At the end of the afternoon, the press conference for the Dutch Grand Prix took place on the legendary Assen TT circuit. Valentino Rossi, winner in Barcelona, Marc Marquez, leader of the provisional classification, Jorge Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow and Alex Rins were the drivers present at this conference.
Looking ahead
Alex Espargaro, initially invited to this conference, was ultimately not there due to a plane delay. The Spaniard learned earlier this week that he will not continue with the Suzuki team in 2017. Alex Rins will take his place and will play alongside Andrea Iannone. Espargaro has several avenues to explore, including that of winning a handlebar within the Aprilia team run by Gresini. He would then team up with Sam Lowes. Although several media are already announcing it under Aprilia colors until 2018, the Spaniard clearly denied this information on his Twitter account in the middle of the afternoon.
According to our information, the announcement should not take long, however, and will probably take place between Assen and the Sachsenring. The future of Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista would thus be sealed.
As for the factory teams, only the composition of the Aprilia team remains to be determined. alex rins completes that of the Suzuki team, “I am delighted to announce that I will be riding with the Suzuki team next year,” officially announces the Spaniard. “Like the other riders, I worked throughout my career to get to MotoGP and finally I got there. Suzuki is a young team, with a family atmosphere. I asked Maverick for his opinion and he assured me that it was a really good team. »
Cal Crutchlow is one of the riders on the current MotoGP grid whose contract does not end at the end of the season, “There is a difficult clause not to apply between LCR and me,” confides the Briton. “I will obviously be with LCR next year. Lucio had a clause in the contract which he did not exercise. None of us have practiced it and I will stay there next year,” assures the Briton. “We are also discussing 2018.”
From now on, it is John Zarco who is the center of attention. Hervé Poncharal tells us that he is in advanced discussions with the World Champion. Last week, the Frenchman took his first laps aboard a MotoGP, the Suzuki team's GSX-RR, “Johann’s times were more than interesting,” Poncharal tells us. “It’s a good point and it shows that he can adapt very quickly, like Viñales or Marquez. »
The legendary modified chicane
The final chicane of the Assen TT has been reworked to improve clearances and safety, “There is more asphalt in the chicane for safety. There's a bit of vibration inside the chicane and that forces you to stay on the line," Explain Valentino Rossi The pilots are unanimous. This passage being a source of incisive overtaking, the clearances were enlarged to pass under the stands.
Although Rossi won the last race in Catalonia, it is Marc Marquez which occupies the leading position in the ranking, “I am very happy to lead the championship after seven races,” explains the Spaniard. “Everything is still very tight between us Valentino, Jorge and me. I am in the lead after two GPs that I feared. » In order not to repeat the story of last season, Marquez explains, “The last chicane is difficult to understand on the last lap. I will try to force it first to arrive with some margin. »
The Dutch route has never really smiled on George Lorenzo, “I have good memories here in 125cc and 250cc, but I haven't had much success here in MotoGP apart from 2010, but I finished 3rd last season. » For the record, in 2013, Lorenzo broke his collarbone on Thursday and managed to return, fresh from surgery in Barcelona, on Saturday for the race. He reached the finish line in 5th position.
Lorenzo, hit in Barcelona by Iannone, is delighted to have escaped unscathed, “It could have been much worse. We dominated on Friday on the original route. We suffered a lot more at the front on the F1 track. I am not injured and we are second in the Championship, close to Marc. We have a good feeling for the future. » Lorenzo is hoping for a dry race on Sunday.
Safety Commission
After the tragic disappearance of Luis Salom during the Catalan Grand Prix, the Safety Commission decided to return to the solutions to be brought to the Montmelo route, “I will go to the security committee tomorrow, and we will decide what we will do in the future. The rail on the outside of turn 9 is too close. » announcement Jorge Lorenzo. For the record, the Majorcan did not appreciate not having been invited to the Security Commission which followed the tragic incident of Luis Salom.
For its part, Valentino Rossi, who has been absent for some time from this Commission, will make his return, “I think it’s important,” Rossi explains. “We have to determine if there is a chance of keeping the MotoGP track, because I think it is better. However, it is not enough to put gravel where Luis fell. The situation would be improved, but it is not enough. If we have to use this corner, there should be more clearance and for that we would have to push the stands. » Rossi also specifies that the clearance at turn 10 is also not sufficient.
Regarding the Commission, Cal Crutchlow underlines, “It seems that it is open to all riders and yet there are only MotoGP riders. I think it would be interesting to have the opinions of drivers from other categories. We may be more experienced, but a few of these young guys will be in MotoGP during the day and I think it's important that they are there. »
