Spies sets pace at Assen
The whole MotoGP™ field was treated to a warm and dry first day at the Iveco TT Assen, where last year’s race winner, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies, laid down the benchmark for tomorrow’s qualifying by setting the fastest time of the day in the second practice session ahead of Cal Crutchlow and Nicky Hayden.
In a tightly fought afternoon session, Spies set the fastest lap in the high 1.34’s, narrowly relegating Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow into second, who is still recovering from a fractured left ankle. Third place went to Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, who looks to be continuing his excellent dry pace on the Desmosedici.
Last race’s pole sitter, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, finished the day fourth fastest, after putting in yet another good showing on board his satellite Honda machine. In fifth, Spies’ teammate Jorge Lorenzo could not match the American’s pace, loosing out in particular in the final sector of the track. Lorenzo however, had not switched to the soft rear tyre like the riders in front of him, instead focussing on race pace.
Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa ended the day in sixth, and will be looking for a significant improvement tomorrow if he is to start his championship challenge. Behind him was teammate Casey Stoner, who only completed eight flying laps in the afternoon session, as he was struggling with issues on both his bikes. Stoner was another rider to not post a fast lap with the soft rear compound.
Eighth place went to Crutchlow’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso, who is looking to make amends for his crash in the last race. In ninth, Ducati’s Valentino Rossi showed some improvement throughout the day, yet still looked to be struggling compared to his American teammate. Both him and Hayden sighted a quick drop-off in rear grip as the main problem to solve this weekend. Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá finished the practice in tenth, after recovering from a crash early in the session.
Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró put in a solid performance to finish as top CRT machine, ahead of his teammate Randy de Puniet.
1 Ben Spies 1’34.866 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
2 Cal Crutchlow 1’34.872 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
3 Nicky Hayden 1’34.968 USA DUCATI Ducati Team
4 Alvaro Bautista 1’35.008 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
5 Jorge Lorenzo 1’35.057 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
6 Dani Pedrosa 1’35.080 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
7 Casey Stoner 1’35.181 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
8 Andrea Dovizioso 1’35.257 ITA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Valentino Rossi 1’35.296 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
10 Hector Barbera 1’35.298 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
11 Stefan Bradl 1’35.337 GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
12 Aleix Espargaro 1’36.615 ESP ART Aspar Team MotoGP
13 Randy De Puniet 1’36.871 FRA ART Aspar Team MotoGP
14 Michelle Pirro 1’37.057 ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
15 Yonny Hernandez 1’37.572 COL BQR-FTR BQR
16 Karel Abraham 1’37.628 CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing
17 Mattia Pasini 1’37.657 ITA ART Speed Master
18 Colin Edwards 1’37.669 USA SUTER NGM Mobile Forward Racing
19 James Ellison 1’37.973 GBR ART Paul Bird Racing
20 Ivan Silva 1’38.279 SPA BQR-FTR BQR
21 Danilo Petrucci 1’38.373 ITA IODA Ioda Racing Project
At the Iveco TT Assen it was Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró who dominated the Moto2™ field ahead of Andrea Iannone and Dominique Aegerter, in what was a closely fought first day of practice for the intermediate class.
The Spanish youngster, who had also topped the morning session, set the fastest time of the day in the afternoon practice with a 1.38’421 ahead of Speed Master’s Iannone, who was just over one tenth behind. Technomag-CIP’s Aegerter put in a stunning performance on board his Suter machine to finish third, over four tenths off the front.
Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s championship favourite Marc Márquez will be hoping for an improvement in pace tomorrow, as he finished in fourth over six tenths off his compatriot’s time. JiR Moto2’s French rookie Johann Zarco looked back on form once again in firth, coming in just ahead of Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti, who recovered from a crash in the morning session.
Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías, who posted the seventh quickest time, was involved in an incident with Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding in the latter stages of practice, as the Brit took out the Spaniard, who looked as if he had slowed down on the racing line. Both walked away from the incident, albeit with Redding nursing a sore knee.
Eighth place went to Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi, followed by Redding in ninth and NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis in tenth. De Angelis, who switched from a Suter to an FRT chassis from this weekend, crashed out on his final hot-lap. Other riders who slid off track throughout the day included Kiefer Racing’s Max Neukirchner, Thai Honda PTT Gresini Moto2’s Ratthapark Wilairot, Arguiñano Racing Team’s Ricky Cardús, who fell twice, as well as Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabat. None of the riders were injured.
There was also a new addition to the grid for the Desguaces La Torre SAG Team in the form of Australian rider Damian Cudlin. Cudlin, who will ride the next two rounds, replaces Angel Rodríguez, with whom the team split after the Silverstone round.
1. Pol ESPARGARO – 1’38.421
2. Andrea IANNONE – 1’38.568 – 0.147
3. Dominique AEGERTER– 1’38.872 – 0.451
4. Marc MARQUEZ – 1’39.063 – 0.642
5. Johann ZARCO – 1’39.130 – 0.709
On the first day of Moto3™ free practice at the Iveco TT Assen it was Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales who set the fastest time of the day ahead of Miguel Oliveira and Niklas Ajo. Conditions were favourable all day to give the Moto3 grid a good run out at the revamped Dutch track, with championship leader Viñales taking top spot with a 1.44’312, over seven tenths ahead of Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Oliveira. Surprise inclusion in third place was TT Motion Events Racing’s Ajo, who had one of his best sessions all season, riding with an upgraded frame.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese finished the day in fourth, almost a second off Viñales. He suffered a crash on his warm-down lap as he lost the front, but walked away unhurt. The German headed RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom, who improved on his morning performance, as he seeks to close the gap on Cortese and Viñales in the championship standings. In sixth, Technomag-CIP-TSR’s Alan Techer continued his impressive form of the day, finishing just over a second off the top.
Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Jakub Kornfeil, who had been top early in the session, ended the day in seventh, ahead of Cortese’s teammate Danny Kent in eighth. He was followed by Oliveira’s teammate Alex Rins in ninth, while the top ten was completed by Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati.
Apart from Cortese’s incident at the end, there were three other crashers in the form of Andalucia JHK Laglisse’s Ivan Moreno, and the Mahindra Racing pair of Danny Kent and Marcel Schrotter. All walked away from the incidents unhurt.
— Yamaha Report
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies began his Assen weekend today with a confident turn of speed to wrap up the first sessions as the fastest rider. The 2011 Assen race winner put in a productive simulation run in the afternoon session on the harder tyre before switching to the soft to take the top spot on the time sheets with a 1’34.866 lap.
Team mate Jorge Lorenzo was also quick to get up to an impressive speed today. The Championship leader finished the morning session as the fastest rider and led the majority of the second session as well. Lorenzo was only overtaken when others switched to the softer option rear tyre whilst he remained on the hard. He finished the day in fifth position but less than two tenths from Spies in first.
Ben Spies / Position 1st – Time: 1’34.866 – Laps 45
“Today was a good day, both this morning and this afternoon. In the second session we did almost race distance on the tyres in case it rains tomorrow to be ready for Saturday. We had quick times and then tried the soft tyre at the end of the session and were able to put down some quick laps with over race distance on the front tyre. The bike feels good so we’re going to continue on this path and try to make the bike even better for tomorrow and Saturday.”
Jorge Lorenzo / Position 5th – Time: 1’35.057 – Laps 26
“The feeling is pretty good with the bike, we started in a good way this morning and were fastest. In the afternoon we were fastest for most of the session but finally the riders who switched to soft tyres went in front of me. We concentrated on improving the pace with a race tyre and I think we succeeded. We have a good package and I’m confident with the bike which is important.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager
“A very good first day at Assen and great weather too! The bike is behaving really well, this morning we were quickest and Jorge was even a little faster in the afternoon session. We were very consistent so a happy team and a happy rider.”
Massimo Meregalli – Yamaha Factory Racing Team Director
“A great start to the weekend, we completed a long race run successfully and Ben is pretty happy with the bike set up. We just have some small details to try and improve but we are close. Jorge was as usual showing a good fast consistent pace so a strong start for Yamaha.”
Courageous Crutchlow makes fast start in Assen
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Cal Crutchlow finished the opening day of practice for the historic Dutch TT in second position after the British rider showed tremendous courage and impressive speed at the Assen circuit today. Only 11 days after breaking and dislocating his left ankle in a practice crash for his home round at Silverstone, the British rider demonstrated his bravery and skill once again by finishing just 0.006s behind fastest rider Ben Spies.
Crutchlow, who rode to a heroic sixth place from the back of the grid at Silverstone, was ninth quickest this morning but was able to knock 1.2s off his best pace this afternoon to finish with an impressive lap time of 1.34.872.The 26-year-old finished the leading non-factory rider and today’s positive start was an instant reward for Crutchlow’s determined efforts to be in the best physical conditions possible for the Assen race on Saturday. He has been undergoing round-the-clock treatment on his left ankle since Silverstone and although not close to 100% fitness, he has targeted a top six finish in Saturday’s 26-lap race.
Andrea Dovizioso has battled for the podium in each of the last three races and is confident he will be in contention for the top three again on Saturday after a positive start to his preparations for the seventh round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship.
The Italian rider was eighth fastest but in a closely contested second session that saw the top 11 split by just 0.471s, Dovizioso’s be st pace of 1.35.257 was only 0.391s off Spies at the top of the leaderboard.
Dovizioso will focus on improving front-end stability on his YZR-M1 machine ahead of tomorrow’s final practice and qualifying.
Cal Crutchlow / Position 2nd – Time: 1’34.872 – Laps 40
“I am happy to be second quickest considering my physical condition is certainly still not the best after the crash at Silverstone. This morning was a bit of a shock to be honest because although I have been able to do a bit of cycling at home on the Isle of Man as part of the recovery, it definitely wasn’t easy. There was quite a bit of pain with the ankle this morning and it took me longer than normal to get into a rhythm. But overall I am really pleased to be second because I am still quite sore. I am sure it is going to get better the more time I spend on the bike but I had arm pump this morning too because I was compensating for the ankle. But this afternoon it wasn’t an issue at all. I tried the hard and soft rear tyres and felt good on both so we have done a good job as always. The target for this weekend was to try and be inside the top six throughout and I’ve done that today. My ideal time was actually fastest so that is a really big positive and gives me a good boost to take into tomorrow.”
Andrea Dovizioso / Position 8th – Time: 1’35.257 – Laps 41
“The characteristics of this track means the lap times look very close but if you look at the tyres some were using, then it is easier to understand who is really fast for race pace. Obviously I would have liked to be higher up than eighth but I am not unhappy with my race pace. I am quite fast but I can improve the setting of the bike, particularly the front-end. I don’t have the stability like normal and that means I don’t have a comfortable feeling entering the corner and I can’t be as aggressive as I’d like. But I am only 0.3s away from the fastest pace, so it is not such a big gap to close to the front and I am confident I will be higher up the order tomorrow.”
— Repsol HRC Report
Today, the Repsol Honda Team were back in action at the Assen circuit on the first day of free practice for the Dutch TT.
With pleasant weather and good track conditions, the Honda factory riders began work on the set up of their RC213V machines and tested some new parts in preparation for Saturday’s race.
Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa focused on a chassis comparison to improve the chattering issues whilst also spending time working on the tyres and trying different set ups with both soft and hard compounds. In the afternoon, with track temperatures 15 degrees higher than in the morning practice, Dani and Casey chose to remain on the hard compound, not switching to a new rear soft in the last minutes of the session.
Dani, second quickest in the morning, improved slightly in the afternoon and finished sixth in the combined free practice times with 1’35.080, just 0.2 tenths off the best lap time of the day, while Casey, third in the FP1, didn’t improve in the second session and finished the day seventh with 1’35.181.
DANI PEDROSA / 6th 1’35.080
“It’s been very good to have these temperatures in Assen and it really helps us to take profit of both practice sessions to work on the setup of the bike. We tried different things on the chassis to improve our feeling with the front tyre and we did many laps on both tyres, the soft in the morning and the hard in the afternoon. We are pleased with the steps we made today and I think we have a good basic setting to keep improving tomorrow. Basically, we would like to get better traction to give us more corner speed. Concerning the chassis we tried, I felt slightly differences, but I still need to compare them a little bit more because we are looking to improve the performance with the front tyre and Assen doesn’t really have hard braking. It’s impressive that the lap times are so close from the first to the eighth position, it means that tomorrow’s qualifying will be tough and here it’s important to get a good position on the grid because the first corner is very tight”.
CASEY STONER / 7th 1’35.181
“We tried a few things with the bike but weren’t really happy with them. We tested another chassis but haven’t found many positives with it yet, in the morning if felt like we had slightly less chatter in the front, then this afternoon no real benefit, perhaps a little worse. In FP2 we couldn’t get any feeling from the rear and to be honest I felt a little nervous on the bike because from the first two exits, the bike just wanted to throw me off, every time I touched the throttle the rear wanted to come around on me and I lost the front quite a few times, too many for my liking. Everything we’re doing, trying to reduce the chatter is just making the bike difficult to ride. We’re going to have to rethink things again and come out fresh tomorrow. I’m not too worried about finding the pace, it was just a little bit disappointing this afternoon”.
— Ducati Report
The first day of free practice at the Dutch TT saw both Ducati Team riders reduce their gaps to the top of the time sheets. Nicky Hayden, who was third overall at day’s end, is just one tenth of a second from the provisional pole, while Valentino Rossi, who was eighth, has a gap of approximately four tenths. The Italian set his best time with the hard tyre.
The sessions took place in dry conditions, and both Rossi and Hayden hope that the good weather will continue tomorrow so that they can also try to improve their race pace.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 3rd (1:34.968)
“I really like the Assen track, and the weather was perfect today. The team had some good ideas, and we tried a couple of things. I enjoyed riding the bike, and the day went pretty well. This morning we used the hard tyre for the entire session, and I was able to improve the rhythm in the last exit, with a tyre that had quite a few laps on it. This afternoon we didn’t make any big adjustments because the bike is working pretty well at the moment. Tomorrow we’re going to work on making the bike better at changing direction, and we’ll keep trying to make it better for race distance.”
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 9th (1:35.296)
“Today went pretty well, especially in the afternoon. I’m eighth, but the gap to the front is only four tenths, which is a decent step forward for us. Now the bike works well with new tyres, but we have to keep working on our race pace. Both Nicky and I start sliding a lot when the tyre is worn, so we have to slow down too much compared to the others. Tomorrow, in order to be more consistent and improve the pace, we must try to improve rear grip without losing it at the front. Anyway, today wasn’t a bad start.”
— Bridgestone Report
Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium. Rear: Medium-Soft, Medium (Asymmetric)
Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative)
Weather: Dry. Ambient 22-28°C; Track 27-43°C (Bridgestone measurement)
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies continued his affinity with the Assen circuit to set a blistering time of 1:34.866 in Free Practice Two and finish fastest on what was an incredibly close day of competition.
In an FP2 session that saw the top eleven riders set times within 0.471 seconds of each other, Spies used the combination of the harder front and softer rear slick to set the fastest time of the day to finish 0.006s ahead of Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow, while Ducati’s Nicky Hayden was third fastest overall. The CRT riders also showed impressive pace today with Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaro fastest today in 12th overall and just 1.749 seconds off Spies’ benchmark time.
Weather conditions today at Assen were fine and warm, with the sun shining for most of the day and track temperatures reaching a peak of 30°C in FP1 before rising to 43°C in FP2. The warmer than expected temperatures resulted in riders preferring to go with the harder option slicks today, though many riders used the combination of the softer rear and harder front to set their fast lap times at the end of FP2. As there is a good chance of overnight rain and cloud cover affecting tomorrow morning’s practice session, the softer slick options may be more widely used tomorrow.
MotoGP™ action resumes at 1010 local time tomorrow morning (GMT +2) for Free Practice 3, with the one hour qualifying session starting at 1355.
Shinichi Yamashita – General Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department
“Today’s warm conditions allowed riders to take to the track with a fast pace right from the beginning as grip levels were quite good. As warm-up performance wasn’t such an important consideration today, most riders preferred to use the harder front slick tyre as corner stability at a circuit like Assen is very important.
“The flowing nature of this circuit and the favourable track conditions were perhaps the reason why today’s lap times were so close and the signs are good for a highly entertaining race on Saturday. With track conditions being so good today, hopefully we don’t get too much rain overnight though we anticipated unsettled weather when selecting our tyres for this race to ensure maximum rider safety in any weather condition.”