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| 09-05-02 ASSEN - PREVIEW |
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Ducati Corse Press
The penultimate act of the 2002 World Superbike Championship plays out this weekend at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, the scene for last year’s extraordinary triumph by Ducati Infostrada rider Troy Bayliss. With two rounds and four races remaining, the Australian finds himself in a similar position to last year, 29 points ahead of season-long rival Colin Edwards (Honda), who picked up a brace of wins last weekend at Oschersleben to reduce the gap to Troy.
Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M), lying fourth in the standings, has always struggled at the Dutch circuit but aims to change things this weekend. “I only plan to race up front this weekend,” commented Ben. “It looks like the changes in the track are pretty neat. It’s a beautiful circuit and the facilities are good too. The weather is always a bit unpredictable here so it keeps the racing kind of fun and interesting. I haven’t really had any good races at Assen, and I can’t say I’ve ever finished in the top 10. I don’t exactly know why, it’s just that I’ve struggled. Maybe I don’t like my bike set-up so much so we’ll change it a bit this weekend.”
THE ASSEN CIRCUIT
The TT Circuit Assen has been the home of motorcycle racing in the Netherlands for 77 years, with the Dutch TT and the World Superbike race since 1992 always attracting massive crowds. It is located 2 kms south-west of Assen, near the A-28 motorway from Amersfoort to Groningen. The track has undergone some modifications to the Veenslang main straight up to Stekkenwal and the Mandeveen and Duikersloot corners have been moved inwards to create a larger run-off area and gravelbeds. As a result, the 2002 World Superbike round will be raced on a different track for the very first time, measuring 6.027 kms.
CIRCUIT RECORDS
New circuit
2001 RESULTS
Race 1
1. Bayliss (Ducati)
2. Xaus (Ducati)
3. Edwards (Honda)
Race 2
1. Bayliss (Ducati)
2. Xaus (Ducati)
3. Corser (Aprilia)
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03/10/02
VALENCIA
Spain |
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03/24/02
PHILLIP ISLAND
Australia |
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04/07/02
KYALAMI
South Africa |
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04/21/02
SUGO
Japan |
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05/12/02
MONZA
Italy |
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05/26/02
SILVERSTONE
Great Britain |
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06/09/02
LAUSITZRING
Germany |
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06/23/02
MISANO
San Marino |
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07/14/02
LAGUNA SECA
United States |
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07/28/02
BRANDS HATCH
Great Britain |
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09/01/02
OSCHERS-LEBEN
Germany |
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09/08/02
ASSEN
Netherlands |
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09/29/02
IMOLA
Italy |
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