Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Glenn LeSanto

Edwards on pole despite excursion off track

Honda’s Colin Edwards took pole at Assen despite almost crashing late in his lap. The Texan took to the gravel trap after making a mistake on the last turn.

“The team has been telling me all weekend that I’m slow in the last section of the track so I went into that last chicane hard,” Edwards explained. “But then I found myself hanging on through the gravel and on the grass. But that’s the thing about Superpole, you have to push really hard and when you do things like that happen.”

Watching the replay carefully it’s clear that Edwards didn’t gain anything from cutting the track ­and he also didn’t back off the throttle even when he was right in the gravel!

Troy Bayliss bounced back from a crash in the pre-Superpole practice session (when he highsided his Ducati), to take third on the grid, just behind teammate Ruben Xaus whose lap looked much slower than it subsequently turned out to be. Maybe Ruben is getting the hang of Superpole at last?

Neil Hodgson completes the front row, in fourth place, despite an arm injury sustained as he wrestled with his machine to prevent crashing in Friday’s practice. The second row features Frankie Chili in fifth, with Aprilia’s Noriyuki Haga, young Briton James Toseland and Spaniard Juan Borja alongside.

Rain is forecast for Sunday in Holland.


1. Colin Edwards, Honda RC51, 2:01.743
2. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 998F02, 2:01.752
3. Troy Bayliss, Ducati 998F02, 2:01.913
4. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 998F01, 2:01.958
5. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 2:02.106
6. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia RSV 1000, 2:02.127
7. James Toseland, Ducati 998F01, 2:02.619
8. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.202
9. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 998F02, 2:03.730
10. Broc Parkes, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.991
11. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:04.121
12. Chris Walker, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:04.211
13. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.585
14. Hitoyasu Izutsu, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:06.404
15. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 2:06.562
16. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 2:07.944


More, from a press release issued by Castrol Honda:

EDWARDS GRABS ASSEN POLE POSITION

Castrol Honda’s Colin Edwards grabbed a dramatic pole position for tomorrow’s 12th round of the World Superbike championship here at Assen in Holland despite almost crashing on his Superpole lap this afternoon.

Edwards, 28, was heading for his best lap time of the weekend but ran wide into the last corner, through the gravel safety trap before powering back onto the track for his fourth pole position start of the year.

“The team have been telling me all weekend that I’m slow in the last section of the track so I went into that last chicane hard,” Edwards explained. “But then I found myself hanging on through the gravel and on the grass.”

He continued: “I’m not sure what happened on that lap, everything really came together ­ until the last corner. We¹ve had two good, solid days of practice here ­ even though you¹re always keeping one on the weather.

“I’m feeling pretty good about the races tomorrow whether it’s wet or dry. I know two wins are all I can concentrate on but I believe it’s possible. The machine, with the new motor and new Castrol oil, have proven themselves at Assen to be as good as they were at Oschersleben and Michelin have come up with the goods again.”


More, from Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia:

HAGA AIMING FOR PODIUM IN ASSEN SUPERBIKE

Assen (Holland), Saturday 7 September 2002 – Noriyuki Haga is to start on the second row in the Netherlands Superbike GP to be raced at Assen. The Japanese Playstation2-FGF Aprilia rider made sixth quickest time, slicing almost a second off his quickest time on Friday. The Dutch circuit was once again spared rain today, so the Italian team were able to carry out a number of tests on the set-up and on the tyres. The Aprilia RSV demonstrated its enormous potential and appears well able to fight for the podium with Ducati and Honda. Noriyuki Haga has a good track record at Assen: in 2000 he came first after a spectacular duel with the then reigning champion Troy Bayliss.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 – FGF Aprilia Team rider) – “I tried out a number of set-up solutions, and suspension and tyre adjustments. It’s been a tiring day but I think we’ve worked out how to make sure we’re up at the top in tomorrow’s races. I just hope it doesn’t rain as we’re going to need the warm-up to make further checks on the duration of the tyres we’ve chosen. If all goes well, I think we should be able to get some good results.”

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI – “The Superpole time could have been much better: the circuit’s six kilometres long here and half-way through we’d lost grip on the right-hand side of the tyre. We’d used a special suspension setting for the race and with the soft tyre we were really on the borderline. It wasn’t Dunlop’s fault – I must say, they’re providing us with some highly effective material here. The bike’s fast – things aren’t too bad and I think we’ll be able to put on two great races.”


More, from HM Plant Ducati:

Sitting pretty at Assen

Neil Hodgson will start Sunday’s two Superbike races from the front row of the grid. A determined Superpole performance saw him put in his first ever sub-2:02 circuit of the revised Assen layout, to grab fourth place. His HM Plant Ducati team-mate James Toseland also excelled, earning himself a seventh-placed start with a time of 2:02.619 in the Dunlop-sponsored single lap competition. Colin Edwards claimed pole despite careering off the track during the final section of a blisteringly quick lap.

Hodgson’s time of 2:01.958 was all the more impressive due to the fact that the 28-year-old Lancastrian was in considerable pain when he recorded it.

“I had a massive slide in the morning qualifying session,” explained Hodgson. “The rear wheel stepped out of line really violently and almost yanked my arm out of the socket. I got it checked out and had a painkilling injection but it seems that I’ve separated my elbow joint and this made it even harder to muscle the HM Plant Ducati around the track. Considering that I wasn’t 100% for Superpole, it’s great to have made it onto the front row, only 0.2secs off pole. I’m going to have some treatment and keep my arm on ice overnight, so hopefully it shouldn’t affect me too much in the races.”

James Toseland earned his second row start with what was quite possibly the best qualifying lap of his career. By adapting his riding style to suit the circuit, the 21-year-old Yorkshireman was able to slash over half a second from his previous best time at Assen and out-perform a host of full factory riders.

“I’m really pleased with my Superpole lap,” said Toseland. “I was concentrating on keeping it smooth all the way around and not trying too hard through the first few corners as I have done in the past. I was conscious not to move around the HM Plant Ducati as much as usual and that seemed to make a big difference. I’ll be putting what I leaned into effect in the races and I reckon that it should see me good for a top six finish.”


More, from Ducati Corse:

Front row starts at Assen for Xaus and Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) as Edwards (Honda) takes Superpole – Bostrom (Ducati L&M) ninth.

Ducati Infostrada riders Ruben Xaus and Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s penultimate round of the World Superbike Championship from the front row of the grid after a spectacular afternoon at the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands. Championship leader Bayliss moved to the top of the timesheets with his Superpole lap before the final two riders Colin Edwards (Honda) and Xaus had their turns. The Texan was on course for pole before cutting through the final chicane, but his time was allowed to stand, while Xaus then shaved another tenth off Troy’s time to take second. In the earlier free practice session, Xaus had caused a sensation when he lapped the revised Assen circuit in an extraordinary time of 2’01.680, which was 11/100ths of a second quicker than Valentino Rossi’s pole time on a four-stroke Honda for this year’s MotoGP race.

Bayliss worked hard with his Ducati Infostrada team in the morning qualifying to find the right set-up and was pleased with his provisional third before high-siding in the afternoon free session and then going out for his Superpole lap. “Finally we’re starting to head in the right direction,” he declared. “This morning we made a few changes to the suspension and used different brake discs to make the bike handle better and I felt confident enough to go for a quick time. We’ve had to struggle a bit since we came here but now we’re really working well and I’m feeling good about the races tomorrow. My Superpole lap was the fastest I’ve done all weekend so I’m pretty happy with that because it means I start from the front row of the grid. I think you’ll see Ruben, Colin and myself in the top three positions tomorrow but not necessarily in that order!”

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) continued his superb Assen form in the morning’s second qualifying session, the Spanish rider finding an extra tenth to head the combined times before crashing out on his final lap. “I think my performance has been good all weekend, but I had a scare on my Superpole warm-up lap. I don’t know what happened but I nearly flew off twice before the first corner. Maybe I didn’t clean off my new tyre well but eventually it was a good lap. In the last section I also braked a little too early so my lap time could have been even better. The track is really nice, I think my bike is really good and the tyres are perfect so what more can I say? My lap times on the race tyre are also good so I’m sure the race will be between us three guys tomorrow.”

Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was unable to improve on his overnight qualifying time in the morning and then in Superpole slipped down to ninth. “I’m having a bit of difficulty on the back section, on the second part of the track the other guys are going much quicker than me,” declared Ben. “I’m still undecided on which bike set-up to pick for tomorrow, but my aim is to beat my best finish here by at least five positions. For some reason me and this track don’t get along and that’s strange because it’s such a cool facility. The track would appear to suit my style but I end up fighting it. If I could finish top six then you’ll find a big smile on my face this time tomorrow.”