Grand Prix media-service ter attentie van (motor) sportredacties, relaties en sponsors
28-6-2003; Betreft wedstrijdverslag 73e Gauloises Dutch TT, TT Circuit Assen
73e GAULOISES DUTCH TT EEN VAN MIJLPALEN, UNIEKE SFEER EN PERFECT GEDRAG VAN TT-FANS
Ruim 130.000 motorsportfans genoten tijdens de 73e editie van de Gauloises Dutch TT met volle teugen van twee zonovergoten trainingsdagen en een spannende maar jammer genoeg regenachtige wedstrijddag. Het waren dit jaar de échte TT-fans die in grote getale naar Assen waren getogen. Want na de publieksinvasie van vorig jaar, bleven de motorsportliefhebbers op de wedstrijddag nu alle 90.000 achter de hekken. De 700.000 euro investering in veiligheidsmaatregelen en de campagne Enjoy, don t destroy!, waarbij ook GP-coureurs Rossi, Gibernau, Mamola en Van de Lagemaat het publiek verzochten om na afloop van de MotoGP-race op hun plaatsen te blijven, is daarmee tot grote tevredenheid van de TT organisatie een enorm succes geworden. De Dutch TT is ieder jaar weer speciaal, maar dit jaar maakte het publiek de TT uniek. De wijze waarop de motorfans gehoor hebben gegeven aan de oproep is werkelijk uniek. Ook dat kan alleen maar in Assen , meldde TT-voorzitter Jos Vaessen na afloop van de MotoGP-race, waarna hij het publiek samen met wedstrijdspeaker Jan de Rooij bedankte met de tekst: TT-fans, jullie waren grandioos! Jullie bleven netjes achter de hekken en wij zijn trots op jullie. Op deze manier zullen we de Dutch TT nog jarenlang in een unieke sfeer kunnen organiseren. Enorm bedankt, ook namens de coureurs! Valentino Rossi deed het tijdens de persconferentie na afloop nog eens dunnetjes over. Ik wist niet of de campagne zou slagen, maar het publiek heeft zich super gedragen. Alle TT fans, grazie!!! , meldde Rossi, die in de verregende MotoGP race op de natte baan wederom zijn meerdere moest erkennen in regenspecialist Sete Gibernau maar ook naaste concurrent Max Biaggi.
De Dutch TT ontving tijdens de 73e editie ook haar 10-miljoenste bezoeker. De Asser notarissen Daverschot en Nijland zagen toe op het bereiken van de mijlpaal. Ticketnummer 55098 op de Winterdijktribune van N-W, rij 9, stoel 30 was de winnaar. Die plaats behoorde toe aan de 17-jarige student Kenneth Eskildsen uit Denemarken, die al voor de 6e keer met zijn vader naar de TT van Assen komt. De danig onder de indruk zijnde TT-fan uit het Deense Gelsted kreeg uit handen van vijfvoudig TT-winnaar en wereldkampioen Mick Doohan de sleutels van een 12.000 euro kostende Honda CBR 600 RR overhandigd, maar moet nog 10 maanden wachten voordat hij aan het behalen van zijn rijbewijs mag beginnen. Een andere mijlpaal was er voor de heer A. Fledderus uit Laaghalen die al voor de 60e keer de TT bezocht. Albert Jonkers (Ruinerwold), Hennie Baartman (Borne) en Assenaar Roelof Grit bezochten de TT dit jaar voor de 50e keer.
De High Resolution versie van bijgaande rechtenvrije foto van de uitreiking door Mick Doohan van de Honda CBR 600 RR aan de 10 miljoenste TT bezoeker, kan gratis worden gedownload van
MotoGP - Gibernau clinches third victory of the season
Sete Gibernau completed a hat-trick of dominant race winning performances in the wet at Assen today by taking the spoils in the delayed MotoGP event in front of fellow podium regulars Max Biaggi and Valentino Rossi.
After the rain had ceased for a period in the afternoon the MotoGP race was declared ´dry´ only for the dark skies to open once more on the warm-up lap. The start time was put back to allow riders to switch to full wet tyres and the water then fell with venom from the loaded clouds, reducing visibility to a matter of metres.
A fascinating contest for half of the race between Gibernau and yellow Camel Honda Pons shadow Max Biaggi was shaping into a very close and interesting game of ´cat and mouse´ until the pair ran into back-markers and Biaggi was baulked by Garry McCoy, losing precious seconds and effectively the chance of victory. However the Italian s runner-up spot represents the only time he has beaten Rossi all season as the World Champion suffered from a poor start and was never in contention for the top step of the podium.
Troy Bayliss was showing some decent speed in the early stages and relegated Rossi to fourth until a low speed crash dropped him down the order. He restarted and eventually worked his way back into the race to claim 9th. Carlos Checa finished fourth after a tussle with Nori Haga on the Aprilia ended two laps before the chequered flag when the Japanese rider high-sided into the gravel. Olivier Jacque, Loris Capirossi, Colin Edwards and Alex Barros followed. Alex Hofmann gave the Kawasaki a fine tenth position. Valentino Rossi still controls the World Championship after his 13th consecutive top three result. He leads Gibernau by 38 points with Biaggi in third trailing by 46.
250cc - Ant West records first ever GP win in style
Ant West became the second rider to win their first ever GP at the Dutch TT today after an explosive opening lap and searing pace in the formative stages drew him away at the head of the 250cc pack. The Australian cut through the field passing four riders on the first circulation of the soaking Assen circuit and proceeded to set four consecutive fastest laps of the race to streak ahead of Franco Battaini and Sylvain Guintoli. In terms of the Championship many of the usual suspects were conspicuous by their absence. Randy de Puniet, who had not been happy with the set-up of his bike all weekend crashed out on lap 2. Fonsi Nieto broke down while fighting for fifth and Toni Elias could only claim a lowly 13th.
Like the 125 race, the riders were fairly spread out with the majority racing the track just as much as their peers. A thin dry line started to emerge but the leading trio had more or less confirmed their status. In fourth position was Manuel Poggiali making the best of his title-rivals misfortune. He beat Seba Porto, Robbie Rolfo, Erwan Nigon, Christian Gemmel, Hugo Marchand and Johan Stigefelt. Poggiali leads the standings but the points have tightened up considerably. The Aprilia rider leads Rolfo by 15, Elias by 17 and De Puniet and Nieto by 20 points.
The day was all about West who proved to be masterful in the wet and technical conditions; lifting himself up to sixth in the Championship as a result and trailing Poggiali only by 23 points. A nod also must go to the performance of Sylvain Guintoli who claimed his first ever GP career podium.
125cc - Jenkner defies the weather to record excellent first ever GP win
Steve Jenkner has probably never ridden in worse conditions than the heavy showers that constantly sprayed the Assen circuit this afternoon but the German produced an exemplary display of wet-weather riding to win his first ever Grand Prix from Pablo Nieto and 16 year old Hector Barbera.
Jenkner set a fearsome pace from the out-set after taking the holeshot from Casey Stoner and proceeding to open up a 14 second lead by the end of the first lap. The rain hardly made for a decent race and the close position swapping commonly associated with the 125 contest. Stoner was the first victim of the slippery surface and crashed on lap 3. The Australian had been some way ahead of Nieto but surrendered his second place with his fall. Nieto then circulated alone for his highest result of the season and giving his Spanish team the first of a top three one-two completed by Barbera s impressive and mature ride to third.
Youichi Ui took fourth while Stefano Perugini, Alex De Angelis, Thomas Luthi, Dani Pedrosa, Gabor Talmacsi and Andrea Dovizioso rounded off the top ten. Both KTMs were forced into the pits while Lucio Cecchinello could only take 16th. After the 150th victory in GP racing for Aprilia the Championship still sees Honda man Pedrosa leading but the points difference from Jenkner in second is now down to 26 while Cecchinello trails by 34 in third.
Uitslag 250cc race:
1. Anthony WEST AUS 41'57.413 Team Zoppini Abruzzo
2. Franco BATTAINI ITA 42'00.400 Campetella Racing
3. Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA 42'08.074 Campetella Racing
4. Manuel POGGIALI RSM 42'11.573 MS Aprilia Team
5. Sebastian PORTO ARG42'24.030 Telefonica Movistar jnr Team
6. Roberto ROLFO ITA 42'29.361 Fortuna Honda
7. Erwan NIGON FRA 43'11.610 Equipe de France - Scrab GP
8. Christian GEMMEL GER 43'22.071 Kiefer Castrol-Honda Racing
9. Hugo MARCHAND FRA 43'33.572 Equipe de France - Scrab GP
10. Johan STIGEFELT SWE 43'33.683 Team Zoppini Abruzzo
11. Alex DEBON SPA 43'53.662 Troll Honda BQR
12. Jakub SMRZ CZE 43'54.392 Elit Grand Prix
13. Toni ELIAS SPA 44'00.640 Team Repsol Telefonica Movist
14. Alex BALDOLINI ITA 44'00.934 Matteoni Racing
15. Klaus NÖHLES GER 42'01.894 1 lap 1 Aprilia Germany
16. Henk vd LAGEMAAT NED 42'22.303 1 lap Dark Dog Honda Molenaar
17. Hector FAUBEL SPA 42'40.729 1 lap Aspar Junior Team
18. Katja POENSGEN GER 42'50.355 1 lap Dark Dog Honda Molenaar
19. Jan BLOK NED 43'21.001 1 lap MRTT
20. Christian PISTONI ITA 43'30.927 1 lap Yamaha Kurz
21. Arie VOS NED 43'30.976 1 lap J&E Sports Kunstgras
22. Hans SMEES NED 43'31.320 1 lap Performance Racing
23. Joan OLIVE SPA 42'48.969 2 laps Aspar Junior Team
24. Chaz DAVIES GBR 42'55.368 2 laps Aprilia Germany
250cc WK-stand na 7 van de 16 GP s:
1. Poggiali, 101; 2. Rolfo, 86; 3. Elias, 84; 4. De Puniet, 81; 5. Nieto, 81; 6. West, 78; 7. Battaini, 78; 8. Porto, 64;
Uitslag MotoGP klasse (tot 990cc 4-takt):
1. Sete GIBERNAU SPA 42'39.006 Telefónica Movistar Honda
2. Max BIAGGI ITA 42'49.117 Camel Pramac Pons
3. Valentino ROSSI ITA 42'52.881 Repsol Honda
4. Carlos CHECA SPA 43'15.984 Fortuna Yamaha Team
5. Olivier JACQUE FRA 43'19.351 Gauloises Yamaha Team
6. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA 43'21.183 Ducati Marlboro Team
7. Colin EDWARDS USA 43'29.524 Alice Aprilia Racing
8. Alex BARROS BRA 43'38.029 Gauloises Yamaha Team
9. Troy BAYLISS AUS 44'12.542 Ducati Marlboro Team
10. Alex HOFMANN GER 44'15.409 Kawasaki Racing Team
11. Nicky HAYDEN USA 44'18.039 Repsol Honda
12. Tohru UKAWA JPN 44'21.404 Camel Pramac Pons
13. Shinya NAKANO JPN 44'22.696 d'Antín Yamaha Team
14. Andrew PITT AUS 43'44.761 1 lap Kawasaki Racing Team
15. John HOPKINS USA 43'48.247 1 lap Suzuki Grand Prix Team
16. Makoto TAMADA JPN 43'55.348 1 lap Pramac Honda
17. Ryuichi KIYONARI JPN 43'58.430 1 lap Telefónica Movistar Honda
18. Garry McCOY AUS 44'51.345 1 lap Kawasaki Racing Team
MotoGP WK-stand na 7 van de 16 GP s:
1.Rossi, 151; 2. Gibernau, 113; 3. Biaggi, 105; 4. Capirossi, 71; 5. Barros, 62; 6. Ukawa, 56; 7. Bayliss, 53; 8. Checa, 47.
Uitslag 125cc klasse:
1. Steve JENKNER GER 42'25.609 Exalt Cycle Red Devil
2. Pablo NIETO SPA 42'36.798 Master-MXOnda-Aspar Team
3. Hector BARBERA SPA 42'50.292 Master-MXOnda-Aspar Team
4. Youichi UI JPN 42'56.029 Sterilgarda Racing
5. Stefano PERUGINI ITA 43'12.048 Abruzzo Racing Team
6. Alex DE ANGELIS RSM 43'27.335 Globet.com Racing
7. Thomas LUTHI SWI 43'27.464 Elit Grand Prix
8. Daniel PEDROSA SPA 43'30.207 Telefonica Movistar jnr Team
9. Gabor TALMACSI HUN 43'30.785 Exalt Cycle Red Devil
10. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA 43'31.629 Team Scot
11. Mika KALLIO FIN 43'31.684 Ajo Motorsports
12. Simone CORSI ITA 43'32.028 Team Scot
13. Gino BORSOI ITA 43'32.483 Globet.com Racing
14. Fabrizio LAI ITA 43'33.910 Semprucci Angaia Malaguti
15. Mirko GIANSANTI ITA 43'33.912 Matteoni Racing
18. Adri DEN BEKKER NED 44'17.282 DB Racing Team
24. Jarno vd MAREL NED 43'24.747 1 lap Tennen Racing Team
Raymond Schouten, NED, Honda kwam ten val in 22e positie.
Mark van Kreij, NED, Honda kwam eveneens ten val.
125cc WK-stand na 7 van de 16 GP s:
1. Pedrosa, 124; 2. Jenkner, 988; 3. Cecchinello, 91; 4. Perugini, 76; 5. Dovizioso, 73; 6. P. Nieto, 67.
Uitslag EK 250cc race:
1. Taro SEKIGUCHI, J Castka Racing Team 30:34.121
2. Lukas PESEK, CZ Castka Racing Team 6.578 30:40.699
3. Rafael SINKE, NL Hans Knoppers Motoren 26.828 31:00.949
4. Jarno JANSSEN, NL Filart-Janssen Racing 32.739 31:06.860
5. Micolai SØRENSEN, DK Danish Road Racing Team 36.290 31:10.411
6. Radomil ROUS, CZ Klub Racing Team Znojmo 38.490 31:12.611
7. Michael SELMAR, Den Danish Road Racing Team 40.326 31:14.447
8. Jaap HOOGEVEEN, NL Benjan Motoren 40.744 31:14.865
9. Gàbor RIZMAYER, H Castrol-Biro Racing Team 40.810 31:14.931
10. David CHECA, E Team CRS Grand Prix 46.132 31:20.253
11. Patrick LAKERVELD, NL Team Holland 46.277 31:20.398
12. Vesa KALLIO Raistila Racing 46.455 31:20.576
13. Peter POLITIEK, NL MRTT - Hugen 52.352 31:26.473
14. Ari MATIKAINEN 54.923 31:29.044
15. Yves POLZER Kiefer Castrol Honda Racing 59.949 31:34.070
16. Roger HEIERLI Heierli Racing 1:20.077 31:54.198
17. Mike VELTHUIJZEN, NL MVS Racing Team 1:20.141 31:54.262
18. Norman RANK MSC Schleizer Dreieck 1:23.164 31:57.285
19. Carl TORSSELL 1:33.711 32:07.832
20. Tatu LAUSLEHTO Tuusmotor Racing Team 1:33.779 32:07.900
21. Mic LINDFORS MIC Racing 1:37.487 32:11.608
22. Henrik NORDGREN Oves Motor / PA Ventiler 1:39.584 32:13.705
23. Michal FILLA Sramek Racing Promotion 1:55.407 32:29.528
24. Gareth GLYNN 2:02.638 32:36.759
25. Jan ROELOFS, NL Kurstjens B.V. 2:13.543 32:47.664
26. Andreas MARTENSSON Johannesson Racing Team 2:21.139 32:55.260
27. Valerio ANGHETTI Team Gold Racing Aprilia --1 Lap-- 31:00.881
28. Chris FLINT KD Racing 28.232 31:29.113
29. Erwin POSTMUS, NL Team Bike Bicycles 33.353 31:34.234
30. Nico KEHRER Kehrer Racing Team 1:49.076 32:49.957
31. Emile LITJENS, NL Makelaardij Jaap Kingma --2 Laps-- 31:57.175
32. Rico MENDEL Pirate Racing --3 Laps-- 24:35.046
33. Max NEUKIRCHNER ADAC Sachsen 7.772 24:42.818
34. Tomas PALANDER B. Hermann Motorsport 7:46.294 32:21.340
EK-tussenstand na 3 races:
1. Sekiguchi 75 pnt., 2. Pesek 46 pnt., 3. Janssen 40 pnt., 4. Neukircher 31 pnt., 5. Kallio 30 pnt., 6. Rizmayer 27 pnt., 7. Rous 25 pnt., 8. Sorensen 23 pnt., 10. Sinke 16 pnt., 12 Lakerveld 14 pnt., 14. Hoogeveen 8 pnt., 19 Filart 5 pnt. , 20 Politiek 3 pnt.,
TT Circuit Assen
Willem Lute (Press Officer, Marketing & PR)
P.O. Box/Postbus 150
9400 AD Assen
The Netherlands
Tel. +31-(0)592-380380
Fax +31-(0)592-356911