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2005 WORLD SUPERBIKE: ASSEN

• Location: Northern Holland - 2 kms south west of Assen, near the A-28 motorway from Amersfoort to Groningen.
• track revised in 2002: change to Veenslang main straight up to Stekkenwal
  Mandeveen and Duikersloot corners moved inwards for larger run-off area
• 6.027 kms
• Lap record: 2m 2.395 (Edwards, 2002)
• Fastest lap record: 2m 0.874 (Chili, 2003)
• 2004 RACE RESULT:
• RACE 1: 1 Toseland Ducati 2 Chili, Ducati 3 Laconi Ducati
• RACE 2: 1 Vermeulen Honda 2 Toseland Ducati 3 Haga Ducati
• 2003 WINNERS: RACE 1: Hodgson Ducati RACE 2: Xaus Ducati
• 2002 WINNERS: RACE 1 + 2: EDWARDS, HONDA

RACE RESULT

• SUPERBIKE RACE 1
• 1 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda
  2 James Toseland (UK) Ducati
  3 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha
  4 Corser
  5 Pitt
  6 Kagayama
  7 Lanzi 8 Neukirchner 9 Muggeridge 10 Chili
  11 Clementi 12 Gimbert 13 McCoy 14 Martin 15 Bussei
  16 Vizziello 17 Cardoso 18 Bostrom 19 Sanchini 20 Vd Goorbergh
• SUPERBIKE RACE 2
• 1 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda
  2 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha
  3 James Toseland (UK) Ducati
  4 Corser
  5 Pitt
  6 Lanzi
  7 Neukirchner 8 Muggeridge 9 Abe 10 Bostrom
  11 Kagayama 12 McCoy 13 Gimbert 14 Chili 15 Bussei 16 Martin
  17 Vd Goorbergh 18 Velini 19 Praia 20 Nickmans
• SUPERSPORT RACE
• 1 Foret
  2 Sebastien Charpentier,Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR *** 2005 CHAMPION ***
  3 Fabrizio
  4 Curtain
  5 Fujiwara
  6 Harms
  7 Parkes
  8 Chambon
  9 Lauslehto
  10 Fores

RACE REPORT:

• CORSER: "Today was a bit frustrating really, but I suppose if you had to have an off weekend, this one was not too bad. All weekend we've had problems with wheelspin and yesterday afternoon we changed an engine and that affected the set-up of the bike. Perhaps we lost our way a little then, but in the morning warm-up today things were pretty good, so we thought we'd be ok. But in both races I had problems with wheelspin and I couldn't get on the gas unless the bike was more or less upright. That cost me a lot of time each lap - enough for me not to be able to stay with the leaders. I pushed the front as hard as I've ever pushed it - any more and I would've crashed - but at least we got a couple of fourths. I would have liked to have left Assen with a few more points in the bag but that's the way it goes sometimes."
• KAGAYAMA: "This is not how I planned the weekend! Before today, I believed that a podium or two was possible, so I am not so happy. In race one, it took me five laps to find my rhythm, but by then the front group had gone. My bike's balance was not perfect, but I think I lapped as fast as the leaders in the second part of the race, but it was too late. I had big problems in the second race with rear end chatter after five laps. I had started well in third and was fighting hard, but when the chattering started I couldn't keep my position. In the end, all I could do was keep going and bring my bike home."

YAMAHA RACE REPORT: Double podium sees Haga move up

• Noriyuki Haga moved up to fourth place in the 2005 Superbike World Championship with two podium finishes at Assen today.
• The Japanese rider finished third and second in the day's two thrilling 16 lap races at the classic Dutch circuit, duelling it out for second place behind world champion James Toseland (Ducati) in the opener and race one winner Chris Vermeulen (Honda) in the second.
• Race one proved to be an easy win for Vermeulen, but the crowd was thrilled by the battle behind. Toseland and Haga traded places throughout, with the young Englishman pulling away to take second in the closing laps.
• The second outing proved equally as thrilling with Haga and Vermeulen battling for the lead, this time the Aussie getting to the line less than a tenth of a second ahead of the Yamaha man.
• Race two marked Haga's 150th in the class and his 100th racing Yamaha equipment. Following the race, the popular Japanese was reunited with the YZF750 and YZF-R7 machines he rode with such success as Yamaha Motor Italia's racing manager Claudio Consonni raised a champagne toast to the brand's most successful world superbike racer.
• Haga's Yamaha Motor Italia team-mate Andrew Pitt had his best collective pair of races of the season, taking home 22 points for a brace of fifth places. The Australian rode strongly throughout, battling with the leading trio and championship leader Troy Corser (Suzuki) in both races, before succumbing to tyre chatter and ending settling for his welcome fifths.
• Yamaha Motor France pairing Norick Abe and Sebastien Gimbert had differing fortunes, although both left the Netherlands each with seven more points to their name. Abe retired from the opener but came back to take ninth in race two. Gimbert had his best outing since round three in the Valencia with 12th in race one and 13th in the second.
• Haga's 36 point haul moves him up to fourth place in the title race, ahead of countryman Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki) and just nine points behind third placed Regis Laconi (Ducati), who was absent through injury. Pitt remains in ninth place in the standings, albeit with a reduced gap to eighth. The Australian is just 11 points shy of Pierfrancesco Chili (Honda), with Abe slipping back to 11th. Corser continues to lead the standings, with an 86 point advantage over second placed Vermeulen.
• Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "We made great races with James and Chris. I was a little bit disappointed with the final result of both races because if I had lasted one more lap I would have tried something more to push. It was hot and sweat was already affecting my eyes after three laps. In the last two or three laps I felt like I was going to give up but I didn't and the result I know is not so bad."
• Andrew Pitt (Yamaha Motor Italia)
  "It's getting better. We are starting to fight with them now but we've just got to get on that podium! We used the regular engine spec, because we know where the position of the bike has to be now and when you've got the confidence to just grab the brakes and fire it into corners it really helps. At this moment I don't want to change too much on the machine."
• Norick Abe (Yamaha Motor France)
  "In the first race we had a broken engine so we had to change the motors. But I think that the clutch on that engine was already no good. So I could not make a good start. In the race it was very difficult to shift down - so we had some bad luck. Knowing Assen from MotoGP helps a little but when the bike is completely different from the one before, it makes the whole experience very different."

QUALIFYING

• VERMEULEN'S MAIDEN POLE IN WORLD SUPERBIKES
• VERMEULEN (HONDA): "It feels good to have my first pole position but as long as I start on the front row, I'm fine ... I love racing here at Assen - it's such a special place - and I'll be doing my best in the two races tomorrow."
• LACONI INJURED - TO MISS RACE: Regis Laconi has elbow injury after a fall during Friday qualifying and will miss the race: "Obviously I'm very disappointed but it was absolutely impossible for me to race here, and as soon as I move my arm the pain is terrible. I'm going to Marseilles to a specialist to see if it is possible to do something for the next race".

GRID, SUPERPOLE

• 1 Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Honda 2m 4.179
  “It was a good lap but not perfect – there are always areas where you think you can go a little fastest and things on the bike that can be better. But the bike is definitely feeling good and the team’s been working hard all weekend to get it working a little better around here. I didn’t use a qualifier at all until this afternoon’s free practice and qualified in ninth place for Superpole. Maybe that suits me better than sitting around and waiting to go as one of the last riders. It feels good to have my first pole position but, to be honest, as long as I start on the front row, I’m fine. I love racing here at Assen – it’s such a special place – and I’ll be doing my best in the two races tomorrow.”
  2 James Toseland (UK) Ducati 2:04.899
  "It's been a great weekend so far for us. We got a good setting when we first went out on Friday morning and we've just kept it going. We had a good warm-up before Superpole and then I saw the time that Chris did and thought that it was going to be a tough one to beat. I took a few risks in the first few corners but I knew that if I kept everything smooth, the main thing was to be on the front row and so I'm happy to be second. Fair play to Chris for winning the watch for pole and commiserations to Régis who had a crash yesterday that put him out of this race".
  3 Troy Corser (AUS) Suzuki 2:05.005
  "As long as I am on the front row, I'm happy - though winning Superpole is always nice! We used a new engine this afternoon and it felt a bit different and I think that is what prevented me from going any faster. Having said that, Chris Vermeulen did a fantastic lap and he fully deserved Superpole. Assen is a very technical and hard track and I don't think anybody is going to clear off at the start. It could end up a very tactical race and a lot will depend on how the tyres are at the end. I've never won here before, but my aim is to leave Assen with my points lead intact or increased whatever the situation."
  4 Noriyuki Haga (JAP) Yamaha
  "We improved the bike this afternoon but I still had many big slides and we have not yet found the perfect suspension setting for tomorrow's race. Tonight we will make some more changes and I hope this can make the feeling with the bike better. But it is good to be on the front row. I like the Assen circuit and I will be trying as hard as I can to take the win tomorrow."
  5 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Honda
  “That was one of the worst laps I’ve done all weekend so I’m not too happy. There was a lot of wind out there but I also made a few mistakes. The trouble with it being such a long lap here at Assen is that one mistake can stretch for a long time and mess up the rest of the lap for you. Maybe it would be better to do the same as Chris and not wait around for such a long time for your Superpole lap. After all that, though, the bike has been getting better and better with each session this weekend. We seem to have got it set up so it can still work later in the race when the grip begins to drop off. In the longer runs we’ve been doing here, the tyres are lasting long enough to stay up there in the race.”
  6 Andrew Pitt (AUS) Yamaha
  7 Yukio Kagayama (JAP) Suzuki
  8 Steve Martin (AUS) Petronas
  9 Pierfrancesco Chili (ITA) Honda
  10 10 Lorenzo Lanzi (ITA) Ducati
  11 I. Clementi Ducati ITAA
  12 M. Neukirchner Honda GER
  13 C. Walker Kawasaki UK
  14 N. Abe Yamaha JAP
  15 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA
  16 B. Bostrom Honda USA
  17 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA

FRI, SEP 2, 2005

• 1 James Toseland Ducati 999 F05 GBR 2' 4.742
  "I felt pretty comfortable this morning and we haven't made any changes to the bike, it was pretty good already. We just wanted to do more laps because it was good enough to go faster with the setting we had and we didn't want to change anything. We just tried a couple of rear tyres, the front's working pretty well and we've already found a rear. It's Friday afternoon and I'm ready to race! There haven't been many problems all year with the bike set-up to be honest. We haven't really changed much on the bike and now it's going as it should do.The new bits on the circuit are a bit tricky because you are used to going that fast down the back straight and scaring the hell out of yourself to now having to brake really hard for that right-hander and every lap you want to take it 5 mph too fast and you go wide. But luckily there's plenty of space to go wide and you have to get a judgement for it. But it hasn't spoilt it, Assen is still Assen and I still love it here"
  2 Troy Corser Suzuki GSXR1000 AUS 2' 4.835
  "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."
  3 K. Muggeridge Honda CBR1000RR AUS 2' 5.136
  “I put in a qualifier and the lap wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that good, either. I walked away knowing it was pretty average but it was on an old front tyre so I wasn’t exactly barrelling in everywhere. I put in a lot of laps on race rubber, which feels good and the lap times were still pretty good towards the end; so, with some more things to try tomorrow, we should be there or thereabouts. I’m looking for a bike that I can still race when grip levels begin to drop off and that’s what we’ve been concentrating on today. I’m happy with the new section of the circuit here ; it still flows but I see it as another passing opportunity.”
  4 C. Vermeulen Honda AUS 2' 5.445
  “I’m pretty happy with the way things have gone today. I didn’t use a qualifier in that session and my best lap was done with a race tyre that was nine laps old. I wasn’t happy with the set-up at the start of the session but the guys worked really well in the right direction to get the bike working better. For sure, there’s still a way to go but I think we’ll find it tomorrow when I think the times are definitely going to get faster. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the revised circuit ; I think it’s taken something away from Assen but everyone has to ride it so it’s not a problem.”
  5 L. Lanzi Ducati ITA
  6 S. Martin Petronas AUS
  7 M. Neukirchner Honda GER
  8 A. Pitt Yamaha AUS
  9 Y. Kagayama Suzuki JPN
  10 G. Vizziello Yamaha ITA
  11 N. Haga Yamaha JPN
  12 I. Clementi Ducati ITA
  13 C. Walker Kawasaki GBR
  14 S. Gimbert Yamaha FRA
  15 R. Laconi Ducati FRA
  16 M. Borciani Ducati ITA
  17 L. Alfonsi Yamaha ITA
  18 J. Cardoso Yamaha ESP
• SUPERSPORT FRI, SEP 2, 2005
• 1 Sébastien Charpentier Honda CBR 600RR 2'08.683
  “There’s a lot of riders out there doing some strange things. They are all riding around in groups and no-one seems to be doing their own thing. I very nearly high-sided trying to pass one group and hurt my ribs a little. Otherwise I didn’t push to the maximum today and just used a softer tyre for one lap. We’ll try some different chassis settings tomorrow but the bike feels OK at the moment. We’ve already chosen the front tyre and have two or three rear options for tomorrow. But a lot depends on the weather, of course. I’m enjoying the weekend so far – very relaxed and the atmosphere in the box is as good as ever.”
  2 Fabrizio M. Honda CBR 600RR 2'08.757
  3 Parkes B. Yamaha YZF R6 2'09.662
  4 Fujiwara K. Honda CBR 600RR
  5 Foret F. Honda CBR 600RR
  6 Curtain K. Yamaha YZF R6
  7 Chambon S. Honda CBR 600RR
  8 Corradi A. Ducati 749 R
  9 Vos A. Honda CBR 600RR
  10 Lagrive M. Suzuki GSX 600R

YAMAHA FRI REPORT

• Yamaha Motor Italia riders Andrew Pitt and Noriyuki Haga prepared for Sunday's two Superbike World Championship races at Assen, The Netherlands, with a strong showing on the first day of practice.
• After ending the morning's free practice in first and third place, the R1 riders ended the afternoon's qualifying session with Pitt eighth fastest and Haga in 11th, despite both men working towards finding a good race setting rather than seeking the fastest outright lap time.
• Australian Pitt was in the top three of the time sheets for the majority of the session, only to be shuffled back late on. Having opted to use his softer qualifying tyre to set his fastest lap early in the one hour session, the 29-year-old used the remainder of the session to work on race settings.
• Haga, a race winner at the last two rounds, once again decided to concentrate on race settings and did not use a qualifying tyre in today's sessions. Despite this, the Japanese ace headed the timesheets for the first 20 minutes and ended the day 11th, 1.4 seconds from pole sitter James Toseland (Ducati). Haga was happy with his day's work and is likely to test an evolution of the R1 engine tomorrow.
• Yamaha Motor France riders Sebastien Gimbert and Norick Abe endured contrasting days at Assen. Gimbert showed a return to his best form to end the day in 14th. The Frenchman has suffered a dip in form since a mid-season injury but full fitness and some developments to the front braking system on his R1 saw him regain confidence and improve his pace. Abe, however, was left scratching his head at a lack of rear end grip that saw him finish the day down in 21st position.
• Final qualifying takes place tomorrow (Saturday) morning, with the grid positions for Sunday's races decided in the afternoon's superpole session

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