From a press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Zongshen No.2 Take Pole Position

Ten Kate Fastest on Track

Igor Jerman has taken pole position for Suzuki Zongshen No.2 after today’s practice and qualifying sessions were affected by occasionally heavy rain showers. Jerman and team mate Bruno Bonhuil made good use of today’s timed and untimed sessions, managing to quickly find a set-up that worked on the Assen circuit in both wet and dry conditions. Jerman took pole with a time of 1:23.752, set in the first qualifying session.

The Suzuki Zongshen No.1 bike of Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens was second fastest, with Nowland eventually putting in a time of 1:23.829. The pair had struggled with tyre choice during free practice but found a good compromise for qualifying. Third quickest was the Suzuki GB Phase One bike of Jason Pridmore, James Ellison and Jimmy Lindstrom, with Ellison lapping in 1:24.150. Zongshen No.1 and Suzuki GB Phase One are currently leading the championship standings.

The fourth and fifth fastest times went to the two team most likely to challenge Suzuki’s current dominance; Yamaha Austria (Karl Truchsess – 1:24.171) and Yamaha GMT94 (William Costes – 1:24.539). Yamaha Austria seem to have avoided the reliability problems they suffered during Imola qualifying and GMT94 are revitalised with Costes back and the bike improved.

The absolute fastest times of the day were put in by the Ten Kate Honda CBR600 of Karl Muggeridge and Barry Veneman. The Ten Kate team are making a guest appearance at their home circuit; the bike does not fit in with the World Endurance Championship rules so they will not be classified in the results but based on today’s performance they will be in the thick of the racing action.

Muggeridge put in a best time of 1:23.543; two tenths of a second faster than the best endurance team but by no means out of reach. For the regular endurance teams, a 200 mile race is seen as a short-distance sprint. If the rain showers return tyre choice will be crucial; the teams with good set-ups for both wet and dry and a flexible pit stop strategy are likely to benefit.

2003, May 24

Qualifying Quotes:

Igor Jerman – Suzuki Zongshen No.2: “It was quite easy to do this lap time; I didn’t think it would be enough, but it was okay and I’m happy to have pole position after a long wait. We can go faster in the race.”

Karl Muggeridge – Honda Ten Kate: “The performance of the bikes is quite close; Assen isn’t really a 600 circuit. We’re hoping that the race will be either dry or wet and not a mixture; we don’t want to have to change tyres too often.”

Mandy Kainz – Yamaha Austria team manager: “This engine is designed to last 201 miles and no more. After Imola everything was worn out; we’ll have to use different motors for Brno.”

William Costes – Yamaha GMT94: “I was in the second group and it started to rain so I didn’t get a chance to go out on a fresh tyre. We have a good set up for the race for both wet and dry.”

Assen 200 Miles starting grid

Pos Nr. Team Manufacterer Naam Globale BestTd

nc 27 Ten Kate Honda Honda Karl Muggeridge 1:23.543

1 2 Zongshen Team 2 Suzuki Igor Jerman 1:23.752

2 1 Zongshen Team 1 Suzuki Warwick Nowland 1:23.829

3 9 Yamaha Austria Racing Team Yamaha Horst Saiger 1:24.171

4 94 GMT 94 Yamaha Sebastien Scarnato 1:24.539

5 30 Lowlands Racing/Dirk van Mol Suzuki John Bakker 1:24.695

6 11 Trackdaze Team 11 Suzuki Mike Edwards 1:24.762

7 22 Team 22 Police Nationale Suzuki Gwen Giabbani 1:24.804

8 38 Yamaha Endurance Moto 38 Yamaha Laurent Brian 1:24.880

9 3 Suzuki GB Phase One Suzuki James Ellison 1:24.946

nc 31 MCT – Flanders Ducati Albert Aerts 1:24.973

10 8 Bollinger Team Switzerland Kawasaki Marcel Kellenberger 1:25.004

11 33 CRT-Suzuki Suzuki Robert de Vries 1:25.760

12 6 Junior Phase One Suzuki Martin Jessop 1:25.885

13 51 Fabi Corse Suzuki Fabrio Capriotti 1:26.358

14 47 Bridgestone Bikers Profi I Suzuki Tim Röthig 1:26.492

15 4 Team KFM-Herbert Endurance Suzuki Hans Herber 1:26.782

16 17 Bergmann&Söhne Racing Suzuki Harald Kitch 1:26.962

17 12 Team Fagersjo-et.se Yamaha Niklas Carlberg 1:27.104

18 40 Poland Position Suzuki Tomasz Kedzior 1:27.415

nc 7 X-one Mondial Maurizio Bargiacchi 1:27.482

19 46 MSC Zoler-Yamaha End. II Yamaha Koen Reymenants 1:27.520

20 16 Rookie Endurance Team Suzuki Thomas Roth 1:27.675

21 28 Jet Team – Team 2 Suzuki Sebastien Pelleriti 1:28.157

22 37 Team Polytech Aprilia Jan Blok 1:28.324

23 64 Starkenburger AMC Honda Matthias Bormann 1:28.345

24 15 Hofmann Racing Team Suzuki Frank Spenner 1:28.429

25 14 Jet Team Suzuki Claude Alain Jaggi 1:28.512

26 44 No Limits-Team Machetti Suzuki Roberto Ruozi 1:28.542

27 10 Trackdaze Team 10 Suzuki Mark Kingston 1:28.610

28 36 MSC Zoler-Yamaha End. II Yamaha Peter Ploemen 1:28.726

29 26 Herman Verboven Racing Suzuki Leroy Verboven 1:29.069

30 25 Reich Endurance Team Suzuki Joachim Hantschmann 1:29.471

31 41 Bridgestone Bikers Profi 2 Suzuki Stefan Strauch 1:29.675

32 50 PS-Schlesinger Endurance Suzuki Peter Meyer 1:30.068

33 89 Hummel&DLH Endurance RT Suzuki Stefan Merkens 1:30.962

34 32 RVC Racing Team Aprilia Mario de Coster 1:31.875

35 18 Maco Moto Racing T. Slovakia Yamaha Martin Kuzma 1:32.368


More, from an earlier press release issued by FGSPORT GROUP:

Assen 200: Race Preparation

Last minute changes to rider line-ups are still being made.

Rider and Team Changes

Piergeorgio Bontempi will be riding for Zongshen No.3 in the longer races, but not this weekend, while the No.1 Zongshen pairing of Warwick Nowland and Stephane Mertens is unchanged. The Zongshen bikes will be using Nissin brakes for the first time this weekend.

Jimmy Lindstrom, currently leading the Swedish Supersport series has joined Suzuki GB Phase One as reserve rider for the No.3 bike, riding alongside James Ellison and Jason Pridmore; team manager Russell Benney is very confident of a good result. William Costes is back on form and will be riding for Yamaha GMT94, although a tight-lipped Christophe Guyot gave away little about the team’s plans.

Karl Muggeridge will be joined by track expert Barry Veneman on board the Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, in place of an injured Chris Vermeulen. The 600 Honda will race in the Open class. Another rider suffering from injuries is Dario Marchetti; he picked up a wrist injury while testing at Imola so DRE Ducati will not be racing this weekend.

Changeable Weather

The weather for the weekend is likely to play a part in both qualifying and the race. Heavy showers are forecast for Saturday which could have a significant impact on the grid. If the early qualifying sessions are wet and the track dries for the later sessions, teams with only two riders are likely to suffer.

Jason Pridmore sought advice about riding on the Assen circuit before leaving his native California: “I spoke to Kevin Schwantz and he told me the circuit was really grippy in the wet, you can use intermediates even in heavy rain. I’m looking forward to it.”

With two compulsory pit stops during the race, tyre strategy will certainly come into play; this is likely to favour the teams with the most endurance racing experience.