Round 7 - Assen MotoGP

For 81 years, the last Saturday in June has meant just one thing to

motor cycling fan, it is the Dutch TT here at Assen. As you can see

behind me, fans have made their annual pilgrimage for all across

Europe to the place their call the Cathedral. I am glad to say the

Brits out out in force. The weather is not looking too great at the

moment, hopefully it will make up for a miserable weekend at

Silverstone last time out. This crash result in the a bloken

collarbone for Cal Crutchlow and no British ride for the home fans to

get behind on a soggy race day. Casey Stoner showed his pro-pros we

in the wet and took the lead. Jorge Lorenzo lost control. Lorenzo is

down. The World Champion is down. It is in bits. The M1 Yamaha is

It is in bits. The M1 Yamaha is broken and he is out. Simoncelli

has gone! Maybe it was when not if but Simoncelli is down. Simoncelli

and Ben Spies failed to finish which lifted Colin Edwards up to a

popular podium. Colin Edwards, a legend. Gets a podium. Hospital one

What a fantastic performance that was from Colin Edwards, just nine

days after breaking his collarbone in Barcelona and there he was on

the podium at Silverstone where his team-mate Cal Crutchlow missed out

on the race. I am delighted to say he is back for this one. Carl, it

has been a tough couple of weeks but I won't give away your grip

position just yet but fantastic over the weekend. You must have

been in so much pain. It wasn't too bad. We had two dry sessions

yesterday, and, one was an hour- and-a-half long and one was an hour,

so it is quite sore today. I don't know, we are go into the race and

see what we can do. I was happy with how things went, wet and dry,

we will see what the weather brings for the race. Good luck today. So

Cal Crutchlow then, will be coming this way, in just a couple of

minutes time. Through the garage, into the back here. This is where

they keep the tyres warm at the back. Where I like to keep my hands

warm on a cold day. You can see the sprairs and the tools are kept

round here at the back of the garage as well. Then through here

this is the walk thatical will be doing in a few minutes time. -- Cal.

Here to make a seat to make his final preparations before the race,

and we have his two race packs. I want to show you something. This

sticker, the team have put on Cal and Colin's bikes, two walking

wounded in this, but thankfully we have two fit men as well here. I

will have to be careful what I say! Steady on there! Great to see him

back. Colin came back eight days after his operation but Cal's is

more complicated. It was smashed in eight place, they use that amazing

treatment where they put him in a deepfreeze for short periods, the

same as Mark Webber had when h when he fell off his mountain biefpblg

he is back and fit. We heard a line of commentary from you, in the

opener, Charlie saying that Colin is a legend, he showed that at

Silverstone last time out. He is a tough character and so is Cal

Crutchlow. Colin, what a belter, the right conditions for him wet

weather, so I guess from that point of view, the softer the conditions

are for Cal the better as well. was a miserable day at Silverstone

but it was an opportunity to marvel at the skill of the guys and

especially stone. Watching people sat at home, they can't believe

what they are seeing, they are going round 10% slower than in the

dry. Any good rider wouldn't go as far as they do in the dry, let

alone what they were doing in the wet. It is -- extraordinary. You

have to hand to it Bridgestone, those tyres are extraordinary.

Missing is Dani Pedrosa. He has been replaced for this race by

Hiroshi Aoyama from Honda Gresini who has been replaced by Kousuke

Akiyoshi. Danny is still recovering and he has had another operation to

repair a chipped fragment in the bone. Charlie, we hope to see him

back next week but it has been a long time. It has been a very long

time. And it is still unclear, isn't it, how he has done it and

what he has done to himself. Did he reinjure himself? It is a real

misly the, he has disappeared for so long. His manager is here this

week. Never short of a prop or two. Talk us through this. That is a

plate that would go, that is an old one. I had one fitted about 25

years ago that sits in there. This is more of a factory one. You can

see it is shaped and everything else. That gos in there and I have

just borrowed these from a nice man called Ian who is a shoulder surge.

He explains how much better they have got. They have developed

collarbone plates now. The tech 3 guys should keep nem in the spares

department and whip them in straight away. You better hang on

the that one. I think he made his own last time. Mine we are peck

know. Talking about operations to get things right. They have been

busy at Ducati over the last couple of weeks. After lots of testing for

the 1,000 cc bike what we are seeing is the fruits of that labour.

The GP 11.is which has a new gin put into what is the early

development of next year's GP12 chassis so it is a new chassis. A

new inverted swing arm and a new gearbox. Tell us about the changes

to this bike? We change 80%, it is new. We have a new swing arm, we

take completely different shock absorber system, and we have a new

chassis and we have a new fairing but the big news is the gearbox.

The Ducati seems like transmission, this is new technology, it is a

very quick gearbox and this is a bigger advantage, we decide that to

introduce this bike now, because we think this is a big advantage.

Thank you. So, this bike is just for Rossi here in Assen. Probably

with a view to Mag low which welcome back the next race for him.

Nicky I had listen get this bike in a few weeks time. That is a major

step for Ducati to take at this stage. I remember being at the

unveiling ceremony back in January when they were pulling the covers

off that bike. It only lasted a few races. We have rarely seen a new

shaskwhri introduced so quickly. Valentino Rossi only has three

engines for the rest of the season. They have had to change the energy.

It has been reduced to 800 cc. So they introduced three. So six is

the maximum. We has to last the rest of the season with three

engines. So that is interesting. Nicky Hayden is still waiting for

that. Whether or not it works for him. Nicky has been a pace setter

across relative of the problems they have had. Valentino Rossi not

out of touch in the Championship with what a third of it gone. He is

on 68 in fourth place. Casey Stoner leading the way with that victory

in Silverstone on 116. 18 clear of Jorge Lorenzo. As you can see Colin

Edwards there in eighth in the Championship, after his heroics at

Silverstone. 37, he is showing no signs of wanting to hang his

Known as the Texas tornado Colin Edwards twice world Superbike

champion and has been a regular in Sometimes out spoken but always

popular, the only blot on his career is that he has never won a

Grand Prix, although he came close here in Assen in 2006, when this

crash on the last corner robbed him Colin, ninth season in MotoGP.

Still searching that first win. Is that something that keeps you

going? Well, you know, I mean, I have won two World Championship, I

have won losts of race, am I upset I haven't won a Grand Prix? Not

really. I am just not ready to go anywhere else. I still love riding

motorcycles. I knew this year we were going have a new bike so I was

really motivated. Any time you get new parts, when it gets steal, then

yeah, but last year we struggled. We were on an old bike. A lot of

old stuff from years ago, and this year starting fresh, and brand-new,

bits, and it has been real motivating as well. I like working,

and finding new ways to tinker round with new part, and try and

extract the most out of them, so it has been a good year. We found a

couple of things that seem to be working pretty good. You have your

wife and kids back at home what is life like back in Texas? I have two

lives. This is my secret double agent life! No, at home is like a

full-time job. I wake up, bring the kids to school. Go get my wife a

star buck, bring it home, you know, I am working when I am home. When I

come here it is like vacation, I get to ride motorcycles and it is

like two different lives. Now my wife can't come with me, we have

kids in school, and it is... It, yeah. You have two sides it feels

like. What are you thinking about the current crop of riders at the

moment? You know, here you have fast rider, faster rider and the

fastest rider who I think at the moment is Casey. Everybody's kind

of lucky he is been with Ducati or he might have dominated the last

three or four year, so it is tough, as far as impressing me I think

Simoncelli has been riding well this year. There has been so many

feuds this year, like old one, new ones and you seem to be the only

person that just about gets on with everyone. A bit of the father

figure or the Agony Aunt. Yeah, I think u you know the same

organisation that let vos vos and didn't penalise him, and Valentino

used to fight on track all the time. Now they want to pin those guys --

penalise guys 20 second. Welcome to the MotoGP procession everybody. I

think it is (BLEEP). It is soft things on track, off track,

whatever, but all the tack and the BS just kind of, it is too much. It

is too much. And especially you can't bring gladiators to an opera,

we come to fight, so you have to It's all over. Talk about pushing.

He is done. You are a unique character in the paddock. How would

you like to be remembered in the MotoGP world when crow do leave?

How would I like to be remembered? I don't know. I don't feel like I

have ever changed since, since I started racing motorcycles. I never

felt like I needed to be an bleep because I could ride bikes better

than the next guy. I am who I am, and if it be outspoken it is not

cocky, it is just I tell the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts.

you are I hope you still have a few years left in you Colin. We will

see. I feel good. Riding good, so, we le will see what it brings.

he is a true legend is Colin Edwards and I have another one here

next door in the factory Yamaha garage where they are racing in the

red-and-white colours. You were the first 500 World Champion for Yamaha

in these colours, it must be special for you to see them back

again? Yes, this is the colour when I race, when I started to race in

74 and 75 and 75 I win the World Champion and the 500 so it is the

first title of Yamaha in the 500, and I have a very nice time, and I

hope this colour is a good luck for the rider today, here in Assen, and

I hope Yamaha have a good result here. Thank you. I hope you enjoy

it too. It is of course confusing for the riders to be in different

colours as we saw from Jorge Lorenzo during practise. Have a

look at this. He is come back in pit lane. He expects to see them in

blue. Misses the pit box, goes down too far, you are not allowed to

ride the wrong way so he had to go back out and do another lap. But

fantastic successful half century for Yamaha in Grand Prix racing and

Steve has been taking a trip down You cannot believe how much history

there is for Yamaha. This is a bike built for Bill Ivy. It is just a

little toy. Tiny drum brakes. It is minuscule. Everything that is made

is made the same as a motorcycle, but it is so tiny. 56 kilograms,

about the weight of Dani Pedrosa. I can pick it up easily. This is a

beautiful 125, four cylinder machine. This is a 1968 model. When

you start looking around, we are talking about drum brakes, treaded

tyres as they had in those days. The pistons would be about that

small, absolutely tiny, and it would do about 18,000 rpm. They

were so noisy. A 250, another great machine. Phil Reed, 250 cc, again

four cylinders. Worth millions of pounds, there is nothing like it

around. This is quite unique as well, ridden by Aggers Deeney, a

350 Yamaha from the 1975 season. This is very interesting, the gear

shift is on the opposite side. When I started racing, we always had the

gearshift on the right and the brake on the left, that turned

This is quite a serious bike, about 120 brake horsepower, it weighed

about 130 kilograms. I have crashed one of these many times and a lot

of my scars are due to bikes like this.

Deaf and scarred, but otherwise I think you came through that quite

well! The safety car is out on the track, the bikes are getting lined

up on the grid. Let's find out what The entire practice and qualifying

positions for the Assen Grand Prix have been stood on their head --

qualifying sessions. First by bad weather and then and on President

event. Oil was spilled around more than two kilometres of this circuit

-- unprecedented event. All three of the riders went out. Meant a

really hard push in qualifying. Simoncelli has been leading the

pace in all sessions, and in qualifying was the man to beat. The

guy pushing him hardest was Ben Spies for Yamaha. He was only 9004

of the time set by Simoncelli. Our Thousandths Cal Crutchlow at one

point was on the front row. Ultimately being pushed back, but

still starts in sixth, an astonishing performance when you

consider his recovery from collarbone surgery. For Valentino

Rossi, he is on a new motorbike, they have re-engineered everything

but it has just not work. 11th fastest and at one point, he was

As you can see, we are out on the grid. Some very desperate

alterations have been made to Jorge Lorenzo's bike. I mentioned it was

drizzling, it has dried out now. It looks as though they are changing

too slick tyres. We were hoping to grab a word with Jorge Lorenzo. He

is speaking to his team manager here. Lots of concern and not easy

for the riders to keep concentration. He is speaking to

his crew chief now. He will be filling him in on what changes they

have made. I am going to hang on for a second. We would like to grab

a word with Jorge Lorenzo if we can. Is chatting to the Bridgestone tyre

technicians as well. There was some talk that we might get a full set

of new slicks from Bridgestone headquarters in Germany, because a

lot of riders have crashed on cold tyres. The cold tyre problem we

have seen throughout the season. That move to get a new set in from

Bridgestone was vetoed by one manufacturer, so it hasn't happened.

We will come back to Jorge Lorenzo. Maybe he is coming over, just one

second... We will come back. Let's speak to Casey Stoner, let's go to

the front row. We will try to get a word with Casey Stoner. He has

qualified on the front row of the grid. He is leading the

championship. We will come in the back door. Sorry. Casey Stoner,

front row start for you. Some consternation about the conditions.

It seems to be drying up. weekend, it has been pretty bad.

There is no consistency whatsoever. In both conditions, the track seems

slippery and unpredictable so in mixed conditions, it is lethal. We

have seen a lot of crashes and it is not nice going into a race,

knowing that. It is unpredictable and we are not really sure what

tyre choice will be best. We are running with what we know at the

moment. Presumably you will go with slicks? At this moment. The track

is pretty well drive. It could rain at any time, as you have seen all

day. We will have do see what happens, how it pans out and stay

upright. I hope it stays dry. Thank you. Just a reminder, if you are

new to MotoGP, if it does start to rain during a dry race, the riders

will be able to come in, change bikes on to a set of wet tyres and

be able to go back out. We have missed Jorge Lorenzo unfortunately.

Not to worry, we'll get him another day. Who else is on the second row?

Let's have a quick chat to Phil Read. Can I interrupt you? We spoke

to the first premier class world champion earlier, but Phil Reed,

you won the first world title for them. Yes, many years ago. It was a

great thrill to ride the yammer our bikes again and get a fantastic

reaction from the crowd. You did a couple of demo laps. That's right.

It was great. Lorenzo, I am amazed he has changed everything before

the race, hoping it is going to stay dry. It is a gamble. A big

gamble. Great to see you, enjoy the race. It is going to be exciting.

Phil Reed, three-times world champion in three classes. The only

other guy to do that is Valentino Rossi. Jorge Lorenzo, Dovizioso and

Crutchlow, on the second row. Cal Crutchlow is getting energy gel

into him before the start of the race. Can we grab a quick word? It

is hard to speak to anybody in these conditions. I will try to

speak to his crew chief. Can you tell us which set you are going

for? We are going for dry set for shock, the race is tries to win a

start with price-setting -- a dry setting for sure. The race is dry

so we must start with dry settings. Let's get on to the fourth row of

the grid. This is where Valentino Rossi is, from 11th position. That

is where he started in 2007, and you may remember, in the Fiat 500

special edition colours, he went on to win that race. Let's grab a word

with his team manager. Just a quick word. What setting are you guys

going for? Are you going to take a gamble? It is one of those races.

No, the race is dry, we start with a dry bike. I don't know exactly.

If it is a good choice. Every bike has this setting, this tyre. We

hope. I suppose for you guys, with the current predicament you find

yourselves in, it is perhaps not the worst situation. Terrible this

weekend. We tried every practice and qualifying, we tried this

setting and we hope it is a good choice. Thank you, good luck today.

Not easy for any of the riders. Sorry. I don't think anybody really

wants to ride in conditions like A message to Dani Pedrosa on the

front of his bike. Come back soon. I will hold that up for them. The

news is that Dani Pedrosa will be back next weekend to take his place

in the Repsol team. Looks like we are being kicked off the grid. If

we get a split race, it will make it longer. They like to get this

sorted out quickly. John Hopkins is here this weekend. He is in Suzuki

colours, even though he is riding in the British Superbike champion

ship at the moment, he is planning to write a second Suzuki as a wild

card in the Czech Republic. It seems as though John has

disappeared... Here he comes. Let's grab him as we walk off the grid.

Giving Cal Crutchlow a nudge. John, a quick word. Great to see you back

in a MotoGP grid, are we going to see you on a bike any time soon?

There should be an announcement pretty soon, we are working hard on

getting the wild card dialled in. I am happy to be a guest with the

twizzlers Suzuki, to be here on the grid is awesome. Great to be back

in MotoGP -- Rizla or Suzuki. not easy for the riders. Mixed

conditions, sat on the grid, what is going through your mind? You are

scrambled, you want to get a good start, but when it is half white,

it is a gamble. Hopefully it works out. I think it is going to be a

dry race -- when it is half wet. Right now, it is a gamble. You want

to ride smart and have the aggression, but keep it up right.

It is a tough call. Banks was speaking to us. It may not be much

fun for the riders -- thanks for speaking to us. It will be a lot of

fun for us. The Gladiators are now Those conditions are horrible out

there. They really are. The worst conditions you could ever have.

There will be a white flag if it starts raining and then the guys

can come in and change to the other bike, that they will be trying to

get sorted out into a wet setting is, but bear in mind, he won from

that position a few years ago. He was in much more form back them.

This is an extraordinary position to see him in. We will talk about

it during the race, which I am sure will spread out a bit as time goes

on. They are throwing everything at it, including a new machine. They

have had trouble getting the tyre temperatures up in perfect

conditions. It is colder today than yesterday. It is about 13 degrees

on the track, very cold. There was this situation where we might have

seen a softer Bridgestone tyre introduced. I think Simoncelli said,

I might use the harder ones, so I don't want a softer one. He was

covering himself. I think the softer option which they are

running is working for him, but maybe not some of the other teams

and riders. I think some of the other teams and riders would have

liked a softer option. Indeed. Let's talk about the track. This is

the new modified part of the circuit, it is tight around here.

It is so important for getting power onto the back straight.

longest part of the circuit, the longest streak that you have got.

As you come out of that, it is a 180 degree, slow corner, the

slowest corner on the circuit. The straight isn't really a straight,

there are kinks and bumps but it is a place where you nail it and then

on the brakes for this new chicane that has been put in. The track has

been changed immensely over the years. It has turned into a full on

the corner that caught out Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso. That

is where their fired themselves at the scenery. It is round this

corner that Aoyama threw his bike down the road. There are the

standings there. Valentino Rossi has a bit of work to do. It's a

good opportunity for Casey Stoner toex tend his lead. He only

qualified third but he hurt himself in that practise crash yesterday

morning, so it is quite likely that he will, if he is not too sore he

might find pace. He did do the splits but he will be out there

riding as hard as possible. Even at the moment or in the u first few

laps will be cautious, it is awkward. The tyres have taken three

laps to get up to temperature. We saw that in qualifying. You can see

front and soft rear tyres for just about everybody apart from

Simoncelli. But the best position he has had is fourth. Is he going

to get a podium or even a win? are up, we are ready for a start in

Holland. A belting start from Simoncelli, at least across the

line. Time will tell. Bike 11 Ben Spies going with him. Lorenzo

trying to find way round and it looks like he has done it. Spies

gets back past Lorenzo. They feed in through this series of right

handers. Round and round they go. In a minute they hit the left

hander, and that will be really really critical. They will want to

tap on that power. Oh. Simoncelli. It looks like he lost the front,

straight down he goes. That is a nightmare. That is Lorenzo down,

alongside him. Man oh man. Can you believe that? That was Simoncelli

went down first, and we just, we were saying is he going to get a

podium. He certainly isn't. Ben Spies has a lead. I do not believe

it, Simoncelli what will he are to do to get a result? Can you imagine

what Lorenzo will be saying about him. He was calling him a lunatic

earlier. If you were Lorenzo you would want to kill him. If you were

Simoncelli you would make a beeline for the back of the fence and jump

it. We will get lots of looks at it. I did remark on the cold tyre issue.

Didn't he get it. All he can hope for is if it is going to rain. We

will see if it starts raining. White flags will indicate. He has

smashed the, he has done something. He has broken the camera mount. Ben

Spies, he was only 9,000. Is he in a fantastic position. There is

another flag up there. It is all going off here. So Andrea Dovizioso

in second, behind him is Casey Stoner, trying to find a way

through. That is Karel Abraham. He is holding his wrist. That is bad

news. Nightmare. But there is Casey Stoner at 27 being followed by

Andrea Dovizioso. I don't believe it. Randy de Puniet has gone out

and he was the sole surviving Pramac rider. So that is both

Pramacs out now. What is going on here? This is going to cause some

issues here. Running these tyre, everyone wants the softer tyre, but

at the moment they are having to cope with it. They have to be

careful. Look at the lead that Ben Spies has, he went over the line

last time. He had 2.58. Here they go. Down the inside. Rear left.

Left side. Left cold side of the tyre went down. Well he needed that

like a third armpit, Simoncelli. Lin Jarvis wasn't impressed. Their

man Jorge Lorenzo, is right at the back at the moment. That, he is

having a, all of a sudden, Lorenzo, I don't know who was leading the

Championship is having a nightmare. Stoner is through, that is

important. Jorge Lorenzo was right down the back there, was in front

of Simoncelli, and certainly in front of Abraham who is out. Cal

Crutchlow what about that? Brill Janet stuff, he is into fourth. --

brill Janet stuff. I imagine the seat is broken up. We will get a

view. Bits and pieces are flying off that bike. There it is. It is

smashed up. There was contact with Lorenzo after he went down and

Lorenzo's bike went into the back section. He took out that beautiful

red-and-white Yamaha bike. Not the anniversary they wanted as bits of

the seat are hanging off. This may be a black flag issue if he is not

careful. Back at the front 3.5 seconds near enough for in man, Ben

Spies. He was gifted that in terms of that crash that opened up the

field. Valentino Rossi, keep your eyes out for him because he is

going forward. Two guys are in front of him, maybe three, but he

is in touch. Cal Crutchlow is in fourth. That man eight days ago was

having an operation to have a plate in his shoulder. Getting out wide.

You are supposed to be still mending and you are very sore, but

stone I can tell you is gingerly making his way round there. He

won't be pushing too hard. His main contender, he will know is out of

the race. He was behind at the time. That is a very important point. Ben

Spies is back in ninth in the championship with 36 points so it

doesn't matter to Casey Stoner if he wins the race and Casey takes 20

points out of the equation. As we lock at the battle of the Texans.

Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards. Part of the walking wounded squad

markers here but it all happened at the front. They must be very

unhappy in Yamaha. Obviously very sad faces here in Jorge Lorenzo's

garage now. It is very disappointed for us. We know circumstances are

difficult and the riders know, they are all nervous, but to make such

action at an early stage, I don't think it was the smartest one to do,

but yes, it is an accident. Lorn he was on the wrong place at wrong

moment. The race is still on. is riding 13th place, and yeah,

what I can -- can I say? We are leading the race with one Bic, and

with the -- bike and with with the other one we have such a bad

situation. Hoping for rain then? Yes, whatever happens it would be

nice to have a change on tyres, whatever. From our side of the

garage. From Ben's side of the garage, he is leading the race, so

let's see what will happen. Thank you. Anything could happen I

suppose when the dice is thrown like that. But the Simoncelli

incident, I mean, that is racing when someone has a crash in front

you have and you get involved. How do you call it? It was an incident.

He got on the gas a bit early. Everyone got round there, he triped

to -- tried to tap it on to that cold tyre, there it is, you will

see the back end come rourpbgsd flicked him off. He was down-and-

out and that was the situation, and it was just, you can see it again

there, he was off, and Lorenzo has nowhere to go. But, he is still

going to get blame over it. Lorn won't be impressed. But what about

this man, Ben Spies, could he be going on to take his first MotoGP?

In a way it will be great when he does for him, but it will be

bitter-sweet, because he would like to beat everybody on the feet. Cal

Crutchlow has had tho give best to Valentino Rossi. Rossi is moving up

into fourth Cal in fifth. Getting back to that Jorge Lorenzo issue,

with Simoncelli, it was, it all started the whole problem getting

that needlessly severe penalty in Le Mans. All of that started with

Jorge Lorenzo in a press conference saying "This guy's dangerous,

anything happens to me then there will be trouble." Now it has

happened so there will be trouble. Simoncelli is going to get arrests

then! That is what he said! I think there will be the Spanish police

round to grab him actually. But any way it is still going at the moment.

As you were.ing out, mate, four seconds down the road to Ben Spies.

We might have 20 laps to go but if he can keep stroking a long. But

this man Casey Stoner will have taken time to get the heat in the

tyres. He will be comfortable. It is coming to him. We know it took

at least three laps. There is Karel Abraham. I had walk round the track

and showed what a dangerous coner that is, and it would have been

pressient if we had seen it. How about this? Getting a bit of a

battle. Akiyoshi in the thick of it. He will want to take a freeze frame

of that. From is Lorenzo fighting through. That has moved him up into

12th. Still points and he will need them at the owned of the season. A

long way to go and he has moved up another place. Two people, into

11th. Jorge Lorenzo last year's champion. Nice manners there. He

could see Lorenzo coming through. So Lorenzo, here is the man. He is

40 seconds down the road from his, this guy here, from his team-mate

notice how different that Ducati looks. I am talking about Valentino

Rossi's. It is the only one that has the brand-new, it is called the

11.1 chassis. But it is basically next year's 2012 chassis. We talk

about it but the energy is the chassis, the big difference is the

rear suspension. The way the link cadge works. Now, the Ducati that

Rossi is riding has a suspension system where the shot bolts on to

the back of the engine. The team there at Ducati have been working

hard. More importantly the factory are been working hard to give him

that. But this morning in warm up they felt it was running better.

There you can see Rossi and Crutchlow when they are braking and

putting on the throttle. I wonder if Cal Crutchlow in his hospital

bed about a week ago thinking I would be racing with Valentino

Rossi at Assen. Probably hoping he would be in front of him knowing

Cal. The track is dry. Those white lines will still probably be a bit

slippery but they are using every part. It is a nice drying day as my

mum would have said. A bit of a breeze out there. Look at that lead

There is the race leader. We can count it down. They are starting ev

so slightly to make inroad here. These two Stoner and dove, the

team-mates, there is only a little in it. So they just have take an

tenth or so out of Ben Spies, nothing for Ben to worry about. 19

laps to go. These guy are still going to have to get their heads

down if all stays dry, if they want to get on terms with Ben Spies. One

of the hardest things in racing is to keep your rhythm up when you are

buy yourself. Very dif. He is the one who has to work out the track

conditions. He will look at his pit board, and I will be coming back

down a bit. We will work out how robust that camera is, because it

is getting a proper work out on the back of that seat that is falling

off. Simoncelli is, his lap times are very much in the hunt. He is

lapping, well last time round a 37, which is pretty good lap time.

Considering he is making his way through the pack. But at the front,

35.966 for Ben Spies. They only took a tenth out of him. It is a

very long way to go. They will have to get a clip on or he would have

to make a mistake. Ben Spies, when he gets his eye on he is a good

rider. Broadly he gets his head down, stays focused. A quiet

achiever. Stoner has gone faster at 35.5. He has taken four tenths out.

Cal Crutchlow is not down with Valentino Rossi yet Yes. Taken four

tenths out. You don't have to be up their exhaust pipe to put them

under pressure. You see the lap board and you think "I know I am

losing time." So they could force an error out of Ben Spies even

though he is half a mile down the road. It takes that lap for him to

see the pit board to realise he has to get a move on. Toni Elias in

The yammer half, it hasn't changed apart from its colour scheme -- the

yammer half. -- the Yamaha. It has better fuel consumption. Because

there are so few riders in this race, Marcus Simoncelli is in the

points, even though he is last. It is worth him flogging around.

we are going to find out if the gap has come down. Ben Spies going over

the line. 3.572. He has responded. A good lap from them. He knows he

has got to get a ripple on. Speaking of which, it seems as if

Mr Stoner is pushing on and leaving Dovizioso behind. Valentino Rossi

is not shaking off the terrier-like performance of Cal Crutchlow.

can't have a new plate in your shoulder and not be very sore at

this point of the race. He has done a lot of clubs over the weekend but

when you have to string them together... I know you struggled

with your wrist, Justin commentary. On board with your race leader --

he will be absolutely furious. Jorge Lorenzo will be fuming,

incandescent with rage. He has not liked Simoncelli much, since he has

caused problems with other riders. What ever will be said now, I

cannot imagine. It is fair to say, that will not impress him one

little bit. The Warsi himself as a prophet, he will say he warned you

of this -- he will see himself. Jorge Lorenzo is the one with steam

coming out from under his helmet, getting past Bautista or now. A

stunning performance to regroup and get going. The bike basically went

along on top of the bike. It had a softened blow. The bike ended up on

top of the stricken Simoncelli under someone has, you have got to

tap the power. It is good job we can't hear them -- under someone

else. It was terrible to happen so early in the race and lucky that it

was only two riders. We have 16 laps. If you can do half a second a

lap, they would be there in no time, if they can do two tents, they

would make it in the time. definitely have a race on. -- two-

tenths. Casey Stoner will be leaving for

miles if he stays on the podium. Jorge Lorenzo, back in tenth. We

already have been nice cushion of 18 points. -- he already had the

nice cushion. A big gap is now official. There is not much in it.

-- the gap is now visual. 3.4 is the distance, but it always makes a

difference... Cal Crutchlow is pulling into the pits. I was about

imagine that, frankly, but you imagine it would be a problem with

him. Are they going to change the front tyre? Something silly like a

puncture? They saw something was wrong. That is terrible luck. He

had pushed the boat out and he was running hard, running with the

hounds, even though he was fat. Spies will be seeing his pit board,

he will be seeing the time coming down and know he has got to pick up

the pace to take his first MotoGP win. He has been second, he has had

pole position, but he has never won. I think we have some news in the

tech three garage. Cal Crutchlow sitting in the corner, he is not

looking at the moment. They are pulling off the front tyre now. The

right shoulder of the front tyre is shredded. It is a dodgy tyre, they

are putting a new one on. Hopefully he can go back out. Cold comfort

but at least he will get some points. Absolutely but it will be a

long job, they have to take the steel discs off. It will be a long

process. The carbon discs, I beg your pardon. Something very strange

about that tyre. He has gone for the hard option and that is cold

tear. Are they going to put the softer option in? It is really

peculiar for that to happen. Unusual for Bridgestone to have a

faulty tyre. It was very much a cold tears situation. The reason

they are having to change the desks is that they are matched to the

brake pads and they have to go as one. They have had to put them on

the spare wheel, a new tyre going on, which would have been on the

tyre warmer. He will have to be careful, first-lap out. There are

points in the table, he will be in the points if he finishes the race.

The worst thing, he will have to regroup and refocus and get his

head around things. There is nothing worse than having your

concentration jarred and tried to convince yourself it is worth going

out. -- trying to convince yourself. Ben Spies has pulled away, that is

very impressive. He is two-tenths faster than Stoner. He is -- Jorge

Lorenzo is still battling away, putting in good times. Lorenzo is

passed Elias now, putting him up into eighth place. We watched the

disconsolate figure of Crutchlow inching his way back to join this

race, a couple of laps down. Lorenzo was coming up on Aoyama.

You don't need a lap board to work out the gap. Riding with Lorenzo,

Aoyama is just ahead of us, about to turn in. You have some more news

in the pit lane. Cal Crutchlow has gone back out onto the track. They

didn't change the rear tyre, it is still the same one. It was stood

there for a good 30 seconds to a minute, so that would have dropped

dramatically. Cal Crutchlow needs to take it steady over the next

couple of laps. Hopefully he will. There will be no dividend in

passing on. He will finish 14th no matter what, unless somebody else

hops off. That is Jorge Lorenzo. he gets past Aoyama, he will move

up into 7th, and it is only a matter of time. That looks like the

time. Lorenzo carries the speed through. Who is next up the road

from Aoyama? Quite a long journey to Nicky Hayden, the next target.

The bigger bets are further down the track. Bike number 11 is the

race leader. Ben Spies. He has got the hammer down in the last few

laps. He has got the fastest lap of the race so far. Very impressive,

the man from Memphis Tennessee. 26 years old, World Superbike champion.

A pretty good start from Ben Spies, he switched to the inside. He was

behind Jorge Lorenzo going in to turn one, then he cut back on the

inside. Yes, Simoncelli got off the line instantly very quickly. Then

it went sour for him. Great acceleration from Spies. Very much

so. Jorge Lorenzo was just there, then Spies cut back on the inside.

Getting the drive out of this number-one collided. Simoncelli is

past Hector Barbera. Our wonderful robust camera, maybe it has finally

died. Barbera is having a lacklustre season, you expected a

lot from him, he was one of the heart 250 charges. That was down

in this race, the lap times are relatively slow. The lap record is

held by Dani Pedrosa from last year, we are about a second offer of lap

record pace. But with track temperatures being so cold, last

year the track temperature was 40 degrees, today it is only 13.

Spies has put a lap on Akiyoshi. An extraordinary turn of events in

this class of racing, with 11 laps to go. Most certainly is. He still

has the 4.194 advantage, that is a pleasure to see, when you see your

pit board and you are extending your leave. You can see how much he

is sliding the Yamaha round. We said it would suit this track, it

has already -- always gone well around here. It is not only about

speed but change in direction, a lot to do with the fast sweeps

around the circuit. Stoner has got a comfortable gap over Dovizioso.

4.7 ahead, and 4.7 behind the race leader. Everybody, well and truly

gaps, having a lonely time. Rossi is behind Ben Spies. Colin Edwards

is right behind him, four seconds down the road from him. We have the

commentator's nightmare, a massively gap to field. We have.

Casey Stoner will pick up 20 points if he stays in that position.

that is smart. Ben Spies is in ninth place so he will not worry

him. Jorge Lorenzo is the closest, and then Dovizioso. He will

stretches advantage in this championship by the time we get to

next weekend, around eight. For anyone that has switched on, they

will be wondering what has gone wrong with Jorge Lorenzo so far

back. It all happened when Simoncelli crashed and took him out

with him, on the 4th corner. Ten laps remaining, Ben Spies, looking

like making history, by taking his first MotoGP race. It will be

frustrating for Ben Spies. It will be a delight, unbridled delight to

win a race. But it will be slightly frustrating for him... As we watch

the art of the man... That he did not beat Lorenzo on the track. He

was out-qualifying him, he was faster across the weekend and it

would have been slightly more emphatic. Fair point, but in

reality, he was in front of him when unfortunately, Jorge Lorenzo

got taken out. Anyway, a win is a win. It certainly is. We have dust

has some news from Karel Abraham's team. -- just had some news. They

are saying that a touch with Aoyama caused the crash and it looks like

a broken little finger. That is very painful and awkward but they

can strap it all up. I remember Barry Sheene having his job off

because it didn't work properly. will be lighter. You have got to

think about that. A broken finger will be extremely painful but I'm

sure he will be out racing again. He is having a good season, at

least until the date. Nicky Hayden has basically had the edge across

the weekend. -- until today. Spies is putting a lap on Barbera.

It is club racing, getting lapped at this level. I don't understand

what is happening to Barbera, he has faded from view this year.

guess you have to say, the Ducati has not suited him. It was better

last year, it is as if they have taken a backward step. We know how

much development is going on, or the work going on with Valentino

Rossi riding with Ducati and how much they are changing the bike. It

is pretty much unheard of, to turn up with a completely revamped bike

in round seven, particularly as we move to the new bikes for next year.

The budget that Ducati was working too would have been thrown out the

Nicky Hayden is in fifth, six seconds further back.

interesting thing and the thing that will cheer Ducati up, is quite

simply, the fact that Valentino Rossi's lapping as fast as we see

Casey Stoner leave a massive big black line out there. That rear

tyre has probably seen its best. Casey Stoner will not want to be

doing anything silly now with the to points he's has in the bag with

eight laps to go. If you are just joining us Simoncelli got tadge

tangled up and ran into Jorge Lorenzo. We lost kaib cane -- Karel

Abraham and Randy de Puniet in a crash. What is the shuffle there.

Your season seems to be going from bad to worse. What happened with

that last crash? I crash in exit to the first corner. I think I was a

bit wide on the border, and that's it, I am disappointed for me, for

the team, because we had the possibility to be in the top eight

this weekend, we improve a bit during the weekend, and we on a

good way, and that is why I am disappointed. But we need to

continue, to work and to hope next week will be a good weekend for us.

It is a Ducati track. And I like the Mugello and I will try to do a

good race. Now that is a problem for those guys, but it looks like

dove has one too. And stone, the front tyres look like they are

shred up. The close up shot we had of the two Repsol Hondas, the right

side of the tyre... It is important to recap the issue of tyres and

taerge -- alternative people had on tyres that was denied them. What

happened yesterday, a lot of the teams got together and they were

not impressed with the left tyre, the left side of the rare tyre

saying it wasn't getting up to temperature quick enough.

Bridgestone said they had a different tyre. They will give them

two tyres, any way they turned up and they had a soft and medium. But

it turns out they had a softer tyre but they hadn't put it into the

allocation at the start of the week. When the track temperature was so

cold they found another tyre, but Simoncelli said, no, I am happy

with the one I have got. I don't want a softer tyre. I bet he wishes

he has one now. It is orn nick, it seems as though word came from the

Simoncelli team, they did want to change the tyres. It has to be

every member of the teams and riders say it is OK if we change

the tyres. He didn't want to. was the pacesetter and the fastest

guy across the week. That is very much the case. We look at the 291.

That is in the fastest section into turn seven. We are at turn eight.

We are about to come up to turn eight as we turn right. Third gear

corner, and then will is a kink. The next corner we co-come up to,

this is where Stoner, and Andrea Dovizioso crashed out yesterday in

the first session, yesterday morning. Along, long right here.

Turn ten and 11. And ten turn 12 which is a skreerm. Look through

Yamaha, celebrating their 50th anniversary in Grand Prix racing,

new colour schemes, to take the win. I think they would have expected

that win to have come from Jorge Lorenzo but it isn't going to be

because he is down in seventh courtesy of Simoncelli, but

nevertheless they will take a win and they won't care who it is.

would be regarded by many as overdue for Ben Spies to knock off

a win here, he was regarded as the fifth alien you remember last year.

The leading guys in there, there are four then Simoncelli, add Ben

Spies to it. You would have to say that Ducati, I guess, the change of

of the system, the suspension system on the back, must be working,

or it is giving Valentino Rossi a place in front of Nicky Hayden.

Nicky Hayden is till on last year's, he will be frustrated as we look at

the two Tech 3 bikes, that was crutch's leg sticking out. -- Cal

Crutchlow. Made -- Nicky Hayden is supposed to get the suspension

system that Rossi has. As I said earlier on in the show, Rossi only

ha has three energies left now for the rest of the season, and if he

goes to more than that, that was the indent again as we saw

Simoncelli taking out lorn. If you have to use your seventh engine and

I am talking about this guy here, you have to start from the pit lane.

But I think one of the reasons that Nicky Hayden has not gone for this

system, because he would then have to go into new energies and he had

used four of his six, means he has two for the rest of the season.

That is probably one of the reason, look at that Lorenzo through on

Colin Edwards. So that shows you who is next down the road for

Lorenzo, getting up into sixth position. Which is a laudable

performance under the circumstances. Under the problems he has suffered.

Lorenzo is pushing very hard. He is lapping mighty quickly. A 35.7.

was about to say he is lapping faster than anyone on the track.

Now we are looking at 24, tell, last time round, Jorge Lorenzo with

35.788. So four tenths faster than the race leader. It shows you what

anger does. Simoncelli meanwhile, still back there in 11th place, but

I would say his bike was slightly more beaten up. Not only did he

crash on the ground it has a Yamaha sat on top as it was sliding along.

Toni Elias still having a difficult time although the record books will

show this will be a top ten finish. He is pushing the envelope. He has

finished in front of Alvaro Bautista. It is better than he has

been doing and as far as the Championship is concerned, those

two are battling it out for 14th and 15th place in the series, but

not a bad ride for Toni Elias. Back with Ben Spies coming over the line.

Four laps to go. Four laps to go for Ben Spies. This has been a bit

of time coming. He has shown so much speed. He has had 27 MotoGP

starts now, he has had three podiums. He has had a pole position

and his best result is 2nd place. He has been knocking on the door.

It has been coming for a long time. I uing think we thought it would

have come before this. His last pole position was Indianapolis last

year. He wasn't on pole today. If he gets the win he will forget ant

that, he will get over it. It will vault him ahead. Currently only

ninth in the Championship. He has had three races with where he has

not finished. And Spies piest the man we are look at, he was saying

he thought he could have gone faster but the lap he wanted to do,

the lap he thought he was going to, Capirossi pulled out. He had a

fantastic start. Wasn't first into turn one. Taking the iron sideline,

getting in front of Simoncelli and Jorge Lorenzo. And not mixed up

with the accident on that left hander at. So that is what the

points would look like. Casey Stoner picking up 20 points if he

finishes in second. Lorn, as you can see would hold on to second

place, but 28 points adrift of Casey Stoner, so Stoner easing up

that lead. It will help Spies but it won't affect anybody. Simoncelli

not really taking any prisoners there. Jamming in but nice move.

Nice and relatively clean. Didn't seem to upset Alvaro Bautista too

much. What is going on with that Suzuki for Simoncelli to crash and

still get past. They have struggled with not getting temperature. When

the track is so cold they don't seem to generate enough heat and

the big problem is now we have a controlled tyre, Bridgestone supply

the tires It won't suit every bike. For some reason it would like to

run softer tyres but you can only go as soft as softer option. You

nearly have to build a motorcycle to suit the tyres. So it is all

about working that out. Now, Ben Spies now coming round to... Finish

this race in what a majestic race it has been for him as well. Very

solid. Consistent all the the way through. I was going to say Casey

Stoner decided to settle for second but he never settles for anything

much. Even sew it is -- so, it is interest he has not been able to

come to terms with Spies spoist at all. He must be carrying some sort

of injury, from yesterday's crash, but don't take it away from Ben

Spies, he is riding very well. As we have discussed and talked about

yesterday in qualify, it is a good Yamaha track because it's a circuit

of fast direction change and it's a well behaved bike. Very much so. As

Valentino Rossi had a podium of course this year but not a bad

result for him, fourth place. mean, that is exactly right.

Useful.s for fourth. It will read like fourth place. But I would

remind you he is 24 seconds behind this guy here, Ben Spies, so the

highly clever boys in the Ducati team will know they have a bit on

yet. They have. Last lap and stone had been working this out. It is

handy 20 points for him. 16 for Andrea Dovizioso and Valentino

Rossi will keep place in the Championship with his fourth place

finish. Dani Pedrosa who was currently fifth is going to drop

back down behind Nicky Hayden. The talk is that Dani Pedrosa will be

back at Mugello next week. It has been a long time for him. That

accident an incident we had in Le Mans and he missed the British

Grand Prix, now missing Assen. the front it is Ben Spies. Champion

in AMA in America. World Superbike champion. This is an important one

to tick off the list. When he turned up in Europe having come

from AMA American charm champion and did something special. Didn't

mow the track. Generally a required has to learn the tracks but he came

ore, learned the track but he won the Championship and was an

absolute class act. Jumped straight into this. Went with Tech 3 Yamaha

and did a great job for them of course, finishing up sixth in the

Championship, straight into the factory team. So Lin Jarvis the

stone face of Lin Jarvis, still recovering from the fact that Jorge

Lorenzo was knocked off in the first lap, but this will ameliorate

matters none. Fantastic result His first win finally done at

absolutely brilliant. Casey Stoner getting across the line for very

valuable points in second place, and then right after him, Andrea

Dovizioso takes a podium, well earned, well raced. Across the line

That is fair enough too. Encouragement for the guys in

Ducati. Work to do but still fourth place for Valentino Rossi, and

fifth place for Nicky Hayden, so that won't hurt the Championship

hunt at all and Jorge Lorenzo after that amazing issue at the start,

still shaking his head because he is still cross, as is Mr Jarvis his

boss, he has come home in sixth place. Colin Edwards now just

finishing off the single file in seventh. And away they go, a hugely

gap field, we have 14 finish, one Cal Crutchlow who had that terrible

tyre problem gets himself across the line. Aoyama an unspectacular

eighth, and Simoncelli, where will he finish? It looks like a top ten

finish. It might be ninth. Yes, he gets in front of Toni Elias who has

had another lacklustre performance, it wasn't for this guy. Biestbiest

-- Ben Spies. This is his 28th rate. Race, he has finally done.

Congratulations from Valentino Rossi, acknowledging the enormous

achievement, of Ben Spies, who has had so much promise, has not really

troubled him in the Championship so much this year, he has had a

difficult year. But after last year where he showed he had the pace,

this race he has shown he can make Ben Spies always races with his mum,

not literally but she travels with him. Congratulations, how do you

feel, your son's first win in MotoGP? Nervous, had become a

really happy for the crew and for Ben. Fantastic, go and enjoy it.

He loses the tier at the front, it takes out Jorge Lorenzo. -- loses

the tyre. Did not trouble this guy, the tyre. Did not trouble this guy,

Fantastic victory for Ben Spies, what did you make of it? We had

been expecting it, we know what a brilliant rider he is. It has been

overdue. Absolutely faultless. He played it from the front, look at

his pit board and did everything he should have done. He has had a

really difficult first few rounds, for various reasons. It has been a

crash and bash, think she would not expect from him. He has had a bad

start to the season but I think his season has started properly here

today at Assen. A great way for Yamaha to celebrate their 50th

anniversary. I think they were expecting it to come from Jorge

Lorenzo but they will take it, and it is great to see those red and

white colours, after 50 years, still winning races. It will have

scared Casey Stoner, how well the Yamaha has gone. Casey Stoner,

probably the big winner, with Jorge Lorenzo being taken out. He has

edged further ahead. Yes, he just wanted those 20 points, it has

given him a lovely lead and he has just got to keep things together.

It looked like he had a front tyre issue as well. Paul Cal Crutchlow,

Paul he was aiming for a top five and it looked like a cold tear from

the Bridgestone. I am sure we will find out before we get to Mugello.

Simoncelli was his own worst enemy again. What is going to happen? Can

you imagine the rift as far as the Spanish and the Italians, Lorenzo

and Simoncelli? It was a mistake from Marco, he tipped it on, he

knew the cold tier would be an effect. He said he didn't want the

softer tyres so he has got a smack in the face. Take us through the

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 59 seconds

Congratulations, your first MotoGP when, in front of all the legends,

with all the history here. There was a little pressure, I guess. I

could see what happened in the first turn and I had a really good

feeling on the warm-up laps. I wanted to go as far as I could in

the beginning. Once I saw I had a gap, I tried to be as consistent as

I could, tried to keep Casey Stoner at three-and-a-half, four seconds.

The bike worked great today. It was hard to lead by myself but I tried

to raise myself and my clock. -- race myself. To do it in front of

the Assen fans and the 50th anniversary, it is really special.

You can see a lot of pick up on those tyres. The motor O2 guys were

There were lots of marbles out there. If you look at the right

hand up shoulder on the front of the tier of Dovizioso, look at

Stoner's front tyre as well. Not as badly knocked about as Dovizioso's,

and it was good enough to put him into second place. A very important

point. Thanks. Everything has been going tough. For the race, we were

a bit disappointed because we did not get to test our setting. There

were if the conditions and there was no way to get a track time. It

worked better than we had during the weekend, but it still was not

quite there. Ben Page and marker had a pay side could not match. --

Ben and Marco had a place I could not match. I think even if I could

have caught up to Ben Spies, he would have had the advantage. I am

very happy with the result. It is something to keep us cheerful.

Thank you, congratulations. Very cheerful indeed, it has been proved

his point position. Jorge Lorenzo is back on 108 points, he has

opened up that gap. More than one race wins worth. He is 28 points in

front. Valentino Rossi, not hopelessly out of touch but on 81

points in fourth. Nicky Hayden, 71, in fifth. Ben Spies moves up to

seventh with 61 points from where He is a crestfallen a lad. Another

look at it, inside Lorenzo. He taps on the power, the bike takes

Lorenzo with him, everybody else sales surpassed -- sails past and

Ben Spies is given a useful lead. There is the view from Lorenzo, the

accident happened in front of him, it was one at present Simoncelli's

accident, took out Jorge Lorenzo -- it was 100% Simoncelli's accident.

Lorenzo will know there will be repercussions, he will not be on

anybody's Christmas card list. A big day for Honda, but a huge day

for Yamaha, winning against the odds. Very, very difficult. Honda

has shown itself to be the horsepower bike, the bike to beat.

Important to talk about Cal Crutchlow as well. He finished 14th,

still in the points. They had a very long pit stop. He was two laps

down by the end of it, but still in the points. Cal Crutchlow is 13th

Nevertheless, getting some useful A couple of technical problems for

Matt and Steve. Back into parc ferme. Watching the end of those

interviews, a couple of points for Cal Crutchlow. He was running with

the hounds, in spite of the collarbone injury. He was intact

and dicing with Valentino Rossi when he had to come in. -- he was

in touch. He gets a pittance of consolation points. Aoyama had a

useless race, really. Finished eighth, way off the pace. He will

be disappointed by that. Come back soon, Dani Pedrosa, you are not

kidding! Could do with the numbers on the grid apart from anything

else. Extraordinary scenes out there, Barbera getting lapped,

which is baffling. Akiyoshi, also getting lapped, not what you would

Excellent for the Yamaha team, with his 50th celebration, to be

knocking over a result like this. Dovizioso, this time last year, he

finished 5th. An improvement for him. He is third in the

championship. He has improved his contact with the guys at the front,

and given himself just a bit more of a gap over Valentino Rossi, who

will be breathing down his neck a little bit. That is also quite

useful. Ben Spies, on the top step of the podium, didn't think I would

be saying that. No, apologies to everybody that we did not get a

chance to speak to him, some technical problems. We will catch

up with him next week at the Italian Grand Prix in Italy. What a

day for Ben Spies and his whole family. Absolutely. We got to talk

to his mum and she was pretty pleased, she has been here all

season waiting for that. It was great for Yamaha, it has started

Ben Spies' season. Yamaha need some updates, they have got to get a bit

faster to keep up with Casey Stoner, but let's hope we can have a battle

for the championship. It is not looking like it, with Casey Stoner

on such fantastic form. Repsol Honda are leading the team

championship by a stretch as well and he is looking pretty

unstoppable. Things are not going the way of Jorge Lorenzo. It isn't.

Defending is often harder than winning in the first place. Some of

it, you can't blame him for. The crash at Silverstone, he was mad at

himself but he knew he had work cut out, with the speed of the Honda's.

Casey Stoner probably thought, let's keep finishing races, and he

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 59 seconds

The American national anthem sounds again here at Assen, just as it did

in 2006 when Nicky Hayden won the race, and he went on to take the

championship as well. Maybe this will be the first of many for Ben