HRC Previews Assen

MoIn the wake of two of the finest races yet seen in MotoGP at Mugello in Italy in May and Catalunya in Spain two weeks ago, Assen could be the place where a third pulsating showdown takes place. The so-called ‘Cathedral’ of road racing had produced some epics in the recent past and might well do so again this year.

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) who finished second at Catalunya heads the points standings as the season nears the halfway mark with this, the Dutch Grand Prix, the seventh race of a sixteen round season. He has amassed 135 points after notching up three wins and three-second places so far.

But the other two riders in the all-Honda top three in the Championship struggle are determined to use this opportunity to reel in Rossi. Spaniard Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) lies second overall on 88 points and after two wins and a home podium for third place in Catalunya, he knows another win would bolster his title credibility.

Then there’s Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) who lies third with 85 points. The Roman has not yet posted a win this season but his sheer consistency has kept him in the title hunt and he knows he needs a boost here in Holland to keep him in touch with the title race leader.

But one of the big surprises at Assen could well be the new V4 Ducati machines ridden by Italian Loris Capirossi and Australian Troy Bayliss. Capirossi gave the machine it’s maiden win in Catalunya two weeks ago and the rookie (in MotoGP) Italian team is on a roll. Capirossi has won twice in Holland on 250 and the Ducati’s undoubted speed will be a bonus here.

Rossi won the MotoGP race on the 6.027km track last year and set a new fastest lap of 2m 00.973s at an average speed of 179.356km/h. Top speeds are unlikely to hit the 330km/h that have been recorded at Mugello and Catalunya this season, but Assen is a track that makes high speed demands of a different and perhaps more challenging nature.

Average speeds, as opposed to top speeds, are high on this track that has evolved from the original public roads course first used in the 1920’s to the circuit layout for inaugural World Championship in 1949. The Circuit Van Drenthe of the 1950s (with the start/finish straight still using public road), further big changes came in 1984 when the track was shortened.

After a total investment of nearly 25 million Euros and massive rebuilding work over the last two years, The Netherlands now has one of the absolute great tracks with an all-important infrastructure to match. As MotoGP crowds of the new four-stroke era swell yet further, circuits need the capacity to cope with that success. Assen will be expecting around 120,000 race fans on Saturday.

And an intriguing battle is likely to unfold, fought as much by the teams and engineers as the riders. Assen requires a chassis that is both agile and stable. Agility is a must for the high-speed changes of directions required on a track that has no real straight to speak of. And yet on account of the sustained high speeds, a degree of chassis stability is also required – a tricky trade-off.

There is also a high degree of camber, both positive and negative, a legacy of the old ‘crowned’ roads that still form a large part of this demanding track. The crowns mean that a rider has to deal with four camber changes as he uses all of the track on entry, apex and exit to most turns.

Braking on entry will see two camber changes, and then perhaps the most critical change is on the exit. First the positive camber allows early application of throttle, which is then followed by crossing the road crown, and then negative camber as the track falls away to the sides and the rear tyre tends to spin-up.

Riders have to work exceptionally hard here. There is no time for a breather because there are no straights. All the time riders are muscling their machines into position for turns that must be attacked inch-perfect to get the flow of this exceptionally difficult but rewarding track under control.

And when it comes to inch-perfect riders they don’t come more precise than Max Biaggi. “I’m ready to give it the absolute maximum here,” says the Roman. “I like it because it’s so technical, and it’s fast, really difficult – and fun. If you’re okay with these things then it’s fine – if not, you’re lost here. You need to understand how it flows because there are no real reference points on the track. And you simply can’t make mistakes either. It’s a tough place and I like it very much.”

Rossi, equally accurate when he needs to be, but with a tendency to run wide and slightly wild on corner exits is another fan of the place and he knows he can’t afford to indulge himself at a track that requires ultimate precision. “I love racing at Assen,” he says. “The track suits my style and last year we went well with the four-stroke. The last few races have been hard but good, so we’ll see if there’s more of the same here.”

Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) was on the podium here in third on a Honda in 1999 and is ready to go better this Saturday.
“I am still celebrating the podium at Montmeló which I achieved in front of my fans. It was incredible – the race was very hard from a physical perspective because of the heat but the support of the crowd pushed me on until the final laps. Now it is the turn of the Dutch TT, at a circuit which is not exactly one of my favourites – probably one of the most difficult on the World Championship calendar. Here the objective will be to stay focussed. Second place in the provisional rider standings is obviously a great motivation to continue working in the way we are, and try and stay in the fight at the top. I will have to pay special attention to the set-up of my bike. I am still trying to sort out the acceleration problem we first encountered at Mugello, which limits my possibilities in the race. In Barcelona, during some tests we did on the Monday after the race, we already made some improvements. It is still not completely sorted out but we did set the fastest time of the day. Hopefully fixed in Holland this weekend. Finally, I would like to congratulate my team on reaching their 50th podium. I feel proud to have been able to contribute to this prestigious achievement, and hopefully we can take it even higher. By the way, I have said that I don't like Assen too much, but I also said that about Le Mans...”

A rider who is looking to get his 2003 season underway after a steady start is Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) and the doughty Japanese is relishing the challenge. “Assen is the hardest track in the world,” he said. “I didn’t go that well here on the 250 in 1999 and last year I fell when me and Checa touched. But it is a big challenge this year and I’m ready for it.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) will be looking to get a better start at Assen. He finished seventh in Catalunya after a fourth at Mugello. “We’re just continuing with the tyre development and getting some good results through that hard work,” he said. “The Grand Prix at Assen is another challenge and we’ll try and get up among the leaders and fight for another top result.”

Encouraged by a better race than he could have expected from his qualifying performance in Catalunya Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) is up for the Assen challenge. “I’ve heard a lot of good things about Assen,” said the American. “I’ve never been there, but I like its history and I’m looking forward to it – bring it on.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) continues to ride a steep learning curve and the Japanese rookie is ready to go at Assen. “I have heard a lot about Assen, and watched the races on television.” Said the young Japanese. “It looks like a very difficult track to learn but I’m looking forward to racing there.”

The 250cc category can produce excellent racing and with a horde of closely-matched Aprilia’s hounded by leading Honda duo Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) and Sebastian Porto (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW), the race should be a fascinating encounter.

“Assen is a track I like very much,” says Rolfo. “It’s one of my favourites. The track is so fast that you have to be very precise everywhere. It’s very difficult to pass fast riders at Assen because there is only one ideal line. You need a fast bike, it has to be very stable in the fast corners, and you must have total concentration for the entire race.”

The Dutch Grand Prix can’t arrive quickly enough for Porto. The Argentine’s machine has sometimes struggled in hot conditions and he’s hoping Assen is cooler. “I think it will be a bit colder there and that’s good for us,” he says. “It’s nice and fast and really curvy too, so you need to be fast, but outright top speed isn’t the answer so we should be in good shape.”

In the 125cc class, the sensation of Catalunya, the 16-year-old Swiss Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) will be aiming for a repeat (or even an improvement) on his magnificent second place to Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS125R) in Spain.

“Assen is one of the tracks I have been to before,” says Luthi. “The race at Assen last year was my first race with the team – a sort of test for me. I really enjoyed racing there. Now I know the track, and that I can race with the fast guys, it will be fun.”

Championship leader Pedrosa is itching to notch up another win to add to his tally of three so far this season. “Assen is special for me,” he says. “I won my first grand prix here, last year. You need a fast bike, very stable, and the rider has to have a good head. Racing in a group at Assen is one thing but racing alone you need total concentration, 100%.”

Mika Kallio (Ajo Motorsports Honda RS125R) is hoping for an improvement in recent events here. “The steering problem we have had in the last couple of races is almost completely gone,” he says. “But if we still have a little problem it will be OK at Assen on the banked turns. I get to go home to Finland for a holiday before Assen so I'm sure to be in a really good frame of mind when I get to there.”