MotoGP-Assen

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Next stop Assen for Rizla Suzuki and Bautista

Publish Date: Monday, June 20, 2011

Rizla Suzuki is on its way to ?The Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing? as it heads to the Netherlands for the Dutch TT in Assen, and round seven of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship.

?lvaro Bautista is in a positive mood as he travels to the 4,542m Dutch circuit ? a track that he tasted 250cc GP victory at in 2008 ? following a confidence-building display last time out at Silverstone. Bautista performed well in the cold and wet conditions at the English circuit and he is convinced the Suzuki package has made a major step forward, which will enable him to push forward and get the GSV-R a lot nearer the front of the pack.

Assen is the only venue that has staged a Grand Prix every season since the start of the championship in 1949 and is unique in being the only race staged on a Saturday. The track is located in the north of The Netherlands, near the town of Groningen, and although the circuit has undergone some changes to make it safer in recent years, it is still a very technical, twisty layout with little room for error and one that riders really enjoy racing at. The Assen circuit was originally constructed in 1955 ? previous to that the races were run on the open roads around the area ? and it is the only road-racing circuit in the MotoGP series that was specifically designed for motorcycle racing. It is commonly known as ?The Cathedral? of motorcycling to fans and racers alike as it is held in such high esteem by both.

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will take to track on Thursday this week for two free practice sessions, followed by another practice and qualifying on Friday. The 26-lap race gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT) On Saturday 25th June.

?lvaro Bautista:

?We will be looking to continue with the same progress we had at Silverstone when we get to Assen this week. We made big steps in England, because it was very cold all weekend and we were able to be competitive and went a long way forward from where we were last year. It was cold at Assen in 2010 and we struggled, so we are hoping that what happened last week will help us if the conditions are the same ? I hope it?s a lot warmer though and that won?t be an issue! The two circuits are quite similar, they are very fast with some good corners and it will be like continuing our work from where we finished at Silverstone. I won at Assen in 2008 and although it will be tough to try and repeat that, I believe we now have the package to start to run nearer the front on a regular basis.?

 

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Yamaha Prepare to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix Racing at Assen

The historic circuit of Assen welcomes MotoGP back this week for what is a very special occasion for Yamaha. The 2011 Assen TT will witness a full livery change by Yamaha Factory Racing as part of ongoing activities to celebrate the iconic Japanese manufacturer?s 50th year of Grand Prix racing. The beautiful red and white colour scheme will be launched to the media on Wednesday close to the Assen circuit, signaling the start of the Yamaha Expo which will run the full TT week.

Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies will be looking to put the previous race at Silverstone behind them and focus on delivering strong results at Assen, a track favoured by both. Lorenzo has won on the Dutch circuit in all three GP classes; team mate Spies took pole and a race win in 2009 in World Superbike and finished fourth last year in his rookie GP visit.

The Assen circuit, sometimes referred to as the ?cathedral? by race fans due to its status and historical significance in racing, is the only circuit to have been part of the Grand Prix World Championship calendar since its inception. The circuit, which celebrated the 80th Anniversary of TT racing last year, has undergone many changes over that time. Initially run on public roads it has evolved into one of the most physically demanding and technical tracks in Grand Prix with high speed chicanes and varied camber changes.

Jorge Lorenzo

"Assen is my favourite track where I've won in all categories and also last season. This year it is very special coming here because we celebrate the 50th Anniversary! Now we are in second position in the championship, we come here looking to put pressure on the leader. I need to do the same job as I?ve done before with maximum effort. The team is focused and I wish to come back to finish at least on the podium."
Ben Spies

?I?ve really been looking forward to coming to Assen again. It?s a track I love and the Yamaha M1 seems to really work well here. It?s a fast track which I really enjoy, I have so many memories of watching the racing on TV here as a kid, it?s a privilege to race here now. I?m still pretty sore from Silverstone?s crash but I?m not going to let it stop me giving 100% as always and going for the best results possible. It?s also going to be really cool to go out on the track in the special livery in front of all the fans.?
Wilco Zeelenberg

?We?ve been looking forward to Assen because of our special livery, I love the bike in white and red. We are currently second in the championship which is not such a bad position; we will see if we can put some heat on the feet of Casey. We made a mistake at Silverstone and now with 18 points deficit it?s a different situation for Jorge compared to most of last season and this year where he?s always been in front. When you lead you can?t be better than that so we need to be on top of everything and I believe he is able to fight with Casey for victory. We were only two tenths behind the front in qualifying at Silverstone so we have proved that our package is getting better and better and closer to the front.?

Massimo Meregalli

?This is the first of our 50th anniversary race celebrations, I am proud to be part of this unique event and to be a part of Yamaha at this time. The team has worked really hard to prepare for this, we hope racing fans will be delighted with the special livery on not only the bikes but also our uniforms and pit garage. The Assen circuit should be good for us this weekend; our bike should be competitive thanks to the layout and characteristics of the track, it is also one of Ben?s best circuits to ride on. In dry conditions at Silverstone it was clear that the direction we are taking in development is working and we are confident here we can continue this improvement. I?m impatient for Thursday morning to get started.?


Jorge Lorenzo
Age: 24
Lives: Barcelona, Spain
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories: 36 (16 x MotoGP, 17 x 250cc, 4 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Brazil, 2003 (125cc)
First GP: Jerez, Spain, 2002 (125cc)
GP starts: 152 (57 x MotoGP, 48 x 250cc, 46 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 43 (16 x MotoGP, 23 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
World Championships: 3 (MotoGP 2010, 250cc, 2006/7)

Ben Spies
Age: 26
Lives: Longview Texas / Lake Como Italy
Bike: Yamaha
GP victories:
First GP victory:
First GP: Donington, UK, 2008 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 27
Pole positions: 1
World Championships: 1 (WSB 2009)

 

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MOTOGP ARRIVES AT ASSEN.

The MotoGP series has really picked up momentum, as it enters its seventh round. After a disappointing race at Silverstone, the Pramac Racing Team hopes to be able to turn the page in Holland, at the legendary Assen circuit, where the young squad earned a second-place finish in 2003 with Max Biaggi and a fourth the next year, with the same rider.

Since then, the circuit was modified in the winter of 2005-06, reducing one of the series longest tracks, at nearly 6 km, to 4.555 km.

Both riders, Loris Capirossi and Randy De Puniet, want to make up for the previous race in the UK. The Italian has collected numerous podiums at this track, including two wins in the 250cc class. The Frenchman, on the other hand, has a best finish of sixth place, which came last year.

Fabiano Sterlacchini Pramac Racing Technical Director

We want to forget the bad outing at Silverstone. It wont be easy, because the problems weve been experiencing for some time cant be erased in just one race, but its possible to improve. At Assen, the weather conditions could shuffle the deck again. Although our riders are currently more likely to do well in the wet, we must work well at preparing a suitable bike.

Loris Capirossi - Pramac Racing Team Rider

My morale certainly isnt over the moon, as its hard to forget the disastrous outing at Silverstone. We need some positive results, for me and for the whole team. I like the Assen circuit a lot, but the unknown is once again the weather; theyre predicting rain here too, although it shouldnt be as cold as Silverstone. We need to do well to be prepared for the next Grand Prix, at Mugello.

Randy De Puniet - Pramac Racing Team Rider

I need to turn my season around. Sure, its difficult, but its possible to do better. I hope that with the help of my team, Ill be able to solve the problems with the bikes front end. Otherwise Im fine; I just want to erase the last race from my mind, as it was the worst of my career.

 

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Oil and water cause chaos and cancellation at Assen

Rizla Suzuki was forced to miss this today?s second free practice session after an oil spill earlier in the day led to all of this afternoon?s proceedings being cancelled.

Heavy rain at the Assen circuit this morning made conditions very difficult for all classes, but two separate oil leaks from riders in the Moto2 field caused a large spillage over a significant part of the 4,542m Dutch circuit. The organisers tried to clear the surface with a mixture of detergent and water, but conditions were too dangerous for the remaining practice sessions to take place. A decision by race control was taken to cancel all of this afternoon?s events and allow time to get the track prepared and safe for tomorrow.

?lvaro Bautista (P13, 1?53.164, 15 laps) was left very disappointed at the news of the cancellation, as he had a major setting change to test on his Suzuki GSV-R this afternoon, to try help him find the grip he was looking for in the wet. He struggled to find similar levels of grip here at Assen this morning to those he had in Silverstone two weeks ago and was eagerly anticipating this afternoon?s session to try and solve the problem.

Bautista and Rizla Suzuki will now have an extended 90-minute practice session tomorrow morning, before the all-important qualifying in the afternoon. This weekend?s 26-lap race is scheduled for 15.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT) on Saturday 25th June.

?lvaro Bautista:

?In this morning?s wet conditions I had a lot of problems with rear grip and I just didn?t have the confidence in the corners to open the gas early enough. We tried another setting in the session, but I didn?t have a good feeling with that either. This afternoon we wanted to test a completely different setting, but after what happened on the track in the Moto2 class it has made this impossible. We have a couple of sessions tomorrow and I hope that I can resolve this problem, because I really need to get the same feedback from the bike as I had at Silverstone in the last race.?

Paul Denning -Team Manager:

?None of the teams will be happy that FP2 was cancelled this afternoon, but we definitely needed it to go ahead as we hadn?t found the same grip feeling in the rain as we achieved at Silverstone two weeks ago. There was a quite radical set-up on one of the bikes ? which was to be tried this afternoon ? to hopefully help or solve the problem, but we will now have to sit down and decide the best way forward. Fortunately, we now have an extended session tomorrow morning to find a decent setting so that hopefully we can be in the best shape possible to qualify the bike in the afternoon.?

Iveco TT Assen Free Practice Classification:

1. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) 1?49.036: 2. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +0.360: 3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.491: 4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.604: 5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.959: 13. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZKI MOTOGP) +4.128:

 

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FP2 CANCELED DUE TO OIL ON THE TRACK. CAPIROSSI FIFTEENTH, DE PUNIET SEVENTEENTH

The second free-practice session at the Assen MotoGP round was canceled due to the track conditions, which were made impossible for riding when Alex Baldolinis bike lost oil during the Moto2 classs first session. Everything is therefore postponed until tomorrow, with the final free-practice session scheduled for 09:50 a.m. During todays morning session, Pramac Racing Team riders Loris Capirossi and Randy De Puniet clocked the fifteenth- and seventeenth-fastest times, at 1:53.348 and 1:53.562, respectively. The two riders made different choices for the day. The Italians staff preferred to postpone the debut of its new frame until tomorrow, while Randy De Puniet tried it, although the Frenchman didnt have a positive outing in the rain.

Fabiano Sterlacchini - Pramac Racing Team Technical Director

We really didnt need the oil on the track. These days, when we havent been so lucky, we need as much track time as possible to try and improve our situation. In Loriss case, well try to speed up some solutions. Well dismiss some options without trying them, and some well try together with others. Among these is the new frame. We had planned to ride today with the same bike as before, and then to compare that to tomorrows bike with some new updates, including the frame of course. However, were forced to try it without making comparisons, although its enough to now that the Ducati Marlboro Team riders liked it.

Loris Capirossi - Pramac Racing Team rider - 15th, 1:53.348

I had hoped to get on the track this afternoon. This morning we worked hard on the bikes setup, so the second session was important for planning our work for qualifying. Fortunately, we still have a card to play: the new frame. Tomorrow well probably start with this important change, hoping that it can help us to improve our situation.

Randy De Puniet - Pramac Racing Team rider - 17th, 1:53.562

I left Silverstone with the rain, and unfortunately, I once again find it here at Assen. This morning I had problems with grip, especially on the rear of the bike. Compared to the last race though, the front end is better. We had some ideas for this afternoon, but unfortunately we werent able to get on the track. I cant yet judge the new frame, but Rossi and Hayden have had positive feedback on it in the dry.

 

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Early Finish for MotoGP Riders as Oil Halts the Action at Assen

The Assen TT got underway today in The Netherlands with riders enduring much the same weather conditions as the previous round at Silverstone. The first free practice session of the weekend was run in wet conditions this morning with steady rain throughout. Yamaha Factory Racing riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies were riding for the first time with the special YZR-M1 WGP50th Anniversary Edition red and white livery. Both took the opportunity to find their feet again following their crashes in the treacherous Silverstone conditions two weeks ago.

Having made a promising start and found a comfortable set up to focus on the riders were denied the opportunity to continue this afternoon. The track was closed for the day and the second session cancelled after oil was spilt along approximately a one kilometre section of the Assen circuit during the Moto2 practice session. As a result tomorrow morning?s final free practice will be an extended 90 minute session.

Jorge Lorenzo Position : 5th Time: 1'49.995 Laps: 12


?We rode some laps this morning and we learnt some good information for wet conditions should they stay like this at the weekend. Unfortunately some Moto2 riders dropped some oil which the track couldn?t clear in time for the second free practice. We only managed 12 laps in total but it was enough to see how it feels in the wet. It?s a special moment to be here for us with our new livery celebrating the 50th Anniversary so it?s really important to get a good result. We?ll do the best we can as always.?

Ben Spies Position : 10th Time: 1'51.590 Laps: 15


?This morning was good. After the crash in Silverstone it was nice to get back out on the bike in the rain and get the confidence back. I felt really comfortable and just didn?t push to the limits in the first session. It looks like we?re going to be riding plenty in the rain this weekend anyway. We made a setting change to the bike at the end and I got one lap with it which was my fastest lap so I?m confident we can get the bike working really well. This session was just to get my head straight after hitting the wall last week so we?ll start again tomorrow.?

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager

?The first practice in Assen and typically Assen weather! Jorge needed to find his way through the wet after the crash in Silverstone but I have to say his confidence grew pretty quickly. Position five was good at the end and the bike felt good for him. The track was a bit slippery, especially corner entry which is a bit strange as Assen is a normally a grippy track. It?s much more used by cars than before which may be the reason. It?s a pity that the afternoon session was cancelled but we only had three sessions last year here as well. Hopefully we get at least one dry session tomorrow and we hope race day is dry for the fans as well.?

Massimo Meregalli Team Director

?Unfortunately the weather didn?t help us today but Ben got back his confidence after the Silverstone race which was really important for us. We have some additional time in the morning free practice now so we?ll work on it. I?m confident we will deliver a good package for Ben and Jorge to be ready for the afternoon?s qualifying session. It?s great to see the bikes and team out in the red and white livery, we are all very proud to be part of this special time.?


Combined Free Practice Times

1. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'49.036
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 1'49.396
3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 1'49.527
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1'49.640
5. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'49.995
6. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'50.386
7. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 1'50.413
8. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'50.968
9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 1'51.277
10. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'51.590
11. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 1'52.646
12. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 1'53.132
13. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'53.164
14. Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'53.323
15. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Pramac Racing Team 1'53.348
16. Kousuke Akiyoshi (Jap) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'53.353
17. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Pramac Racing Team 1'53.562

 

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ROSSI SECOND, HAYDEN NINTH ON A WET, UNPREDICTABLE DAY AT ASSEN

The first day of practice at the Dutch Grand Prix only gave the riders in each of the three classes a single, wet session. Four minutes from the end of the Moto2 session, a bike had a significant oil leak that forced the cancellation of the afternoon sessions, despite officials spending nearly two hours cleaning the track in an effort to make the surface safe enough for riding.

Friday morning?s session will be lengthened in order to make up for the lost time, with the MotoGP class riding from 9:50 a.m. to 11:20. Thursday was nonetheless positive for Valentino Rossi, who had a good feeling during his first laps aboard the GP11.1 and set the day?s second-fastest time.

Nicky Hayden started to work on his bike?s wet setup as he looks for the same good feeling he found two weeks ago at Silverstone.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd (1:49.396)
?We only had one practice session with the new bike, so it?s very early to make a full verdict, but the first feelings are certainly positive. The GP11 also went well in the wet, but the GP11.1 didn?t just maintain the positive aspects; I actually liked it a little bit more, so I?m curious to also try it in dry conditions. Unfortunately, they canceled the afternoon session because of an oil leak in Moto2; it would have been very nice to continue?in either the wet or the dry?the work that we started. We?ll have an hour and a half tomorrow morning, but we?ll have to work differently because we can?t make as many changes as we can in two separate sessions. Anyway, we?re happy for now. The new gearbox helps with acceleration on corner exits, and the rear of the bike is more stable. Now I can ride more naturally. There are still some small things to improve with the bike?s character, but we knew that and will continue to work on it.?

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 9th (1:51.277)
?This morning didn?t go particularly well. I just couldn?t get a good feeling, and we were having a few issues. The clutch wasn?t working well on corner-entry, and we didn?t completely understand why until after the session. I wasn?t so fast, which isn?t good after coming from Silverstone, where I was strong in the wet. This afternoon getting canceled was a bit of a letdown when you?ve got your leathers on and are ready to go. It was also a shame for the diehard fans who stayed around waiting, and for those who planned to watch on TV, but the officials did the right thing for having oil on the track. For tomorrow, we?ll just see what the weather?s going to do and take advantage of whatever conditions we have.

 

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Oil and water cause chaos and cancellation at Assen

Rizla Suzuki was forced to miss this today?s second free practice session after an oil spill earlier in the day led to all of this afternoon?s proceedings being cancelled.

Heavy rain at the Assen circuit this morning made conditions very difficult for all classes, but two separate oil leaks from riders in the Moto2 field caused a large spillage over a significant part of the 4,542m Dutch circuit. The organisers tried to clear the surface with a mixture of detergent and water, but conditions were too dangerous for the remaining practice sessions to take place. A decision by race control was taken to cancel all of this afternoon?s events and allow time to get the track prepared and safe for tomorrow.

?lvaro Bautista (P13, 1?53.164, 15 laps) was left very disappointed at the news of the cancellation, as he had a major setting change to test on his Suzuki GSV-R this afternoon, to try help him find the grip he was looking for in the wet. He struggled to find similar levels of grip here at Assen this morning to those he had in Silverstone two weeks ago and was eagerly anticipating this afternoon?s session to try and solve the problem.

Bautista and Rizla Suzuki will now have an extended 90-minute practice session tomorrow morning, before the all-important qualifying in the afternoon. This weekend?s 26-lap race is scheduled for 15.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT) on Saturday 25th June.

?lvaro Bautista:

?In this morning?s wet conditions I had a lot of problems with rear grip and I just didn?t have the confidence in the corners to open the gas early enough. We tried another setting in the session, but I didn?t have a good feeling with that either. This afternoon we wanted to test a completely different setting, but after what happened on the track in the Moto2 class it has made this impossible. We have a couple of sessions tomorrow and I hope that I can resolve this problem, because I really need to get the same feedback from the bike as I had at Silverstone in the last race.?

Paul Denning -Team Manager:

?None of the teams will be happy that FP2 was cancelled this afternoon, but we definitely needed it to go ahead as we hadn?t found the same grip feeling in the rain as we achieved at Silverstone two weeks ago. There was a quite radical set-up on one of the bikes ? which was to be tried this afternoon ? to hopefully help or solve the problem, but we will now have to sit down and decide the best way forward. Fortunately, we now have an extended session tomorrow morning to find a decent setting so that hopefully we can be in the best shape possible to qualify the bike in the afternoon.?

Iveco TT Assen Free Practice Classification:

1. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) 1?49.036: 2. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +0.360: 3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.491: 4. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.604: 5. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.959: 13. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZKI MOTOGP) +4.128:

 

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CAPIREX TO MISS ASSEN TT. DE PUNIET WILL START FROM FOURTH ROW

Loris Capirossi wont take part in the seasons seventh Grand Prix, at Assen. The Pramac Racing Team rider was the victim of a bad crash in the hard-fought final minutes of qualifying; the medical exams he underwent after the fall (in which the Italian was hit by his own bike)first in the mobile clinic, then in the hospital in Assenexcluded serious injuries, but a dislocated right shoulder and injured rib cartilage will force the veteran to sit out the race. His best time was 1:37.130, for 15th place. The atmosphere is calmer on the other side of the teams garage. Randy De Puniet seems to have overcome the difficulties with bike setup that he has experienced lately. The Frenchman finished qualifying with the tenth-best time (1:36.435), and tomorrow hell start from the fourth row.

Marco Rigamonti - Randy De Puniets Track Engineer

The feeling with the bike definitely isnt the same as what we had in Qatar and at Jerez, but this week the problems that Randy had with the bike have diminished significantly. This aspect is very important for all of us, as we have to find the confidence we had at the beginning of the season. The results once again highlight the problems with the Ducati; were just behind Hayden and ahead of Rossi. The weather will be very important tomorrow. Were not yet going like wed like in the wet, so we hope it will be dry when were on the track.

Randy De Puniet - Pramac Racing Team 10th, 1'36.435

Ill start from the tenth spottoo bad because I only missed the third row by a few tenths. Right now, its impossible to do better, so well have to work to try and improve the feeling with the bike; anyway, it has improved compared to the last few races, especially Silverstone. Tomorrow Ill have to fight in order to finish the race in this position, but Ill try not to push too hard and instead just take advantage of any opportunities I get. My goal is to reduce the gap to the other satellite Ducatis and to steadily lessen the problems with the bike.

Loris Capirossi - Pramac Racing Team 15th, 1'37.130

Theres not much to say. Its not much fun to be crushed by a bike at high speed. Im feeling better now, although Im sorry to miss tomorrows race. I crashed as I was at my best; I could have dropped my time, but the problem in left-hand corners, which we had already experienced in the mornings free-practice session, caused me to lose control. Tomorrow Ill go back to Monte Carlo, and in two days Ill undergo some more checks on my physical condition.

 

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Fantastic Front Row for Spies at Assen

Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies delivered his finest qualifying performance of the year so far at The Assen TT today. The Texan had been consistently quick in the morning?s extended final free practice having found a good set up for the Dutch circuit. The dry morning session saw him over 15 seconds faster than yesterday?s wet practice, ending in third just 0.26 seconds from provisional pole. Spies then went on to attack the afternoon qualifying session and was rarely outside the top two. He had been on track to claim his first pole position start of the year until Loris Capirossi crashed in front of him on his final hot lap. As a result he will start from the front row in second position having finished just 0.009 seconds from Marco Simoncelli on pole.

Reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo enjoyed a similar morning practice to his team mate, finding a good pace to finish the final free session just behind Spies in fourth although he was less happy with his bike set up. The afternoon?s qualifying proved similarly challenging with Lorenzo finding an improvement from the morning but still ending in fourth on the second row having been unable to find the perfect setting for the faster chicanes.

Ben Spies Position : 2nd Time: 1'34.727 Laps: 27

?The best qualifying of the year so far, it was a good session for us. We would have liked to get pole position but unfortunately on my fast lap Loris went down and there were a lot of yellow flags. I want to be a little bit upset but I want him to be ok a lot more than I wanted pole position. All in all it was a great qualifying, the bike is working really good, race pace is good so I?m confident for the race tomorrow. I don?t know what kind of weather we are going to get so we?ll see how it goes.?

Jorge Lorenzo Position : 4th Time: 1'35.143 Laps: 28


?Today has been a complicated practice and qualifying. We made many stops in the morning session and in the qualifying. The most important thing is we can see that our closest championship rivals are pretty close but I know we still need to make a step forward to be better. I have had problems in the fast corners today, I didn?t have so much grip on the rear so we have work to do for tomorrow. I?m very confident the team will do a good job to be ready to fight for the podium for the 50th Anniversary. Obviously the weather is not helping and we should be ready for both wet and dry conditions.?

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager

?Not such an easy qualification, Jorge was complaining a lot about his feeling of safety on the bike in the faster sections of the track and also rear grip so we need to work on that for tomorrow. Finally fourth position is not terrible but the worst we have been so far this year. Let?s see what we are able to do tomorrow morning to improve the package; this is our focus now.?

Massimo Meregalli Team Director

?Ben did a really great job today. He pushed all practice and was clever to think about when to use the soft tyre as conditions were quite unpredictable during qualifying. I saw him very confident on the track this weekend so tomorrow I have high expectations that he will be part of the leading group. Jorge as we know is a fighter, even though he is starting from the second row I am expecting him to be one of the top four riders fighting for victory. The team is still working hard, after Barcelona we made a big improvement with bike set up and this is helping the riders."


Qualifying Times

FRONT ROW
1. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'34.718
2. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'34.727
3. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 1'35.008
SECOND ROW
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 1'35.143
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1'35.244
6. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'35.329
THIRD ROW
7. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 1'35.742
8. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'35.818
9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 1'35.866
FOURTH ROW
10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Pramac Racing Team 1'36.435
11. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 1'36.564
12. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 1'36.580
FIFTH ROW
13. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 1'36.590
14. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'36.820
15. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Pramac Racing Team 1'37.130
SIXTH ROW
16. Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'37.651
17. Kousuke Akiyoshi (Jap) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'39.006


Assen Record Lap
D.Pedrosa (Honda) 2010, 1'34.525

Assen Best Lap
J.Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2010, 1'34.515

 

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HAYDEN NINTH, ROSSI ELEVENTH IN ASSEN QUALIFYING

Nicky Hayden had some difficulty finding a good rhythm during qualifying for the Assen TT, but a change to a different shock setting helped to improve his feeling with the bike near the end of the session and to finish with the ninth-best time.

After yesterday?s very positive initial outing in the rain during free practice, Valentino Rossi had only two hours to set up his new bike on a dry track and he wasn?t able to replicate yesterday?s performance. Tomorrow he?ll have to start from the eleventh spot on the grid.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 9th, 1:35.866
?This morning we were trying to learn the step 2 chassis, but with the rain, we never got to compare back-to-back with the step 1 in similar conditions so, for this afternoon, we went with what we knew. We struggled a bit at the beginning of qualifying, and then when we put in the soft tyres, we also changed to a different shock setting that helped put some temperature in the tyre. I started getting a better feel and going faster, and like always, it would have been nice to get a few more laps. It?s not why we?re on the third row, but when Capirossi crashed, they should have red-flagged the session, because he was in the run-off area of a fast place. We?ve had just about every condition this weekend, so we?ll see what we get tomorrow. It could be a wild race.?

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 11th, 1:36.564
?We?re disappointed with qualifying because we had started quite well yesterday, so clearly, we expected things to go better today. We had a decent session this morning, but we weren?t able to improve, so we?ll start eleventh. The rear of the GP11.1 is better than the previous version, but we weren?t able to find a setup that allowed us to bring the tyres up to temperature, and at the moment, that?s making it difficult to find the feeling I need to ride hard and be strong on corner entry. I don?t think we?ve yet learned how to properly adjust the bike, and that?s something we knew could happen since we have so little time available. Still, this all helps us to gather experience for the future, and we have some ideas for tomorrow?s warm-up session that we hope will help us go faster in the race.?

 

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Tough qualifying sees Bautista with work to do

Rizla Suzuki?s ?lvaro Bautista will start Saturday?s Dutch TT from the fifth row of the grid after qualifying in 14th place at Assen today.

Bautista (1?36.820, 29 laps) struggled to get the grip he was looking for from his Suzuki GSV-R around the 4,542m Dutch circuit, especially through the fast left-handers towards the end of the lap. He worked with his crew to find a solution, both during this morning?s extended practice session and in this afternoon?s qualifying. He did make steps throughout the qualifying session and improved his time by over two seconds from his morning?s best, but was still disappointed with the day?s events.

This afternoon?s qualifying was held with the constant threat of rain from the dark clouds overhead, fortunately it stayed dry - but quite cool - for the whole hour. Honda?s Marco Simoncelli took his second pole position of the season.

Tomorrow?s Grand Prix is the only Saturday race on the calendar and the main event is scheduled to get underway at 15.00hrs local time (13.00hrs GMT), but with rain still possible it could turn into an interesting race for all concerned.

?lvaro Bautista:

?I?m not happy with today at all! I have had a rear grip problem all day, especially entering the left corners - but really over the whole track. We worked hard to get the bike more grip, but still I struggled and this affected my confidence because I couldn?t enter the corners like I want. This was causing me to lose too much speed on the entry and then gave me problems in the exit. I don?t feel very comfortable on the bike and we?re going to try something in tomorrow?s warm-up, to give me a better feeling. It has been a difficult weekend so far and losing the practice yesterday was tough because I think if we had had that it might have helped us to find a solution. We have a chance to try something tomorrow morning, but we also have to watch the weather because it looks like it could be wet. We certainly need to do something to resolve this grip issue, because I thought we would move forward at this race after the result in Silverstone and I really wanted to do well here.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?The good news is that we went 2.2 seconds quicker this afternoon than this morning, but the bad news is that everyone else went quicker as well so it didn?t improve our overall situation. Our level has been disappointing this weekend, ?lvaro has no physical complaints and we?re only looking to move forward, but we just haven?t been able to produce the temperature in the left-hand-side of the tyre to give ?lvaro the confidence he needs ? especially towards the end of the lap. The guys will be working hard to find some more solutions overnight, but the biggest help to us right now would be warmer weather and bright sunshine tomorrow, so that we can get the rear tyre working properly.?

Iveco TT Assen Qualifying Practice Classification:

1. Marco Simoncelli (Honda) 1?34.718: 2. Ben Spies (Yamaha) +0.009: 3. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.290: 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +0.425: 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +0.526: 14. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOTGP) +2.102:

 

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Simoncell and Stoner on front row in Assen

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) sped to his second pole of the season at the Dutch TT, while Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC212V) recovered from a crash earlier in the day to take third on the front row.

Simoncelli dominated the session almost from start to finish, though Ben Spies (Yamaha) did put in a quick lap that threatened Simoncelli?s dominance. Simoncelli set the fast time early in the one hour session, held in cool, sunny weather, and was only displaced twice and both times by Spies. The first time was for only one lap, the second time for about ten minutes.

Simoncelli?s absence from the top, ended when he set his fastest lap with nearly 16 minutes to run. And on the next lap he set a time that would hold up for the pole, a lap of 1m, 34.718s. That put the Italian on pole for the second time in three races. It also continued a streak of qualifying excellence; he?s been either first or second for four races in a row.

MotoGP World Championship leader Stoner said that his confidence was knocked back a bit when he crashed early in the 90-minute morning free practice. Stoner fell when he hit a wet patch which he hadn?t seen the previous lap. The Australian later returned to the track, but couldn?t improve his time because he couldn?t generate enough heat in the left side of the rear tyre.

Stoner wasn?t the only member of the Repsol Honda team to fall. Team-mate Andrea Dovizioso also crashed on a wet patch, spectacularly. But other than some pain in his neck and back, he was unhurt. And Hiroshi Aoyama, standing in for the injured Dani Pedrosa, fell soon after Dovi at 190kph.

Stoner was off the front row when he put in his fast lap of 1m, 35.008s just as the checkered flag fell and when he was hopeful of one final pole run. Later he would say that he didn?t have the pace to match ?Super Sic? today.

Dovizioso had an eventful day. His morning high-side was the most dramatic and damaging of the three crashes suffered by the Repsol Honda teammates. Following the spill, Dovi missed 45 minutes of the session before returning to the track in a new set of leathers. He was in third before Stoner moved him down to fourth, and Dovi would lose one more spot to Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), the Majorcan who was .101s faster with his final lap. Dovi will start from the middle of the second row and only .236s off the front row.

Hiroshi Aoyama, who normally races in the colors of San Carlo Honda Gresini, qualified 12th aboard the Repsol Honda RC212V of Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa continues to recover from surgery on his broken right collarbone and will almost certainly return to racing at next weekend?s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Being on an unfamiliar motorcycle, Aoyama needed as much track time as possible suffered from the cancellation of Thursday afternoon?s session. That practice was scrubbed after several Moto2 bikes leaked oil on the track and attempts to clean it expeditiously proved difficult. Aoyama received a pain-killing injection prior to qualifying, but it did little good.

Toni Elias (LCR Honda MotoGP) ended his session prematurely with a crash. The Spaniard wasn?t able to make the most of the softer rear tyre, having set his fastest lap on the fifth of 26. He qualified 16th and one spot in front of Honda test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi. Akiyoshi was aboard Aoyama?s San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V while his fellow countryman moved to the Repsol Honda team.

MotoGP rider quotes

Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini: pole position ? 1m. 34.718s
?Obviously I am really happy, but right now I just want everything to go to plan on race day and finally pick up the result I feel myself and the team deserve. The bike is good although obviously not quite 100% because we have not had much time to set it up and there is not a lot of grip in a lot of the corners. I have been fast in the wet and the dry and my pace is good, but now it is important to do well tomorrow ? maybe the fact we're racing on a Saturday could be a good omen!?

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd ? 1m, 34.727s
?Today hasn't been the best day for us. After this morning's fall, our confidence was dented a little and we weren't willing to push too hard. The only dry track time we've had is today, which has meant we've had to do everything in one day. We're struggling with the left hand side of the tyre; we just can't seem to get the temperature in to it, so I'm losing a lot of time on all the left hand corners. Also, we found it difficult to get the bike settled in the rear, so we have some work to do tonight and tomorrow in warm-up, but we're confident we can find something and improve. Qualifying went OK. We're happy with front row and I don't think we could have matched Marco's time; it was pretty impressive and he's been consistently fast all weekend here. To be honest, I'm a little bit disappointed with our race pace which we need to improve quite a lot, so we'll have to see what we can do for tomorrow.?

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 5th ? 1m, 35.244s
?I?m happy with today's final result. Starting from the second row, at five-tenths from the fastest rider is positive after this morning's incident. I crashed exiting turn nine on the second lap as there was a wet spot next to the white strip that you cannot see when you enter the corner. Also, the tyre on the left was not up to temperature yet. I had a high-side and it was a hard impact on the ground, but fortunately I have no real problems apart from some pain in my back and neck. This morning we lost 45 minutes of practice time, so I hope that tomorrow we can have a dry warm-up to make some small changes on the set-up of the bike. I?m confident for the race, but it will be important to take care in the first laps because with these conditions we struggle to bring the tyres up to temperature.?

Hiroshi Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 12th ? 1m, 36.580s
?It's not been an easy weekend so far. Yesterday I didn't have much time to work on the bike because of the cancellation of FP2 and this morning I had a crash at the beginning of the practice. I saw Casey and Andrea falling in a left hand corner and I immediately thought I had to be careful because here it's very difficult to get grip in left corners. But a few corners later I crashed and it was totally unexpected. It was a big one, around 190 kilometres per hour and I hit my back. It was very painful. I received an injection at Clinica Mobile for the qualifying practice, but in the end the pain remained almost the same. I hope I can rest a bit tonight and feel better for the race tomorrow.?

Toni Elias, LCR Honda MotoGP: 16th ? 1m, 37.651s
?I am very disappointed, because this morning we have found a good bike balance and I could ride with more confidence after a long time. But in the afternoon qualifying the same set-up has not worked as we expected and I have struggled with rear grip once again in the exit of the curves. Trying to increase the pace we went for a harder tyre, but I crashed at eight minutes to go. This means another tough start from the last row for me but I do not want to lose my concentration.?

Kousuke Akiyoshi, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 17th ? 1m, 39.006s
?I am happy to be here at Assen and back in MotoGP. Obviously this track is not easy with the changeable weather conditions, but I have tried to do my best and I will continue to do so tomorrow in the warm-up in the hope of having a decent race. I want to thank HRC and Team San Carlo Honda Gresini once again for the opportunity.?

Pole position : 1m34.718s (172.63Km/h) Marco Simoncelli, Honda
Circuit record lap : 1m34.525s (172.982Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2010)
Circuit Best Lap : 1m34.515s (173.001Km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2010)
Qualifying position
1 Marco Simoncelli 1m34.718s ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
2 Ben Spies +0.009s USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Casey Stoner +0.290s AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Jorge Lorenzo +0.425s SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
5 Andrea Dovizioso +0.526s ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Cal Crutchlow +0.611s GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
7 Karel Abraham +1.024s CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
8 Colin Edwards +1.100s USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Nicky Hayden +1.148s USA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Randy De Puniet +1.717s FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
11 Valentino Rossi +1.846s ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
12 Hiroshi Aoyama +1.862s JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
13 Hector Barbera +1.872s SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
14 Alvaro Bautista +2.102s SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
15 Loris Capirossi +2.412s ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
16 Toni Elias +2.933s SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
17 Kousuke Akiyoshi +4.288s JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
Championship standings
1 Casey Stoner 116 pts AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 98 pts SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Andrea Dovizioso 83 pts ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
4 Valentino Rossi 68 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Dani Pedrosa 61 pts SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
6 Nicky Hayden 60 pts USA DUCATI Ducati Team
7 Hiroshi Aoyama 43 pts JPN HONDA Honda Gresini
8 Colin Edwards 37 pts USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Ben Spies 36 pts USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
10 Karel Abraham 33 pts CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Ducati
11 Marco Simoncelli 32 pts ITA HONDA Honda Gresini
12 Hector Barbera 31 pts SPA DUCATI Aspar Ducati
13 Cal Crutchlow 30 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
14 Toni Elias 28 pts SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
15 Loris Capirossi 22 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
16 Alvaro Bautista 22 pts SPA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP
17 Randy De Puniet 10 pts FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing Team
18 John Hopkins 6 pts USA SUZUKI Suzuki MotoGP

 

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Heroic Cal Crutchlow fights for front row in Assen

Cal CrutchlowCal Crutchlow demonstrated his skill and bravery to mount a stunning challenge for a maiden front row grid position at the world famous Circuit van Drenthe in Assen this afternoon.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider powered his YZR-M1 machine to a best time of 1.35.329 to move into third position with less than a minute of today's qualifying session remaining.

But in a typically nail-biting finale, the 25-year-old was unforunately dropped down to the second row of the grid and he will start tomorrow's 26-lap Iveco TT Assen from sixth position for the third successive race.

Crutchlow's performance was even more impressive considering he was riding in considerable discomfort from the left collarbone he broke in five places just 13 days ago at Silverstone. Conditions for this afternoon's session were the best of the weekend so far, with no disruption caused by rain showers that had been predicted.

The dry track made riding a more physically demanding challenge for Crutchlow, particularly in the sections requiring fast changes of direction, though he showed his trademark grit and determination to finish less than 0.2s behind reigning World Champion and factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo.

Colin Edwards will start from eighth position on the grid, the American also producing a gutsy performance as he rode through the pain barrier once again. Muscle damage around his right ribcage suffered in a crash at the Catalunya round in Spain three weeks ago was more problematic for the 37-year-old today as he set a best time of 1.35.818.

Like Crutchlow, he was experiencing difficulty tackling the fast changes of direction. But key improvements to the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine made him more comfortable and he is confident he can fight for a top six in tomorrow's race.

Cal Crutchlow 6th 1.35.329 ? 28 laps:

?I was on the front row right at the end and it just got taken away, but I'm still really happy because I came here and didn't think I'd even be riding at this stage of the weekend. I thought I'd only be able to do a few laps because of my collarbone injury and here I am fighting for the front row. I think I went for it on my last soft tyre a little bit too early to be honest but I can't be disappointed. Sixth seems to be my position on the grid at the moment because that's the third race in a row I've started from that place. My shoulder is really sore now too. The 90-minute session this morning followed by another hour this afternoon means I can really feel the collarbone throbbing. The fast changes of direction are the biggest issue. Flicking the bike through some of those fast kinks is hard enough when you've got full strength, so for me having a big operation to plate my collarbone only last week, it is really difficult. To be honest I hope it rains for the race tomorrow, but I'll try my best for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team whatever the weather.?

Colin Edwards 8th 1.35.818 ? 25 laps:

?Riding in the dry made it pretty tough on my body today. With the extra 45 minutes this morning, it has been physically demanding. The collarbone I broke in Catalunya is fantastic but the damaged muscles around my ribs have hurt a lot today and made it hard to change direction. We changed a couple of things to the bike to make it more comfortable for me. The bike is more stable and easier to change direction and while it might not be an advantage for the lap time, it has certainly helped my ability to push more to my normal level. My lap times aren't terrible but in certain parts of the track it is hard to push. I just don't have the strength. Some of those changes of direction, you're flat-out in fifth gear and I just don't have the power to throw the bike around. Taking a deep breath was hard because of the ribs, but we got today out of the way and I might wake up tomorrow morning and miraculously feel better. I doubt that will be the case, but the race is a different thing. When the lights go out and the adrenaline kicks in, I probably won't feel a thing and I'll be giving it my maximum in the wet or the dry.?

 

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Safe points for Bautista at the Dutch TT

?lvaro Bautista battled against the cold and unpredictable conditions at Assen in The Netherlands today to bring his Rizla Suzuki home safely in a points-scoring 11th place.

Bautista had struggled all weekend to find the rear grip to be competitive at the 4,542m Dutch circuit and with air temperatures only getting up to 14?C - allied to a strong wind that cooled the track even more ? this afternoon was always going to be an uphill battle for the smooth-riding Spaniard. Bautista got a good start and was up to 10th from his 14th place on the grid by the end of lap two. He stayed in that position right up until the last few laps before being passed as the race came to a conclusion and had to settle for 11th at the end of 26 difficult laps.

Despite the chilly conditions and the continuous threat of rain at the Assen circuit, over 92,000 fans braved the wintry conditions. The race was eventually won by Ben Spies on a Yamaha to secure his first MotoGP victory. Casey Stoner still leads the championship after finishing second.

Rizla Suzuki now heads south to Italy for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship, as it travels to Mugello for the Italian Grand Prix next Sunday hoping for much better weather in the Tuscan hillsides.

?lvaro Bautista:

?There was no big change in the race from the practice sessions, I still struggled for grip and found it hard to push. For the start of the race we went with the slick tyres, even though it was a little bit wet on the back of the track, but this was the best decision as the threatened rain never came. From the beginning to the end I never had a good feeling on the bike and it was always the same problem for the whole weekend ? rear grip was nothing and entering the corners was very difficult. During the race I tried to push to get into the top-10, but each corner seemed very risky and it felt like the tyre was on ice sometimes! Anyway, I?m looking forward to Mugello ? hotter temperatures, a great track and we can do much better there. ?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?Today has been a very difficult race to top-off a disappointing weekend. It could have been worse, in that ?lvaro kept it on two wheels and brought the bike home safely ? unlike many unfortunate riders this weekend. The conditions in yesterday?s qualifying were a bit warmer, but in the extremely cold and drizzly conditions this afternoon it seemed to cost us a lot more in contact feel, grip and confidence for the rider than it did for some of the other guys. ?lvaro is looking forward to a much better situation in Mugello next weekend, but the combination of bike, rider and riding style simply didn?t put anywhere near enough energy into the rear tyre to give us the grip we needed today. The control tyre situation has a lot of positives, but on occasions like today ? when even the softer of the two tyres is way too hard for our rider ? it makes it impossible to compete.?

Iveco TT Race Classification:

1. Ben Spies (Yamaha) 41?44.659: 2. Casey Stoner (Honda) +7.697: 3. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +27.506: 4. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) +30.684: 5. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) +43.172: 11. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOTGP) +1?38.466:

World Championship Classification:

1. Stoner 136: 2. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 108: 3. Dovizioso 99: 4. Rossi 81: 5. Hayden 71: 15. 11. ?LVARO BAUTISTA (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOTGP) 27:

 

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Perfect Performance Delivers Maiden GP Victory for Spies

Texan Ben Spies chose to kick off Yamaha?s 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix Racing in style today, delivering a flawless performance at the Assen TT to claim his first ever MotoGP race win. Spies had been on form all weekend delivering consistent fast race pace in all sessions whether wet or dry and been beaten to pole by a mere 0.009 seconds by Marco Simoncelli. A great start saw him leading the race from the first corner, quickly building a sizeable gap to Casey Stoner in chase which he held and extended to over 7.6 seconds by the chequered flag. The victory was all the sweeter for being delivered riding in the special red and white livery used this weekend to mark the anniversary celebrations.

Team mate Jorge Lorenzo delivered a true champion?s performance after being cause to crash on the first lap by Marco Simoncelli. Lorenzo quickly remounted and charged from the back of the pack through to claim an impressive sixth place finish and salvage valuable championship points from the unfortunate incident.

As a result of his performance Spies jumps to seventh in the championship standings, tying with Dani Pedrosa on 61 points in sixth and just ten points behind Nicky Hayden in fifth. Lorenzo adds ten points to his championship tally and heads to Mugello next week with 108, 28 points behind leader Casey Stoner.

Ben Spies Position : 1st Time: 41'44.659


?It was a strange race today as it was one of the most comfortable races we had and it resulted in a win. I saw the Simoncelli crash on the TV screen in the corner of my eye so I knew about it. I had a good feeling in the bike in the first couple of laps and had to push as much as I could to get a gap. When Casey was pushing back I still had a few tenths if I needed to, we could always match the pace. To do it this weekend with the 50th colours gives a little bit of pressure but it came out good! I was racing as hard as I could, I have to thank my guys; they gave me a great bike today. At least we?ve won a race now!?

Jorge Lorenzo Position : 6th Time: +44.536


?Of course Simoncelli doesn?t want to throw me off the track, that wasn?t his intention but I think he is not very conscious about the risks in this class with these tyres. I thought he learnt from the past and the polemic he created with Dani but it?s clear he hasn?t learnt. The good thing is that we finished in sixth and took some points. I was fast with a good pace. The championship is now more difficult so we have to go all out to win races and go fast. We are making changes to the bike that are making it better with stability to brake harder and deeper so I think we can go to Mugello and be more competitive like Ben demonstrated today. I want to say a big congratulations to him for his first GP win and also thank you to all my guys who again worked really hard all weekend to give me a competitive bike.?

Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager

?A very tough race, mixed feelings here as we are very disappointed by the action with Simoncelli, It was a racing accident but pretty stupid. I?m happy for Ben that we were able to win here for the 50th Anniversary race. It?s good to see we are able to win and it was also good to see Jorge picked up quickly and was able to do very good lap times so we know the speed was there. I know we would have been able to fight for the podium. I have to congratulate Ben he did a great job this weekend and I feel sorry for Jorge as he didn?t deserve this result.?

Massimo Meregalli Team Director

?Ben rode a really fantastic race today, we are very proud and I don?t think his first GP win could have been more perfect. He was consistently fast all weekend and we were confident that he would deliver a really strong performance today. It?s even more special to have won here whilst celebrating our 50th Anniversary of Grand Prix racing. I have to say his crew worked extremely hard all weekend and made sure he had a bike that he could win on. I?m very disappointed for Jorge, it was clear the crash was not his fault. He showed his true colours as a world class racer with the way he rode following the incident. We leave Assen with a day of highs and lows and head to Mugello with even more confidence that we have made another step in our package and can challenge for more victories.?


Results

1. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 41'44.659
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team + 7.697
3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team + 27.506
4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team + 30.684
5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team + 43.172
6. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing + 44.536
7. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 1'08.112
8. Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Repsol Honda Team + 1'10.753
9. Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 1'24.925
10. Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP + 1'26.216
11. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1'38.466
12. Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team After 1 laps
13. Kousuke Akiyoshi (Jap) San Carlo Honda Gresini After 1 laps
14. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 After 2 laps


Championship Standings

1 Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 136
2 Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 108
3 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 95
4 Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 81
5 Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 71
6 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 61
7 Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 61
8 Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 51
9 Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43
10 Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 39
11 Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP 34
12 Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 33
13 Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 30
14 Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 27
15 Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team 26
16 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Pramac Racing Team 22
17 Randy De Puniet (FRA) Pramac Racing Team 6

 

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ASSEN TT FORGETTABLE. TEAM WILL TRY FOR REDEMPTION AT MUGELLO

Theres an air of disappointment in the Pramac Racing Team. Following Loris Capirossis crash in qualifying yesterday, which forced him to leave the Assen circuit before the race, misfortune today struck his teammate, Randy De Puniet. The Frenchmans Grand Prix only lasted one lap, as he was thrown from his bike after going long in the first turn. Now, after yet another forgettable race, Team Pramac will try to start a new season, and Mugello, a key event for Ducati, is certainly the right race to start again, more motivated than ever.

Fabiano Sterlacchini Pramac Racing Technical Director

"Another unlucky race, to be forgotten. Something always goes wrong. We keep having high side problems with the bikes and maybe we should revaluate the technical rules of the championship. Too many riders fall too easily during the firsts laps and to my point of view this is not causality. Randy has made a mistake, but he is not the only rider who had this kind of accident. Now we have to try to stay focused and dont lose our concentration to improve our results starting from the next Grand Prix at Mugello".

Marco Rigamonti - Randy De Puniet Technical Engineer

"When we have the opportunity to fight for an important position in the standing we always find a complication. We are quite disappointed, mostly because we never managed to end a race with dry track conditions. Randy has to be calm now and he cant lose his concentration because this could be the worst thing. He has to stay focused and dont be afraid to push to the maximum. We have to reset everything, from Mugello a new season is beginning for us.

Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Team Rider DNF


"I am really upset for what happened today. I wanted to end this race with a good result, but I slipped at the beginning of the second lap. This negative period seem a never-ending story for me and for my Team. Today I could have at list finish in eight or ninth position. I am very sorry and I have to apologize specially to my Team and my technicians, who are working always in the best way possible for me, but today I made a big mistake and I lost control of my bike. I hope that the Ducati will be ready to give the best at Mugello, I will sure push to the maximum to do well.

 

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Edwards and Crutchlow denied top five in Assen

Team Tech3Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow both saw deserved top five finishes in the Iveco TT Assen elude them at the legendary Circuit van Drenthe this afernoon.

After rain had played a major part in the earlier 125cc and Moto2 races, the 26-lap race started on a dry but cold track, with threatening grey clouds still looming overhead as the action commenced.

With air temperatures only just reaching a cold 13 degrees and the earlier rain affecting grip levels, Edwards and Crutchlow both fitted the soft compound Bridgestone front tyre to their Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team machines. Crutchlow made the best start of his MotoGP career and ended the first lap in fourth place, the British rider showing phenomenal early speed to chase Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso.

Ignoring the pain of the recovering left collarbone he broke at Silverstone just 15 days ago, the adrenaline fuelled 25-year-old superbly kept nine-times World Champion Valentino Rossi at bay until he started to encounter a front tyre grip issue after five laps.

Determined to overcome the issue to claim his first top six MotoGP finish, he fought brilliantly to remain in the top six until lap 11 when the problem worsened. The 2009 World Supersport champion opted to pit for a new front tyre on lap 13 and he demonstrated his true potential again in the second half of the race to set a fast and consistent pace on his way to 14th.

American Edwards also encountered a front tyre grip issue as the race avoided any repeat of the earlier rain. Once he'd settled into a fast pace, Edwards was comfortably cutting the gap to Crutchlow and Rossi when his front tyre started to lose traction.

He held fifth until lap 17 when he was unable to hold off compatriot Nicky Hayden. Edwards also then encountered a rare arm pump issue caused as he tried to compensate for the muscle damage to his left ribcage suffered in a recent crash at the Catalunya. Despite his best efforts the 37-year-old was unable to maintain his pace and he dropped down the order to finish in seventh position.

Colin Edwards 7th ? 46 points:

?That wasn't an easy race at all and to be honest I'm happy I made it to the finish. I was feeling really good and catching Valentino and Cal when I went through the second corner and lost the front. I thought it was just because I was pushing but the next corner the same thing happened and from that moment it was really difficult. Each time I was in a right-hander I couldn't turn but that wasn't my only issue today. After about ten laps I got really bad arm pump. I've got no upper body strength with the rib injury from Catalunya, so to compensate I was doing everything with my arms and at one stage, the combination of the two issues meant I thought I was going to have to pull in. It was a case of gritting my teeth and getting some points but we'll analyse what happened because Ben (Spies) won the race on the soft front tyre. Our bike isn't set-up completely different, so we'll have to talk to Bridgestone, but hats off to Ben because he's done an awesome job all weekend and rode a great race."

Cal Crutchlow 14th ? 32 points:

?Looking at the positives I got a fantastic start and for the first few laps I was running close to the front in a MotoGP race for the first time. I felt confident I could keep Valentino behind me but then after about five or six laps I started struggling with the front tyre on the right side. I had no choice but to come in and change it because if I had carried on pushing it was going to be easy to crash and that's the last thing I need to be doing at the moment. Having only had surgery on my left collarbone just over a week ago I just couldn't afford to have another crash. Without that I've no doubt I'd have finished fourth but I've proved again I've got the speed and shown that I can race with the best in this class. It wasn't the final result we wanted but I can't change it and I still learned a lot, so now I'm concentrating on Mugello and getting a good result there.?

Herv? Poncharal: Team Manager:

"It was a brilliant start for both Cal and Colin and at that moment, after the incident between Simoncelli and Lorenzo, I was thinking that they could finish with a really strong Team result. The lap time was looking good from both of them and we were hoping they could finish inside the top six together for the first time this season. But suddenly we saw the lap time of Cal drop a lot and he came to the pit where we found out that the right side of his soft front tyre was completely finished. So he left the pit again with a hard compound, but of course his race was finished, though I want to thank him for going back and pushing to his maximum for the Team. It was only a few laps later also Colin's pace went down. He managed to defend seventh position but by the end he was very slow with the same problem as Cal. Unfortunately that is racing and in those conditions you have to take a bit of a gamble, as we almost had no proper dry time on the track. Finally I'd like to say congratulations to Yamaha and Ben. This weekend was huge for Yamaha being its 50th anniversary celebrations and for Ben to win was the perfect way to finish the weekend.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

GOOD RACE FOR ROSSI AND HAYDEN AT DUTCH TT

Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden earned fourth and fifth places, respectively, in the Dutch TT on a day marked by difficult weather conditions, with cold temperatures resulting in a number of early crashes.

The warm-up session was wet, but the track began to dry out before the race, and the MotoGP riders changed their setups on the grid and replaced their rain tyres with slicks.

Valentino Rossi quickly advanced from eleventh position to fourth, thanks to a strong start and a good feeling with his bike, while Hayden posted his best dry result of the season.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 4th

?We?re pretty satisfied with this result because compared to practice, we made a big improvement in the race. It would have been nice had we found the right direction more quickly, but this is a new bike that we?re still learning to work with, so obviously it takes some experience to get it right. In the end, we managed to find a setup that allowed me to ride pretty well but, not having tried it before, I approached the first laps very carefully. To be honest, we were also a little unlucky, because the rain during the warm-up prevented us from trying the changes. Anyway, the weekend was positive overall, because we got confirmation that this bike is better in many ways, especially with regard to the rear end, which is now much more stable. On the other hand, we also know that we must keep working because we still have a gap to the competition to make up. It?s not as big as the time we lost today in terms of seconds, but it?s still there. Still, we?re all trying really hard, and we must continue to do so.?

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 5th

?Conditions have been all over the place all weekend, and the race wasn?t any different. We went out with a rain setup, but we saw that it was drying quickly and changed to a complete dry setup on the grid. There were a couple of little wet patches early on, but it was okay. We made a small change for the race, but nothing big. The first lap or two, the tyres heated up and I felt really good. Then I made a couple of early mistakes. I touched a white line and also pushed the front once and had to go straight at the chicane. Colin passed me, and then I managed to drag him back. I can?t celebrate fifth place too much, but it?s my best dry result of the year and puts us fifth in the points. Congratulations to Ben, who?s a fellow American. I wish it was me, but he and his team deserve it.?


Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)

?I think we got a good team result today with both Vale and Nicky. With Valentino we went into the race with a different setup than what he used in practice, without being able to confirm it in the warm-up, which was made useless by the rain. It was a calculated risk for Valentino and the team, but it proved to be the right choice, as it paid off with a good result considering the problems in practice. Nicky also had a nice race, as it would have been really easy to make a mistake today. He?s doing a good job and working hard, as always, and he brought home some good points to put him fifth in the championship. We still have to work to improve because we want to take another step forward as soon as possible.?