Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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MOTOGP FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8 / JUNE 24-25, 2017 TT CIRCUIT ASSEN / ASSEN, THE NETHERLANDS P94 It was only an oil seal, but when it failed it caused some havoc on the first day of practice at Assen. Two riders crashed, and the first free practice for MotoGP was delayed by more than 30 minutes. The cause was Andrea Dovizioso, winner of the last two rounds, and when he noticed on his first out lap that his boot was slipping on the left footpeg, he pulled off directly. But by then his Ducati had left a slippery trail over the previous three cor- ners—on the old section of the track, furthest from the paddock. The first to suffer was rookie Jonas Folger, also on his out lap, who limped away and was taken to the medical center, but was soon back in action. Shortly afterwards second factory Duke rider Jorge Lorenzo fell one corner before, at De Bult, escaping unhurt. The red flags came out directly, and TV viewers were treated to the sight of technical chief Danny Aldridge sniffing Dovizioso's left boot, to establish that it was oil rather than water that had been spilled. Dovi was out on the same bike in the afternoon, with no permanent dam- age done. Factory Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales were full of praise after they tested an upgraded chassis after the last round at Montmelo, but there was only one each at Assen, with the less-favored older chassis as a backup. "The feeling was good—it was a really good test," said Vinales on race eve. The bike is good on the braking point, and keeps the speed in the corner." Team boss Massimo Meregalli said, "In Barcelona, we saw that the new chassis was good immediately." Both riders have suf- fered erratic results with the 2017 bike. Points leader Vinales has won three races and finished second in another, but at tracks with lower grip he has suffered, with a sixth and a 10th place. Rossi has suffered as badly, with three podiums but an eighth and a 10th, and has been unsure whether to blame the bike or the Michelin tires. Assen marked more than a full calendar year since Rossi's last win, in Barcelona last year. Alex Rins was back on the Ecstar Suzuki, after missing the last five races following his painful and damaging crash in practice in round three in Texas. Former star of the smaller classes, Rins' MotoGP de- but has been dogged with pain and misfortune ever since suffering back injuries in his first test of the GSX-RR last November. A foot fracture in a training accident after the first round spoiled his chances in Argentina; then he suffered a displaced double fracture of his left forearm in Texas, and flew straight home for surgery. His season started again the day after his home round in Catalunya, when he joined post-race tests after another race where Sylvain Guintoli had taken his place. "I tested on Monday and Tuesday and I was im- pressed. I didn't feel any pain in my hand," he said. On the first day of practice at Assen, Rins placed 19th, two places and barely three tenths down on teammate Andrea Iannone. KTM's Bradley Smith was another returned injury victim, after missing the last race with two badly mangled fingers on his left hand. The injury remained troublesome, and looked gruesome. With seven races run, the top five in the championship are within a range of 28 points—the closest champi- onship at this stage of the season since the current points system was introduced in 1994. Unpredictable results and four different winners (Vinales three times, Dovizioso twice, plus Pedrosa and Marquez) are credited to, or in some cases blamed upon, Michelin tires that favor different bikes at different circuits and in different conditions. Dovizioso, who moved into first over- all, explained why it had become so hit-or-miss. "It is because the temperature range of the tires is very small." CN MOTOGP 1. Valentino Rossi (Yam) 2. Danilo Petrucci (Duc) 3. Marc Marquez (Hon) 4. Cal Crutchlow (Hon) 5. Andrea Dovizioso (Duc) MOTO2 1. Franco Morbidelli (Kal) 2. Thomas Luthi (Kal) 3. Takaaki Nakagami (Kal) 4. Mattia Pasini (Kal) 5. Miguel Oliveira (KTM) MOTO3 1. Aron Canet (Hon) 2. Romano Fenati (Hon) 3. John McPhee (Hon) 4. Jorge Martin (Hon) 5. Jules Danilo (Hon) Briefly...