REPSOL HONDA TEAM AIMING HIGH AT 80TH DUTCH TT Hot on the heels of Sunday’s British Grand Prix comes the Dutch TT at Assen this weekend and the Repsol Honda Team is confident of returning to winning ways at one of the classic fixtures in the MotoGP calendar. Andrea Dovizioso’s runner-up spot at Silverstone has elevated him to second in the World Championship and the Italian arrives in the Netherlands determined to take the next step in his bid to become a MotoGP championship contender by regularly challenging for race wins. Impressive consistency has seen Dovizioso finish off the podium only once in the season’s first five races, and the 24-year-old former 125cc World Champion is tantilisingly close to the pace required to secure his first dry weather MotoGP victory. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa had a British Grand Prix to forget and intends to do just that by producing a performance at Assen to match his race win at Mugello two rounds ago. The 24-year-old Spaniard is just five points behind his team-mate in the title chase and has a strong affinity with Assen – the scene of his first ever Grand Prix victory in the 125cc class in 2002 when he was just 16 years old. Pedrosa has looked back to his best recently and, in spite of the disappointment of Silverstone where race-day grip issues robbed him of the chance of replicating his Mugello win, the three-time World Champion is sure to be one of the favourites for this weekend’s 26-lap encounter. This year’s Dutch TT will be the 80th edition of the famous race – traditionally held on the last Saturday in June – and Assen is the only track to have hosted a Grand Prix every year since the World Championship began in 1949. The circuit – last modified before the 2006 race – features fast, flowing corners and rapid direction changes which will fully test the agility of Dovizioso and Pedrosa’s Honda RC212Vs. The race weekend will begin with first practice on Thursday afternoon at 13.55, with the race taking place on Saturday at 14.00 (GMT +2 hours). ANDREA DOVIZIOSO World Championship position: 2nd 78 points “We go to Assen feeling very motivated and confident. After my second place finish at Silverstone, which was a new circuit to us, we’re now looking forward to racing at the historical track of Assen. It’s not a circuit that I particularly like after the modifications a few years ago, but me and the team are on good form and feel that we will also be strong this weekend. The characteristics of the circuit are not actually so favourable for us because Assen has a lot of high-speed corners, but we are really confident at the moment and we look forward to taking another step forward. We have been improving at every race this season, so I’m happy about this. We are second in the championship and we will keep on working hard to be faster still, so that we are able to fight for the win – that’s the target.” DANI PEDROSA World Championship position: 3rd 73 points “It’s good that we are going to Assen straight after Silverstone because it gives me and the team an early opportunity to put the last race behind us and work towards another strong result like we had at Mugello. We will learn from what happened at the British Grand Prix and then move on. It’s fortunate that I’m not hurt after Silverstone and I’m confident we can get right back on the pace this weekend. Assen is a good track – even if it was better before they changed it a few years ago – and I like riding there. It’s a circuit which requires an agile machine because there are several fast direction changes – as there are at Mugello – so it would be nice if we get another result like in Italy. The team is working really hard and I’m confident we can make a good start in first practice at Assen and have a competitive weekend. The crowds and the histor y create a special atmosphere at Assen so I’m looking forward to getting out on track again.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: The 2010 FIM MotoGP World Championship gathers further momentum this week as the TIM TT Assen heralds the sixth round on the calendar. Taking a 37-point Championship lead into the Grand Prix is Jorge Lorenzo, and the Spaniard will aim to turn the screw further as he chases a fourth win of the season having finished inside the top two in every race so far. Just six days after his win at Silverstone Lorenzo will attempt to replicate the three previous victories he has scored at the Dutch circuit (two in 250, one in 125), and last season the Fiat Yamaha rider finished second at Assen on his way to runner-up spot in the 2009 Championship. Pushing ever harder for his first win of the campaign will be Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso however, after the Italian’s second place in the previous round lifted him to second spot in the standings his highest position since joining the premier class. Dovizioso is also in a rich vein of form, having scored four podiums in the opening five rounds, and has a best finish of fifth at Assen from his debut season in the elite class. Just five points behind him team-mate Dani Pedrosa will be targeting a bounce back from eighth place at Silverstone, and he has two podiums in the premier class at Assen, the most recent being second place in 2008. It was also the site of the Spaniard’s first ever World Championship win in the 125cc class in 2002. Nicky Hayden again missed out on a podium as he took his fourth fourth place of the season, and prior to last year he had finished inside the top four at Assen for four successive years which included victory in 2006. His Ducati Marlboro team-mate Casey Stoner is also still in search of a first podium of 2010, and has been inside the top three at Assen for the last three years, delivering Ducati their first MotoGP win there in 2008. His aim will be a repeat in an attempt to improve on his current standing of eighth. Randy de Puniet had a fine weekend at Silverstone as he took his first front row grid start in three years, and last season at Assen he was the first Honda rider across the line in seventh. The LCR Honda rider is sixth, just six points behind Hayden and is the highest placed private team rider at the moment. Fresh off the back of his first MotoGP podium in Britain, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies continues his learning curve in the premier class which appears to be making rapid progress, whilst San Carlo Honda Gresini pair Marco Melandri who became the youngest ever GP winner at the time when he took victory in the 125cc race in 1998 and Marco Simoncelli are both level on 32 points in the Championship. Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) took his best result of last season at Assen with fourth and will want to up his current points haul, as will Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar), Aleix Espargaró, Mika Kallio (both Pramac Racing) and Rizla Suzuki pair Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista. Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama will be absent following a crash in the warm up session at Silverstone, in which the Japanese rider fractured a vertebra, and will be replaced by Kousuke Akiyoshi, Honda’s test rider, for the race. Valentino Rossi continues his recovery from a broken right leg. Italian legend Giacomo Agostini will be present as a guest of Yamaha and will ride some display laps on his 1975 YZR500 OW23 machine. Moto2 In the Moto2 class Toni Elías saw his Championship lead ever so slightly narrowed to 15 points after he finished tenth at Silverstone, and at Assen the Gresini Racing Moto2 rider returns to the scene of his first GP win, which came in the 125cc class in 2001. The fight for positions behind Elías is becoming an interesting one, and with second place at Silverstone Tom Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2) elevated himself to third in the standings. The result his second podium of the season was his best since the 250cc race at Assen in 2008 and at the Dutch track he will aim to further chip away at what is a seven-point gap to second placed Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP). The Japanese rider continued to pick up important Championship points with sixth place in Britain, and his only previous experience at Assen was last season when he crashed on the first lap of the quarter-litre race. Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) also scored a second podium of the campaign at Silverstone and in doing so the Spanish rider moved into fourth place, level on 51 points with Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) after the Italian failed to finish the race. Simón and Sergio Gadea the Tenerife 40 Pons rider is just four points further back in sixth occupied the top two positions in last year’s 125cc contest at Assen, with Gadea winning his only race of 2009. A first win of his career for Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) came in the UK and lifted the Frenchman to seventh, but he has yet to score a Championship point in four attempts at Assen. Victory in the Netherlands would make Cluzel the first French rider to score back-to-back wins since Arnaud Vincent in the 125cc class in 2002 the year he won the title. 125cc Pol Espargaró holds a one-point advantage over Nico Terol at the top of the 125cc World Championship and the battle for positions at the top of the standings is producing a scintillating contest at every race. Having produced the third closest top-four finish of all time in the 125cc class in round four at Mugello (just 0.161s separated Marc Márquez, Terol, Espargaró and Bradley Smith), the fifth instalment of the season at Silverstone saw a fierce battle between Espargaró and Márquez for victory, which the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider won. Second place handed Tuenti Racing rider Espargaró top spot in the standings however, the first time he has led the World Championship, and the 19 year-old will be confident of improving on his best finish at Assen which was ninth last season. Bancaja Aspar rider Terol’s best ever finish at the Dutch circuit was fifth last year, and his fourth place at Silverstone in the last round was the first time he has failed to finish on the podium this season. Terol will be eager to regain the psychological advantage of an early Championship lead at Assen this Saturday. Victory at Silverstone for Márquez gave the Red Bull Ajo Motorsport his second consecutive win having never tasted victory before Mugello, and the 17 year-old now occupies third place in the standings at 16 points off Terol. A further 21 points back in fourth is Bancaja Aspar’s Smith who achieved an emotional first podium of 2010 at his home GP last time out. The result also saw the presence of a non-Spanish rider on the rostrum for the first time this season. The TIM TT Assen takes place from June 24th-26th, with the opening MotoGP practice session starting at 1.55pm local time on Thursday. More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: SIXTH SEASON MOTOGP GRAND PRIX IN THE TULIP LAND The first of three consecutive race of this calendar has just ended. Green Pramac Racing Team riders finished the Silverstone’s race gaining a tenth place with the young Aleix Espargarò and a thirteenth place with Kallio. The riders may already be trying to improve their results this Thursday in Holland, in the legendary Assen circuit. This will be the six-three GP that will be raced on this track. Even if it has a short history, the Pramac Racing Team has managed to get some satisfaction here in Holland in 2002 scored a second place when the Pramac bike was ride by Max Biagg, a fourth place was scored the following year always with the Italian rider. In the following years there were mixed results, but always far from the podium. Last year Mika Kallio was having a great race, he was in the sixth position when he unfortunately slipped in the last corner. The hope is that on this track, the Finn will return to high levels. Paolo Campinoti – Team Principal Pramac Racing “The Silverstone result have leave me a bitter taste, especially if I consider what had happened Friday morning when Aleix was in the eighth position. I am still proud of the work done by the Team that has allowed Aleix to finish for the third consecutive Grand Prix, in the top ten rankings. Unfortunately the weekend was marked for Mika by some new English track adapting problems, however, he have done everything to be able to conclude the race in the best way. He also had a good start, but unfortunately in the final laps he was unable to overtake the riders ahead of him and he has finish the race in the thirteenth position. The Dutch track is a track where we had some success in the past, especially in our early years with Biaggi when we have got a podium and a fourth place. Aleix and Mika had also some success on this track in recent years, Mika has scored a victory in 2006 in the 125cc class, Aleix has scored on this track, his best result in the 250cc class, a fourth place last year. My hope is that both riders can improve their positions in the starting grid and that they will become protagonists of a great race. We are aware of their value and we will work to offer them a perfect bike for this track. ” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing “Unlike the other tracks, the stage had started very well in Silverstone. Friday was alright, I scored an eighth place and thought to be able to finish the race among the first eight or still fighting for an important position. I had some qualifying problems that not allowed me to get a good starting position suited to my expectations and I ended the race in tenth position, which is still a good result. I have just run five times in Assen, four times in the 250cc and one time in my rookie season in the 125cc, obtaining as best placing the fourth place last season driving a 250cc. I hope to immediately have a good feeling with the track so that I can try to improve my lap times.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing “Silverstone’s result is not exciting, a thirteenth place after starting in last place is not the best. But I think that the last race was good to understand that my shoulder is not a problem anymore and that I can try to do my best without worrying about the pain. In a way my season starts now. I was able to win a race in Assen in my last 125cc season in 2006. It ‘s a wonderful track, shame that in the recent years I have failed the opportunity to give the best of me. Last year unfortunately, I had some problems in qualifying, I have started the race from the twelfth position, I managed to recover until the sixth and in the last corner of the last lap, unfortunately, I slipped. It ‘s time to repay the trust that my Team have always repose in me, this must be my weekend! More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM PREPARE FOR 80TH EDITION OF HISTORIC DUTCH TT The Ducati Marlboro Team makes the short trip from the UK to Holland this week as the legendary Assen circuit prepares to host the 80th edition of the Dutch TT this Saturday. The sixth race of the season comes in the middle of an intense period of races for the MotoGP world Championship, which moves directly to Spain next weekend for the GP of Catalunya. Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden are happy for the opportunity to get back on track so quickly, however, with both riders still feeling like they have a lot to prove on the Desmosedici GP10. The pair have special MotoGP memories of Assen with podiums and victories to their names there – Hayden having taken the win in 2006 and Stoner in 2008. CASEY STONER, Ducati Marlboro Team “I have made some mistakes at times this year and at other times we have struggled to find the right set-up but for one reason or another things have not worked out as they should done despite the fact we have had opportunities to do well and even win races. We have the pace, we have a competitive technical package and the whole team is doing a great job, as always, so hopefully we can put everything together at Assen. We found a good set-up in the warm-up last Sunday we could have maybe done with a little more grip but in general I was happy with the bike so in theory we should be on the pace in Holland too. I don’t want to make any predictions, just keep working well with my team and see if together we can turn this situation around.” NICKY HAYDEN, Ducati Marlboro Team “Assen is a unique and special circuit and I have had some of my best races there. It has been changed a lot over the years some sections are better and some are worse but there are a lot of long sweeping corners and the grip is good so you can use it to generate speed. The best part of the track is the last “left-right” switch, a place where you can make a decisive pass on the brakes if you get it right. I’m not happy with the result from Silverstone and at Assen I’d love to be able to take advantage of our recent progress with the set-up of the bike to get a better result.” VITTORIANO GUARESCHI, Team Manager “Whenever I think of Assen I smile because it was the track I made my final World Supersport win at as a rider and because both our riders have won there in MotoGP! Joking aside, even though the latest modifications have taken a little of the excitement away it is still a nice track, similar to Silverstone in the way the corners link together but without the bumps and with good grip. Since we found a good set-up for the British track we hope we can start practice well on Thursday and make the most of the potential we know we have for the race.” THE TRACK This weekend marks the 80th edition of the Dutch TT, which also formed part of the first World Championship season back in 1949 and has stayed on the calendar ever since. In 2006 the track under went major alterations, with the removal of the majority of the Northern Loop section, making way for the TT World fans’ area. The rest of the circuit retains much of its original character, making it one of the most technical and physically demanding tracks on the calendar. Unlike a lot of other circuits, which feature long straights and medium-fast corners, Assen is tight, flowing and characterised by high-speed corners and quick changes in direction. Even the surface is unusual, with many sections cambered in the style of a public road to aid drainage, which is often required due to the frequently inclement weather. ASSEN CIRCUIT INFO Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha 2008), 1’36.558 -168,8 Km/h Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’35.520 – 171.670 Km/h Circuit Length: 4,555 km MotoGP Race 2010: 26 laps (118.43 km) MotoGP Schedule 2010: 14:00 Local Time Number of laps: 26 Race distance: 118.430km PODIUM 2009: 1st Valentino Rossi, 2nd Jorge Lorenzo, 3rd Casey Stoner POLE 2009: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2009), 1’36.025 170.768 Km/h DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S BEST RESULTS AT ASSEN 2009: 3rd (Stoner) 2008: 1st (Stoner) 2007: 2nd (Stoner) 2006: 12th (Hofmann) 2005: 7th (Checa) 2004: 8th (Capirossi) 2003: 6th (Capirossi) DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER INFO CASEY STONER Age: 24 (Born 16th October 1985 in Southport, Queensland, Australia) Residency: Switzerland Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP10 GP Appearances: 132 (71xMotoGP, 31×250, 30×125) GP Victories: 27 (20xMotoGP, 5×250, 2×125) First GP victory: Valencia, 2003 (125) First GP: Great Britain, 2001 (125) Pole positions: 22 (18xMotoGP, 2×250, 2×125) First pole position: Italy, 2003 (125) World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2007) Stoner’s MotoGP track record at Assen: 2009: Qualified: 4th. Race: 3rd 2008: Qualified: 1st. Race: 1st 2007: Qualified: 2nd. Race: 2nd 2006: Qualified: 12th. Race: 4th NICKY HAYDEN Age: 28 (born 30th July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA) Residency: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA Bike: Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP10 GP Appearances: 121 (121xMotoGP) First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP) Number of victories: 3 (3xMotoGP) First GP victory: USGP, 2005 (MotoGP) Pole positions: 5 (5xMotoGP) First Pole: USGP, 2005 (MotoGP) World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006) Hayden’s MotoGP track record at Assen: 2009: Qualified: 13th. Race: 8th 2008: Qualified: 4th. Race: 4th 2007: Qualified: 13th. Race: 3rd 2006: Qualified: 4th. Race: 1st 2005: Qualified: 5th. Race: 4th 2004: Qualified: 16th. Race: 5th 2003: Qualified: 12th. Race: 11th More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone MotoGP Preview – Round 6: Netherlands, TT Assen Tuesday 22 June 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium, Hard (asymmetric) This year the Assen circuit plays host to the 80th Assen TT weekend, and features a slight change to the circuit layout at the Ruskenhoek kink. For 2010, this kink has been smoothed which should allow riders to carry more speed through this section of the circuit. It also serves to slightly reduce the circuit’s lap length, but only by 13 metres. Following this and remodelling in 2006, Assen’s track surface is inconsistent and the mix of newer and older asphalt offers differing levels of grip and abrasion, making it tricky for riders to get a constant feeling throughout a lap and very slippery in the wet. The new sections of tarmac are slippery, whereas the older parts are abrasive. Generally, Assen is not so demanding for front tyres, but loads are high on the right shoulders of the rear tyres. Turns eleven to thirteen, Mandeveen to Meeuwenmeer, are the toughest for the right shoulders because the bikes spend a long time on the side of the tyre at high speed and with the riders accelerating hard out of the corners, and this increases the temperature of the rubber. This additional load on the right shoulder of the rear tyres demands the use of asymmetric slicks to provide good durability and high-speed stability through right-hand corners whilst providing good warm-up performance for the left-handers. By contrast, there are few heavy braking points therefore softer compound front tyres can be used to generate more grip and a more positive feeling for riders on the slippery tarmac. The soft and medium compound front slicks have been selected for Assen, and are the same as were used in Le Mans. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “The TT Assen weekend is always good with many fans and great excitement, so I am looking forward to the Grand Prix. After the debut of Silverstone which was an entirely new challenge for us, Assen is a circuit we know much better. Casey holds the pole position record on our tyres, and Valentino set a new lap record on our tyres last year. It is a famous track and the most historic on the current MotoGP calendar so there is always a special feeling going there, for fans and those inside the paddock. In Silverstone we saw a great race and we have seen close and hard-fought battles all season, so I am confident that this will continue.” Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Assen is a smooth circuit that is demanding of the right shoulder of the rear tyres. Generally the loads on the tyres are not too high, but the right shoulders of the rear tyres reach a relatively high temperature because of the number and nature of the circuit’s right-hand corners. This year we will bring asymmetric rear slicks to Assen to provide the riders with a better combination of warm-up performance and durability around Assen’s asymmetric layout. “Following its modification in 2006 there are two distinct types of tarmac: the new part is slippery whilst the old is abrasive and this makes it tricky for riders to get a consistent feeling throughout the lap. Our tyres also have to cope with a wide range of corners from very slow to high speed so a wide operating range is particularly beneficial here and good shoulder grip and consistency is crucial.”