Just a small portal into the spectacle that is the Dutch TT. Assen is an amazing backdrop. The race was pretty good too….

Images courtesy of: Ducati Press, Yamaha Racing, Honda World, Rizla Suzuki, LRC Honda and TRS Media

From his second pole position start of the season, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi dominated the seventh round of the MotoGP championship in Assen.

Using medium compound front and rear Bridgestone slicks, the Italian controlled the pace throughout, setting a new race lap record en route to clinching his 100th grand prix victory and taking the lead of the world championship.

Also using the medium compound slicks, Jorge Lorenzo finished second to take second position in the championship, and Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner finished a lonely third, still suffering from the illness he experienced in Catalunya. The top three are still only separated by nine points.

The competitive action however focused on a great race-long battle for sixth place. James Toseland, Mika Kallio, Nicky Hayden, Randy de Puniet, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi were split by less than one second for most of the race, trading positions almost every lap. Of this group, only Kallio and Elias opted for Bridgestone’s soft compound rear slicks but were able to match the race pace of the medium compound runners, demonstrating the cross-over between Bridgestone’s compound options.

Despite the threat of rain intensifying in the morning and forecasts predicting a wet track, both the warm-up session and the 26-lap race were run in the dry. As predicted, and with a track temperature slightly higher than for yesterday’s qualifying session, the most popular tire combination was the medium compound front and rear Bridgestone slicks, favoured for their durability.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director – Bridgestone Corporation
“I wish to congratulate Valentino for his fantastic result and reaching his 100th grand prix victory this weekend, especially as it has taken him into the lead of the world championship. I would also like to wish Casey a fast recovery from his illness, and hope that he is back on top form by Laguna next weekend. I am very pleased that with every rider now on Bridgestone tires, we are seeing some very close competition this season which is excellent for the sport and for the spectators.”

Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager, Motorcycle Race tire Development “Although the gaps at the front were quite big today, the pace that Valentino set was faster than the circuit’s lap record from last year, and Jorge also lapped at the same pace as the existing record, so I am happy with the performance of the medium compound Bridgestone slicks today. We saw that the medium compound was clearly the faster option over a race distance, although the performance of the soft compound was also good. The close battle for sixth position that lasted until the chequered flag showed that our tires had good durability and consistency for the race distance, even the softer option.”

Valentino Rossi – Fiat Yamaha Team – Race Winner
“Great, I am so happy! It’s a special day I will never forget in my life. To arrive at 100 wins is fantastic, and here is a special place because my father won here in 250cc. I am the second rider in history along with Agostini to reach this result. I felt confident on the bike from Thursday and made a good start in the race. With more temperature today I had great grip from the tires so is possible to improve my time from yesterday. It was a perfect race. I have to thank all the guys close to me who help me so much, I am so happy.”

Valentino Rossi won his 100th Grand Prix, took his second triumph in succession and became the undisputed leader of the MotoGP World Championship with a stellar performance at the Alice TT Assen. The Fiat Yamaha rider had a peerless performance from pole position and, unlike two weeks previous in Barcelona, needed no ‘Hail Mary’ last lap at the Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing.

A vintage Rossi performance was celebrated with his unraveling a backdrop and posing for a classic photo with antiquated cameras, the Italian’s latest post-race show with his faithful fan club.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was once again forced to settle for second place, his third on the bounce. The Spaniard got off to a bad start from third on the grid and, although he was able to fight back up to the front, could not provide Rossi with the same challenge that he had done last time out.

Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner completed the podium with a solitary ride chasing Lorenzo. The Australian now trails Rossi and his Spanish rival in the overall standings after the trio had been level on points heading in to the Assen race.

Colin Edwards equaled his best result of the year with fourth place, at the head of an enthralling battle between the ‘best of the rest’. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen and Edwards’ Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate James Toseland were also in the top six with their best finishes of the season to date.

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso had been in with a shout at the rostrum, but both took tumbles before the race took its full shape. There was also a late fall for Pramac Racing’s Mika Kallio when the Finn was challenging for sixth on the final lap.

250cc
Hiroshi Aoyama claimed his second win of the 2009 season at the 250cc Alice TT Assen, taking the leadership of the World Championship as a consequence.

The Scot Racing rider’s immediate rival, Álvaro Bautista, had looked to be on course to push Aoyama to the line as the duo broke free and dashed for the chequered flag. However, Mapfre Aspar rider Bautista smashed into the back of Aoyama’s Honda on the fast chicane, ending the Spaniard’s race and leaving the race winner lucky to stay upright. Regaining his composure, Aoyama nursed his machine across the line for an exhilarating win.

Bautista´s late retirement meant that the battle behind him became one for the runner-up spot, with poleman Héctor Barberá eventually getting the better of reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli.

Mattia Pasini and Thomas Luthi ended their hopes of catching up with the leaders when they collided midway through the race, Pasini losing his fourth position in the overall classification with a third DNF of the year. Metis Gilera rider Simoncelli now assumes the place as he attempts to remount his title challenge.

125cc:
A three-way battle at the front of the 125cc race in Assen saw the order of the podium positions decided on the very last lap, with Sergio Gadea earning his first win of 2009.

The Spaniard emerged victorious ahead of fellow countrymen Nico Terol and Julián Simón in a dry race that went down to the wire, saw Terol penalised twenty seconds and left Simón at the head of the overall classification.

The trio had battled against one another since just past the halfway mark in Assen, when third row starter Gadea joined up with the two leaders and mounted his own attempt at victory. With neither rider able to get away, a waiting game took place until the final lap, when Terol made a move that did not pay off and ran along the asphalt run-off strip. He caught up with Gadea on the home straight, but the Bancaja Aspar rider had enough of an advantage to take the win. The move was the subject of an enquiry by Race Direction, and the decision was made to relegate Terol to fifth place despite his having stepped onto the rostrum. – FIM

The Dutch TT at Assen was a mixed bag of emotions for the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team as both Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis made positive steps forward in their performances on the bike. However the hard work was tempered after the race, with the decision of Race Direction to give Elias a 20-second penalty for running across the chicane on the final lap.

After a difficult start to the race, Toni Elias had fought his way admirably through the MotoGP pack and looked set for a sixth place finish until misfortune befell him at the final chicane. Attempting to seal the sixth place finish he ran too hard into the right-hand entry and ran across the gravel, crossing the line in eighth place. With the penalty he dropped back to twelfth, with his team-mate Alex de Angelis promoted to tenth spot. The two had enjoyed eventful races which saw a much improved performance from the duo.

Alex De Angelis (10th; 43’00.621): “From the first lap to about three quarter distance it was a good race for me, fighting in a group for seventh place. We’ve been working hard to find rear traction recently and made some progress at the Barcelona test that has helped us here and I think we have gathered more interesting data to help us move forward. Unfortunately it was the front tire that we struggled with today. From about halfway through it was pretty worn and the front was folding on me more and more. I almost crashed on a few occasions so decided it was best to back off and settle for the position I was in. It is not exactly where we want to be but I think we are getting closer and I’m excited about taking this progress to America.”

Toni Elias (12th 43’14.385): “I’m happy because it looks like little by little we’re making progress. The problem here was that I qualified badly yesterday, I got a bad start today and a lost so much time at the start of the race fight with Sete, Talmacsi, Takahashi and Canepa. It was only three laps but it felt like a lifetime! Once I got free of them I was able to keep passing riders until there was three seconds of clear track in front of me to the second group, which I was able to close down. There were some really hard riders in that group and it was a lot of fun. I want to publicly apologise to Capirossi though because I was very late into the last chicane and ran us both off track. I feel bad for him but I just had to give it everything I had today. Race Direction have decided to penalise me for it, which I have to accept, but the most important thing about today was the performance and not the result.”

Fausto Gresini – Team Manager: “It is disappointing that Race Direction have decided to penalise Toni because other than his start I thought he had a great race today, but to be honest it doesn’t bother us too much because the points are virtually irrelevant at the moment – the important thing is that we make progress and as far as we’re concerned we scored a solid eighth place. The team have done a great job on his bike and proved that we’re ready to fight much higher up the order. Alex also had a good race today and stepped up his pace from practice, which is exactly what we were looking for. Hopefully we get a bit more luck at Laguna!”

Vermeulen races to season best at Dutch TT

Chris Vermeulen brought his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home in fifth place at today’s Dutch TT in Assen to record his best result of the season so far.

Vermeulen got a great start from the fourth row of the grid and was in touch with the top-three at the end of lap one. He was forced back to sixth place on lap six, but with a rider falling just in front of Vermeulen on the 11th lap it left the Australian racer in a lonely and comfortable fifth. He kept up a consistent rhythm and Vermeulen was pleased with his result, he believes it will be a stepping stone to better performances as he now heads to a run of circuits that he really enjoys.

Loris Capirossi was heavily involved in what was the battle of the race. Suzuki’s experienced Italian got a poor start by his usual high standards and was relegated down to 11th – from sixth on the grid – at the end of the first lap. From there Capirossi was in a huge fight that featured up to seven riders at any one time. He battled through the field and made his way up to ninth, before being pushed wide, forcing him to run off the track. After re-joining in 12th he set about getting back in touch with the group and as the high-speed formation reached the last chicane Capirossi had used all his experience to muscle into sixth, but a move from Toni Elias pushed Capirossi into the gravel and although he stayed onboard his machine he had lost all momentum and brought his GSV-R home in 10th.

Following a post-race investigation into the incident with Capirossi and Elias, the latter was awarded with a 20-second penalty, which relegated him down the classification and moved Capirossi up into ninth place.

Today’s race was held in front of packed grandstands and the big crowd of 96,152 were treated to a bit of history as Valentino Rossi rode his Yamaha to victory – the 100th Grand Prix win in the Italian’s illustrious career.

Rizla Suzuki now embarks on a hectic trans-Atlantic dash as it heads to Laguna Seca in America for the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship next Sunday.

Chris Vermeulen:

“I’m obviously happy because this is my best result of the year and we have shown that we have made a step with the bike after the Barcelona test – especially on the chassis side of things. At this track – and the next couple that we are going to – it is not so important on the motor front, so the slight speed disadvantage that we have is not so bad and we can still be competitive. I got a good start to the race and got in with the front guys early on. I tried as hard as I could to stay with them, but didn’t quite have the lap-times to hang in there. I kept pushing all race and when Colin came past I tried to hang on to him, but he seemed to have a bit more rear grip than me. Most of the race after that was pretty boring as I was on my own. I’m happy with fifth and it gives us some valuable points in the championship and a good result to take forward into Laguna Seca.”

Loris Capirossi:

“It was not a good result today and it began with a bad start by me, it made it very difficult all race because it is not very easy to overtake here. When I was pushed wide I was really disappointed because it meant I had to start all over again and chase the other guys to get past. I got past three riders on the last lap and I was just behind Kallio on the last few corners and then he crashed, so I was sixth. I thought that would be not too bad, but on the last corner Elias tried to overtake me and put me out and that was it, it was is all over. I am upset because I really think if I had got a good start today I would have had a good race and we’d have been competitive, but it’s finished now and we have to move on.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:

“It is nice for the team to have been in the top-five at the last three GPs. It is also great for Chris to find a good improvement here at Assen that will give him a step forward in confidence as we head to three of his favourite tracks. He rode a strong race today and it’s a good platform to build on.

“Up until the last corner of the race it looked like we’d have fifth and sixth after an interesting race – to say the least – for Loris. It was always a battle where something could happen at any time and the slightly desperate move on the last corner by Elias was evidence of that. There are some positives we can take out of this weekend, but we didn’t quite have the pace on race day that we were hoping for – compared to the top guys – so we need to keep pushing for improvements and make sure we get the maximum out of our potential in Laguna Seca next weekend.”

Assen, 27 June: the LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet was involved in a thrilling race crossing the line in 7th place in today’s 26-lap Ducth Grand Prix at Assen race track reinforcing his place as one of the championship’s top privateers. The seventh round of the season started today at 14:00 local time and was held in dry conditions and cloudy skies with Rossi celebrating his 100th victory followed by Lorenzo and Stoner.

Riding the Honda RC212V nr. 14, the 28-year-old showed his trademark getting good lap times on race trim in every session throughout the week end at the 4.555 Km circuit obtaining the quickest lap time on Thursday first free session. The Frenchman started from the fourth row and was up into ninth by the end of the first lap beginning a close battle with Hayden, Toseland, Elias and Capirossi for a top ten finish.

De Puniet: It has been a thrilling and stressful race for me. The grid position did not help us and I took a bad start but after the first corner I overtook some riders and was up to ninth by the end of the first lap. After that I caught a group of riders faster than me with better engines and could not pass them. Suddenly Toseland passed me after the back straight but he was on the limit and hit my machine. Once again I had to push to catch the group but then Elias came up and hit me on turn no. 3. However I stay focused and when Capirossi and Elias made a small mistake in the last corner I was ready to take the chance to pass them. After a difficult qualifying we deserve this 7th place. My squad made a very good job on the electronic system between the warm up and the race”.

TT Assen: victory, fastest lap and leadership of the Championship for Hiroshi Aoyama

A well deserved victory, the fastest lap, the head of the Championship: almost a perfect day, for Hiroshi Aoyama, who, in Assen, won the 250 race in front of Barbera and Simoncelli. Now he leads with 121 points; Bautista follow at 108, and Barbera at 95. His teammate, Raffaele De Rosa, got a tenth place who put him at the top of the special rookie standing.

Yuki Takahashi had to take a painkilling before the beginning of the race, still suffering for the finger he broke in Barcellona. Gabor Talmacsi, the Hungarian newcomer, is steadily progressing in his apprenticeship of the MotoGP class, improving day by day.

Hiroshi Aoyama (250cc) 1st: “First of all, let me say thank you to my team. They did a great job, providing me with an excellent bike to fight for the top prize in a circuit that could be not easy for us. My start was not perfect, and I had to push to make up. Then, I found a good pace, and in the second part of the race I was able to get the leadership and cross first the finish line. My position in the championship begins to be interesting. The most important thing, now, is to keep the rhythm. Then, we will see”.

Raffaele De Rosa (250cc) 10th: “At the beginning, I experienced the same problem I had in Barcelona: with the tank full, I’m not able to do what I want, with the bike. And, unfortunately, I added to it a couple of mistakes. Everything went by far better in the second part. If I can fix that problem that I have in the first laps, I’m certain I can improve a lot”.

Yuki Takahashi (MotoGP) 15th: “I did not have had a perfect start. Moreover, in the very first part of the race, I almost touched with a competitor, and was forced into a wide line. Mid-race, my back began to ache, and lap by lap I lost sensitivity in the finger I broke in Barcelona. I wanted to finish at any cost. I did it, and I’m satisfied. But not happy: I can do better, and I’ll do in the next races”.

Gabor Talmacsi (MotoGP) 16th: “The start was fun. I practised, when possible, and I saw that I was good at that. So, we decided for a soft tire at the rear, and a medium at the front. For ten laps I was able to stay with the other of my group. I’m very pleased with my race weekends in MotoGP: I’m improving race by race, day by day. Next, we are going to have a technical meeting, to decide how to work on the setup for Laguna Seca”.

Lady luck turns her back on Pedrosa and Dovizioso in Assen

The riders in the Repsol Honda Team, Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, both fell when they were in 4th position in the Dutch GP. The race was won by Valentino Rossi, his 100th victory in the World Championship, Jorge Lorenzo was second and Casey Stoner third.

A race to forget for the Honda Repsol team as its two riders fell when they had a good chance of getting a good result in the race. Dani Pedrosa got off to a great start as is normal for the Spaniard and was leader for a large part of the first lap. But Valentino Rossi rapidly overtook him and got away from the rest of the riders, a group of four title favourites had formed up to that point. When it seemed that Pedrosa was going to be up with the leaders on his modified bike he fell on a corner just after being overtaken by Lorenzo who had been following him closely. A big pity because Pedrosa had shown some great form during the whole weekend, and the pain from his injuries was becoming less and less.

His teammate Andrea Dovizioso did not have any better luck. After Pedrosa`s fall he moved into 4th position, and he began to ride at a faster pace so he could catch the three at the front. He fell on a left-hander when he was setting his fastest laps. And so the race was left with three riders way out in the lead, taking away any excitement towards the end of the race. Valentino Rossi won, and he now leads the World Championship by five points, Jorge Lorenzo was 2nd and Casey Stoner 3rd.

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was Honda’s top finisher in today’s Dutch MotoGP race, taking a hard-fought seventh-place finish after Repsol Honda team-mates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso crashed out in separate incidents. Watched by the biggest Assen crowd in years, the race was won by reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who scored a dominant victory, his 100th in Grand Prix competition, over team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

Today’s 250 race was won by Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) after a thrilling duel with title rival Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) ended on the penultimate lap when Bautista rammed Aoyama and fell. The Japanese rider’s second victory of the year moved him back into the World Championship lead with seven rounds done.

Pedrosa had high hopes of scoring a podium finish in the MotoGP race after he had qualified second fastest, just 0.085 seconds off pole position. And the Spaniard was looking good in the early stages, contesting third place with Lorenzo. But on lap five Pedrosa lost the front at the first turn and slid off. Despite the tumble, which left him uninjured, Pedrosa believes that his team has taken a step forward with machine performance and is looking forward to the next races.

Team-mate Dovizioso took over fourth place after fighting his way through from seventh after a so-so start. The Italian was confident of another strong result but he ran out of luck on lap 11 when he slid off at turn one. He too walked away unhurt.

While Rossi ran away with the race the interest settled on a frantic seven-man battle for sixth place, featuring de Puniet, Toni Elias (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Alex De Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini), James Toseland (Yamaha), Nick Hayden (Ducati), Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) and Mika Kallio (Ducati). Positions within the group changed constantly as the seven men fought for position through the challenging twists and turns of Assen, MotoGP’s most historic racetrack. There was little doubt that the finishing order would only be finalised during a last-lap sort-out and that is exactly what happened. Kallio crashed at the high-speed Hoge Heide section just a few hundred metres from the finish, then Elias and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) ran off the track at the final chicane, Elias crossing the line in eighth place, just metres ahead of Hayden and Capirossi. Elias had made an impressive charge through the pack, from 13th on lap four, but was penalised 20 seconds for his last-lap indiscretion at the chicane which put him in 12th place.

De Puniet had good reason to be satisfied with his seventh-place finish, especially since he might have finished higher up the order if he hadn’t been hit by both two rivals during the race.

De Angelis spent much of the 26 laps in the group battling for sixth, happy with recent improvements made to his RCV, but in the latter stages he lost some front grip and slipped back to a lonely tenth place. Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda), who broke a finger and hurt his back at Catalunya two weeks ago, took the last World Championship point in 15th place. Gabor Talmacsi (Scot Honda) finished 16th in his second MotoGP race.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Honda) once again demonstrated his immense talent and awesome determination with a stunning 250 victory aboard his RS250RW. The Japanese rider’s second win of 2009, following his dramatic success in May’s Spanish GP, moved him back into the World Championship lead ahead of Bautista.

Aoyama came through from sixth place to take the lead from Bautista at two-thirds distance. The pair were inches apart until the end of the penultimate lap when Bautista ploughed into the back of the Honda at the chicane and crashed. Aoyama was lucky not to go down and continued at reduced speed with a buckled exhaust pipe dragging on the ground. He still crossed the line four seconds ahead of Hector Barbera (Aprilia).

Hector Faubel (Valencia CF-Honda SAG) rode a breathtaking race after a first lap incident damaged his bike and put him way back in 17th position. Undaunted, the Spanish RS250RW rider stormed through the pack, moving into eighth place with two laps to go. Faubel finished one place and 1.9 seconds ahead of team-mate Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT-SAG) who battled rear grip issues in the closing stages to beat Raffaele De Rosa (Scot Honda) by a fraction of a second. De Rosa struggled with a full tank in the early stages of the race but got better and better as the race went on.

Vincent Debise (Team CIP Honda) netted his second points haul of the season with a fine ride to 14th. Shoya Tomizawa (Team CIP Honda) and Bastien Chesaux (Racing Team Germany Honda) both crashed out. Tomizawa fell at high-speed on the very first lap after losing his front brake lever in a first-corner collision. Chesaux fell in the late stages of the race after running short of rear grip. Both riders were unhurt.

MotoGP Rider Quotes:
Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 7th – said:
“That was a thrilling and stressful race. My grid position did not help; I got a bad start but after the first corner I overtook a few riders and I was up to ninth by the end of the first lap. After that I caught a group of riders with faster engines and I could not pass them. Suddenly Toseland passed me after the back straight but he was on the limit and hit my machine. once again I had to push to catch the group and then Elias came past and hit me at turn three. However, I stayed focused and when Capirossi and Elias made a mistake in the last corner I was ready to take the chance to pass them. After a difficult time in qualifying we deserve this seventh place. My crew made a very good job on the electronics between the warm-up and the race.”

Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 10th, said:
“From the first lap to about three quarter distance it was a good race for me, fighting in a group for seventh place. We’ve been working hard to find rear traction recently and made some progress at the Barcelona test that has helped us here and I think we have gathered more interesting data to help us move forward. Unfortunately it was the front tire that we struggled with today. From about halfway through it was pretty worn and the front was folding on me more and more. I almost crashed on a few occasions so decided it was best to back off and settle for the position I was in. It is not exactly where we want to be but I think we are getting closer and I’m excited about taking this progress to America.”

Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 12th – said:
“I’m happy because it looks like little by little we’re making progress. The problem here was that I qualified badly yesterday, I got a bad start today and a lost so much time at the start of the race fight with Sete [Gibernau], Talmacsi, Takahashi and Canepa. It was only three laps but it felt like a lifetime! Once I got free of them I was able to keep passing riders until there were three seconds of clear track in front of me to the second group, which I was able to close down. There were some really hard riders in that group and it was a lot of fun. I want to publicly apologise to Capirossi though because I was very late into the last chicane and ran us both off track. I feel bad for him but I just had to give it everything I had today. Race direction have decided to penalise me for it, which I have to accept, but the most important thing about today was the performance and not the result.”

Yuki Takahashi, Scot Honda: 15th – said:
“I did not have had a perfect start. Moreover, in the very first part of the race I almost collided with another rider and was forced to take a wide line which lost me time. Mid-race, my back began to ache and then lap by lap I lost sensitivity in the finger I broke in Barcelona. I wanted to finish at any cost. I did it, and I’m satisfied. But not happy: I can do better, and I’ll do so in the next races.”

Gabor Talmacsi, Scot Honda: 16th – said:
“The start was fun. I had practised my starts and I saw that I was good at that. So, we decided for a soft tire for the rear and a medium tire for the front. For ten laps I was able to stay with the other guys in my group. I’m very pleased with my race weekends in MotoGP so far; I’m improving race by race, day by day. Next, we are going to have a technical meeting to decide how to work on the setup for Laguna Seca.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: DNF, said:
“At the beginning the race was going well and I was lapping with a fast pace – the same as in the practice sessions. Fourth place was looking on the cards and I believe that would have been an achievable and a reasonable result for us this weekend, so I’m very disappointed about the crash at Turn 1. I had a good start but I was trapped by a bunch of riders and it took me a few laps to get by them. Once I was past I was feeling quite comfortable, although I wasn’t sure I could catch Stoner. Then, while I was in the middle of the corner at the maximum lean I lost the front. I wasn’t on the brakes when it happened – we have to lean a long way over in the middle of the turn and that’s when it caught me out. The next race is only a week away so we have to put this result behind us and focus on Laguna. It’s a track I like and, in spite of today’s result, I’m confident when can get a good result there.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: DNF – said:
“The good news is that I didn’t hurt myself in the fall and, considering my recent run of luck with injuries, this is a big relief. But of course I’m disappointed with the result today because, even though it’s unlikely I could have won the race, I was feeling strong on the bike again and believe I could have made the podium. My feeling on the machine this weekend has been much better and I have been able to ride close to my maximum potential, so I was quite confident coming into this race. I made a fast start and found a good rhythm, so the crash was very unexpected – for the whole weekend I had no warning this might happen. Now we have to forget this race and remain positive and focused because we have been the best in the past and I believe we can be the best again. The whole team deserves better than this and I know we will work even harder to take the fight to our rivals, even though they are very strong. Laguna is the next race and we will go there with the same positive mood that we brought to Assen this weekend.”

250cc Rider guotes:

Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Honda: 1st – said:
“First of all, let me say thank you to my team. They did a great job, providing me with an excellent bike to fight for the top prize in a circuit that might not have been easy for us. My start was not perfect, and I had to push to make up. Then, I found a good pace, and in the second part of the race I was able to get the leadership and cross first the finish line. My position in the championship begins to be interesting. The most important thing, now, is to keep the rhythm. Then, we will see”.

Hector Faubel, Valencia CF-Honda SAG: 8th – said:
“The race was crazy! I started like a rocket and overtook five or six riders but Di Meglio touched me in the second corner and bent one of my handlebars, which made my race more difficult. Then on the second lap Cluzel fell down and I had to go off the track to avoid his fallen bike. After that I was able to gain positions until finally I finished eighth. I’m happy because after so many handicaps this is a really good result. Also, the riders in front of me on points are very close so I think I can move further up the classification.”

Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 9th – said:
“I made a really good start, climbing from 11th position to ninth. At that moment of the race I had a good pace and I felt great on the bike. The problems started with ten laps to finish when I rear tire started working not so well, very bad through the right-handers. Despite that I’m happy because I achieved another top-ten result and got some important points which moved me up in the points standings.”

Raffaele De Rosa, Scot Honda: 10th – said:
“At the beginning I experienced the same problem I had in Barcelona: with the tank full I’m not able to do what I want with the bike. And unfortunately I added to my problems my making a couple of mistakes. Everything went far better in the second part of the race. If I can fix that full-tank problem that I’m having in the first laps I’m certain I can improve a lot.”

Vincent Debise, Team CIP Honda: DNF – said:
“It’s great to get some more points. It was a tough race and I suppose I was lucky that some other riders dropped out. But the important thing is that we are improving and that I got some more points which makes me more confident for the next races.”

Shoya Tomizawa, Team CIP Honda: DNF – said:
“I knew it was going to be busy in the first few corners. I was on the outside into the first corner and someone hit me from the inside. We managed not to crash, but when I got to the next corner and tried to brake I discovered that the collision had ripped off the front brake lever. It was a fast crash, fourth gear, but I am okay.”

Bastien Chesaux, Racing Team Germany Honda: DNF – said:
“I don’t know what happened. From lap ten I had no rear grip, which was very strange because yesterday we tried a tire with 25 laps on it and it was okay. I went into a corner, no gas, nothing, and the rear went away from me. Other than that, the bike was really good.”

Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his extraordinary career in Holland today, becoming only the second rider in history to reach 100 Grand Prix wins. 13 years after his very first victory in 125cc, the Italian took the hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and race win with a perfect display in front of a huge Assen crowd to pass the century mark. It was his 40th win since joining Yamaha in 2004, meaning that over half of his premier-class wins have come with the Japanese factory.

His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished a strong second and had a milestone of his own to celebrate as it was the fiftieth podium of his career. Like Rossi, The Mallorcan has now finished on the podium in all but one round this season. Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland made it four Yamahas in the top six after finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

The eight-time World Champion got a strong start from pole and was second at the end of the first lap, passing Casey Stoner soon after to take a lead which he never relinquished. With his M1 and Bridgestone tires working perfectly throughout, his race pace was even better than he had shown in practice and he gradually stretched his lead from Lorenzo in the latter stages of the race to seal his historic victory. The 30-year-old Italian and his fan-club joined forces on the slow-down lap to unroll a 25-metre banner which pictured every one of his 100 wins, spanning a career which began when he was 17 years old.

Lorenzo had a poor start and lost several positions in the early melee, leaving him to fight his way back to the front in the early laps. It took him until lap five to come through to second but by then Rossi had opened up a gap of nearly 1.5 seconds. The 22-year-old looked to be closing on his team-mate a little at mid race distance but in the latter stages he began to lose a bit of confidence in the front and was happy enough to settle for second and an important 20 points.

With Stoner finishing third today the championship standings remain tight at the top – Rossi leads on 131 points, Lorenzo is second on 126 and Stoner is hard on his heels with 122. The MotoGP paddock now heads directly to California and Laguna Seca for round eight in a week’s time.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 42′14.611
“This is a very emotional moment and for sure I will remember this 100th victory for the rest of my life. When I reached 70, 100 seemed a long way away but here I am and it has been great, great fun getting here. It is down to so many people, like Jeremy and my guys who have been with me for ten years and all of the team who always give 100% and always give me the best bike possible. Especially however I have to thank the friends who have been with me my whole life and my father Graziano, who won here in Assen 30 years ago when I was a baby, and my mother Stefania, because they have always supported me. It’s great to reach this moment here at Assen because it’s the ‘Cathedral’ of motorcycle racing and the most historic track we go to. Today was a perfect race – I got a great start and my bike was incredible which meant that my pace was very strong. In fact I think it was better for everyone’s hearts not to have another last-lap battle like in Barcelona! I had a good advantage from Lorenzo in some parts of the track and it was a great ride for me. Now I have 100 wins and I’m only the second rider to arrive at this number, but Agostini still has 22 more and for me he is still the greatest. 100 is a great result but the atmosphere in our team is wonderful and the motivation is still as high as ever – we want to win a few more races together yet!”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 2nd Time: +5.368
“First of all I have to say congratulations to Valentino because this is an incredible thing to achieve and this day belongs to him. Unfortunately I didn’t get a good start today and I had to take a few risks to pass people and come back to the front. Once I did I tried to go after Valentino but in some places I just wasn’t as fast as him; he was riding 36.5s every time and I didn’t really have quite enough confidence to push that hard today because the bike didn’t feel perfect. As the race went on I started to feel the front tire ‘close’ a bit and I decided that it was safer to come home in second! Another podium is a great result; it’s my fiftieth and we continue to be very strong this season so I am happy. I am only five points from the lead and we are in a good position going to Laguna, which I am very excited about.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“100 victories speak for themselves! For all of us in this team it’s a huge honour and pleasure to work with Valentino because for sure he is one of the greatest in history, something he’s shown again today. Furthermore, working with him is always great fun and we enjoy every weekend. This is a very important piece of history for Yamaha as well because 40 of these wins have been here with us, more than with any other manufacturer and the majority of his wins in this class. When we started together in 2004 it was impossible to think of targets like this and I know that everyone involved and all of Yamaha’s employees will always remember this time. I think I speak on behalf of everyone by saying thank you to Vale for these memories and thank you for joining Yamaha!”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“Today we were able to get a great podium, which is very important for our championship with Jorge showing once again that he is very competitive. Unfortunately we had a small problem at the start and then, while trying to recover, Jorge put a lot of pressure on the front tire. Anyway, he rode a very clever race and was able to manage the package until the end and get an excellent second place. Now we fly to Laguna Seca, where we are confident we will be able to put in another good performance. Yamaha has the best bike on the track and this gives us strong motivation for the future.”

Double Dutch delight for Monster Tech 3 Yamaha Team

Colin Edwards and James Toseland raced to superb top six finishes at the historic Assen circuit today, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo claiming fourth and sixth respectively.

American Edwards equalled his best result of 2009 with a brilliant fourth position that moved the 35-year-old to within two-points of fourth place in the overall standings.

And British rider Toseland roared back to form with an outstanding performance in one of the most intense battles witnessed in the 800cc MotoGP era to claim a thoroughly deserved top six finish.

Edwards made a good start from fifth on the grid and passed Chris Vermeulen on lap five to claim fifth and was exerting intense pressure on Andrea Dovizioso when the Italian crashed on lap 11. That left Edwards to claim fourth and maintain his 100 per cent points-scoring record in 2009.

Behind Edwards, Toseland was embroiled in an incredible seven-rider battle for most of the race that captivated a crowd of 96,152 fans.

Adapting brilliantly to a new set-up inspired by Fiat Yamaha Team Director Masahiko Nakajima, Toseland moved into sixth place on lap 11 and produced a masterclass of riding under pressure to hold off the likes of Mika Kallio, Loris Capirossi and Nicky Hayden.

As the incredible battle unfolded to a gripping finale, Toseland slipped back to ninth on the last lap before he took advantage of a series of mistakes to claim his first top six finish of the season.

The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team now moves to the American round in Laguna Seca next weekend – home race for Edwards and title sponsor Monster – brimming with confidence.

Colin Edwards – Position: 4th Time: +0′29.114
“Finally I got a decent start and the longer wheelbase bike helped me get off the line. When Dovizioso came by I was biting my teeth to stay with him and keep the pressure on. But then I saw Dovizioso crash in front of me and just before that I’d had a moment with the right side of the front. I’d done 32-laps on that tire yesterday but coming in and out of the pits all of the time it’s hard to get an accurate assessment of what’s going to happen. I just held station after that because I could see I wasn’t catching (Casey) Stoner and I was holding Vermeulen off comfortably. My target was just to ride without making any mistakes and keep the momentum going. I rode my hardest but this year in MotoGP it is so hard just to get a podium. The field is so strong now and it’s the hardest year I’ve ever had in MotoGP. I’ve ridden nowhere near as hard as that in the past and been on the podium. But I’m close to fourth in the championship and I was only beaten by the three fastest guys in the world today, so I’m happy with the job I’m doing. I can’t wait for Laguna now and hopefully I’ll be able to go better and get a podium for Monster, Tech 3 and all the American fans.”

James Toseland – Position 6th Time: +0′39.347
“I was a bit nervous on the start because I’d no experience with a new clutch set-up we were running. The crash in the warm-up meant I didn’t try it before the race, but I did a pretty good start but still lost three or four places. I knew I’d got a pretty good race set-up so just tried to stay calm and in the first couple of laps I took advantage of that to get into the top ten. It was an incredible battle for most of the race and I knew I wasn’t much stronger than the rest and I knew if I got to the front that it wasn’t going to be a case of me pulling away. I knew once I was at the front of the bunch that it would be a case of protecting it. That’s exactly what I did but it was nearly all spoiled on the last lap. I was getting ready to pass Mika at the last corner when Elias came under me at Turn 10. That let Loris through too and I’d gone from sixth to ninth! It was so chaotic I didn’t even see Kallio crash and I thought when Elias dived under Loris at the last chic ane that they might run off. Fortunately for me they did and I took advantage of it, and leading that group for so long I think I deserved sixth. It has been great to work with Mr Nakajima and I feel quite privileged to have his help and it just shows that I’m still on Yamaha’s thoughts and they want me to get up to speed.”

Herve Poncharal – Team Manager
“That was easily the best race of the season for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and I’m delighted because everybody has put in a lot of hard work. Colin was very impressive again and again he is the best non-factory rider, which considering how tough the competition is now, that is a great achievement. I have to say massive congratulations to James. He’s not had an easy time but he was able to lead an incredible fight in a group that included some of the very best riders in this championship. It was not easy to lead that group like he did but he did an unbelievable job and he definitely deserved that top six. He is a fighter and he proved that today and it was great that we played a big part in Yamaha’s success today, with all four bikes in the top six. I’d also like to say a big thanks to Mr Nakajima from Yamaha. He made an extra special effort and given big support to James this weekend. Now we go to Colin’s home race and a huge race for Monster in very confident mood .”

The Ducati Marlboro Team had a mixed weekend at Assen, with some positive results balanced out by a few difficulties. The steps forward in the bike’s performance were a definite positive, and that allowed Casey Stoner to take yet another podium finish despite suffering physically once more during the race. Nicky Hayden also had a great day after a brilliant start, and after battling hard for sixth throughout the race, only finished in eighth due to a technical glitch.
Casey Stoner suffered throughout the weekend at Assen, with the physical condition which had already affected him in Catalunya worsening as the days went on. As difficult as a GP weekend is already, his physical condition just added to the obstacles to overcome as he was forced to race unwell. Despite that, he still managed to take home a podium finish, which was clearly a very positive result.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3th
“I’ve been feeling fine all week but started to feel run down again on Friday and I’ve just got worse as the weekend has gone on. I’ve taken every kind of supplement and vitamin tablet you can think of but nothing seems to have worked, so it is obviously something we need to have looked at closer because I can’t keep going like this and it is costing us points. Thankfully I had a fantastic bike underneath me again today and I owe the  team for that. A big thank also to Dott. Macchiagodena and our physiotherapist Freddie (Dente), who took good care of me both in Catalunya and here. Unfortunately we don’t have much time to get fit for Laguna but we’ll see what we can do.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 8th
“When you start from 13th you are always going to have a lot of work to do but that was the best bike I’ve had underneath me all season so I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the team for that, they have worked so hard. I got a great start and was able to lead the second group for a while until a couple of guys came past and I lost my rhythm a bit. I made a little mistake under braking on the back straight, ran wide and lost a lot of time but I fought back and got in with the group again. I was having great fun but unfortunately the left handlebar came kind of loose about halfway through the race and cost me a lot of time – that’s when a lot of the guys got past me. I know I’m coming out with a lot of excuses this year but a loose handlebar at that speed is pretty scary! The guys are looking at how it happened. Anyway, man it was a hard battle. I know we were only fighting for fifth or sixth but it felt like there was a title on the line out there! Big respect to everybody in the group though. Elias made a big mistake but everybody left it all out on the track today and we all shook hands afterwards. It was good to be a part of the battle.”

LIVIO SUPPO -  Ducati MotoGP Project Director
I’m sorry for Casey, it was clearly a difficult weekend for him because of his physical condition. Obviously everything we’ve done for him up to now hasn’t worked so we need to help him as much as possible. Besides that I’m really pleased with Nicky Hayden’s performance who was a little unfortunate but has shown some really good progress, just like Mika Kallio who although he crashed had a great race nonetheless. Of course we need to give credit to Filippo (Preziosi) , Vitto (Guareschi) and all the guys at the factory for their hard work. Now we need to continue improving the bike and help Casey to overcome his physical problems, because that’s his biggest issue at the moment.”

Dutch TT 2009 Podium
1st Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 2nd Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 3rd Casey Stoner (Ducati)
Fastest lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1′36.558 – 169.825 Km/h

These are the results from the Assen TT.  MotoGP is amazingly close this year but i think these results may be prophetic of the conclusion.

A seven man battle for the lead for most of the 16 laps made it the race of the day at the Dutch Grand Prix and all the sweeter for Sturla Fagerhaug who took his 3rd Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory of the year. The 17 year old Norwegian finally managed to open an advantage but it was still 4 men fighting for the other podium places at the last corner with Daijiro Hiura coming out ahead of Jake Gagne, Florian Marino and Jakub Kornfeil.

“That was a great race,” said a sweaty Fagerhaug as he took his helmet off. “At least I didn’t make a mess of the start this time and I managed to get to the front quite early. Then I made a few mistakes and some others got past. I settled down and started to put in some good laps to try and get away but they stayed with me.”

“I really didn’t want it to come down to a big fight at the last corner, at least I just wanted to be fighting with only one other rider if I couldn’t get away completely. We were doing quite good lap times but there are three straights so if the others work on the slipstream it is easier for them to stay with you. I just kept pushing as hard as I could and finally I did get away. So then I just had to be smooth and not make any mistakes.”

Even when Fagerhaug did eventually make the break it was all thrills behind and one of the leading lights was Danny Kent who managed to repeatedly out manoeuvre the other Rookies with a daring inside pass at the Strubben, the corner onto the back straight. “It’s something that James Toseland told me and it really worked. I could pass the guys inside, then get back across as far as possible so it didn’t spoil the drive onto the straight. Sometimes I lost a little on the drive, sometimes not but it really helped me get past,” said the 15 year old Englishman.

“I wanted to get after Sturla so when I got into second I put my head down and pushed as hard as I could, I thought I could catch him. but then on the brakes the front folded under and I crashed,” concluded Kent.

When Kent fell on lap 14 the last chance of catching Fagerhaug went with him. Marino, Hiura, Gagne and Kornfeil continued the fight for the podium having dropped 15 year old Swede Alex Kristiansson who had been part of the lead battle early on.

Gagne, the 15 year old Californian was impressive in his first race at Assen. “I love the track, I was really enjoying myself, things were sliding around quite a bit towards the end but we were all having fun. I didn’t want to leave it to a big out-braking effort at the last corner so I tried to get away but they past me out the back on the last lap and it was all on into the last corner.”

Coming into the chicane it was Marino who had second but it wasn’t to be the Frenchman’s day to go to the podium. “I so wanted to walk up those steps, I pushed and pushed all race,” said the 16 year old. “Coming down to the last corner I was in front and I knew I had to be late but hold the line. As I braked and turned-in the front wheel tucked under, I had to let it go and I just ran a little wide, that was it, the others got through.”

“I still haven’t got to the podium but that was a great race, all the guys were riding hard and well, not messing each other up as at the earlier races, it was just great, it was Grand Prix racing,” concluded Marino with a smile despite his deep disappointment.

Hiura’s second was well deserved as he did not make such a great start from 8th on the grid and completed the first lap in the same position. He was soon on the move though and became one of the strongest in the 7 man battle. “That was great fun, a very good race,” said the 14 year old Japanese with his characteristic grin. “I pushed as hard as I could then Sturla got away from us but I knew we were fighting for the podium. We were all pushing hard into the last corner then Marino went on the grass and I got through.”

Rossi takes pole and Lorenzo joins him on front row to set-up another Fiat Yamaha battle

Valentino Rossi, who is looking for his 100th career victory tomorrow, took his second pole position of the season in the Netherlands today with a commanding display at the Assen TT circuit. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo filled the third grid spot after just missing out with his final flying lap. Dani Pedrosa will start from second whilst Casey Stoner, who is joint championship leader along with Rossi and Lorenzo, will head the second row. It is the fourth double front row for the Fiat Yamaha Team this season.

After yesterday’s bright sunshine today was overcast and cooler but it stayed dry and both riders had a useful morning practice, with Lorenzo running out on top and Rossi fourth. This afternoon’s qualifying saw the usual continuation of set-up work throughout the early stages before Rossi moved into pole with ten minutes to go, with Lorenzo second. The pair swapped positions once more before the Italian set his pole-clinching lap of 1′36.025 to retake pole with four minutes to go. Lorenzo was up on his team-mate’s time on his final flying lap but he dropped a few tenths on the last sector and finished the session 0.368 seconds adrift.

Rossi’s other pole of 2009 came at Motegi, when grid positions were in fact decided on free practice after qualifying was rained off. The World Champion’s last ‘proper’ pole was therefore at Indianapolis last year, on his way to a famous inaugural victory at the American track. Lorenzo meanwhile has qualified on the front row for all seven rounds so far this season.

Tomorrow’s 26-lap race begins at 2:00pm local time but with rain forecast the weather could prove a factor in the day’s proceedings once again.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1Time: 1′35.025Laps: 29
“This is a really good pole position because I’ve only had one other this season, at Motegi in strange conditions. I had a lot of traffic around me in the last few minutes so I had to be careful to judge exactly the right point to push, but I got it right and I was really happy with my great lap at the end. I feel good and I am very strong with the Bridgestone race tires but it’s going to be a hard race because the others are also very fast. We still have two or three points on the track where we could improve our performance a bit more so we still have a bit of work to do, but I am confident that we can make another great race. Of course we don’t know about the weather, but this is normal for Assen and we will just have to manage!”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rdTime: 1′36.393Laps: 31
“I’m happy with the first row, another one for this season, and this is the most important thing with regards to the start of the race tomorrow. Of course I wanted my fourth pole position but I had some problems in the last sector; I’m not sure why yet. We need to continue working to try to improve in that area and to understand the problem, because the race is going to be very hard with quite a few riders up front. We don’t know what the weather will be and so we will have to wait and see until warm-up tomorrow morning.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“Our target is always the front row so to get pole position is the best we can do! This was a good session because we had a strong pace throughout and Valentino is feeling comfortable on the bike. We’re looking forward to tomorrow but of course we are a bit worried about the weather. We have a few small things to fine-tune and then we will hope for a good start, like in Barcelona, and another exciting race.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“We’re happy because the main aim is to be on the front row, and we have achieved that once again here. In fact we were hoping maybe for second with that last lap, but third is okay as well and Jorge is very fast. He did a long run during the session and his pace was very good, but we still need to improve slightly in T4, because this is where we are losing a bit of time. We will work on this tonight and use the warm-up – weather permitting – to make final improvements.”

Edwards and Toseland equal season best qualifying in Assen

Colin Edwards and James Toseland equalled their best qualifying performances of the season in Assen today to boost hopes of a double top six finish for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team in tomorrow’s Dutch MotoGP race.

Edwards’ hopes of a third MotoGP podium at the legendary Assen circuit were boosted by his best lap of 1.36.760 securing him fifth place on the second row of the grid in a session run in cool and cloudy conditions. The American made big progress in finding a more confidence-inspiring front-end setting on his YZR-M1 machine and Edwards topped the timesheets with just under 20 minutes remaining. The 35-year-old, who currently lies sixth in the overall standings, only slipped off the front in a dramatic final few minutes, but he’s confident his race pace is fast enough to mount a podium challenge tomorrow.

Toseland will start round seven of the 2009 world championship from ninth position on the grid, the British rider gaining more crucial experience on a radically revised YZR-M1 set-up. It was Toseland’s second successive top ten grid position and showed the significant strides he has made recently in improving his qualifying performance.

The 28-year-old clocked a best time of 1.37.323 to finish just over a second off Valentino Rossi’s pole position time and he was just over half-a-second away from fourth place. Using a YZR-M1 with new footrest, handlebar and seating positions that he tried for the first time yesterday, Toseland is confident that he can claim his first top six finish of the campaign in tomorrow’s 26-lap race.

Colin Edwards 5th 1.36.760 – 25 laps
“It certainly wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be because at the start of the session I was in and out of the pits a lot making adjustments and normally that’s not a good sign. I’ve got a busy feeling on race tires now I’m using the longer wheelbase. It puts a bit more weight on the front and while it’s not chatter I don’t feel I’m absorbing the bumps as well as I need to be. At certain times it feels like I’m skimming over the bumps, but despite that I’m pretty happy with my pace. I did a 37.3 on race tires and for race pace that’s acceptable. I think low 1.37s or high 1.36s will be the pace if it stays dry, and I’m confident I can run those times. I put my head down on the softer rear tire and on my last lap I managed to set my best time even though the hard front had eight laps on it. After eight or nine laps the front will start to lose that special feeling and I had a couple of slides on my last couple of laps and I wasn’t going to go any quicker than wha t I did. Considering that I’m happy to have equalled my best qualifying of the year, particularly as I feel we can make the bike better. I think we’re looking good for tomorrow because the fourth section has always been a bogey section for me and that’s where you can gain or lose a lot of time. On the Bridgestone’s it is unbelievable through that last section. They are just so stable you don’t get the handlebars shaking or flapping through the fast sections. Everything just rolls nice and smooth and I think we can get out there and fight at the front tomorrow.”

James Toseland 9th 1.37.323 – 28 laps
“I’m really happy even though I’m only ninth again on the grid. We’ve spent a lot of time working on the race setting with the new set-up and I’m feeling really confident on race tires. The weight we’ve put on the rear is really helping the Bridgestone work and its helping keep load on the tire. We put a bit more weight on the rear again today and we’re getting better rear grip. I’m just trying to work the rear tire a lot more with that extra load on it and that means I can exit the corner a lot better. I’ve also got more stability going into the corner but on the softer tires there was so much traffic that I got held up a bit otherwise I might have gained another couple of places. I had to roll off when I came across Toni Elias and that was a big shame because I’d just done my best first split of the whole session. Fingers crossed it will be dry tomorrow because I feel I’m getting close to where I need to be. After Catalunya I’ve done about 15 practice starts this week end because it is crucial that I get away to give myself a chance of a top six. I’m trying a slightly different clutch just to be a bit smoother because as I release the clutch it has been a bit aggressive in the first few races. But I’m desperate to give Yamaha and my guys at Tech 3 a good result after all the help they’ve been giving me this weekend.”

As the year unfolds the metal of the men at the top is really being tested. One man has seemed to be able rise against the pressure time and again…will he do it again? These are the results from Qualifying for MotoGP and the 250s from Assen