JURGEN CONTINUES TO CUT HIS LAP TIMES AT ASSEN
03 September 2005 - Rizla-Suzuki

RIZLA SUZUKI wild card racer Jurgen van den Goorbergh improved his best lap time during today''s final qualification for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Assen despite an early crash.

Jurgen walked away unhurt from a high side crash at the final chicane at the start of qualifying. He mounted his spare Rizla Suzuki and took more than six tenths of a second off his best lap time from yesterday, recording 2:06.997 to place him 23rd on the grid and out of contention for the afternoon''s Superpole that was open only to the fastest 16 riders.

The 35-year-old Dutch fans favourite spent time testing race tyres in the afternoon''s final free practice session. Both Jurgen and the team have no prior data about the WSB control tyres but together they have agreed on a compound for tomorrow''s opening race. Suzuki WSB regular Troy Corser will start from third on the grid while his team mate Yukio Kagayama will be right behind him on the second row in seventh. Honda''s Chris Vermeulen is on pole.

Racing starts at noon tomorrow (CET), September 4th, at the historic 3.726mile long Assen circuit in Holland. All the action will be broadcast live by British Eurosport.

Robert Wicks, Rizla Suzuki Team Manager:
''Jurgen tried very hard today to improve his qualifying position but lost valuable time when he crashed at the chicane early in the session. That crash ruled out his number one bike and he had to switch to his spare machine for the remainder of qualification. He showed determination to go back out, bite the bullet and record his fastest lap.

''Jurgen is coming back to racing after a three month break and this is his debut World Superbike race meeting. On top of that, it''s his first event with the Rizla Suzuki team and we have all had to adapt to the control tyre rule that is in place in WSB. I''m hopeful that tomorrow''s first race will give him some additional confidence and understanding of the tyres and how they perform in race conditions.''

Qualifying Times: 1: C Vermeulen (Honda) 2:04.179, 2: J Toseland (Ducati) 2:04.899, 3: T Corser (Suzuki) 2:05.005, 4: N Haga (Yamaha) 2:05.078, 5: K Muggeridge (Honda) 2:05.256, 6: A Pitt (Yamaha) 2:05.304, 7: Y Kagayama (Suzuki) 2:05.434, 8: S Martin (Petronas) 2:05.560, 9: P Chili (Honda) 2:05.691, 10: L Lanzi (Ducati) 2:05.936, 23: JURGEN VAN DEN GOORBERGH (RIZLA SUZUKI) 2:06.997.

www.rizla-suzuki.co.uk

More News
  For September 2005
  From Rizla-Suzuki
  For World Superbike
  Biker247.com Home Page