Team Alstare Suzuki's Max Neukirchner (Photo: Suzuki Racing) » More Photos

SUPERB PODIUM FOR MAX!

Team Alstare Suzuki rider Max Neukirchner took a superb third place in the first race in Assen today. The young German was a contender throughout the 22-lapper and finished strongly in third behind series leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Carlos Checa (Honda).

Max was also a podium contender in the second race until a small brake problem forced him to slow. But he kept charging hard and finished fifth to record his best weekend of the season. Team Suzuki Alstare rider Yukio Kagayama took fourth place in race one and then suffered a tire problem in race two which forced him down the order to sixth. His teammate Fonsi Nieto had a weekend to forget, with a crash and a DNF in race one and an eleventh in race two.

Max - Race 1: 3rd, Race 2: 5th

Race one was a fantastic race and a fantastic result for me. I was always with the front runners and felt very comfortable with them. I had some small problems with two right turns and maybe it was because I was using the rear brake too much that the front was moving round a bit. In race two, I think I overdid the front braking and after ten laps had a lot of problems with grip in the fast corners. So instead of pushing too hard, I decided to ride safely and get as many points as possible.

Yukio - Race 1: 4th, Race 2: 6th

Race one was better for me then race two because the bike feeling was better. I made a small mistake in the chicane and went into the gravel. I recovered OK but lost two positions and after that it was hard to catch up again. I used the same bike in race two, but the rear tire feeling was not so good and there was quite a bit of vibration or chattering. If I tried to go any faster the vibration got worse, so I just had to ride as hard as I could and finish the race.

Fonsi - Race 1: DNF, Race 2: 11th

This was a weekend to forget. I don’t why I highsided and crashed in the first race because it happened without any warning. I hit my left knee pretty badly and had to have a painkilling injection so that I could start the second race. But the problem was that there was not enough strength in my legs to move the bike around and I had to use my upper body instead - and that wasn’t so easy.