GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM HEAD FOR HISTORIC DATE AT ASSEN
Coinciding with the year of Yamaha’s 50th anniversary,
two legendary players in the history of motorcycle racing
come together this weekend as the Gauloises Yamaha Team heads
to the historic circuit of Assen for the 75th edition of the
Dutch TT. With a 58-point advantage at the top of the rider
standings, Valentino Rossi will look to continue his sensational
start to his fourth consecutive title defence with another
victory in the seventh round of the MotoGP World Championship,
the Gauloises Dutch TT in Assen.
With five victories and one second-place so far this season,
the Italian heads to Assen, the only Grand Prix to have remained
on the World Championship calendar since it began back in
1949, in better shape than ever. His points lead is the biggest
after six rounds of a premier-class World Championship since
former Yamaha superstar Giacamo Agostini in the late 1960s,
and an early morning test less than 24 hours after his most
recent victory at Catalunya last week underlined his determination
to keep on winning.
The Italian has tasted victory at the Dutch TT four times
in the different Grand Prix classes, whilst his Gauloises
Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also knows all about winning
at Assen. The American took three victories there in the World
Superbike series, including a double win on the way to reclaiming
the title from Troy Bayliss in a gripping climax to the 2002
season. He is confident of rejoining the battle for podium
positions in Assen, after two difficult races at Mugello and
Catalunya have seen him lose ground on the championship leaders,
despite consolidating sixth place in the current rider standings.
Assen has been the scene of hard work over the last few months
for the completion of a ‘floating’ grandstand,
which meets new MotoGP safety regulations by allowing the
gravel trap in the Geert Timmer corner to actually run underneath
the stand. Two changes have also been made to the layout of
the racetrack, which is now 30 metres shorter.
As is tradition, the Dutch TT will be held on the final Saturday
in June, although this year it will feature a slightly different
time schedule to the other rounds of the MotoGP World Championship.
Whilst both practice days on Thursday and Friday will follow
the regular timetable, Saturday’s schedule will start
with the warm-up sessions from 8:20am to 10:05am in order
to accommodate a host of support races. Despite this, the
MotoGP race will still start at 2pm as usual.
VALENTINO ROSSI: A SPECIAL RACETRACK
The reigning World Champion became the first Yamaha rider
ever to score five victories from the first six premier class
races of the year at Catalunya last Sunday, a record he credits
to the great job being done by the entire team and their partners.
“The race time at Catalunya was 40 seconds faster than
last year, so that shows that the work we have done with the
bike is incredible,” says Rossi. “Also Michelin
have done a fantastic job because I was able to put in three
very fast laps at the end to win the race, including the lap
record, so the tyres have made a huge improvement. The advantage
in the standings means we can work nice and calmly in the
team and that is a big help.”
Including his performances in the final three rounds of 2004,
Rossi has now been on the podium at the last nine races, the
first Yamaha rider to do so since Wayne Rainey in 1992-93,
and he is hoping that continuing work with the YZR-M1 machine
can help him extend his run well beyond this Saturday’s
historic race. “On Monday after the race at Catalunya
we were able to test some new engine parts that we might use
later in the season, so we are always trying to improve. Of
course, I want to be on the podium at every race but my main
objective is to win the championship.
“The season has started well and we want to continue
that. It has been nice to have a weekend off after two tough
races because the whole team have been working hard. Now we
go to Assen and it is going to be another hard Grand Prix.
I’m looking forward to it; I think it will be another
beautiful battle.
“For sure Gibernau and Melandri will both be fast there
but racing close together with them is great. I like Assen
too; it’s one of my favourite circuits. It’s a
very special racetrack, unlike anything else in MotoGP, and
the atmosphere is incredible – always a lot of people.
The only question is the weather because you never know if
it will rain.”
COLIN EDWARDS: FAMILIAR TERRITORY
Colin Edwards enjoyed a brief rest on the north coast of
Spain before making his way to Holland for a Grand Prix that
he hopes will be the turning point for him after a difficult
couple of weekends. The Texan and his team have worked relentlessly
to improve the base set-up of the YZR-M1 but this weekend
the focus is on using every possible minute of the practice
sessions to find a setting that will allow him to challenge
for a front row start and victory in the race.
“The next three races, Assen, Donington and Laguna
Seca, are all tracks that I grew up on, so I’m really
looking forward to getting back to the front and picking up
some serious points,” says Edwards. “On paper
the Yamaha should work well at all of these tracks and we’ve
been constantly moving forward with the bike, even if the
results haven’t shown that lately.
“The team have been doing a great job every weekend
but from now on we need to make sure we finish off in the
right way on a Sunday, or in this case Saturday. In Catalunya
we learnt that we have to spend more time focussing purely
on set-up and tyre combinations for the race, instead of getting
distracted by other factors. We also need to make sure we
get a good qualifying position so that we can run from the
front in the race, instead of fighting through the field,
as I have done in the last couple of races.”
As well as his vast experience racing four-stroke machines
at Assen, Edwards is also counting on the massive support
that swarms to Holland from all over Europe, but particularly
across the North Sea from the UK, to back his cause.
“The whole team needs a good result to get back to
the way we were feeling at Le Mans and I’m confident
that Assen is the perfect place for that. I’ve got a
lot of fans there from my Superbike days, the atmosphere is
going to be crazy and I know my way around the track as well
as anybody. Let’s just hope everything slots into place”
DAVIDE BRIVIO: BACK TO UNIVERSITY
Gauloises Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio is looking forward
to another weekend of close racing action that he hopes will
end in further celebrations for his riders and staff. Still
on top of the riders’, teams’ and manufacturers’
standings, Brivio is confident of another top performance
from Valentino Rossi and a return to form for Colin Edwards
at a circuit that has been given a special name by Italian
race fans.
“Last year we won at Assen, which we call the ‘University
of Bike Racing’ in Italy, and it would be nice to win
again,” says Brivio. “Especially because this
is the year of the 75th anniversary of the Dutch TT and the
50th anniversary of Yamaha – it would be fun to celebrate
together on Saturday night!
“Valentino will try for sure to continue his positive
start to the series and for Colin it is also an important
race. This is one of his favourite tracks, he knows it very
well and I want to see him back on the podium. There are many
more riders than normal who are fast at this track so it will
be tough, but we are confident.
“At Catalunya we tested a few new engine parts but
we won’t be taking any of it to Assen. The idea was
just to gather extra data for Yamaha for future development.
We’ll be going to Holland with the same bike that we’ve
had for the past races, which has shown to be very competitive
at a variety of different tracks.”
BLAST FROM THE PAST – CELEBRATING 50 YEARS
OF YAMAHA GLORY
This weekend will mark 21 years since Giacomo Agostini, the
undisputed king of Assen, took an unequalled sixth 500cc victory
in the Dutch TT in 1974. Agostini’s second win for Yamaha
after joining the factory at the start of that season was
also Yamaha’s first in the legendary event, and is remembered
fondly by the Italian for precisely that reason.
“The 1974 victory at Assen was very special for me
because it was the first there by any rider on a 500cc two-stroke,
and the first win for Yamaha at the circuit.,” remembers
Agostini, who won 68 races and eight world titles in a remarkable
500cc career. “It was my first season with Yamaha after
moving from MV Agusta and I was so pleased to win at Assen
because Yamaha’s European headquarters were based in
Amsterdam. It was their home Grand Prix and they were like
a family to me.
“I should have won it again in 1975 but I made a big
mistake two corners from the end. I looked over my shoulder
and saw Barry Sheene about 15 metres behind me so I relaxed
too much. Somehow he passed me at the line.”
After 75 years of Grand Prix the modern TT is a special event
on the MotoGP calendar but according to Agostini that has
always been the way – particularly thanks to its traditional
place on the World Championship calendar.
“Going to Assen was always very nice for us because
it came straight after the Isle of Man TT,” he explains.
“We went from an incredibly dangerous and difficult
road circuit, where we had to be up at 4am for practice, to
this beautiful facility that was perfect for motorcycle racing
and in normal Grand Prix conditions. The track was safe, there
were 150,000 people there… it was always a special emotion
to ride at the Dutch TT. Why did I always win it? Because
I am good!”
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
Assen is unique in a number of ways; the Dutch TT originally
began life as a 28km street circuit before being shortened
to comply with the ever-changing demands of modern motorcycle
racing. The most recent of these changes took place during
the winter break with alterations at the De Bult and Ruskenhoek
corners, bringing the total length of the Grand Prix track
to 5,997 metres. Even so, the Assen layout is still the longest
on the MotoGP calendar and continues to maintain its street
pedigree, giving it a character all its own.
With barely a straight piece of tarmac in sight, there is
no rest for the MotoGP field, making Assen more of a rider’s
circuit than any other visited this season. Handling will
therefore be a major focal point, due to high-speed chicanes
and dramatic camber changes – the latter, in some places,
resembling the profile of a public road more than that of
a motorcycle racetrack. This single feature in itself makes
Assen a challenging circuit to master. Hold the inside line
and the rider will benefit from the extra drive available
off the steeper section of the camber, but the suspension
will need to compensate for these much higher G-force loads.
A good result at Assen relies heavily on a chassis that offers
both agility and stability. It is quite a difficult balance
to find at the best of times, but with the ‘white line
to white line’ racing line, it is a must. This is why
Yamaha will continue with the base geometry it has used over
the past few rounds, relying on the finer adjustments of the
suspension package and the correct tyre profiles to get the
best out of the chassis.
The combination of such fast cornering, good grip levels
and extreme camber angles produce the high cornering G-forces,
a load which the suspension package will need to deal with.
For this reason, a heavier rear spring rate will be chosen,
in comparison to the front set-up, to prevent the back of
the bike squatting under power. However it will still need
to offer a compliant ride, to ensure feel is not compromised
and the compression damping character is dialled in to compensate
and avoid this. Therefore it will be wound back, from what
was used in Barcelona two-weeks earlier, increasing the predictability
of a slide as well as tyre life.
Although the rear spring rate is firmer than what Yamaha
would use at a circuit like Mugello, the front will be somewhat
softer in feel. The latter is possible because of the lack
of hard braking that will be done on the flowing layout, as
trail braking into the apex is the only way to a good TT lap
time.
With an outright top speed of around 300kmh Assen isn’t
the fastest circuit, especially when you compare it to the
337kmh plus of Mugello. But the Dutch TT isn’t about
outright top speeds, the key is a top speed average. In this
regard Assen is one of the fastest tracks of the year. Because
of this it’s an extreme and hard working circuit, not
only for the riders and the chassis, but the tyres too. Fortunately
grip levels are high, yet the track surface isn’t too
abrasive, even though almost all the driving will be done
off the side of the tyres.
VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 26
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1
GP victories: 73 (34 X MotoGP, 13 X 500cc, 14 X 250cc, 12
X 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 146 (54 x MotoGP, 32 x 500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x
125cc)
Pole positions: 38
World Championships – 6 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc,
1 x 500cc, 3 x MotoGP)
Assen 2004 results (Yamaha): Grid: 1st, Race: 1st
COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION
Age: 31
Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 38
World Championships - 2 World Superbike
Assen 2004 results (Honda): Grid: 13th, Race: 6th
Assen MotoGP lap record: Valentino Rossi
(Yamaha), 1m 59.472s - 2004
Circuit best lap: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1m 58.758s –
2004
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