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On lap 16, the Pedrosa-Stoner duo caught Hopkins, and it was while they were dealing with him that Roberts caught up again. When they cleared the Suzuki on lap 20, Roberts was right with the kids, and he stayed there to the finish, with a grandstand seat, as Stoner got ahead on the last lap, only to lose it again by the end. Hopkins was almost 10 seconds down, and just a second ahead of Melandri. Rossi's race was distant but still inspira- tional. After recovering from his lap-three run-off, he had closed again on the Ducatis, the enfeebled Capirossi at this point ahead of Sete Gibernau's substitute, Alex Hofmann. On the seventh lap, Capirossi also missed the braking for the same corner and ran down the escape road, even as Rossi pounced on Hofmann. The defending champion was now lapping only a few tenths slower than the leaders. It took a couple of laps to close on Checa, who was now hounding Tamada and Vermeulen, and he soon passed both of them. Rossi followed him through, and finally passed him on lap 21. Melandri was out of reach, however. Checa was three seconds down on Rossi, and a similar distance ahead of Vermeulen, who managed to hold Tamada at bay. Hofmann had closed to within a second by the end. Then came the discon- solate Edwards, well clear of de Puniet, with Capirossi trailing in a distant 15th. Spanish first-timer Ivan Silva, riding Hofmann's Pramac Ducati, was 16th, well clear of his teammate Jose Luis Cardoso. James Ellison was the only nonfinisher, having crashed out with 23 laps left. Hayden's win puts him on 144 points, with Pedrosa moving up to second on 102. Capirossi is now third on 100. Rossi and Melandri have 98 points apiece, and Stoner is sixth on 78. CN C Y C L E N E W S • JULY 5, 2006 21 places in the next sections, which was already simplified last year. First impressions were not all bad, but also a long way from good - perhaps inevitably, since everyone still has such strong memories of the unique old track. "Now it is just another circuit," was a very common refrain. Not only were many riders mourning what had been lost, there were also complaints that what has been gained is too slow and tight, especially for a circuit with the reputa- tion of Assen. A Prime target for complaint was the Strubben hairpin, which slows the MotoGP machines to parking speed. Anoth- er problem was a lack of left-hand turns - just four in the full length, leading to a risk of crashes as that side of the tire loses temper- ature. Taking the name of one of the old track's signature corners, the new left-hand- ed U-turn has changed from a second- or third-gear, banked, sweeping curve to a tight, slightly banked little hairpin, and with riders struggling to get around in first gear. The 125 and 250cc riders, with their nar- rower two-stroke powerbands, actually had to slip the clutch there. All three crashes in the first session alone (Rossi, Elias and Nicky Hayden) were on left-handed bends. Here is what the riders said over the week- end. Valentino Rossi: "The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway, it's not so bad." Colin Edwards: "It's crap. I think the latest changes are a step too far, and I don't think we can call this the Cathedral of MotoGP anymore. Certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. The whole flow has gone; the old character is not there anymore. In seven or eight years from now, people will say they love it. But for those of us who know the old track..." Nicky Hayden: "Of course I liked the old track, because it was unique, but this is another challenge. I actual- ly quite like the new sections of track, espe- cially turn two; the left-hander after that is pretty tight." Dani Pedrosa: "I'm not really keen on the new track layout, because when you think of Assen, you think of the part of the track that has been lost. Now it's more like a usual track." Alex Hofmann: "It was my favorite track from before. There's not much left from the past. It's a different plan- et. I was such a fan of the old track that the new circuit is a big loss to me." Casey Ston- er: "The changes have destroyed what was once a great track, and I don't think anyone is having any fun out there. Everyone used to love Assen, but now it is too small and tight, and they have taken banking away from the corners and made it just like an ordinary track. There are no new passing places." John Hopkins: "I think it is a shame what has happened here. From turn one, now it is like the Sachsenring, and I don't really like such slow corners. To me, it would have been nicer to get my first pole at a track where my heroes raced - like Colin Edwards, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz. It's also taken away a few over- taking opportunities. This track is now extremely difficult to pass on." Shinya Nakano: "To be honest, I really like it. Sure, there is less speed, but that means it should also be safer. But I like very technical cir- cuits." Jorge Lorenzo: "Until last year, I thought Assen was the most beautiful track in the world. Now it is just another track." It's been an up-and-down season for so many riders that after seven races, on the eve of Assen, only four riders had scored points in every round so far. They are the Americans, Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards; the under- performing Makoto Tamada; and Dunlop Yamaha rider Carlos Checa. Assen's new sponsor, Italian clothing firm A-style, introduced a highly suggestive logo to the sport, difficult to describe with decency in a magazine that might be seen by children, and certainly raising questions as to what the "A" stands for. Suffice it to say that it is an embarrassingly accurate stick- figure reproduction of a love act between two people of indeterminate sex. (Possibly, as one wag suggested, they might even be twin brothers, given their close resem- blance.) A reporter tried to put Hopkins on the spot, after he had qualified on pole, ask- ing what he thought of the logo. "I think it's great," laughed the Anglo-American. "A- style is my style." Suzuki mechanics were up in arms again when they were told they will not be able to eat at the team catering unit for a second year in succession for their home GP in Great Britain. Far from a chance to share their lifestyle with family and loved ones, the boys in light blue will have to dine on sandwiches in their pit, while their usual places at the team tables have been taken by no less than 180 "guests." Just how many of these are actually paying guests is far from clear. Last year, when asked by this reporter, the team manager denied that he was "selling the mechanics' lunch," but investigations revealed that at least some had paid heavily for the privilege, again raising questions as to whether paddock passes were being illegally sold by the team. Shame in Spain, as the scandal rag Interviu magazine published pictures of injured racer Sete Gibernau indulging in sex play with his girlfriend, model Esther Canadas, on a boat. The spy shots show Esther sunbathing naked on deck, and the swimsuit-clad Gibernau engaged in getting to know her better. They will at least have the beneficial effect of silencing critics who questioned his sexual orientation. The pictures were taken before Gibernau's big crash at Catalunya, but pub- lished the week after. Randy Mamola did his hard-earned dignity little good when a pit-lane spat revealed a major sense-of-humor failure, when the jokes went the other way. The pettish fit resulted in an official letter of complaint to the Suzuki team from IRTA, after they had repeatedly adorned the pit-lane reporter's radio antenna behind his back with a glove, arranged with the middle finger raised in the traditional gesture of defiance. This occa- sioned understandable ribaldry from whichever might be the next pit he visited. When it happened again in final qualifying, Mamola's famous spirit of fun went on vaca- tion. He stormed into the Suzuki pit at Assen, much to the amusement of the mainly British mechanics, whose own sense of humor has remained undimmed in spite of their own dif- ficulties. Receiving no satisfaction, Mamola then complained to Dorna, which passed the complaint on (probably with a perfectly straight face) to teams' association IRTA. Briefly... Continued on page 22 Continued from page 19 Shinya Nakano rode a consistent race to finish second, his best MotoGP finish to date. Youngsters Dani Pedrosa (26) and Casey Stoner (27) battle MotoGP veteran Kenny Roberts Jr. (10).