From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
HODGSON (DUCATI FILA) FACES CROWNING CAREER MOMENT AT ASSEN
Assen (Netherlands), Thursday 4 September : Britain’s Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila), father of newly-born Holly Jean, will be facing up to the most crucial race of his career this weekend at Assen, Netherlands as he attempts to clinch the 2003 World Superbike championship crown. After clinching its twelfth Manufacturers’ title at Brands Hatch, Ducati Corse is now ready to face another important chapter in its history this weekend.
The 29 year-old Isle of Man resident has led the points table since Valencia’s opening round in March and 11 wins and 5 seconds have powered him to an almost unassailable 140 points lead over his closest rival, Ducati Fila team-mate Ruben Xaus, which he should be able to turn into championship gold at the Dutch circuit on Sunday.
“I feel really awesome and my batteries are totally recharged after Brands Hatch” says Neil. “Going all out for the win is the plan but if that doesn’t work and I get eleven points for fifth place then I’ll say that was my strategy all along!. Assen is a fast track and carries a lot of corner speed so good upper body strength is needed as you have to wrestle the bike around the circuit. The middle part, which is called a straight but is anything but, is the most difficult part. It’s flat-out but difficult to move the bike around as it’s very physical. The weather is always a bit of a mixed bag with rain showers and sun all the time but despite that the track is still pretty ‘grippy’. My form is average but that actually seems to be a good omen. My best position was fourth last year but I was on for a third before Haga ran into me”.
Ruben Xaus, who has shown some terrific form recently, currently lies second in the table on 246 points on the second Fila-sponsored Ducati 999. “I feel relaxed and hoping to have better luck than in the last round and try and show I’m on top form in the coming races” commented Ruben. “Brands Hatch performance was also good, but I had some bad luck in both races. Assen is one of my favourite tracks, the bike seems to be good here, the tyres too, so we’re going to try and get some good results here. At Assen you need to find a good set-up, but you need to do it slowly and carefully because it’s a long track and it takes a long time to get your lap times down. If the weather holds up, you will see the good lap times by second practice on Saturday afternoon”.
CIRCUIT: The legendary Circuit Van Drenthe is 2 km away from Assen and just over 100 km north-east of Amsterdam. The first Dutch TT was held in 1925 and racing has continued ever since at the ‘cathedral’ apart from breaks for the two world wars. The 6.027 km track is very fast with a succession of flowing corners but grip levels are high even when it rains and at Assen it rains often! Average lap speeds are also high around the TT Circuit, which can accommodate up to 160,000 spectators.
More, from a press release issued by HM Plant Ducati:
Back to business
Tomorrow (Friday 5 September) the Superbike World Championship will once more roar into life when the world’s finest production-based motorcycle racing teams take to the legendary Assen TT circuit. The first practice session gets underway at 10.30am CET and for fans and competitors alike it just cannot come soon enough.
For HM Plant Ducati’s Chris Walker and James Toseland the last five weeks have seemed like a lifetime. Both riders are desperate to pick up where they left off before the break and realise that this round could prove crucial to the fulfilment of their championship dreams.
This year has seen both agony and ecstasy for Chris Walker. The massively popular Nottinghamshire rider’s season got off to a great start with a podium at Valencia but injuries picked up at the third round of the championship at Sugo proved hard to shake off and had an impact on his overall fitness for quite some time. However, strong podium finishes at the last two rounds of the championship (Laguna Seca and Brands Hatch) suggest strongly that the man known as The Stalker is back on form.
“I’ve got to admit that it’s been a pretty tough season,” said Walker. “A couple of unlucky injuries have held me back and I’ve been struggling to ride the HM Plant Ducati as hard as I would have liked. Recently I’ve started to feel much more like my old self and I’ve been able to train hard during the break. Now, I feel like I’m in tip-top condition and want to translate that into rostrum finishes. Assen’s a very physical track so I’m going to need every ounce of my strength to wrestle the bike around.
“It’s been frustrating to have such an excellent bike and team and still not be able to do the business, but it should be a very different story from now on. I have to make it into the top five of the championship and I really want to get a win before the end of the season.”
James Toseland has upped his game considerably for 2003. After spending two years in the shadow of his former HM Plant Ducati team-mate Neil Hodgson, he has now emerged as a genuine championship contender. Assen holds special memories for the 22-year-old – last year he earned his first ever World Superbike podium place at the Dutch circuit. This year he is hopeful of more.
“I’m just absolutely gagging to get back on the bike,” said Toseland. “I’ve been really tempted to go out on my motocross bike during the break but I just didn’t dare in case I injured myself and messed up the last few rounds. Neil [Hodgson] has got a good chance of taking the title this weekend but it’s still all to play for as far as I’m concerned. I’m only 19 points adrift of Xaus in the championship, so second place overall is a definite possibility. Neil is good friend of mine and I’ll be really happy if and when he takes the title, but I’d be much more happy if he does it with me winning both races at Assen.
“I managed to beat all the regular World Superbike riders at Brands Hatch, so my confidence is up at the moment. Fast circuits like Assen suit me pretty well and I made it onto the podium there last year, but this time I don’t want to be waiting for the second race to do it. Come to think of it, I haven’t had a World Superbike pole position yet, so one of those wouldn’t go amiss this weekend either.”
More, from a press release issued by Foggy Petronas Racing:
Haydon fit for Foggy PETRONAS Racing challenge at Assen
Foggy PETRONAS Racing rider James Haydon has been declared fit to compete in the 10th round of the World uperbike championship at Assen, Holland, this weekend.
The Englishman missed the team’s recent two-day test in Valencia, Spain, with recurring neck problems resulting from a crash earlier in the season in Germany. But, following a week’s rest at his home in Andorra, doctors have cleared James to race at the fast and flowing circuit in
Northern Holland, where team owner Carl Fogarty won an incredible 12 of his 16 races. James said: “I felt incredible pain in my neck while getting out of my car on the day before the test. I went down to breakfast on the morning of the first day of the test and it was obvious I wouldn’t be able to ride. The neck had locked up and it needed realigning and I have also been on anti-spasmodic drugs but, although it is not yet perfect, I will be able to compete this weekend and I am looking forward to finishing the season on a positive note.”
The test in Spain was used to assess a modified cylinder head for the engine, which improved the driveability of the FP1 through increased torque. James’ team-mate, Troy Corser said: “The test was useful to get back in the groove after the break and the changes to the engine have made the power curve more progressive. We have not yet had a great chance to see how much difference this might make during a race weekend but I am hopeful that I can achieve a top six finish at Assen. If I am not there, I won’t be too happy. We should not be at too much of a disadvantage here as it is a free-flowing track, rather than stop-start, and I have always done pretty well round here.”
Foggy added: “Our aim now is to finish the season on a bit of a high. Assen suits Troy because he carries a lot of corner speed, as I was able to do here. It is probably the easiest circuit for setting a bike up, so the fact this is our first visit here should not be too much of a problem. The FP1 should handle well here so we are hopeful of top ten finishes. The weather is usually unpredictable at Assen and we have not had a wet race all year, so it would be interesting to see how our bike goes.”
