2002 World SuperBike Championship - Round 12 - Assen

Japanese ace "Nori" Haga ascended the third step of the rostrum after today’s first race at the "University of Motorcycling". This is the seventh visit he and the Playstation2 - FGF Aprilia have made to the rostrum this season. Noriyuki Haga, fastest rider on Dunlop tyres, finished Race 2 in sixth place, earning more points to let him win back fourth place in the world championship ratings, two races from the end of the season. Contact with Neil Hodgson in the second race, just as they were fighting a spectacular duel, prevented him from getting a better result. One which would certainly have been within the reach of Nori and his Aprilia. The Aprilia RSV displayed its potential to the full and consolidated its third place in the manufacturers’ ratings.

NORIYUKI HAGA (Playstation2 - FGF Aprilia Team rider) - "We did really well here in Holland, and I’m just a bit sorry as I could have come second in Race 2: Hodgson slowed down in an unusual way when shutting down the throttle at the end of the home straight. You come into that part really fast and I just had no room for manoeuvre to avoid impact. Towards the end, I tried to work my way up through the field but by then my rear tyre had had it."

GIACOMO GUIDOTTI (Technical Manager of the Playstation2 - FGF Aprilia Team) - "The temperature was 10°C higher in the second race, so we changed the front tyre - and it’s a good thing we did, because it turned out to be much faster. It’s a pity about the contact with Hodgson, as second place was within our reach."