Despite the depressingly frequent rain showers in practice the track remained dry throughout the race and the 101,521 Saturday spectators were treated to a MotoGP race full of incident, including a top ten finish for their local hero Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500).

Starting from pole position Rossi was content to sit in the seven rider warring group that disputed the lead in the early laps, until Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) shot through on lap three to make a clean break at the front. Rossi upped his pace to follow the Brazilian rider, keeping pace with him for 12 laps, frequently probing and testing Barros across the start/finish straight. Rossi eventually made his decisive move over the line and immediately found another second per lap until the chequered flag appeared.

"As I expected that was very difficult," said a satisfied World Champion. "My start was not so bad and I had a close first lap contest with Carlos Checa. I was happy in the first group until Alex Barros arrived and the rhythm of the race changed completely. Immediately he went a second faster and I tried to overtake Kenny Roberts as quickly as possible, so I could stay with Alex, because I was worried he might get away. I have never seen a 500cc two-stroke ridden as fast as that since 2000. I was helped when I pushed hard on the last two laps because my bike was better than his on acceleration. I made two good laps at the end, both inside 2 minutes zero, and that gave me the win." Rossi's latest victory extended his championship lead to 62 points.

Barros was resigned to give best to the faster four-stroke machine on the final few laps, despite never abandoning his last-gasp pursuit of the fleeing Rossi. "The beginning was very good and the fantastic two-stroke machine I have helped me. I arrived in the first group very fast and pushed to make a gap. I knew Valentino was behind me but I knew that he could pass anytime. I tried to go with him when he came by, but it was just not possible."

Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RCV211V) was disputing third place for most of the race but a last chicane incident, while lying fourth, saw him run off the track, fall on the damp trackside grass and drop one place, finishing fifth after re-starting. "For most of the race I had a good fight with Checa and Max Biaggi," he explained. "I really wanted to finish on the podium so I tried to overtake at the final chicane and Carlos and I had a coming together. I got on the grass, which was a little damp, and I slipped off. I got the bike started again and finished fifth. Eleven points are better than none." Ukawa's misfortune saw him drop further behind Rossi (on 170 points) in the championship standings, despite his otherwise impressive 108-point total. Checa (Yamaha) sits in third on 72, Barros fourth on 71 and Biaggi fifth on 69.

A good race from hometown hero van den Goorbergh saw him seize a top ten finish in an assertive fashion, sending his local crowd home happy. "I took my best finish of the year and I am pleased about that because I was not so sure about our dry set-up," commented van den Goorbergh. "Maybe we would have been even better in the rain because our Bridgestone tyres are quite superb in those conditions, but we made the right dry weather set-up and tyre choices anyway. I had a battle with Alex Hofmann and I knew I had to overtake him in a place he would never expect it. I passed him in the new section, in the really fast part, and left him just enough room so that he would not crash. This is my home race, so I was determined to do well."

Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR500) was just behind the van den Goorbergh/Hofmann dispute and took a 12th place finish after another subdued race performance. "I had to use different leg muscles than normal to change direction on the bike and this shows that the bike is not set-up the way I like it. I hope we can find a better set-up before the next race at Donington."

A still-injured shoulder held back the challenge of Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500), although the Japanese rider was giving of his best to finish 13th, despite the pain and weakness he experienced. "My shoulder was very painful, especially here, because it is a very fast circuit, with lots of quick changes of direction. You have to put more effort into the steering the faster the chicanes are and I did not have the strength to do it. My bike and tyres very good today, only I was no good!"

Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) suffered a crash on the fifth lap, highsiding himself out of the saddle exiting the fast first turn, being dragged along for a time, then parting company with his machine just as he approached the run-off area at high speed. Carried away by stretcher, Capirossi was up on his feet minutes after his crash, but was later diagnosed with a broken right wrist. Initial reports suggest he is expected to be out until the Brno GP.

In the 250cc race an outstanding push through the field, from 17th place on the grid, put Robby Rolfo (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) third, joining the podium topping pairing of Marco Melandri (Aprilia) and Tony Elias (Aprilia). The Italian rider made up ten places on lap one and had worked himself into third place after only ten laps of the 18-lap race. He took the new record of 2:04.824 on the 12th lap, as he tried to narrow the gap to Elias.

"We had a few problems in practice, with the front end tucking under twice," said Rolfo. Today I had a fantastic bike and I finally got a better feeling from the front end. I tried to push really hard on the first lap but I was held-up by some slower riders. Once I was clear I just concentrated and rode really hard." Victory for Melandri puts him back into the championship lead on 120 points, with Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia) on 112 and Rolfo on a competitive 96.

Emilio Alzamora (Fortuna Honda Gresini NSR250) only completed two laps, retiring after running off the track. "I am very disappointed about this GP. I made a very good start and made up some places on the first lap but I had problems with the front suspension and I lost many places. I couldn't control my entry into corners and I made a mistake because of that, ran straight on across a corner and that stopped my race."

Top Honda privateer was Haruchika Aoki (Arie Molenaar Racing Honda RS250R/W) who took his evolution-spec machine to a giant-killing sixth place, in a race with 23 finishers.

Sixteen-year old Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Jr Team Honda RS125R) won his first ever GP race after an assured display of front running from flag to finish line. His success made him the third youngest rider ever to have taken a full 125GP victory.

Stamping his authority on the early laps he worked his way to a 3.6 second lead mid-race, before easing up to take a 2.5 second winning margin. "That was phenomenal!" enthused Pedrosa. "I feel good to have had such a great victory. I couldn't be happier than I am now."

The experience of World Champion Manuel Poggiali (Gilera) gave him the second place on the Assen podium, but the joy of the Telefonica Movistar Junior Team was redoubled when Joan Olive scored a career best third place. Olive also took the fastest lap of the race, 2:11.209; the new lap record at the altered Assen track.

New engine parts assisted the young Spaniard in his landmark performance, achieved after an eventful afternoon's work, which saw him lying anywhere from second to seventh at any particular point during the 17-lap race. "In the past I have had some problems, but today I pushed hard and did my best. I'm pleased to have scored my first podium and it's all thanks to my family and mechanics. The whole team worked very hard this weekend."

Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS125R) was the next Honda finisher, in 11th place. Front row qualifier Mika Kallio (Red Devil Honda RS125R) crashed out on the last lap while battling for the last podium placing.

Poggiali still leads the 125cc World Championship with a 20 point margin, 131 to Pedrosa's 111. The 2002 MotoGP season continues at Donington, Great Britain, on 14 July.


HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

MotoGP:

Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda Team, 1st : "The race was difficult. I made a pretty good start. I touched with Carlos in the early laps and managed to fight in the top group. When Barros arrives the rhythm of the race changes; it was about a second faster than it was before and he goes. I can keep with him because my bike has more acceleration. There were points where Barros was incredible today. I've never seen a rider ride a 500 like this since 2000. I ride better towards the end of the race and do two fantastic laps. I use 100% of the bike."

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons, 2nd : "The team produced a fantastic bike for me to race today. I tried my very best to beat Valentino but it was impossible. I tried to get into the lead as soon as possible and pull away but Valentino was right behind me and I knew he would pass me. Once he got passed I tried t stay with him but the RCV had too much horsepower."

Tohru Ukawa, Repsol Honda Team, 5th : "I got a good start and was up to third at one point. Then for most of the race I have a good fight with Biaggi and Checa. There were some parts of the circuit I was quicker than Checa and some points I was slower. I really wanted a podium finish and made a move on Checa at the final chicane. We came together and I got on the grass, which was a little damp and slid off. Luckily I managed to get the bike over the line for a fifth position finish. Of course I am disappointed not to finish higher but in the circumstances 11 points is better than nothing."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Kanemoto Honda, 10th: "This weekend was hard work, but very satisfactory. We have proved we are more than competitive in the wet and I wanted it to rain for the race. I'm a wet weather rider and with our wet tyres I would have done very well here. I went out early to get in two warm-up laps and get some feel from the tyres. Back at the start I put in a new rear tyre for the race so I would have good grip from the start. I was behind Laconi at the beginning and he was difficult to pass. After that I was racing in a group, Nakano and Hofmann in front of me Abe behind. I got Hofmann at the fast 'S' bends at the back of the paddock. It's about 260km/h in sixth gear right there so you have to be precise but he left a small gap and I dived underneath him when he least expected it. I had tried it on Olivier (Jacque) early in the race so I knew I could do it. "

Team owner manager Erv Kanemoto: "The bike ran well and Jurgen rode a good race. But we definitely need to work on the rear tyre; it looks like it worked really hard in the race. After qualifying we had hoped for rain because the rain tyres we have are a match for anything out there. This race, however, confirmed the data we recorded at the Catalunya test 10 days ago, which was held in a much more controlled atmosphere. Undoubtedly the rear tyres we tested there are better but we will not se the real benefit for couple of races. "

Daijiro Kato, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 12th: "Practice restricted me from having a perfect bike for the race today. On Thursday it didn't have the right set-up, it did yesterday - but in wet conditions. Today I didn't have good settings: I wasn't fast in changing direction, but the reason wasn't the long trips to Japan for the Suzuka 8 Hour testing, they are really only tiring. You will see that I'll come back from this and run at the front at Donington Park."

Fausto Gresini: "Today we didn't have the right machine adjustments for Kato and he didn't ride as he would like. I take comfort from Roberto Rolfo's podium in the 250cc race and I hope to see Daijiro at the front, starting at Donington Park. Our objective is to fight for third place in the championship and I think that this is possible. The first two places are already booked: the two Honda RC211V's are incredible. They are really fast and we hope to have them for next season."

Tetsuya Harada, Pramac Honda Racing Team, 13th : "Today the bike was perfect like the tyres and the suspension. I was not in a good form: here at Assen there are many changes of directions and after a few laps I was not able to ride because of the ache. Anyway I feel confident for the future as we improved a lot during the practices."

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons, Crashed in lap 15 : "I'm very, very disappointed. I've broken my right wrist and I'm in plaster. I have no hope of racing again until Brno, in August."

Sito Pons : "I'm very sad by what happened to Loris because he was hoping well in the championship and this injury is a serious knock to our aspirations. In any case, he is having an exceptional World Championship and when he returns he will continue to be one of the to guys on the grid. Conversely, Alex has delighted us all today, demonstrating all his potential and battling until the very last lap. We have to keep working so that in the next few races we can maintain this extraordinary level."