From a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

Dutch TT, Assen, June 26/27/28 2003

DEBUT VICTORY ‘CHANGES NOTHING’ FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM

The Ducati Marlboro Team comes to Assen fresh from its historic first MotoGP victory, but with its focus still very much on the future. Despite Loris Capirossi’s glorious win at scorching-hot Catalunya a fortnight back the Italian squad still considers its first premier-class GP season in three decades as a development campaign, with the onus on improving the awesome Desmosedici at every outing.

This weekend will be a real challenge for the Bologna-based crew, since Assen is a unique circuit, known to race fans around the world as ‘the cathedral’. And the Dutch venue isn’t only unique for its sinuous, high-speed layout, it’s also the only round of the MotoGP World Championship that’s not a Grand Prix. Assen uses the suffix TT for Tourist Trophy, the designation used for the earliest racing events of the last century. Assen is also the only survivor from motorcycling’s inaugural 1949 World Championship.

The MotoGP circus stays in northern Europe for the next GP in Britain on July 13th, half-distance in the 16-round 2003 World Championship. The season concludes at Valencia, Spain, on November 2.

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM READY FOR DUTCH CHALLENGE
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss both know and love the Assen circuit, which requires a very special riding style, slightly different from that required at other MotoGP tracks. The Italian and Australian can also count on expert back-up from their engineers, who have plenty of Assen knowledge from their World Superbike days.

“Obviously we’re all very happy and confident after Catalunya, and yet we know that this is still a development season for us,” says Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “Our Catalunya win doesn’t really change anything, but it does mean we arrive at Assen in good spirits. Both our riders love this racetrack, but I think we can expect a challenging weekend because Assen is a very complex circuit. Wherever we go, all our efforts are focused on making the bike better. Racing is all about trying to win, that’s what everyone is always trying to do – it’s about know-how and hard work.”

Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli shares Suppo’s attitude to his team’s recent success. “The win changes nothing – it just makes us happier technicians,” he grins. “But we do go to Assen feeling confident. And in some ways it won’t be as tough as Catalunya, because conditions should be much cooler. Assen is a strange track – from our World Superbike experience we know that it’s all about the sequences of high-speed esses, there’s no such thing as a proper straight at Assen. The challenge is to provide a machine that has both easy handling and stability. It’s always easy to have one of the two, but it’s very difficult to find a good compromise between both these characteristics. Anyway, we try not to change our usual settings too much. This is always our aim, because this allows the rider to stay familiar with his machine’s character. Assen is also very grippy – it seems like it has more grip in the rain than some tracks do in the dry.”

CAPIROSSI: ‘ASSEN IS ONE OF THE BEST’
Loris Capirossi has already proved he can win with the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici, and now he comes to one of his favourite racetracks. The Italian has won two races at Assen (the 1993 and ’99 250 TTs) and has scored two premier-GP class podiums at the Dutch venue (taking third in 2000 and 2001).

“For sure, Assen is one of the best tracks in the world,” says Capirossi. “But not as good as it was two years ago – I don’t like the new part behind the paddock so much. But the track should work well for the Ducati, at the moment our bike prefers the faster tracks, partly because we have a lot of horsepower, and also because the bike likes fast corners. Assen is incredibly quick, so you need plenty of power, plus a quick-steering but stable bike for all the high-speed direction changes. I think it will be very hard work there, because the four-strokes are so fast. I feel great after Catalunya, but there’s still a long season ahead of us with many good riders to beat. We are still working hard, the bike is still new, we must keep improving it.”

Michelin has been particularly impressed with Capirossi’s mode of bike set-up and tyre choice at the last two races – remarkably the Desmosedici can run softer tyres than many rival machines, despite its massive horsepower output.

BAYLISS: LOOKING FOR THE ASSEN GROOVE
Assen is the first track of the 2003 MotoGP season that Troy Bayliss can say that he really knows. The Aussie had never raced at any of the five venues visited so far this year, but he’s contested three Assen World Superbike rounds, with mixed memories. Two years ago he secured the World Superbike crown with two wins at the track, but last year he crashed out, losing the title to arch-rival Colin Edwards (Honda).

“This weekend won’t be like going back there on a Superbike – because MotoGP is a totally different kettle of fish,” says the Australian. “But at least I know my way round, which is handy. I don’t like the new section, though maybe that’s because I had a terrible time at Assen last year, while I won the world championship on the old section. I’m not too keen on the new part behind the paddock because by then you’ve already had enough of all the twists and turns! It’s a very flowing type of track – you’ve got to get in a big groove if you want to get a good result. And you need everything right with the bike to ride it right, which is the same everywhere, but more so at Assen. If you can get yourself into a flowing mood, it just happens. Once you’re in synch, it’s a really nice track.”

THE TRACK
Although Assen is now a modern purpose-built racetrack, some parts of the circuit still follow the layout of the old Circuit Van Drenthe street circuit, which explains both Assen’s singular layout and its unusually profiled surface. The track is also the fastest on the current GP calendar.

Unlike most purpose-built tracks, which feature wide straights and mostly slow to medium-fast corners, Assen is a narrow, meandering circuit, dominated by high-speed corners and rapid direction changes. Its surface is also special, because it is crowned like a public road for improved drainage, whereas other racetracks are flat. The crown poses a particular challenge to riders, who must cope with four changes of camber as they enter and exit each corner. As they head towards the apex they enjoy positive camber and that continues as they start to accelerate, but as they drift wide on the exit they cross the crown in the centre of the track, and suddenly they must contend with negative camber and an immediate loss of traction. Engineers run stiffer-than-usual suspension settings to cope with the cornering forces, so the bike doesn’t ‘unload’ violently as it cross the centre crown.

The layout underwent a major change in 1984, adapted from the original Circuit Van Drenthe constructed in the fifties, and was changed again last year. Assen’s first 500 TT was run on another nearby street loop on July 1949.

Assen: 6.027km/3.745 miles
Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Honda), 2m 00.973s, 179.356kmh/111.447mph (2002)
Pole position 2002: Rossi, 2m 01.691s

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DATA LOGS
TROY BAYLISS
Age: 34
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
First GP: Australia, 1997 (250)
GP starts: 7 (6xMotoGP, 1×250)
World Superbike victories: 22
World Championships: 1 (Superbike: 2001)
Assen 2002 results: DNS

LORIS CAPIROSSI
Age: 30
Lives: Monaco
Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici
GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125)
First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125)
First GP: Japan, 1990 (125)
GP starts: 190 (20xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125)
Pole positions: 34 (1xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125)
First pole: Australia, 1991 (125)
World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998)
Assen 2002 results. Grid: 4th. Race: DNF

From a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM NEED TO KEEP MOMENTUM FOR DUTCH TT

The Fortuna Yamaha Team make their way to the Dutch circuit of Assen hoping that Carlos Checa’s fourth place finish two weeks ago will be the turning point of the season for them. After a complicated start to 2003, Checa has stayed motivated and determined to improve his situation, which he did at the most recent Grand Prix in Catalunya. However the next step needs to be a podium finish and Assen could be just the place for the Spanish rider to achieve that goal.

Meanwhile Melandri is continuing his first season in the MotoGP class with enthusiasm, the highlight of his season so far including a front row start at the Le Mans Grand Prix in France. He now turns his attention to the Netherlands hoping that he can compete with the top riders.

The Dutch TT is the most historic race on the Grand Prix calendar, the only race to retain the name ‘TT’ standing for Tourist Trophy, referring to the earliest speed events last century. The circuit was originally based on public roads, and is the longest and fastest race of the year.

There is no-one more pleased with the team’s turn of fortune at the recent Catalunya race than Team Director of the Fortuna Yamaha Team, Davide Brivio, who knows how hard the everyone in the team has worked towards a result like this, “The last race was important because we saw Carlos constantly in a top position,” he explained. “It was consistency and good feeling that he was looking for and he found them in Catalunya, where he kept a good pace with the top group for the whole race. We go to Assen now with more confidence and are looking forward to confirming a trend, and improving our position. I hope Catalunya was the turning point.

“I think Carlos will be looking forward to this race now that he knows the capability is definitely there. During the Catalunya weekend he showed good reactions to what was thrown at him and all the hard work that he and his team put in paid off. The improvement from the Friday qualifying session to the race was very good.

“We are still looking to make Marco more comfortable on the bike and we’re hoping that Assen might provide the possibility to find a good solution for him. The main problem he has at the moment is to get rear traction. He is of course still adapting to the MotoGP class generally, and has ridden in two races less than the others this year. He won his first race at Assen so you never know, it might be the place where he gets his best MotoGP result so far. We know that it’s going to take time, so Assen is just the next step.”

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING

A good result at Assen relies heavily on a chassis that offers both agility and stability. It is quite a difficult balance to find at the best of times. This is why the Fortuna Yamaha Team riders will continue with the base geometry they have used over the past few rounds, relying on the finer adjustments of the suspension package and the correct tyre profiles to get the best out of the Deltabox chassis.

The combination of such fast cornering, good grip levels and extreme camber angles produces high G-forces, which the suspension will need to deal with. For this reason a heavier rear spring rate will be chosen to prevent the back of the bike squatting under power, yet it will still need to offer a compliant ride to ensure feel isn’t compromised. Feel won’t be compromised if the compression damping character is dialed in to compensate, therefore it will be wound back, from what was used in Barcelona two-weeks earlier, increasing the predictability of a slide as well as tyre life. The front will be somewhat softer in feel due to the lack of hard braking on the flowing layout, as trail braking into the apex is the only way to a good TT laptime.

With an outright top speed of around 300kmh Assen isn’t the fastest circuit, especially when you compare it to the 330kmh plus of Mugello. But the Dutch TT isn’t about outright top speeds, rather the key is a top speed average. In this regard Assen is one of the fastest tracks of the year. Because of this it’s an extreme and hard working circuit, not only for the riders and the chassis, but the tyres too. Fortunately grip levels are high yet the track surface isn’t too abrasive, even though almost all the driving will be done off the side of the tyres.


THINGS ARE LOOKING UP FOR CHECA

After a tricky start to his season, Spaniard Carlos Checa finally achieved a result that reflected his customary racing ability at his home Catalunya Grand Prix two weeks ago. Both the Fortuna Yamaha Team and Checa have been working hard since the onset of the season to find him the set-up combination that would make him comfortable on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine. Checa’s Catalunya weekend did not start as he had hoped, as he did not feel as relaxed with the bike as he should have for the Friday and Saturday qualifying sessions, securing a second row start for the race. But during the 25-lap race “El Toro” worked his way up through the group to finish the fight in fourth place.

This is closer to the result that Checa expects to achieve. The Fortuna Yamaha Team rider finished the World Championship sixth in 2002. He secured four podium finishes in total and after a third place at Assen last year he was running third in the championship. This year has been more difficult for the Spaniard and he has struggled to find his normal form on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.

He feels, however, that his home Grand Prix in Catalunya was the turning point he was looking for and he is now aiming for a podium finish again, with renewed self-assurance.

“It was a good result in Catalunya,” said Checa, “we will see what happens in Assen but at least now I have recovered my confidence with the bike. I hope to have the same good feeling in Assen that I found two weeks ago. With the new set-up we have made a good change and I would really like to keep the same level. I still had some limitations in Catalunya, and I hope we can fix those and take another step forward. We made a step in Mugello, then again in Catalunya, so hopefully Assen will be the next step. We have a plan for there that we will implement.”

Last year the Dutch circuit underwent minor changes to its layout, and Checa was one rider who had some difficulties with those changes. Because of the extra weight of the four-strokes compared to their ancestral two-strokes, they have more inertia which makes high-speed direction change difficult. Nonetheless Checa overcame his difficulties and pulled off a good result.

“Assen is quite a fast track where you need a lot of grip,” he explained about the circuit. “The new area of the track is more slippery but on the old asphalt you can keep a lot of speed mid-turn. The bike is heavier than the two-stroke and that caused us some problems last year in Assen, so I hope we can overcome that this year. I feel more confident because of the result two weeks ago but mostly because I am feeling better now with the bike.”


MELANDRI RETURNS TO SCENE OF FORMER 125 GLORY AIMING FOR MOTOGP REPEAT

Marco Melandri is impressing everyone with his rookie MotoGP performance this year. Although he has missed two races due to injury, his return has seen him finish all four of the ensuing races, including the Catalunya Grand Prix two weeks ago when he finished thirteenth. He currently lies twentieth in the World Championship but is of course hoping to finish the season in a higher position.

The young Italian sets himself the highest standards and is frustrated at the time it is taking to make the change from the 250cc class, where he currently holds the title of ‘World Champion’, to the premier MotoGP class.

“I won my first ever race in Assen on a 125 bike when I was fifteen years old in 1998 and I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Melandri who is now twenty. “It’s strange to explain how I felt then but it was a great day for me. When I go back to Assen I always remember that first win. I didn’t have such a good race there the following year but anyway I always try to just concentrate on the race I am going to, and I know that things will be completely different there this year with the M1.

“It might not be too easy there this time as there are lots of places you can go wide open, and there are many corners there. I had some problems at the Catalunya Grand Prix, as it was really difficult to get good traction. There is such a high competition between the top riders now, especially the Italian riders. It would be great if I could reach the same level as them soon and make it a four-way Italian battle!

“I hope to have a good race in Assen this year – to have a better feeling with the bike and to feel less tired, which I think is a side effect of the accident I had in Suzuka. I want to perform better at every race this year and to improve my results so I am in amongst the top riders, that’s my aim. Every rider is so fast though but I have to keep that as my goal, and improve race by race.”

CARLOS CHECA : INFORMATION
Age: 30
Lives: Great Ayton, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 2 (500)
First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500)
First GP: Europe, 1993 (125)
GP starts: 141 (21 x MotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125)
Pole positions: 2 (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 500)
First pole: Spain, 1998 (500)
Assen 2002 results. Grid: 6th, Race: 3rd

MARCO MELANDRI : INFORMATION
Age: 20
Lives: Derby, England
Bike: Fortuna Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 17 (10 x 250, 7 x 125)
First GP victory: Assen, 1998 (125)
First GP: Brno, 1997 (125)
GP starts: 79 (3 x MotoGP, 42 x 250, 34 x 125)
Pole positions: 8
First pole: Sachsenring, 1998 (125)

Assen MotoGP lap record
Valentino Rossi 2:00.973 (2002)

Circuit best lap
Valentino Rossi 2:00.973 (2002)



More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

PROTON KR AIMS FOR ANOTHER STEP IN THIRD RACE

Less than five weeks after it ran for the first time ever at a race-track, the radical new four-stroke Proton KR V5 is ready for the next stage in a fast-forward development programme – the challenge of one of the hardest and fastest circuits of the year.

The exciting and raucous V5 has already shown clear potential, even though barely past the stage of first shake-down tests. The team hope that Dutch TT at Assen will mark another step forward for the youngest GP machine on the grids.

The compact and boldly innovative V5 took to the track for the first time in practice for the French GP at Le Mans on May 23.

The first race was a fortnight later, in Mugello in Italy. Both riders qualified, and although Nobuatsu Aoki suffered fuel pump problems, McWilliams had moved up into the points before he too pitted for the same reason.

The second race was at Catalunya a week later. McWilliams was the innocent victim of a first-lap pile-up, but Aoki achieved the machine’s first finish, in 16th, just out of the points.

Assen gives riders and team two new targets. The first is to get both bikes to the finish line. The second is to prove strong enough even in first rough prototype form to claim its first championship points for a top 15 result.

Assen will see Proton KR V5 numbers boosted by one – with four bikes at the northern Dutch circuit, each rider will have a spare machine. Previously, only three were in existence. As team owner Kenny Roberts explained: “We need to see if we wanted to make chassis changes before we commissioned any more.”

There will also be a fresh round of updates: just as many of them as the team can get to the track. With work going on almost round the clock, new parts and systems are under constant development. A week before the race, team manager Chuck Aksland was unable to predict exactly what they would have ready in time.

“The engine is on the dyno at the moment, and we’re working on a range of parts that will make more power. But time is against us. We aren’t sure what we will have at the track,” said Aksland.

“We seem to have the fuel pump problem under control. You have to deal with these things step by step.” As well as the engine, engineers were making new suspension parts at the team’s impressive Banbury development and manufacturing base in England.

“It’s hard to say how the new bike will go at Assen,” continued Aksland. “Having four bikes will help us develop a rhythm in the pits, but track performance is difficult to predict.

“The track is very flowing. Our chassis seems to be in the ballpark for handling, and we’ve done more work on that since the last race. On the other hand, a lot depends on having the right gearing to get the most out of the corner combinations. We’re still waiting for some alternative gearbox ratios, although with the broader rev range and power band the four-stroke might not be so sensitive.

Jeremy has always gone well at Assen (he claimed his first GP win in the 250 class at the Dutch classic in 2001). For us, as long as we’re better than we were at the last race, and we can get two bikes to the finish, that will be another step,” Aksland concluded.

The Dutch TT is the seventh of 16 World Championship rounds, taking place on Saturday, June 28. The next race is the Proton team’s home GP, the British round at Donington Park.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS – I CAN HARDLY WAIT
I can’t wait for this race … I’m as excited about going to Assen as I have ever been, and I love the track. I know the team has been working round the clock, and I haven’t been disturbing them. I hope everything’s going to plan, and we have new things to try. There are some very positive tests coming up, but unfortunately not until after Assen. I think the bike will perform okay at Assen. I was having a little difficulty making it react as fast as I want, but we learned a lot at Catalunya, so that should be better for this race.

NOBUATSU AOKI – MAKE THE GOOD FEELING BETTER
This bike is still very new. It’s amazing just how much has already been done in a short time, but there is still a long way to go. We have to think about development first before we can think about racing. All the same, it was a really good feeling getting to the finish at Catalunya. The bike wasn’t running perfectly, but it was still running consistently and strongly. We need to keep making it better.


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Dutch Grand Prix at Assen
26/27/28 June 2003

BIG THREE GO HEAD TO HEAD IN THE CATHEDRAL

In the wake of two of the finest races yet seen in MotoGP at Mugello in Italy in May and Catalunya in Spain two weeks ago, Assen could be the place where a third pulsating showdown takes place. The so-called ‘Cathedral’ of road racing had produced some epics in the recent past and might well do so again this year.

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) who finished second at Catalunya heads the points standings as the season nears the halfway mark with this, the Dutch Grand Prix, the seventh race of a sixteen round season. He has amassed 135 points after notching up three wins and three-second places so far.

But the other two riders in the all-Honda top three in the Championship struggle are determined to use this opportunity to reel in Rossi. Spaniard Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) lies second overall on 88 points and after two wins and a home podium for third place in Catalunya, he knows another win would bolster his title credibility.

Then there’s Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) who lies third with 85 points. The Roman has not yet posted a win this season but his sheer consistency has kept him in the title hunt and he knows he needs a boost here in Holland to keep him in touch with the title race leader.

But one of the big surprises at Assen could well be the new V4 Ducati machines ridden by Italian Loris Capirossi and Australian Troy Bayliss. Capirossi gave the machine it’s maiden win in Catalunya two weeks ago and the rookie (in MotoGP) Italian team is on a roll. Capirossi has won twice in Holland on 250 and the Ducati’s undoubted speed will be a bonus here.

Rossi won the MotoGP race on the 6.027km track last year and set a new fastest lap of 2m 00.973s at an average speed of 179.356km/h. Top speeds are unlikely to hit the 330km/h that have been recorded at Mugello and Catalunya this season, but Assen is a track that makes high speed demands of a different and perhaps more challenging nature.

Average speeds, as opposed to top speeds, are high on this track that has evolved from the original public roads course first used in the 1920’s to the circuit layout for inaugural World Championship in 1949. The Circuit Van Drenthe of the 1950s (with the start/finish straight still using public road), further big changes came in 1984 when the track was shortened.

After a total investment of nearly 25 million Euros and massive rebuilding work over the last two years, The Netherlands now has one of the absolute great tracks with an all-important infrastructure to match. As MotoGP crowds of the new four-stroke era swell yet further, circuits need the capacity to cope with that success. Assen will be expecting around 120,000 race fans on Saturday.

And an intriguing battle is likely to unfold, fought as much by the teams and engineers as the riders. Assen requires a chassis that is both agile and stable. Agility is a must for the high-speed changes of directions required on a track that has no real straight to speak of. And yet on account of the sustained high speeds, a degree of chassis stability is also required – a tricky trade-off.

There is also a high degree of camber, both positive and negative, a legacy of the old ‘crowned’ roads that still form a large part of this demanding track. The crowns mean that a rider has to deal with four camber changes as he uses all of the track on entry, apex and exit to most turns.

Braking on entry will see two camber changes, and then perhaps the most critical change is on the exit. First the positive camber allows early application of throttle, which is then followed by crossing the road crown, and then negative camber as the track falls away to the sides and the rear tyre tends to spin-up.

Riders have to work exceptionally hard here. There is no time for a breather because there are no straights. All the time riders are muscling their machines into position for turns that must be attacked inch-perfect to get the flow of this exceptionally difficult but rewarding track under control.

And when it comes to inch-perfect riders they don’t come more precise than Max Biaggi. “I’m ready to give it the absolute maximum here,” says the Roman. “I like it because it’s so technical, and it’s fast, really difficult – and fun. If you’re okay with these things then it’s fine – if not, you’re lost here. You need to understand how it flows because there are no real reference points on the track. And you simply can’t make mistakes either. It’s a tough place and I like it very much.”

Rossi, equally accurate when he needs to be, but with a tendency to run wide and slightly wild on corner exits is another fan of the place and he knows he can’t afford to indulge himself at a track that requires ultimate precision. “I love racing at Assen,” he says. “The track suits my style and last year we went well with the four-stroke. The last few races have been hard but good, so we’ll see if there’s more of the same here.”

Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) was on the podium here in third on a Honda in 1999 and is ready to go better this Saturday.
“I am still celebrating the podium at Montmeló which I achieved in front of my fans. It was incredible – the race was very hard from a physical perspective because of the heat but the support of the crowd pushed me on until the final laps. Now it is the turn of the Dutch TT, at a circuit which is not exactly one of my favourites – probably one of the most difficult on the World Championship calendar. Here the objective will be to stay focussed. Second place in the provisional rider standings is obviously a great motivation to continue working in the way we are, and try and stay in the fight at the top. I will have to pay special attention to the set-up of my bike. I am still trying to sort out the acceleration problem we first encountered at Mugello, which limits my possibilities in the race. In Barcelona, during some tests we did on the Monday after the race, we already made some improvements. It is still not completely sorted out but we did set the fastest time of the day. Hopefully we can get it completely fixed in Holland this weekend. Finally, I would like to congratulate my team on reaching their 50th podium. I feel proud to have been able to contribute to this prestigious achievement, and hopefully we can take it even higher. By the way, I have said that I don’t like Assen too much, but I also said that about Le Mans…”

A rider who is looking to get his 2003 season underway after a steady start is Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) and the doughty Japanese is relishing the challenge. “Assen is the hardest track in the world,” he said. “I didn’t go that well here on the 250 in 1999 and last year I fell when me and Checa touched. But it is a big challenge this year and I’m ready for it.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) will be looking to get a better start at Assen. He finished seventh in Catalunya after a fourth at Mugello. “We’re just continuing with the tyre development and getting some good results through that hard work,” he said. “The Grand Prix at Assen is another challenge and we’ll try and get up among the leaders and fight for another top result.”

Encouraged by a better race than he could have expected from his qualifying performance in Catalunya Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) is up for the Assen challenge. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about Assen,” said the American. “I’ve never been there, but I like its history and I’m looking forward to it – bring it on.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) continues to ride a steep learning curve and the Japanese rookie is ready to go at Assen. “I have heard a lot about Assen, and watched the races on television.” Said the young Japanese. “It looks like a very difficult track to learn but I’m looking forward to racing there.”

The 250cc category can produce excellent racing and with a horde of closely-matched Aprilia’s hounded by leading Honda duo Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) and Sebastian Porto (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW), the race should be a fascinating encounter.

“Assen is a track I like very much,” says Rolfo. “It’s one of my favourites. The track is so fast that you have to be very precise everywhere. It’s very difficult to pass fast riders at Assen because there is only one ideal line. You need a fast bike, it has to be very stable in the fast corners, and you must have total concentration for the entire race.”

The Dutch Grand Prix can’t arrive quickly enough for Porto. The Argentine’s machine has sometimes struggled in hot conditions and he’s hoping Assen is cooler. “I think it will be a bit colder there and