Assen will be the venue of the seventh round of the World Championship.
Max Biaggi in 2001, Sebastián Porto in 2004, and Dani Pedrosa in the 125cc in 2002, are the Repsol riders who already know the victory on the Dutch track.
The last Saturday of June can only mean one thing for the MotoGP community around the world, a historical date with the legendary circuit of Assen to celebrate the 75th Dutch Grand Prix or Dutch TT. After the exciting Grand Prix of Italy and Catalonia, MotoGP continues at a steady pace to disembark this weekend in the Cathedral of Motorcycling. A technical circuit and one of the fastest of the World Championship, this time with two big novelties: a new floating grandstand in front of the start/arrival line and a change in the De Bult and Ruskenhoek corners, shortening the layout by 30 metres. For the Repsol riders, Assen will be a new change to get a good result that will reward them for their hard work. Although the rain usually shows up during the weekend, the riders hope that the weather will not be taking the leading role of the event.
In MotoGP, Nicky Hayden, who protagonised a nice fight fir the third place in Barcelona, arrives in what probably is his favourite circuit. He finished eleventh in his first year and fifth last year. The North American rider performed a superb recovery from place sixteen on the grid and even managed to fight for the third step of the podium which finally went to Melandri. Valentino Rossi was the winner of last years race, after a nice fight with Gibernau. Max Biaggi, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Sunday, faces the Dutch Grand Prix with optimism, after having recovered from the frustrating race in Barcelona. The Italian, who finished fourth last year, is giving signs of a recovery from the problems hes been suffering since the beginning of the season. Biaggi, with three fourth and two second places, as well as one victory in Assen, will fight from the first day in order to turn the Dutch Grand Prix into the point of inflection of the 2005 season. Things dont seem to have started too well for the members of the Repsol Aspar Team in the 250cc.
Sebastián Porto has not managed to clinch the longed-for victory yet but hopes to make it in Holland, where he managed to take last years pole position, the best lap and the victory of the race. The Argentinean, who has already recovered from the crash in Barcelona, performed a masterly race last year. Porto lead the race from the first to the last lap, with a brief relay by his current team mate, Randy De Puniet, who finally finished fourth. After the crash and the astonishing recovery in Barcelona, the Frenchman hopes that Assen, a circuit he especially likes, will change his fortune.
There is however one rider arriving in Assen in high spirits and with a lot of confidence, after scoring his third consecutive victory two weeks ago in Barcelona: Dani Pedrosa. He finished second last year and is leading the overall standings with an advantage of 27 points over Stoner, who is second, and 30 over Dovizioso, third.
In the 125cc. Héctor Faubel arrives completely recovered at the circuit where he hopes to get rid of the run of back luck hes been having lately. The rider from Valencia, who has been showing himself very strong along the season, hopes to take the victory in this legendary circuit 21 years after his team boss Jorge M. Aspar. Irregular would be the term to describe the season of Sergio Gadea, although since the first time he got on the podium in Le Mans, the young Repsol rider has been involved in the fight for the places of honour on other occasions. Mateo Túnez will stand-in again for Julián Miralles Jr, who continues with his recovery process after the several fractures suffered at the Italian Grand Prix.
Repsol rider´s comments:
MotoGP. Max Biaggi:
Assen is one of my favourite circuits. In 2001 I won the 500cc race. The track is very technical and you are always going in and out of a corner; never really in a straight line. I hope to find the right set up with my team from Thursday Free Practice. We need to do good. Barcelona is a bitter thought because I wasn’t able to express my skill. Frustrating. Now our goal is to find the good feeling with the bike that I had at Mugello and to come back and compete with the fastest guys.
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden:
I’m really looking forward to Assen. It’s one of my favourite circuits of the championship. Fast and long. I havent qualified there great in the past but had a good race there last year where we made up a lot of places in the race. Like always we need to get a good grid slot and make it all count on race day. We had a positive wet days’ test after the last race in Barcelona and we found some stuff that seemed to work in the rain. It always seems to get damp sometimes at Assen so I hope we’re in better shape than we would have been without the test. After the race we’re off to ride at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK on Sunday to celebrate 40 years of Honda GP success with Mick Doohan and Freddie Spencer and lots of others. Should be great.’
250cc. SebastiánPorto:
Assen is one of my favourite circuits; last year I took my second victory of the season there, the pole and the best lap clocking 2´03.668. The first practice day was complicated because it rained heavily. Fortunately we were able to lap on a dry track the next day and I managed to find a good setting for the race allowing me to take the victory. I hope that things will work out better here. I’m not happy at all with the balance so far, but such are races and theres nothing we can do. I had a heavy crash in Barcelona and hit my head, but luckily Im in shape again, looking forward to the next race. Let’s see if luck turns to our side and we manage to get on the podium.
250cc. Randy De Puniet:
I need to get a good result. The race went bad in Mugello and Barcelona, and although I managed to score ten points in the last one despite crashing, I’m obviously angry. I really hope that our luck changes in Assen. Last year I finished four after a much contended race, and I took the start from the third row of the grid. I like the track in Assen in general terms and I hope to be able to finish the race on the podium to celebrate it with my whole team, they also need it.
250cc. Dani Pedrosa:
The races in Holland are always complicated because the weather changes a lot and it isn’t easy to find the perfect setting, neither for a dry nor for a wet race. It is a very technical circuit, with the highest average speed of the Championship, and a special place for me, because it is in Assen where I took my first victory in the Championship, in 2002, on the 125cc machine. All European fans gather in Assen, Spanish fans come out as well, and you feel them; I like that. As regards the rest, the weekend turns a bit strange due to the fact of racing on Saturday.
125cc. Hector Faubel:
In Assen it usually rains almost every day, and therefore the races are usually very difficult. It is a really big track and it might even be raining in one end and dry in another. I like the layout a lot, but only when the track is dry. They say that whoever wins in The Cathedral’ for the first time, is confirmed as a rider. Jorge took his first victory here in 1984 and that gives me good feelings, especially because we havent been lucky in the latest races. Weve always been in the front with the chance to win and to get on the podium, but there was always something hindering us from even scoring. Lets see if I can make my dream come true and get rid of this run of bad luck.
The venue.
Assen circuit (www.tt-assen.com)
The TT Circuit in Assen, largely known as the Cathedral of Motorcycling due to its long history and continued presence in the calendar is, with its 5,997 metres, one of the longest layouts of the Championship. The history of motorcycling in Europe goes together with the 80 years of history of the Dutch TT or Dutch Grand Prix. The magical races staged on this mythic track have survived several storms in order to turn from a race on farm roads into the Cathedral of Motorcycling of the 21st century. The history of this mythic circuit goes back to 1925 and since then it is a tradition, and one of the few exceptions of the calendar, that the race is held on Saturday. The only period of time where no race was held was during World War II (1940-1945).
Since the FIM created the Road Racing World Championship in 1949, the TT Circuit in Assen has been the only circuit to host the Motorcycling Grand Prix non-stop. Since 1992 it also hosts the Superbike World Championship. The layout is made up by 9 left-hand side and 14 right-hand side corners. The complete layout is only used for World Championship races. Until 1954, the race was staged on public roads, but in 1955 a special 7.7 KM circuit was built to host the 25th edition of the GP. Until the early 1970s, the layout was only used once a year on the occasion of the Dutch TT.
At the end of the 1998 season the circuit carried out the first of three planned renovation and modernisation phases of their facilities, which would be finished in three years. A new main grandstand with 6,500 seats, the enlargement of the hospitality and paddock area, a new control tower, media room and several reception rooms, as well as the renovation of the pit garages where the most outstanding works. The shortening of the track was postponed for several years. At the end of the 2001 season, the circuit was changed to enlarge the paddock area, and the end of the Strubben corner and the Veenslang main straight up to the Stekkenwal corner was renewed and situated 50 metres more eastwards. At the southern part of the track, the Mandeveen and Duikersloot corners were moved some 10 metres inwards, to create a longer run-off area and gravel beds. The rest of the circuit was resurfaced during the winter break 2001-2002. For the 75th edition of the Dutch GP, which will be held on Saturday 25 June this year, two new changes have been carried out on the circuit.
First the new floating Geert Timmer grandstand in front of the start/finish line, and second the change of the De Bult and Ruskenhoek corners, which have made the layout become 30 metres shorter. Today, in addition to the grandstands with a capacity for a total of 60,000 seats, the circuit is surrounded by green banks with a capacity for a further 100,000 spectators. The car park area adjacent to the circuit is made up by 850,000 square metres, which are enough to take in 25,000 cars and 20,000 motorbikes. A privileged scenario for the thousands of fans that come out to the circuit every year, attracted by the reputation of the prestigious Dutch event. Assen is well known for its festive and extravagant atmosphere, a special microclimate that riders recognize and enjoy as much as spectators.
