Damned,ASSEN, encore du copier-coller

Three Wheelers Arrive at “The Cathedral”
Round four of the FIM Sidecar World Championship heads to the Netherlands. Known by the fans as “The Cathedral”, the Assen circuit was originally a brick paved road circuit running through local villages and had a lap distance of 28.57 km when racing started in 1925. In 1955 a whole new purpose-built circuit was constructed, with a lap distance of 7.705km. This remained unchanged until 2006. With the lap distance reduced to 4.555 the circuit has now changed dramatically except for the finish line, which is the same as it was in 1925!
The Croatia round marked a major upheaval in the Championship. Championship leaders Ben and Tom Birchall did not attend as a result of injuries incurred by Ben in a crash at Isle of Man TT races. Also, Joerg Steinhausen and Axel Koelsch were spectacularly side-lined by a massive crash, resulting in Koelsch undergoing hospital treatment for a broken foot. Their machine was damaged beyond repair and they might not be back for the rest of the season. Another duo not present in Croatia was Kurt Hock and Enrico Becker; Hock sustained a very bad burn to his leg, ruling them out of the proceedings.
With three of the top four teams out of action in Croatia, Tim Reeves and Gregory Cluze took full advantage, leaping to top spot on the Championship leader board with two decisive wins, taking their points tally to 91. Reeves and Cluze also have their LCR, Kawasaki running fast and reliably; a good result in Assen will do their title hopes no harm.
Uwe Guerck stood on the podium for the first time in Croatia. He and passenger Manfred Wechselberger had two good race results, a fourth and a third, jumping them up to second in the Championship title race behind Reeves and Cluze. The Birchall Brothers Ben and Tom are hoping to make their race comeback in Assen. They now sit third in the Championship; only 6 points adrift of Guerck and Wechselberger. Driver Ben will be hoping that his hand injuries have healed well enough to leave him fully race fit and get them right back into the fight for the title.
Currently fourth in the Championship are Petri Makkula and Harri Asumaniemi. They too stood on the podium for the first time in Croatia, and after a torrid start to their season at the first two rounds, they now sit only 2 points behind the Birchall’s in the Championship standings. Makkula had to fight for his third and second places in Croatia though. Poor starts made life hard for the Finnish pairing and they will be hoping to get away faster in Assen.
Sitting fifth in the championship are Jacob Rutz and Thomas Hofer, only 1 point behind Makkula and Asumaniemi. Rutz and Hofer looked likely to pick up fourth place in the Gold race in Croatia, but they slowed down, letting Mike Roscher and Anna Burkard take advantage. They are now in sixth place in the Championship, only 2 points adrift of Rutz and Hofer. Both teams know the Assen circuit well and will be hoping for good race results to bolster their title hopes.
The Dutch team of Bennie Streuer and Geert Koerts also took their first podium in Croatia, with a great second place in the Sprint race. They looked to be on for the same in the Gold race, and another second place finish in Croatia would have propelled them to second in the Championship, but on the last lap in the Gold race their rear drive sprocket failed, giving them a disappointing DNF. This left them down in seventh place in the Championship with 29 points. In Assen, their home track, they will be looking for support from the fans to boost their title challenge.
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After sitting out Croatia, Hock and Becker will also be looking for a chance to improve their title hopes in Assen. There is only 1 point between them and French team Philippe Gallerne and Julien Chesneau, who had cruel luck in the first race in Croatia. Their fuel pump failed leaving them stranded trackside for the whole race and giving them a DNF instead of the valuable points they would have earned with a finish.
It is looking as though Janez Remse might not be in Assen. He and passenger Jamie Biggs had a crash in qualifying in Croatia and Biggs was admitted to hospital with a fractured hip and damage to an arm. Their LCR chassis was extensively damaged too.
There will be six one-event entry teams in Assen hoping to upset the permanent teams’ results. Not all hail from the Netherlands though: one team from Estonia, Eero Parm and Mairon Meius, will be racing their LCR, Suzuki for the first time at this level of the sport. German driver Robert Zimmermann with Dutch passenger Sander Faber have been known for their lightning starts in the past with their LCR, Suzuki. The all-Dutch team of Hilbert Talens and Llse De Haas will be counting on their track knowledge to help them to a good result, as will Marcel Ritzer and Erik Ritzer with their LCR, Suzuki. Wiggert Kranenburg and Jeroen Schmitz, also from the Netherlands, will be racing their LCR, Yamaha. Dutch driver John Smits with Belgian passenger Gunter Verbrugge will be racing one of the only two RCN chassis outfits at this meeting; they will have Yamaha power in their machine.
Friday 27 June will see a 16-lap race for the Championship.
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Y AVAIS D EXELENTS FRANCAIS A ASSEN ! BRAVO A EUX GRAND CLUZE /JUJU / FIFI / ENCORE BRAVO ! (pas aussi doue que les monsieurs phaseurs desole !)