The most historic arena on the international motorcycling panorama plays host to the sixth round of the MotoGP World Chamionship, the Dutch TT at Assen in Holland, on the traditional last Saturday of June. Assen, known as ‘The Cathedral’, maintainS its unique record of being the only circuit on the calendar to have held a round of the championship every year since its inception in 1949. The journey to the longest track in the World Championship, at 6,027m, is a pilgrimage taken by thousands of fans from all over Europe, who combine to provide a unique atmosphere both on and off the track.

The Telefónica MoviStar Honda team arrives in Holland looking to continue its  dominance of the MotoGP class and its sensational start to life in 250cc. Sete Gibernau and Dani Pedrosa have already left their legacy at Assen whilst Colin Edwards also enjoyed his fair share of glory during his Superbike days. After two Grand Prix in quick succession, with podium finishes at both Italy and Catalunya, Holland represents another key date before the trip to Río de Janeiro just days afterwards.

Sete once again defends his leadership of the MotoGP World Championship, with a five point advantage over Valentino Rossi. Having scored a podium finish here on the 500cc in 1999 and taken victory last year on the four-stroke RC211V, it will be another massive challenge for the Spaniard and his technical staff. The track demands a perfect chassis set-up which offers both agility and stability. The series leader, who has stood on the podium at each of the opening five rounds of the season, has seen the Valentino Rossi and Yamaha alliance begin to bear fruit but maintains blind faith in the work of his team to keep alive his title chances at the head of the best privateer team in the paddock, led by Fausto Gresini.

Colin Edwards has every reason to believe that the fans at Assen will see the true ‘Texan Tornado’ after an irregular start to the season which has not seen the best of the American’s potential. Edwards knows the secrets to Assen and stood on the podium here several times during his dominance of the World Superbike series.

Hopes are also high within the confines of the Telefónica MoviStar Honda 250 squad. Dani Pedrosa, second in the current standings just eight points behind series leader Randy De Puniet, is the reason for the optimism not only for his spectacular start to his rookie season in the class but also for the fact that one of the most important moments of his career happened at this circuit. Pedrosa’s first World Championship victory came at Assen in 2002 in the 125cc class, which he won outright last year. After being caught out by De Puniet in the last race, Dani hopes that the fast corners and lack of long straights will favour his riding style and play to the strengths of his Honda 250. However, the length of the track and the constant direction changes make it a physically demanding challenge for the rider.

For Hiroshi Aoyama, Assen will be another tough test during this phase of rapid learning. Deep concentration during qualifying will be the key to gathering the right references for the race on one of the fastest and most technical circuits on the calendar.

THE OPINION OF THE RIDERS

SETE GIBERNAU (15)

“Assen is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar and I have always had good results there – third place on the 500 in 1999 and victory last year in MotoGP. Hopefully we can have some good qualifying sessions and keep it going. This is an important spell for the championship and we have to keep giving 120% at each circuit. After Catalunya we continued working with Michelin on the chattering problems, which have been present to a greater or lesser extent depending on the circuit. Hopefully it won’t be so critical at Assen. The test also allowed the team to have a look at a couple of other little things that are not allowing us to enjoy the full potential of the RC211V. Yamaha have made a massive step forward whilst we are going against the wind a bit at the moment. We had a perfect preseason but we haven’t really benefited from the progress we made because in March the settings completely changed with the new chassis. We’ve had chattering since the first race and we’ve been trying to solve it – now I think we are back to the level of competitiveness that we had in winter. The problem is that during this time the rest have had chance to improve and the advantage that we had initially isn’t as evident now. We are working with Honda to get the maximum potential out of the bike, concentrating mainly on this chattering problem and the lack of grip. Thanks to the help of both Honda and Michelin we are finding the right direction. At Assen the set-up will be fundamental – it’s really vital to find that balance between agility and stability”.

COLIN EDWARDS (45)

“Assen is a circuit that I really love and I had some important victories there during my time in Superbikes. I always feel good there whether it’s wet or dry and I’m very keen to get to Holland and get a good result. On the Monday after the race at Catalunya I rode 91 laps, around 430 kilometres, which is more than I had done all weekend! The main objective was to find a few solutions to reduce the chattering, a problem that all the Honda riders are having. We did a whole stack of tyre tests with Michelin to try and find something that best suits my riding style. The chattering still exists, so it is a case of finding a setting which affects us the least. I need to get my confidence in the front end back so that I can ride less aggressively, more smoothly and get a good race rhythm together. I’m confident that there will be a change at Assen, I know the circuit very well and I’m sure that will be reflected in the results”.

DANI PEDROSA (26)

“I always feel comfortable in Holland and I have good memories because that’s where I took my first Grand Prix victory. I am looking forward to seeing how you have to ride the 250 there because it is the circuit with the highest average speed in the championship and with the 125 you hardly have to use the brakes. It is very technical and you never quite know if you are on the limit. You have to keep really concentrated because it’s easy to make mistakes and crashes there happen at high speed. I will have to make the most of both qualifying sessions to get to grips with the circuit on the 250, but I think that my riding style could suit it. In the higher gears it could be that the Aprilia has a bit more but I don’t think that will make much difference because the climate is more humid and it’s not as warm. I am hopeful of a good result”.

HIROSHI AOYAMA (73)

“This week I’ve had to double my time on the Playstation to learn Assen! In Alberto and Dani I have two good teachers and they have told me that it is a long and complicated circuit. From the little I have seen it looks as though it could be similar to Mugello, although I can’t say how it will go for me until I am on the track. My approach is just to do a good job during the two days of qualifying in order to get some references and get comfortable. I adapt more to the bike every time I get on it and I also feel in better physical shape. Hopefully I can get a higher grid slot than at Catalunya and learn from the guys at the front”.

THE 2004 SEASON SO FAR FOR THE TELEFÓNICA MOVISTAR RIDERS

DUTCH TT IN DETAIL. CIRCUIT DATA

6^th round of the World Championship (of 16).

Circuit: TT Circuit Assen.

Grand Prix: Gauloises Dutch TT

Inauguration: 1955

Latest update: 2002

Length: 6,027 m.

Width: 10m.

Right corners: 14

Left corners: 9

Main straight: 970 m.

TIMETABLE

Thursday

09.00h.-09.45h. free practice 125 cc

10.00h.-11.00h. free practice MotoGP

11.15h.-12.15h. free practice 250 cc.

13.15h.-13.45h. entrenamientos oficiales 125 cc.

14.00h.-15.00h. entrenamientos oficiales MotoGP

15.15h.-16.00h. entrenamientos oficiales 250 cc.

Friday

09.00h.-09.45h. free practice 125 cc

10.00h.-11.00h. free practice MotoGP

11.15h.-12.15h. free practice 250 cc.

13.15h.-13.45h. official practice125 cc.

14.00h.-15.00h. official practiceMotoGP

15.15h.-16.00h. official practice250 cc.

Saturday

09.00h.-09.20h. warm up 125 cc.

09.30h.-09.50h. warm up 250 cc.

10.00h.-10.20h. warm up MotoGP

11.15h. race 125 cc.

12.30h. race 250 cc.

14.00h. race MotoGP

LAST YEAR

MOTOGP

Pole position: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1’59´´770

Podium: 1. Sete Gibernau (Honda), 2. Max Biaggi (Honda), 3. Valentino Rossi (Honda)

Circuit record: 2002 Valentino Rossi (Honda) (2’00´´973)

250cc.

Pole position: Manuel Poggiali (Aprilia) 2’04´´050

Podium: 1. Anthony West (Aprilia), 2. Franco Battaini (Aprilia), 3. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)

Circuit record: 2002 Roberto Rolfo (Honda) (2’04´´824)