BMW Motorrad Motorsport - WSBK - Assen - Preview
23rd – 25th April 2010
4th of 13 World Championship race weekends
Munich/Stephanskirchen, 16th April 2010. Fresh from recording their best result so far in the FIM Superbike World Championship at Valencia, Spain, Team BMW Motorrad Motorsport – headed by BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Berthold Hauser – are busy preparing for the fourth race weekend of the 2010 season. Riders Troy Corser (AUS) and Ruben Xaus (ESP) will be striving to maintain the team’s upturn in form at the classic Assen circuit in the Netherlands.
The BMW Motorrad Motorsport test team stopped off at the Mugello circuit in Italy during the week before Assen. Troy and the crew spent Tuesday and Wednesday working on the set-up of the BMW S 1000 RR. The Australian racked up a total of 564 kilometres over the two days.
Troy Corser:
“In the early years of my career we used to race on the old Assen circuit, which I liked a lot. It was an old-school kind of track, the sort you used to get a lot of in the 1970s: flat, quick and with a lot of long, sweeping corners. The character of the circuit has been retained, despite a series of modifications, but it has lost some of its appeal for the riders. That’s not the case for the fans, though; this is still a great event and the atmosphere’s fantastic.
I’ve never really nailed a race at Assen, although I have made the podium a few times. At Assen you have to take a big risk to be really ultra-fast, and that doesn’t necessarily suit my riding style. If the bike isn’t set up perfectly you lose a lot of time – especially in the last section through the three right-handers Mandeveen, Duikersloot and Meeuwenmeer and the long left-hander afterwards. I’m just taking each race as it comes. We’ve made some key improvements to the bike over the last few weeks and taken big steps forward in terms of acceleration and top speed.”
Ruben Xaus:
“I’m a fan of Assen, and the track suits my riding style. I’ve finished on the podium here several times and won one of the races in 2003. My crew is doing an outstanding job. We are improving our understanding of the bike all the time and I’m only one small step away from getting some good results. I hope I can turn things around at Assen and will be fighting all the way; I owe it to BMW.”
Berthold Hauser, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director:
“After our most successful race weekend to date at Valencia, we move on to our next challenge. The TT Circuit Assen is not one of the better tracks for our bike. However, we showed in Spain that we’re now able to give a good account of ourselves in places where we’ve struggled in the past. After six races we’ve collected 16 points more than at the same stage in our debut season. Our aim is to continue the upward trend of the past couple of weekends.
With the nature of the Assen track it’s important that Troy and Ruben keep everything very smooth. The traction control software developments our technicians have been working on should help both riders here.”
Background:
Assen is the capital of the Dutch province of Drenthe. This city of just under 70,000 people lies in the north of the province. The centre of Assen – the oldest part of the city – has witnessed significant changes during the course of its development and visitors will find a mix of buildings from various eras. Today, around 5,200 people live in the centre. This is the signature district of the city, and boasts a swathe of shops and leisure facilities.
The TT Circuit Assen has been designed specifically for the demands of motorcycle racing. Several of its 11 left-hand and six right-hand corners are banked. The grandstands at this Dutch motorcycle mecca can hold a total of around 100,000 spectators. Bike racing has a long tradition at Assen, with a round of the World Championship taking place here every year since 1949. A permanent race track measuring 7.705 kilometres in length was built in 1955, consigning the original road race through the villages of Borger, Schoonloo and Grolloo to the history books. In 2006 the length of the circuit was shortened to 4.555 kilometres. Since 1992 Assen has played host to 36 Superbike World Championship races, Ruben Xaus winning one of them in 2003.
The layout of the “TT Circuit Assen” encourages a flowing style. In the hairpin, the turnin characteristics and acceleration of the bike are of utmost importance. Changes have been made to the approach to Ruskenhoek. The rest of the circuit flows easily, requiring bikes to be set up for good corner entry. The penultimate turn demands a stable bike, with heavy braking being the order of the day for the final chicane.