Jun 22, 2011, ©Copyright 2011, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
From a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
After an impressive fifth place for Scott Redding at a very wet and windy British Grand Prix just over one week ago, the Marc VDS Racing Team have moved on to the Netherlands for this weekend's race at the Circuit van Drenthe in Assen, or the cathedral of speed as it's commonly referred to.
The historic circuit is currently the only track that has appeared on the Grand Prix calendar every year since the series started in its current form back in 1949. A former public roads circuit, Assen has been extensively modified in recent years, but has lost little of the unique character that makes it a favourite with riders in all classes.
Redding is determined to carry the momentum from his fifth place at Silverstone into this weekend's race, which takes place on Saturday afternoon rather than the more usual Sunday. The 18-year-old Briton's confidence in his Suter MMXI machine has increased with every race and he's certain that the bike will suit the old style Assen circuit, allowing him to push for another top five finish this weekend.
Mika Kallio had a difficult weekend in Silverstone, but was forcing his way through the field and towards the top ten when he collided with Simone Corsi and crashed out of the race. The Flying Finn has struggled to find a good feeling this season when the temperature has dropped, but the Marc VDS rider is determined to overcome the problem this weekend in Assen, a track at which he has won races before, but where the weather forecast promises more cold weather and a good chance of rain.
Scott Redding #45:
"I like the Assen circuit, although in recent years it hasn't been one of my best in terms of results. It's an old style circuit where you can carry lots of speed through the turns, a bit like Silverstone, and that suits my riding style better than the modern stop start tracks. We arrive in Assen off the back of a solid fifth place at Silverstone and I'm pretty confident we can repeat that performance again this weekend. Obviously the podium is our target, as always, but I wouldn't be too disappointed to finish inside the top five."
Mika Kallio #36:
"We made some steps forward in Catalunya and Silverstone, improving my feeling with the bike, and I hope we can continue this progress at Assen. We also learnt a lot about the bike in wet conditions at Silverstone, where I was able to fight my way through the field in the race before a collision put me out. The forecast for Assen is also for rain, but I'm pretty confident we can achieve a good result regardless of whether it's wet or dry. I've won at Assen in the past and I like the circuit, so I'm looking forward to the weekend ahead."
"Scott had a good result in difficult conditions at Silverstone but he needs to keep challenging at the front if he is to reclaim his rightful place in the championship standings. Assen is a circuit that shares many characteristics with Silverstone, so I don't expect to see Scott out of the top five all weekend. Mika struggled with the conditions at Silverstone, but his fight through the field towards the top ten showed that it's possible for him to overcome the problem he has when the weather turns cold. I expect him to do the same this weekend in Assen, but starting from first free practice rather than waiting for the race. His goal is top ten this weekend, and he needs to achieve it."
More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO:
FTR MOTO LOOKING TO CONTINUE FORM IN HOLAND
FTR MOTO is looking to Saturday’s seventh round of the Moto2 World Championship at Assen in Holland to build on a recent run of successes with its M211 machine.
Championship challenger Simone Corsi, Ioda Racing Project FTR, will be gunning for victory at the Circuit van Drenthe venue in the north of the country as he looks to close the 62-point gap from his second place in the World Championship to leader Stefan Bradl.
Youngsters Esteve Rabat and Yonny Hernandez of the Blusens STX Team, Kev Coghlan on the Aeroport de Castello FTR and HP Tuenti Speed Up’s Pol Espargaro will all be looking to further their points haul and continue recent successful race finishes.
Rabat was sixth in the last round at Silverstone, for his best finish so far in 2011, Hernandez has finished ninth in the last two rounds, Coghlan was in the points at Silverstone for the first time since round two at Jerez, Spain and Espargaro continues to show signs of the form that handed him sixth place in Portugal in round three.
Max Neukirchner on the MZ-FTR has scored World Championship points in every round except Portugal while his team-mate Anthony West is looking to Assen to add to his only point-scoring finish of the year in Spain.
Both Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda Singha SAG) and Mattia Pasini (Ioda Racing Project FTR) will be out to add to their sole, point-scoring finishes of the year, both at the damp Jerez round in April.
American Kenny Noyes (FOGI/GP Tech Team) and Santiago Hernandez, on the SAG Team FTR, chase their first points of 2011 by targeting top 15 finishes in Saturday’s 24-lap race at the 2.822-mile circuit.
“Since the last round at Silverstone we’ve been able to focus on the areas of the M211 that can help the guys improve and we hope that those improvements will be evident in Holland this week,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. ”We’re very pleased with the progress of the youngsters and as the series heads towards the halfway stage I’d like to think we can also further assist Simon Corsi and the Ioda Racing Project’s Бид to land the World Championship.”
More, from a press release issued by JiR Moto2 Team:
It’s time for a legendary fixture on the World Championship calendar – the Dutch Grand Prix at the Assen circuit – considered by many to be ‘the cathedral’ of motorcycle racing. The current configuration of the circuit has removed some of the charm of the Dutch event, but that exciting, final chicane remains, maintaining also the position of the finish line. The Dutch TT has often been a turning point of the Championship and another of its peculiarities is that, as usual, it takes place on Saturday instead of Sunday and in the last week of June.
The JiR Moto2 Team has used the time available after Silverstone to prepare some improvements to the aerodynamics of the official MotoBI ridden by Alex De Angelis, in view of the upcoming high-speed circuits such as Mugello and Brno
The performance of our bikes is not at issue, our technical level is comparable to the competitors and yet team and rider still have trouble exploiting at its best the package they have available. Compared to last year what has changed is the approach, rider and technicians need to adjust to the material they have and from this race on this is what they will have to do to change the results we have had so far. You just need to look at each qualifying session this year to understand that the rider can not put his best performance in this session and this affects also the outcome in the race. Compared to last year significant changes have been made to the chassis, having used the 2010 version in Barcelona from the second free practice session and having recorded the third-best time says a lot about the level of competitiveness of our bikes, just look at the pace of the race winner.
I'm happy to go to Assen because it is a track I really like. At Silverstone, I paid the price of not knowing the track well, while the TT is a historic circuit for which I already have the references and so I expect to be able immediately to get on the pace and push to the limit. Pushing hard from the start will be the priority of the whole team of course we must work hard to further investigate the issue of the engine’s power that I feel is still not at 100%, while in Thursday’s pre-weekend briefing we'll decide whether to opt for 2010 or 2011 frame. Both bases are good, we have strengths and weaknesses in each one of them so we'll make the necessary assessments considering the race strategies and track conditions and weather. Needless to say I'm anxious to have a good GP weekend at Assen.