The Ducati Team heads to ‘The Cathedral’ for the Dutch TT at Assen

With the Barcelona race behind them, the Ducati Team are now heading north to the Netherlands for the eighth round of the 2014 MotoGP World Championship at the Assen TT circuit. As well as being the oldest race on the calendar (the first edition was held in 1949), the Dutch GP is also the only race that is traditionally held on a Saturday. The circuit has undergone a number of modifications over the years, but what has never changed is the incredible number of fans that flock to the circuit every year,

Dovizioso, who does not rate Assen as one of his favourite circuits, has however stepped onto the podium twice recently in the MotoGP category, with a third place in both 2011 and 2012. His team-mate Crutchlow on the other hand does like the Dutch track, and in fact last year the British rider qualified on the front row for the first time ever in MotoGP, eventually finishing third.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04)

“Assen is a strange track because of the layout and also because of the weather conditions that we normally find during the race weekend. For us last year’s race was very difficult, but after the result we obtained in Barcelona, where we cut the gap to the leaders by half from 2013, we hope to continue this positive trend in the Netherlands.”

Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team #35)

“Assen is definitely one of the tracks in the championship that I like the most. I had a great race there last year, taking the pole and sharing the podium with Rossi and Marquez. There’s no doubt my championship so far has been difficult, but I’m going to Assen with confidence, and we’ll all give 100%, you can be sure of that.”

The Assen TT Circuit

Since its inauguration in 1949, Assen has held a Grand Prix every year, first on public roads and then from 1954 on the track known as the Dutch TT. The circuit is located amidst grassy banks with numerous grandstands and a seating capacity of 64,500. In 2002 the circuit was modernized and a new grandstand, race control tower, revamped garages and media centre were added. The track was then modified in 2005, with its 6 km lap distance first reduced to 4.555 km and then to its current length of 4.542 km.

Fastest lap: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2012), 1’34.548 (172.9 km/h)

Qualifying: Casey Stoner (Honda – 2012), 1’33.713 (174.4 km/h)

Track length: 4.542 km

Race length: 26 laps (118.1 km)

Corners: 18 (6 left, 12 right)

Race start: 14.00 local time (GMT +2)

Andrea Dovizioso

Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP14

Race number: 04

Age: 28 (born on 23 March 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)

Residence: Forlì (Italy)

Races: 211 (113 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)

First GP: 2001 Italian GP (125cc)

Wins: 10 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)

First win: 2004 South African GP (125cc)

Poles: 14 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 9 x 125cc)

First pole: 2003 French GP (125cc)

World titles: 1 (1 x 125cc)

Cal Crutchlow

Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP14

Race number: 35

Age: 28 (born on 29 October 1985 in Coventry, UK)

Residence: Isle of Man

Races: 58 (58 x MotoGP)

First GP: 2011 Qatar

Poles: 2

First pole: 2013 Assen TT