Troy finished the first day of Assen qualifying with the second quickest time and is ready to rock tomorrow. His time of 2:04.835, was less then a tenth of a second behind provisional pole man James Toseland (Ducati), but that was achieved on a bike that was suffering a bit of wheelspin in the afternoon qualifying session. Third fastest today was Karl Muggeridge (Honda) with Chris Vermeulen (Honda) fourth.

TROY - 2nd, 2:04.835 - "Well it’s been pretty much OK today and I wasn’t pushing hard at all. We made some good improvements to the gearing and suspension in the afternoon, but I felt we were suffering a bit of wheelspin throughout the day and it was the same on race or qualifying rubber. I think the grip level is going to improve over the weekend, so I am not too concerned. Having said that, the tyre were pretty consistent throughout the day.
Assen had always been one to the tracks I really look forward to and it is a real ‘riders’ track. But the new changes to the circuit have ruined the flowing nature of the track and that’s a real shame. The chicane after the back straight has made the track less fun to ride - for me anyway - and it especially affects the final part of the lap.

"I had a real ’moment’ this afternoon when I went straight on at the chicane instead of through it. I had to take to the gravel and I nearly crashed because the ripples in the gravel are so high! There is no need for them to be be like that, so I am hoping that they will rake the gravel and flatten it out a bit. Then, most riders would be able to keep upright and rejoin the track. I have never won at Assen before, so I am hoping to change that this weekend."

Suzuki

Team Suzuki Corona Extra's World Superbike Championship leader Troy Corser took things steadily on the first day of qualifying at Assen but still managed to post the second quickest time, less than a tenth-of-a-second behind provisional pole-setter James Toseland on a revamped circuit he feels isn't as 'much fun as it used to be.'

Corser's team mate Yukio Kagayama was here three years ago in a MotoGP race, so had to start learning the track all over again: Assen circuit has a new layout since last year and most riders took their time finding the best way round the 5.997 kilometre track.

He ended the day with the ninth fastest lap and is looking forward to further improvement tomorrow.

Troy Corser - 2nd, 2:04.835: "The changes have ruined the flowing nature of the track - from the new chicane onwards - and so it's not such fun to ride as it used to be. Today I had quite a bit of wheelspin, both on race and qualifying rubber, but I think the track's grip level is going to improve so I'm not that worried about it at the moment. We made quite a big step forwards from the morning to the afternoon session, mainly to do with the gearing and a bit of suspension work. I had a bit of a 'moment' this afternoon when I went straight on instead of though the chicane, but I managed to keep it all upright ok and carry on. "

Yukio Kagayama - 9th, 2:05.921: "I was here three years ago but I have forgotten everything I knew about the track. There may be some changes from last year, but they don't affect me at all! It is so important to know this circuit very well because there are many difficult corners. Once you know them well you can shave off time and make good laps. Today we mainly worked on the gearing because the bike was working well. This morning I was 14th, this afternoon ninth, so my aim tomorrow morning is top six, then front row after Superpole and then podium in race one and a win in race two! This is my plan."

The event sees the racing return of Dutchman Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh after a three-month lay-off. The 35 year old, who secured a wild-card entry aboard a British Superbike Championship Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000, took a provisional 23rd position.

Rizla Suzuki

Jurgen van den Goorbergh spent the first day of practice and qualification at the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen in Holland easing himself back into racing and learning about the performance of his Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 race bike.

The 35-year-old Dutch ace is making his World Superbike debut racing at his home circuit as a wild-card entry. After a three-month break from motorcycle racing, he spent today getting to grips with the cut and thrust of World Championship level competition and how best to maximize performance given the control tyre regulations in the World Championship.

Jurgen lapped the 3.726-mile long Assen TT circuit less than three seconds shy of provisional pole position to record the 23rd fastest time of the day. He completed 32 laps during two hours of track time, spending a lot of time in the pit garage making changes to the Rizla Suzuki to suit his riding style.

Suzuki WSB regular Troy Corser ended the day second fastest with his team mate Yukio Kagayama in ninth place. Ducati's James Toseland is on provisional pole position.

There is a one-hour qualifying session tomorrow morning followed by a practice session and then Superpole at 4pm (CET) for the 16 fastest riders to determine the grid for Sunday's races. British Eurosport will broadcast all the action from Superpole and both races.

Robert Wicks, Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:
"It's important to bear in mind that this is the team's first event using the control tyres and we need to be realistic about how quickly we can make progress, particularly in terms of getting the complete package that Jurgen feels comfortable with. He's also had only one brief opportunity to test the race bike at Silverstone.

"That said, Jurgen has been very complimentary about the Rizla Suzuki GSX-R1000 and every time we have made a change to the bike he has felt an improvement and set a faster lap time. We hope that trend continues tomorrow. Jurgen has a massive fan base here in the Netherlands and I'm certain he will do everything possible to secure a good result at his home circuit."

Simon Green, Rizla Suzuki Team Co-ordinator:
"We changed the settings on the front forks and rear shock and Jurgen's comment at the end of the day was the bike balance was good. The bike is performing well and the more he rides and learns about it and the control tyres, the quicker he is becoming.

"After a three month break from racing Jurgen has deliberately eased himself back into the saddle. He knows he can go quite a bit quicker than he has so far and is one of the few riders who has not yet tried a qualifying tyre - when he does, we expect it will improve his lap time quite considerably.

"Our target for tomorrow is to get into Superpole and then take our chance from there. It's not going to be easy as the pace is very quick, but the team is in good spirits and enjoying being part of the World Superbike paddock, albeit as a one-off visit."