The new ‘Road of Glory’ insignia that lines the tunnel at Assen has all the winners of the 67 year history of Grand Prix racing to have triumphed at the historic (now vastly altered) circuit that was part of the original FIM series back in 1949. MXGP might only be able to post two images in the vast gallery of athletes to have wowed the normally vast Dutch attendance (and there another very decent Saturday turnout for this sixteenth round of eighteen and last European fixture before a double weekend finale in the United States) but on today’s form it will be another mugshot of Wilvo Virus Performance KTM’S Shaun Simpson or Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli on the wall.
The Sicilian was as intent and threatening on the 450SX-F as he has been all season. Nerve damage in his shoulder has left the eight times world champion playing a frustrating game of catch-up this term but he rolled-over his potency from the previous MXGP outing in Switzerland – where he triumphed on rutty hard-pack – to totally dominate in the shallow and rough sand of the temporary layout positioned largely over the Geert Timmer chicane here in Holland. Cairoli took control from teammate Glenn Coldenhoff to escape to the distance of almost fifteen seconds. The Dutchman held off Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle (one of quite a few athletes non-plussed by the inconsistent terrain and hard base that made the sand slick and hard to judge) for a KTM one-two but it was the 450SX-F of Simpson that was also really moving.
The British Champion could not avoid Max Nagl’s tumbling factory Husqvarna on the first lap and also hit the sand again in another blameless incident that meant the Scot was in last place. His trawl up to ninth made a mockery of other rider’s claims that the narrow and tight trajectory was hard for passing. If he gates well tomorrow then Simpson should be neatly placed to repeat his Assen victory from 2015; the inaugural Grand Prix that reaped such acclaim this time last year.
The bigger story involves Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser; the nineteen year old Slovenian needs just one point more than Cairoli to be the first winner of back-to-back championships in different classes since Greg Albertyn in 1992-93 (thanks to Tom Tremayne at Honda for Stats support), the first for Honda in the premier class for sixteen years and the first for a rookie in the category since 2015! Gajser struggled today with a hefty crash in Timed Practice and then another get-off in the heat race that left him in seventh. 243 has only missed the podium once in fifteen Grands Prix, although he will have to ‘up’ his level of performance considerably to match and outpoint Cairoli and get the champagne flowing for the second time in a year after racking MX2 success. If money was on the table then I’d be tempted to move it to the likelihood of Tim toasting history and another milestone on American soil.
Gajser was not alone in a frown of frustration at Assen. World Champion Romain Febvre – so memorably crowned here twelve months ago – stalled the bike and pulled out of the Qualification race after failing to restart in good time. Nagl, fell, Evgeny Bobryshev crashed his works Honda, Tommy Searle had a technical problem with the Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki and Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos – victor of the last sandy Grand Prix at Lommel in Belgium claimed the Assen surface was “sand…but not as we know it” and was hesitant to attack the soft bumps and holes.
The seething feeling spread to MX2. Returning local hope Jeffrey Herlings was appearing in the closing rounds of the series for the first time since 2013 and making his first laps around Assen. The Dutchman leads the division by 43 points over Jeremy Seewer but could not pass whippet-like teammate Jorge Prado due to a technical problem on the Red Bull KTM 250SX-F that robbed the bike of power. The engine finally gave out with just over five minutes to run on the clock. Seewer was a solid fifth but it was Prado’s startling win over Calvin Vlaanderen that was the surprise of the day. The highly rated Spanish fifteen year old is making his Grand Prix debut after an aborted attempt at Lommel where he pulled out after practice due to a shoulder injury. On Saturday night in the press room seasoned hacks where struggling to recall when a debutant scored Pole.
As the last European stop on the slate Assen was busy with formalities and hefty industry presence. The vast paddock space and excellent facilities – even if the track is slightly wedged around the infrastructure – were an apt home for MXGP to close the EU stint of the calendar once more. The circuit was home to announcements about Belgium’s Motocross of Nations team (Desalle, Strijbos and Van Horebeek with the latter in the MX2 class and having already tested the Yamaha YZ250FM) and Yamaha’s effort for the Supermotocross Cup on October 8th at the Veltins Arena in Germany with Febvre, Benoit Paturel and Brent Van Doninck presenting the brand. Some reaction among the press questioned the absence of athletes like Chad Reed, Justin Barcia or Cooper Webb but the glut of racing events and shifting priorities means hectic calendars across the board for different parties.
Paddock gossip centred around the destination of Valentin Guillod’s services for 2017; perhaps the only forceful player in MXGP still to confirm a team and employment (despite having a Yamaha contract in place) and with all factory saddles virtually occupied. The Swiss has allegedly had talks with Honda but the latest rumours had the former European Champion seeking a 250 ride in the States and even asking KTM about a slot for Supercross and motocross. Suzuki have still to confirm Kevin Strijbos’ teammate on the RM-Z450 but Arminas Jasikonis’ status as Stefan Everts protégé is looking stronger by the week.
Assen was host to more championship scenes on Saturday as Livia Lancelot – the original FIM Women’s World Champion in 2008 – clinched a second crown and with Kawasaki thanks to a run to third position behind race one winner Courtney Duncan. “I’ve been working hard for ten years now and it was even harder this year as some young girls coming to the world Championship are really fast but I knew that all my experience would help me,” the Frenchwoman said.
Curiously the forecast for raceday is unstable. A good chance of stormy rain is predicted around midday and could cause further havoc with the state of the imported sand. If the weather crashes like MotoGP – where Jack Miller so emphatically entered the ‘Road of Glory’ – then there could be another development for MXGP before the last gate drops.
Photos by Ray Archer
