MotoGP Dutch GP – Circuit Assen TT
The riders of the MotoGP category started to work in Holland and enjoyed magnificent summer weather on the first day of practice, which is quite unusual in this region of the Netherlands. Tito Rabat started well and concluded the first free practice session in the morning in twelfth position. Even though he further improved his lap times in the afternoon, he dropped back in the time sheets to 17th place, 1.1 seconds behind the fastest rider. It was not a good enough result for Rabat, who hopes to be able to make another step on Saturday, with the goal of moving directly to the Q2 qualifying session of the fastest riders.
For teammate Xavier Simeon, the first day at Assen was not unlike the first day at school. After leaving Barcelona with a very good feeling for his bike, the Belgian rider struggled a bit on Friday to find the same levels of comfort with his Ducati once again. But both rider and team remain optimistic, because they know the areas in which they can improve. Their aim is to improve step by step and to get a little closer to the times of the front runners.
“It was a difficult day, but we came to a lot of conclusions because we know where our problems stem from. We know how to solve these and we have the right solutions for tomorrow, because we’ve only missed a few small details to put the right package together. Let’s see if we can do this small step on Saturday and claw our way back to the front with a good FP3”.
“Today was a learning day. The Assen circuit has a completely different layout compared to Barcelona. This circuit feels more like a karting track and with the Ducati. I struggled a lot in the corners, mostly in fast direction changes, because this bike is quite heavy. I didn’t manage to squeeze the maximum performance out of the bike, but I knew this would be like that. I was hoping to be a littler faster, but the good part is that I know the points on the track where I lose time. I’m sure that we make a step forward tomorrow”.
