Gustav Bernuar Note's

The MotoGP team unveiled its new 2010 livery today, on the morning of the first test of the pre-season in Malaysia.

The Championship-winning Fiat Yamaha team will field the same line-up as last year with World Champion Valentino Rossi and runner-up Jorge Lorenzo once again spearheading its attack.

The two-day test for official MotoGP riders begins today, February 4, the first of three pre-season tests before the first race at Qatar on April 11. The Fiat Yamaha Team will hold a press conference at the Sepang International Circuit at 6.30pm local time. Lin Jarvis, Davide Brivio and Wilco Zeelenberg, Lorenzo’s new Team Manager, will be joined by Shigeto Kitagawa and Masahiko Nakajima at the press conference before the riders have their turn – Rossi and Lorenzo at 7pm and then Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies at 7.30pm.

Speaking about the forthcoming season Lin Jarvis, Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing, said “2009 was the most successful year for Yamaha’s racing activities for many years. It will be difficult to repeat such a performance but we are intending to try! We are fortunate to have the same fantastic rider line-up with Valentino and Jorge and we are looking forward to getting started with our work on track.”

He continued: “Of course, Yamaha has not been able to escape the difficulties caused by the global economic situation but MotoGP forms an important part of the company’s recovery plan. The MotoGP program is a very important brand image promotion activity and the racing requires us to demonstrate all of our company’s power in engineering, organisational and passion if we are to be successful at the top level.”

“We are extremely fortunate to have retained all of our existing loyal sponsors and even to have added a few more to the team. Our title sponsor Fiat is with us for a fourth year and Petronas, Packard Bell and Yamalube will continue as major sponsors of the team. We have two new sponsors in the form of Yamaha Indonesia, who join us with the aim of promoting their activities in Indonesia, the most important market for Yamaha at the moment, and Iveco. We have also retained all of our existing technical sponsors and suppliers.”

Jarvis concluded: “Last but not least I would like to say welcome back to all of our team staff and also to extend a warm welcome to our two new team members; Wilco Zeelenberg joins from the successful Yamaha Supersport team as Jorge’s new Team Manager and Davide Marelli comes in as his new data technician.”

2010 Valentino Rossi unveiled in Sepang, Malaysia

Will Rossi win his 8th MotoGP world championship this year? We certainly hope he will…

The Fiat Yamaha MotoGP Team today unveiled the 2010-spec version of seven-time MotoGP world champion, Valentino Rossi, at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia. Rossi’s bike, the 2010 Yamaha YZR-M1 was also displayed alongside the rider.

‘On the 16th of February, I will be 31. I will be a little older [but] I always try to be at the top of my shape, improving and trying to adapt to the new bike. You always need to adapt yourself to the new bike, to the new regulation. If you think you are at the top of your performance, it is a big problem! Every season has its own story, it is more and more difficult and you always have to be faster. I will try again, as usual,’ saidRossi.

‘It is very difficult to say now who will be the hardest rival this year. I think all of them are on the same level, it is difficult to beat any of them. They are very strong riders, they can be fast on every track and condition and through the entire season and they are all capable of winning the championship. The 2010 bikes will make the difference, but I think all three riders [Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa] will be the more difficult to be beaten,’ said The Doctor, speaking about his rivals.

‘In order to improve the 2010 M1, we have decided to focus on two aspects. Our aim is to develop a more stable bike, with more grip. The second direction, which is the most important, is the engine. We need more horsepower, despite the new rule that limits the number of engines through the season. We need more power and longer life of the engine. This will not be easy for Yamaha, but I know that they have been working very hard on this,’ said Rossi, speaking about the 2010 Yamaha MotoGP racebike.

2010 Yamaha YZR-M1: Tech Specs

Engine: Liquid-cooled crossplane crankshaft 800cc inline-four
Power: More than 200bhp
Top speed: Above 320km/h
Gearbox: Six-speed cassette-type, with alternative gear ratios
Chassis: Aluminium twin tube delta box, multi-adjustable steering geometry / wheelbase / ride height, aluminium swingarm
Supension: Ohlins USD forks and Ohlins rear shock, all
adjustable for pre-load, high and low-speed compression and rebound damping
Wheels: Marchesini 16.5-inch
Tyres: Bridgestone, 16.5-inch, available as slick, intermediate, wet and hand-cut
Brakes: Brembo, twin 320mm carbon front discs, two four-piston callipers, single 220mm stainless steel rear disc, twin-piston calliper
Weight: 150kg

Note: The new Jorge Lorenzo, with minor revisions for 2010, was also unveiled at Sepang. Changes may include mildly reduced cockiness and arrogance, and slightly enhanced maturity.

source : motogp.com & fasterandfaster.net

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