The Dutch track proved challenging for Yamaha World Superbike riders; Melandri and Laverty this afternoon in Assen. Marco Melandri got off to a less than perfect start off the grid in race one falling from eighth back to eleventh in the first lap. He put his head down, working his way through the pack and pushed up to fifth place by lap ten. Aiming for a podium he closed in on the leading gang before crossing the chequered flag in fourth position.

Team-mate Laverty initially fell back a few places before regaining third position on lap seven and creating a significant gap ahead of Checa in fourth. Unfortunately mid race he began to struggle with the rear of the bike and found himself fighting hard to maintain the pace before crossing the finish line in seventh. The determined Irishman put on a strong and steady performance in race two. Experiencing trouble with the front of the bike he initially fell back to ninth but put in a series of consistent laps to push back up to sixth. Race two proved unfortunate for Melandri who shot off from eighth position on the grid and worked his way up to fourth before losing the front of the bike and crashing out on turn seven of the 16th lap. The Italian put in the top speed in race one and two with his YZF-R1 reaching a high of 298.7 km/h.

Melandri heads to round four of the 2011 championship in Monza third in the championship with 85 points, 47 behind the current championship leader. Team-mate Laverty sits in ninth place in the standings with 35 points.

Marco Melandri - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 4th, DNF

“I got a bad start in race one and seemed to be losing feeling in the rear of the bike. By the time I had regained feeling and a good race pace it was too late to push for the podium. In Race two the bike seemed to have a better set up and I managed to get a good start off the grid. I closed in on the leading pack but after the first ten laps I started losing grip in the rear tyre. I was keeping an eye on Rea and was planning to close in on him in the last laps but unfortunately without even realizing it, I lost the front and crashed out. I’m very disappointed with this and hope it doesn’t happen again.”

Eugene Laverty - Yamaha World Superbike Team - 7th, 6th

“I was doing really well until mid way through race one when I started suffering from chatter and losing balance due to displacement in the rear tyre. I struggled for the second half of the race and managed to finish in seventh position. Race two was more consistent even if a little slower. We made the wrong choice of tyres on the front but I’m still getting used to Superbike tyres and knowing what I need to use as the temperatures change. This weekend has been productive, I’ve learned more in this round than I have so far this season.”

Andrea Dosoli - Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager

It’s a pity how race two concluded for Marco. He got off to a good start and held faster race pace than in race one. Putting in a series of fast laps on a hard race tyre was stressing the front tyre on entering turns and consequently he lost the front of the bike. The lack of results on this track will make him more motivated before his home round in Monza. Eugene made great progress this weekend and is definitely more prepared for the upcoming races. He didn’t just gain points but also valuable experience. The technical input from the problems encountered here will help improve on the set up in preparation for the next round. We need to increase the bike stability exiting turns and find a better setting to be used with soft tyres.We aren’t using the bike to its full potential.”



Yamaha ParkinGO Team rider Chaz Davies took his maiden victory in the World Supersport Championship today on the historic Dutch track in Assen. The Brit didn’t hesitate to take the lead right off the grid and ride his YZF-R6 to cross the chequered flag with over seven seconds ahead of his competitors. Davies put in a spectacular performance, keeping the leading throughout the entire race and providing the Yamaha ParkinGO WSS Team with their third consecutive race win of the 2011 season.

Team-mate Luca Scassa had a less fortunate race day, crashing out mid race. The Italian rider got off to a less than perfect start from his pole position on the grid, falling back to fourth. He immediately regained a steady race pace and on attempting to jump up to third he collided with Marino, sitting just ahead of him. As a minor compensation for the disappointing race today in Assen, Scassa claimed the fastest race lap with a lap time of 1’39.019, showing his true potential and that of his YZF- R6 machine.

Plenty of drama was on display as the race was red flagged twice. On both occasions Scassa and Davies, had gotten perfect starts off the grid from pole and eighth position and were sitting comfortably in first and second places respectively before a series of riders crashed out, causing the race to be red flagged.

Scassa heads to his home round in Monza still leading the championship on 50 points. Davies is now just 5 points behind, sitting in third position with a total of 45 points, while Yamaha is comfortably leading the Manufacturers Championship by 14 points.

Chaz Davies - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - 1st, 1'39.007

“Finally! I think that sums up how long I have waited for today to come. It’s often a case of luck and I feel it has rarely been on my side in the last few years and so far this season. The bike is doing really well. After yesterday’s accident in qualifying, the team had to work really hard all night to rebuild the bike and I think I managed to repay them for it. I’m looking forward to Monza now that I am officially back in the hunt!”

Luca Scassa - Yamaha ParkinGO Team - DNF

“Today was very stressful due to the three race starts. Everything was under control in first two races, I was sitting nicely in the lead before we were red flagged. Unfortunately the third time around I didn’t get off to a very good start. I had difficulty overtaking and when Marino seemed to slow down, I just lost control of the bike. I’ve learnt a lesson and hopefully it won’t happen again. I have to be tougher from the start and get my head down and just go. I’ll make up for it in Monza!”