Photo courtesy Suzuki Racing.

Qualifying - Hopkins and Nakano
John Hopkins roared to his first ever pole position at Assen in Holland for tomorrow’s Dutch TT, with team-mate Chris Vermeulen putting his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R on the second row.

Anglo-American Hopkins (P1, 1’36.411, 29 laps) has nearly secured the top position many times before but today was his day, as he powered his Bridgestone shod Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to the head of the grid with just seconds to spare in this afternoon’s qualifying session.  Hopkins and his crew had worked tirelessly today to get the best set-up for Saturday’s race and his pole position is reward for all the hard work they and Hopkins have put in.

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano will start tomorrow's 26-lap Dutch TT from the front row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in second place during this afternoon's hour-long timed session at Assen.

The 28-year-old Japanese rider stole pole position early on in the session, but was pushed back to second place by a hard charging Colin Edwards after 20 minutes at the top of the timesheet.

Nakano responded with ten minutes left on the clock, retaking pole position from the American and holding on almost to the checkered flag.  With just 14 seconds remaining of the session, Nakano was knocked from the top spot by John Hopkins, who bettered the Kawasaki rider's lap time by just 0.013s to steal pole position for tomorrow's race.

Although a little disappointed to have missed out on his, and Kawasaki's, first pole position in the premier class by such a narrow margin, Nakano is happy to be starting from the front row of the grid on a revamped Assen circuit that offers few opportunities for overtaking.

For Randy de Puniet, today's hour-long qualifying session was a frustrating one.  The 25-year-old Frenchman was disappointed to finish 11th fastest overall, and knows that starting from the fourth row of the grid will make for a hard race tomorrow.

Although fast around the old parts of the circuit, the Kawasaki pilot lost valuable time each lap as he struggled to get to grips with the new section of track that has replaced the old North Loop.

De Puniet will again concentrate on this section during tomorrow's 20-minute warm up, when he is hoping to unlock the secret to a fast time through the difficult Ossebroeken right-hander.

John Hopkins: 1st - 1’36.411  “What can I say?  I’ve had lots of front row starts and now I‘ve finally got that pole position!  I’m really happy about it.  I am pleased with how the set-up has gone and I am enjoying the track and making the best of everything.  My team is working really hard and Bridgestone have brought some great tyres for this weekend.  We have got to try really hard tomorrow and go after that first podium."

"Colin Edwards is running a really fast pace so we know we will have to work hard in the race.  It’s a huge weight off our shoulders – getting this pole position out of the way – now we have to concentrate on the 26-laps tomorrow.  I am feeling good about the whole situation.  My thanks go to the crew, to Bridgestone for some awesome tyres and to Suzuki for improving their level so much, everything seems to be coming together and we are looking forward to tomorrow.”

Shinya Nakano: 2nd - 1'36.424  "Everything came together for us today.  The bike and tyres were working well, especially the qualifiers from Bridgestone, so I knew that pole position was a possibility. In the end I lost out by the smallest amount, but the important thing is that I will start the race from the front row.  As soon as practice started on Thursday it was obvious that there aren't many places to overtake on this new circuit, so a front row start is important if you are to avoid a difficult fight through the field."

"So, we achieved today what we set out to do, and now I need to make sure I get away cleanly from the line tomorrow, so I can take maximum advantage of starting with a clear track in front of me.  On race tyres today I was able to lap consistently to stay in the top five on the timesheet, so our original aim for the weekend of securing our best result of the season so far is looking to be a very realistic possibility."

Rossi Crashes in Practice
Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning.  The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards' team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries.

The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tire of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane.  After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage.  He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort.

Colin Edwards: (1st - 1'38.144; 28 laps)  "The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track.  Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here.  I've ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike - we've barely had to touch it today.  I've always gone well here and it's a circuit I've always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track."

"I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don't think we can call this 'The Cathedral' of MotoGP anymore - certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic.  It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate.  I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow."

Valentino Rossi: (12th - 1'39.458; 23 laps)  "I'm okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it's been quite hard for me to ride!  I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it's really hard.  I don't have much power or feeling.  Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn't breathe well for a long time.  I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon.  The problem this morning was that we started with a tire that was a bit too hard on the left.  When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn't have enough grip on the left side."

"I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air!  It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard.  It's a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown.  The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it's not so bad.  I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that."

Race Preview
Yamaha - The MotoGP World Championship returns to its oldest venue this weekend with a fresh new challenge awaiting it at the legendary Dutch TT.

With major changes having taken place at the Assen circuit since last season, the whole of the Northern Loop section making way for a new car park and expanded viewing areas, the Camel Yamaha Team venture into the unknown this weekend as they look to extend their winning run to three straight races.

The 76th edition of the Dutch TT welcomes MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi in top form, the Italian having taken consecutive victories at Mugello and Catalunya in the last two rounds to put his title defense firmly back on track.  Rossi has won at Assen for three of the last four editions of the world-famous race and nothing less than another success will do as he aims to cut back a 29-point deficit to current series leader Nicky Hayden (Honda), who has yet to win a race this year.

Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards himself took three victories at Assen in the World Superbike series, including a double win on his way to the title in a gripping climax to the 2002 season.  Last season he joined Rossi on the MotoGP podium after finishing in third place and, after continuing set-up work on the new version YZR-M1 chassis at Catalunya, he is confident of rejoining the battle for a top three position in Holland.

Valentino Rossi is looking forward getting back out on track just five days after the 56th victory of his illustrious career in Barcelona.  Despite his opposition to such a hectic run of races, which will almost certainly see some of the riders injured last Sunday missing at least one round, the Italian sees the next two weekends as a valuable opportunity to maintain his momentum and pull even closer to the championship lead.

Valentino Rossi:  "Having three consecutive races is a problem because if you are injured in the first then you risk not being able to ride for two more races," comments Rossi.  "By the third race the riders are also tired and begin to lose concentration so it's very tough for everyone.  In the past Assen was one of my favorite tracks and it was always a great, great emotion to ride a MotoGP bike at the limit there."

"Sadly the track has been changed so I am not as excited about it as usual, because it seems from reports that some of the 'Assen magic' has gone.  Anyway, I hope that it's still a good track and I know it will still be fun to race there; it always has a fantastic atmosphere and the Dutch fans are wonderful."

"We have now won two races in a row and if we hadn't had the problem in Le Mans then that would be three, which means we are now more or less at the same level that we were at this time last year.  hese races are really important so I hope that we can manage to win as many as possible.  I have moved up to third in the championship now but I still only took five points from Hayden in Barcelona and he is 29 points ahead of me, so we need to keep winning because he is a consistent podium finisher and he always fights to the end."

Colin Edwards returns to one of the most successful circuits of his career this weekend but, like Rossi, he is concerned that some of the natural character will have been lost with the recent modifications.  After picking up a solid fifth place in the last round at Catalunya the American is now targeting a return to podium form as he heads into three important races at Assen, Donington and Laguna Seca.

Colin Edwards:  "I grew up on the next three tracks and I've finished on the podium at all of them in MotoGP so hopefully this can be a good spell for me," says Edwards.  "On paper the Yamaha should work well at the new track and some more time with the new chassis will help us get up to speed.  We know that what Valentino is using works so it's a case of adapting it to me, making a few small changes and getting as close to his pace as possible - if not improving on it."

"Like a lot of the riders I have a lot of affection for the old Assen circuit and I hope it hasn't lost too much of its character.  Whatever the track is like you can bet that the atmosphere is going to be just as crazy as ever and I always have a lot of fans there - especially some of the Brits who come over for the party.  Hopefully I can give them something to shout about on Saturday afternoon."

Technically Speaking: Assen According to Andrea Zugna
Despite the dramatic changes to Assen's unique layout over the winter, it still promises to be one of the most technically and physically demanding circuits on the calendar for the MotoGP riders.  With barely a straight piece of tarmac in sight, handling remains 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 76 years ago.  Andrea Zugna, Data Engineer for Colin Edwards, says the information gathered last season will still be highly valuable.

"It will be interesting to see how the track is without the Northern Loop because that was a very characteristic section of the circuit, with high camber and left-right switches," says Zugna.  "I suppose the first section of the circuit will now be similar to China, with a series of tight right-handers from turns one to four causing strain on the right hand side of the tire, and that will also make it physically demanding on the riders."

"As far as the setting is concerned we will still start with the same as last year because we know it works for around 90% of the track.  On Friday morning we will analyze the data from the final 10% and the engineers will be able to make the adjustments based on that information.  We expect Assen to be more like a 'normal' circuit now.  It has always required only partial throttle and that will still be the case, so it is not too critical on gearbox and engine settings but does require a good compromise to cope with the fast direction changes and the slow chicane which was modified last year.  Our setting worked well last year and we finished on the podium so hopefully that can be the case for both riders again."

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Photo courtesy Kawasaki Racing.