2009 MotoGP Championship - Round 7 - Assen, Holland

Valentino Rossi. Photos and text courtesy Yamaha Racing, Ducati Corse, BMW Motorrad. 
Edited by webBikeWorld.

Historic Assen for Rossi

Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his extraordinary career in Holland today, becoming only the second rider in history to reach 100 Grand Prix wins.

13 years after his very first victory in 125cc, the Italian took the hat-trick of pole position, fastest lap and race win with a perfect display in front of a huge Assen crowd to pass the century mark.  It was his 40th win since joining Yamaha in 2004, meaning that over half of his premier-class wins have come with the Japanese factory.

His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished a strong second and had a milestone of his own to celebrate as it was the fiftieth podium of his career.  Like Rossi, The Mallorcan has now finished on the podium in all but one round this season.

Yamaha Tech 3 riders Colin Edwards and James Toseland made it four Yamahas in the top six after finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

The eight-time World Champion got a strong start from pole and was second at the end of the first lap, passing Casey Stoner soon after to take a lead which he never relinquished.

With his M1 and Bridgestone tires working perfectly throughout, his race pace was even better than he had shown in practice and he gradually stretched his lead from Lorenzo in the latter stages of the race to seal his historic victory.

The 30-year-old Italian and his fan-club joined forces on the slow-down lap to unroll a 25-metre banner which pictured every one of his 100 wins, spanning a career which began when he was 17 years old.

Lorenzo had a poor start and lost several positions in the early melee, leaving him to fight his way back to the front in the early laps.  It took him until lap five to come through to second but by then Rossi had opened up a gap of nearly 1.5 seconds.

The 22-year-old looked to be closing on his team-mate a little at mid race distance but in the latter stages he began to lose a bit of confidence in the front and was happy enough to settle for second and an important 20 points.

With Stoner finishing third today the championship standings remain tight at the top - Rossi leads on 131 points, Lorenzo is second on 126 and Stoner is hard on his heels with 122.  The MotoGP paddock now heads directly to California and Laguna Seca for round eight in a week's time.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 42'14.611
"This is a very emotional moment and for sure I will remember this 100th victory for the rest of my life.  When I reached 70, 100 seemed a long way away but here I am and it has been great, great fun getting here.

It is down to so many people, like Jeremy and my guys who have been with me for ten years and all of the team who always give 100% and always give me the best bike possible.

Especially however I have to thank the friends who have been with me my whole life and my father Graziano, who won here in Assen 30 years ago when I was a baby, and my mother Stefania, because they have always supported me.

It's great to reach this moment here at Assen because it's the 'Cathedral' of motorcycle racing and the most historic track we go to. 

Today was a perfect race - I got a great start and my bike was incredible which meant that my pace was very strong.

In fact I think it was better for everyone's hearts not to have another last-lap battle like in Barcelona!  I had a good advantage from Lorenzo in some parts of the track and it was a great ride for me.

 Now I have 100 wins and I'm only the second rider to arrive at this number, but Agostini still has 22 more and for me he is still the greatest. 100 is a great result but the atmosphere in our team is wonderful and the motivation is still as high as ever - we want to win a few more races together yet!"

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2nd Time: +5.368
"First of all I have to say congratulations to Valentino because this is an incredible thing to achieve and this day belongs to him.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good start today and I had to take a few risks to pass people and come back to the front.  Once I did I tried to go after Valentino but in some places I just wasn't as fast as him; he was riding 36.5s every time and I didn't really have quite enough confidence to push that hard today because the bike didn't feel perfect.

As the race went on I started to feel the front tire 'close' a bit and I decided that it was safer to come home in second!  Another podium is a great result; it's my fiftieth and we continue to be very strong this season so I am happy.

I am only five points from the lead and we are in a good position going to Laguna, which I am very excited about."

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Time Again for Historic Assen

The all-conquering Fiat Yamaha Team of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo move north through Europe this weekend for the historic Dutch TT at Assen.

Following their show-stopping performance in Spain last time out, which saw Rossi better Lorenzo by just a split second, the pair will be targeting a repeat performance this weekend.

With two wins apiece already this season the World Champion and the Leading Rookie of 2008 currently share the championship lead with Casey Stoner - all three are tied on 106 points with six races gone.

After two wins this season Rossi is approaching yet another incredible milestone in his charmed career; he now lies on 99 wins and another on Saturday would see him as only the second rider in Grand Prix history to reach 100 wins, the other being the great Giacomo Agostini.

The Italian maverick has six victories to his name at the track but has had a turbulent last few years there.  Following a brace of wins in his first two years with Yamaha he injured himself in practice in 2006 but rode through the pain to finish eighth, before winning in stunning style from 11th on the grid in 2007.

Last year he made a rare mistake and crashed on the first lap but made up a gap of more than 20 seconds with a damaged bike to finish 11th.  Following a set-up overhaul in Barcelona the 30-year-old is in blistering form and will be hoping to make it two on the bounce at one of his favorite tracks.

Assen is also 22-year-old Lorenzo's favorite circuit and the youngster certainly has an impressive track record there, having won there once in 125cc and twice in the 250cc class on the way to his two world championships.

He finished sixth there last year but after his stunning performance at home last time out he will not be happy with anything but a return to the podium for the sixth time this season and he will be doing everything possible to take back the advantage from his team-mate following their Montmeló thriller.

A hard day's work at the post-race test in Barcelona has put the Mallorcan on an even sounder footing with his M1-Bridgestone package and he is confident that he will once again be a part of the story in Assen.

One of the most technically and physically demanding circuits on the calendar for the MotoGP riders, Assen has barely a straight piece of tarmac in sight.

Handling is a major focal point due to high-speed chicanes and dramatic camber changes - the latter, in some places, resembling the profile of the public roads that the original circuit was based around - features that have traditionally favoured the nimble YZR-M1.

Valentino Rossi - "A special track"
"Assen is a very special track for all riders and it is a wonderful place to ride a MotoGP bike, even if it was better before they changed the layout. 

Last year I had my worst point of the season there so I want to make up for that with a good performance, because the fans are very passionate and they deserve a good show.

After Barcelona we know how strong we are but also our rivals are strong too so we can't afford to relax, we have to keep pushing. Montmeló was fantastic, one of my best wins ever, but the championship is very close between the three of us and so we have to try to win again to take the lead.  There is still a long way to go but we have to remain consistent."

Jorge Lorenzo - "My favourite track"
"I could never have imagined after the crash in Jerez that I would have the opportunity to become leader again so quickly, but here we are at the front with Casey and Valentino!

The last three races have been fantastic and almost unbelievable, and now for the three of us it's almost like we're starting the championship all over again.

Assen is my favorite track and I am going there feeling very confident in my bike and my Bridgestone tires and with all the team feeling very motivated.  Last year I was sixth so the most important thing is to improve on that, but of course I am aiming for another podium, because consistency is the way to remain close to the top of the standings.

We had a positive test in Barcelona and now I will hope to show our improvements with an even better performance in Holland."

Assen: Record Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'36.738

Assen: Best Lap
C. Stoner (Ducati) 2008, 1'35.520

Grand Prix Results: Assen 2008
1. C.Stoner (Ducati) 42'12.337
2. D.Pedrosa (Honda) +11.310
3. C.Edwards (Yamaha) +17.125

More:  2009 MotoGP Racing Schedule  |  2009 World Superbike Racing Schedule  |  wBW Motorcycle Racing Page (News and More Schedules)

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