Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will be at the Dutch TT in Assen this weekend as it makes the first of its two visits to the historic circuit this season.
Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins will firstly race in round nine of the MotoGP World Championship this Saturday. The pair will then return to the 4.5km circuit on Sunday 12th August to perform some demonstration laps on their Suzuki GSV-Rs at the superb annual ‘Rizla Racing Day’.
Vermeulen travels to Assen in a confident mood after his third-place finish at last weekend’s British Grand Prix. The Australian racer is now in fourth place in the rider’s championship and will be looking to add to his points tally at a track that he likes and has won at in the past.
Hopkins also has fond memories of the Dutch circuit as he took his first pole position there last year, before finishing in sixth place in the race. The Anglo-American is also convinced he can get a good result, as he too enjoys the twisty nature of the only circuit that has been on the Grand Prix calendar since the start of World Championship racing in 1949.
The Dutch TT will again – as is tradition - be staged on the last Saturday in June; this means that Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will take to the track on Thursday for the first day of practice, and the final free practice session and qualifying will be on Friday. The 26-lap race will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) on Saturday 30th June.
Chris Vermeulen:
“I had a good result last weekend at Donington and would like to repeat that at Assen. We had a few issues in the race last year, but did manage to get in the top-10. I really like the track and I had a double-header win in World Superbikes in 2005 as well as setting pole position and the fastest lap of the day in the races, so I know my way around here as well as anyone. I am really looking forward to this weekend and we need to keep this run going! ”
John Hopkins:
“I can’t wait to get to Assen, I love it there! I got my first pole last year and I know I could have had a better result in the race but we had some grip problems. I can’t see that happening again this year because Bridgestone has really stepped up and the tyres have worked well everywhere so far. The bike is also going great and we have shown that by being able to consistently run at the front in all conditions, so I can only see big things happening this weekend! I really want a dry race as I know the 800s will be fast at Assen and I certainly can’t wait to see what we can do around there! ”
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