MotoGP: Rossi Wins at Assen
Beats Stoner in a Head to Head Battle in Dutch TT
Valentino Rossi ran down championship leader Casey Stoner in the Dutch TT at Assen, while Word Champ, Nicky Hayden of the US, earned his first podium of the season.
The fight for the 2007 World MotoGP championship is a two horse race after a thrilling battle in Holland. Points leader Stoner established an early lead from his front row starting position only to be chased down by Rossi on the Yamaha. After a wet qualifying session, Rossi started from eleventh spot on the grid and had to work his way through the pack before he could set out after Stoner.
“Last night I didn't sleep so well and I couldn't have imagined that the race could turn out like this, in fact I was really a little bit worried after the qualifying and didn't know what to expect today!” said Rossi.
While Stoner lead he had time to watch Rossi’s progress on the big screens, “I saw Valentino catching up, I saw him battling on the TV screens around the track,” said Stoner.
“This was an incredible race. I think maybe one of the top five of my career!” said Rossi.
Stoner was lucky to finish in second spot as the Ducati stopped out on the Assen circuit on the return lap.
“The bike ran out of fuel on the slowdown lap, just because I'd been sliding and spinning a heck of a lot more during the race than I had through practice, so I think the bike was using a lot more fuel,” said Stoner.
The victory also signaled a resurgence by tire supplier Michelin over rival Bridgestone as Stoner provided the main hope for the Japanese manufacturer. Rossi acknowledged Michelin’s contribution in the post race press conference.
“I have to say a big thank you to Michelin and to my team, because today our package was brilliant and I was able to ride at the maximum,” said Rossi.
John Hopkins on a Suzuki with Bridgestone tires provided the early chase to Stoner only to fade later in the race and drop down to fifth.
“I really put my heart into that race and worked hard to get that result! I wanted to be on the podium real bad today and I so much wanted to catch Stoner at the start. I was trying so hard, but I was getting some real bad vibrations around some of the turns and was losing about half-a-second through a certain section of the circuit,” said Hopkins.
The final podium spot went to the Kentucky Kid, Nicky Hayden, on a factory Honda and Michelin tires. Hayden and the Repsol Honda team put in a marathon testing effort following the MotoGP race at Catalunya and with a dry race at Assen Hayden could use the new found speed.
“It’s really nice to get a good result and just have fun – be up there at the front battling with the boys. I thought for a while I might be on for something a bit special and maybe an even better result, but we’ll definitely take this one and try to build on it – a big thanks to my team and all my guys at Repsol Honda who’ve worked really hard for me,” said a smiling Hayden.
With a host of new bits and bike changes Hayden showed why his Honda wears the number one plate. The American’s return to form suggests he will be the man to beat in the upcoming MotoGP round at Laguna Seca in California.
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