Barrier fifth, Savary retired.

Sylvain Barrier has done a good race on the circuit of Assen in the Netherlands and he finished in fifth position. It is his logical place and he was smart enough not to get overexcited and to finish the race well. He is now in third position in the championship standings, only five points behind the rider who is second. Michaël Savary had a disappointing weekend and he chose not to finish the race because he didn’t feel so well.

Maxime Berger, starting from pole position, was the favourite on the Dutch land of his team Ten Kate Honda. But for the third time this season Ayrton Badovini won the event on his BMW. The Italians Davide Giugliano (Suzuki) and Michele Magnoni (Honda) finished third and fourth in front of Sylvain Barrier (Garnier BMW). Overall, it’s a good day for Barrier who stays in the top three of the championship. He knew how to manage this race with his head, scoring precious points rather than taking chances. The next race in Monza should fit him better.

Michaël Savary was never in the hunt this weekend, during the practice sessions and during the race. He did what he could, but the Assen weekend was not very positive for him. He deserves to be seen again, in better circumstances.

Michel Garnier (team manager): “Sylvain has done a good race. He did everything he could. There is still this problem of feeling with the front. He saved the fifth position, he couldn’t do any better. I am happy. Michaël had some psychological problems and he couldn’t achieve a good result, that’s why he stopped. Sylvain is now in third position in the championship, with the same number of points as Maxime Berger. It is not a bad weekend; we went through worse than that! We hope to have a good motorcycle for Monza.”

Sylvain Barrier: “The starting procedure was very long, which is not good for the concentration. So my start was not so great. The first three laps were OK, and then I had some trouble with the front. When the carcass of the tyre is new, the bike turns well. Then it’s harder, I have to push on the inside of the curves not to exit too wide. I tried to follows the guys in front of me, but I lost some grip on the rear. We had a good fight with Loris Baz, before he crashed. Then I couldn’t catch the riders in front of me, and the one behind me was at 1.1 so I cruised to the fifth position.”

Michaël Savary: “I was not confident this week end. Let’s wait and see… at Monza.”

Race result:

1     86 Badovini A. (ITA) BMW S1000 RR 21′44.147

2     21 Berger M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 2.213

3     34 Giugliano D. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 4.323

4   119 Magnoni M. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 6.977

5     20 Barrier S. (FRA) BMW S1000 RR 9.812

6       8 Antonelli A. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 16.667

7       9 Petrucci D. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 16.713

8       7 Mähr R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 17.069

9     14 Baroni L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 17.198

10  11 Tutusaus P. (ESP) KTM 1190 RC8 R 18.927…