Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2nd Time: +5.368
“First of all I have to say congratulations to Valentino because this is an incredible thing to achieve and this day belongs to him. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good start today and I had to take a few risks to pass people and come back to the front. Once I did I tried to go after Valentino but in some places I just wasn’t as fast as him; he was riding 36.5s every time and I didn’t really have quite enough confidence to push that hard today because the bike didn’t feel perfect. As the race went on I started to feel the front tyre ‘close’ a bit and I decided that it was safer to come home in second! Another podium is a great result; it’s my fiftieth and we continue to be very strong this season so I am happy. I am only five points from the lead and we are in a good position going to Laguna, which I am very excited about.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“100 victories speak for themselves! For all of us in this team it’s a huge honour and pleasure to work with Valentino because for sure he is one of the greatest in history, something he’s shown again today. Furthermore, working with him is always great fun and we enjoy every weekend. This is a very important piece of history for Yamaha as well because 40 of these wins have been here with us, more than with any other manufacturer and the majority of his wins in this class. When we started together in 2004 it was impossible to think of targets like this and I know that everyone involved and all of Yamaha’s employees will always remember this time. I think I speak on behalf of everyone by saying thank you to Vale for these memories and thank you for joining Yamaha!”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Today we were able to get a great podium, which is very important for our championship with Jorge showing once again that he is very competitive. Unfortunately we had a small problem at the start and then, while trying to recover, Jorge put a lot of pressure on the front tyre. Anyway, he rode a very clever race and was able to manage the package until the end and get an excellent second place. Now we fly to Laguna Seca, where we are confident we will be able to put in another good performance. Yamaha has the best bike on the track and this gives us strong motivation for the future.”

Double Dutch delight for Monster Tech 3 Yamaha Team

Colin Edwards and James Toseland raced to superb top six finishes at the historic Assen circuit today, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo claiming fourth and sixth respectively.

American Edwards equalled his best result of 2009 with a brilliant fourth position that moved the 35-year-old to within two-points of fourth place in the overall standings.

And British rider Toseland roared back to form with an outstanding performance in one of the most intense battles witnessed in the 800cc MotoGP era to claim a thoroughly deserved top six finish.

Edwards made a good start from fifth on the grid and passed Chris Vermeulen on lap five to claim fifth and was exerting intense pressure on Andrea Dovizioso when the Italian crashed on lap 11. That left Edwards to claim fourth and maintain his 100 per cent points-scoring record in 2009.

Behind Edwards, Toseland was embroiled in an incredible seven-rider battle for most of the race that captivated a crowd of 96,152 fans.

Adapting brilliantly to a new set-up inspired by Fiat Yamaha Team Director Masahiko Nakajima, Toseland moved into sixth place on lap 11 and produced a masterclass of riding under pressure to hold off the likes of Mika Kallio, Loris Capirossi and Nicky Hayden.

As the incredible battle unfolded to a gripping finale, Toseland slipped back to ninth on the last lap before he took advantage of a series of mistakes to claim his first top six finish of the season.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now moves to the American round in Laguna Seca next weekend – home race for Edwards and title sponsor Monster – brimming with confidence.

Colin Edwards – Position: 4th Time: +0′29.114
“Finally I got a decent start and the longer wheelbase bike helped me get off the line. When Dovizioso came by I was biting my teeth to stay with him and keep the pressure on. But then I saw Dovizioso crash in front of me and just before that I’d had a moment with the right side of the front. I’d done 32-laps on that tyre yesterday but coming in and out of the pits all of the time it’s hard to get an accurate assessment of what’s going to happen. I just held station after that because I could see I wasn’t catching (Casey) Stoner and I was holding Vermeulen off comfortably. My target was just to ride without making any mistakes and keep the momentum going. I rode my hardest but this year in MotoGP it is so hard just to get a podium. The field is so strong now and it’s the hardest year I’ve ever had in MotoGP. I’ve ridden nowhere near as hard as that in the past and been on the podium. But I’m close to fourth in the championship and I was only beaten by the three fastest guys in the world today, so I’m happy with the job I’m doing. I can’t wait for Laguna now and hopefully I’ll be able to go better and get a podium for Monster, Tech 3 and all the American fans.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: 1′36.393 Laps: 31
“I’m happy with the first row, another one for this season, and this is the most important thing with regards to the start of the race tomorrow. Of course I wanted my fourth pole position but I had some problems in the last sector; I’m not sure why yet. We need to continue working to try to improve in that area and to understand the problem, because the race is going to be very hard with quite a few riders up front. We don’t know what the weather will be and so we will have to wait and see until warm-up tomorrow morning.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Our target is always the front row so to get pole position is the best we can do! This was a good session because we had a strong pace throughout and Valentino is feeling comfortable on the bike. We’re looking forward to tomorrow but of course we are a bit worried about the weather. We have a few small things to fine-tune and then we will hope for a good start, like in Barcelona, and another exciting race.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“We’re happy because the main aim is to be on the front row, and we have achieved that once again here. In fact we were hoping maybe for second with that last lap, but third is okay as well and Jorge is very fast. He did a long run during the session and his pace was very good, but we still need to improve slightly in T4, because this is where we are losing a bit of time. We will work on this tonight and use the warm-up – weather permitting – to make final improvements.”

Edwards and Toseland equal season best qualifying in Assen
Colin Edwards and James Toseland equalled their best qualifying performances of the season in Assen today to boost hopes of a double top six finish for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in tomorrow’s Dutch MotoGP race.

Edwards’ hopes of a third MotoGP podium at the legendary Assen circuit were boosted by his best lap of 1.36.760 securing him fifth place on the second row of the grid in a session run in cool and cloudy conditions. The American made big progress in finding a more confidence-inspiring front-end setting on his YZR-M1 machine and Edwards topped the timesheets with just under 20 minutes remaining. The 35-year-old, who currently lies sixth in the overall standings, only slipped off the front in a dramatic final few minutes, but he’s confident his race pace is fast enough to mount a podium challenge tomorrow.

Toseland will start round seven of the 2009 world championship from ninth position on the grid, the British rider gaining more crucial experience on a radically revised YZR-M1 set-up. It was Toseland’s second successive top ten grid position and showed the significant strides he has made recently in improving his qualifying performance.

The 28-year-old clocked a best time of 1.37.323 to finish just over a second off Valentino Rossi’s pole position time and he was just over half-a-second away from fourth place. Using a YZR-M1 with new footrest, handlebar and seating positions that he tried for the first time yesterday, Toseland is confident that he can claim his first top six finish of the campaign in tomorrow’s 26-lap race.

Colin Edwards 5th 1.36.760 – 25 laps
“It certainly wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be because at the start of the session I was in and out of the pits a lot making adjustments and normally that’s not a good sign. I’ve got a busy feeling on race tyres now I’m using the longer wheelbase. It puts a bit more weight on the front and while it’s not chatter I don’t feel I’m absorbing the bumps as well as I need to be. At certain times it feels like I’m skimming over the bumps, but despite that I’m pretty happy with my pace. I did a 37.3 on race tyres and for race pace that’s acceptable. I think low 1.37s or high 1.36s will be the pace if it stays dry, and I’m confident I can run those times. I put my head down on the softer rear tyre and on my last lap I managed to set my best time even though the hard front had eight laps on it. After eight or nine laps the front will start to lose that special feeling and I had a couple of slides on my last couple of laps and I wasn’t going to go any quicker than wha t I did. Considering that I’m happy to have equalled my best qualifying of the year, particularly as I feel we can make the bike better. I think we’re looking good for tomorrow because the fourth section has always been a bogey section for me and that’s where you can gain or lose a lot of time. On the Bridgestone’s it is unbelievable through that last section. They are just so stable you don’t get the handlebars shaking or flapping through the fast sections. Everything just rolls nice and smooth and I think we can get out there and fight at the front tomorrow.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 4th Time: 1′38.061 Laps: 26
“Today wasn’t perfect but we were still quite fast and I am happy enough. It hasn’t been like Barcelona but anyway all the top riders are very close and we are only two tenths behind the lead. I expect tomorrow, with the riders all close like this, times will get even quicker so we need to check a few things and make some small improvements to our setting. Everyone seems to be expecting another race like we had in Barcelona but I don’t think this is something that can happen every time! We just have to keep focused and do our best, and hopefully keep our target of getting on the podium again on Saturday.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“We made a good start today and Valentino was at the top throughout the session which is always a good sign! We tried the different tyres we have available from Bridgestone and also played around with the setting a bit in order to better suit it to the nature of this track, which is very different to the last couple we have been to. We’ve collected some good information and tomorrow morning we will start to put it all together to find the best package.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“We started the session using the base we developed during the Barcelona test, with just a few adaptations to suit the Assen layout. We have quite a good pace but we need to work on improving the rear grip tomorrow because at the moment Jorge has a few problems going into the turn and also in acceleration. We will have a look at the data and tomorrow try a few new things.”

Positive start for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in Assen

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team enjoyed an encouraging start to the Dutch GP at the historic Assen circuit, Colin Edwards and James Toseland lapping within half-a-second of the quickest time in today’s practice session.

Using a longer wheelbase setting on his YZR-M1 machine for the first time since pre-season testing, Edwards started his quest for a second successive podium in Holland with the seventh best time.

The Texan, who topped the timesheets for part of the 60-minute session, ended with a fastest time of 1.38.205 to finish just 0.363s away from Randy de Puniet’s best pace.

British rider Toseland had arguably his best opening day of the 2009 campaign. The Assen World Superbike race winner instantly benefited from a radically revised set-up on his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 after lengthy consultations with Fiat Yamaha Team Director Masahiko Nakajima after the last race in Catalunya.

Toseland was immediately able to find a fast pace running a softer rear shock spring and revised footpeg, handlebar and seat positions. Less than 20 minutes had elapsed when the 28-year surged into the top three, with only Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa faster.

He was easily able to maintain a place in the top six until a typically frantic conclusion to the session, though Toseland was just 0.537s away from the best time in ninth.

Colin Edwards 7th 1.38.205 – 27 laps
“It was a reasonable day without being spectacular. I’ve gone back to a longer wheelbase setting I haven’t run since winter testing and it’s similar to what Valentino (Rossi) and Jorge (Lorenzo) have been running. There are some advantages and some disadvantages but I’ve still got a small issue on the front like I had during the last race in Catalunya. I’m not able to turn into the corner as quickly as I’d like, and it feels like I’m waiting on the front before I can go through the corner. But the longer wheelbase has made it probably the best bike I’ve ever been on for the last part of this track. It’s so stable in the fast sections and I’m able to make up a lot of time, so there’s some good and some bad with it. We’ve just got to make some adjustments to make the bike turn a bit better and I feel confident that I can be pushing for another podium here. I love this track and have had some good results and would love to give Monster Yamaha Tech 3 a rostrum for all the h ard work everybody is putting in. That would be a massive confidence boost for me too with Laguna Seca coming up.”