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Esteve Rabat Leads in Rain-Soaked 125 cc Race at Assen
30 June 2008
The 125cc Grand Prix at Assen on Saturday was eventful and plagued with changing weather that red flagged the race, punctuated with crashes after just nine laps. Five laps were raced in part two for the final result.
KTM rider Esteve Rabat held onto the lead in the second part of the race and looked set for a top finish when he ran wide in the final stages and had to settle for sixth. Repsol KTM rookie Marc Marquez was also a victim of the weather. He crashed in the final stages of the first laps after having battled his way to fifth position. He was unable to get back to the pits with his bike in time for the restart and missed out on the second heat altogether. Red Bull KTM rider Randy Krummenacher also crashed in the first part of the race, but continued with a lonely ride at the end of the field. His efforts were rewarded after the re-start, when the Swiss teenager managed to score nineteenth position.
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Tyre Problem Slows Mika Kallio at Dutch 250cc GP
30 June 2008
Mika Kallio rode a courageous 250 cc GP at Assen on Saturday coming from behind to third place before all hopes of a podium faded when he experienced tyre troubles. In what has been a difficult weekend for the Finnish championship leader he made a dramatic recovery from the difficulties in setting up his Red Bull KTM 250 for the fast and challenging Assen circuit. He stormed to the front group of riders, holding fifth, fourth and even third place on the opening laps. But the tyre trouble intervened. He slipped back to finish in seventh place, which left him holding onto his world championship lead by one single point. Team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama, who had been even further back on the grid in thirteenth position, also worked his way up through the ranks to eventually finish in sixth place ahead of Kallio. Repsol KTM rider Julian Simon rode to a lonely tenth place.
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Smith's Rain Shower Wrecker
30 June 2008
A short sharp shower of rain wrecked Bradley Smith’s chance of his first ever grand prix victory in the 125 cc race at the Dutch TT in Assen this afternoon. Seventeen year old Smith was a comfortable leader of the scheduled 22 lap ninth round of the World Championship when it started to rain on various sections of the legendary 2.830 mile circuit in North Holland. As the conditions worsened Smith, who like all other riders was using slick tyres on his Polaris World Aprilia, crashed on lap ten. The race was immediately stopped with the red flag and the race was re-run over just five laps. With grid positions determined for the new race by the finishing position of riders on the previous lap before the red flag was shown, Smith was able to start and in pole position.
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Edwards Third, Toseland Back in Top Ten
30 June 2008
Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards was involved in more late drama at Assen today as a stunning surge from the back of the field was rewarded with third place. For the second time in three years, Edwards was involved in dramatic incident at the final chicane with Nicky Hayden as he snatched third from his fellow American just metres from the finish line. Fourth at the start of the last lap, Edwards produced a brilliant display of overtaking to come from dead last on the opening lap as he narrowly avoiding an early tangle between Valentino Rossi and Randy de Puniet. Producing lap times close the formidable pace set by eventual winner Casey Stoner, Edwards fought his way back into seventh when he passed Jorge Lorenzo on lap 10. He then quickly closed on an exciting battle for fourth that included Chris Vermeulen, Andrea Dovizioso and Shinya Nakano.
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Stoner Dominates Dutch TT to Take Bridgestone’s Maiden Assen Win
30 June 2008
Continuing where he left off in Donington last weekend, Ducati Corse rider Casey Stoner took a dominant win in this afternoon’s Dutch TT to secure his, Ducati’s and Bridgestone’s maiden win at the Assen circuit. It is Stoner’s third win of the season, and second consecutively, cementing his third place in the world championship with a reduced gap of 29 points to new championship leader, Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, who finished second today. Yamaha rider Colin Edwards completed the podium. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Shinya Nakano added more points to their championship tallies with seventh and eighth-place finishes, while Alice Team’s Sylvain Guintoli took his first top ten race result of the season in tenth position.
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Best Performance of the Season for Guintoli
30 June 2008
A day much similar to yesterday with wet track in the morning and a dry race in the afternoon. Sylvain Guintoli, who started from the tenth position, didn’t make it to start well losing two positions in the first turns, but after the unlucky falls by Rossi and De Puniet, he found himself in tenth position at the end of the first lap. In the first few laps the French rider didn’t make it to find the same rhythm registered in yesterday’s sessions and only after two third of the race he improved his performances reaching in the last lap Toseland. The British rider made it to defend the ninth position on the finish line.
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Red Bull Rookies Oliveira's Stunning Double
30 June 2008
Miguel Oliveira won his second Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup race in 7 days. The 13 year old Portuguese rode superbly to pull through from 7th at the end of lap one to steal the lead from fast starting 15 year old German Daniel Kartheininger with three of the 16 laps remaining. Kartheininger then crashed leaving Sturla Fagerhaug to take second in a last corner fight with Matthew Hoyle who was third leaving Daijiro Hiura 4th. "I am so happy to score a second win in this Cup, I can hardly believe it," said Oliveira. "It was so hard early on. I didn't make a good start and we had a big battle with a lot of riders all trying so hard. When I managed to get through to second I just pushed and pushed to catch Dani. When I got in front I could see from the big TV screens that he was chasing me. I just went as fast as I could, I saw that he wasn't behind me on the last lap but I didn't know he had crashed."
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Season-Best for Nakano as De Angelis Crashes
30 June 2008
Shinya Nakano picked up his best result of the season so far in the Dutch TT, where he crossed the line in a creditable eighth place. The Japanese rider got a great start and chased the leading group over the opening laps, before settling for a solid points score at the legendary track. Alex De Angelis suffered entirely different fortunes as he was forced to retire following a first-lap crash. The San Marino youngster escaped without major injury but did damage the little finger of his left hand.
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Dovizioso Comes Home a Competitive Fifth at Assen
30 June 2008
The Grand Prix of the Netherlands in which Andrea Dovizioso finished in fifth position, confirms the positive trend that JiR Team Scot has maintained during the last three races. After two days of practice, which was disturbed by rain and unstable weather conditions, the ninth round of the MotoGP championship saw Andrea Dovizioso make a good start as the lights went out, taking fifth place on the first lap. Then followed a good fight with Chris Vermeulen, where Andrea passed the Suzuki rider as the duo were caught by Yamaha’s Colin Edwards, with Edwards eventually passing the JiR Team Scot rider. With a fourth and two fifth place finishes, Andrea and JiR Team Scot are showing that they can battle at the front of the pack, ahead of teams with equal technical equipment.
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Second Straight Win for Stoner
30 June 2008
Casey Stoner took his second consecutive victory and his third of the season at Assen, to complete a clean sweep after taking pole position and setting the fastest lap of the race. The Australian dominated the race from start to finish, closing the gap to new series leader Dani Pedrosa to 29 points and bringing himself to within 25 of Valentino Rossi in second place. On a day of typically changeable weather in Holland, Stoner started out well with the fastest time in a wet warm-up before carrying his dominance into the race. After briefly conceding the lead to Dani Pedrosa on the first lap he quickly reasserted himself and opened out an advantage that eventually stretched to 11.310 seconds over the Spaniard.
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Lorenzo Hoping for More Next Time
30 June 2008
Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo took sixth place for the second Grand Prix running in the 60th Dutch TT today, the youngest rider in the class making up one place on his grid position. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made an uncharacteristic mistake and crashed out on the first lap, although he was able to remount and finish in 11th to take valuable championship points. Yamaha’s record of having at least one rider on the podium at every race so far this season was kept alive by Tech 3 pilot Colin Edwards, who took third.
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Rossi Battles on After Crash on First Lap
30 June 2008
A rare mistake from Valentino Rossi resulted in a first-lap crash for the Fiat Yamaha Team rider today, but he remounted and made up a gap of more than 20 seconds to pass two riders and finish in 11th place, despite riding with a broken gear-shifter and a bent handlebar. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo rallied in the later stages of a difficult race to finish sixth, whilst Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards kept the Yamaha flag flying on the podium by taking third. Rossi had slipped back some places when he made his mistake at turn five and slid into the gravel, unfortunately taking Randy de Puniet with him. Points were still a possibility however and he re-joined the race, despite the damage to his bike and a gap of 24 seconds to Marco Melandri, the next rider. He then embarked on a heroic ride, consistently lapping as fast as the leading riders and closing the gap lap b y lap until he finally came within sight of Melandri, eventually passing him on lap 19 of 26. Four laps later he passed Toni Elias to take 11th and five championship points, finishing 46 seconds behind race-winner Casey Stoner.
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Repsol’s Pedrosa Retakes Points Lead, Heartbreak for Hayden
30 June 2008
Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden looked set to score their first double podium of the season at Assen today. Impressive Pedrosa finished the race a strong second to retake the World Championship lead at the halfway point of the 2008 MotoGP series. Hayden ran strong too, just a few seconds down on his team-mate throughout, until his bike suddenly slowed within sight of the finish. The American coasted over the line in fourth, just seconds after compatriot Colin Edwards had passed him to snatch third place.
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Vermeulen Battles to Seventh at Dutch TT
30 June 2008
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen was involved in a thrilling race at the Dutch TT today, eventually crossing the line in seventh place after many race-long battles. Vermeulen got a good start and was up into sixth by the end of the first lap - from eighth on the grid. He narrowly avoided a crash that forced him wide in the early part of the first lap, but was able to keep control of his Suzuki GSV-R and set about chasing riders in front of him. Vermeulen made a couple of superb overtaking manoeuvres as he made his way up into fourth place. He held on to that position for a few laps although he was under constant pressure from the group of riders around him. As the race progressed front grip became an issue and the 26-year-old Australian had to fight for every place. Vermeulen dropped down to eighth, but immediately fought back to bring his machine home for a hard earned seventh.
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Double Blow for Kawasaki in Assen
30 June 2008
After the disappointment of the qualifying crash that sidelined John Hopkins, the Kawasaki Racing Team were dealt a double blow at Assen today when Anthony West crashed out of the Dutch TT just 7 laps into the race. The 26-year-old Kawasaki pilot got a good start from the sixth row of the grid, but lost contact with the group ahead of him after losing time avoiding Alex De Angelis, who highsided himself out the race on the opening lap, right in front of West's Ninja ZX-RR.
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A Progressive Race for Takahashi at GP of Holland
30 June 2008
The 250cc Grand Prix of Holland ended today with an eighth place finish for Yuki Takahashi. Starting from tenth on the grid, Yuki took four positions in the first lap, settling into sixth place as he tried to maintain contact with the leading group. But, with cold tyres and a track down on temperature – as well as having a new suspension set-up on his bike which he could not verify in morning warm-up – it took Yuki a number of laps before he could settle into a good race pace. In the second half of the race, Yuki improved his rhythm and was lapping at the same pace as the leaders, but he could not improve his position in the race. These important points have helped the Japanese rider to secure eighth place in the championship.
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Qualifying Crash Rules Hopkins Out of Assen Race
28 June 2008
Kawasaki's John Hopkins has been ruled out of tomorrow's Dutch TT at Assen, after sustaining a fractured left ankle and suspected compression injuries to his left knee in a high-speed crash during this afternoon's qualifying session. The 25-year-old Anglo-American lost the front of his Ninja ZX-RR under braking for the left-hander at turn 12, one of the fastest corners on the Assen circuit, in the closing minutes of the timed session. Hopkins managed to separate himself from his sliding Ninja ZX-RR, but sustained the injuries to his left leg when he collided with the tyre wall on the outside of the corner.
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Raffaele de Rosa Seventh in Assen GP125
28 June 2008
KTM's riders in the 125 cc category launched the weekend's GP racing at Assen, Netherlands confidently in qualifying ahead of Saturday's race at the Dutch circuit. Raffaele de Rosa (Onde 2000 KTM) clocked seventh fastest, Randy Krummenacher (Red Bull KTM) in eleventh and Esteve Rabat (Repsol KTM) in fifteenth place, positions that remained unchanged on the second day of practice due to adverse weather conditions. Rabat's 15-year-old team-mate Marc Marquez, who had made history one week ago as the youngest Spanish rider ever on a Grand Prix podium, was one of the very few riders in this class to improve on his previous best time in final practice, and now holds eighteenth place on the grid.
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Kallio 11th & Still Chasing Best Set-Up Ahead of Assen
28 June 2008
Red Bull KTM 250 star and world championship leader Mika Kallio found himself in an unusual eleventh spot in qualifying for the Dutch TT and is still chasing the best set-up for Saturday's GP. The 25-year-old Finn, winner of the British Grand Prix one week ago, found the set-up requirements of the Assen circuit with its high grip level and its banked corners completely different to the English Donington Park raceway. Kallio kept comparing two chassis versions and numerous set-up solutions, but also lost valuable track-time due to the changing weather conditions. He will try further modifications in the warm-up practice session Saturday morning.
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Michelin Men Enjoy Fast Assen Qualifying
28 June 2008
Michelin’s MotoGP men packed the front-running positions in this afternoon’s Dutch TT qualifying session, with two Michelin riders in the top four and five in the fastest seven. In this morning’s damp session Michelin riders monopolised the top four positions. Today’s weather stayed faithful to the Assen tradition with rain before the morning session and bright, blustery conditions this afternoon. Wet weather is a theme of the 2008 season, with rain affecting most of the nine race weekends so far.
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