Dutch TT, Assen, June 23/24/25 2005, Preview DUCATI MARLBORO MEN READY FOR FASTEST TRACK OF THEM ALL After two hot and dry races in Italy and Spain, this week the MotoGP circus travels north to Assen, the most northerly fixture in the Grand Prix World Championship. Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa are both fans of the unique Dutch circuit, the oldest and fastest venue in MotoGP racing, so long as the rain stays away. Both men have high hopes of a good weekend’s racing at Assen, a track which in some ways is more similar to Mugello, where they recently scored excellent third- and fifth-place results, than Catalunya, where they had an altogether tougher weekend. Like Mugello, Assen is fast and flowing, which should suit the Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici. “In the space of a few days we went from a wonderful result at Mugello to a disappointing race at Catalunya,” says Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. “So now we are analysing all the data, because we learned a lot at both races, and that’s how you keep growing. We knew after the Catalunya IRTA tests in March that we were missing something there. Bridgestone brought new specification tyres to the race but it wasn’t quite enough. They are working very hard and moving forward all the time. We’re optimistic about Assen – the Ducati always goes well there and Bridgestone should be strong too.” According to Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli at Assen. “You need good handling and good stability in the fast changes of direction, plus a good engine because it’s a very fast circuit,” he says. “But even though you need a lot of horsepower it is a rider’s track, where the rider can make the difference. In some ways it’s a bit like Phillip Island – there are several fast changes of and no real hard brakings.” CAPIROSSI: ‘DUCATI SHOULD BE GOOD AT ASSEN’ Earlier this month Loris Capirossi scored a stunning third-place finish at Mugello and the Ducati Marlboro Team man comes to Assen aiming to build on that promising result. “At Mugello we showed what we can do when everything is good,” says Capirossi, who finished that race less than four seconds behind the winner. “We struggled with rear grip at Catalunya but I think we should be better off at Assen, which is very different. It’s more flowing, like a classic track. For sure the Ducati should be good at Assen. It will be interesting for me because this year I’m using a modified chassis, with more rigidity, which should help in the high-speed changes of direction. I have always loved Assen, it used to be one of the best tracks in the world but maybe not any more because they keep changing it. I don’t like the new sections they’ve made.” Capirossi has always gone well at Assen, a racetrack that rewards riding talent. He won the 1993 and 1999 Dutch 250 TTs, scored premier-class podiums in 2000 and 2001 and took pole position in 2003 aboard his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici. CHECA LOOKS FORWARD TO UNIQUE CHALLENGE Like team-mate Capirossi, Carlos Checa enjoys the unique challenge of Assen, the only current MotoGP track that originated as a public-roads venue. The circuit is all about speed, but not just straight-line speed, since the track barely has a straight worthy of the name. The secret to a fast lap is getting through the high-speed twists and turns as quickly as possible, which calls for unerring kerb-to-kerb accuracy at speeds of over 300kmh. “Assen is a very different circuit, it’s unique really,” affirms Checa. “Even the straights aren’t really straight and most of the corners are banked and very fast. Also, there’s very little room between the white lines and the grass, which means you’ve got to be perfect with your lines. I like the layout a lot and I appreciate riding on different kinds of tracks, it’s great to have some variety. I’m really looking forward to trying it for the first time on the Ducati, because this bike is so fast and its chassis should suit the track’s flowing character. I’ve already put Catalunya behind me. Considering our positive result at Mugello I’m hoping that Catalunya was just a blip.” Checa has proved himself up to the Assen challenge on several occasions. He scored his best result at the track in 1997, when he finished second to Mick Doohan, and took his other podium finish in 2002, when he was third. THE TRACK Unlike most racetracks, which feature wide straights and mostly slow to medium-fast corners, Assen is a narrow, meandering circuit, 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. The crown poses a particular challenge to riders, who must cope with several changes of camber as they enter and exit most of Assen’s corners. As they head towards the apex they experience positive and then negative camber, then as they start to accelerate they enjoy positive camber once more, but as they drift wide on the exit they cross the crown in the centre of the track and suddenly they must contend with negative camber and an immediate loss of traction. Engineers run stiffer-than-usual suspension settings to cope with the cornering forces, so the bike doesn’t ‘unload’ violently as it crosses the centre crown. Assen’s layout underwent a major change in 1984, adapted from the original Circuit Van Drenthe constructed in the fifties, and was changed again for 2002. Further alterations are due at the end of this year when much of the northern loop will be lost. Lap record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1:59.472, 181.609kmh/112.847mph (2004) Pole position 2004: Valentino Rossi, (Yamaha) 1:58.758, 182.701kmh/113.525 mph DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER DATA LOGS LORIS CAPIROSSI Age: 32 (born April 4, 1973) Lives: Monaco Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 23 (1xMotoGP, 2×500, 12×250, 8×125) First GP victory: Britain, 1990 (125) First GP: Japan, 1990 (125) GP starts: 222 (52xMotoGP, 59×500, 84×250, 27×125) Pole positions: 36 (3xMotoGP, 5×500, 23×250, 5×125) First pole: Australia, 1991 (125) World Championships: 3 (125: 1990, 1991, 250: 1998) Assen 2004 results: Grid: 15th. Race: 8th CARLOS CHECA Age: 32 (born October 15, 1972) Lives: London, England Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP5 GP victories: 2 (500) First GP victory: Catalunya, 1996 (500) First GP: Europe, 1993 (125) GP starts: 174 (54xMotoGP, 92×500, 27×250, 1×125) Pole positions: 3 (2xMotoGP, 1×500) First pole: Spain, 1998 (500) Assen 2004 results: Grid: 2nd. Race: 9th