FIM MotoGP World Championship Assen, Netherlands June 22 Thursday’s Combined Best Practice Times: 1. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), 1:38.144, Michelin 2. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), 1:38.259, Dunlop 3. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), 1:38.416, Michelin 4. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR211V), 1:38.510, Michelin 5. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:38.610, Bridgetsone 6. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), 1:38.659, Bridgestone 7. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), 1:38.720, Bridgestone 8. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), 1:38.921, Michelin 9. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:38.965, Bridgestone 10. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), 1:39.142, Michelin 11. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), 1:39.166, Michelin 12. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), 1:39.458, Michelin 13. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), 1:39.645, Dunlop 14. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), 1:39.647, Michelin 15. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP06), 1:40.248, Bridgestone 16. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP06), 1:40.688, Bridgestone 17. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP05), 1:42.814, Dunlop 18. Ivan SILVA (Duc GP05), 1:43.699, Dunlop 19. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC211V), 1:48.919, Michelin* * – did not ride in afternoon session More, from a press release issued by Ducati Marlboro: CAPIROSSI UNCERTAIN IF HE’LL START ASSEN RACE AFTER PAINFUL MOTOGP PRACTICE SESSION The Ducati Marlboro Team today began a difficult weekend at Assen, with Loris Capirossi still suffering from injuries sustained in last Sunday’s Catalan GP multiple pile-up and Alex Hofmann riding his first laps as substitute for Sete Gibernau, who was injured in the same accident at Catalunya. Capirossi and Hofmann also had to get used to the new Assen circuit, radically revamped since last summer, but although they were allowed an extra 30 minutes of morning practice, intermittent rain showers cheated them of much of that time. Brave Capirossi arrived here confident that he could compete but the full extent of his injuries only became fully apparent once he was on track. After struggling in this morning’s session he underwent mesotherapy pain treatment for the afternoon outing but even that wasn’t enough and it is not 100 per cent certain that he will race on Saturday. Hofmann didn’t only have to get used to a new track today, he also had to adapt to a new bike, new tyres and a new team, but the 26-year-old German had a good day, improving step by step and getting faster with every lap. Meanwhile Gibernau left Barcelona’s Dexeus hospital at 12.15 today, following Tuesday’s operation to plate his broken left collarbone. On Monday he will begin rehabilitation and resume training with trainer Daniel Sune. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 16th fastest, 1m 40.688s “I’m not feeling at all good. I didn’t expect to feel so much pain and to find it so difficult to ride the bike. Once I started riding I realised the situation was much more difficult than we had expected. If the race was today there would be no way I could do it. My chest is very painful and although the mesotherapy and physio that the Clinica Mobile has given me has helped, it doesn’t solve the problem. My intention is to ride tomorrow but maybe I will need more pain-killers. The race will be really hard but I won’t give up. Now I am going to see Dr Costa in the Clinica to see what we can to do improve the situation.” ALEX HOFMANN, 15th fastest, 1m 40.248s “I need all the time I can get to get used to my new machine package, so it was tough losing so much time to rain this morning. Today I worked at regaining my feeling for Bridgestone tyres and we also worked on ignition mapping and other aspects of set-up. I probably only started to feel really okay during my last three laps this afternoon, I was starting to get into it, enjoy it and feel comfortable on the bike, but I still need more time to feel fully at home. I worked with Bridgestone in 2004 and 2005, so it’s great to work with them again and to see how they’ve progressed. We started today with Sete’s set-up but we’re looking for some easier handling because the new Assen is so different to the old layout. I was such a fan of the old track that the new circuit is a big loss to me. Anyway, my aim is to keep getting stronger and keep progressing all the way to the last lap on Saturday.” Temperatures: Ambient: 18 degrees. Track: 22 degrees More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: DE PUNIET FIFTH FASTEST IN MOTOGP PRACTICE SESSION AT ASSEN It was MotoGP rookie, Randy de Puniet, who led the charge for Kawasaki today, mastering the revamped Assen circuit to finish this afternoon’s free practice session fifth fastest overall aboard his Ninja ZX-RR. Weather conditions at Assen have been unpredictable for the past two days, with intermittent rain reducing track time during this morning’s extended free practice session. With the rain holding off for this afternoon’s hour-long session, de Puniet took the opportunity to test a number of rear tyres from Bridgestone, to identify a suitable tyre for Saturday’s 26-lap race, for which dry conditions are forecast. The 25-year-old Frenchman is aware that lap times will continue to improve tomorrow, as his rivals become more familiar with the new Assen layout, but he remains confident that he will be able to match this increase in pace with improvements of his own. De Puniet’s Kawasaki teammate, Shinya Nakano, posted the fastest time during this morning’s 90 minute extended free practice session, but slipped back to finish this afternoon ninth fastest, after changes made to the gearbox on his Ninja ZX-RR didn’t work as expected. Finding himself between gears at a number of corners, the 28-year-old Kawasaki rider struggled to find a good rhythm this afternoon, a problem that was compounded by the difficulty of passing slower riders around the new section of the Assen track. However, Nakano remains confident that reverting back to the gearbox he ran during this morning’s session tomorrow will allow him to close the gap on Colin Edwards, who was the fastest man on the track today. Randy de Puniet: 5th – 1’38.610 “Today we tried a lot of tyres from Bridgestone, to identify a good race tyre for Saturday, and one in particular seems to work well around this new Assen circuit. It’s been a good day overall; I have a good feeling with the bike and my lap times have been consistent throughout this afternoon’s session. The track is new, and I think some riders will go faster tomorrow, so we must continue working to try and improve my lap time further. I prefer the older, faster part of the circuit, because the new section feels too slow to me. But it is the new section that I must concentrate on tomorrow, as I think it’s possible to save some time if I can improve my lines through these first four corners.” Shinya Nakano: 9th – 1’38.965 “This morning I had a good feeling from the bike and I set the fastest time, but we made some changes to the gear ratios for this afternoon and these changes didn’t work as we expected. I think we geared a little too long for some of the turns, which meant the bike didn’t pull as hard out of the corners, and this made it difficult to find a good rhythm this afternoon. For tomorrow we will change back to the gear ratios I ran this morning, and I’m confident that this will lead to an improvement in my lap time. I got caught behind a slower rider a couple of times today, and it was difficult to find a place to pass them on the track. This is something I need to look at again tomorrow, as it’s important to identify places on the track where a pass is possible before Saturday’s race.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “Our aim today was to identify a race tyre for dry conditions on Saturday, because the weather has been very changeable and it is possible we won’t get another completely dry session this weekend. The changes to the track mean that we now have a number of slow speed corners out of which the rider must accelerate hard onto fast parts of the circuit, and to find the best set-up for this situation is always a challenge. Apart from a gearbox change on Shinya’s bikes, the only changes we will make ahead of tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions will be minor ones to the engine and chassis settings.” FREE PRACTICE – COMBINED TIMES 1. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team 1’38.144; 2. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha +0.115; 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.272; 4. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.366; 5. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.466; 6. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.515; 7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.576; 8. Makoto Tamada (JPN) JIR Konica Minolta Honda +0.777; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.821; 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.998 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone Motorsports: BUSY AFTERNOON FOR BRIDGESTONE RIDERS Bridgestone is confident that the persistent threat of rain will not cast a shadow over its performance at the revamped Assen circuit after inclement weather forced teams to condense tyre comparison work into the afternoon practice hour. Four of Bridgestone’s six riders ended the day in the top ten within reach of the front pack. Riders and teams were given an extra thirty minutes of practice this morning to get re-acquainted with the Assen circuit, which has been heavily revised in the off-season and seen the overall lap length drop from 5.997km to 4.555km. Although intrusive rain showers hindered riders from fully capitalising on the opportunity, three Bridgestone riders occupied top four positions by lunchtime. With dry conditions greeting teams in the afternoon, it was not long before Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano’s pace-setting morning time (1m39.619s) was toppled, but Bridgestone riders still made their presence felt in a frenetic second practice with Nakano’s team-mate Randy de Puniet leading the charge in fifth place. Despite a stoppage on-track midway through the second session, Nakano was the busiest rider of the day with a combined 42 laps over both sessions and wound up ninth fastest. Randy de Puniet (5th, 1m38.610s – Kawasaki): “Today, we tried a lot of tyres from Bridgestone to identify a good race tyre for Saturday, and one in particular seems to work well around this new Assen circuit. It’s been a good day overall; I have a good feeling with the bike and my lap times have been consistent throughout the afternoon session. The track is new and I think some riders will go quicker tomorrow, so we must continue working to try and improve my lap time further. I prefer the older, faster part of the circuit because the new section feels too slow to me. But it is the new section that I must concentrate on tomorrow, as I think it is possible to save some time if I can improve my lines through these first four corners.” Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen reinforced their performance from Barcelona to take sixth and seventh respectively. Loris Capirossi made a welcome return to action for Ducati after the first lap accident in last Sunday’s Catalan GP ending the day in 16th position. Injuries sustained in that crash prevent his team-mate Sete Gibernau from taking part in the Assen round this weekend. Gibernau’s place on the Ducati has been taken by former Bridgestone rider Alex Hofmann who completed 40 laps on his way to 15th place today. Shinji Aoki, Assistant Manager Motorcycle Race Tire Development: “The disrupted session this morning forced our teams and riders to work twice as hard this afternoon in order to complete our planned tyre comparison work. We have brought new compounds to this race to cope with the lower temperatures that we expect on Saturday and at next week’s race in Donington and we were able to get a first understanding of their performance this afternoon with some encouraging results. We have had to change our approach to this year’s Assen TT because the modifications to the circuit have resulted in an imbalance between right and left hand turns. Previously this was about 50-50 but we now have more right-hand corners which naturally places more focus on that side of the tyre and means that there is less stability in the left-handers. So far, we have seen nothing that suggests any particular problems but we will push equally hard in tomorrow morning’s practice hour to get some decent long runs done on the tyres to hone our race pace for Saturday.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: EDWARDS ON TOP BUT ROSSI INJURED ON EVENTFUL FIRST DAY AT ASSEN Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning. The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards’ team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries. The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane. After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage. He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort. COLIN EDWARDS (1st 1’38.144; 28 laps) “The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track. Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here. I’ve ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike we’ve barely had to touch it today. I’ve always gone well here and it’s a circuit I’ve always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track. I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don’t think we can call this ‘The Cathedral’ of MotoGP anymore certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate. I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow.” VALENTINO ROSSI (12th 1’39.458; 23 laps) “I’m okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it’s been quite hard for me to ride! I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it’s really hard. I don’t have much power or feeling. Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn’t breathe well for a long time. I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon. The problem this morning was that we started with a tyre that was a bit too hard on the left. When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn’t have enough grip on the left side. I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air! It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard. It’s a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown. The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it’s not so bad. I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “I suppose it is fair to say that was a different day to normal! On one hand it was very positive because Colin was fast throughout and both he and his bike look good around this circuit. Of course Valentino had a big problem this morning but it was amazing to see him back out on track in the afternoon after such a heavy fall. Despite the pain he was in he managed to complete some laps and also gave us some feedback so let’s just hope his condition improves. If Colin can continue like this and Valentino can get back to a decent level of fitness, then we should see them both on top on Saturday.” Combined Free Practice Times: 1. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’38.144 2. Carlos Checa (SPA) Tech 3 Yamaha, 1’38.259 3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, 1’38.416 4. Kenny Roberts JR (USA) Team Roberts, 1’38.510 5. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’38.610 6. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 1’38.659 7. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 1’38.720 8. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 1’38.921 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’38.965 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’39.142 12. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’39.458 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: RIZLA SUZUKI ON THE PACE IN HOLLAND John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen quickly got to terms with the newly configured Assen circuit today as both riders topped the leaderboard at some point during the first day’s practice for the Dutch Grand Prix. Hopkins (P6. 1’38.659, 49 laps) and Vermeulen (P7, 1’38.720, 49 laps) both worked hard with their respective crews as they learnt the new layout of this famous track. Hopkins was pleased with his first day’s work as he concentrated on finding the best Bridgestone tyres for his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. His quickest lap was only 0.515 seconds behind the day’s fastest time, set by Colin Edwards on his factory Yamaha. Vermeulen worked with his technicians on some completely new Ohlins front fork strategies and was happy with the result. He was marginally behind team-mate Hopkins on the time-sheets but is sure that he can find some extra time tomorrow, and is confident of a good result this weekend. Today’s first session was held in difficult conditions as intermittent rain meant that none of the riders could get a constant run on the track. This afternoon stayed fine and dry but there was a constant threat of rain in the air, allied to some very strong winds blowing across the Dutch flat-lands. Tomorrow will see Rizla Suzuki MotoGP have its final practice session before qualifying in the afternoon. Round eight of the MotoGP World Championship gets underway on Saturday 24th June at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). John Hopkins: “We had an extra half hour this morning but it wasn’t very useful as we were in and out because of the weather. We really only just got a feel for the track and learn which way it goes. This afternoon we were able to get down to business and start working with the tyres. We are trying to get the best out of the Bridgestones and seeing which one will be the best for durability and grip for Saturday. The mechanics will be working hard tonight on some settings and everything. All in all it wasn’t a bad day, we had a bit of wind out there so that could affect some of the data, but we are looking forward to tomorrow and getting everything right for the race.” Chris Vermeulen: “This is the first time on the new Assen circuit for everyone and it was good to have the extra time this morning. Unfortunately we had rain again which is not unusual at a Grand Prix weekend. Things are going quite good though, Ohlins have brought some new parts for the suspension and they seemed to work well. We have tried a few tyres and I was happy with those also. We got a full dry session this afternoon and we learnt quite a lot, hopefully we have got a direction for a race set-up.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “There has been a lot of discussion about the racetrack good and bad – but it’s the same for all the riders and it needs to be approached with enthusiasm to get the best out of it. The chassis setting of the GSV-R appears to be somewhere close for here and we managed to get a good amount of work done in the drier second session despite the high winds. We have verified some new stuff that both the riders have been working with. It is difficult to assess the real situation today with some riders clearly injured and others putting in the odd fast lap but not doing long runs it’s kind of tough to know where Rizla Suzuki sits at the moment. It does look though like both riders and bikes are performing well – we will be a lot better informed by the end of tomorrow.” A-Style TT Assen Free Practice Classification: 1. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’38.144: 2. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) +0.115: 3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.272: 6. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.515: 7. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.576: More, from a press release issued by Pramac D’Antin MotoGP: ASSEN: DEBUT OF IVAN SILVA IN THE MOTOGP CLASS Good debut for IVAN SILVA in Assen. The substitute of Alex Hofmann (that substitutes the injured rider GIBERNAU on the official DUCATI) made his first kilometres on a motorcycle of the MotoGP class, the DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP06 “Sat.” of the Team PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP. The rider from Figueras (Girona – Spain) obtained the 18th time, right behind his Team mate JOSE LUIS CARDOSO, that classified himself 17th. A cold day here in The Netherlands, with some intermittent rain that bothered the riders during the morning practice sessions. Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., there will be another session of free practice, before the single qualifying practice session reserved to the MotoGP class, at 2 p.m.. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30 (17th – 1’42.814): “Today we worked a lot on the tyres and on the general setting of the motorcycle, for the race. We still haven’t found an ideal solution and we will keep on working tomorrow, hoping that the meteorological conditions will remain dry during the whole day. About the new track, I have to admit I prefer it as it was before, this is a question of personal taste but the new sections are a bit inconvenient for our MotoGP bikes.”. IVAN SILVA #22 (18th – 1’43.699): “This morning, as I never had raced on a motorcycle of the MotoGP class before, I tried to be more careful of the reactions of the bike, more than trying to be fast. I remained very calm, not to commit any error and to learn the maximum. Then, during the second practice session, I tried to put the motorcycle the way I like it, and my lap times got down regularly. I always rode cautiously, to avoid crashing, to exploit the bike at the maximum and to have fun as well. Tomorrow morning, we will go on working and improve ourselves, and I’m confident. Right now, I can say I’m very happy, before today I never had ridden on a MotoGP bike and I’m satisfied of this first approach”. ANDRE LAUGIER Track Engineer of Ivan Silva: “We’re happy. We thought IVAN would have needed more time to adapt himself on MotoGP but, in reality, everything is happening very quickly. He needs to make kilometres, we made him ride a lot today and we will go on in this direction tomorrow. In the afternoon, the weather conditions were stable and this allowed us to ride without too many stops. About the tyres, we actually were quite surprised, IVAN has got a good feeling with our tyres and already understood many things on them. To conclude, I could say he’s a rider that tries to adapt himself to the bike the most as possible, instead of adapting the motorcycle to himself, and this is a very positive thing in our world”. 1. Colin Edwards 1’38.144 2. Carlos Checa 1’38.259 3. Casey Stoner 1’38.416 4. Kenny Roberts Jr. 1’38.510 5. Randy De Puniet 1’38.610 17. Jose Luis Cardoso 1’42.814 18. Ivan Silva 1’43.699 More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: MARCO MELANDRI IS BACK IN ACTION, BUT TEAM-MATE TONI ELIAS HAS RETURNED TO BARCELONA AFTER A FALL IN THE MORNING SESSION FORTUNA HONDA rider Marco Melandri, involved in a terrible crash at the GP of Catalunya last weekend, was back on his Honda RC211V on Thursday at the first day of qualifying at the Dutch GP. Despite that heavy fall, the Italian’s physical condition is getting better although he still has pain in his back and neck. However, his team-mate Toni Elias who arrived at the newly-remodelled Assen full of hope and determination, suffered a crash after just two laps of the circuit. After that fall during the morning free session, the Spanish rider was forced to return to Barcelona where he will be examined by Doctor Xavier Mir. Elias has damaged his left shoulder where he has a broken bone. Toni, who attempted to continue riding despite the crash, was unable to continue because of the pain he was suffering. MARCO MELANDRI (1’39.647, 14th): “I am satisfied with how I feel as I never thought I would be here after the accident. We have taken a step forward today and getting back on the bike is a marvellous feeling. I am feeling better with each passing minute although I had a lot of pain in my neck after the qualifying sessions. I am happy to be back.” TONI ELÃAS: “It’s a shame that this accident has happened at the worst point of the season for me. I tried to get back on the circuit but the pain was too much. This evening I will travel to Barcelona where I will have a medical examination.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: EDWARDS ON TOP BUT ROSSI INJURED ON EVENTFUL FIRST DAY AT ASSEN Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning. The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards’ team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries. The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane. After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage. He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort. COLIN EDWARDS (1st 1’38.144; 28 laps) “The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track. Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here. I’ve ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike we’ve barely had to touch it today. I’ve always gone well here and it’s a circuit I’ve always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track. I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don’t think we can call this ‘The Cathedral’ of MotoGP anymore certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate. I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow.” VALENTINO ROSSI (12th 1’39.458; 23 laps) “I’m okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it’s been quite hard for me to ride! I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it’s really hard. I don’t have much power or feeling. Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn’t breathe well for a long time. I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon. The problem this morning was that we started with a tyre that was a bit too hard on the left. When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn’t have enough grip on the left side. I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air! It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard. It’s a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown. The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it’s not so bad. I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “I suppose it is fair to say that was a different day to normal! On one hand it was very positive because Colin was fast throughout and both he and his bike look good around this circuit. Of course Valentino had a big problem this morning but it was amazing to see him back out on track in the afternoon after such a heavy fall. Despite the pain he was in he managed to complete some laps and also gave us some feedback so let’s just hope his condition improves. If Colin can continue like this and Valentino can get back to a decent level of fitness, then we should see them both on top on Saturday.”
