The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is delighted to announce the signing of British rider Cal Crutchlow to contest the MotoGP world championship for the next two years.
Crutchlow will extend his successful collaboration with Yamaha having won the World Supersport championship at the first attempt in 2009 with five victories and ten pole positions.
Ben Spies continued his excellent form in the MotoGP world championship in Misano this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider ending with a richly deserved sixth position.
The 26-year-old recovered superbly having lost four places in a frantic jostle for track position at the tight second corner on the opening lap.
Dropped down to 10th place, the Texan showcased his overtaking prowess once again, passing both Marco Melandri and Randy de Puniet on lap six to take seventh place.
That put Spies firmly on the trail of Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards, who had made a blistering start to end the first lap fifth.
Spies quickly closed down on Edwards and made his attack on lap 12 and then expertly moved clear of his fellow Texan to finish top non-factory rider again.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Ben Spies produced another inspired qualifying performance in Misano today, the American just missing out on a third successive front row start by the narrowest of margins.
The Texan was able to capitalise on numerous set-up tweaks made from practice to finish just 0.075s from the front row in a closely contested qualifying session that saw less than one second cover the top nine riders.
Spies was once again leading non-factory team rider in fifth position, his quickest lap of 1.34.472 just 0.002s behind reigning world champion and Misano crowd favourite Valentino Rossi.
Spies made big progress in his quest to find a more comfortable front-end setting with his YZR-M1 machine this afternoon and the 26-year-old is confident he can mount a strong challenge for his third podium finish of the season in tomorrow's race.
Colin Edwards and Ben Spies made an encouraging start to the Misano MotoGP weekend today, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team pairing able to secure top six places in the opening free practice session.
Edwards spent the entire session evaluating the endurance potential of Bridgestone's soft compound rear tyre option in warm but breezy conditions.
The experienced American was delighted with the consistent performance of the softer option, Edwards posting his best time of 1.35.834 on his 26th lap as he ran a full race distance of 28-laps on the same set of soft tyres.
Edwards finished top non-factory rider today and is now confident he can sustain his early form to fight for a first top six finish of the campaign in Sunday's race.
Fresh from the best weekend of his MotoGP career in Indianapolis, Spies was in impressive form again this afternoon.
Ben Spies treated a patriotic home crowd at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway to an all-action display in today's MotoGP race, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider ending a fantastic weekend with a career best second position.
Starting from pole position for the first time in his premier class career, Spies made a blistering start and streaked away from the field in the early stages with a succession of fast laps as he looked at ease leading a MotoGP race for the first time.
Such was Spies' phenomenal early speed that he was a second clear after just three laps, the reigning World Superbike champion leaving his illustrious rivals trailing in his wake. Only Dani Pedrosa was able to get close to matching his rhythm as a crowd of over 62,000 fans roared the Texan on.
Spies was producing heroics to keep Pedrosa at bay but the Spaniard made a decisive attack on lap seven to move into the lead. Spies produced a super human effort in gruelling heat and humidity to try and keep the pressure on Pedrosa before he eventually eased off to secure a richly deserved second.
The 26-year-old's performance received a huge ovation from the appreciative Indianapolis crowed with Spies celebrating being top Yamaha rider for the first time in his career. And marking his career best result in front of his home fans shortly after confirming his 2011 move to Yamaha's factory team only made his accomplishment even more special.
Ben Spies' remarkable rookie MotoGP campaign hit a new high today when the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider stormed to a stunning maiden pole position at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Texan thrilled a large and sun drenched home crowd with a startling performance at the historic 4.216km circuit, Spies topping the timesheets with an incredible late attack to claim a first pole position for the Tech 3 squad since the China Grand Prix in 2008.
Spies had spent most of the qualifying session, which was run in searing temperatures that peaked at a punishing 33 degrees, concentrating on a crucial race set-up for tomorrow's 28-lap encounter.
But as soon as the field switched to the softer compound Bridgestone rear tyre, Spies was in devastating form and always looked like challenging for a second successive front row start.
There were 12 minutes left on the clock when a lap of 1.40.465 saw him rocket from ninth to the top of the timesheets. That impressive pace put him a fraction ahead of Jorge Lorenzo.
Colin Edwards and Ben Spies made a fast and confident start to the Indianapolis MotoGP weekend today, the American duo immediately able to set a competitive pace in opening practice.
Edwards will set a personal milestone on home soil on Sunday when he becomes only the 13th rider in history to start 130 premier class races. And he made an impressive start to the landmark weekend at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 36-year-old concentrated on fine-tuning a revised front-end geometry setting he first used in Brno earlier this month on board his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine.
