After a break of ten days, Reale Avintia Racing riders Hector Barbera and Loris Baz head to the historic circuit of Assen this weekend for the eighth round of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship. The Dutch Grand Prix is the first of two consecutive race weekends that will mark the end of the first half of the season in Germany. But before heading to Sachsenring, Barbera and Baz will take part in the famous ‘Dutch TT’ at Assen on Sunday.
The 4.5km circuit is one of the favorites of the Reale Avintia riders and both hope to be fighting for a ‘Top 10’ result in the “Cathedral of Motorcycling”. Last year, the race was interrupted due to rain showers after 14 laps and in the second 12-lap-race, Hector Barbera managed to secure sixth place.
For Loris Baz, this will be his first time in Assen with Ducati. Last year, he did not take part in the race due to an injury, but now he is back eager to fight for a good result.
“After the good weekend in Barcelona, I have been training very hard and with more motivation than ever. I come to Assen looking forward to improve what we did in the last race and to leave the first part of the season behind with a great result. I like the circuit and we have to work hard from Friday to get the most out of the tyres and to choose the right ones for the race on Sunday. It will be important to do well in Assen and in Germany so we can say good-bye to the first part of the season with good feelings.”
“I am happy to go to Assen because it’s a circuit that I love. I was a bit tired after Mugello and Barcelona, so it was great to have a weekend to rest and re-charge the batteries. I’ve also been training hard, because I want to be strong for the race on one of my favorite circuits. Last year I was injured and I couldn’t race. Now, I’m even keener to ride my Ducati at Assen. We will have to wait and see how the weather develops, because even though the forecast is not bad, it can always rain at Assen. I want to finish the first half of the season in a positive mood, so I’ll give my best in the next two races.”
