Yamaha shine in dazzling German GP.

Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1 riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa finished second and fourth in today's thrilling German GP, a non-stop rollercoaster of a ride around the ultra-tight Sachsenring.

The leading eight-man pack ran nose to tail until three laps from the finish when two-stroke leaders Olivier Jacque (Yamaha) and Alex Barros (Honda) crashed, putting four-stroke men Valentino Rossi (Honda) and Max Biaggi out front.

Biaggi rode a great race, fighting back from seventh in
the early stages. Checa was right there throughout, crossing the line just 2.33 seconds behind the winner.

"I enjoyed that race very much, but first I'd just like to give my condolences to Olivier, he was very unlucky," said YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda who intends to use today's two-stroke versus four-stroke
battle to further development of the M1.

"Both our riders tried very hard and now we will analyze the data to study the difference between the two-stroke and the four-stroke, so that we can make more improvements to our bike. Now we
have a month's break before the next race, but we will still be working hard in the run-up to Brno."