Stefan Bradl: “TO EXPLOIT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR RS-GP”
After a productive test and the almost three weeks break, Stefan Bradl heads into this weekend’s grand prix in the Netherlands in positive mood.
The official post-race test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya went well for Bradl and his crew in Aprilia Racing Team Gresini although the main task was to test and evaluate new types of tyres brought by Michelin for this test. But Bradl also found time to test several different settings to his Aprilia RS-GP which has brought some interesting findings for him. Not only for this reason, the 26-year-old German MotoGP Rider look forward to this year’s edition of the historic TT Assen to exploit the potential of his package as best he can.
The TT Assen in the northern part of the Netherlands owns the longest tradition in grand prix racing. Since the introduction of the FIM World Championship back in 1949, the event is a permanent entry to the calendar. But for this year’s edition, the TT Assen offers a massive change to its time schedule as the races held on Sunday for the very first time after Saturday was race day in the past.
#6 Stefan BRADL (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, Aprilia) – World Championship position 13th (29 points):
“This longer break was a welcome opportunity to relax and re-charge energy after a demanding first third of the season. The official test after the Barcelona race has brought a lot of findings in respect to the bike’s settings however we spent a lot of time to try and evaluate new tyres too. But it’s not clear for now if we’re able to work in the direction we found in Barcelona because the track’s characteristics in Assen is completely different, in particular it’s very special due to its fast and flowing parts with still some awesome banked corners. However, I look forward to the race in Holland even though memories to last year aren’t so nice because of crash during the race when I suffered a broken scaphoid. But this is history meanwhile and I head into this weekend with a completely different feeling. As said, the TT Circuit is very particularly, it’s completely different to that circuits where we raced last time in Mugello and Barcelona. In Assen it takes a completely different setup. Anyway, I like the circuit and I’m looking forward to this race because many fans coming from Germany to watch us. Hopefully the weather is good because it’s changeable many times in Holland. The goal for this weekend is to exploit the characteristics of our RS-GP as best we can.”
MotoGP™ Zeitplan bei der TT Assen (CET):
Freitag, 24. Juni: 09:55 – 10:40 FP1
Freitag, 24. Juni: 14:05 – 14:50 FP2
Samstag, 25. Juni: 09:55 – 10:40 FP3
Samstag, 25. Juni 13:30 – 14:00 FP4
Samstag, 25. Juni 14:10 – 14:25 QP1
Samstag, 25. Juni 14.35 – 14:50 QP2
Sonntag, 26. Juni: 09:40 – 10:00 Warm Up
Sonntag, 26. Juni 14:00 Rennen (26 Runden – 118,1 km)
Daten TT Circuit Assen:
Erstmals Schauplatz der TT Assen (vormals Dutch TT): seit 1949
Streckenlänge: 4.542 Meter
Streckenbreite: 14 Meter
Längste Gerade: 487 Meter
Linkskurven: 6
Rechtskurven: 12
Beste MotoGP™ Pole-Position: 1´32.627 (2015)
MotoGP™ Rundenrekord: 1´33.617 (2015)
Stefan Bradl‘s Resultate 2015: Startplatz 13 / DNF
MotoGP™ WM-Stand 2016:
1 #93 Marc MARQUEZ / SPA / Repsol Honda Team / Honda / 125
2 #99 Jorge LORENZO / SPA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 115
3 #46 Valentino ROSSI / ITA / Movistar Yamaha MotoGP / Yamaha / 103
13 #6 Stefan BRADL / GER / Aprilia Racing Team Gresini / Aprilia / 29