World Superbike / Supersport 2005

As the 2005 World Superbike Championship season approaches the final third there can be no better point to resume on-track hostilities than the classically sculpted Circuit van Drenthe at Assen; referred to among many other things as the ‘Cathedral’ of motorcycle racing. An outstanding motorcycle venue for every possible reason, Assen has been a regular and popular fixture in the World Superbike calendar since 1992, proving to be the turning point for many a championship season. Modified since it was last used as an SBK venue, Assen is still much greater than the sum of its many parts – no mean achievement on a circuit with over 20 corners along its 6km length.

WHO CAN STOP CORSER’S CHAMPIONSHIP CHARGE? The class act at the start of the 2005 championship season proved to be the 1996 champion Troy Corser (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) and weekend after weekend he has piled on the points ever since. Consistent front running performances have taken him to an almost unassailable 344 point championship score, fully 110 more than his nearest rival. He has appeared on every single rostrum of the year, with an enviable record of eight wins, four seconds and four thirds to his credit. Strangely, for such a perennial challenger for honours, he has not won a race at Assen in a ten year SBK career – something he will be more than keen to rectify this coming weekend.
His team-mate, Yukio Kagayama, still sits fourth in the championship overall, despite some recent reversals of fortune. In a crowd-pleasing move for this race, former MotoGP and World Supersport star Jurgen van den Goorbergh will take part in the Assen race on a Rizla Suzuki, provided by regular British Championship competitors, Crescent Racing. ‘VDG’ has already tested and will be eager to make a strong showing in front of his home crowd.

SECOND IN CHAMPIONSHIP NOT ENOUGH FOR VERMEULEN Winston Ten Kate Honda rider Chris Vermeulen is the current second place rider in the championship, and at Assen he is on his team’s home ground once more. The pre-eminent Honda rider in Superbike at present, Vermeulen will be out for nothing less than win number two and three of his 2005 season, the first having been taken at another fast, flat and flowing circuit – Monza. As the first race winner at Assen last year, Vermeulen knows exactly what it takes to triumph at this classic circuit.
Vermeulen’s team-mate, Karl Muggeridge is a rookie to Superbike in 2005 and will be looking to add consistency of raceday performance to his undoubted speed in qualifying. His personal best of fourth (in the same Monza race won by Vermeulen) may be aced at such a flowing circuit as Assen, but for all the riders, Assen 2005 will present something an unknown challenge in parts, after winter alterations to the Circuit van Drenthe layout.

DUCATI CHALLENGE HEADED BY LACONI The factory Ducati Xerox duo of Regis Laconi and James Toseland have reversed roles from the 2004 season, with Laconi the man scoring more points and making a more consistent charge on the overall championship table. This tough year for the factory Ducati twins, despite Laconi taking three wins to Toseland’s single, sees the desmo riders in only third and sixth places respectively. At Assen, a happy hunting ground for vee-twins in many previous years, each rider will be looking to topple the flood of four-cylinder machines from the east, in wet or dry conditions. Toseland took a win at Assen in 2004, on his way to securing the championship itself.

HAGA ON A CAVALRY CHARGE THANKS TO R1 RESURGENCE Genuine 2004 season championship challenger Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia) found his 2005 steed something of an enigma for the first half of the year but since his breakthrough podium place at Silverstone, and two subsequent race wins, he has been the match of even the Troy Corser/Suzuki combination. Only dropping five points in the previous three races, he has some positive memories of Assen, having taken the fastest lap in each race in 2004 and a race win in 2000. His team-mate Andrew Pitt is seeking his first podium of the year, after an up and down introduction to World Superbike.
Long time GP rider Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France) may pull off one of his better performances at Assen, as his rookie Superbike season has proved most profitable at tracks he has raced on before. His tem-mate Sebastien Gimbert is looking to Assen as the first race in which a leg injury has not played a part in limiting his potential for over three rounds.

WALKER UP FOR YET ANOTHER ‘HOME’ RACE PSG-1 Kawasaki squad rider Chris Walker will join his fellow countryman James Toseland at Assen, with the high numbers of travelling British fans that feature in Assen every year once more expected to be a greatly appreciated asset for each of them. Walker has as much experience of Assen as any other track, and a great love for the circuit which is shared by many of his peers. On the fast Kawasaki, he may well spring another podium finish to add to the one he took at Valencia. His team-mate Mauro Sanchini is expected to be fit for this race, after missing the previous Brands Hatch encounter.

PRIVATE RIDERS GEARING UP FOR ASSEN WALL OF SOUND Of the four current SBK riders to have taken race wins at Assen in previous years, only Pierfrancesco Chili (Klaffi Honda) has not been mentioned so far. At the opposite end of the experience ladder from his team-mate Max Neukirchner, Chili may find no better place to demonstrate all his guile and sheer speed, with Assen rewarding exquisite lines and intimate knowledge of all its cambers and subtle undulations. Ben Bostrom (Renegade Honda Koji) has been a top five finisher at Assen, and after some recent encouraging signs in SBK, he will hope to make at least top ten finishes at Assen in 2005. Despite a tough early season spell for all the Ducati privateers, the SC Caracchi Ducati duo of Lorenzo Lanzi and Fonsi Nieto have had their high points, with Lanzi especially impressive as he undergoes his rookie SBK season.

PETRONAS DUO DETERMINED AS EVER The team principle of the Petronas outfit, Carl Fogarty, loved Assen above all other circuits, winning an astonishing 12 races at the Dutch track. On 900cc three cylinder machines, against a wave of 1000cc fours and twins, his 2005 riding line up of Steve Martin and Garry McCoy have battled hard and well, albeit with little to show in terms of the points haul. At Assen, where power is needed to keep up momentum, it may be another tough weekend for the Petronas runners, but with both Aussies keen to post more points, a pleasant surprise is not out of the question.

WORLD SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP Frenchman Sebastien Charpentier (Winston Ten Kate Honda) has simply dominated a classy top-level entry in the middleweight championship, running away with the lead thanks to six wins from eight starts - backed up to the hilt by another two second places. His 74-point lead over his team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara is significant, as another win at Assen, irrespective of any other rider’s finish, would give him the championship.
Kevin Curtain (Yamaha Motor Germany) has battled hard to split the Honda hordes, and he currently sits third, ahead of former World Champion Fabien Foret (Team Italia Megabike Honda) and his full season rookie WSS team-mate, Michel Fabrizio (Team Italia Megabike Honda).

SUPERSTOCK 1000 FIM CUP Kenan Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motor Germany) scored his third win of the year at the previous Brands Hatch round, giving him an 18 point championship lead over Aussie Craig Coxhell (EMS Racing Suzuki). Sofuoglu, Coxhell, Riccardo Chiarello (Alstare Corona Extra Suzuki) and Massimo Roccoli (Lorenzini by Leoni Yamaha) have all taken at least one race win this season, which is proving to be a particularly unpredictable and exciting one.

World Superbike / Supersport 2005 - Round Nine - Assen

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Sunday - WSBK Race 1 - WSS Race - WSBK Race 2 - Reports - Corser - Ducati - FG Sport - FPR - HRC - Muggas - Pirelli - Yamaha - EMS

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Friday - WSS FP1 - WSBK FP1 - WSS QP1 - WSBK QP1 - Reports - Corser - Ducati - FG Sport - FPR - Muggas - Ten Kate - Yamaha

Assen Previews - Pirelli - Yamaha - Ten Kate - FG Sport - Suzuki - HRC - FPR -

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