MotoGP rolls on to the Netherlands for A-Style TT Assen A-Style TT Assen Tuesday 26th June Race preview In a run of two races in less than seven days, MotoGP arrives in Assen for the traditional event on the last Saturday in June – the latest edition of the ever-present TT race for the World Championship. Casey Stoner heads to the Netherlands direct from Donington, the scene of his fifth victory of the season. The Australian has a superb record thus far in 2007, with his lowest position being a highly respectable fifth, and he is currently sitting pretty 26 points ahead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship standings. Whatever happens at Assen this Saturday, Stoner will maintain his control of the classification at the midway point of the season. Last year the 21-year old finished fourth onboard a Honda in his rookie appearance at the ‘Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing’. Five-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will be riding at one of his favourite tracks, hopefully in better condition than last year. The Italian has won at Assen five times in all classes, but was prevented from mounting a serious challenge for a sixth victory in 2006 by hand and foot injuries suffered in practice. Currently lying second in the championship, Rossi lost out on the chance to close the gap between himself and Stoner at Donington, and is already taking the young starlet’s title challenge very seriously indeed. Third in the championship hunt, Dani Pedrosa has now gone 16 races without a victory, as the top two begin to distance themselves from the 2006 Rookie of the Year. Honda are yet to triumph with an 800cc bike, but took victory at Assen last year courtesy of World Champion Nicky Hayden for the factory team. A second podium of the season at Donington takes Chris Vermeulen up to fourth in the classification, ahead of Suzuki team-mate John Hopkins and Honda satellite rider Marco Melandri in a group separated by just seven points. Colin Edwards returns to Assen with some demons to avenge. ‘The Texas Tornado’ was on course for victory at last season’s race, battling with Nicky Hayden for the win until losing control of his Yamaha M1 on the final corner. One smashed dashboard and a mixed season later, Edwards returns to the Netherlands with morale at a high, following on from a great pole and second place at Donington. Alex Barros, Loris Capirossi and Toni Elias complete the top ten. Practice for the A-Style TT Assen starts on Thursday, with the race itself taking place on the traditional Assen day of Saturday. 250cc In 250cc, the championship picture became a much tighter affair following events in Britain. Runaway leader Jorge Lorenzo crashed out of the race, whilst Andrea Dovizioso closed the previous 36 point gap to just 11 with a wet victory. Lorenzo won last year’s race at Assen, ahead of the quarter litre category’s current third placed rider Alex de Angelis and Dovizioso. Saturday’s race could be the turning point of the season: will Dovizioso be able to catch his Spanish rival, or will the reigning World Champion soak up the pressure and re-establish a gap? Only the top three have a chance to leave Assen in charge, but a number of other riders can also make up some ground with a good performance. The main contender to break into the title picture is reigning 125cc World Champion Alvaro Bautista, who already holds his first pole and win in the category. Further behind, Hector Barbera and Julian Simon complete the top eight. 125cc The 125cc category continues to be without a definitive leader, and has experienced seven different race winners this season. Hector Faubel is currently at the top of the standings, holding a 3 point advantage over Aspar team-mate Gabor Talmacsi. Behind the Aspar duo, things are just as tightly packed. Lukas Pesek, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Simone Corsi are separated by just eight points, after varying form in recent races. All of the top six have a Grand Prix win to their name in 2007, and will be gunning for a second at Assen this Saturday. Circuit Info Modifications to the Assen circuit over the winter of 2005/6 saw the length of the championship’s longest serving track cut from over 6km down to 4.555km/2.83miles, with the majority of the Northern Loop section giving way to new parking and viewing areas, although the legendary banked Strubben corner remains in situ. The Circuit van Drenthe is the only venue to have held a round of the MotoGP World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. The circuit was purpose built for the Dutch TT in 1954, with previous events having been held on public roads. The track is narrow, with rapid changes in direction, and is fully surrounded by grass banks and grandstands, providing excellent viewing for the hundreds of thousands of fanatical spectators who are drawn to the most prestigious event in Dutch motorsport every year. A huge favourite with riders, Assen is well known for its festive and extravagant atmosphere. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: Assen – Grand Prix of The Netherlands Event: Dutch TT – Preview Date: 28, 29 & 30 June 2007 Assen EUROPEAN FRONT CONTINUES FOR FIAT YAMAHA TEAM AT ASSEN Just days after safely negotiating the waters of a soaking wet Donington Park, the Fiat Yamaha Team continue their adventures this week with a trip across the North Sea to Holland, in preparation for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship. The 77th edition of the Dutch TT at Assen sees Valentino Rossi chasing a 26-point gap to Casey Stoner at the top of the standings with ten rounds remaining of what promises to be a tightly fought battle for the most prestigious crown in motorcycle racing. With two of the last three races having been hit by rain, Rossi’s principal hope for this weekend is good weather, having charged to victory in the most recent dry race at his home circuit of Mugello. The Italian is keen to build on recent developments made with his YZR-M1 machine and Michelin’s slick tyres at a circuit where he has celebrated victory on five occasions – including three of the last five races there in the premier-class. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards is himself a previous Assen winner. The Texan took three victories there during his days in the World Superbike series, including a double win on his way to the title in a gripping climax to the 2002 season. Last year he came within a few metres of his finest career moment yet, leading the MotoGP race from Nicky Hayden into the final chicane, only to fall and see a first Grand Prix victory slip from his grasp in truly dramatic fashion. Despite major changes to Assen’s unique layout last year, it remains one of the most technically and physically demanding circuits on the calendar for the MotoGP riders. With barely a straight piece of tarmac in sight, handling is a major focal point due to high-speed chicanes and dramatic camber changes – the latter, in some places, resembling the profile of the public roads that the original circuit was based around 76 years ago. Valentino Rossi “A LEGENDARY PLACE” Valentino Rossi could not be happier to have only four days’ rest between last Sunday’s race at Donington Park and Thursday morning’s free practice at Assen. After struggling to fourth place with wet tyres on a drying track, the 28-year-old spent several hours in deep discussions with engineers from Yamaha and Michelin and revealed they now have a clear idea of how to improve performance and results this weekend. “I wasn’t happy after the race on Sunday but we had a long meeting afterwards and we know what our problems are – now we need to fix them,” said Rossi. “I’m happy to get the chance to ride again so soon and forget about the race at Donington because I was so disappointed to finish fourth at a circuit I love so much and have always done well at in the past. “Assen is another of my favourite tracks and after riding injured there last year I want to get back to winning ways. It is a shame they had to change the circuit layout last year because they have removed the most exciting part of the track, which I still cannot understand. Anyway, it is like this and Assen is still a legendary place, with a great atmosphere and great fans. Hopefully we can make a good show for them and be competitive like we know we can be once again.” Colin Edwards “MY BEST AND WORST MEMORY” Like Rossi, Colin Edwards also feels he has a score to settle this weekend, with the painful memories of last year’s race at Assen still fresh in the 33-year-old’s mind. After a disappointing run of form that wielded just 19 points from the five previous races, Edwards bounced back in style at Donington Park – setting pole position and leading the race for eleven laps before settling for a return to the podium in second place. The goal for this weekend is the top step. “It’s weird because Assen holds my best MotoGP memory and also my worst!” reflects Edwards. “I know I should have won and I guess I gave Nicky Hayden the gift of a lifetime. I know and love the track, I won there loads of times in World Superbikes and the fans are fantastic – there’s always a ton of Texas Tornado t-shirts and flags around the circuit, as there was at Donington, and that always gives you a great boost. “I’m taking a lot of confidence from the weekend just gone because we worked really hard and found a setting for the dry and for the wet in a really limited amount of time. We think we’ve fixed the problems we’ve been having with the bike and from a personal point of view I was delighted to be back on the podium. The key now is to keep it going, make up for that disaster at Assen last year and carry some good form through to my home race at Laguna Seca in a few weeks’ time.” Fiat Yamaha Team Davide Brivio Team Director Fiat Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio insists there is still everything to play for in this championship despite there now being a gap which constitutes more points than a race victory between Stoner and Rossi at the top. With eight rounds down there are still ten more to go in the longest ever season in history, giving Rossi and his crew ample opportunity to fight back. “We go to Assen with strong motivation throughout the whole team,” says Brivio. “Valentino had a hard weekend in Donington and so he will be keen to improve things and get back to full performance. We had a very long meeting on Sunday night after the race and discussed a lot of things in order to have a more clear idea of the way in which we need to work this week. “Colin obviously has a great score to settle with Assen after he so nearly won there last year, and after his podium in Donington and the improvements he made during the weekend, he should be in good shape to try to achieve his goal. We’re nearly at the halfway point of the season and of course things haven’t gone exactly to plan at times but there’s a long way to go, anything can happen and we’ll keep fighting.” Valentino Rossi : Information Age: 28 Lives: London, UK Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 GP victories: 86 (60 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc) First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc) First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc) GP starts: 182 (122 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc) Pole positions: 49 World Championships: 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4 x MotoGP) Colin Edwards: Information Age: 33 Lives: Conroe, Texas Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1 First GP: Japón, 2003 (MotoGP) GP starts: 74 x MotoGP World Championships: 2 World Superbike Assen: Lap Record N. Hayden (Honda) 2006, 1’37.106 Assen: Best Lap J. Hopkins (Suzuki) 2006, 1’36.411 Grand Prix Results: Assen 2006 1. N. Hayden (Honda) 42’27.404 2. S. Nakano (Kawasaki) +4.884 3. D. Pedrosa (Honda) +2.269 8. V. Rossi (ITA) Yamaha +23.951 13. C. Edwards (USA) Yamaha +164.752 More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP going double Dutch in Assen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will be at the Dutch TT in Assen this weekend as it makes the first of its two visits to the historic circuit this season. Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins will firstly race in round nine of the MotoGP World Championship this Saturday. The pair will then return to the 4.5km circuit on Sunday 12th August to perform some demonstration laps on their Suzuki GSV-Rs at the superb annual ‘Rizla Racing Day’. Vermeulen travels to Assen in a confident mood after his third-place finish at last weekend’s British Grand Prix. The Australian racer is now in fourth place in the rider’s championship and will be looking to add to his points tally at a track that he likes and has won at in the past. Hopkins also has fond memories of the Dutch circuit as he took his first pole position there last year, before finishing in sixth place in the race. The Anglo-American is also convinced he can get a good result, as he too enjoys the twisty nature of the only circuit that has been on the Grand Prix calendar since the start of World Championship racing in 1949. The Dutch TT will again as is tradition – be staged on the last Saturday in June; this means that Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will take to the track on Thursday for the first day of practice, and the final free practice session and qualifying will be on Friday. The 26-lap race will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Saturday 30th June. Chris Vermeulen: “I had a good result last weekend at Donington and would like to repeat that at Assen. We had a few issues in the race last year, but did manage to get in the top-10. I really like the track and I had a double-header win in World Superbikes in 2005 as well as setting pole position and the fastest lap of the day in the races, so I know my way around here as well as anyone. I am really looking forward to this weekend and we need to keep this run going!” John Hopkins: “I can’t wait to get to Assen, I love it there! I got my first pole last year and I know I could have had a better result in the race but we had some grip problems. I can’t see that happening again this year because Bridgestone has really stepped up and the tyres have worked well everywhere so far. The bike is also going great and we have shown that by being able to consistently run at the front in all conditions, so I can only see big things happening this weekend! I really want a dry race as I know the 800s will be fast at Assen and I certainly can’t wait to see what we can do around there!” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Tuesday Jun 26 2007 Dutch TT – Preview DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM DASHES TO DUTCH TT BODY { font-family : Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; } The Ducati Marlboro Team dashes across the English Channel for Saturday’s Dutch TT, the fourth MotoGP event in just five weekends and the 2007 World Championship’s halfway point. Casey Stoner’s brilliant fifth win of the year in last Sunday’s damp British Grand Prix increased his series lead to 26 points and takes him to Assen in good spirits. Team-mate Loris Capirossi also goes into the Dutch race in optimistic mood, following a hard-charging ride in Britain. With eight races gone and ten to go, Ducati continues to lead the constructors’ World Championship and the Ducati Marlboro Team is still ahead in the MotoGP teams’ World Championship. LIVIO SUPPO, Ducati MotoGP project director “We go into this race feeling quite optimistic, aiming to be competitive whatever the weather brings, because conditions can be very changeable at Assen, just like they were at Donington. Casey is riding brilliantly, his Donington victory was amazing. Loris also rode a strong race at Donington, and even though he fell we can see that he is feeling better on the bike and growing in confidence. Assen is half distance in the season, but we are not thinking about the championship, we are working at it race by race, always aiming to take the maximum possible from each weekend.” CASEY STONER, World Championship leader on 165 points “At Donington we again proved that the Ducati has got more than just power. The bike and tyres are working well for me and we are competitive at pretty much every circuit. I’m really enjoying the races and I’m going to keep working at it like that because if you look start looking at the championship maybe you’ll get too involved in it. I’m sure there’s going to be some great races at Assen this year, but the new circuit is disappointing because the old layout was unbelievable, really good fun to ride. They even ruined what was probably my favourite corner in the world [De Bult], it was a great banked left-hander and now they’ve flattened it out and destroyed it. Anyway, we were quite competitive there last year. I think I came from 14th or 15th at the first corner to fight for the top three and I got fourth, so it was a really good race for us. I think this year we can go there with slightly higher expectations. The new Assen is really confusing for set-up, it’s got flat corners, banked corners, long corners and tight little dinky corners, so it’s really hard to find out what you need though you can pretty much go with any bike and it’ll work. You have to find the right tyres that will last the race with the right amount of grip.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 9th overall on 57 points “Assen is always interesting, I still like really it. The new layout isn’t too bad, though the old one was much, much better, it was the best track in the world. There’s no doubt that they’ve destroyed some of its character with the shorter layout but anyway it should be good for us and good for our bike. Of course, I’ve got bad memories from last year when I raced with the injuries I’d received at Barcelona. This year we go there in much better shape, with a good opportunity to get a good result. I may have crashed at Donington last Sunday but overall things are going much better for us now. Our front-end set-up is improving, which is very important for all the high-speed corner entries at Assen. We may also continue working with our new engine spec this weekend – we didn’t get the chance to try it at Donington because the weather conditions kept changing. Although the new Assen is very different from the old layout you still need similar bike characteristics – you need stability, good brakes and good front-end feeling. I’m really looking forward to making up for the disappointment of Donington – we will work hard as always and I will do my best as always.” THE TRACK Assen is MotoGP’s oldest racetrack, in fact it is the only venue surviving from the motorcycle world championship’s inaugural 1949 season. Last year Assen underwent huge change, with much of the northern section lost to make way for a new entertainment and leisure facility, called ‘TT World’. But the remainder of the circuit remains the same as before, which means it still offers a special challenge to MotoGP riders. Unlike most racetracks, which feature wide straights and mostly slow to medium-fast corners, Assen is a narrow, meandering venue, dominated by high-speed corners and rapid direction changes. Its surface is also special, because it is crowned like a public road for improved drainage, whereas other racetracks are flat. This greatly complicates riding, since riders must cope with several changes of camber as they enter and exit most of Assen’s corners. DONINGTON PARK DATA Lap record: Nicky Hayden (Honda), 1m 37.106s, 168.867km/h-104.929mph 2006 pole position: John Hopkins (Suzuki), 1m 36.411s DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 34 (born 4 April 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7 GP starts: 256 (86xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) GP victories: 28 (6xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) Pole positions: 41 (8xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Assen 2006 results: Grid: 15th. Race: 15th CASEY STONER Age: 21 (born 16 October 16 1985) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP7 GP starts: 85 (24xMotoGP, 31×250, 30×125) GP victories: 12 (5xMotoGP, 5×250, 2×125) First GP victory: Valencia, 2003 (125) First GP: Britain, 2001 (125) Pole positions: 6 (2xMotoGP, 2×250, 2×125) First pole: Netherlands, 2003 (125) Assen 2006 results: Grid: 12th. Race: 4th More, from a press release issued by Michelin: MICHELIN MEN AIM HIGH AT HISTORIC ASSEN Michelin riders contest MotoGP’s most historic event at Assen this weekend, just days after last Sunday’s rain-affected British GP in which Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) finished second and Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) took fourth. Edwards goes to Assen in determined mood, still aiming for his first MotoGP victory. Last year the popular Texan battled for victory with winner Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin) but fell at the final corner, remounting to finish an unlucky 13th. Assen is the only MotoGP venue that has featured on the World Championship calendar every year since the series began in 1949. The event’s classic status is highlighted by its unique TT title. While all other MotoGP events are Grands Prix, Assen uses the TT tag, for Tourist Trophy, a traditional name given to motorsport events in the early twentieth century. Last year Assen underwent enormous changes, the circuit shortened from more than 6km to its current 4.555km. MICHELIN AND THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE OF ASSEN “The new Assen is very different from the old track, it’s not like the circuit we used to know,” says Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “The new layout puts a bit less stress into the tires. The old Assen was very, very fast, with a lot of banked corners, so the G-forces and loads were pretty big, which heated up the compound, so you needed harder tires for the higher temperatures. “The new layout is still fast but the rear tires we use now are in the medium-hard range, because you still need good stability for the fast corners but also good traction for the slower turns. I’d say that the tires we use here are more or less similar to the slicks we use at Donington, but with the compounds on either side of the tire adapted to suit the different surface. Assen is also very asymmetric, rather like Donington and Barcelona, the layout is much more aggressive on the right side of the tires, so you need good traction and stability for the long corners, like Ossebroeken, and also good warm-up, especially on the left side, for Strubben and the other left-handers. “The front tires we use at Assen are a bit harder than what we used at Donington, for example. There’s some heavy braking required from quite high speeds, so the track is quite aggressive on the front tire.” DEVELOPMENT OF MICHELIN’S NEW CONSTRUCTION REAR SLICK “We are still continuing work on our new construction rear slick,” adds Weber. “We tested some more new tires during our post-Catalan GP tests at Barcelona, which we took to Donington and we’re also taking to Assen. These tires worked very well in dry practice at Donington, it’s just a shame that the rain didn’t allow us to use them in the race. As always, we are working on side grip and traction, and we’ve once again made another good forward step. All the riders who have tested these new tires have done good lap times and confirmed that we have made a big improvement, especially on side grip. Some of our riders are now getting closer to the harder construction tires preferred by Valentino. We use the same technical basis for all our riders now, with adjustments built in according to each rider’s style and technique.” ASSEN DATA Lap record: Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 1:37.106, 168.867km/h-104.929mph 2006 pole position: John Hopkins (Rizla Suzuki GSV-R), 1:36.411 Recent winners of the Dutch GP 2006 Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 42:27.404 (new track) 2005 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 38:41.808 (revised track) 2004 Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 38:11.831 2003 Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V-Michelin), 42:39.006 (wet race) 2002 Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V-Michelin), 38:49.425 (new race distance, 19 laps) 2001 Max Biaggi (Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), 30:56.346 (rain stopped race after 15 laps) 2000 Alex Barros (Emerson Honda Pons NSR500-Michelin), 42:46.142 (two-part wet/dry race) 1999 Tadayuki Okada (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 41:12.732 1998 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 41:17.788 1997 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 43:37.954 1996 Mick Doohan (Repsol Honda NSR500-Michelin), 41:29.912 Michelin’s 2007 MotoGP riders Carlos Checa (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin) Colin Edwards (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V-Michelin) Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team RC212V-Michelin) Kurtis Roberts (Team Roberts KR212V-Michelin) Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin) More, from Kawasaki Racing: UPBEAT KAWASAKI LOOKING FORWARD TO ASSEN After an exciting round at the UK’s Donington Park, the Kawasaki Racing Team is heading to Assen in optimistic mood. With Randy de Puniet taking sixth position after a strong, consistent ride, and newcomer Anthony West scoring valuable points in what was his debut MotoGP race, things are looking good for Kawasaki’s factory MotoGP squad this weekend. They will be hoping to replicate the success they had last year when erstwhile team member, Shinya Nakano, took his Kawasaki over the line in second place at the famous Dutch circuit, securing a fantastic podium spot for the squad. De Puniet has been putting in increasingly solid and steady rides of late, making good progress on the Bridgestone-shod, 800cc Ninja ZX-RR. The Assen race represents the half way stage of the season and he’s already scored more championship points than he achieved in 2006. He’ll be aiming to add to those this Saturday. For West, meanwhile, the British MotoGP brought with it the chance to ride for a factory team in the premier class for the first time and he did well to secure an 11th position finish, despite coming off early in the race. A steep learning curve looms large over the 25-year-old Australian but he’s taking it all in his stride. With five previous top ten finishes at Assen in the 250cc world championship, including a win there in 2003, Anthony’s looking forward to familiarising himself further with the new bike at what is one of his favourite tracks. The 4.555km/2.84 mile Circuit Van Drenthe is a favourite of riders and spectators alike, drawing race fans from all over Europe. With the A-Style Dutch TT Assen traditionally being run on a Saturday, practice sessions will begin on Thursday with qualifying on Friday afternoon. Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #13 “I like Assen and have good memories of it as I won my first GP race there in 2003, riding a 250cc. It used to be really fast and flowing but the first part was changed and lost some of its appeal. The last part, the nicest bit, remains the same though. There are some corners you can go in to really hard and I’m really looking forward to riding the Ninja ZX-RR round there. I’d like to go and be fast but there’s still so much to learn and I need more time. The aim is just to do the same good job we did at Donington: improving session after session, one step at a time. I’m still getting used to the whole thing, and it’s going to take a while yet, but I’m having a lot of fun at the moment and it’s all good!” Kawasaki MotoGP Pilot #14 “We haven’t digested Donington yet but here we are, already in the Netherlands for the Dutch TT! Since Barcelona, we’ve been going well and I hope to continue this trend at Assen. Until they made all the changes, it was my favourite circuit of the whole championship but, even though I still like it, it has lost most of its magic. The first section used to be quite fun but now it’s just too slow. Last year, the Ninja worked quite well and it seemed to be a favourable track for Kawasaki, as Shinya’s podium proved. I was just unlucky: I had a problem with the front tyre during the warm up lap and had to start the race from the pits. I’m still not fully recovered from my shoulder and knee injuries but they’re getting better every day. We’ve already shown we can finish in the top eight and that’s the target this weekend, too.” Kawasaki Technical Manager “The result achieved at Donington meant both our riders finishing within the points and, for the next race at Assen, we just want to continue the same way. The weather forecast is still uncertain but we’re feeling confident, as we showed we’re able to find a good set up either for wet or dry conditions, and we will try to use our experiences at Donington to keep improving it. We’re now in a busy period, having had four races in five weeks, which has meant we’ve had no time to test but we’ve managed to do a lot of positive work with the set up. Last year we got a very good result with Shinya but until Thursday, we won’t now how well-suited to Assen the 800cc Ninja ZX-RR and the Bridgestone tyres are. However, we have plenty of reasons to face the race with confidence.”