Suzuki’s Roberts, Hopkins Will Use Different Engines At Dutch TT

Suzuki’s Roberts, Hopkins Will Use Different Engines At Dutch TT

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

ASSEN TEST FOR NEW GSV-R MOTOR

Team Suzuki’s Kenny Roberts will be using the latest upgrade to the powerful 990cc V4 engine for the second time at this Saturday’s Dutch TT at Assen, round six of the MotoGP World Championship.

The motor – which has a revised firing order altering the character of the power delivery – was used for the first time at the last round at Catalunya, and though he stopped to change a tyre, he showed his pace when he rejoined a lap behind the leaders and matched them inch for inch to the flag.

Hopkins will be racing again with the standard engine. His Catalunyan race was also highly promising, though not rewarded with the result he expected. In his first race back since suffering a broken thumb at Le Mans, the 21-year-old recorded his best-ever qualifying position in eighth, but was sidelined in the race by a rare mechanical problem.

The last two rounds – the first in a marathon run of six races in eight weekends – took place at circuits with long, fast straights. Assen, the oldest and longest track on the calendar also has the highest average speed – more than 110mph. But unlike the previous pair, there is hardly a straight worth the name and the circuit snakes back and forth constantly.

The high-speed changes of direction take the emphasis away from sheer top speed and hand chances back to the rider. And the classic Dutch circuit is something of a favourite of both Suzuki men.

“It’s a track that has played in our favour in the past,” said team manager Garry Taylor. “We hope it can do so again. The bike has made a marked improvement this season and the modified engine is another step forward.

“The team spirit just keeps getting better and better and we’re all looking forward to this race.

“At the same time, we are under no illusions. We need to keep the impetus of progress and the team, the factory and the riders are all committed to that goal,” he said.

Project leader Masahito Imada, who joined the four-stroke GSV-R project midway through last season, will be attending the GP, reflecting the Suzuki factory’s dedication to moving the GSV-R onwards towards the ultimate goal of a return to World Championship victories.

Last year’s race was hit by bad weather – often a factor at the northernmost track of the year. Roberts missed the race after suffering injuries in a crash at the Italian GP. Hopkins had been seventh the previous year as an Assen rookie and soldiered home to finish in the points in last year’s rain.

JOHN HOPKINS:

“We proved at Barcelona that the bike can be competitive. I think that it can be competitive at Assen too. I like the track and I’ve done well there in the past. My thumb feels a lot better after a weekend off and watching the soccer in Britain. I think it should be a good weekend.”

KENNY ROBERTS:

“The new engine has made the bike easier to ride but at the last race, I had to use a lot of corner speed to stay with my group. When the tyres started to go down, I had to rely on acceleration. That’s one of our weak points at the moment so I hope we can come up with some better power for Assen.”

ABOUT THIS RACE:

The Dutch TT, the most historic race on the World Championship calendar handsomely pre-dates the World Championship series. That started in 1949 with the TT one of the key events. But the first Dutch TT was held in 1925. That was on the public roads around the town of Assen in the flat and windswept northern province of Drenthe and “Speed Week” has continued ever since, interrupted only by World War Two. Held close to mid-summer’s day, the race draws huge crowds, a northern rival to Jerez as the most popular GP. Tradition dictates that the Dutch TT is held on a Saturday – all other GPs take place on Sunday.

ABOUT THIS TRACK:

Th e longest and fastest track on the calendar was redesigned two years ago; the stretch behind the paddock moved backwards to make more space while reproducing the previous layout as far as possible. As a result, Kevin Schwantz’s 1991 lap record, set on a 500cc Suzuki, was never broken. The new version has lost 22 metres and now measures 3.745 miles and the average speed rose by almost one mile an hour, preserving the status as the fastest circuit at more than 110mph. The new version still retains traces of its public-roads origins – it only became a closed circuit in the Nineties, when a new bypass road was completed. It is especially unique in its complexity; each section of the circuit is made up of strings of mainly high-speed corners. A mistake in any one bend costs times throughout the remainder of that section and Assen puts a premium on good machine handling as well as smooth and accurate riding. The “cathedral of motorcycle racing” has earned its status and is a favourite with fans and riders alike.

GP DATA: Assen Circuit
Circuit Length: 3.745 miles / 6.027 km
Lap Record: 2:00.973 – 111.446 mph / 179.355 km/h. Valentino Rossi (Honda) 2002

2002 RESULTS:
Race Winner: Sete Gibernau (Honda).
Race Average: 42.39.006 – 100.100 mph / 161.096 km/h.
Fastest Race Lap: 2:11.805, Gibernau.
Pole Position: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1:59.770.
Kenny Roberts: Did Not Start – injured.
John Hopkins: 15th, qualified 16th, 2:01.715.
Fastest Race Lap: 2:17.590.


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