Hot on the heels of Sunday’s British Grand Prix comes the Dutch TT at Assen this weekend and the Repsol Honda Team is confident of returning to winning ways at one of the classic fixtures in the MotoGP calendar. Andrea Dovizioso’s runner-up spot at Silverstone has elevated him to second in the World Championship and the Italian arrives in the Netherlands determined to take the next step in his bid to become a MotoGP championship contender by regularly challenging for race wins. Impressive consistency has seen Dovizioso finish off the podium only once in the season’s first five races, and the 24-year-old former 125cc World Champion is tantilisingly close to the pace required to secure his first dry weather MotoGP victory.
His team-mate Dani Pedrosa had a British Grand Prix to forget and intends to do just that by producing a performance at Assen to match his race win at Mugello two rounds ago. The 24-year-old Spaniard is just five points behind his team-mate in the title chase and has a strong affinity with Assen - the scene of his first ever Grand Prix victory in the 125cc class in 2002 when he was just 16 years old. Pedrosa has looked back to his best recently and, in spite of the disappointment of Silverstone where race-day grip issues robbed him of the chance of replicating his Mugello win, the three-time World Champion is sure to be one of the favourites for this weekend’s 26-lap encounter.
This year’s Dutch TT will be the 80th edition of the famous race - traditionally held on the last Saturday in June - and Assen is the only track to have hosted a Grand Prix every year since the World Championship began in 1949. The circuit - last modified before the 2006 race - features fast, flowing corners and rapid direction changes which will fully test the agility of Dovizioso and Pedrosa’s Honda RC212Vs.
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – World Championship position: 2nd – 78 points
“We go to Assen feeling very motivated and confident. After my second place finish at Silverstone, which was a new circuit to us, we’re now looking forward to racing at the historical track of Assen. It’s not a circuit that I particularly like after the modifications a few years ago, but me and the team are on good form and feel that we will also be strong this weekend. The characteristics of the circuit are not actually so favourable for us because Assen has a lot of high-speed corners, but we are really confident at the moment and we look forward to taking another step forward. We have been improving at every race this season, so I’m happy about this. We are second in the championship and we will keep on working hard to be faster still, so that we are able to fight for the win - that’s the target.”
DANI PEDROSA – World Championship position: 3rd – 73 points
“It’s good that we are going to Assen straight after Silverstone because it gives me and the team an early opportunity to put the last race behind us and work towards another strong result like we had at Mugello. We will learn from what happened at the British Grand Prix and then move on. It’s fortunate that I’m not hurt after Silverstone and I’m confident we can get right back on the pace this weekend. Assen is a good track - even if it was better before they changed it a few years ago - and I like riding there. It’s a circuit which requires an agile machine because there are several fast direction changes - as there are at Mugello - so it would be nice if we get another result like in Italy. The team is working really hard and I’m confident we can make a good start in first practice at Assen and have a competitive weekend. The crowds and the history create a special atmosphere at Assen so I’m looking forward to getting out on track again.”
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