MotoGP pulls in at Assen after dash from Donington A-Style TT Assen Wednesday 25th June Race Preview 2 Just three days after Sunday’s exciting races at Donington the MotoGP travelling circus has checked in at ‘the Cathedral of Motorcycling’ for this weekend’s A-Style TT Assen. With its special atmosphere and unique history Assen is a favourite with the riders and the pre-event press conference on Wednesday afternoon – the tradition of Saturday racing at the Dutch track bringing the event schedule forward by a day – saw Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Nicky Hayden, Loris Capirossi and Kawasaki’s MotoGP Competition Manager Michael Bartholemy previewing the action. Current MotoGP standings leader Rossi, who won at Assen twelve months ago from eleventh on the grid, commented: “I remember the race here last year as my best performance of 2007. The circuit is quite different to how it used to be but it has always been good for Yamaha, so I expect a good feeling from the bike and I will just need to work to get my settings right on Bridgestone tyres.” Sunday’s race winner in England, World Champion Casey Stoner, added, “Donington was a real boost for us. The test at Barcelona and the race at Donington just proved to us that this new software system is really working well and we hope it will work well here.” Elsewhere, a pre-event promotion earlier in the day witnessed Sylvain Guintoli, Anthony West, Yuki Takahashi and Hugo van den Berg visiting the Soesterberg Army base, where they got to try the Desdemona ‘spatial disorientation’ simulator. The machine is unique in the world and is used for training F-16 fighter jet pilots. The riders were joined on the visit by World, European and Olympic Judo Champion, Mark Huizenga and the World Judo Champion Guillaum Elmont. More, from a press release issued by Alice Ducati: NO BREAK FOR MOTOGP. FIRST TIME IN ASSEN IN MOTOGP FOR TONI ELIAS. After the last weekend of racing in Donington, MotoGP is back on track after only four days for the Dutch Grand Prix on the prestigious circuit in Assen. Maximum concentration for the Alice Team riders, Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli, who after respectively concluding in eleventh and thirteenth position in Great Britain, they want to grow to reach a better position in the MotoGP riders classification. It will be a particular weekend for Elias who even if he already had a four years experience in MotoGP, since 2005, he never made it to race here since he has joined the top class. For his teammate, Sylvain Guintoli, this will be the second time in Assen in the highest category after the fourteenth position obtained last year. From 1949, when the motorcycle World Championship begun, the TT Circuit in Assen has been the only one where there have a race held each year. During the years the outline of the track has been modified, passing from the 28km in 1925 to the 7.705 meters in 1955 and to the 4.555 meters after the last modification done in 2006. The longest straight is 560 meters long and is one of the shortest of the World Championship. Alice Team principal, Luis d’Antin, isn’t satisfied of the result conquered until now, but in Donington has seen the Team work well and believes to obtain good results in Assen: “In Donington, despite the difficulties encountered, we had a good reaction and we made it to improve our lap times. The positions obtained aren’t great, but I have seen the Team determined and I confide in their work to do our best in Holland. The track is very nice but maybe I preferred it before the last modifications. Last year we went really well finishing in seventh and eight position. We believe we can do the same with our riders also this year.” After the good comeback in Sunday’s race, Alice Team rider Toni Elias is ready for his official debut in Assen in the MotoGP Category: “It’s true, this will be my first weekend of race in Assen since I have joined the top class in the World Championship. Injuries have blocked me and I couldn’t race here and sincerely I am happy to come back here. In the quarter liter class I obtained really good results: in 2004 I concluded in third position while in 2002, my first year in the category, I conquered the second position. Physically I feel well and my performance in England gave me good hopes for the rest of the season. We also have to use some interesting solutions we tried in Barcelona. They could allow us to make a good step forward.” His teammate Sylvain Guintoli raced in Assen last season, but unluckily he couldn’t do better than the fourteenth position: “Last year it was a completely different solution. This year, with the technical package at our disposal, we can do much better. I would like to do well here also for my Team members: even if results haven’t come yet, they have been working marvelously giving always their best. I really like the circuit and I think is one of the most fun and technical in the championship. Usually, at each new circuit where we race, in the first sessions we find really hard times: I hope that in this weekend we will be able to be much more competitive since the first few laps.”