Dutch GP-Assen practice report

DUTCH GP Official Practice ­ Assen, 23rd of June, 2000

Alex Criville was the star of the final moments of today¹s qualifying session. The Repsol YPF Honda rider stormed round the difficult Assen circuit to take an impressive second fastest time. Criville is looking good for the race tomorrow. His team-mate Tadayuki Okada is also looking good. He will start tomorrow¹s race from the second row. Things did not go quite so well for Sete Gibernau, who had to settle for 14th place on the grid.

ALEX CRIVILLE ­ 2nd ­ 2¹02.616
"This is the result we¹ve been working for throughout this week-end. I¹m feeling much more confident on the bike right now. After my crashes in Italy and Catalunya, I had lost a little confidence obviously. Yesterday, we didn¹t take any risks because it was not necessary to do so. But today, even though the wind was quite strong, we still managed to put together some good laps. When you don¹t feel comfortable on the bike it¹s difficult to do your best. But we definitely did a good job today. I feel I¹ve gained a lot of confidence on the bike and that¹s the main thing".

TADAYUKI OKADA ­ 7th ­ 2¹03.301
"Our situation has improved since yesterday. The traction problems I was having yesterday seem to be clearing up a little. We¹ve found some different settings which have helped me a lot. I also tried Michelin¹s 16.5 inch new front tyre this morning in a straight comparison test with the 17 inch front. It feels promising, even though I¹m not quite ready to race with it yet. Right now, I still prefer the 17 inch. Most of our practice time this week-end has been dry so I¹m hoping for a dry race tomorrow. Although I still hold the fastest lap here, it was not possible for me to go that fast today".

SETE GIBERNAU ­ 14th ­ 2¹04.038
"I¹m disappointed. I don¹t have that much to say. Today, it was impossible for me to find any answers to the problems we were having. I couldn¹t seem to get a good set-up on the front or the rear suspension. To be honest, today I rode even worse than I had done in yesterday¹s first practice session! Now, we¹ll just have to see what we can do to remedy this situation during tomorrow¹s warm-up. We¹ll try different things and then, I will do what I can in the race".

<pre> Starting grid ­ Assen - 500cc 1 L. Capirossi Emerson Honda Pons Honda 2¹02.058 2 A. Criville Repsol YPF Honda Team Honda 2¹02.616 3 K. Roberts Telefonica Movistar Suzuki Suzuki 2¹02.652 4 A. Barros Emerson Honda Pons Honda 2¹02.809 5 M. Biaggi Marlboro Yamaha Team Yamaha 2¹03.194 6 V. Rossi Nastro Azzurro Honda Honda 2¹03.201 7 T. Okada Repsol YPF Honda Honda 2¹03.301 8 T. Harada Blu Aprilia Team Aprilia 2¹03.332 9 C. Checa Marlboro Yamaha Team Yamaha 2¹03.502 10 R. Laconi Red Bull Yamaha WCM Yamaha 2¹03.714 11 J. McWilliams Blu Aprilia Team Aprilia 2¹03.788 12 N. Aoki Telefonica Movistar Suzuki Suzuki 2¹03.911 13 J. Vd Goorbergh Rizla Honda TSR-Honda 2¹03.956 14 S. Gibernau Repsol YPF Honda Team Honda 2¹04.038 15 N. Abe Antena 3 Yamaha-d¹Antin Yamaha 2¹04.564 16 G. McCoy Red Bull Yamaha WCM Yamaha 2¹04.981 17 D. De Gea Proton TEAM KR Modenas KR3 2¹07.249 18 S. Legrelle Tecmas Honda Elf Honda 2¹08.651 19 Y. Konishi FCC TSR TSR-Honda 2¹09.680 20 P. Giles Sabre Sport Honda 2¹10.069

Circuit Record Lap 1991 :       Kevin Schwantz  2¹02.443
Pole:                           Loris Capirossi 2¹02.058