MotoGP Preview: Grand Prix Of The Netherlands


American Nicky Hayden won the Grand Prix of The Netherlands in 2006 en route to winning the World Championship. He will try to win the classic race again June 28 at Assen.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Live Timing | Weekend Schedule

EVENT: Grand Prix of The Netherlands 

WHERE: TT Circuit Assen, Assen, The Netherlands. Circuit is 2.83 miles (4.555 km), with 17 turns. Race is 26 laps. 

WHEN: Saturday, June 28. It is the ninth of 18 events this season. 

2007 RACE WINNER: Valentino Rossi, by 1.909 seconds over Casey Stoner 

2007 POLE WINNER: Chris Vermeulen, 1 minutes, 48.555 seconds 

U.S. TV: 6-7 p.m. (ET), Sunday, June 29, SPEED 

THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Yamaha Tech 3), Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Repsol Honda Team) and John Hopkins (Ramona, Calif., Kawasaki Racing Team) will compete in this race. Edwards is fifth, Hayden seventh and Hopkins 12th in the MotoGP standings after eight races this season. 

•Colin Edwards: "I just seem to get along with the track. One corner leads to the next to the next. You can't be running down the straight and be thinking about the corner you're coming up to. You can brake deep; you can go way deeper than what we do to make the corner. Problem is, you might screw your momentum up for the next corner. So it's always a very fine line of braking and connecting the dots. Connecting entry, apex and exit, and kind of making sure all that's right just to the lead to the next corner, and that corner to the next corner. As long as you connect the dots around this place and run it smooth and don't get too happy with the throttle, you can usually do a pretty good lap time. You see remnants of the old track, old guardrail that's still up from 50 years ago. It's pretty cool. I've always loved the history about it." 

•Nicky Hayden: "I'm feeling pretty positive going into Assen. We learned a lot about the new engine last weekend - fuel consumption, tire life and so on - that we hope we will be able to put to good use at Assen. I love the track. Sure, it's changed a bit over the years, but it's still pretty good. I really like the last section, the fast bit coming back toward the pits, the fifth-gear change of direction at Hogeheide. That's one of my best corners; you've definitely got to be physical with the bike through there. Changing direction fast at any speed is hard, but in fifth gear it's even harder. I've had some good results there in the past. It's certainly been one of my better tracks, and it's always been a good Michelin track. You need a little bit of everything from the bike there, but the one thing that stands out is all the banked corners." 

THEY SAID IT: "Despite the changes to the track in recent years, Assen is still a temple for motorcycle racing, and we always look forward to competing there." - Daniele Romagnoli, team manager for Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team 

FAST FACTS: Loris Capirossi will return to his regular seat at the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team, as he missed the Grand Prix of Great Britain on June 22 at Donington Park due to a broken right hand suffered in the Grand Prix of Catalunya on June 8. American Ben Spies qualified eighth and finished 14th in his MotoGP debut as an injury replacement for Capirossi. Two-time reigning AMA Superbike champion Spies, from Longview, Texas, also will compete as a wild-card rider for Suzuki at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 20 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. ... American Nicky Hayden won this event in his 2006 World Championship season in dramatic fashion. Hayden took the lead with one corner to go when fellow American Colin Edwards ran wide and fell off the bike. Edwards remounted his Yamaha to finish 13th in one of the most amazing finishes in MotoGP history. It was Hayden's only MotoGP victory outside of the U.S., as his other two career victories have come at Laguna Seca … Edwards won three times at Assen during his World Superbike Championship career … Assen is the only venue that has played host to a Grand Prix every year since the motorcycle World Championship started in 1949 … American Stevie Bonsey, from Salinas, Calif., is 13th in the 125cc standings for the DeGraaf Grand Prix team … Scott Redding became the youngest winner in Grand Prix motorcycle history when he captured the 125cc class at his home Grand Prix of Great Britain on June 22 at age 15 years, 170 days.

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Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008.

Tickets can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.


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