2010 MotoGP--TT Assen

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mlittle
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2010 MotoGP--TT Assen

Post by mlittle » Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:56 am

Event: TT Assen
When: 24-26 June 2010
Where: Assen Circuit--Assen, Holland
Track Length: 4.555 kms/2.830 miles
Turns: 17(11 right, 6 left)


Past Winners.........................................................
~~Nello Pagini(ITA), 1949
~~Umberto Masetti(ITA), 1950 & 1952
~~Geoff Duke(GBR), 1952 & 1953-1955
~~John Surtees(GBR), 1956-1959
~~Remo Venturi(ITA), 1960
~~Gary Hocking(RHO), 1961
~~Mike Hailwood(GBR), 1962; 1964-1965; 1967
~~John Hartle(GBR), 1963
~~Jim Redman(RHO), 1966
~~Giacomo Agostini(ITA), 1968-1972 & 1974
~~Jim Read(GBR), 1973
~~Barry Sheene(GBR), 1975-1976
~~Wil Hartog(NED), 1977
~~Johnny Cecotto(VEN), 1978
~~Virginio Ferrari(ITA), 1979
~~Jack Middelburg(NED), 1980
~~Marco Lucchinelli(ITA), 1981
~~Franco Uncini(ITA), 1982
~~Kenny Roberts(USA), 1983
~~Randy Mamola(USA), 1984-1985
~~Wayne Gardiner(AUS), 1986 & 1988
~~Eddie Lawson(USA), 1987
~~Wayne Rainey(USA), 1989
~~Kevin Schwantz(USA), 1990-1991 & 1993
~~Alex Criville(SPN), 1992
~~Michael Doohan(AUS), 1994-1998
~~Tadayuki Okada(JPN), 1999
~~Alex Barros(BRA), 2000
~~Max Biaggi(ITA), 2001 & 2003
~~Valentino Rossi(ITA); 2002, 2004-2005, 2007 & 2009
~~Nicky Hayden(USA), 2006
~~Casey Stoner(AUS), 2008
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Post by mlittle » Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:57 am

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Assen Circuit Track Map
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Lorenzo Tops Friday Practice

Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:55 am

Image

----from TH, 24 June 2010
----The MotoGP series is in The Netherlands for the sixth event this year and this is the one riders cherish if they manage to take home the coveted TT Assen trophy. The historic circuit offer the riders super fast flat-out corners mixed in with some slower ones while giving them two staightaways to lay down the power and overtake competitors. The longest one is 560 meters (0.348-mile).

In today's Thursday practice, Jorge Lorenzo set the fastest time at 1:35.169 on the 4.555 km (2.830-mile) circuit. The points leader -- with a very nice cushion -- is still the only rider for the defending champion Fiat Yamaha team due to Valentino Rossi's accident in the Italian GP pre-qualifying practice.

"I am happy with today and I feel very good on the bike; the weather is perfect and I love Assen! The new corner is very fast and I really like it, it's great fun to ride through the chicane at such a speed," smiled Lorenzo. "We could probably have a bit more traction but we have two more sessions to work on this and then we will try to get the best possible grid position again. The team is working so well and the ambience and atmosphere in our garage is amazing at the moment."

Today, prior to the first practice, Yamaha officially announced the rider who will take the seat of the blue and white YZR-M1 with the famous No. 46. Wataru Yoshikawa, the team's test rider, will take his first MotoGP start at Barcelona next weekend. He is a twice champion in the Japanese Superbike series. It is expected that Rossi might be back for the Czech Republic GP in mid-August.

Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Racing's Lin Jarvis, stated: "The benefit of Wataru's presence in our team will be threefold. Firstly he brings with him a wealth of experience riding the YZR-M1. Secondly his presence allows us to fulfill our contractual obligations and to join the team's quest to accumulate points for the Team Championship. Thirdly he will gain valuable first hand MotoGP race experience in three challenging circuits which will surely be very useful to assist him and Yamaha with the future development of the YMR-M1."

While many expected to see one of the Tech 3 Yamaha or a World Superbike riders to move to the Yamaha main team, that was not the case as Jarvis explained, "We had always planned to use a rider from within the Yamaha Motor and Tech 3 family but for each rider we considered who is in active competition, their move to the Fiat Yamaha Team would have created another problem for their own racing program or for the teams in which they are engaged."

Second today, utilizing the power of the Ducati was Australian Casey Stoner. He has had a rough year and today might be the spark needed. His time of 1:35.180 was a mere one-hundredths second off the pace of Lorenzo.

"This weekend seems to be going well so far so I hope it stays like this," said Stoner. "Silverstone is a faster track than this and more flowing in some ways. Assen is a little tighter and we use a lower gearing so we've had to change the set-up a fair bit. Also at Silverstone we struggled a little with wheelies because of the way we set it up to handle the bumps. That isn't an issue here so we're just trying to find grip and stop the bike standing up on the front end. We tried some things in the middle of the session that didn't work but other than that it was a positive first session for us."

Stoner's teammate Nicky Hayden was third with a 1:35.686, five-tenths off the time of Stoner. "The bike felt pretty good out of the gate today and we made a few changes that improved it but the gap to the front is pretty big so we still have work to do," he said.

"The track is very similar to Silverstone, with a lot of fast corners, so the bike isn't so different. Having said that we're always trying new stuff and today was no different. What we tried seemed to work so I'm thankful to Ducati for that. Hopefully we can build on it tomorrow and try to repeat this kind of position in qualifying but with a smaller gap to the front," the American added.

New to the scene is Japan's Kousuke Akiyoshi, who is the test rider for Honda. He will sit in for the injured Interwetten Honda rider Hiroshi Aoyama. At last weekend's event in Silverstone, Aoyama crashed during Sunday's warmup. The Japanese rider was flown to a nearby hospital which confirmed later that Aoyama had fractured is T12 vertebra.

Akiyoshi was moved to his new role for this weekend and for Barcelona, which will mark the final of three consecutive weekends of venues for the series. At this time, the Interwetten team has not yet named a rider beyond the Catalunyan GP to take the seat of the No. 64 Honda RC212V.

"It really is a pity that Hiro had this nasty crash in Silverstone and that he injured himself so bad, so he will be out for the next couple of months. Especially now his learning process was really good and he was consistently getting better. We hope he will have a quick recovery and that he will be back with us as strong as he was before as soon as possible," said team manager Daniel M. Epp. "For the meantime we are looking for a stable replacement. At the moment we don't have a rider apart from Assen and Barcelona and we are looking for a suitable solution."

Saturday's race will mark the 62nd event that the Grand Prix World Championship for motor bikes will run at the famous track. TT Assen is celebrating the circuits 80th anniversary. To this day, the circuit holds, not only the magic for the riders, but the record for the longest running event since the inception of the top rung of motorcycle road course championship racing.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:56 am

TT Assen Friday Practice Times
1. Jorge Lorenzo E Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:35.169
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Team Ducati 1:35.180 0.011 0.011
3. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 1:35.686 0.506 0.517
4. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:35.699 0.013 0.530
5. Andrea Dovizioso I Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:35.868 0.169 0.699
6. Dani Pedrosa E Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:35.922 0.054 0.753
7. Aleix Espargaro E Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1:35.927 0.005 0.758
8. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:35.942 0.015 0.773
9. Marco Simoncelli I San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:36.002 0.060 0.833
10. Marco Melandri I San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:36.269 0.267 1.100
11. Randy De Puniet F LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1:36.294 0.025 1.125
12. Hector Barbera E Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:36.735 0.441 1.566
13. Loris Capirossi I Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:36.786 0.051 1.617
14. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1:37.261 0.475 2.092
15. Alvaro Bautista E Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:37.384 0.123 2.215
16. Kousuke Akiyoshi J Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1:41.332 3.948 6.163
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 26, 2010 2:56 am

TT Assen Saturday Practice Times
1. Jorge Lorenzo E Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:34.769
2. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Team Ducati 1:35.088 0.319 0.319
3. Dani Pedrosa E Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:35.451 0.363 0.682
4. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:35.518 0.067 0.749
5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 1:35.576 0.058 0.807
6. Randy De Puniet F LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1:35.598 0.022 0.829
7. Andrea Dovizioso I Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:35.626 0.028 0.857
8. Aleix Espargaro E Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1:35.640 0.014 0.871
9. Marco Simoncelli I San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:35.965 0.325 1.196
10. Loris Capirossi I Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:36.177 0.212 1.408
11. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:36.224 0.047 1.455
12. Marco Melandri I San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:36.297 0.073 1.528
13. Hector Barbera E Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:36.388 0.091 1.619
14. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1:36.944 0.556 2.175
15. Alvaro Bautista E Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1:37.190 0.246 2.421
16. Kousuke Akiyoshi J Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1:39.379 2.189 4.610
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Lorenzo On Point In Assen.......

Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:54 am

Image


------Jorge Lorenzo continued to tighten the grip he is developing on proceedings at the TIM TT Assen by taking pole position for Saturday’s race, having topped both practice sessions in the lead up to qualifying. The Fiat Yamaha rider secured his second consecutive pole with a best lap of 1’34.515, taking over two-tenths off his best time from the two free sessions.

Randy de Puniet became the second rider of the weekend to get under 1’35” when he briefly took the lead in the session with 20 minutes remaining, and the LCR Honda rider will start from second position on the grid for the second straight race after a fantastic session left him 0.282s off Lorenzo’s pace.

Ducati Team rider Casey Stoner put in a last lap of 1’34.803 – just six-thousandths behind De Puniet – to ensure he will start his bid for a first podium of the season from the front row. The Australian was followed by rookie Ben Spies as the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider continued to impress, setting the fourth fastest time to ensure he will start from the second row after his first podium finish last time out.

Joining the American in taking over half a second off his best time of the weekend was Nicky Hayden, as the Ducati Team man registered the fifth best time and was the final rider under 1’35”. Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso will complete the second row after timing in at just 0.016s further back. His team-mate Dani Pedrosa was seventh in the order and will start from the third row.

Completing the top ten for the session were Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing). Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) was absent after his earlier crash in the second practice session, when a highside resulted in a dislocated shoulder that prevented his participation in this afternoon’s qualifying, and most likely tomorrow’s race as well.
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Post by mlittle » Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:56 am

Starting Grid, 2010 TT Assen
1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 303.6 1'34.515
2 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 303.7 1'34.797 0.282 / 0.282
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team Ducati 308.5 1'34.803 0.288 / 0.006

4 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 300.8 1'34.926 0.411 / 0.123
5 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 312.0 1'34.999 0.484 / 0.073
6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 288.8 1'35.015 0.500 / 0.016

7 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 289.8 1'35.162 0.647 / 0.147
8 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 285.9 1'35.283 0.768 / 0.121
9 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 296.6 1'35.393 0.878 / 0.110

10 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 305.5 1'35.593 1.078 / 0.200
11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 295.7 1'35.664 1.149 / 0.071
12 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 285.6 1'36.344 1.829 / 0.680

13 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 303.7 1'36.502 1.987 / 0.158
14 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 295.2 1'36.569 2.054 / 0.067
15 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 294.8 1'38.198 3.683 / 1.629

16 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda
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Post by mlittle » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:14 pm

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----Every rider wants to win at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Known fondly as, "The Cathedral", the track has a rich history dating back to 1925, hosting the Dutch TT. Now, 80 such events later, a new rider has purified his soul at the legendary circuit when Jorge Lorenzo claimed victory to cap off a perfect weekend. The Yamaha rider from Spain set the fastest lap in every practice session, started from pole and lead every lap to earn his fourth win out of the six races completed from the MotoGP schedule.

With teammate Valentino Rossi sidelined after a huge crash in Italy no one seems able to stop Lorenzo from closing in on his first title since moving into the premier class with Yamaha in 2008. The Balearic Islands native is now 47 points clear of his rivals, one-third of the way into the 2010 season.

Lorenzo was all smiles after doing the robot and spiking his "Lorenzo's Land" flag into the gravel on the cool down lap, "I am really happy that I have won here in all three classes because it's such a historic place and the football I had in Parc Ferme was to celebrate this 'hat-trick.' Thanks to all my Yamaha guys and also to Bridgestone for this win, we have a big lead in the championship so we can afford to stay calm and relaxed. Now we go to my home in Barcelona and I am excited about another chance to race in front of the Spanish fans."

As seen in Silverstone last week, the best battle was over the other podium spots; Lorenzo made sure to take first for himself. Off the line he controlled the field as Ben Spies jumped into second from fourth on the grid. Randy De Puniet lost out on his front row start and found himself behind Ducati's Casey Stoner and Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, who seemed to teleport from seventh to third in a flash.

As the field settled Stoner tried to get a run on Pedrosa but the Honda rider wasn't worried about having a Ducati behind him, focusing more on the Yamaha of Spies. It wasn't long before the series' rookie had to give up his position to both veterans and the pair quickly sailed away from the America.

For a moment it looked like Pedrosa would be able to challenge for the lead, but Lorenzo had it locked down and was pacing the top three to save his rear tires, "This race was a bit more difficult than Silverstone because Dani was so fast with the softer tyre early on in the race and I had to really keep my concentration to stay in front of him at that point. I was confident that my harder Bridgestone tyre would help me later on and this was the case, so we made the right choice. It wasn't easy though and at the end I was sliding quite a lot, in fact I made a mistake at the chicane and nearly crashed so I was quite glad to finish!"

Stoner had a few moments of getting into the fight but for the most part seemed unable to place his front wheel between Pedrosa and a corner. They crossed the line with a few seconds between themselves. "I knew with the soft rear Bridgestone tyre that I would have more of an advantage in the first part of the race and so I pushed really hard from the start to catch up," explained Pedrosa. "But then I began losing a little bit of time in the first section of the circuit and lap-by-lap we lost touch. Anyway, this is a good result for us and I'd like to say thanks to my team because they never gave up."

Third was a relief for Stoner, the first podium of the year for the former title winner, "This is the first race this season we have come away from with a decent result. It shouldn't be our first podium of the year but that's the way it is and it was nice to finish a race, not just a qualifying session, and head to parc ferme. The team has been doing a fantastic job, especially over the last two weekends, when we have established a good base setting that has allowed us to fight for the podium, if not the win yet."

Behind the top three Spies fell victim to Andrea Dovizioso but answered back when his rival's rubber started to go. As the Texan nicknamed "Elbows" settled into fourth, Dovizioso and De Puniet started a battle for fifth that would last to the final corner. "I wanted at least fourth place today," said Spies, "and I'm happy but I didn't have the pace for the podium like in Silverstone. I'm happy with the result and we go to Catalunya next week not knowing the track and I think we will be a little bit on the back foot again. But I'll do the same as the past two weeks and push as hard as I can."

With both rear tires fading it came down to who could out brake better in the closing laps between the Repsol and LCR Hondas. De Puniet was desperate to break into the top five after a string of six place finishes. The Frenchman threw everything into the effort but lost out heading onto the front straight on the final lap. Dovizioso beat him to the line by 0.449 of a second.

"We had higher expectations for today's race and so I'm a little disappointed with how things went." admitted Dovizioso. "We weren't at 100% with the front-end feeling which meant I couldn't ride as aggressively as I wanted. Having said that, we could have finished in fourth today, but in the battle with Randy we lost time and Spies took advantage of our duel to get a gap."

Unfortunately for De Puniet, he'll have to wait for another chance to earn a top five finish for the season, "Unfortunately I had some issues on the front tyre at the beginning of the race so I decided to change my riding style a little bit to keep the pace. Then in the middle of the race I caught Dovizioso and Spies starting a close battle and I had fun. In the last lap I tried to overtake Dovi again but went too wide in the last corner. Anyway we are very pleased about this result and this week end because we maintain our sixth position in the classification."

Round seven takes the riders back to Spain for the Catalunyan Grand Prix after two Spaniards took first and second place today. Lorenzo is still seeking a first win at Circuit de Catalunya while Pedrosa has just one victory to claim for himself. The record holder for most wins is Rossi, with six wins.

Sadly the Italian will not have the chance to improve on it this season. However, there is some good news for the champ; he is optimistically forecasted to return in August for the Czech GP in Brno. Hopefully he will have a quick and full recovery, along with Hiroshi Aoyama and Marco Melandr, who also missed today's race due to injuries.
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