Latest Posts:
Asphalt & Rubber
Tag

Assen

Browsing
WSBK

Hayden: “It’s Clear That There Is A Problem”

By 24 Comments

Assen had been earmarked as a key round for Honda in its search for competitiveness in WorldSBK. It passed with more confirmation that the team’s struggles will continue.

Nine points were all that Nicky Hayden had to show for himself at the end of a trying weekend at the TT Circuit of Assen. The Honda rider was able to show some signs of improved competitiveness at times during the weekend, but overall the same flaws of the Honda Fireblade have been exposed once again.

Reliability and inability to bring competitive upgrades to the table cost Hayden dearly at Assen. The week before the Dutch round, the team tested a new engine specification in Portimao and the American came away disappointed with a lack of progress.

Keep Reading
By
Spoiler

Assen WorldSBK Debrief – Sunday

By 3 Comments

Race 2 at Assen didn’t have the fireworks of Saturday, but rather than the pressure-cooker environment of a championship battle flaring up, it was a slowly boiled intra-team scrap that was settled on Sunday.

In three years at Kawasaki Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes have had their differences and tension, but overall their relationship has been mostly positive. There was the potential for fall-out in The Netherlands however, when Sykes closed dramatically on Rea in the second-half of the race.

The 2013 world champion has battled illness in recent weeks, a bacterial infection had forced him to into hospital and laid him up since Thailand, but in the thick of battle he sensed a weakened rival.

Keep Reading
By
Spoiler

Assen WorldSBK Debrief – Saturday

By 3 Comments

The tension that has been building between Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies finally spilled over at Assen. Three years of competing with one another for race wins and championships has strained their relationship, and on Saturday at Assen it reached its breaking point.

On the final laps of Superpole, Davies was on a flying lap and came across Rea through Turn 7. Being forced to sit up and avoid the touring Kawasaki, emotions got the better of Davies, and at the end of the session he hit out at Rea in parc ferme.

“You stayed on three quarters of the track,” stated Davies after qualifying third. “I don’t know how tight a line you can pull out of that left, but I’m three-quarters of the track out there.”

“You were in the way mid-way through the corner, and then on the exit I had to pick it up because you were three-quarters across the track, if I didn’t I’d have cleaned you out! Next time I’ll smash you from the inside and we’ll see what happens.”

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

The New Grandstands at Assen, And the Economic Impact of a MotoGP Race

By 1 Comment

“If it wasn’t for the Dutch TT race, I would have to close my business.” Those were the words of the taxi driver who took me from the Assen train station to the circuit, for a presentation on the plans for major upgrades to their spectator facilities over the next three years and beyond.

It offered an insight into the importance of the MotoGP race at Assen, and by extension, the importance of circuits and MotoGP events around the world.

My taxi driver explained that over the week surrounding the Assen race, he was kept so busy that the money he made during that period was the difference between ending the year with a profit and the ability to invest in the future of the business, or just about breaking even.

Chatting to an official of the provincial government, who had grown up in the city and worked in bars there during his college years, he confirmed that experience.

The bars back then were so busy during the race weekend that it was the difference between survival and failure. The same is true for many businesses and hotels around the region, as anyone who has ever tried to book accommodation in the weeks before the race can attest.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Paddock Pass Podcast – Episode 32 – Assen

By No Comments

Episode 32 of the Paddock Pass Podcast sees Steve and Neil talking about the MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 racing at the Dutch TT. The guys talk about the unusual circumstances with the weather, which caused a red flag in the MotoGP race, and had quite the affect on the results.

Steve and Neil also talk a bit about Ducati’s missed opportunities this year in MotoGP, and the real prospects of riders like Alex Rins finding factory seats in the premier class. The show finishes up with a look at the Moto2 Championship, and there is an in-depth briefing on what is going on in Moto3.

Lastly, we get a preview of the World Superbike racing that’s going on at Laguna Seca this week.

The show is a bit later than we would have liked (my fault, and my apologies), but we think you will still find it highly relevant, especially as MotoGP gets ready to go to Sachsenring for the German GP.

As always, be sure to follow the Paddock Pass Podcast on Facebook, Twitter and subscribe to the show on iTunes and SoundCloud – we even have an RSS feed for you. If you like the show, we would really appreciate you giving it a review on iTunes. Thanks for listening!

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

Sunday MotoGP Summary at Assen: Filling Record Books

By 5 Comments

We knew that the 86th edition of the Dutch TT at Assen was going to be historic. It was, after all, the first time the race was to be run on Sunday, after being run on Saturday since 1925.

What we didn’t know was that the day the race was held would end up being the least interesting historic fact about it. The record books will have plenty to say about Sunday’s race at Assen.

There was some fascinating racing in all three classes, as is is so often the case at Assen. The Moto3 race saw a scintillating race decided at the line, the podium separated by less than four hundredths of a second. We had a return to something like the Moto2 of old, with a sizable group battling over the podium spots.

And last but not least, we had a bizarre two-part MotoGP race, red-flagged, restarted, and with a mold-breaking winner. When we look back, the MotoGP race at Assen could well prove to be a pivotal point in the championship.

The red-flagged MotoGP race was down to the weather once again playing a starring role in the weekend. After rain on Saturday, Sunday started bright, though the track took time to warm up and dry out.

Clouds rolled in and rolled back out again, as is their wont at Assen, occasionally spitting but not looking like they would cause major problems for any of the three classes.

Until the last part of the Moto2 race, when the heavens finally opened and drenched the track. That race would be red-flagged, and it would not be the only one.

Keep Reading
By
MotoGP

MotoGP: Aleix Espargaro Signs Two-Year Deal with Aprilia

By No Comments

The last of the factory seats has been officially filled. Today, the Gresini Aprilia team announced that Aleix Espargaro will be joining Sam Lowes at Aprilia for the next two seasons.

The announcement did not come as a surprise. Rumors had emerged at Barcelona that Espargaro would be going to Aprilia, Espargaro telling the media on Friday that he had already signed a contract, but that he was unable to announce who with.

Espargaro’s signing leaves both Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista out of a job.

Bautista is expected to sign with the Aspar Ducati team for 2017, where he is likely to partner with Eugene Laverty, while Stefan Bradl is being linked to several rides in the World Superbike paddock.

Keep Reading
By