Once again SBK is going to face the roadracing academy. This is what Assen Circuit used to be called, although a few changes to the track’s layout have made it a slightly different challenge than in past seasons. In another important departure from the norm, Assen is now taking place in April, not in its traditional slot in the first week of September.
It is shaping up to be a very interesting weekend and in all four regular classes more than a few riders will approach the green light with hopes of at least one victory. Winning at Assen represents a special result for anyone, and in this phase of the Championship winning a race means a lot for the riders’ plans for the whole season. In SBK Bayliss will try to reduce the gap to the leaders, while Toseland (in his team’s home country) will race with the opposite goal, trying to extend his advantage in up front. In Supersport the man of the moment is Sofuoglu, almost unbeatable this year, but his competition will try to make it harder for the Turkish rider, who won at Assen in ‘06.
This being the Netherlands, the late spring weather may also play an important role.
It is always hard to forecast the conditions in this part of the world and a brilliant result would be simply to have the same consistency of underfoot conditions for the whole weekend, allowing the teams to find an optimum setup for the race. Once again, setup will be the key to ultimate race performance: the 4,555m Assen track will prove to be very demanding for the riders - and the tyres too. The right setup will grant the tyres both better empirical - and longer lasting - performance.
For this round Pirelli will bring three different solutions of front tyre for the SBK class, while for the rear there will be two different solutions, in the “usual” 190/65 fitment, and two in the 200/65 size, with the latter assuring more traction at some circuits on the calendar.
In World Supersport two front tyres and three rear tyres represent the availability of the DOT DIABLO SUPERCORSA, in the commercially available sizes, 120/70 and 180/55.
Taking into consideration the two Superstock classes and the Suzuki CUP (DIABLO SUPERCORSA SC2 for all the three categories) the total rider count rises to 167 at Assen, for a race weekend that will be charged with passion and emotion.
Last season 2006:SBK Race1:1. Walker - Kawasaki ZX10 R - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse 44’23.501
2. Pitt - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +4.965
3. Fabrizio - Honda CBR1000RR - D.F.X. Treme +24.130
SBK Race2:1. Bayliss - Ducati 999 F06 - Ducati Xerox 37’29.307
2. Pitt - Yamaha YZF R1 - Yamaha Motor Italia WSB +9.342
3. Nieto - Kawasaki ZX10 R - PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse +11.648
WSS:1. Sofuoglu - Honda CBR600 RR - Winston Ten Kate 41’49.124
2. Curtain - Yamaha YZF R6 - Yamaha Motor Germany +4.581
3. Andersen - Suzuki GSX600R - Hoegee Suzuki +9.241
Related Linkswww.pirelli.com
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