Alice TT Assen Practice Sessions

The 2009 MotoGP season has been a real barn-burner so far, with at least three riders battling for the points lead, and the lead currently being jointly held by both World Champion Valentino Rossi and hard-charging Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, this year has been a very entertaining ride.

Alice TT Assen on Saturday, June 27

Thursday’s practice session running up to the Alice TT Assen competition had Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, and Jorge Lorenzo once again riding fast and recording three of the top four times at Assen. This time however they found themselves in a position these three racers haven’t found themselves in much this season, as they trailed the fastest rider of the session, Randy de Puniet, for the fastest time of the practice. The times recorded were probably a little slow and they should be a little better in the next session, provided everybody starts letting it rip a little more. The difference between the best time and the fourth best time was only 0.219 seconds, which if it continues would be unusual, but could certainly mean we might get to see a lot of passing and close racing during the Alice TT Assen competition.

World Champion Valentino summarized his day as a good start leading up to the Alice TT Assen race and that he was confident and fast but still wanted to make a few minor adjustments to the bike before the race. He also stated that Randy had an excellent day, was fast and quick in the corners, and he was looking forward to competing against him in a few days.

The day wasn’t as productive for Nicky Hayden as he had transmission problems with his Ducati Desmosedici GP9 race bike and is certainly hard at work with his team trying to figure out his transmission. He did manage to keep his bike running reasonable fast despite his problems and managed to finish a respectable 12^th place in the first practice session leading up to the Alice TT Assen on Saturday. Check the times below to find out what time you should tune in to watch the race. All times below are Assen local times.

Image: Zuma Press