After a successful round of the World Championship in Valencia — in which the Stiggy Racing Honda team secured a top-five finish in both Superbike races and came close to their first Supersport victory of this season — the team is now preparing for the next battle at the famous Dutch TT Circuit in Assen. Anthony West was in good form in the Supersport race and came close to taking his first Supersport victory on the Stiggy Racing Honda, but lost the lead in the ultimate lap of the race to Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow. Despite the improved performance of West’s Honda CBR600RR, Crutchlow’s last-minute pass left him with little room for a countermove on the tight Spanish track, and the Australian had to settle for second. This weekend, Anthony West is going to be a man on a mission, as he will eagerly set out to make amends for the last race and try to secure his first victory for the team in Assen. In the tight Supersport Championship standings, Crutchlow and Sofuoglu are currently tied for first position, while West shares second place on the leader board with Laverty and Pitt, just 11 points off the leaders. Teammate Gianluca Vizziello is set to improve his performance in Assen this weekend after a newly introduced way of working with his crew already showed results in the Valencia race. The Italian had to deal with some issues with the setup of his bike, but managed to finish the race in 11th position. The Stiggy Racing Honda Superbike team are on a mission of their own after Leon Haslam gave another great performance in the Valencia round and set the standard for his new teammate John Hopkins. Leon Haslam finished both races in a superb fifth position, while John Hopkins marked his arrival to the Superbike series with an 11th and 12th place, respectively, taking home his first points. While Hopkins’ focus in his first outings lies on getting used to his new bike and new tyres, Haslam is eager to continue in his competitive form at the front of the Superbike field and climb up the championship rankings. The highest placed Honda in the standings — currently holding a fifth place — will be challenged to use the full potential of his CBR1000RR Fireblade on the fast Dutch track, and to secure another top result for the Stiggy Racing Honda team. Leon Haslam, WSBK: “I am really looking forward to the next race in Assen. I have raced on the old circuit before, and am looking forward to racing the new parts of the track, especially the first section. There is always a really good English fan base in Assen as well. We have some parts for the bike to test this weekend, which will hopefully further improve the bike.” John Hopkins, WSBK: “The first round of the championship has been a challenging experience. I had not been on a bike for a couple of months and then came straight into the series and had to do two races in a row. Leon has definitely set the standards on the Stiggy Racing Honda and I will need to chase him down first before I can take on the rest of the field. I consider these first races to be part of the learning experience, but I have proved that I can do the lap times and am eager to go for a good result in Assen this weekend.” Anthony West, WSS: “I am looking forward to racing in Assen this weekend. It is a great track out there and I love riding it. We have been working on the development of the engines in the last weeks, which should improve the speed needed on the fast straights of the track in Assen. I really want to win the race this weekend after I got so close to the victory in the last round. I am glad I was on the podium again in Valencia after the disappointment in Qatar and am not planning on backing off now. I am going out there to win and hope I can succeed in doing so.” Gianluca Vizziello, WSS: “I hope to be able to improve by another three or four positions in the next race. I have been struggling with the setup of my bike through the Valencia weekend, but will hopefully be able to improve the bike in the qualifying sessions this weekend and qualify further up the grid. I like the track in Assen a lot and would like to achieve a good result for my team.” Johan Stigefelt, Teammanager: “It is going to be an interesting weekend for us, but we will arrive at Assen well prepared after the Valencia race. We have solved some of the technical issues we had in the last race, and we have some new engine parts to test this weekend. Everybody in the team has been working hard to make the improvements. “I think Anthony will be one of our best options for a top result in Assen, he loves the track and is eager to perform after his last race in Valencia. Assen is also one of Gianluca’s favourite tracks, and I hope he will show a good performance there as well. John has had a pole position, and finished the race on the podium in a MotoGP race in Assen. Leon is the only one who hasn’t been riding the new track yet, but I am confident he will adapt quickly. “It will be important for us to run up front in the Supersport race. The Superbike is still a learning curve to us, but we are aiming for good results in every outing. We would like to stay in front of the other Honda’s on the grid and show just how competitive our bike is. I am optimistic for the weekend and am looking forward to racing in Assen.”