From a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

WSS R6 set-up report, round eight: Assen

Race date: 5 September 2004
Track length: 6027m
Year opened: 1954
2003 WSS winner: Karl Muggeridge (Honda)
Lap record: 2:06.922 Katsuaki Fujiwara (Suzuki)
Fastest supersport ever lap : 2:05.736 Chris Vermeulen (Honda)



Assen – a grand old circuit
Located in the north of The Netherlands, near the town of Groningen, the historic Assen circuit is a favourite fans and riders.

The track itself dates back to 1925, when the first Dutch TT was held on a 14km public road course. Thirty years later the current venue was built and although it has been updated over the years the circuit has retained much of its character. Assen is also popular with fans, many of whom travel from neighbouring Britain and Germany to enjoy the great racing and party atmosphere that even the all too common wet weather can’t put a dampener on.

Yamaha will have a fifth rider racing in its colours at Assen. Australian Andrew Pitt, champion in 2001, joins the Yamaha Motor Italia team alongside regular riders Jurgen van den Goorbergh and Fabien Foret, who will race despite breaking his ankle in a crash five weeks previously.

YZF-R6 set-up report
At over six kilometres Assen is a long circuit, but in terms of bike set-up it is less challenging than most other tracks. Most tracks have corners that range from extremely fast to extremely slow and which require some major compromises in bike set-up. But at Assen, the majority of corners are highly cambered second and third gear sweeps which demand similar characteristics from the machine. Grip levels are outstanding, even in the wet, and the combination of this, high speeds and extreme camber angles produce high G-forces which force the bike onto the asphalt during cornering. For this reason hard springs and high compression settings will be chosen, and the smooth surface means that the usual concerns about using such stiff settings – lack of grip and instability under braking – do not apply here.

A neutral chassis set-up giving riders confidence to carry lots of speed through the flowing corners is the aim. Gearbox settings should also be relatively straightforward. Bikes will need to be geared for over 250kph top speed down the back straight and, with no really slow corners to dictate a short first or second gear, the teams will be able to select a close ratio gearbox without compromises.

Jurgen van den Goorbergh’s guide to Assen
Turn one is a fast right called Haarbrocht, where I use third gear. I then accelerate through to fifth before Madjik corner in third, and then it’s up to fourth and back to second to enter Ossebroeken, which is short but with a lot of banking. It is difficult to keep the front wheel down coming out of here. Die Strubben is a long second gear corner and a fantastic place to watch. I then accelerate through Veenslang until Ruskenhoek corner. Braking into here is difficult because the bike is leaned over and you are also thinking about the next corner, named Stekkenwal.

De Bult is the most banked of all the corners and has good grip; the following two corners, Mandeveen and Duikersloot, have no banking, and therefore less grip. Meeuwenmeer is a very flat, fast corner; I then accelerate to get to Ramshoek, before which I get up to fourth gear. Finally Timmerbocht is a second gear chicane. You have to be careful because it is easy to lose the front on entry and on exiting it is easy to lose the rear.

Last year’s race – tough time for the R6 riders
Last year’s visit to Assen proved to be lowlight of Yamaha’s 2003 world supersport campaign, especially for Jurgen van den Goorbergh. The Dutchman disappointed his home crowd when he crashed out while battling for the lead with eventual winner Karl Muggeridge (Honda) and Chris Vermeulen (Honda). Yamaha Motor Germany’s Jörg Teuchert was the top Yamaha rider in seventh.

Season so far – Jurgen and Kevin lead the way
Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Motor Italia) and Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) are Yamaha’s top two riders in the championship, going to Assen second and fourth in the championship respectively. Both have proved consistent: in seven races Curtain has been on the podium twice, while the Dutchman has taken one race win and been on the podium a further four times. It’s these performances, plus Fabien Foret’s outstanding win at Silverstone, which has earned Yamaha the lead in the manufacturer’s world championship with three races remaining.

European Superstock Championship – which R1 wins?
Another one-two finish for Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni team-mates Gianluca Vizziello and Lorenzo Alfonsi in the last round at Brands Hatch ensured that the 2004 European Superstock title will go to one of the Italian R1 riders – the question that won’t be answered in Assen is which one.

Vizziello has a 21 point advantage over his team-mate, meaning that with three rounds currently remaining even a win for him will not secure the title in the Netherlands. Alfonsi is the only man to have defeated Vizziello this year and is the only other rider with a mathematical shot at the title, although he knows that a third victory is vital to boost his chances in the last two races. The battle for third is just as intense, with Yamaha Motor Germany’s Turkish starlet Kenan Sofuoglu currently occupies this position after finishing on the podium in Brands. Team-mate Didier van Keymeulen missed the race at Brands after crashing in practice and has slipped back to sixth place, albeit just three points behind Sofuoglu. The Belgian will ride at Assen this weekend after proving himself in a Dutch national race there last weekend.