m convinced
superbike or motocross, competition is the
of suspension travel. Refined technologies
majority-owned by Yamaha, although it
who impressed me. Valentino Rossi is an
that you will hear a lot more from Öhlins
ultimate test lab. All the time our engineers
like data recording allowed more efficient
continues to operate as an independent
another exception and can break down the
in the coming years.<
get fresh input from the teams, riders, new
feedback. However Öhlin does not hold
company. “From 1983 we started to work
experience the moment he gets off the
tracks and so on. A lot of our R&D people
technological progress accountable for the
on computerised suspension. It was a bold
bike, linking the behaviour of the bike to
58 INSIDER
Öhlins prides itself on providing “advanced
suspension technology” but, with typical
modesty, the company offers much more
than that. Here are just three innovations
to come out of the Väsby factory…
TTX - DAMPER WITHOUT EXTERNAL RESERVOIR
Öhlins TTX damper is a major advance in suspension
technology with no fewer than eight new patent
applications made. Using TTX, the shock absorber
is easier for users to understand. Not only does TTX
function without any external gas reservoir, it provides consistently quick damping and is 'cavitation
proof'. With TTX no balancing of reservoir damping
to main piston damping is required. Öhlins has
developed the system for cars and bikes, and the
technology is proven at the highest level with
Valentino Rossi using the system on his Yamaha
YZR-M1 this season.
CES - COMPUTERISED ELECTRONIC SUSPENSION
CES is a semi-active suspension system that uses
computer technology to relay a continuous stream
of commands to the shock absorbers. The system is
simple and cost effective, to such a degree that it
heralds a whole new generation of shock absorbers.
Already Öhlins has CES in production with Volvo and
Audi, while negotiations with other car manufacturers
are ongoing.
INSIDER 59
2005 season review
Yamaha un
veiled anot
scheme at th
he
e season-endr retro colour
ing Valencia
race
Magnificent seventh for The Doctor
Yamaha couldn’t have asked for a better
way to celebrate their golden anniversary
year than by taking a clean sweep in the
MotoGP world championship.
Rider, team and manufacturer titles all
fell to the Iwata manufacturer, with star
rider Valentino Rossi dominating the championship with 11 wins from 17 starts.
The Italian made a last corner overtake
of Sete Gibernau to take the win at Jerez.
A second in Portugal was followed by five
consecutive wins.
Yamaha rolled out a retro yellow Yamaha
US colour scheme for Laguna Seca, but
Rossi lost his winning streak as local heroes
Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards topped
the podium, Rossi in an uncharacteristically
low third.
Normal service was resumed in
Donington Park, where the world champion
decimated the opposition in the wettest
race of the year. Wins in Germany and
Czech followed, but the opportunity to lift
the title in Yamaha’s back yard was passed
60 INSIDER
when he had his only race crash of the
year at Motegi. That only delayed the
inevitable by one week and the title was
wrapped up in Sepang seven days later.
Two more wins followed, as Rossi ended
the year 147 points ahead of his nearest
challenger, Marco Melandri. Finally Yamaha
put the gloss on a sparkling year at the last
round of the year in Valencia where Rossi
and Edwards sported the company’s traditional red, white and black racing color
scheme on their bikes.
Rossi’s team-mate Edwards was the consistent man of MotoGP, doing a sterling job
to end the year fourth in the standings and
playing a crucial role in winning the team
title for their Gauloises Yamaha Team. The
American was the only rider in the entire
Grand Prix paddock to score points in every
race, with three podium finishes: Le Mans,
Assen and Laguna Seca to his credit.
However the two-time superbike world
champion has still to gel fully with the
YZR-M1 and spent the final rounds work-
ing on his riding technique to take full
advantage of the M1s high-corner speed
250 style characteristics.
Yamaha’s Tech3 satellite team, known as
Fortuna Yamaha Team in 2005, had two
Spanish riders and a mixed bag of results.
Title sponsor Fortuna brought their young
hotshot Toni Elias to the squad after a
promising career in 250s and he showed a
lot of potential in his rookie MotoGP season.
A broken arm in the pre-season saw him
detuned in the opening rounds (and replaced
by David Checa for two races) but, fully-fit,
Elias was in great form in the final four
races. Sixth in the Turkish Grand Prix was
his season’s best and helped Elias to 12th
in the final standings.
Ruben Xaus was signed up after some
promising results in 2004, including a podium
finish, but the Catalan ended the year down
on confidence after failing to adapt to the
YZR-M1. Four ninth place finishes were the
highlights of Xaus’ year as he finished 16th
in the championship.
s in
Rossi-mania waound the world
full force all ar
Colin Edwards’ best came at Laguna Seca
ir
took the
y Burgess 2005
m
re
Je
f
in
hie
together
d crew c
Rossi an ctive world title
se
n
o
c
fifth
Edwards ended his first year
on the M1 fourth in the championship
INSIDER 61
2005 season review
Didier van Keymeulen gave Yamaha’s
R1 its second successive title
in the 1000cc superstock class
Return of the Samurai
YAMAHA MADE A welcome return to the
Superbike World Championship in 2005
with Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt spearheading the Yamaha Motor Italia squad
and former Grand Prix riders Norick Abe
and Sebastien Gimbert riding for the
Yamaha Motor France team.
Despite a slightly inconsistent opening
half to the season, Haga outscored eventual
champion Troy Corser in the latter half of
the season as he took two wins and eight
other podiums to end the year third in the
standings. True to form Haga also entertained the crowd with spectacular rides at
Brands Hatch and Brno. Pitt too showed
great tenacity and consistency, with ten
top six results in his rookie year to end the
season eighth in the championship.
Both riders will return in 2006, using the
foundations of this season to hopefully
fight for the title.
The R1 proved to be the most popular
choice of machine for privateers, no doubt
due to the high quality over-the-counter
62 INSIDER
racing parts provided by Yamaha’s YEC subsidiary and the machine’s domination of
the 2004 endurance and superstock series.
Abe’s Yamaha Motor France team carried
out most of the development work for YEC,
with the Japanese putting on a strong
showing at the circuits he knew from his
Grand Prix days. Fourth in Brno was his
best result, although he could have scored
the R1’s first podium in the class, only to
crash out of third place late on in Valencia.
With a year’s experience in the class, he
should be a force to be reckoned with in
2006, as should Gimbert, who had an injury
plagued season - the highlight of which
was winning the Le Mans 24 hour race with
Yamaha GMT94.
Yamaha featured prominently in the supporting classes too. The brand’s long-standing commitment to the world supersport
category continued, with the hard-working
Yamaha Motor Germany squad entering the
equally committed Kevin Curtain and Broc
Parkes on YZF-R6s. The Aussies and their
mechanics never gave less than 100 per
cent and won a race apiece, with Curtain
taking seven podium finishes to end the
year as runner-up and Parkes coming sixth
in his first year with Yamaha. The team
ended the season on a high, with two onetwo finishes in the final three races.
Two superstock classes, for 600cc and
1000cc machines, were important for
Yamaha, as a showcase for the standard
product (rules require the machines to be
run almost as they leave the showroom)
and as a breeding ground for new talent.
R-series machines proved the ones to be
beat in both classes. The FIM Superstock
1000 Cup (for riders aged 19-23 years old)
was a battle between Yamaha Motor
Germany’s Didier van Keymeulen and Kenan
Sofuoglu that was only decided in favour
of Didier on the last corner of the last race.
YZF-R6 rider Claudio Corti was in a class of
his own in the European Superstock 600
category (for riders aged 15-19), winning
the title and five of the nine races.
in
No one rode harder than Kevin Curta
Haga’s Brno win was the turning
point in Yamaha’s superbike season
f the
as part o
Mans
imbert w that won in Le
G
n
ie
st
io
tr
Seba
4
9
T
GM
Yamaha
tock
o Corti won the supers
Italian youngster Claudi
-R6
600 class on a YZF
Andrew Pitt gave nothing less than
100 per cent in his first world superbike campaign
INSIDER 63
2005 season review
MX2
utschental was
e-two-three in Te
on
g’s
cin
Ra
ci
Ric
MX2
’s domination in
a mark of Yamaha
Yamaha dominates on the dirt
Prior to the 2005 season Stefan Everts had
collected four consecutive world titles with
Yamaha. But despite this, doubts remained
about his ability to make it five. After all,
the king of world motocross would turn 32
during the season - and he would have to
contend with an army of challengers including the highly-rated MX2 world
champion Ben Townley. But in the end the
Belgian’s MX1 title defence proved as
majestic as ever.
The first half of the season saw a classic
battle develop between Everts and his
French arch-rival Mickael Pichon. Just nine
points separated the two after five rounds,
however the next back-to-back events in
Sugo (Japan) and Matchams Park (England)
proved vital. Sugo, one of the most exciting races of the season, handed Everts a
psychological edge. At the Yamaha-owned
circuit the Yamaha L&M Motocross Team
rider defeated Pichon to win the Grand
Prix. Any remaining doubts about Everts’
superiority evaporated the following week
64 INSIDER
when the Belgian rode his YZ450FM to an
impressive double win in the black
Matchams sand.
Kiwi duo Townley and Josh Coppins
divided the next four races among them,
while a reborn Pichon would claim the GP
of Wallonia. Everts was chasing his 85th GP
win for most of the mid-season, unable to
capitalise on his form in the following
races due to bad starts and crashes. Everts
made an uncharacteristic mistake in South
Africa, allowing Coppins to emerge as the
Yamaha man’s closest challenger. Stefan
fought back with a brilliant win at the
muddy German Grand Prix in Gaildorf and
showed his strength to win three of the
last four rounds. Everts’ ability to shine in
tough conditions and loose soil paid dividends again at the penultimate round in
Lierop where he wrapped up the title.
Everts held off Townley at the last round
in Ireland to secure the 87th Grand Prix
win of his career, and the 2005 MX1 manufacturers title for Yamaha.
Yamaha’s motocross domination was
completed by an even more impressive season in MX2 where Antonio Cairoli, 19,
scored his first world title. The four-stroke
YZ250F wrote itself into the history books,
just as the two-stroke YZ125 did during
the Nineties, as the tiny Italian topped a
Yamaha one-two-three, with experienced
Ricci Racing team-mates Andrew McFarlane
and Alessio Chiodi claiming second and third.
Unsurprisingly, Yamaha also secured the
constructor’s title.
Cairoli was the most prominent of a
new generation of talented riders who
made the MX2 races spectacular as ever.
but a number of other up-and-coming
talents tasted success on the blue bikes.
Italian Davide Guarneri and Frenchman
Antony Boissiere both won heats while
21-year-old Brit Billy Mackenzie made
his big breakthrough with a brilliant Grand
Prix win in front of the Yamaha bosses
in Sugo.
Everts’ effortless style was a joy to behold again in 2005
The T-shirt may not be original, but Antonio Cairoli
proved himself to be the real deal in 2005
hard to
Traditional fast starts deserted Everts mid-season, but the Belgian fought
his ninth world title in style
win
Gritty Aussie Andrew McFarlane
never gave up
INSIDER 65
championship standings
Pos
1
2
3
4
5
12
16
Rider
Valentino Rossi
Marco Melandri
Nicky Hayden
Colin Edwards
Max Biaggi
Toni Elias
Ruben Xaus
Pos Rider
1 Sebastien Charpentier
2 Kevin Curtain
3 Katsuaki Fujiwara
4 Fabien Foret
5 Michel Fabrizio
6 Broc Parkes
Pos Rider
1
2
3
4
5
13
Stefan Everts
Joshua Coppins
Ben Townley
Steve Ramon
Mickael Pichon
Brian Jorgensen
Bike
Country Points
Yamaha ITA
367
Honda
ITA
220
Honda
USA 206
Yamaha USA 179
Honda
ITA
173
Yamaha SPA 74
Yamaha SPA 52
Bike
1
2
3
4
5
8
Suzuki
Honda
Yamaha
Ducati
Suzuki
Yamaha
Troy Corser
Chris Vermeulen
Noriyuki Haga
James Toseland
Yukio Kagayama
Andrew Pitt
Country Points
AUS
AUS
JPN
GBR
JPN
AUS
433
379
271
254
252
156
Bike
Country Points
Honda
FRA 210
Yamaha AUS 187
Honda
JPN 149
Honda
FRA 144
Honda
ITA
138
Yamaha AUS 125
Bike
Yamaha
Honda
KTM
KTM
Honda
Yamaha
Pos Rider
Bike
1
2
3
4
5
Yamaha
Yamaha
Suzuki
Suzuki
Yamaha
Didier van Keymeulen
Kenan Sofuoglu
Craig Coxhell
Alessandro Polita
Massimo Roccoli
Country Points
BEL
TUR
AUS
ITA
ITA
163
157
125
121
119
Country Points
BEL
NZL
NZL
BEL
FRA
DEN
721
652
589
500
476
281
MX2
66 INSIDER
Pos Rider
Pos Rider
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Antonio Cairoli
Andrew McFarlane
Alessio Chiodi
David Philippaerts
Christophe Pourcel
Billy Mackenzie
Cédric Melotte
Bike
Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha
KTM
Kawasaki
Yamaha
Yamaha
Country Points
ITA
AUS
ITA
ITA
FRA
GBR
BEL
567
518
504
468
372
356
352