Big Four Cuts Production

Japan's OEMs cut production 39 percent during first half of 2009

Dealernews Press Release

Japan's four major motorcycle manufacturers produced 360,981 units during the first six months of the year, down 39.2 percent compared to 593,384 units during the first six months of 2008, according to output figures compiled by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA).

Honda produced 109,321 units during the first six months of the year, down 29.5 percent compared to 155,266 units produced during the same six-month period in 2008; Kawasaki produced 62,492 units, down 32.9 percent compared to 93,251 units; Suzuki produced 92,111 units, down 50.2 percent compared to 185,276 units; and Yamaha produced 97,035 units, down 39.1 percent compared to 159,554 units.

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MotoGP: Round 9

MotoGP Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland

Tyler Hopper

AllAboutBikes.com Staff-Writer

With Yamaha and Ducati dominating the top three spots in championship points, both manufacturers face stumbling blocks on the road to Deutschland. Jorge Lorenzo, currently in second place, and Casey Stoner, in third, will be competing at less than 100 percent heading to Sachsenring, Germany, for the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

When Lorenzo arrives for the ninth round, he won’t be concerned with the media; his attention will be with the Clinica Mobile, whose staff helped prepare him for the Laguna Seca race after his qualifying crash. The crash resulted in a collarbone injury, a micro fracture in his right foot and two bruised ankles.

Casey Stoner, who suffered a crash during qualifying at the Laguna Seca race, has recently been diagnosed with slight gastritis and mild anemia. Stoner said, “I still don’t feel like I am 100 percent, but the biggest problem now is that my ribs are very painful after the crash in qualifying in the U.S. It will be probably another hard weekend in Germany, but as always, we will do our best to stay as much as possible close to the lead of the Championship.” Stoner managed to finish fourth at the Red Bull Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, despite his misfortune in qualifying. That kind of performance, at a time when he needed it, is an indication of how much Stoner wants to stay in the battle for the championship.

Two riders looking forward to top performances this weekend are Dani Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi. Coming off of a victory in the US, Pedrosa looks forward to the race in Germany. “I’ve had some good results at this track and I take a lot of confidence into the race weekend at Sachsenring because we’re probably in the best shape we’ve been in for a while,” stated the Pedrosa. “The win in Laguna Seca was really important for me and the team because it proves we’ve been making progress and we now have the pace to win races.”

Rossi is looking to continue his run for the title this weekend. Rossi said, “Sachsenring isn’t one of my favorite tracks but I’ve had some great races there and generally it suits Yamaha well, which is good. We need another good result to keep our lead because our rivals are so strong and we can’t afford to make any mistakes. Last year there was a lot of rain in Germany but in fact we were able to take a great second place. I hope this year we can go one better.”

Rossi’s 100 GP wins – the statistics

Some facts and figures relating to Valentino Rossi’s remarkable 100 career wins, since his first victory in the 125cc class in Brno in 1996

MotoGP Press Release

With his victory at the Alice TT Assen Valentino Rossi became only the second rider ever to reach the milestone of 100 Grand Prix victories, as motogp.com documented in Monday’s video tributes to the Fiat Yamaha star.

Today we offer a selection of statistics relating to Rossi’s colorful and triumphant march to a century of GP successes, which along the way have brought him eight World titles across the three Grand Prix classes:

• The 100 victories have come from 217 Grand Prix starts – a win rate over his career of 46.1%. Rossi has won on six different types of motorcycle: 125cc Aprilia (12 wins), 250cc Aprilia (14 wins), 500cc Honda (13 wins), 990cc Honda (20 wins), 990cc Yamaha (25 wins) and 800cc Yamaha (16 wins).
• His 41 wins riding for Yamaha is more than any other rider. The second most successful Yamaha rider is Phil Read with 39 victories.
• Rossi has won Grand Prix races at 27 different circuits. The circuits at which he has had most success are Mugello and Catalunya with nine wins at each.
• The most wins Rossi has had in a single season is 11, which he has achieved on four occasions: 1997 (125cc), 2001 (500cc), 2002 and 2005 in MotoGP.
• His 11 wins in 1997 is a record for most victories in a single season in the 125cc class.
• Rossi’s 74 race victories in the premier-class is more than any other rider in the 61-year history of Grand Prix racing.
• With his victory in Jerez this year Valentino Rossi became the first rider to achieve at least one Grand Prix victory for 14 successive seasons.
• The total length of his winning career from his first win in the 125cc race at the Czech GP in 1996 to his latest victory at Assen, is 12 years 313 days. Only four riders have had a longer winning career in Grand Prix racing: Loris Reggiani, Phil Read, Angel Nieto and Loris Capirossi.