MotoGP 2021 – Round Nine
Motul TT Assen – Preview

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After a year off the calendar the Cathedral is back to gives us more history-making close racing. History is a real buzzword too as it’s the 90th TT this season and the 72nd time the event has counted towards the World Championship. Quite a record, but then it’s quite a track. Fast, flowing and with a final chicane whose reputation precedes it, Assen rarely disappoints… and maybe we’re biased, but neither does MotoGP.

During 2020, the circuit was resurfaced and due to not being able to test before the race Michelin will bring a larger allocation than usual, four front and four rear Michelin Power Slicks.

The TT Assen Circuit has had many changes to its layout through the years, but the current 4,542m (2.822 miles) configuration with its short 487m (0.303 miles) straight and mix of six left-hand and twelve right-hand corners, is still one of the most revered and loved circuits in the world. It is held in such high regard that it is known as ‘The Cathedral’ of motorcycle racing and it has a history of producing very exciting and close racing.

It is a traditional track in terms of its layout, in that it still includes high-speed curves and banked corners, whilst incorporating all the safety requirements of a more modern circuit. It is this configuration of 18 corners that places greater demands on the rear tyres compared to those on the front. This means that the rear allocation of Soft, Medium and two Hard Michelin Power Slicks, with their asymmetric design featuring a harder right-hand-side, will be able to cope with the increased temperatures and stresses that the tyres will endure through the fast right corners, which are one of the key features of the track. While the front tyres have a less stressful time, the demands placed upon them are equally important, so the Soft, Medium and two Hard options with a symmetric finish, have been selected to work at their optimum with their rear counterparts.

With the cancellation of the race in Finland, Assen is still currently the most northerly track on the calendar and this geographic location has brought its share of wet weather to the event in the past. In the event of wet conditions, the Michelin Power Rain tyres in Soft and Medium with a symmetric design will be available for the front, with the rear options comprising asymmetric Soft and Medium options – both with a harder right-hand-side.

Heading in, it’s Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) still ahead of the game in the standings, and the Frenchman took a podium with a late charge in Germany. The last time MotoGP raced in Drenthe it was a Yamaha on the top step, too and their recent record at the track is a good one. Can Quartararo take back a little momentum? He’s the only rider to score points in every race, but he’ll want to get back on the top step.

Fabio Quartararo

“In MotoGP you need speed and consistency, and this year we have both. Finishing third at the Sachsenring was good, considering we were struggling a bit that weekend. Being on the podium after a ’bad weekend‘ makes us feel even more positive about the future. This weekend we‘re riding at TT Circuit Assen, which is one of my favourite circuits, and it suits the Yamaha well. I wish it was Friday already!”

Someone also in need of some momentum is the man who took that Yamaha win at Assen in 2019: Quartararo’s team-mate Maverick Viñales. After his stunner in Qatar to open the season it’s been up ad down at times, but nowhere more down than his worst MotoGP finish ever last time out. Can he start to find a way back to the top? In 2019 he left Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) five seconds in the dust for that victory, and Quartararo was another five seconds back… so there’s a solid CV to fall back on.

Maverick Viñales

“Assen is a circuit that I really like, so I‘m looking forward to riding there. I really want to get back on the M1 as soon as possible, so we can start working on the bike again. After a disappointing weekend we always want to keep working and find a way to improve. We clearly have a lot of work ahead of us, but that‘s okay. I won the Dutch GP in 2019, before the pandemic, so at least we know that a similar set-up to the one we used then should be a good starting point.”

Speaking of solid CVs… no one has a better one than Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) at the Cathedral. It may be a difficult season so far for the number 46, but Assen should or could be a venue that helps him take a step forward.

Valentino Rossi

“We need to figure out what happened in Germany and work well to make some improvements before we are back on track this weekend. Assen is a great track for me though and I like the layout a lot, it is very flowing. It is somewhere I really enjoy and you always feel some great emotion when riding there. So we need to stay positive, concentrate on the final round before the summer break and achieve a good result in Assen.”

With Franco Morbidelli missing the event after injuring his knee in training, there will be plenty of eyes on the other side of the garage too as American Garrett Gerloff comes in on replacement duty. The GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team rider already impressed in the premier class of Grand Prix racing in practice in Valencia last year, and now he’ll make his race debut.

Garrett Gerloff

“I’m excited for the opportunity ahead, I’m not someone who runs away from a challenge, so I’m ready to get to the track. It’ll be a new circuit for me, I like trying new tracks, it looks fun, fast and flowing, and really suits my riding style. I’m looking forward to jumping on the Yamaha M1 again and twisting the throttle. We’ll see how things go, but I feel good and would like to thank Yamaha and the team for considering me. It won’t be easy, but I’m going to give it my best shot!”

Next – notwithstanding the incredible comeback win for Marc Marquez – KTM are a key recent headline stealer. 2021 started with the Austrian factory struggling to gain traction – figuratively and, at times, literally – but it’s been an incredible turnaround of late. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is now the first KTM rider to take three podiums in a row, one of which was a win and the most recent of which saw the Portuguese rider able to push Marc Marquez at the Sachsenring. Even with this number 93 on the comeback, that’s something to write home about. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) made it two KTMs in the top four for the first time this year in Germany too, which made the Austrian factory team the top performers as a duo… and that was despite the South African never having ridden the track before in the premier class. How well can they attack Assen?

Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager

“The next round for the MotoGP grid is Assen – a very special race, which is this year the end of the first part of the season. We’ve got a long summer break afterwards, so everybody wants to go on holidays with a positive result under their belts. Although the results of the German Grand Prix were not what we expected for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, as we could see we were a lot closer to the front guys than we used to be before.”

“Assen is a track, where we should also be quite good and fast. Danilo has got a very positive feeling about Assen and he also feels a lot more comfortable with the bike, so altogether I think this could be a nice way to end the first part of the championship, that was not so easy for the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team. We also know that the second seat is not confirmed yet and clearly, it will be interesting to monitor what is going on during the Dutch Grand Prix in order to be closer to the final decision of who will be the team-mate for Remy Gardner in 2022.”

And now, Marquez. It was an incredible performance from the eight-time World Champion to get back onto the top step 581 days after last doing so, and after not only his injury struggles but also a difficult run of DNFs. One of the all-time greats – the race win and the rider – was history truly in the making. But with 11 in a row at the Sachnsenring now, can he stay with the front group at Assen? It’s certainly a bigger ask, and it was a big ask to manage what he did in Germany. But Marc Marquez is Marc Marquez…

Marc Marquez

“We have enjoyed our moment after the Sachsenring, with the team, with my family and with those who helped me. But now we focus again and get ready for Assen, in the past we have had good results there but of course our situation is different now. The weather is looking very cold and wet, especially after what we’ve seen in Germany. So we will keep working to improve our situation and see what’s possible.”

For the other Hondas, however, the tough times continued in Germany, although the losing streak is over after Marc Marquez’ win. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) took tenth and Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) 13th, but they’ll want more, as will Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) after he made it through to Q2 for the first time this year and then crashed out.

Pol Espargaro

“It’s great to return to Assen after one year away, it’s a historic track and it’s always great to ride these tracks. Our weekend in Germany was not perfect but we arrive with a clear mind and ready to go again. For sure it looks like the weather will complicate things a bit, but no matter what we keep working to achieve our best. The objective is to have a weekend without problems to put all the pieces together.”

More is also something Ducati will be looking for. After some impressive speed in qualifying and then in the early stages on race day, somehow it was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducato Lenovo Team) finished the race as the top Borgo Panigale machine – after having been mired down the field early on. Polesitter Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) faded to eighth and Jack Miller was pipped to fifth by Bagnaia, so they’ll definitely be two men looking for a lot more this Sunday. For Miller the venue does hold some incredible memories though, with the Australian having taken his first premier class win at the track in that dramatic and emotional 2016 race. There are some good CVs elsewhere in the Ducati camp too, and both man and machine, for the most part, have been serious threats at the front so far in 2021 – so that seems unlikely to change based on solely the Sachsenring…

Jack Miller

“After the German GP, this weekend we’ll be racing at a track that, at least on paper, isn’t the most favourable for the characteristics of our bike. I’m optimistic because even at Sachsenring, where we weren’t one of the favourites, we managed to be competitive in practice and qualifying, even if we missed something in the race. In Holland, the weather conditions will play an important role, and it was here in the wet in 2016 that I took my first MotoGP win. It will be the last race before the summer break, so I’ll do my best to get closer to the top of the standings and end this first part of the season well.”

Francesco Bagnaia

“I’m pleased to be back racing at Assen, a track where I won in both Moto3 and Moto2, and that I like so much so that I’ve even got it tattooed on my arm! It is a particular track, and the weather conditions here will definitely be a deciding factor this weekend. On paper, we are not favourites, but we weren’t last weekend in Germany either. If I hadn’t started so far back in the race at Sachsenring, I could have been fighting for the podium for sure. We will try again this weekend! We are halfway through the Championship, so it is important to get another good result before the summer break“.

Suzuki will also be interesting to watch. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) made some quick progress in Germany after a tough qualifying but then couldn’t move much further forward, and Alex Rins remains on the comeback from injury. Last time MotoGP raced at Assen though, Rins was on the podium in second, which could be a good sign for the GSX-RR. Can the reigning team Champions move forward and get back to the front?

Joan Mir

“I’m looking forward to this weekend! Germany was quite tough and I’m keen to get back on track and get better results. Assen is a good place for me to do that because, although I’ve never had really top results here, it’s somewhere I enjoy riding and I’ll be trying to be as fast as possible. This place is somewhere really special, it’s an old track and it has seen racing for many, many years, so it has an iconic feeling about it. In the past the races were super long on the TT circuit, and now it’s one of the shortest on the calendar but it’s one that everybody knows.”

Alex Rins

“This is a good track for me and also for my bike. I’m still not at 100% with my injury, but I’ve been having some physio since Sachsenring and it’s getting better, although obviously it’s always tough with back-to-back races. Anyway, I’m really motivated to come here, this is a historic circuit and it has a really special atmosphere; I always remember how the races used to be held on Saturdays, and that was something really different in itself. I also have some great personal memories from here, with one of my favourites being 2018, where I got second after a race with a lot of fighting and a big group of riders.”

Finally, for Aprilia, it must be mixed feelings after the Sachsenring. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) took their best MotoGP qualifying and led the way early on Lap 1 after taking the holeshot, and they were right in the battle. But that fifth place or a place in the top five escaped in an incredibly tight fight just off the podium. Can the TT Circuit Assen deliver? Their best to date in MotoGP at the track is seventh, and their best ever anywhere is sixth. The field is closer than ever, but the RS-GP is better than ever…

90 years of history seems like a lot to live up to, but with the classics we’ve seen staged at Assen it’s a solid bet that we’ll get another chapter. Who will come out swinging and head into summer break on top of the world?

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2021 MotoGP Standings

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Moto2

Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) may have been beaten to a first win of the year by his rookie team-mate Raul Fernandez, but since then the Australian has put the pedal to the metal. Now it’s three victories in a row and he’s the first Australian to do that in the intermediate class, gaining some good ground in the standings. Not only that, but his teammate crashed out in Germany – a first error of what’s nevertheless an incredibly impressive debut year – and it’s now a 36-point cushion for Gardner at the top. So will he play it safe?

Unfortunately for the rest of the field watching the number 87 enjoy a somewhat solo track day at the Sachsenring, his calling card in 2021 is already balancing risk and reward better than the rest – as well as staying just as devastatingly quick. So why would it change now? The pressure of taking a win is off, some pressure is off in the standings and he’s already made a little history. The speed the Australian has often shown before has now been paired with consistency, and it’s proving a problem for the rest of the field.

For Raul Fernandez on the other side of the garage, the pressure is on a little more after his crash – certainly in the standings. But then, as a rookie winning races, his performance remains one of the biggest standouts of the season so far in any class, and the season remains long. Can he fight back at Assen? And will we get a rerun of the incredible speed he and Gardner showed as they disappeared at the front in Germany early on?

Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46), meanwhile, remains on the hunt for more than a podium, but the Italian did do a sterling job at the Sachsenring to go from a difficult Friday to the podium on Sunday. So too did Aron Canet (Aspar Team Moto2), who took his second rostrum of the season in second on a great day for the Boscoscuro chassis, with three in the top nine for the first time. Can that form continue at Assen?

Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) will be looking for a bit more after ending up off the podium, and so too will Sam Lowes (El Marc VDS Racing Team) and his teammate Augusto Fernandez, the most recent winner at Assen in Moto2. Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) and Xavi Vierge (Petronas Sprinta Racing) both crashed late and will want some redemption too, and Jake Dixon (Petronas Sprinta Racing) had an incident with Augusto Fernandez. To complicate their lives a little more, both Roberts and Dixon have Long Lap penalties for Assen as well… the former for crashing under yellows, the latter for the aforementioned incident. Dixon does, however, have a fair bit of experience at Assen from the BSB paddock.

There are some shoutouts from a little further down the order too: Albert Arenas (Aspar Team Moto2) was top rookie and took his best Moto2 result yet by far, and injury replacement Alonso Lopez – then at Flexbox HP 40, this weekend back at +Ego Speed Up – equalled his European Moto2™ Championship teammate Fermin Aldeguer’s best stand in ride of P12 from Mugello. Their rivalry won’t continue at Assen as Aldeguer heads back to MotoE, but Lopez will be gaining more track time on the Triumph back on a Boscocuro chassis.

Gardner heads the field on the way in, and he will most definitely do the same on the way out with 36 points in his pocket. But can he make it four in a row? Can Fernandez strike back? Or can those on the chase close down the Red Bull KTM Ajo duo just before we head into the summer break?

Moto2 Championship Points Standing

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Moto3

After a stunning start to the season for rookie sensation Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the Spaniard then spent a few races taking home some good points but not really seeming able to challenge for the win. He brought that run to a convincing end in Germany, however, returning to the top step in style to take the momentum back from closest challenger Sergio Garcia (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team). So can he keep it rolling?

If he can, it’ll likely be through another tactical coup. The final chicane at Assen stages some amazing showdowns throughout the classes, but in Moto3 it can shuffle the podium in one change of direction. Planning that out can be key… and Acosta said one of the things he’s learned and put into practice in Germany is that last lap battle.

Assen is also a track where many of those on Acosta’s tail have a little more experience – not that it made too much difference at the Sachsenring – but for Garcia he’s only raced there once, so he’ll be pushing to come out swinging and get reacquainted. The more veteran crew of Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3), Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing), teammate John McPhee, Andrea Migno (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team), meanwhile, will be gunning to get back nearer the front after some misadventures for most in Germany, and they do know Assen pretty well: McPhee, Migno and Fenati all have podiums at the track, and Antonelli is the only rider in the field to have qualified on pole there.

The likes of Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) and Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) will arrive high on confidence from the podium too, and Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) will know he was almost there in Germany before that penalty, despite having never ridden the Sachsenring before, at all. Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) was in the front group again too. Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo), meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back although he remains up there in the standings, and Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) needs a little luck to convert his pace into points.

Four and a half kilometres of a truly classic venue, all leading up to that final chicane, who will lead them to the flag?

Moto3 Championship Points Standings

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MotoE

Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE) arrives with the Cup lead still intact, but it’s now just a single point by which the Italian heads the table. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) is close on the chase after another podium in Barcelona, with a ten-point gap back to Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) after the Spaniard likewise took another podium at Catalunya. All three will be gunning for more big points near the front, and there are some interesting and varying levels of experience for the field at the TT Circuit Assen.

Zaccone has STK600 and WorldSSP experience at the venue, Aegerter has a long history in the Grand Prix paddock on 125s and in Moto2, and Torres too has done a few laps round Assen on, most notably, intermediate class machinery. A little further back from those right at the front, Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing) took his best Moto2 World Championship result in the Netherlands too. Barcelona winner Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team), meanwhile, arrives with no experience of the venue – so a few of his rivals will be hoping that shuffles the rookie back a little after an impressive display last time out. He could be looking for consistency too, with a lack of points in France putting a dent in his otherwise exemplary debut season in MotoE.

Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) will also want more consistency arriving from his first DNF of the season, but that can’t be more true than for Eric Granado (ONE Energy Racing). After a crash in Jerez and then a stunner in France, the Brazilian was set to start from pole for MotoE’s debut race in Barcelona before a technical problem ahead of lights out forced him into a pitlane start, and with a six-lap race to make up the ground it was risk the limit or ride round for little reward. Granado chose the former and was absolutely flying, half a second faster than the rest and able to claw his way back into the points. Sadly not right to the flag, however, as he went down late on after his charge. Can he pull off another reset like he did at Le Mans?

MotoE Championship Points Standings

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2021

Motul TT Assen Schedule (AEST)

Source: MCNews.com.au