Day One
Jakub Smrz was the fastest rider on his Pata B&G Racing Ducati, setting a new circuit best of 1’36.041 this afternoon at a sun-kissed Assen circuit. The privateer Ducati 1098 rider made the best of the slightly changed Assen layout, adapting to it even more effectively than Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) who had tested on the new track layout last week.
Rea was second quickest, despite suffering a late technical issue. The hour long first qualifying session at Assen was halted for a few minutes to clean up an oil spill, leaving only one last flying lap for the riders to improve their early qualifying pace.
The official BMW Motorrad Motorsport S1000RR of Troy Corser was third quickest at the end of day one, proving that the BMW team has made a repeatable jump in its real world abilities, following the team’s best ever fourth place finish at Valencia last time out.
Corser was 0.4 from provisional pole man Smrz, on this 4.542km track, which features a faster Ruskenhoek chicane section than last year.
Championship leader Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) rounded out the early top four at the 4.542km circuit, proving his prowess once again at another different layout and character of circuit.
Cal Crutchlow (Sterilgarda Yamaha) crashed more than once in the first session but still went into the top five, making it five different types of machine in the top handful of spots again.
Sixth was the early result for privateer rider Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) and Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia) outqualified his team-mate Max Biaggi today, going seventh to Biaggi’s 16th.
Chris Vermeulen’s comeback ride put him 20th on the opening day for the official Kawasaki Racing Team, but his team-mate Tom Sykes was top ZX-10R rider, 12th from the 22 riders.
Jakub Smrz: “I have a very good feeling with this track and every time I come back it is very satisfying to ride here. I like the new section but I do not have the gearing correct yet for that part, so there is more to come. I am ready for the rest of the weekend and I hope I will be battling for the top positions, especially at this track.”
Jonathan Rea: “We did a nice race run this morning and also went through a few tyres to find the best choices for the race, and I think we will try the best combination of front and rear tomorrow. I am really enjoying riding and in a rhythm now. I do not have to ride on the edge to achieve a lap time. We have more grip on the rear after our test here and we still managed to keep a good front end feeling.”
Troy Corser: “The team has done a great job and the traction control is working very well. The bike feels very connected. Both throttle and engine braking systems have given me a good feeling and our engine is pushing strongly. From first to fifth gear the acceleration is really hard. Overall, the bike is a good package now. Unfortunately, someone crashed in the last chicane when I was on my flying lap at the end of qualifying, and I lost another chance to go faster.”
Supersport World Championship
Kenan Sofuoglu (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) and his team-mate Michele Pirro were first and second respectively at the new-look Assen circuit, making it a dream start for their Dutch-based team. Kenan was the clear leader, by 0.317 seconds, making the most of a recent test at Assen. Third quickest man was Fabien Foret (Lorenzini by Leoni Kawasaki) boosting his and his team’s confidence. Eugene Laverty (Parkalgar Honda) was fourth in the early rankings, leading two Triumph riders, David Salom and Matthieu Lagrive.
| Superbike First Qualifying | Supersport First Qualifying |
| 1 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098 R 1’36.041; 2. Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’36.339; 3. Corser T. (AUS) BMW S 1000 RR 1’36.489; 4. Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’36.618; 5. Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’36.752; 6. Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098 R 1’36.805; 7. Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 1000 F 1’37.064; 8. S.Byrne (GBR) Ducati 1098 R 1’37.081; 9. Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098 R 1’37.165; 10. Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1’37.166; 11. Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1’37.344; 12. Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10 R 1’37.434; 13. Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’37.453; 14. Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1’37.462; 15. Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098 R 1’37.506; 16. Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV 1000 4F 1’37.580 |
1. Sofuoglu K. (TUR) Honda CBR600RR 1’38.250; 2. Pirro M. (ITA) Honda CBR600RR 1’38.567; 3. Foret F. (FRA) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’38.780; 4. Laverty E. (IRL) Honda CBR600RR 1’39.002; 5. Salom D. (ESP) Triumph Daytona 675 1’39.143; 6. Lagrive M. (FRA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’39.405; 7. Fujiwara K. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’39.638; 8. Lascorz J. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX-6R 1’39.785 |
— Ducati Report
Michel Fabrizio and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) concluded first qualifying at the Assen TT Circuit in ninth and fourteenth position respectively.
In the early afternoon, the riders kicked off the weekend with the first free practice session and concentrated on refining the set-up of their 1198 machines. Michel made constant improvement throughout the sixty minutes to conclude the session in eighth position ; Noriyuki, who had more difficulty, finished sixteenth.
Later on, in the first of the weekend’s two qualifying sessions, both riders improved on their times with respect to the previous session and, more or less mid-way through, both Michel and Noriyuki recorded their fastest lap times. Noriyuki is still having some trouble in the second split, losing an average of sixth tenths; this is the part of the track that has been modified since last year’s race with the removal of a chicane.
Unfortunately in the last minutes of qualifying, when all the riders were pushing to the limit, a fall for Rea caused a red flag. The track was reopened with almost four minutes left on the clock but Noriyuki decided not to exit, believing that the oil on the track would not permit him to improve further. Michel, with the same idea, did make an exit but only to practice his start. The Ducati Xerox riders thus concluded the session in ninth (Michel) and fourteenth (Noriyuki) position.
Michel Fabrizio 1m37.1
“We’ve improved throughout the day but there’s still more work to do tomorrow. I expected better results but tomorrow we’ll more further changes to improve the overall set-up of my bike and I hope this will allow me to drop the times. Rea is going strong, and he’s not the only one; it will be challenging this weekend.”
Noriyuki Haga 1m37.4
“I’m still trying to understand how best to tackle the new corner, I don’t especially like that point of the track and I’m losing precious tenths in the second split. We have however improved somewhat during the day and I know we can perform better tomorrow, I just need more time on the track but I’m feeling confident.”
— Althea Ducati
The first day of action on the Dutch circuit of Assen today and both of Althea Racing’s riders finished in the top ten.
Carlos Checa, completing 26 laps, built up confidence on the modified track, recording the sixth fastest time, less than eight tenths of a second behind fastest rider Smrz. The Spaniard has been on the podium here in the past and enjoys riding at this track.
Shane Byrne made 25 laps, also getting to grips with the new-look track and concluding in eighth position, a second behind Smrz.
Genesio Bevilacqua, team owner, declared, “Today was undoubtedly a positive one, not so much for the fact that both riders are in the top ten, but rather for the work we’ve completed. It’s satisfying to be among the best Ducatis and this gives us confidence for both the Superpole and the races.”
— Yamaha Report
Yamaha Sterilgarda riders Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland spent the first day of the Assen race weekend working hard on setting up their bikes for tomorrow’s Superpole heats. Crutchlow got quickly down to fast consistent laps, spending the majority of the first qualifying session in second position. Two crashes resulting from losing the front end disrupted his session although he was unhurt and came away from the heat having demonstrated a consistent fast race pace.
Team mate James Toseland spent the session working with his team on two very different bike set ups, exploring both front and rear end feel. They found positive steps in both areas so will work to combine and produce a race package ahead of tomorrow’s Superpole session.
Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (5th, 1’36.752)
“It’s been a good day speed-wise, I felt quite comfortable keeping the pace I had. We had two stupid crashes, both when I lost the front end. I was using my usual tyre for the first one, I hit a bump and crashed, on the second one I used the new harder front tyre but didn’t have any feeling in it, I came into the last chicane maybe 6km slower than usual and just crashed for some unknown reason. Still, as I said I’m happy with the pace so looking forward to tomorrow and seeing if we can improve and achieve something good in the Superpole session.”
James Toseland, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team (10th, 1’37.166)
“We’ve been trying a few things with the geometry to see if we can improve the front feel and the rear feel. Over the last three rounds we’ve either got the one or the other so we’re trying to find a better balance using head angles and offsets. On one bike I had a setting very similar to what we used in Valencia, and the other bike had something completely different, I’ve been jumping between the two, and towards the end of the session I think we were getting there. My best lap time of the session was on the harder rear tyre which is generally not the quick tyre which is encouraging. I’m pleased with what we’ve done today, we’ve got through a lot and we’ve got some good ideas for tomorrow. There’s a lot more time in me and the bike to come.”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager
“For our first day today we saw some good things, for sure tonight the technicians and the riders will continue to work to find ways to improve on the current set up even more. I’m expecting to be in a different position tomorrow afternoon. Cal has really good times through three sectors of the track, he’s losing something in the last sector, we know this and so we’re studying to understand why so we can fix that. When we do I think he will be really strong. I’m expecting James to take another step forward tomorrow, today he was focussed on comparing two very different bike setups, we found good things in both so we’ll work tonight to bring those together.”
— BMW Report
After the best race result to date in its short history in Valencia (ESP), and a successful test in Mugello (ITA), Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport started the fourth race weekend of the 2010 FIM Superbike World Championship in Assen (NED) well. During Free Practice both riders, Troy Corser (AUS) and Ruben Xaus (ESP), got used to the new entry to “Ruskenhoek” and concentrated on set-up work. Troy finished Qualifying third, while Ruben ended up 18th.
Troy Corser:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:36.914 min (2nd) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 1:36.489 min (3rd)
“The team really did a good job. The traction control is working very effectively and the bike feels very connected. Both throttle and engine braking feel good to me. The engine is pushing strongly – from first to fifth gear the acceleration is really good. Overall, the bike is now a good package. The modifications at “Ruskenhoek” make the section really fast. It might be somewhere else where you can actually pass. Unfortunately, another rider crashed in the last chicane when I was on my flying lap at the end of Qualifying. I saw yellow flags and oil flags and just took it easy through the corners. There was a lot better time possible. However, we are quite consistent on race tyres. I am quite confident for the weekend.”
Ruben Xaus:
Bike: BMW S 1000 RR
Fastest lap Free Practice: 1:38.765 min (18th) / Fastest lap Qualifying 1: 1:37.685 min (18th)
“The bike is incredible in the fast corner, and the stability is just amazing. However, I am struggling in the slow corners. I am really losing time in these stop-and-go sections. We made some good steps forward towards the end of Qualifying. Still, something is missing, and we have to find the last tenths of a second. When the session was re-started after Jonathan Rea’s technical problem I had traffic and was not able to improve my lap time.”
Davide Tardozzi (BMW Motorrad Motorsport Team Manager):
“We are very happy with Troy’s results – he finished second in Free Practice and third in Qualifying. This is the best Friday result so far in the team’s history. On Ruben’s side we struggled a bit with the set-up. However, we made some good progress towards the end of Qualifying, and we are confident for tomorrow.”
— Suzuki Report
Team Suzuki Alstare riders Leon Haslam and Sylvain Guintoli had an opening day of mixed fortunes during qualifying for the Dutch World Superbike fourth round at Assen today.
Haslam kept up his impressive start to the season by posting the fourth fastest time but Guintoli struggled in both sessions and finished the day in 17th position; although ended in good company; as Max Biaggi (Aprilia) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) are just in front of him in 16th and 14th places respectively.
Jakub Smrz (Ducati) showed his liking for Assen by taking provisional pole position with Jonathan Rea (Honda) second and Troy Corser (BMW) third. With Leon in fourth and Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) means that the top five places are filled by five different manufacturers.
Leon Haslam – 4th, 1:36.618:
“I’m quite happy to be fourth at this stage because today we were just going through the usual motions and trying out a few things. We tried some different brake options, but didn’t really try any soft rubber, so to end fourth is pretty good, I think. Tomorrow we’ll try altering the balance of the bike and see if we can make more progress.
“The new section of the track is going to improve the lap times for sure. It’s still quite technical and high-speed, but that’s the kind of corner I like. The track felt a bit dusty today, but I’m sure it will get better as the weekend goes on. I feel pretty confident about our prospects and I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the races on Sunday.”
Sylvain Guintoli – 17th, 1:37.684:
“I’m not sure where I was today and could not get a comfortable feeling at all. All day I struggled and could not find any confidence in the front end of the bike and I felt like I was losing the front everywhere. On our last run of the day we made a radical change to the chassis and we will carry on in that direction tomorrow. It should be better because it can’t be worse!
“I know that the bike is a really good package and it’s up to me to get my head around what’s going on and work with my mechanics to find the improvement we need so much. I feel confident that tomorrow will be a lot better than today and I will end up at the right end of the grid.”
— Ten Kate
Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders Jonathan Rea and Max Neukirchner declared themselves happy after the opening day of the fourth round World Superbike championship meeting at Assen in Holland.
Although 11 places separate the two CBR1000RR-mounted riders, both benefitted from a two-day test conducted last week at the revised 4.542km circuit near Groningen in the north of the country.
Rea spent much of the free practice and qualifying session in first place but a technical problem towards the end of the afternoon prevented the 23-year-old from further improving his time. Provisional pole position was taken by Jakub Smrz.
Neukirchner, meanwhile, made further adaptations to both his machine and his riding style to allow him to exit corners faster. The improvements allowed him to go more than a second faster than during last week’s test.
Jonathan Rea – P2 1’36.339s
It’s been a positive Friday, really – maybe one of the best I’ve had in Superbikes. We’ve already found a good race pace and I was able to go four tenths quicker this afternoon than I did in the morning, when I found it quite easy to go fast. We already did a race run this morning, doing 24 laps on the rear, and then I was happy with the front that we used this afternoon. It’ll be even better when I use the right tyre combination. It’s still only Friday, of course, and because we tested last week, the others have probably got a bit more to find than I have. But we’re not playing catch up this weekend and we mustn’t go to sleep tomorrow. I’m really enjoying riding the bike and feel like I’m in the zone.
Max Neukirchner – P13 1’37.453s
I’m actually quite happy that we made a good step forward today. I went faster than at the test here last week and was able to find a second from this morning to this afternoon. The biggest thing we’ve been able to find is more stability with the bike and this has improved its turning. All this helps me to adapt my riding style as well, so it’s all helping. I hope to improve in all these areas some more tomorrow and keep making up some positions like I was able to today.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
It’s been a good day on both sides of the garage and with Jonathan we’ve already done quite some work on used tyres in preparation for Sunday’s races. There are still some areas that we need to look at but it’s going OK so far. Max is climbing up the rankings again but there’s still a bit more work to do to find the ultimate combination of adapting his style to go with the right settings on his CBR1000RR. But we remain positive and will continue with that work tomorrow.
Kenan Sofuoglu and Michele Pirro posted an emphatic one-two result in today’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s fourth round World Supersport championship race at Assen in Holland.
With their Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team based just 60km to the south, Assen represents a ‘home’ race for Sofuoglu and Pirro and a test at the revised 4.542km circuit last week underlined the pair’s early advantage.
Sofuoglu, who also headed this morning’s free practice session, set a blistering pace of 1’38.250s this afternoon, with Pirro just three tenths of a second off the Turk’s time, despite crashing early in the qualifying session.
Kenan Sofuoglu – P1 1’38.250s
I am very confident for the rest of the weekend and, after the good test we had here last week, the bike feels great and I am very comfortable riding it fast. I couldn’t put a really quick lap together this afternoon so I can’t guarantee pole position tomorrow because I’m just not very good at doing one fast lap. I will try a longer run tomorrow morning, but for me, it’s all about Sunday anyway – as long as I can get a front row start tomorrow, I am ready and looking forward to the race.
Michele Pirro – P2 1’38.567s
I have already gone half a second quicker than in the test last week, so I am happy with that. I am not so happy about the crash in the hairpin going on to the back straight early in the session this afternoon. I have cut the index finger on my left hand a little bit but it’s not so bad and I will try with my team to make more improvements tomorrow.
Ronald ten Kate – team manager
Well, it’s the perfect start to our home race weekend. Our test here last week gave us a little advantage early on, but I think that it’s levelled out now. It’s a pity about Michele’s crash which limited his progression this afternoon. His finger is a bit bruised and painful but he’ll be fit enough to ride tomorrow. Kenan is riding well and we’ll work hard to keep him in the same position tomorrow.
— Superstock 1000 FIM Cup
Maxime Berger (Ten Kate Junior Honda) and championship leader Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) went 1-2 in the opening qualifying session of the big Superstock class. Michele Magnoni was third on his Squadra Corse Italia Garvie Image Honda, if not quite into the 1’39s like Berger and Badovini. The first Suzuki was the Team06 Suzuki of Davide Giugliano in sixth place, while the first KTM twin-cylinder machine belonged to Pere Tutusaus (Go Eleven). One more qualifying session remains for all.
Times: : 1. Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’39.439; 2. Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 1’39.702; 3. Magnoni M.(ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’40.022; 4. Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 1’40.144; 5. Bussolotti M. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’40.429; 6. Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 1’40.698; 7. Petrucci D. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10 R 1’40.790; 8. Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR 1000 RR 1’40.988; 9. Baz L. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R1 1’41.021; 10. Tutusaus P. (ESP) KTM 1190 RC8 R
— Superstock 600 European Championship
Florian Marino (Ten Kate Race Junior) made it a great day for his team when he scored provisional pole at Assen, ahead of Jeremy Guarnoni’s MRS Racing Yamaha. Marino’s leading margin was an impressive 0.613 seconds, but his rivals have one more session to peg him back before Saturday evening’s 10-lap race. Martini Corse Yamaha riders Federico D’Annunzio and Bernardino Lombardi slotted into third and fourth respectively. Frederik Karlsen (MTM Racing Yamaha) was fifth.
Times: 1.Marino F. (FRA) Honda CBR 600 RR 1’42.755; 2. Guarnoni j. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.368; 3. D’annunzio f. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.538; 4.Lombardi B. (ITA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’43.542; 5. Karlsen f.(NOR) Yamaha YZF R6 1’44.111; 6. Major n. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’44.311; 7. Fanelli d. (ITA) Honda CBR 600 RR 1’44.364; 8. Carrillo C. (FRA) Yamaha YZF R6 1’44.465; 9. Cecchini R.(ITA) Triumph Daytona 675 1’44.903; 10. Krajci t. (SVK) Yamaha YZF R6 1’44.976
