Suzuki Castrol on Pole for Assen 500 Honda Alpha Technik Second, Yamaha Austria Third Suzuki Castrol’s Vincent Philippe has taken provisional pole position for the Assen 500 opening round of the 2006 FIM World Endurance Championship. His lap time of 1:42.718 was over half a second faster than the competition. Second place has gone to wildcard team Alpha Tecknik Van Zon Honda’s Michael Schulten (1:43.343) third to Yamaha Austria’s Igor Jerman (1:44.408), fourth to Kawasaki Bolliger Team’s Patric Muff (1:45.297) and fifth to Yamaha Phase One Endurance’s Warwick Nowland (1:45.444). Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se’s seventh place is all the more remarkable because their single day of winter testing was held at a snow-bound track in temperatures of around 1 degree Celsius. Yamaha Austria’s usual star qualifying rider Gwen Giabbani is also still feeling the effects of winter, with a case of influenza restricting his performance this weekend. Each of the three Suzuki Castrol riders – Vincent Philippe, Matthieu Lagrive and Keiichi Kitagawa – was fastest in their individual sessions. The team appears to have kept their winning advantage from last season, but Matthieu Lagrive may not ride in Monday’s race after injuring his wrist during this morning’s warm-up session. Vincent Philippe, Suzuki Castrol: “The bike is good here; no problems at all. Our main worry is Matthieu; we have to think about Le Mans next week” The top three places on the grid are held by three different manufacturers, with a fourth – Kawasaki – taking sixth place. The top ten comprises four Yamahas, three Suzukis, two Kawasakis and a single Honda. Provisional Top Ten Qualifying Positions 1st 1 – Suzuki Castrol Team – FRA – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – V.Philippe – 1:42.718 2nd 71 – Honda Alpha Technik Van Zon – BEL – Honda CBR1000RR – M.Schulten – 1:43.343 3rd 7 – Yamaha Austria – AUT – Yamaha YZF-R1 – I.Jerman – 1:44.408 4th 8 – Kawasaki Bolliger Team – SUI – Kawasaki ZX10R – P.Muff – 1:45.267 5th 3 – Yamaha Phase One Endurance – GBR – Yamaha YZF-R1 – W.Nowland – 1:45.444 6th 99 – Yamaha Team Acropolis Zone Rouge 99 – Yamaha YZF-R1 – C.Cogan – 1:45.658 7th 12 – Suzuki Team Fagersjo-el.se – SWE – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – J.Hanson – 1:45.973 8th 38 – Yamaha Endurance Moto38 – FRA – Yamaha YZF-R1 – D.Bouan – 1:46.129 9th 666 – Kawasaki Diablo 666 Bolliger – GBR – Kawasaki ZX10R – M.Rohtlaan – 1:46.177 10th 44 – Suzuki No Limits & RT Racing – Suzuki GSX-R1000 – ITA – F.Jond – 1:47.287 More, from a press release issued by Primo Racing: World Endurance Championship Round 1 Assen TT Circuit, The Netherlands Easter weekend brings the opening round of the World Endurance Championship at Assen, and 2006 is the inaugural season for Primo Racing as a permanent team in the series. Based out of Antwerp, Belgium, team riders Hans Westra, Patrick De La Ruelle and Didier Heyndrickx will be competing in the full championship season aboard a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 motorcycle, which has been expertly prepared by the team with assistance from 15 volunteer crew members. Competing for the first time at the newly revised TT Assen Circuit in The Netherlands, all concerned have been working hard to come to terms with the new circuit, become comfortable on a freshly built race bike and improve lap times. Practice 1 Hans Westra Team Owner and Rider The new circuit is a lot of fun, the first few turns just keep going and going until it turns hard back to the hard. This is not an easy section. The bike is good, but we shall see what the other’s think and make adjustments to the suspension. Patrick De La Ruelle Team Owner and Rider This year’s Suzuki is much faster than our bike from last year, and the handling is excellent. Right now we can only keep working for faster times. Practice 2 Afternoon sun and warmer temperatures welcomed the team to the second practice with no changes made to the bike, although the team’s third rider would now be able to take part in development of the brand new Suzuki GSX-R1000 Didier Heyndrickx Hans and Patrick did not have too many problems, but for me the bike was shaking on acceleration. Each time I was hard on the throttle there was a vibration in the bars. It was not a problem, but fixing it would help us go faster. When I am rolling on the throttle the front tire does not make much contact with the ground and this is causing the bike to feel unstable. Patrick De La Ruelle On hard acceleration the bike is compressing the rear suspension because the spring is too soft. We have spoken to Ohlins here at the track and decided to install a stiffer spring. Hans Westra It is only a five pounds difference in spring rate, but the stiffer setting should stop the front from rising and becoming light under acceleration. Changing temperatures caught several teams off guard with riders from Suzuki Endurance Racing Team (SERT), Yamaha PhaseOne and X-One Yamaha each taking falls on a quickly cooling track. Primo Racing’s Didier Hendricks, however, was able to advance up the time charts with a stunning lap that catapulted the team into 9 th in the session. Final Qualifying Qualifying was split into three sessions with every rider on the team taking part in a 20 minute timed session, with the grid being determined by the team’s single fastest lap. When all was said and done Primo Racing’s Didier Heyndrickx had taken the team’s nearly stock Suzuki GSX-R1000 to 15th on the grid with a lap at 1: 48.321. Hans Westra For a small team like ours this is already a victory. We are a few seconds slower than the top teams but we never imagined ourselves as world champions. They have paid mechanics and hours a day to prepare their bikes, but we must go to work and spend time with our families. We have done so much to prepare for this race and we are very pleased with this starting position. Didier Heyndrickx For the team I am very happy, they have worked so hard to prepare the bike for us and I was proud to have rewarded them for all their work. I wanted to run in the 1:46 range but with colder temperatures this was not possible. With the Assen TT Circuit closed Sunday the team continued to prepare the motorcycle for Monday’s race. Unlike PhaseOne’s Yamaha team, complete disassembly of the race bike was out of the question for Primo Racing’s crew. Great attention to detailed was paid to preparing the bike however, and many small changes were made to improve the suspension and stability at high speed corner exits. With the Le Mans 24 Hour Moto event only a week away it was also necessary for the team to prepare a second set of bodywork fitted with lighting, although it would not be needed for use as the Assen race is run during the day