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Round 7: Assen, The Netherlands
Track length: 6027 m
Opened: 1955
Fastest lap ever: tbc
Superbike lap record: tbc
Last year Superbike winners: Chris Vermeulen (Honda) and James Toseland (Ducati)
Circuit tel: +31 592 321321
Circuit web site: www.tt-assen.com
Yamaha Motor Italia riders Noriyuki Haga and Andrew Pitt go to the Dutch round of the Superbike World Championship looking to write their own small piece of motorcycling history.
This weekend's races will be the last world championship event to be held on the legendary 6km circuit before the bulldozers move in to shorten the northern loop section of the track, making way for a new hotel and entertainment complex.
The Yamaha riders go to the Dutch race well rested and in high spirits. Haga has been in inspirational form in the last two rounds, winning in both Brno and Brands Hatch to climb to fifth in the championship and move within five points of fourth placed Yukio Kagayama (Suzuki).
"I was very happy after Brands Hatch," commented Haga, who has spent the four weeks since the last race holidaying with his family. "I know that I cannot win the championship so my aim now is just to win races. I do not care about my championship position if it is not champion but I know that we can win races so I will be trying maximum for win is Assen. I also hope to try out a new engine. All season I have asked for more engine power. My feeling with the chassis is now very good and with more power it will make my job easier!"
The long-awaited new specification engine has been track tested by Pitt, who completed a day's testing at Alfa Romeo's Bolloco test track. The Australian, who finished third on his on his debut with the team at last year's Assen world supersport event and is hoping for a similar result at the famous circuit this year. "I love riding at Assen and we got a good result there last year," he explained. "We got back on track at Brands Hatch. I felt a lot more comfortable on the bike and that gives you the confidence to push hard so, yes, I'm really looking forward to the weekend."
Team coordinator Massimo Meregalli was satisfied with the outcome of the shakedown runs, commenting: "Overall Andrew's feeling was very good. He didn't notice much change in the characteristics of the new engine but the dyno and datalogging figures all suggest that it is better in all areas. Since the test we have carried out reliability runs on the dyno without any problems. We are building up the engines now and will make the decision on which engine to race during the race weekend."
Another rider looking for a good result in Assen in Yamaha Motor France's Norick Abe. The Japanese is no stranger to the circuit from his MotoGP days, and has proven to be quick on tracks he knows. He goes to Assen tenth in the championship, one place behind Pitt.
Haga hits double milestone in Assen
Noriyuki Haga is due to hit two important milestones in the second race at Assen: his 150th start in the Superbike World Championship and his 100th on a Yamaha.
The ever popular 29-year-old Japanese made his debut as a wild-card rider at the 1994 Japanese round at Sugo. Riding a privately entered Ducati, Haga made an inauspicious start with a 12th place in race two. Two years later Noriyuki announced himself to with world after grabbing his first class podium at the same venue, taking his Yamaha YZF750 to second place in race one. After Sunday's races, Haga will have made 100 starts riding Yamaha, 26 on Aprilia and 24 on Ducati. In his 148 races to date, he has scored 19 wins and 25 other podium placings.
Supersport World Championship - Curtain targets second
Having produced a stunning display to finish third at Brands Hatch, Yamaha Motor Germany's Kevin Curtain heads to Assen looking for his first win of the season and a chance to move up to second in the championship. Championship leader Sebastien Charpentier (Honda) looks to have one hand on the title with a 74 point advantage going to the Netherlands. Curtain was one of the form men at Assen last year, only being denied a podium finish when another rider took him out at the final corner, and now he has his sights firmly set on the runners-up position presently occupied by Katsuaki Fujiwara (Honda), who is currently seven points ahead of the Australian Yamaha rider. Team-mate Broc Parkes is also aiming for a reversal of fortunes at Assen. The 23-year-old goes to the Dutch race on the back of two non-finishes that have seen him slip back to seventh in the championship. Parkes is also no stranger to the Assen track, having finished fourth there last season.
Superstock - young guns going for it in Assen
Yamaha R6 Cup graduates Kenan Sofuoglu and Massimo Roccoli continue to battle for honours in this series for young riders running virtually stock 1000cc sports machines, with Sofuoglu's Brands Hatch win taking him back to the head of the championship. The Turkish rider is almost completely recovered from hand injury that saw him miss the Misano round in June and, with Roccoli crashing in Brands, he now has a 18 point advantage in the championship - the Italian slipping back to third behind Craig Coxhell (Suzuki). Last season Sofuoglu grabbed third place behind fellow Yamaha riders Lorenzo Alfonsi and Gianluca Vizziello, while Belgian team-mate Didier van Keymeulen took the lap record at what is his local race. Van Keymeulen currently lies fourth in the series and could kickstart a late bid for the title with a win in Assen. In the 600cc superstock class, Italian Yamaha R6 rider Claudio Corti goes to the Netherlands with a 26 point advantage at the head of the championship.
