The young, Australian riding the Marlboro Ducati with the maturity and skill of a world champion elect, has opened up a 26-point lead over Rossi following his fifth victory of the season in the rain at Donington Park on Sunday. Seven-times world champion Rossi knows that he must get back to winning ways round the 2.831 miles Assen circuit to prevent Stoner building up too big a lead in the 18-round championship.
While 21-year-old Stoner has been piling on the points and victories, Rossi has only won two races and the last of those at home in Italy three grands prix ago. He arrives at Assen on the Fiat Yamaha with an impressive record having won five times at the legendry track including three premier class victories. However his record at the last two races in Catalunya and Great Britain was even better - but Stoner, who has yet to win in Holland, beat him both times.
There is little chance of it being just a two horse battle in the 26-lap race with world champion
Nicky Hayden looking to repeat his dramatic win of last year to kick-start his season of disaster. Fellow American
Colin Edwards, Rossi’s team-mate, will be keeping a short memory. On Sunday he finished a brilliant second at Donington after starting from pole, a year ago chasing his first grand prix victory, he crashed going into the very last bend while leading. Hayden won from
Shinya Nakano, his own Repsol Honda team-mate
Dani Pedrosa and Stoner, who was then a rookie riding for Honda LCR.
John Hopkins took his very first
MotoGP pole at Assen last year and has been in tremendous form this season, together with his Rizla Suzuki team-mate
Chris Vermeulen, who also has plenty of Assen experience from his World Superbike days. They are fourth and fifth in the championship with Vermeulen, third at
Donington, just shading it by two points.
