The 2010 MotoGP series concluded with round 18, the Valencia GP in Spain on November 7. Competing with the Fiat Yamaha Team with riders Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo and the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies, Yamaha made history by winning a third consecutive triple crown of Rider, Team and Manufacturer titles.
Highlights of the 2010 series
After a 2nd-place finish at the opening round in Qatar, Jorge Lorenzo claimed his first victory of the season in round two at the Spanish GP. Then, in the challenging rounds five through seven on consecutive weekends he won three straight victories at the British GP, the Dutch TT and Catalunya GP. Lorenzo went on to show amazing consistency through the middle stages of the series by raising his number of wins to seven and consecutive podiums to 12. With this big lead in the point standings Lorenzo managed to clinch the season's Rider title with three rounds remaining by finishing 3rd at round 15 in Malaysia. In the following round 16, the Australian GP, Lorenzo and Rossi finished 2nd and 3rd to win the season's Team title for their Fiat Yamaha Team.
At round 17, the Portugal GP, Lorenzo claimed his 8th win of the season to bring Yamaha the Constructor's title. In the final race of the series before his home crowd in Valencia, Spain, Lorenzo won his 9th victory of the season to bring his point total to 383, a new record for points won by a single rider in one season. At the same time, the season Manufacturer points won by Lorenzo, Rossi and 'MotoGP Rookie of the Year' winner Ben Spies reached a grand total of 404. As for Rossi, whose contract with Yamaha has ended with this season, injury kept him from competing in four rounds earlier in the series, but he still managed to recover and finish the season ranked 3rd.
Hiroyuki Yanagi (President, CEO and Representative Director of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.)
I am very pleased to announce that Yamaha has won the 2010 MotoGP 'Triple Crown' of Rider, Team and Manufacturer titles for the third year in a row, following our 2008 and 2009 triple crowns. As in years past, we feel that this great achievement was made possible by the strong support of Yamaha fans around the world and the corporate sponsors that have backed our teams. For this support, I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation.
I want to say congratulations to Jorge Lorenzo on winning his first MotoGP championship title! I also wish to express our gratitude to the riders and staff that competed rigorously in the world's premier class of road racing with the YZR-M1.
To Valentino Rossi, who will be competing for another manufacturer next season - I wish to convey my gratitude for your tremendous effort in these years with Yamaha. Although you will be among our rivals next year, we sincerely wish you the best in all your future endeavors.
Yamaha will continue to take on the challenge of competing in the great arenas of motor sport to help create more of the excitement and deep satisfaction we call Kando*. We hope you will continue to support and cheer for Yamaha.
*Kando is a Japanese word for the simultaneous feeling of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that people experience when they encounter something of exceptional value. |
