Honda leads the way to the classic Dutch TT at Assen on Saturday, with Repsol Honda RC213V rider Marc Marquez aiming for his eighth straight win in eight races, and a further extension to his ever-growing championship lead.

Already the youngest-ever premier-class World Champion after his maiden victory last year, the former 125cc and Moto2 title-holder has been in dominant form on the class-leading 1000cc V4 Honda RC213V prototype over the first third of the season, winning every race, from pole position. Two weeks ago at Catalunya he missed out on pole, but still added a seventh victory, under severe pressure from his three main rivals.

The strongest push came from his team-mate Dani Pedrosa, attacking so fiercely in a last-lap showdown that he actually touched Marquez’s back wheel and was forced to run wide – ceding second place to Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). The pair are closely engaged also for second place in the championship standings. Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo eventually fell out of touch, finishing fourth.

Marquez’s win was a landmark for Honda’s series of V5 and V4 RCV MotoGP machines – the 100th victory since the four-stroke series began in 2002. The nearest rival is Yamaha, with 79 wins.

The 21-year-old from Cervera, Spain has a strong record at Assen: winning in 2011 and 2012 in the Moto2 class, as well as in 2010 on a 125. Last year he qualified and finished second, in spite of foot and finger fractures sustained in a practice crash.

Team-mate Pedrosa has an equivalent record at the iconic circuit. The 28-year-old from near Barcelona scored his first-ever GP win at Assen, on a 125 Honda in 2002, the year before winning the title in the class. He has finished on the podium four out of eight times in the MotoGP class, but his best hope of victory was dashed in 2012. Qualified on pole, he fell innocent victim of another rider’s mistake to crash on the first lap. Last year he finished fourth.

The veteran factory Honda rider was on the podium for the first four races of this season, twice second and twice third; but his campaign suffered a set-back with the recurrence of arm-pump, requiring corrective surgery. He was fully recovered and back to fine fighting form with third at Catalunya.

Two satellite teams also campaign the RCV213V machine, with German former Moto2 champion Stefan Bradl currently ahead. Riding the LCR Honda RC213V, Bradl has led on track this year, but has yet to finish on the podium, lying eighth overall with a fourth and a fifth boosting his points tally.

GO&FUN Gresini Honda RC213V rider Alvaro Bautista claimed a top three in France, but early season crashes dented his points score, and he currently lies 11th. Spaniard Bautista is a former Assen winner, in the 250cc class in 2008. He and team-mate Scott Redding have an extra role: race-testing Nissin brakes and Showa suspension, made by Japanese companies with strong links to Honda.

Redding, last year’s Moto2 runner-up, is one of four riders campaigning Honda’s new for-sale production-racer MotoGP bike. The RCV1000R is a close replica of the factory bike. The British youngest-ever GP winner has claimed the best finish for the machine, built for the new Open category, with seventh at the opening round.

A veteran Honda rider and 2006 Assen winner Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) is three points ahead of Redding overall, however, in spite of failing to score when he was knocked off on the first lap at Le Mans, exacerbating a troublesome right wrist injury, then again in Italy, where wrist weakness forced an early withdrawal. The popular American 2006 World Champion underwent corrective surgery and returned for a fighting four points in Catalunya.

Hayden’s Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R team-mate Hiro Aoyama is another former Assen winner, taking the top step in the 250cc class in 2009, when he claimed the last-ever two-stroke World Championship in the class for Honda. Returning to the marque this season in Grand Prix racing, the Japanese star is just one point shy of Redding after finishing in the points in every race so far.

The fourth production-racer Honda is ridden by Czech law graduate Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R), whose run of improving form as he recovers from major shoulder surgery was interrupted by a race crash in Catalunya. He is eager to make amends at Assen.

Assen was first used for motorcycle racing in 1925, over a long public-roads circuit. Over the years the length has been cut in several stages, although when the Dutch TT took its place as the third of six rounds of the inaugural World Championship in 1949, it was still 16.536 km (10.275 miles) in length.

In 2006 came a radical revamp to the present fully closed circuit of 4.542 km (2.822 miles). The first part comprises a series of tight corners under new grandstands in the style of a modern stadium-circuit, but the second part of the lap is faithful to the characterful old track, which, in some measure, helps the circuit retain its long-standing racing nickname, “The Cathedral”.

Uniquely among 2014 GPs, the Dutch TT at Assen has been on the calendar every year since 1949. Fiercely defended local tradition means it also the only Saturday race on the calendar.


Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda says:

“We are still enjoying a really good momentum but we know it can’t go on forever! I really like Assen and have had some good results in the lower categories, and last year we took second in my first visit there on the MotoGP machine. The weather is always unpredictable there so we will, as always, work hard from the first session to find a good setup.”

Dani: Pedrosa, Repsol Honda says:

“It was good to be back at the front and fighting in Catalunya! I’m looking forward to going to Assen and hope I’m one step fitter again as last year I didn’t really have a good race, so I hope to improve. The weather is usually tricky so you must make the most of any dry track time. I like the track but it’s important to find a good setting and feeling with the tyres as there are a few very fast corners.”

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP says:

“I arrive in Assen pretty positive after the good weekend in Barcelona. The fifth place there gave us more confidence for the future. Assen is an iconic venue of this sport and it’s always a unique feeling racing there. It’s not one of my favourite race tracks but last year I qualified on the front row ending the race in sixth. As I said in Catalunya the top five is our target and with the current bike set-up we can target another good result. The only question mark might be the weather.”

Alvaro Bautista, GO&FUN Honda Gresini says:

“During Barcelona qualifying I had a big crash, but fortunately nothing is broken, so I will be fully fit for Assen race weekend. This circuit has several fast corners, like at Mugello and Catalunya: at the moment we are struggling with this kind of corner, so we need to improve in this area. Anyway, during the post-race test in Spain we found some improvements with regard to the brakes and hopefully we will use the new parts already in Assen. Unfortunately I was still sore from the fall, so I couldn’t do a lot of work on the bike set-up, but we remain confident: if we stay focused during the practice, looking for a good compromise for the fast corners, we can achieve a good result.”

Nicky Hayden, Drive M7 Aspar Honda says:

“We had a tough weekend at Catalunya but we still managed to have a good race. Hopefully this weekend at Assen is less of struggle – I like the circuit a lot and I have a lot of good memories after some good results in the past. I am looking forward to getting there and seeing how I feel: hopefully I will be stronger than last time. I am sure that the team will continue to work hard and the chemistry between us will continue to build as it has been doing all year. On paper we should be more competitive at Assen than we were in Barcelona because the straights are shorter and the layout should suit our bike. The weather is always changeable in Holland but I am looking forward to getting there and riding and hopefully challenging for a better result than Barcelona.”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive M7 Aspar Honda says:

“The last race in Catalunya wasn’t an easy one for us because we had a technical problem. Fortunately we were able to make it to the finish and score points but the result wasn’t what I had hoped for. I am sure we will have better luck at Assen and we’ll be able to spend the weekend working on the bike. Assen is a relatively small and technical circuit and I am sure we can be more competitive there. The weather tends to be quite unstable so we will have to keep an eye on that. Our bike handles very well, that’s its strongest point, so Assen should be one of the circuits that suits it the best. We will work very hard to be competitive and achieve the best possible result.”

Scott Redding, GO&FUN Honda Gresini says:

“I like the Assen TT circuit, and I also like The Netherlands. There is always a good atmosphere. We only need to take a look at the weather, as it could be a little tricky there, always changing. Anyway, this is another circuit on which I’m comfortable, even though it’s quite narrow, so I will need a bit of time to get acquainted with it aboard a MotoGP bike. The first sector could suit our bike well, but surely the other two sectors will be difficult for us because of the straights. During the Barcelona post-race test we managed to find some more traction: it will be interesting to see if this could be helpful to be fast in Assen, with all those long corners where you need as much traction as possible.”

Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing Honda says:

“Assen is one of my favorite tracks in the championship and it was my best race last year here in Cathedral of Speed. A year ago we fought with the satellite Ducatis, but couldn´t beat them. This year I hope we can make it. “We” means me and the other open Honda riders. I personally must forget the crash in Barcelona and re-establish the way we found in Mugello. I hope we’ll see an exciting race.”

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