The first day of practice at the Iveco TT Assen was shortened substantially when the afternoon practice sessions for all three categories were cancelled. Heavy rain during the first practice sessions claimed many riders in crashes, particularly in the Moto2 class which saw the heaviest rain. Italian rider Alex Baldolini inadvertently left a trail of oil over a considerable portion of the track when he reentered following a crash in the Moto2 session, which caused problems. The clean up work initially delayed the start of the FP2 125cc session, which was due to begin at 13:15, and then finally forced a full cancellation of the afternoon sessions when the MotoGP FP2 was unable to start, despite a team of clean-up trucks spending close to two hours scrubbing oil spilled over one third of the circuit. The session losses will be compensated for each class on Friday, where 125cc will have a one hour practice beginning at 8:40, MotoGP will have time extended to an hour and a half beginning at 9:50, and Moto2 will be on the track for an hour and five minutes with a start time of 11:30. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) started the weekend off the best way possible, lapping 0.360s ahead of Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi who is on board the GP11.1 Desmosedici for the Dutch TT. Completing the top three was Repsol Honda rider and series leader Casey Stoner, who was close to half a second down on Rossi in the morning practice session. The two Italians had tussled to lead the timings early in the session, swapping first and second fastest positions until the Australian stepped into the mix. All three pulled out fast laps at the close of the session, with Simoncelli coming out on top. The three were followed by Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) in fourth and Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) in fifth. Cal Crutchlow, after breaking his collarbone only two weeks ago at his home Silverstone race, stuck in out for 13 laps to lay down a time that put him sixth in the standings. Rookie Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing) carried his form over from the weekend in Silverstone with the seventh fastest time, finishing the practice ahead of Americans Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) in eighth, Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) ninth and Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) in tenth. Spanish rider Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) followed with 11th place. Hiroshi Aoyama who is replacing the injured Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda Team, put in a 12th fastest time in the wet session. Moto2 Current leader of the Moto2 pack, Stefan Bradl put the heat on his intermediate category rivals in the rainy Assen FP1. Viessmann Kiefer Racing rider Bradl opened up the first Moto2 practice session of the Iveco TT Assen weekend riding his Kalex machine to the top of the timesheet with a best lap of 1’54.435 on the historic Dutch circuit. Kenan Sofuoglu (Technomag-CIP) was second fastest, less than three tenths behind the German with Simone Corsi (Ioda Racing Project), who is currently second in the Championship, third quickest in the wet. Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing), who is now third in the Championship, was 0.83s adrift of Bradl’s pace in fourth. Last year’s race winner Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) lead in the beginning of the session though crashed out in the first 15 minutes. The Italian’s first laps were quick enough to put him fifth in the times, Thomas Lüthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing), Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda Singha-SAG), Pol Espargaró (HP Tuenti Speed Up) – who crashed before the end of the session- and American rider Kenny Noyes (Avintia-STX) all registering top ten times. The adverse weather claimed several more riders, with a sudden spate of crashes bringing out the red flag, and later the cancellation of the session, with four minutes remaining due to oil spillage on the track. But not before Elena Rosell, the replacement rider for Julián Simon on the Mapfre Aspar team, crashed twice, Axel Pons (Pons HP 40), Javier Forés (Mapfre Aspar) and Ricky Cardús (QMMF Racing Team), among others, crashed out of the session in various corners. 125cc GP Jonas Folger (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) set the fastest time in the first 125cc practice of the Iveco TT Assen. Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) and Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing Team) followed with second and third quickest times. The 125cc riders hit the track for the first day of practice in preparation for the Iveco TT Assen. The weekend weather did not indicate it would be an easy weekend however, as under cloudy skies rain began to fall 15 minutes into the first 40 minutes of the single cylinder practice session. Many riders returned to the pits with the first drops of rain, with many riders remaining in the pits until the last 15 minutes. Folger, despite an offtrack excursion, managed a lap of 1’47.191, which put him on top of the timings. Fellow countryman Cortese followed 0.387s behind, with Spaniard Viñales nearly a second behind Folger’s time. Points leader Nicolas Terol (Bankia Aspar) was fourth fastest of the session. Niklas Ajo (TT Motion Events Racing) was an early crasher, with several riders crashing in the last minutes of FP1 as the weather worsened, including Danny Webb (Mahindra Racing), Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo), Josep Rodríguez (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) and Simone Grotzkyj (Phonica Racing). More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: 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. Álvaro 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. Álvaro 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.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Simoncelli fastest in the morning; afternoon sessions cancelled Round 7: Dutch TT Free Practice One & Two TT Assen Circuit, Thursday 23 June 2011 Bridgestone wet compounds available: Front: Soft. Rear: Soft San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli was fastest in this morning’s wet free practice session, but the afternoon running was cancelled after an oil spill in the first Moto2 practice couldn’t be sufficiently cleared and left track conditions too treacherous. The 45 minute morning free practice was completely wet as rain fell intermittently all morning, never giving the tarmac a chance to dry. In the conditions, Simoncelli topped the standings ahead of Valentino Rossi on a heavily revised Ducati with Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner third fastest. The inconsistent nature of Assen’s tarmac, brought about by the many circuit revisions over the years, makes conditions ever trickier in the wet as the grip is unpredictable. The newer sections are slippery whereas the older parts are more abrasive and thus more grippy, and managing the transition from one to the other is crucial. The forecast for the rest of the weekend is for the overcast weather to continue, so although today’s running was reduced by half and many riders and teams had hoped for dry conditions in which they can gain more valuable setup data, at least the teams and riders have now completed laps on Bridgestone’s wet tyres already. Running will recommence tomorrow with the next MotoGP free practice starting at 0950hrs local time. In a change to the schedule brought about by today’s events, tomorrow morning’s free practice will be doubled in length to 90 minutes to make up for the loss of this afternoon’s track time. Hirohide Hamashima Assistant to Director, Motorsport Tyre Development Division “Obviously it is a shame that the afternoon session had to be cancelled, but of course we support this decision from the officials on the grounds of safety. It will have interrupted the teams’ schedules for this weekend, but at least they will get the track time back tomorrow with the extension of the final free practice session. This morning the track was very wet and slippery and the temperature was quite low at just 18 degrees Celsius, but the performance of our soft wets was good and the times at the front were competitive. Many riders used just one set of wets for the whole session and performance was consistent so although today’s running was short I am satisfied.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: MOTOGP SECOND FREE SESSION CANCELLED AT HISTORIC ASSEN CIRCUIT Assen, 23 June: the seventh round of the season at the historic Assen race track marks the tenth anniversary of Toni Elias’s win here aboard a Honda in the 125cc class. The 28-year-old Spaniard returns for his 12th visit to the circuit in northern Holland hoping to continue on the progress he made in Great Britain but today the Moto2 reigning World Champion and his colleagues had to sit out the second free session due to slippery asphalt conditions. Heavy rains affected this morning first free session at the Dutch circuit with Elias on the 14th position of the classification whilst during the Moto2 practice the marshals displayed the red flag and later the cancellation of the session with four minutes remaining due to oil spoilage on track. For safety reason Elias and his colleagues will be back on track tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time. Elias: “This morning we have tested two different settings in the wet and one of those two was a good one for my riding style. Well… if it rains again tomorrow I have got good chances to ride faster. Of course this session cancellation does not help anybody: I had a list of adjustments to fix but I can not do anything now. Let’s see what happens tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Repsol Honda Team encounter strange conditions in Assen Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Hiroshi Aoyama, replacement for the injured Dani Pedrosa, were greeted with very wet conditions in the first session today in Assen. Stoner and Dovizioso, third and fourth respectively after the end of the first forty-five minute practice session, spent their time working on general set up and grip issues. Aoyama, the first man out on track, was eager to make the most of his first session the RC212V, and also attack the Assen circuit for the first time on a MotoGP machine. In the afternoon, all three Repsol Honda Riders were looking to continue set up work on their bikes, however, after an oil spill on track from the Moto2 class, Free Practice 2 was cancelled until tomorrow morning, when the riders will be able to make use of a longer 90 minute session to finalise set up for Qualifying in the afternoon. CASEY STONER 3rd 1’49.527 “This morning’s session was good to get some more data on the wet set up as we still don’t have that much experience in these conditions on the RC212V. We worked on getting the general set up of the bike a little better and also with the edge of the tyre where we wanted to try and create more heat. We concentrated on this in the morning session and the last exit was a little better but unfortunately we didn’t have enough laps to warm the tyre up and find any real advantage. This afternoon we wanted to continue with this but unfortunately due to an oil spill on track from the Moto2 class we had to forefit the session and we’ll come back tomorrow and see what we can do”. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th 1’49.640 “This morning I found a good feeling with the bike and we were able to be fast from the beginning. There was not so much grip so between the first and the second exits we made a change to improve this and in the second outing the bike worked better. We had planned another change in the afternoon session as we have margin to improve but today we rode well without taking too many risks. It’s a shame we couldn’t test this afternoon after the oil spill on track but FP3 will be longer tomorrow to recover this time. Depending on the weather, we will continue where we left off today”. HIROSHI AOYAMA 12th 1’53.132 “This morning I was a little nervous because it was my first time on the Honda factory bike and also in Assen on a MotoGP bike as I missed the race last year due to injury. It was a pity because in wet conditions I couldn’t compare my bike with this one, but from the beginning the feeling was not so bad, the bike seems a little bit smoother than my one, but I cannot say much at the moment, I simply need more laps on the bike. Unfortunately, this afternoon the practice was cancelled due to track conditions but tomorrow we will a have longer session which is good. The plan was for me to adapt to the bike more than actually making any changes on the bike to suit me, so we will stick to this plan also for tomorrow and I hope to improve the feeling and go faster”. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow returns in style in Dutch deluge Courageous Cal Crutchlow made a stunning return to MotoGP action at the legendary Assen circuit today, the British rider ending a disrupted opening day of practice with the sixth fastest time. Riding just 12 days after he broke his left collarbone in a qualifying crash for his home round at Silverstone, Crutchlow braved the pain to produce a heroic performance in treacherous conditions this morning. Rain battered the Assen circuit, known as the The Cathedral of motorcycle racing, but Crutchlow was immediately able to regain his confidence on board his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine to post a best time of 1.50.386. Crutchlow was confident he could imp rove his pace this afternoon but the second practice was cancelled after an oil spillage during the earlier Moto2 session. Despite the best efforts of Assen circuit staff, the spillage could not be cleared in time and all practice sessions were cancelled. Colin Edwards was satisfied with his eighth position in this morning’s session, the American showing his wet weather riding skills again less than two weeks after his fantastic third place in a rain-hit British Grand Prix. Edwards is still regaining full fitness after he broke his right collarbone during practice for the Catalunya race earlier this month, but muscle damage around his right ribcage was causing him considerably less discomfort than in Silverstone. The 37-year-old was able to clock a best time of 1.50.968 and he’s confident further improvements to the wet set-up of his YZR-M1 will help him move further up the order with more rain forecast tomorrow. As a result of today’s disruption, Crutchlow and Edwards will take part in an extended third practice, with an extra 45 minutes added tomorrow morning. Cal Crutchlow 6th 1.50.386 13 laps: “I was happy enough this morning but the rain has made it easier for me. I think it would be really difficult in the dry, particularly changing direction in the fast chicanes. The last chicane is quite difficult because you go from right to left and that is even worse on the shoulder. The shoulder just feels quite sore and I’m pretty cautious with it. I’m definitely aware of it and when I start to go fast I think I should slow down a bit. In the wet conditions it doesn’t hurt that much, but I’m really wary because the last thing I need is another crash on it. I had a few rear grip issues with th e bike but there is no reason why we can’t improve that. The track felt really slippery this morning but we need to find some rear grip on corner entry. To be honest I hope it rains all weekend because it will make it easier on me. If it’s a dry race then it will be a long 26-laps on Saturday with a plate and a load of screws in my collarbone, but I will do my best as always.” Colin Edwards 8th 1.50.968 15 laps: “I felt pretty good this morning after we came back to a setting that was similar to what used to get on the podium at Silverstone a couple of weeks ago. The first 15 minutes this morning we made some changes to the rain set-up we thought would make the bike better than what I ran in the race at Silverstone but it wasn’t the step forward we expected. We were trying to get some more rear grip but it made the bike too nervous and too twitchy and I wasn’t as comfortab le and confident as I felt in Silverstone. That cost me a bit of track time but once we reverted back to the setting that was close to what I used in Silverstone, I could push at my normal level. Physically I feel great. The collarbone feels fantastic and the muscle damage around the ribs I damaged in the Catalunya crash is a lot less painful. I sneezed in bed last night and didn’t cry for the first time in about three weeks, so that’s a bonus.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: 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.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: 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 Baldolini’s bike lost oil during the Moto2 class’s first session. Everything is therefore postponed until tomorrow, with the final free-practice session scheduled for 09:50 a.m. During today’s 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 Italian’s staff preferred to postpone the debut of its new frame until tomorrow, while Randy De Puniet tried it, although the Frenchman didn’t have a positive outing in the rain. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Team Technical Director “We really didn’t need the oil on the track. These days, when we haven’t been so lucky, we need as much track time as possible to try and improve our situation. In Loris’s case, we’ll try to speed up some solutions. We’ll dismiss some options without trying them, and some we’ll 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 tomorrow’s bike with some new updates, including the frame of course. However, we’re forced to try it without making comparisons, although it’s 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 bike’s 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 we’ll 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 weren’t able to get on the track. I can’t yet judge the new frame, but Rossi and Hayden have had positive feedback on it in the dry.” More, from a press release issued by QMMF Moto2 Team: Promising comeback for Cardús- Al Naimi with high hopes at Assen QMMF Racing Team rider Ricky Cardús, who had missed both the Barcelona and the Silverstone Grand Prix due to appendicitis, made a promising comeback with 15th place in the first free practice session for the Dutch TT at Assen. The 23-year-old from Barcelona, who had never been on the Assen circuit before, needed just 14 laps to familiarize himself with the fast and demanding 4.5 kilometre circuit. Cardús also fell off twice at his first-ever Assen experience, with crash number two being a consequence of an oil spill caused by Italian rider Alex Baldolini the same massive oil spill that eventually lead to the cancellation of all the afternoon sessions on the first day. Team-mate Mashel Al-Naimi, who is competing at Assen for the second time but who wasn’t in his best form one year ago because of an injury, rode to 37th place but is nevertheless confident to go much quicker in final practice on Friday. “15th place in his first practice session after almost 20 days of recovery at home is a good result for Ricky”, said team coordinator Luis Solano. “We know that he’s got great talent in the rain and that he has good feeling in this condition, so we are confident that there is even more to come. For Mashel on the other side, the conditions were still very difficult. He doesn’t particularly like the rain and on this fast track, you need to be brave and you need a lot of confidence. But he is determined to work his way through his difficulties and to improve!” Mashel Al Naimi 37th in 2.01,616 “I started here last year straight after an operation and I didn’t have a good pace then. But this time, I’m ready to go much quicker and to improve on last year’s result. It was an odd first practice session with rain showers coming and going, and then the oil spill happened and ruined the rest of the day. But I am happy because I am back to my usual good feeling in the rain. I hope to make a good result no matter what the conditions will be!” Ricky Cardús 15th in 1.57,137 “It was not much fun to sit at home while my rivals in this class kept on racing, especially since I wasn’t able to do much. I only did a little bit of light exercise at the gym, because with an internal injury, it is better to take it easy. Now I am happy to be back at the races, and I am also happy with what we achieved today. I can’t say a lot about the circuit yet because we only did 14 laps in the wet, but considering that it was my first time here at Assen, I can’t complain about my 15th place. I had two silly little crashes, the second one because of the oil spill, but that’s part of racing and luckily nothing bad happened. Now I am determined to do even better tomorrow!” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: DUTCH DISRUPTION FOR MARC VDS Marc VDS Racing riders Mika Kallio and Scott Redding’s preparations for the Iveco TT Assen were badly disrupted today after two major oil spills forced the cancellation of this afternoon’s second practice session. Oil was dropped on large sections of the famous Circuit van Drenthe during the final stages of this morning’s opening Moto2 practice, forcing organisers to red flag the session on safety grounds. Finnish rider Kallio had earlier adapted brilliantly to tricky conditions as forecast rain fell heavily on the track and he set a best time of 1.56.145 to finish seventh fastest. British rider Redding was confident of improving the wet set-up of his Suter MMXI machine after he splashed his way to a brilliant season best fifth place in a rain-lashed Silverstone round 12 days ago. But a minor electrical fault slowed his progress and he ended the shortened session down the rankings in 31st position, a result that certainly doesn’t reflect the 18-year-old’s potential for Saturday’s 24-lap race. Mika Kallio #36 – 1.56.145 – 15 laps – 7th position “It was quite a frustrating day but I think it was the best decision to cancel this afternoon’s session. I felt quite comfortable this morning even though the track didn’t have as much grip as I expected. We worked on improving my feeling with the bike in the rain after we found a decent set-up at Silverstone, but we’ll have to wait and see what the track conditions are like tomorrow. With all the rain and oil, track conditions could be quite different and that is an area where I need to improve. A few times this season when the grip level has changed from one day to the next, I have found it quite difficult, so we’ll concentrate on that for the whole day tomorrow and try and get a good position on the grid.” Scott Redding #45 – 1.59.017- 12 laps – 31st position “Today wasn’t an easy day with the rain and the small technical problem this morning followed by second practice being cancelled because of the dropped oil. We had a small electrical fault and the bike wasn’t running properly, so without that issue I know I would have been much higher up. The track was quite strange today because Assen normally has really good grip in the rain, but this morning I didn’t have a lot of confidence. The bike set-up felt quite harsh but I’m not too fazed by it and a few tweaks overnight and we should be in business. I was fast in the rain at Silverstone and I know we can improve the bike from there in the wet, so if we get more rain tomorrow I’ll be ready for it.” Trevor Morris – Mika Kallio Crew Chief “Mika felt pretty confident on the bike today and we concentrated on improving his feeling from the wet race at Silverstone. We ran almost the same set-up but he was a little bit surprised by the track conditions. He expected the grip to be better but it was actually worse than Silverstone. We had a small issue with the front suspension but it is just a setting issue and not a confidence or feel problem. We weren’t going to change anything for the afternoon session but just do some laps to get some more confidence. Mika was strong in the rain in Silverstone, so with more wet conditions predicted, I’m confident he can challenge for the top ten in qualifying and the race.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: 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.” More, from a press release issued by Kenny Noyes’ publicist: Kenny Noyes Finds New Confidence From 10th Fastest Time On Thursday After a dismal weekend at Silverstone, Kenny Noyes has found just the medicine he needed to wash the blues away at Assen. The American and his Avintia-STX team made a major change to his FOGI Racing FTR, and the change transformed the bike totally. Now comfortable on the bike once again, Noyes ended a wet and difficult FP1 session in 10th place, his best result of the season so far. Unfortunately for Kenny, a very severe oil spillage caused the Moto2 FP1 session to be red-flagged, and the resulting clean-up operation meant that the afternoon sessions at Assen were canceled. But after such a morale-boosting session on Thursday, Kenny faces a full day of practice on Friday confident of running where his potential shows he belongs. Kenny Noyes 10th, Fastest Lap: 1’56.585 Kenny said, “We definitely made a big step today. The big step in the bike means a big step in my confidence, and I feel we have a base again, something to build on. The best thing about the session today was to go out and feel my tires again, feel what the bike is doing, and be able to feel the limits and feel comfortable on the bike.” “We’ve had a lot of problems during the season, and I think Silverstone was the worst, as far as my confidence in the bike was so low, that everything was really difficult. And here in difficult conditions, I felt comfortable. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the second session, ‘cos I’m sure we could have continued to improve a little. But we’re back where we want to be, and now we’ve just got to start working, now we have a base.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team: GP of The Netherlands, practice The first day at the Assen circuit ends with the afternoon free practice cancelled due to track conditions, which became impossible to contend with thanks to a long strip of oil left by the crashed Moto2 machines at the end of FP1. Alex De Angelis took to the track this morning determined to investigate the technical aspects that still leave room for improvement, as well as to familiarize himself with his MotoBI in the rain. Despite being only the first few laps he managed to snatch a 1’56.845s lap which means the 12th provisional position. On lap six a puddle of water triggered a fall, in which the official MotoBI was damaged in such a way that did not allow the JiR Team’s rider to resume riding before the end of the session. The technicians headed by Pietro Caprara worked flat-out so that the bike was ready to get on track for the second free practice. These efforts were in vain following the cancellation of the afternoon session. The organisers announced that in order to make up the time lost, tomorrow morning’s session will be 90 minutes instead of the usual 45. Alex DeAngelis We have no particular information about our potential because this morning I had only six laps before falling! Now I will talk with my technicians and study the data we have as tomorrow morning’s practice session will be longer than normal to recover the time we lost and we should exploit it to the maximum to define the set-up we will use in qualifying.