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Difficult Weekend for Roberts
29 April 2008
It was a difficult weekend for Brendan Roberts and the Ducati Xerox Junior team at round two of the European FIM 1000 Cup Championship at Assen TT Circuit. After suffering a number of technical problems throughout the weekend on the Ducati 1098 R, Roberts crashed out of the race whilst in a dice for the lead. After winning the opening round at Valencia a couple of weeks ago, Roberts and the team were in high spirits as they headed for the Dutch circuit and were eager to back up the race win that they secured. Sadly that was not to be the case; he only managed one full dry session without having bike gremlins, which caused issues during both qualifying sessions.
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Haga Takes Second At Assen
28 April 2008
Noriyuki Haga secured a second place for his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team after another unsettled race day for the Japanese star, with a crash in race one preventing him from a potential double points score at one his favourite tracks. In the first race Haga fell on lap two, after colliding with Ruben Xaus at the slow De Strubben left hand corner, while Corser went on to fight in the leading group for most of the race, only dropping back to fifth in the later stages and finishing 11 seconds from the win after 22 laps.
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Foret & Parkes Almost There At Assen
28 April 2008
Fabien Foret and Broc Parkes, both from the Yamaha World Supersport Team, were tantalisingly close to a podium finish apiece at Assen, after a classic high-speed multi-rider battle for the win, which finally went to Andrew Pitt. Foret was only 0.201 seconds from victory itself, in fourth place after 21-laps. He had fought through from a bad start, completing the first lap down in 13th place. Parkes finished only 0.283 seconds from the win and his fifth place means that both riders scored good points in the championship chase, after starting from the front row of the race. Parkes had to ride with a fractured left hand, after a Friday practice crash, and battled manfully in the first few places for almost the entire race, even after losing power from his left hand as the race progressed.
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Pirro Scores First Podium of the Season
28 April 2008
Michele Pirro was second in today's race with an impressive ride on a Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni YZF-R1. It was his first podium for 2008 after strong performances and two podium finishes in the previous season. The young Italian was the top finishing Yamaha rider after Sylvain Barrier (YZF Yamaha Junior Team) crashed at post 15. Yamaha Motor Italia Junior Team rider Claudio Corti looked set for this first race win of the season but finished the weekend on a low after crashing out on lap ten of the Assen circuit.
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Solid Points at Assen for Lavilla
28 April 2008
Paul Bird Motorsport rider Gregorio Lavilla moved inside the top ten of the World Superbike Championship following a pair of great results in rounds seven and eight held at Assen in Holland today. Riding the Vent Axia and Kick Energy drink-backed Honda Fireblade, the 34 year old Spaniard posted fifteenth fastest time during the Superpole qualifying session and in the opening race, he battled against a poor start to come from twentieth on the opening lap to record a ninth position.
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Tamada Takes Two Assen Points Hauls
28 April 2008
PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse rider Makoto Tamada moved up to 15th in the championship standings today after two strong points scoring rides. Tamada finished race one in a strong eighth place and followed that up with ninth in the second 22-lap contest, passing riders off the start each time. Régis Laconi (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) went 11th in race one but chatter from his machine meant it was difficult for him to post a better result in race two and he slid down from a top ten place on lap one to 16th, missing out on any points for race two. Laconi is now 18th overall in the rankings, with 21 points.
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Walker Within Five Seconds of Victory
28 April 2008
Chris Walker described his Assen performance as his best race of the year so far, as he took his Kawasaki GIL Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R to 12th place, less than five seconds from winner Andrew Pitt. Walker, who had qualified only 20th, got a good start and was 14th at the end of lap one, latching onto the second group of riders behind the leading eight. He had made good progress with his machine set up in race conditions and felt confident throughout the race.
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Tough Racing Weekend in Assen for Rene Maehr & the RC8
28 April 2008
Following a first impressive appearance in Valencia, Spain, which unfortunately ended in a crash, Rene Maehr suffered a difficult Superstock racing weekend in at the Dutch racing circuit in Assen and was only able to finish in sixteenth place. Even in training Rene was not 100 percent satisfied. The motorcycle had lived completely up to expectations and he felt very confident but in the deciding moments of qualifying he faced heavy and at times chaotic traffic on the circuit. He did not manage a good clean lap, finishing in only nineteenth start slot.
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Pirelli – Assen Race Review
28 April 2008
After a weekend of records at Valencia, thanks to the Pirelli tyres which used to improved the lap records in all the classes, Assen delivered another great performance from the Pirelli tyres. In the SBK class the riders use a qualifing tyre and Bayliss set the new record in Superpole with the incredible time of 1’38.420, having set an even better one in final free practice, 1’38.355. No qualifying tyres were needed for a new pre-race record from the Diablo SUPERCORSA tyre, and Broc Parkes. In the two Stock classes DIABLO SUPERCORSA produced records, with Corti in the 1000 class (a time of 1’41.576 which could let him race in the SBK class) and Petrucci in the 600cc class.
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Checa Claims Double Podium at Assen
28 April 2008
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Carlos Checa concluded a strong weekend of racing with a second and third place place at the team’s home track in Assen today. The double podium rounds off a successful day of racing for the team, after collecting the number one and two spots in the World Supersport race earlier. Carlos Checa encountered some technical issues with his bike in the qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday’s, but the issues were soon a distant memory as he set about to carve his way forward through the field and concluded the first Superbike race with a second place behind Troy Bayliss.
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Double Dutch Delight for Bayliss at Assen
28 April 2008
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) powered to his second double of the year with two convincing wins at the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands in the fourth round of the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship front of 75,000 spectators. Bayliss powered to his fifth win at Assen in the opening race after a mistake by early leader Kagayama (Alstare Suzuki) on lap 12 left him with a gap at the chicane. The Australian then increased his lead over the following riders in the final laps to win by a margin of 2 seconds. Carlos Checa (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) took the runner-up slot, in a sprint to the finish with Max Neukirchner (Suzuki Alstare). Kagayama took fourth from Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), both riders holding off a late charge by Jakub Smrz (Ducati Guandalini).
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Bayliss Does the Double Again!!
28 April 2008
Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) celebrated victory once more as he climbed on to the top step of the podium in both of today's races at Assen. Troy and his Ducati 1098 F08 dominated both races, although the Australian rider faced something of a battle against Yamaha rider Haga in the second outing this afternoon. A perfect finish to a weekend in which Bayliss has been consistently strong, and these wins, his fourth and fifth of the ten races held so far this season, mean that his lead in the riders championship is extended to 70 points. Bayliss now holds 178 points and second-placed Checa has so far accumulated 108.
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Superb Podium for Max!
28 April 2008
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner took a superb third place in the first race in Assen today. The young German was a contender throughout the 22-lapper and finished strongly in third behind series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Carlos Checa (Honda). Max was also a podium contender in the second race until a small brake problem forced him to slow. But he kept charging hard and finished fifth to record his best weekend of the season. Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama took fourth place in race one and then suffered a tyre problem in race two which forced him down the order to sixth. His team mate Fonsi Nieto had a weekend to forget, with a crash and a DNF in race one and an eleventh in race two.
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Another Superb Podium for Xavi!
28 April 2008
Team Alstare Suzuki rider Xavi Simeon made it two podiums in two races with a superb third place in today’s Superstock 1000 race at Assen. The young Belgian used his head throughout the 13 lap race and took advantage of mistakes by early race leader Corti (Yamaha) and Burrell (Honda) to be in contention at the end. Frenchman Maxime Berger (Honda) won the race with Italian Michele Pirro (Yamaha) second.
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Onwards & Upwards for Benjan Racing
28 April 2008
The fourth round of the World Supersport Championship has been one that the Benjan Racing team would like to forget after a demanding weekend with technical and suspension issues. Fin Vesa Kallio crossed to finish line in 18th at the Assen circuit after a three rider battle in the latter stages of the race for 16th with Praia and Salom. Kallio who was in 23rd on the opening lap had fought his way up to 17th but was relegated on the final lap by Praia.
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HANNspree Ten Kate Honda Dominates Supersport Podium
28 April 2008
The HANNspree Ten Kate Honda team managed to take top honours in a close Supersport battle at their home track in Assen. Jonathan Rea immediately lead the race after his start from the front row and showed how quickly he has familiarised himself with the fast Dutch circuit. Andrew Pitt, who started on the third row, also made his way forward in the field quickly and took the lead from Jonathan in the 3rd lap.
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Assen Qualifying a Real Test for Kawasaki WSS Duo
27 April 2008
GIL Kawasaki riders Katsuaki Fujiwara and Chris Walker finished combined qualifying in 18th and 20th positions respectively, finding Assen a tough circuit to master in dry conditions. In the wet the Kawasaki duo were much more competitive, with Fujiwara second fastest in the rainy morning session today and Walker eighth. Fujiwara and Walker will each start from the fifth row of the grid, but they face 21-laps of the 4.555km circuit prepared for anything, after practicing in conditions ranging from bright sunshine to rain.
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Third Row Starts For Makoto & Régis
27 April 2008
Makoto Tamada (PSG-1 Kawasaki Corse) will line up alongside his team-mate Régis Laconi on the third row of the Assen starting grid on Sunday. Tamada put in a strong performance through qualifying on his Ninja ZX-10R, finally setting a Superpole time of 1’39.307. This placed him 10th overall, only 0.879 seconds from pole. Laconi made great improvements at the 4.555km Assen circuit after a difficult first day, ending in a high-speed crash that seriously damaged his machine. An overnight rebuild led him try the latest specification of rear swingarm, as first tested at Jerez by Tamada, and Laconi also found an instant improvement in the feel and performance of his machine.
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Checa Pushes Hard in Second Assen Qualifying
27 April 2008
HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Carlos Checa was the leading Honda man today in a Ducati dominated second day of qualifying in Assen. Carlos Checa ended the second qualifying practice in a best time of 1’39.37 and managed to further improve his pace in the afternoon session. He set his fastest lap of the day at 1’38.86 which sees him starting on the 2nd row in 6th position for tomorrow’s race. Ryuichi Kiyonari, the lead Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider in the morning’s qualifying practice, endured a crash in the free practice session. With only three more laps on his second bike before the time ran out, Kiyonari came into the Superpole unprepared and did not manage to improve his fastest lap of the day. He will start tomorrow’s race on the 4th row.
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Rea Takes Second Spot in Strong Day of Qualifying
27 April 2008
The second Supersport qualifying session saw HANNspree Ten Kate Honda’s Jonathan Rea firmly hold on to the provisional pole throughout most of the session, only to lose his leading position in the penultimate round to Broc Parkes. Rea managed to show his outright pace throughout the afternoon session and was the first one to dip under the lap record set by Kenan Sofuoglu last year. Rea finished in 1'40.944 which places him on second place on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
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