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The German-based 24-year-old said the bicycle riding had helped him become more familiar with Assen's unique and cambered layout, and he hoped it would combat his inexperience on the historic 6km circuit, which has been the venue for the Dutch Grand Prix each year since the world championship series began in 1949. "Everyone says Assen is different to other tracks, and the first thing you notice is the way the corners camber one way and then the other," said Pitt. "I've been doing laps on a bicycle to have a close look - it's a long track. When you're on a bicycle you think you can remember your way around, but then it just keeps going on and on. We've got the team's data from when they were here last year so hopefully it won't take too long to get up to speed once practice starts." Pitt, who won the Australian Supersport Championship in 1999 and is in his first international season, said his confidence for Assen had been boosted by the domination of his Kawasaki team-mate Iain MacPherson at the circuit in 1999. At that meeting MacPherson claimed pole position, set a race lap record of 2-mins 11.031-secs, and won the race. "I've spoken to Iain (MacPherson) about the various (racing) lines," said Pitt. "He's done a lot of racing at Assen over the years. The Kawasaki was quick here a year ago so we should be in good shape if we can find a good bike set-up." Pitt said the most difficult aspect of his debut championship season was fine-tuning his Kawasaki ZX-6R to suit the various circuits for racing and qualifying in the time available. He said qualifying was crucial because the category was so competitive, evidenced by the fact the top 15 riders on the grid were separated by less than 1-secs in the previous round at Brands Hatch in Britain earlier this month. "We've got four hours of practice and qualifying which is not a lot of time to learn the tracks, sort the bike, and get a good qualifying position," said Pitt. "You've got to be going fast by the second hour. If you don't qualify on the first two rows it's a struggle staying with the front group. The guys who have been racing in Europe for five or six years know what base settings to use so that's an advantage for sure. It's a question of me getting more experience." Pitt's best result in the eight previous rounds was fourth place at Donington Park in Great Britain in May. His top qualifying performance was second position at Phillip Island in Australia in March. Other Australians racing at Assen in the supersport race include Karl Muggeridge on a Ten Kate Honda, Chris Vermeulen on a Castrol Honda, and Paul Young. Jorg Teuchert leads the championship with 116 points, followed by fellow-German rider and Alpha Technik Yamaha team-mate Christian Kellner. |
Australia's works Kawasaki motorcycle racer Andrew Pitt has been riding
laps around Assen on a bicycle this week to prepare for his debut on the
famous Dutch circuit in Sunday's World Supersport Championship round.