HRH The Princess Royal who is a patron of Riders for Health, officially opened the firm's new offices and showed their ambitious future goals to aid thousands of African communities over the next four years.

In her address to spectators, the Princess spoke of the link between poor transportation and the lack of development in Africa. Every year, billions of dollars are invested to developing new drugs, vaccines and other medications to save lives, however without effectiveness on delivering health care to rural areas, the money is wasted and people still continue to suffer.

Riders for Health (Riders) commenced their work in 1989 when Northamptonshire couple, Barry and Andrea Coleman, founded the company.

The company re-located to new offices at Spring Hill Office Park, near Pitsford, after its success. The new area for the UK resource centre will let the organisation support the lifesaving work of people in Africa.

Ngwarati Mashonga, Riders’ boss states, “We have come a long way in the last 20 years, but sadly there are still too many communities in Africa for whom access to basic health care remains a distant dream. During the last two weeks our African and UK teams have come together and set ourselves some ambitious goals for the next four years – including expanding our work into another three countries by 2013.

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Having taken an excellent seventh premier class World Championship crown on Sunday at Sepang, Valentino Rossi has commented on his gratitude to those who aided him to victory. The Italian also talks about the chicken celebration in Malaysia, explains his challenge with Fiat Yamaha colleague Jorge Lorenzo and his motivation to race.

Rossi begins, “Nine world championships is a great achievement, I'm so happy! I would need one hour to thank everyone! Starting with everyone at Yamaha - Furusawa-san, Lin Jarvis, Davide Brivio and all my guys, especially Jeremy. I couldn't have done it without Jeremy and he is like my motorcycle father! I also have to thank my family and friends - Stefania, Graziano, Uccio, Albi...so many! All the team, Yamaha and Bridgestone; together we've done a great, great job and it's always a huge enjoyment to ride and work with these people. In order to stay at this level through a whole season you have to be calm and have the right people around you and this is what I have. We've remained concentrated and focused even in the bad moments, so we can congratulate ourselves with this ninth title.”

“The t-shirt and the celebration is called the ‘Gallina Vecchia!’ In Italian we say that the old chicken makes good soup, but it's no use for laying eggs. I am old now, 30, but this old hen has made another egg today and now we have nine! As usual I thought it up at home in Tavullia, together with my fan club, and we had great fun designing the t-shirt and the helmet.”

He adds, “It's been a great season, for sure one of the hardest at times. It's been harder than last year, when we won after two difficult years, but we've had some troubles this year at times and I have had a very hard rival in my team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. He has pushed me to new levels and I think it's been a great duel to the end. There have been some bad moments, like Portugal when we weren't at 100%, but we have worked well. Lorenzo has done a great job to put this pressure on us so I have to say well done to him.”

“This season we've had a mono-tyre rule but we have still improved the lap record in many laps and this shows that we've all been on the limit all season. This is why we've all made mistakes; this is to be expected when you have four riders fighting together.”

“I still feel just as motivated as ever. I still have a great passion to ride better and better, to be on my bike and to win. I enjoy always trying to improve and to work with my team to do this. I am 30 but I still feel great emotion and great satisfaction from success. My passion for motorcycles is what keeps me enjoying every race and helps me to keep pushing even though I am the oldest of these first top guys. I have to train harder and work harder to stay focused now, but I still enjoy the challenge as much as ever.”

The 30 year-old concludes, “I think next year will be very, very hard. We're all on the same bikes and I think it will be between me, Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa again. On Tuesday in Valencia we will try the new model and I am looking forward to working on the new M1, but I have the greatest rival in my team so it won't be easy!”

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Nicky Hayden could not match the fourth placing that he gained on five occasions at Sepang, but his top five place on Sunday in Malaysia was satisfactory as he closes in on the end of a frustrating initial year with Ducati.

The American hero has had some disappointment over the course of the season with unfortunate smashes and a bad tyre choices at Donington, however he is steadily improving in terms of his challenging abilities as he finds the way ahead on the factory Desmosedici GP9.

An excellent relationship with his squad, particularly with his recent team-mate Casey Stoner, will see Hayden make progress over the winter, he was in a pleasing state of mind when he commented on his Malaysian result on Sunday.

“It was a strange race because the rain only came just before the start and it was falling hard,” he says. “Luckily we managed to get some racing in and when it first started raining I got excited because I thought maybe I could do something special. But at the beginning I was quite weak on the brakes and a few guys came past me, then once I got going I had a fun race.”

The 28 year-old adds, “I enjoyed myself passing and fighting with people, trying to close down the gap to the lead group, but I was just missing a little bit to really go with (Valentino) Rossi and (Jorge) Lorenzo and try to fight for the podium. When Chris Vermeulen came close to me I knew he was a rain specialist so I pushed hard to make sure he didn’t see a crack in the door.”

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“As Vale says himself, he’ll make his decision in the middle of next year and hopefully he’ll continue with Yamaha. He’s been a great ambassador. I want to pay compliments to the whole team because it’s been tough this year and there has been quite a lot of internal competition!”

Jarvis continued to explain the way in which Rossi and Lorenzo have handled their rivalry.

“Obviously having two riders competing for the championship is quite stressful for everybody concerned, and I’m really happy we arrived here – as I hoped and thought we would –without any incident, either on or off the track. I think the behaviour and maturity of the two riders has been really special, and also the teamwork of our people,” Jarvis ends.

Masao Furusawa, Executive Officer of Engineering Operations for Yamaha Motor Company, also commented on working with Rossi.

“Valentino always helps us, not only in the development of the bike but the setting up. Also he helps me with philosophical hints! Off the track we are good friends despite the age difference,” says Furusawa.

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A final lap victory in Australia gave Julián Simón the world title after an exciting battle with Bradley Smith, now the British competitor can attempt to secure his grip on second position in Malaysia.

After his choice to step down to 125cc from the 250cc session justified with his crown at the weekend, Simón will now attempt to secure his first ever stage appearance at Sepang.

Smith’s fine year may well continue in Malaysia, at a circuit where he arrived second last season from 13th on the grid, he has now collated a sturdy run of four consecutive stage ends.

The 19 year-old is still able to be caught by third positioned Nico Terol (Jack & Jones), however with a 21 point advantage going into the last two events, it would take some impressive displays.

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Only seven points separates Colin Edwards and Andrea Dovizioso in the overall rankings with two events left for the year.  The Texan needs a strong result in Sepang and Valencia to pass his opponent.

Apart from his DNF in Misano, when a smash with Alex de Angelis finished his event, Edwards has ended in fifth position in his prior three competitions.

The Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix arrives this weekend and offers the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 competitor a chance to take further points off Dovizioso’s mild advantage.

“We need to get on the podium, we need to get a chunk of points over the next couple of races to get that fifth,” Edwards states after beating Dovizioso at Phillip Island.

Commenting on whether Sepang would provide the setting for an accomplishment,

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Only one point separates four competitors over places seven to ten in the current MotoGP championship rankings, with Marco Melandri seeking a strong end to the year.

The Italian raced with impressive speed at Phillip Island to claim seventh place from 14th on the grid. He challenged well with sixth placed Andrea Dovizioso early, then battled with Randy de Puniet for the majority of the race before beating the Frenchman over the line by just under 0.5s.

The LCR Honda racer is currently challenging with Hayate’s Melandri for seventh spot in the overall rankings, with Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Loris Capirossi also close by. Melandri is currently tenth on 100 points, with his threesome of riders all level on 101 points.

“It was a very tough race,” states Melandri. “At the beginning we were very, very close; it was a big group and we had a fight. After a few laps it was very difficult for me to brake hard because I didn’t have a good feeling with the bike, it was very unstable and Dovizioso established an advantage. I tried to catch him back but couldn’t, and then I had a big fight with Randy. We passed each other many times and I won that battle, so it’s been good for me because I had a very bad qualifying. I hope to be fighting for seventh position in the championship.”

Sepang is next and Melandri is expecting a battle on his hands at the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix this weekend.

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Marco Simoncelli reduced the gap on Hiroshi Aoyama in the 250cc World Championship to 12 points with a victory at Phillip Island, as the Japanese competitor was classed into seventh spot when the event was red flagged.

Roberto Locatelli’s crash that ended up with him lying stricken on the circuit, brought the race to an early finish, with Simoncelli ahead.  Álvaro Bautista had already smashed when in second place earlier on, and Aoyama rose to fourth from seventh on the final completed lap.

Simoncelli took the lead early and the Italian kept that form for the rest of the event, until a red flag on the 18th lap gave him the victory, with Héctor Barberá in second and Raffaele de Rosa in third positions respectively.

Championship leader Aoyama was behind in seventh from third on the grid early on, and with Bautista challenging, the pressure was placed on the Japanese competitor. Bautista’s most disappointing qualifying position of the season, which saw him begin in tenth spot, was slowly improved upon as the race progressed.

Barberá kept up pace with Simoncelli in the front, with pole holder De Rosa only just over 0.5s behind,  Mattia Pasini smashed out with 17 laps left to end a tough weekend.

A crash for Bautista ended his hopes, and on the next lap Jules Cluzel’s slip up saw Aoyama take fourth spot. The drama increased with Locatelli’s spill at MG Corner.

This gave Simoncelli the win and reduce the deficit in the event for the title on Aoyama, while Cluzel was given fourth despite his smash.   Mike di Meglio finished fifth. Karel Abraham’s sixth position was the Czech’s best ever race result.

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The Italian seemed to be out of the race for the World Championship amongst Aoyama and Álvaro Bautista ahead of the bwin.com Grande Prémio de Portugal, however a smash for Bautista in Portugal allowed Simoncelli back in with a victory as the 250cc championship closes in.

Aoyama’s lead in the overall rankings was extended to 26 points ahead of Bautista, while Simoncelli, whose win claimed the 199th victory for Italian competitors in the 250cc class, is now only two points behind the second placed Spaniard, taking his fifth victory of the season.

The scene is perfect for the Australian GP with Simoncelli and Bautista both claiming good records at the track. Bautista has placed second in both 250cc events at Phillip Island and taken victory in the 125cc in 2006, whilst his Italian opponent won there last season. Aoyama’s DNF last season allows the Japanese front man to be ever keen to keep his form that sees him end outside the top four on only two occasions this year.

Aoyama could finalise the event for the title early if he takes his first ever victory at Phillip Island, if he can achieve this, the Scot Racing competitor would require Bautista to place no higher than 16th, Simoncelli 14th or lower, and Héctor Barberá to not arrive second. If the scenario does not occur, Aoyama will require 50 points from the final three events, including Australia, irrespective of other racers’ points to claim the world title.

Barberá (Pepe World Team) sits 16 points behind Simoncelli in the overall rankings, he will be keen to correct a marred history at Phillip Island, where he did not appear last season due to back injury, he also claimedd a DNF the year before.

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A mass of hopefuls arrived from all over to the Italian circuit of Adria, near Venice, to show their talents in the joy of being invited to unite in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup for next season.

Only seven teenagers made it through and they can now join the 18 Rookies kept from the 2009 Cup. Three reserves were also chosen.

It was a filled day of testing in warm conditions, however the crisp circuit early in the morning caught out some of the youth although no serious injuries were incurred. The first 15 minute test to familiarise themselves was followed by two 20 minute tests with group bouts of seven competitors on the circuit together.

A very high level of ability was shown from as far as New Zealand, Poland, Argentina, the Russian Federation, the USA and Brazil. Judges Gustl Auinger, Harald Bartol, Raul Jara and Peter Clifford made their choices and results were confirmed to the competitors prior to leaving the track.

The lucky selections are:

Florian Alt (Germany)
Niccolo Antonelli (Italy)
Antonio Chiari (Brazil)
Deni Cudic (Austria)
Brody Nowlan (Australia)
Xavier Pinsach (Spain)
Alan Techer (France)

Philipp Öttl (Germany) Reserve 1
James Flitcroft (England) Reserve 2
Tomas Vavrous (Czech Republic) Reserve 3

Rookies selected to continue from the 2009 cup are:

Brad Binder (South Africa)
Kevin Calia (Italy)
Alessio Cappella (Nigeria)
Xavier Figueras (Spain)
Jake Gagne (USA)
Daijiro Hiura (Japan)
Joshua Hook (Australia)
Danny Kent (England)
Alex Kristiansson (Sweden)
Taylor Mackenzie (Scotland)
Florian Marino (France)
Alejandro Pardo (Italy)
Fraser Rogers (England)
Daniel Ruiz (Spain)
Mathew Scholtz (South Africa)
Arthur Sissis (Australia)

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Loris Capirossi’s disappointing DNF at Estoril has not dampened the Italian competitor’s positive mind of the progress his GSV-R engine has made this year.

He will continue with the same outfit next year, unfortunately he had to retire on the 20th lap on the Portuguese circuit, after a technical issue with his bike where he was unable to continue.

Capirossi was challenging for the battle for sixth position which was occurring between Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), he tried to secure his championship ranking of seventh.

The 36-year-old stays at seventh place in the overall rankings, however his points advantage to nearest rival Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) has been reduced to four, with a pack of six other competitors all capable of taking Capirossi's spot in the last three events of the year.

Capirossi is keeping a positive outlook prior to the coming Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, and comments, “The Estoril race wasn’t too bad - until we stopped! I started quite well and was with the front group, but I then lost control on turn six and lost a few places. I tried to get my rhythm back and I managed to overtake a few riders and I caught up with Toni and Andrea. I know I was quicker than them and could have got past to score a good result.”

“Then I don't really know what happened to the bike, because it lost power, so all I could do was return to the pits. We have worked really hard this weekend to find the best way to go quicker on the GSV-R and overall our position this weekend was to fight for fifth or sixth, which is not too bad for us because this is one of the worst tracks for us in terms of performance.”

“Everything seems to be improving and we are now looking forward to the next race,” he adds.

Capirossi’s Suzuki colleague Chris Vermeulen placed tenth from 15th on the grid, having challenged his way through the field. He states, “I am quite happy with the way I rode and the fact that I moved up through the field,” he said.

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A consistent time for Colin Edwards at Estoril where the experienced Texan did a fantastic job to qualify and end in fifth place, this allowed him to cut the gap on Andrea Dovizioso for fifth position in the rankings, with both competitors determined to arrive on top for the final three events.

Edwards looked comfortable through the event, though it was a nice ride for the 35 year-old who ended nine seconds after former colleague Valentino Rossi and three seconds ahead of sixth placed Toni Elías.

Commenting on the weekend Edwards says, “From qualifying we thought we had found a good setting and then we kind of went round in a circle, coming back to what we started with. There was a bit of front end movement which I wasn’t really happy with and once the tyre started moving a little bit it got very difficult, as I couldn’t get any load on the rear. At the end of the day though we ran fifth all weekend and we finished the race fifth so it looked like that was the best we could do this weekend. If you're the next best rider behind the top four in the world then you've done a good job.”

Only eight points off fifth in the rankings, Edwards adds, “I got a few more points back on Andrea Dovizioso in the championship and that is a good reward for the all effort my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 have put in. We've got three races to go and I’ll be giving it my all as always because I really want that fifth spot.”

Having been beaten to sixth spot by a minimal margin of a second by Elías, Dovizioso states, “I can’t be too happy with that, because from the beginning this weekend we were not fast and when the grip reduced it was difficult to manage the bike. We need to work hard with Öhlins to see if we can improve the situation with the suspension.”

“It was a really close finish on the line and I just missed out on sixth place - which isn’t the result we wanted, obviously. I started from the third row and was ninth in the early laps before getting past three riders which took me up to sixth. I was able to hold the gap to Elias behind me but then I lost time on one lap and he came past.

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The beginning of Valentino Rossi’s season this year and his MotoGP title defence allowedw him to gain two second places behind his strongest rivals, Casey Stoner in Qatar and Jorge Lorenzo in Japan.

The results were a masterpiece of his consistency with the challenging Yamaha M1, Rossi does not enjoy coming second. He therefore celebrated with joy amongst a passionate Spanish crowd when he claimed his first win of the season at the Gran Premio bwin.com de España.

His Jerez performance was also vintage Rossi, then Le Mans was not what we all expected from The Doctor as he smashed in a difficult wet-dry event when he swapped onto slicks too early and then swapped bikes twice more before finally arriving home in 16th place.

Losing a seven-year winning streak at Mugello behind Stoner and Lorenzo was not enjoyable for Rossi, he increased the heat on his nearest competitors at the next round.

His last corner victory in Barcelona from rival colleage Lorenzo came at the finale of an interesting battle between the duo, it was a significant time with Stoner appearing with signs of an illness that weekend and the Aussie could only gain a distant third.

The threesome left Catalunya in a three way tie for the lead, but Rossi came back again with an amazing performance from pole at the Cathedral of Motorcycling, leaving Lorenzo to chase his shadow around the historic Assen track, as Rossi claimed the 100th GP win of his remarkable career.

Lorenzo was keeping the pressure on and both Fiat Yamaha competitors were on the stage again at Laguna Seca, Rossi second and Lorenzo third, behind a great performance from Dani Pedrosa. The journey to Germany for round nine allowed another Rossi-Lorenzo duel, with the Italian winning by just 0.099 seconds.

Some surprise results saw maiden MotoGP victor Andrea Dovizioso, Randy de Puniet and Colin Edwards on the podium in the final World Championship duel at Donington Park, however Rossi still extended his standings advantage. He picked up his bike after a smash on the wet-dry circuit to finish fifth having started on pole, while Lorenzo smashed out, Pedrosa was ninth and Stoner was fourteenth -  his final GP appearance to date.

This left Rossi with a 25 point lead over Lorenzo before adventuring to the Czech Republic. The trip to Brno was an ideal weekend for Rossi at the track where he scored his first victory on a 125cc motorbike in 1996,  he claimed another victory from pole as Lorenzo suffered his second consecutive DNF.

Two weeks later at Indianapolis, Rossi’s tries to repeat his debut Brickyard win from 2008, but it became disaster as he crashed out and Lorenzo swapped places with Rossi for the win. The points gap is now 25 points with only five events left.

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