yamaha yzf R1

• 6:26Yamaha YZF R1 2009 con Colin Edwardsby motociclismo307,907 views 
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• 2:17Yamaha YZF R1 y Valentino Rossiby motociclismo219,984 views
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  • 2:192009 YZF R1 試乗って見た！　ぐるっと検証　YSP福重by yspfukushige71,138 views

Casey Stoner replica Ducati Desmosedici RR

Casey Stoner in action during the 2009 Aussie MotoGP

Valentino Rossi to his Yamaha YZR-M1: “Bye Bye Baby!”

The Valentino Rossi-Yamaha YZR-M1 story comes to an end...

After seven years with Yamaha, during which he won four MotoGP world championships aboard the YZR-M1, Valentino ‘The Doctor’ Rossi has said goodbye to the Japanese team, as he prepared to move to Ducati in 2011. ‘Arriving on the podium was my way to say thank you to my bike, to Yamaha and to all the people who have worked with me in these seven seasons,’ said Rossi after the Grand Prix of Valencia yesterday. ‘It's been a great experience and I have enjoyed it so much. 46 is a great number of wins. Of course, I wanted more, but I think I can be happy with what I have done here. It's been a wonderful seven years, great fun, with a special atmosphere, many fantastic victories and four world championships. I stopped with my bike after the race today, just like I did at Welkom when this story began. It was the right way to say goodbye to ‘her.’ Thank you to everyone, we have wonderful memories,’ The Doctor added.

‘In 2004, Valentino was the only one who could win on the YZR-M1 so he contributed a lot to developing the bike. This year, not only Valentino but also three other riders were fast, so it's clear that our YZR-M1 is a pretty good bike. This is mainly because of Valentino's contributions over the years so I really appreciate that and I want to wish him all the best in the future,’ added Masao Furusawa.

‘We are very, very grateful because Valentino's arrival really turned things around for Yamaha and we came back to victorious ways. We are incredibly thankful and grateful to him for that. We've had so many exciting and enjoyable moments with him and with the crew that he brought with him, who are great guys. Today we will be saying goodbye to a great number of people including Davide Brivio, Jerry Burgess and the whole crew. We've had a super time, it's been a really excellent team and we will miss them tomorrow, it will be a strange day,’ said Lin Jarvis.

Next year, for The Doctor, it will be 2004 all over again, as he gets to grips with a new bike at Ducati. This time around, though, he’ll be all of seven years older and he’ll have younger, hungrier competition to deal with. Can Rossi do it all over again? Can he win yet another MotoGP world championship, this time with Ducati? We’re sure he can. We’re sure he will. And we wish him all the best!

The Doctor talks about the evolution of the YZR-M1...
Video via Les Misanthropes Deux

Special liveries that The Doctor used on his YZR-M1 over the years...

Chinese MotoGP: Valentino Rossi comes back on top in Shanghai

With his first win on Bridgestones in Shanghai, The Doctor is back!!
Dani Pedrosa finished in second place, Stoner took third, while Lorenzo was in fourth place
Nicky Hayden, John Hopkins and Alex de Angelis took 6th, 14th and 16th places respectively...

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

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

Full race reports here and here

More images from the 2008 Chinese MotoGP

For more hi-res MotoGP wallpaper, go here

2011 Catalan MotoGP: High-res pics from Catalunya

Here are some high-res pics from practise and qualifying, from Catalunya. Tomorrow, we'll also add race pics from the Catalan MotoGP here. Enjoy!