JENSON: FAILURE A MASSIVE BLOW Last Updated: Sunday, 11, June, 2006, 14:43 Jenson Button described the engine failure that cost him a potential points finish in the British Grand Prix as a “massive blow” after another disappointing weekend for the Honda star. The Englishman reckons the team must now work to solve the problems that have kept him out of contention throughout his home grand prix. “It was a massive blow up, and a massive blow as well,” he told ITV Sport’s Louise Goodman. “In terms of the race we started 19th and we were up to 12th and things were looking pretty sweet. I think I could have got past DC in the next couple of laps. “The car was working pretty well. It’s just a pity really. “Yesterday was tough for us, getting caught on the weighbridge, and today was even tougher because I think we could have had a good comeback drive. It was going very well.” Button was knocked out of qualifying after the first session when he was called in for his car to be weighed by the stewards, which cost him a chance to improve his time. It meant that he was outqualified by team-mate Rubens Barrichello for the fourth race in succession. But Jenson said the problems run deeper than that and revealed that Honda was planning another of its Monday debriefs to try and get to the bottom of the problems which also saw Rubens Barrichello finish out of the points in tenth, a lap down on the leaders. “It’s not all bad luck, we need to improve,” he told ITV Sport’s Louise Goodman. “And we will.” “We will have a meeting on Monday as normal to see where we go from here and sort out our little issues because quali was very disappointing but the car felt great in the race. “I was little bit surprised how good it felt.” Button warned that there is no short-term fix to the team’s lack of pace but added there was some cause for optimism as the world championship heads towards its North American double-header, where both he and BAR have often excelled. “I think winning ways is going to be difficult in the next few races, but Canada is a good circuit, I like it and we’ve always gone pretty well there,” he said. “I went into the wall last year but apart from that the car goes well there at that circuit and we have just got to hope that’s enough because we are not as quick as the first few teams.” Ok catch you all later windy

this is from the Jenson button website sent to me today The British Grand Prix! I'm very patriotic, so I'm really looking forward to racing in front of my home crowd at Silverstone this weekend. The British fans are some of the best in the world and it's a very emotional experience to hear them chanting my name during the British Grand Prix; it's a fantastic feeling. The fans that I've met since I arrived at Silverstone this morning have all said that they hope I can win on Sunday… While I love their support, all I can tell them is that I will be driving my RA106 as fast as it will physically go! The last race in Monaco was, of course, a disappointment for me. I had set-up problems all weekend and went from the race straight to Barcelona for a two-day test. The characteristics of the track layout are similar to the fast sweeps of Silverstone, so it was good to test ahead of the British Grand Prix. www.jensonbutton.com will be keeping you right up-to-date this weekend with great news reports, photos and exclusive trackside video messages from JB. Weekend Schedule (all times BST) Friday 9 June 2006 Practice 1 11:00 - 12:00 Practice 2 14:00 - 15:00 Saturday 10 June 2006 Practice 09.30 - 10.30 Qualifying 12:30 Sunday 11 June 2006 Race 12:00 www.jensonbutton.com I'LL be watching will you, windy

Rossi inks Yamaha deal for 2007 Days after Valentino Rossi said no to F1 he has said yes to Yamaha for 2007. The Italian won the championship with the YZR-M1 on his first try in 2004 and again in 2005, when Yamaha took a clean-sweep of Riders’, Team and Manufacturers’ Championships in the year of it’s 50th Anniversary. 2006 has proved more difficult for the World Champion, with just one win so far this season after a series of unfortunate occurrences, but Yamaha has every faith that Rossi will recover his winning-form, starting at his home Grand Prix in Mugello this weekend. Speaking from Mugello today, Yamaha Motor Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis commented, "We are firstly delighted that Valentino has chosen to stay in MotoGP. He is a great ambassador for motorcycle racing in general and extremely important to the global image of this sport. He is the most talented and the fastest rider on the grid and the benchmark to which others aspire. "We are extremely happy that Valentino has chosen to continue his illustrious MotoGP career with Yamaha in 2007. Yamaha and Valentino have an excellent relationship and we have enjoyed great success together since our partnership was born in 2004. It’s exciting news for Yamaha’s fans; Valentino’s worldwide appeal unites them under one banner and brings more and more people daily into the Yamaha ‘family’. "Of course it’s of key importance to us that Valentino will now be in a position to lead the development of Yamaha’s new 800cc project for 2007. His input will be invaluable and we believe we will be able to challenge to win the title next year with the new bike. Both Valentino and Yamaha relish the new challenge ahead. "In the meantime our short term goal is to provide him with the means to defend his MotoGP title this year. We are confident that Valentino can recover from an unlucky start to his title defence, starting at our Factory Team’s home race in Mugello this weekend." "I’m very pleased to be staying with Yamaha next year", announced the 27-year-old from Tavullia, "These past two years with Yamaha have been two of the best of my career and I am extremely happy to stay with them and with my team. I believe I have made the right choice and I am very excited about the challenge of a new class of racing with Yamaha next year."