From a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI 1-2-3 AT ASSEN WORLD ENDURANCE

2003 World Endurance Series. Round 2. Assen. 25 May

Suzuki GSX-R1000 teams dominated the second round of the World Endurance Championship at Assen on Sunday taking all three places on the rostrum.

The Zongshen 2 Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Jerman and Bonhuil finished just 2 seconds ahead of the Suzuki GB Phase One GSX-R1000 of Ellison and Pridmore after 83 laps and 200 miles of the Dutch circuit.

The Zongshen 1 team of Nowland and Mertens was third and they now lead the championship ahead of The Suzuki GB Phase One team, followed by the Zongshen 2 team, the 22 Police Nationale team and the Fabi Corse team. All of these top five teams in the series are mounted on Suzuki GSX-R1000 machines and in fact no less than 19 of the top 25 teams are Suzuki GSX-R1000 mounted!


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

TEN KATE HONDA TAKE FOURTH IN ENDURANCE RACE

Ten Kate Honda grabbed fourth place in Sunday’s 200-mile World Endurance race at Assen in Holland aboard the new CBR600RR machine.

Riders Karl Muggeridge and Dutchman Barry Veneman – the latter replacing the injured Chris Vermeulen – stormed into the lead from pole position against a field of 1000cc-mounted World Endurance championship regulars.

But two lengthy pit stops relegated the Dutch team to an eventual fourth place on their debut in the Endurance World Championship.

Team manager Ronald ten Kate explained: “We always knew it would be difficult to perform a really fast pit stop like the World championship regulars, they have the quick release equipment for changing wheels and quick-fill gear for refuelling. We lost about two minutes on the other teams, one minute on each of the two stops so I’m sure we could have won it but the event served its purpose of giving us valuable track testing time.”

There was, however, some joy for the team as Muggeridge won the Dutch Open championship race at Assen. The Australian pipped fellow Honda rider Veneman to victory while the British Championship Vitrans Honda team took fourth place with Dean Thomas.

Vitrans rider Michael Laverty was in a safe third place but crashed at the final corner on the last lap as he came across five backmarkers. Laverty escaped injury and he and Thomas will now contest next Sunday’s fifth round of the World Supersport championship at Oschersleben in Germany.

Ten Kate concluded: “The weekend proved successful and reinforced the performance of the CBR600RR. Karl’s bike did all practice and qualifying, the endurance race and the Dutch Open race!”