JURGEN NARROWLY MISSES OUT ON POINTS AT ASSEN
04 September 2005 - Rizla-Suzuki

RIZLA SUZUKI wild card racer Jurgen van den Goorbergh took two top 20-finishes at the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen in Holland today, improving on his qualifying position and narrowly missing out on scoring points.

After a brilliant start from 23rd on the grid in the opening race, Jurgen clashed with Kawasaki’s Chris Walker early on while fighting for a top 10 position. Jurgen ran through the gravel trap and rejoined the race to finish a disappointed 20th.

In the second race Jurgen enjoyed another good start and battled to the end for 15th place and the final points position, eventually finishing 17th. The 35-year-old Dutch ace was 21 seconds faster over race distance in the second event as he continued to build confidence in the WSB control tyres. Honda’s Chris Vermeulen won both races.

Rizla Suzuki now returns to the UK where regular racers John Reynolds and James Haydon will take part in the 11th round of the British Superbike Championship at Oulton Park next Sunday, September 11th.

Jurgen:
“The weekend has not gone as I hoped. I would have preferred to race with a tyre and bike that I was more familiar with and our lack of testing showed. I did the best I could with the package we were able to put together through practice and qualification, though I was unable to find complete confidence in the tyres and learn their limits.

“I have enjoyed racing here in front of the Dutch fans again, I hope they enjoyed the show. Thank you to Rizla Suzuki for supporting me. For sure, with more time on the GSX-R1000 and a better understanding of the tyres I could have been fighting much further up the field, but for now I am just happy to have brought the bike home safely in both races.”

Robert Wicks, Team Manager:
“The results have not been great this weekend but given our starting point with the WSB control tyres and with Jurgen, the team has arguably done as well as could have been expected. Jurgen has been one of the most popular riders at the track and I am sure the 80,000 weekend crowd appreciated his and Rizla Suzuki’s efforts.

“On a positive note, we have learnt more technically about our GSX-R1000 at one of the best race tracks in the world. Jurgen’s feedback on handling and on launching the bike from the start line has given us some further insights that we look forward to testing at Oulton Park next weekend.

“Thank you to Suzuki Netherlands and Rizla for their efforts this weekend. Jurgen is the consummate professional racer and we have really enjoyed working with him over the last three days.”

Race One Result: 1: C Vermeulen (Honda) 33:36.029, 2: J Toseland (Ducati) +3.396, 3: N Haga (Yamaha) +4.876, 4 T Corser (Suzuki) +6.815, 5: A Pitt (Yamaha) +10.075, 6: Y Kagayama (Suzuki) +12.526, 7: L Lanzi (Ducati) +12.661, 8: M Neukirchner (Honda) +20.595, 9: K Muggeridge (Honda) +20.872, 10: P Chili (Honda) +27.691, 20: JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH (RIZLA SUZUKI) +1:03.44.

Race Two Result: 1: Vermeulen 33:34.053, 2: Haga +0.085, 3: Toseland +3.318, 4: Corser +5.938, 5: Pitt +6.394, 6: Lanzi +16.480, 7: Neukirchner +17.255, 8: Muggeridge +22.338, 9: N Abe (Yamaha) +30.801, 10: B Bostrom (Honda) +34.071, 17 JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH (RIZLA SUZUKI) +42.910.

Championship Points after nine rounds: 1: Corser 370, 2: Vermeulen 284, 3: R Laconi (Ducati) 214, 4: Haga 203, 5: Toseland 197, 6: Kagayama 187, 7: C Walker (Kawasaki) 130, 8: Chili 119, 9: Pitt 117, 10: Muggeridge 100.

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

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