MotoGP – Enemy number 46 is back! –

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Enemy number 46 is back !

MotoGP - Enemy number 46 is back! -

Six days after Barcelona, ​​the pilots are on a pilgrimage to Assen. And it was on a heavily reworked circuit – nicknamed the cathedral of motorcycles – that Rossi crashed this morning: he will seek his 3rd consecutive victory if his condition allows it….

The jewel of the Netherlands has been deeply retouched this year: its total length goes from 6,027 to 4,555 meters (read) and the north loop which offered a particularly spectacular series of fluid and rapid curves has been deleted in favor of a parking lot with 7,000 spaces and a recreation area called "TT world", in homage to this ordeal which has lasted since 1926.

Despite this upheaval, the track which will host the Dutch stage until at least 2016 should remain one of the drivers’ favorites: "looking at the new track closely, i think Assen will always be a fairly quick circuit and i hope it retains that very special flavor, as it has always won the support of most of the riders and their entourage.", says Nicolas Goubert, head of competition at Michelin.

Besides its layout, Assen draws its particularity from the "negative track camber", specifies Goubert. In other words, the runway is curved in its center, which allows the rapid evacuation of the water after the frequent Dutch downpours:"this has no particular effect for us tire manufacturers. This is more of a problem for the pilots, who have to be extremely precise in their trajectories. They cannot afford to get out of it, even a few centimeters, which obviously complicates overtaking".

A characteristic that four drivers in particular will have to take into account: Casey Stoner, Randy de Puniet, Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias. Because all four fell during the GP of Catalonia when taking too generous an angle, which the profile of the track in Assen greatly facilitates…

It was even the second crash in two races for Casey Stoner, who despite this demonstrated a very high level of competitiveness: in Catalonia as in Mugello, the young Australian was fighting for first place before going to the fault..

After all, Valentino Rossi himself got us used to making mistakes when he started out in each category: let’s bet that when Casey has perfectly understood the limits of his RCV, he will fight for the victory and without doubt more! Already this morning, the Australian is third fastest but first Honda and first Michelin.

In Spain, Randy de Puniet was the victim of this same excess of zeal: "I got off to a bad start and didn’t have a very good first lap", recognizes the French driver."Suddenly, I found myself blocked for too long by slower pilots. After passing them I was way behind and ended up pushing too hard and pulling myself out"…

This weekend, therefore, Randy will have to make a more careful race in order to relaunch in the championship where he only points to the penultimate place … He ranks 11th this morning in free practice, just ahead of Nicky Hayden !

Dani Pedrosa crashed during the last GP but was riding his second bike, which could also partly explain the disappointments of the pilots who were victims of the pile-up at the first corner (read). For Assen, the little Spaniard does not worry too much about the "hunchback" profile of the track.

According to him, the "two main questions"which arise when arriving at Assen concern the new layout and the weather, which is often capricious. But above all, unlike the other tracks where he has an often impressive track record, Dani has only won this GP once: it was in 2002 in category 125.

Toni Elias, also the victim of a long slide in Catalonia, will finally have to resolve the motor skills problem that has tortured him since the start of the season. "Assen is my favorite track, it’s technical, fast and demanding. Dutch TT is a further motivation to succeed and I hope it will be the start of a series of good results."declares the Spanish.

But Toni knows how to sort things out: "my main concern at the moment is my teammate. I wish Marco a quick recovery !"And the wishes of the sympathetic Catalan seem to have come true since Marco, despite his heavy fall last Sunday, will be back this weekend.

The Italian from the Fortuna Honda team has indeed received the green light from his doctors and will test his abilities as of today during the first tests. But his participation in Saturday’s race remains uncertain: "I’m still in pain and I have cramps and pain in places I never suspected until now", regrets Marco who nevertheless managed to sign the 7th fastest time in the morning practice.

His compatriot Loris Capirossi is in a similar situation, although he does not foresee the possibility of missing the race..

"I would like to thank Clinica Mobile and Dr Costa, whose help has been invaluable as always", says Capirex."I’m not 100% back but the most important thing is to get back on the bike as quickly as possible to see how it goes: I’m going to Assen with an even more combative spirit than usual !"Loris, however, seems embarrassed by his injuries as he only finished 14th in the first session….

A state of mind that his teammate will fully share, because it is Alex Hofmann and not Sete Gibernau who will occupy the second half of the Marlboro Ducati box during the next two races (read).

Connoisseurs will not have failed to draw a parallel with Lorenzo Lanzi’s experience in the World Superbike last year: private Ducati rider, the young Italian exceptionally replaced Laconi to take pole and win a round on his first outing on the official Ducati (read). A good example to follow for the German pilot who turned a full second faster than Capirex this morning !

For his part, Sete Gibernau will try to prepare as well as possible for his return, currently scheduled for one of his favorite GP: that of Sachsenring on July 16. His collarbone operation went well and his doctors believe he will need "between three and five weeks before being able to fly again". Two weeks of uncertainties that matter a lot in this very busy period as they will result in his participation or his absence at the German GP and that of the United States…

As a result, Alex Hofmann will himself be replaced by the little-known Ivan Silva who is racing this year in the "Extreme" category of the Spanish championship and had competed in two Spanish GPs in 250 as a guest. He already thanks everyone who gave him the opportunity to race in MotoGP and hopes "don’t disappoint anyone"! By driving carefully, he could score some points…

Carlos Checa is counting on the latest progress in his tires to make it easier to enter the top 10: "Dunlop does an amazing job and the tire performance is much more stable during the entire race. approves the Spanish which also benefits from the new chassis which performs better "even if the jerkiness problem is not fully resolved".

Victim of the Catalan hecatomb and then of a bad combination of circumstances, Shinya Nakano will try in Assen to improve his performance, especially in the race. "This season, our qualifying performances have been good but the races have been difficult at times", notes the Japanese driver who set the best time this morning in free practice.

The most "striking" example of this diagram remains the excellent fourth place on the grid of our national Randy de Puniet at Le Mans, swept away by a crash at the first corner … Nakano wishes to improve this weekend’s best result of the season: his seventh place in Jerez.

In the Suzuki camp, the atmosphere is totally different. After the good results of Hopkins and Vermeulen – respectively 4th and 6th in a race it is true cut off from many favorites – Paul Denning knows that Assen represents "a new race and that we have to start over and rebuild what we have achieved".

The Suzuki team manager is counting on the reshuffle of the circuit this weekend to allow his rookie Vermeulen to compete on equal terms with drivers who generally know the circuits of the championship much better than him..

For his part, Hopkins will try to get on a podium that has failed him several times this year. He is already in second place in the standings this morning, a quarter of a second behind leader Nakano. But the competition is raging and his American compatriots are particularly upset…

Indeed, the four Americans of the field were classified in the first five places of the Catalan GP last weekend. Predicted by Hopkins, Edwards thus signed his second best result of the season – after his Chinese podium – and does not intend to stop there. !

Especially since the Texan Tornado has already won three times at Assen … in the World Superbike. Third in the GP last year, Colin is counting on the latest developments in the M1 to allow him to repeat his beautiful summer 2005: "we know what valentino uses works, so it’s all about adapting it for me, making a few small changes and getting as close as possible to his pace, if not improving it"…

In addition, the next races are held at Donington and Laguna Seca, tracks on which Edwards has "grown up". Assen being only one breaststroke away from England, Colin is hoping for their"give something to chant" very soon.

We will also expect a lot from Kenny Roberts who continues to improve his performance on his father’s bike. The Honda V5 engine mounted on the Kenny Roberts chassis now seems capable of shining in the best places, although the official RCV remains the fastest…

Faster and very regular, the RCV is particularly in the hands of Nicky Hayden: if some do not hesitate to criticize him for a supposed lack of combativeness, he is despite everything one of the few to put pressure on Rossi in the race and especially in the championship: with 29 points ahead of the Italian, Nicky has so far made a particularly remarkable start to the season !

"We have to keep doing what we have been doing: being strong and consistent every weekend. This is what led us to our position and it was our plan", explains the American who has so far preferred to lead the championship by finishing second rather than losing 20 points for a victory … A calculation which is understandable even if winning a championship without a victory is disappointing for everyone. . and first of all for the pilot !

Winner of three GPs this season, Valentino Rossi has regained his pace from last year: "we have won two races in a row and if we hadn’t had a problem at Le Mans it would be three"notes the Italian. Untouchable at Montmeló, a track he particularly likes, the Doctor fears that the changes to the Dutch route have erased a little of the"magic of Assen".

And the apprehensions of the seven-time world champion were founded, since Vale fell this morning on his seventh lap on a track which has nevertheless seen him crowned five times, including three times in the last four years. Victim of a heavy fall, Vale would suffer, according to initial information from the organizer, "bruises to the chest, fractures to the malleolus of the left ankle and right hand".

The black series therefore continues in MotoGP … Hopefully it does not continue for too long, because even if injuries are an integral part of this sport, they take away a lot of its flavor….

Rendezvous next Monday with J. Arsouille for the exclusive Moto-Net lap by lap and beware: this weekend, the MotoGP race takes place on Saturday !

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