With hardly time to breath, this weekend, the Motorcycling World Championship arrives at one of the classic events on the calendar: the Netherlands Grand Prix, which will hold its 80th edition at Assen circuit. The sixth race of the season will be held just six days after the chequered flag came down on the British Grand Prix, where the Repsol riders achieved mixed results: positive for Marc Márquez in 125cc and Andrea Dovizioso in MotoGP and disappointing for Dani Pedrosa.
The Castellar del Vallés rider could not repeat the good feelings perceived throughout the practice sessions at Silverstone in the race and although he felt capable of battling for the win, as soon as the red lights went out, he was unable to ride at the same level he had shown twenty-four hours earlier in the practice sessions. The intensity of the calendar however, allows him to quickly move on and focus on the next goal: the Netherlands Grand Prix, where the Repsol rider arrives ready to show his best level and achieve that consistency he is unable to find this year.
A consistency that has allowed his team-mate, Andrea Dovizioso, to finish on the podium once again. The Repsol rider has achieved his best result of the season – second -, which has raised him to the same position in the overall standings. His goal in Assen will be to continue advancing in his battle for the championship and fight for the win in the forthcoming races.
A battle in which Marc Márquez, winner of the last two 125cc races, is fully immersed. The Repsol rider will arrive at the Mecca of motorcycling in exceptional form, demonstrating a talent, conviction and cool headedness that have put him back in the group of favourites after the set back in the Spanish Grand Prix. In two races, he has halved his points difference with the leader – which fell from 33 at the end of the French Grand Prix to 17 now – and nobody doubts that the Repsol rider aims to fight for the highest step of the podium again this weekend.As is traditional, Assen will host the only race of the year held on a Saturday, so the action will return to the track from Thursday, with the first free practice session.
Dani Pedrosa
“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 history create a special atmosphere at Assen so I’m looking forward to getting out on track again”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“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.
Marc Márquez
“We arrive in Holland after two wins in a row, so we are tackling another race on a high, both me and the team, which is doing an extraordinary job. However, we are aware that every weekend is different, so we know that we must continue working calmly and take it step-by-step because it might be more difficult and we have to keep cool headed and do things well. On the KTM, the Assen Circuit was quite difficult but with the Derbi RSA, everything is different to the previous two years. Personally, I liked the track but to be honest, things didn’t go well. It’s a circuit with a very wild, technical first stretch and perhaps more difficult than the end. The second half is from the old track and is much faster. That’s where the times are set and where you could lose more”.
