MotoGP 2007 Round 9
Grand Prix of Holland - Dutch TT - Assen - June 3, 2007

Text and Photos Courtesy MotoGP, Ducati Corse, Kawasaki, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP, Suzuki Racing, Yamaha Racing and World Superbike. Edited by webBikeWorld.com.

Race Results
Another fantastic MotoGP race at Assen today, as Valentino Rossi came from 11th place on the grid in the fourth row to take the win from Casey Stoner, who led most of the way.  A surprise third place finish by Nicky Hayden, who started on the 5th row, rounded out the podium. 

The ninth round of the World Championship saw The Doctor come from 11th on the Assen grid to take victory over Ducati Marlboro’s Stoner by just under two seconds and reduce the deficit at the top of the standings.

However, Stoner also had a good race and would have settled for a 21 point World Championship lead at the half way stage of the season had it been offered to him before the first race of the year in Qatar.  World Champion Nicky Hayden demonstrated that he really has finally found a comfortable race set-up for his Honda 800cc RC212V with a superb performance to finish third and earn the first podium of his title defense season, despite starting in 13th on the grid.

Hayden held off his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa for that podium position, the Spaniard finishing fourth, just ahead of Rizla Suzuki’s John Hopkins (fifth) and Colin Edwards (sixth).  It was a disastrous afternoon for Kawasaki Racing’s Randy de Puniet who dropped from third to 11th on first lap and then took out Suzuki’s pole man Chris Vermuelen as the pair collided on lap 12 to immediately end the Frenchman’s race – Vermeulen remounting to finish last in 16th place and sadly miss out on the points.

Pramac d’Antin colleagues Alex Barros and Alex Hofmann were seventh and eighth respectively, while another solid effort from Kawasaki newcomer Anthony West brought him home ninth - with Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda) rounding off the top ten.

After difficulties in yesterday's wet qualifying Rossi was left with a mountain to climb today and, with championship rival Casey Stoner starting from the front row, there was no room for error from the Italian.  Rossi made up little ground at the start but after the first couple of laps he found his rhythm and began a spectacular charge to the front, passing rider after rider with a series of bold moves and eventually making his way up to second behind Stoner by lap 12 of 26, setting a string of fastest laps on the way.

The seven-time world champion was then faced with the task of closing a gap of almost two seconds to the championship leader but within just a few laps he had done just that and moved to within striking distance of the lead.  It was no easy job to pass the Australian however and he made several unsuccessful attempts before finally making a pass stick through the chicane with three laps remaining, eventually crossing the line 1.909 seconds clear.

Edwards meanwhile was unable to capitalize on his fast race pace and, although he was lapping at a similar pace to the front runners throughout, he was unable to close the gap after being caught in traffic at the start.  Rossi's maximum-points haul today closes the gap to Stoner at the top of the standings to 21 points, whilst Edwards' ten points see him hold onto seventh at the half-way point of the season.

Valentino Rossi - 1st 42'37.1497:  "This was an incredible race.  I think maybe one of the top five of my career!  Clearly starting from 11th is quite lucky for us because I've won a few times from that position, including last year at Sachsenring.  Last night I didn't sleep so well and I couldn't have imagined that the race could turn out like this, in fact I was really a little bit worried after the qualifying and didn't know what to expect today!"

"Once I got going though I saw that I had a great pace and so I just rode as hard as I could to get past everyone because I knew then that I could come back to Casey.  When I finally got there I was quite tired, as were my tires, plus he was riding very well and it was hard to overtake him, but my M1 worked brilliantly today and in the last few laps I was able to go past and win.  I have to say a big thank you to Michelin and to my team, because today our package was brilliant and I was able to ride at the maximum.  I'm so happy to win here in Assen, it's a special place for me and this is a great emotion!  It was nice to have a special livery here as well, in the past I haven't been so lucky with new liveries but hopefully today has turned that around!  Congratulations to Yamaha for 150 wins, I am glad that we could celebrate like this!"

Qualifying
Chris Vermeulen took the pole in the wet for the Dutch TT at Assen today, with Casey Stoner in second and a surprise Randy de Puniet filling out the front row on the Kawasaki.

It was business as usual in the MotoGP, as the bad weather that has become the norm this season disrupted this afternoon's Qualifying session ahead of tomorrow's Dutch TT.

After a dry session this morning, when Fiat Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were first and fourth fastest respectively, it was once again time for the riders to put on their rain-suits and do battle with the elements in the fight for grid slots.

It was a less than perfect afternoon for the Yamaha pair as they both struggled to match their fast dry pace on the soaking circuit.  Both spent most of the session in the bottom half of the order as they searched for the right set-up and tire combination for the difficult conditions, although Edwards managed to improve things considerably at the end and put in an excellent final lap to move up to sixth, on the outside of the second row.

Rossi meanwhile was unable to make such a drastic jump and could only manage 11th, which will see him start from the middle of the fourth row.  With better weather promised tomorrow however and both riders boasting a strong race pace in the dry, the pair are confident of being in the mix tomorrow when the 26-lap race gets underway at 1400 local time.

Valentino Rossi - 11th, 1'50.392:  "For sure today in the wet we had some problems and the fourth row is not great!  Of course in order to fight for the victory here I would prefer to be nearer the front, as to win from the fourth row is quite hard!  We've given ourselves a difficult job to do and now I will need to do a perfect race, with no mistakes from start to finish, in order to come back towards the front."

"I'm quite sad about the weather because I think from the front row I would definitely have been in a position to try to win tomorrow.  As we've proved before however, we know that it's not impossible to make a good race from the fourth row!  We need to make the right tire choice and we need to make a good start, because it's not so easy to pass people here.  Our pace in the dry this morning was good and luckily we're expecting better weather.  We'll do our best and see how we go."

Kawasaki Team Report
Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet will start tomorrow's Dutch TT from the front row of the grid after a gripping finale to today's qualifying session.  Team mate Anthony West, also came well within the top ten on the time sheet and will start from the front of the third row.

After a good start to the session, which saw him easily maintaining the pace of the frontrunners, de Puniet's confidence dropped as an already wet track became precariously slippery, with rain falling ever harder on the Dutch circuit.  However, perseverance with his Bridgestone tire choice paid off as drier conditions prevailed and, on his very last run, he put in his best time of the day.  The 26-year-old Frenchman's final lap of 1'49.579 took him from a discouraging 13th in the line up, to a magnificent third, just behind fellow Bridgestone runners Chris Vermeulen, on pole, and Casey Stoner.

The Kawasaki rider also claimed the honor of being the fastest man of the session, with a top speed of 275.791kmh.

De Puniet has been showing increasing consistency of late and recently celebrated his best ever finishes in MotoGP with a fifth at Catalunya and a sixth last week at Donington Park.  In yesterday's practice sessions, in the dry, he finished second in the field on combined times so, considering today's wildly different conditions, he's further displayed an ever-increasing maturity on the track and talent for taking his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR forward, regardless of the environment.

In front of packed grandstands at the 4.555km Circuit van Drenthe, Anthony West continued his mission to conquer the ZX-RR, aiming to find the best set up for what is only his second race for the Kawasaki Racing Team.

Confident in the wet, the 25-year-old Australian featured strongly at the top of the initial time sheets in the session but stagnated slightly, mid pack, as he struggled to maintain the pace.  However, the vigor of his early performance enabled him to remain in seventh position until just towards the end.

In a stunning display of last minute gusto, West upped his time on his last lap, claiming sixth although, in a cruel case of inter-team irony, it was de Puniet's great finish that pushed him back to seventh as the checkered flag marked the end of the hour-long qualifying session.

Just 0.116 seconds off the man in front of him, Colin Edwards, West beat many far more experienced MotoGP riders with his time of 1'49.807, including Dani Pedrosa, Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi and current world champion, Nicky Hayden.

Today's results represent a significant step forward for the Kawasaki squad who, as the season progresses, are showing they're a team to be reckoned with. In tomorrow's 26-lap race, they're confident they can maintain this momentum.

Randy de Puniet #14 – 3rd - Best Lap 1'49.579:  "I'm very happy and feeling a bit lucky!  I found a tire I really liked but then the weather changed for the worse and it was impossible to improve.  However, I hung on, waiting for the conditions to get better and they did, just at the right moment.  I thought I would be starting from the fifth row, and from there it's hard to do well in the race, so I'm really pleased.  It's very important to get this third position on the grid.  Today's conditions were not the best but I managed a good lap time and the bike and engine worked very well, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow."