Kawasakis Second and Third

The Assen 500km opening round of the 2005 FIM World Endurance Championship has been won by Suzuki Castrol. Riders Vincent Philippe and Keiichi Kitagawa led from the first lap to the last lap, holding a comfortable advantage for much of the race.

The race was incident packed from the start, with second placed qualifier Suzuki Nederland being one of the last teams to get off the line after their engine refused to start. By lap ten they had tucked into third place behind Suzuki Castrol and Yamaha Austria No.7, with Yamaha Austria No.77, Yamaha Phase One and Kawasaki Bolliger slipstreaming and fighting for position.

The pace cars were called out after an accident on the entry to the start / finish line, bunching the field into two groups. When the incident was cleared Suzuki Castrol were 40 seconds ahead, with a real battle going on for second place. Yamaha Austria No.7 crashed while in second place, but rider Gwen Giabbani was able to bring the bike back to the pits for repair, and the team rejoined the race. The Yamaha Austria No.77 bike was less fortunate, also crashing out of second place but unable to continue.

This allowed Kawasaki Bolliger to move up to second place, in front of their partner team Kawasaki Diablo, with Yamaha Phase One Endurance in fourth and Yamaha Shell Endurance Academy in fifth place.

Suzuki Nederland repeatedly moved up through the field before slipping back again because their pit stops were not as fast as the other teams. Yamaha Austria No.7 were also on a charge, making up places as Ducati Spring Team crashed out of the top ten and Shell Endurance Academy made an unnecessary stop.

Suzuki Castrol made a "splash and dash" fuel stop with just two laps to go but with their comfortable lead this was a precaution worth taking. They finished the race two laps in front of second placed Bolliger Kawasaki, who were themselves a lap ahead of Diablo Kawasaki. Yamaha Phase One were fourth despite Yamaha Austria No.7 having closed to within 38 seconds.

The sixth to tenth placed finishers were all on the same lap, with only one and a half seconds separating Yamaha X-One and Kawasaki Team RMT21.

Press Conference Quotes:

Vincent Philippe - Suzuki Castrol - 1st Place: "The race was very difficult. The first session was too easy, but after that I had a hard rain tyre and it was very difficult to stay on the bike. I am happy to finish and to win."

Keiichi Kitagawa - Suzuki Castrol - 1st Place: "This is the first time I have ridden this course, and it is a very difficult course. I am happy with this result."

Dominic Meliand -Suzuki Castrol team manger - 1st Place: "No problems; a good race. The conditions were difficult; very mixed, but no technical problems. When the rain was light, it was hard to choose a tyre, but later it was an easy choice."

Marcel Kellenberger - Kawasaki Bolliger - 2nd Place: "It is a happy moment for all of us at Bolliger to be on the podium. The second relais was a little dangerous for me; it was hard to stay on the bike in the rain on slick tyres, but after that it was ok. I don't think the rest of the season will be so easy."

Steve Mizera - Kawasaki Diablo 666 Bolliger - 3rd Place: "The beginning of the race was a bit difficult because after the safety car went in I couldn't find my speed again. But we knew from testing that the Kawasaki had a very good set-up in the rain, and this was our advantage this weekend. James and Kevin gave their best, and we are pleased to be on the podium."

Provisional Top Ten Finishers