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Repsol Honda Team head to the Netherlands looking to fight for the podium again - Malcolm - 21-06-2016
![[Image: repsolhondahdr.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/TT2016/repsolhondahdr.jpg)
After achieving a double podium finish in Catalunya a fortnight ago, the Repsol Honda Team are en route to Assen, Netherlands, a circuit with such a long motorcycling tradition that it has earned the nickname “The Cathedral.”
Though its main straight is just 560m long, Assen still boasts one of the fastest average-lap speeds on the calendar, and its flowing turns -11 rights and six lefts – make it a favourite for most of the riders, the Repsol Honda duo included. Both Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have achieved strong results there: for Marc, four victories across all classes and two MotoGP podiums; for Dani, his first victory in a World Championship race (125cc – 2002 at just 16 years of age), plus two 250cc podium finishes and five in MotoGP.
Starting this year, the Dutch TT—the only venue on the MotoGP calendar to have hosted a GP race since the World Championship was inaugurated in 1949—will lose its other unique status as the only round to host Saturday racing since the very first time GP motorcycles competed there. The event will now follow the championship’s typical schedule, with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday, and the race on Sunday.
Marc Marquez - Championship Standing: 1st – 125 points
“We’ve had two weekends off after Catalunya, and it has been good to be able to disconnect a bit, spending a little time with my friends and enjoying the amazing experience of doing some laps on the RC213V-S at the Red Bull Ring last Tuesday. Anyway, I’m happy that the time to go racing at Assen has arrived, as it’s a track I really enjoy and, importantly, the first in a series of circuits that suit my riding style quite well! Step by step, we’re making some small improvements to the bike, so in Assen we’ll keep working hard from the first session to find a good setup and try and fight for the podium again. The weather is particularly unpredictable there, so we’ll keep an eye on that also and try to be fast from the beginning of the weekend.”
Dani Pedrosa - Championship Standing: 4th – 82 points
“It was nice to be able to put in some good laps at the last race in Catalunya, to enjoy a bit of fighting and to step back on the podium, but now we must focus on doing a good job in Assen as well. We’ll see what feeling we’ll have in different conditions: colder than recent races, and very high-speed. The chances of rain are always high there, so we hope to have enough dry sessions to do some good work, both for the race weekend and for the future. Last Tuesday I quite enjoyed taking part in a video shoot at the Red Bull Ring in Austria: it was my first time at that track, which looks really good, and I had fun with the RC213V-S, which is an awesome street bike.”
![[Image: marquezpreassen.jpg]](http://www.ttwebsite.com/gifs/TT2016/marquezpreassen.jpg)
Location Information
Assen is the only venue to have held a round of the Motorcycle World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. The circuit was purpose built for the Dutch TT in 1955, with previous events having been held on public roads. The track is narrow, with rapid changes in direction, and is fully surrounded by grass banks and grandstands, providing excellent viewing for the hundreds of thousands of fanatical spectators who are drawn to the most prestigious event in Dutch motorsport every year. A huge favourite with riders, Assen is well known for its festive and extravagant atmosphere.
In 1999 the circuit was modified with a new grandstand, control tower, press centre and renovated boxes. Modifications to the Assen circuit over the winter of 2005/6 saw the length of the championship’s longest serving track cut from over 6km down to 4.555km/2.83miles.
Length -4.542 kilometres / 2.822 miles
Width - 14 metres
Left corners - 6
Right corners - 12
Longest straight - 0.487 kilometres / 0.303 miles
Constructed - 1955
Modified - 2012
Circuit Records
Pole Position - 1m 32.627s (176.5km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2015)
Race Lap - 1m 33.617s (174.6km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2015)
Race Time - 40m 54.037s (173.2km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2015)
2015 Race Winner - Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
TT Circuit Assen, De Haar, Assen, The Netherlands – View in Google Maps
www.ttcircuit.com
Though its main straight is just 560m long, Assen still boasts one of the fastest average-lap speeds on the calendar, and its flowing turns -11 rights and six lefts – make it a favourite for most of the riders, the Repsol Honda duo included. Both Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have achieved strong results there: for Marc, four victories across all classes and two MotoGP podiums; for Dani, his first victory in a World Championship race (125cc – 2002 at just 16 years of age), plus two 250cc podium finishes and five in MotoGP.
Starting this year, the Dutch TT—the only venue on the MotoGP calendar to have hosted a GP race since the World Championship was inaugurated in 1949—will lose its other unique status as the only round to host Saturday racing since the very first time GP motorcycles competed there. The event will now follow the championship’s typical schedule, with practice and qualifying on Friday and Saturday, and the race on Sunday.
Marc Marquez - Championship Standing: 1st – 125 points
“We’ve had two weekends off after Catalunya, and it has been good to be able to disconnect a bit, spending a little time with my friends and enjoying the amazing experience of doing some laps on the RC213V-S at the Red Bull Ring last Tuesday. Anyway, I’m happy that the time to go racing at Assen has arrived, as it’s a track I really enjoy and, importantly, the first in a series of circuits that suit my riding style quite well! Step by step, we’re making some small improvements to the bike, so in Assen we’ll keep working hard from the first session to find a good setup and try and fight for the podium again. The weather is particularly unpredictable there, so we’ll keep an eye on that also and try to be fast from the beginning of the weekend.”
Dani Pedrosa - Championship Standing: 4th – 82 points
“It was nice to be able to put in some good laps at the last race in Catalunya, to enjoy a bit of fighting and to step back on the podium, but now we must focus on doing a good job in Assen as well. We’ll see what feeling we’ll have in different conditions: colder than recent races, and very high-speed. The chances of rain are always high there, so we hope to have enough dry sessions to do some good work, both for the race weekend and for the future. Last Tuesday I quite enjoyed taking part in a video shoot at the Red Bull Ring in Austria: it was my first time at that track, which looks really good, and I had fun with the RC213V-S, which is an awesome street bike.”
Location Information
Assen is the only venue to have held a round of the Motorcycle World Championship every year since its creation in 1949. The circuit was purpose built for the Dutch TT in 1955, with previous events having been held on public roads. The track is narrow, with rapid changes in direction, and is fully surrounded by grass banks and grandstands, providing excellent viewing for the hundreds of thousands of fanatical spectators who are drawn to the most prestigious event in Dutch motorsport every year. A huge favourite with riders, Assen is well known for its festive and extravagant atmosphere.
In 1999 the circuit was modified with a new grandstand, control tower, press centre and renovated boxes. Modifications to the Assen circuit over the winter of 2005/6 saw the length of the championship’s longest serving track cut from over 6km down to 4.555km/2.83miles.
Length -4.542 kilometres / 2.822 miles
Width - 14 metres
Left corners - 6
Right corners - 12
Longest straight - 0.487 kilometres / 0.303 miles
Constructed - 1955
Modified - 2012
Circuit Records
Pole Position - 1m 32.627s (176.5km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2015)
Race Lap - 1m 33.617s (174.6km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2015)
Race Time - 40m 54.037s (173.2km/h) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha, 2015)
2015 Race Winner - Valentino Rossi (Yamaha)
TT Circuit Assen, De Haar, Assen, The Netherlands – View in Google Maps
www.ttcircuit.com