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MotoGP’s Guerrilla Marketing on the Streets of Barcelona

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Jorge Lorenzo might not be the most charismatic MotoGP racer in the paddock, but he has some very smart people helping him with his marketing. Pitching a MotoGP grid in front of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Yamaha Racing team put on a show for the unsuspecting people milling about the famous church.

With a bike, rider, team, and yes, even a grid girl, all coming out of nowhere and setting up shop in the middle of the street, it looks like the marketing stunt certainly caught passersby off-guard. Honestly, we could prattle on more about it, but Yamaha’s description is pretty vivid. Check it and the video after the jump, and let’s collectively hope that MotoGP keeps up these creative marketing efforts.

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Bikes

Yamaha YZR-M1 WGP 50th Anniversary Edition

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Helping commemorate its 50th Anniversary of World Championship Grand Prix racing, Yamaha has unveiled special race livery for its factory-backed MotoGP squad, which the team will run at the Assen TT and Laguna Seca Grand Prix. Set to be unveiled Wednesday, June 22nd at the Assen circuit by Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, the Yamaha YZR-M1 WGP 50th Anniversary Edition motorcycles with their red color schemes are described by the Japanese company as paying “homage to the iconic Yamaha Factory Racing liveries of the past with a modern twist.”

Take that as you will, but the new race livery for the two races is a welcomed detraction from the reminder that the Yamaha squad has been unable to field a title sponsor for the 2011 MotoGP Championship season, despite having the 2010 Rookie of the Year Ben Spies and reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo on-board the squad’s Yamaha YZR-M1 race bikes. Nonetheless, Yamaha has been celebrating its racing heritage with a special 50th Anniversary website, which is well-stocked with images of racing lore for the tuning fork brand.

Be sure to check out the full gallery of images on the Yamaha YZR-M1 WGP 50th Anniversary Edition motorcycle after the jump. We think it’s a looker.

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Racing

“There’s Not Much Else to Do, But the Biggest of all Things”

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Ben Spies is on the factory Yamaha YZR-M1 this year, and is already showing that he has the mettle to battle up front in MotoGP with the best of the best. A former AMA Champion and World Superbike Champion, Spies has his eyes on motorcycling’s ultimate prize, but it’s been a long road to where he is now for the young Texan racer.

Talking about his start in motorcycle racing, Alpinestars has done a quick video on Spies as a part of the company’s “Beyond the Riders” campaign. Like the videos with Jorge Lorenzo & the Repsol Honda riders, there’s some interesting things to hear from our stars of the Premier Class, which tell the story we don’t see on TV. Watch Ben’s story after the jump.

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Racing

Jorge Lorenzo: Parte Dos

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Alpinestars has cooked up the second part to its profile on reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo. As a member of the new generation of GP riders, Alpinestars focuses on Lorenzo’s elevation in the sport, and what is different for these younger riders compared to their older counterparts. Coming from the soon-to-be defunct 125GP, more riders coming in from World Superbike, and talking to fans on Twitter & Facebook, are all budding issues for the Spanish rider. Check it out after the jump.

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Racing

Honda Goes 1, 2, 3, at Second Day of Testing at Sepang

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The Honda boys were out in full-force today, as MotoGP testing continued at Sepang. With only Toni Elias outside of the Top 7, Honda’s race package for the 2011 season is looking very stout, despite the fact that chassis selections still haven’t been finalized. While landing at the top of the results list is about as useful as yelling “first” in the comments section, Casey Stoner just barely snatched the honor away from Dani Pedrosa in his final lap around the Malaysian circuit, leaving only .058 seconds between the teammates.

Like yesterday, the Yamaha Racing factory squad looked in good form as well, with Spies showing marked improvements despite crashing in one of the sessions. Jorge Lorenzo spent some time on two different bikes, confirming the direction his crew was going with developing the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 for the new season.

Things weren’t progressing as well in the Ducati camp though, as all the teams struggled with front-end issues. Notably absent from the day was Valentino Rossi, who has come down with cold/flu like symptoms. He retired to the hotel, in the hopes of being well enough to ride in tomorrow’s last day of testing. Carrying the Corse flag alone, Nicky Hayden had a tough day that ended with gearbox problems. Still, the ever-positive American was hopeful for better fortunes on Thursday as the team seems to have worked out some chatter issues.

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Casey Stoner Leads MotoGP Testing at Sepang

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Casey Stoner set the pace today at MotoGP’s second off-season test at Sepang. The Australian, and the rest of the four factory Honda riders, proved to be very impressive on the Malaysian track, as the 2011 Honda RC212V seems to be hitting its stride just before the season opener in Qatar in a few weeks.

The Honda riders don’t have things all sewn up though, as the Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo was looking very fast, as were Americans Ben Spies and Colin Edwards. Earlier in the day, nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi even cracked into the Top 5 on the standings, and despite finishing the day just over a second behind Stoner, the Italian was upbeat about the team’s progress and his physical condition.

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Bikes

2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 Technical Specifications

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Along with the official unveiling of the 2011 Yamaha MotoGP team & livery, the Japanese manufacturer has also released photos of the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1, with accompanying technical specifications. Unsurprisingly, Yamaha is keeping many of its exact specifications close to the chest, but test reports indicate that a refined chassis, and a slightly more powerful motor have been added to the 2011 YZR-M1.

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Racing

Yamaha’s 2011 MotoGP Livery Unveiling

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Yup, it’s official folks: Yamaha will run without a title sponsor for the 2011 MotoGP season (at least initially), as the team’s official race livery was unveiled at Sepang today (actually, we’re releasing these photos ahead of the official announcement, so in a way this post is coming from the future), along with the official unveiling of the 2011 Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP race bike.

Trading a corporate sponsor for a “50th Year in Road Racing Championship Grand Prix” emblem, Yamaha has seemingly been unable to woo a title backer onto its carbon fiber fairings after Fiat’s departure, despite winning the team, rider, and manufacturer Championships in the 2010 season. Check out the full gallery after the jump.

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Yamaha Releases 2011 World Superbike Livery – Forgets to Add Sponsors’ Logos

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Releasing its 2011 World Superbike livery today, Yamaha had to unveil its YZF-R1 with a profusion of the color blue, and total lack of a title sponsorship. Not renewing its contract after the 2010 season, Italian milk producer Sterilgarda is notably absent from the team livery. It might have been assumed that Sterilgarda would stay on to sponsor Italian rider Marco Melandri, but the once promising MotoGP rider obviously did not have the drawing power for the Italian brand.

This lack of corporate sponsorship is a worrying trend for the Japanese motorcycle manufacturer, as Yamaha has yet to announce a sponsor for its MotoGP team, after Fiat exited with its bags of money when Valentino Rossi left Yamaha for Ducati Corse (there’s considerable talk that when Yamaha debuts its MotoGP livery in Sepang later this month, it’ll be with corporate colors as well).

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Yamaha Will Debut 2011 MotoGP Livery at Sepang Test

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Yamaha Racing has just announced that it will debut its 2011 MotoGP team livery at the Sepang test on February 21st. Yamaha has been without a title sponsor since the departure of Valentino Rossi, as Italian car manufacturer Fiat dropped its support of the Japanese team when Rossi went to Ducati Corse for this upcoming season.

Despite having the reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo, the 2010 MotoGP Rookie of the Year Ben Spies, and being the team to beat in 2011, Yamaha has reportedly struggled to find a title sponsor for the upcoming season, that is until now.

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