Rossi: Assen magic is gone

ByEurosport

Published 20/06/2006 at 12:23 GMT

The MotoGP Championship returns to its oldest venue this weekend, but while the Dutch TT remains one of the biggest races of the season, the legendary Assen circuit is no longer the daunting challenge that it once was with the whole Northern Loop making w

The 75th edition of the Dutch TT will represent the dawn of a new era for the Assen circuit following the decision to shorten its length from 5.997m to a more traditional 4,750m, pulling it in line with the majority of other race tracks in MotoGP.

Riders will no longer battle to beat the legendary two-minute barrier, the S-Curve, Witterdiep, Madijk and Ossebroeken corners are no more and the spirit and history of Assen has been lost forever.

"In the past Assen was one of my favourite tracks and it was always a great, great emotion to ride a MotoGP bike at the limit there," explains five-time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi. "Sadly the track has been changed so I am not as excited about it as usual, because it seems from reports that some of the ‘Assen magic' has gone."

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However, all is not lost as designers have done their best to retain Assen's flowing characteristics by replacing the Northern Loop with a series of corners that incorporates the existing Haarbocht, Ossebroeken and Strubben corners.

The Haarbocht corner will have a tighter angle as it opens out into a stadium section similar to the long opening corner at Shanghai, incorporating the old Ossebroeken corner, which has been brought in, and linking up with the old Strubben curve.

2006 Assen Circuit Profile

Image credit: From Official Website

2006 Assen Circuit Profile

Image credit: From Official Website

“It will be interesting to see how the track is without the Northern Loop because that was a very characteristic section of the circuit, with high camber and left-right switches,” says Andrea Zugna, Data Engineer for Colin Edwards.

“I suppose the first section of the circuit will now be similar to China, with a series of tight right-handers from turns one to four causing strain on the right hand side of the tyre, and that will also make it physically demanding on the riders."

The Texan Tornado is also a fond admirer of the old course, as it will now be called, for he has won numerous races there from his Superbike days. “Like a lot of the riders I have a lot of affection for the old Assen circuit and I hope it hasn't lost too much of its character," he said.

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