        Zero points and a long lap penalty at the next round. This is what Assen brought Fabio Quartararo, who does not agree. Or rather, after having accepted the blame for the crash, it seems that the Frenchman is not happy with the penalty inflicted on him by race direction. After taking no action on several previous occasions - Nakagami at Barcelona for example, they have come down hard on the current champion. Fabio&rsquo;s outburst  &ldquo;Now you cannot try an overtake - writes Quartararo in an Instagram story &ndash; because they think you are too ambitious. From the beginning of the year some riders made &lsquo;racing incidents&rsquo; but apparently mine was too dangerous&rdquo;. It&rsquo;s not hard to work out to whom the Yamaha rider is directing his words, the Frenchman voicing his disagreement very clearly. &ldquo;Congratulations to the stewards for the amazing job you are doing&rdquo;, continues Quartararo, &ldquo;next time I won&rsquo;t try any overtaking, to avoid any penalty. Great holidays and see you at Silverstone&rdquo;. Strong words from Fabio, which are already firing up the second part of the season. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Dorna makes pre-emptive change to Japan GP schedule       

Fabio on Instagram: "Other riders have had racing incidents, apparently mine was too dangerous"

Quartararo against the Stewards Panel: “Congratulations, I won’t try to overtake again”

        Fabio Quartararo&rsquo;s first mistake of the season came at the most unexpected time. During the Assen GP, the Frenchman made an error of judgement as he attempted to pass Aleix Espargar&oacute;. The Yamaha rider overdid it on entering the turn, crashing and hitting the Spaniard in the progress, a chain of events that had a real impact on the Aprilia rider, who was then forced to play catch up from the back of the field. In light of this, race direction has decided to punish the championship leader, who was found guilty of having gone too far. Long lap penalty to be served during the next GP  During the next Silverstone GP, Quartararo will have to complete a long lap penalty, in virtue of the damage he caused to his Aprilia rival in carrying out a move that race direction deemed to be &ldquo;overly ambitious&rdquo;. A race that will start with something of an uphill climb for the Frenchman then, who will be keen to make up for the mistake made at Assen. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Dorna makes pre-emptive change to Japan GP schedule       

Race Direction has decided to punish the Frenchman for his attempt to overtake, a move that had a serious impact on Aleix Espargar&oacute;&rsquo;s race&nbsp; &nbsp;

MotoGP: penalty for Fabio Quartararo, to be served during the Silverstone GP

        The 2022 edition of the Assen GP is the first without Valentino Rossi, who retired from MotoGP at the end of 2021 to dedicate himself to life as a dad and racing driver. But Valentino&rsquo;s name will be forever linked to that of the Dutch track, where the Doctor won ten races, the last of which in 2017. Rossi: "Assen, a stadium-type atmosphere"  The nine-time world champion is not present in the Assen paddock due to previous commitments with Team WRT at both Zandvoort and Spa-Franchorchamps, but he&rsquo;s still keen to extol the virtues of the Dutch track, albeit at a distance. &ldquo;I&rsquo;d have liked to be at Assen to see the MotoGP, my team, my brother and the VR46 riders. But unfortunately it wasn&rsquo;t possible as we already had a test scheduled in Belgium&rdquo;, Rossi tells website RaceSport.nl, without concealing his love for the track known as the university of motorcycling. &ldquo;The track layout is fantastic &ndash; admits Vale &ndash; I had the honour of riding the old configuration too, before the modifications were made in 2006. That version was long, fast and tough, amazing to ride. After that work it became a bit more like a normal circuit, but it&rsquo;s still beautiful&rdquo;. Rossi and his memory of 2017  And it&rsquo;s not only the track, as the Dutch fans are also special: &ldquo;The atmosphere is fantastic, especially through the final sector &ndash; in the race it&rsquo;s like entering a stadium. I hope to return to TT Assen, even if it&rsquo;s only as a spectator&rdquo;. Valentino then delves into the memory books: &ldquo;Assen was one of my favourite tracks on the MotoGP calendar. I won ten races at Assen, the same as Barcelona. I also scored my final GP win there, in 2017, and I think that's my best memory of this track&rdquo;. Speaking of Dutch tracks, Valentino thinks it would be impossible to stage a MotoGP event at Zandvoort: &ldquo;No, I think the track has two or three points that are too dangerous. There&rsquo;s not enough space there for MotoGP. So it&rsquo;s best to keep Assen for MotoGP and Zandvoort for Formula 1", concludes the Audi WRT driver and GT World Challenge Europe competitor. Translated by Heather Watson Rins and Oliveira: a guaranteed future in MotoGP, but no signatures yet       

The former MotoGP rider, who now competes in the GTWC Europe, has never hidden his love for the Dutch track: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sorry not to be there this year&rdquo;

Valentino Rossi: “I adore Assen, I carry the 2017 win in my heart”

        In a certain sense, Takaaki Nakagami is one of the men of the moment. On the one hand, the Barcelona incident has not yet been fully put to bed, for various reasons, and on the other hand, the Japanese rider is perhaps the focus of Honda's attention in terms of development, as the manufacturer tackles a puzzle that appears to have no solution. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s not much I can say&rdquo;, comments Taka, &ldquo;We have a problem and we don&rsquo;t what to do right now. After the summer, I think we&rsquo;ll see big changes. The engine is OK, but in terms of the frame and aerodynamics we&rsquo;re not at the level of our rivals, especially with the aerodynamics, as we haven&rsquo;t improved since the winter tests. We&rsquo;re lacking rear grip and rideability, and you have to be excessively on the brakes in corner entry, which doesn&rsquo;t help. It&rsquo;s difficult.&rdquo; Last weekend was a disaster for Honda. Have you talked about it? &ldquo;Not specifically, but it was definitely a difficult weekend. It&rsquo;s not good to see Honda last and outside the points &ndash; there&rsquo;s clearly a problem, so we need to work out what to change.&rdquo; Nakagami: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not yet 100%&rdquo;  How are you physically? &ldquo;The three crashes in Germany didn&rsquo;t make my physical condition any worse, but overall it was a tough weekend, largely due to the heat. I lost a lot of energy day by day, so it was complicated. I&rsquo;ve rested as much as possible over the last few days and, although I&rsquo;m not yet 100%, I&rsquo;m there. Assen is not a negative track for us, but the weather is always hard to predict. We need to be ready in any case and try to complete a good weekend to round out the first part of the season as best we can.&rdquo; This track is known to be physically demanding. Are you worried? &ldquo;It&rsquo;s definitely a track that requires energy, particularly in the last two sectors but we&rsquo;ll see. After this weekend, we&rsquo;ll have five weeks off, so we need to give it our all now.&rdquo; Translated by Heather Watson Rins and Oliveira: a guaranteed future in MotoGP, but no signatures yet       

The Japanese rider explains: "We&rsquo;re lacking rear grip and rideability. I expect big changes after the summer&rdquo;

MotoGP, Nakagami: “Right now there is no solution to the Honda’s problems”

        Many rumours are circulating, some reliable and others less so, all of which relate to the MotoGP riders&rsquo; market which opened already at Qatar and is about to explode this summer. A decisive step in terms of future contracts came following the announcement that Suzuki is set to withdraw from the championship. Alex Rins is of course involved, as is Miguel Oliveira, despite the latter competing for KTM. Two important announcements are expected over the Assen race weekend. Everyone wants Rins, LCR will get him  Alex&rsquo;s name has been heard almost everywhere. Any possible attempt to save team Ecstar would have also involved the Barcelona rider, with talk of a theoretical move to KTM. It then looked as if the Spaniard were destined for Aprilia RNF, with team bosses appearing close to making a decision. Later on, after the rider chatted with Ducati and was spotted in various hospitality units, the news emerged that Honda was keen to have Rins, although not on the factory HRC team, where his current team-mate Joan Mir, is headed. Alex would instead compete with the LCR four-cylinder. At this point of the season, it looks certain that Rins will form part of Lucio Cecchinello&rsquo;s satellite squad, although this is still to be confirmed on paper. It is very likely that the official announcement will be made this coming weekend. Oliveira, didn&rsquo;t you want a Honda? For Miguel, two years with Aprilia RNF  In truth, Miguel was expected to move to Honda LCR, something we previously wrote about, and not as a joke. But Aprilia RNF has apparently been more prompt and determined in its negotiations with the Portuguese rider, who currently rides for the factory KTM team. Oliveira is expected to ride the RS-GP for the satellite team, with sources who work with the Noale manufacturer considering this a likely proposition. Likely, but yet to be confirmed, with an actual contract still to be signed. And so we await official confirmation regarding Alex Rins... The Dutch GP comes right before the summer break and, for both sponsors and riders alike, heading off to the beach (or mountains) knowing what they will race for the next two years and for whom gives them a real sense of serenity. While Miguel will race for RNF for two years, during 2023 and 2024. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP: 2022 is becoming a nightmare for Morbidelli       

Alex and Miguel seem destined for Honda LCR and Aprilia RNF, though the agreements are yet to be confirmed. The Assen weekend could prove decisive for both &nbsp;

Rins and Oliveira: a guaranteed future in MotoGP, but no signatures yet

        Friday at the Dutch GP got off to a good start for Valentino Rossi. Although he lies seventeenth in the combined standings, the Petronas rider has good sensations in both wet and dry conditions, having quickly found good feeling with the Assen track. "All in all, I think we can be satisfied with this first day at Assen&rdquo;, comments the nine-time world champion. "It&rsquo;s never easy to feel immediately at ease at a track, especially one we&rsquo;ve not raced at for two years, but the new asphalt offers excellent grip and lets me feel confident aboard the bike, not something we&rsquo;ve often had so far this season". "Don&rsquo;t misinterpret my optimism"  "Don&rsquo;t misinterpret my optimism though&rdquo;, continues #46. &ldquo;I feel good on the bike but we&rsquo;re still far from where I&rsquo;d like to be and these are not the positions I&rsquo;m aiming for of course. But this time we&rsquo;re moving in the right direction and will try to continue in this way, though it will be very difficult to bother the frontrunners". The Doctor closes by touching on another sport close to his heart, the football: "I&rsquo;m already organised for the Italy game. Tomorrow I&rsquo;ll be watching in my motorhome with my brother, Uccio and all the Academy guys, especially Migno who&rsquo;s a big fan. We hope to do well on track while they do well on the pitch". Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Zeelenberg: &ldquo;Morbidelli has had surgery, sad he's not here&rdquo;       

The Assen weekend hasn&rsquo;t started badly for Valentino, who has immediately found good feeling with his team Petronas Yamaha M1. "It won&rsquo;t be easy to catch the frontrunners, but I have good sensations&rdquo;

MotoGP Holland, Rossi: “Not where I’d like to be, but I’m optimistic”

        After a particularly negative German GP, in which he crossed the line in last position, Maverick Vi&ntilde;ales is back out front at Assen, rounding out the day with the best overall time aboard his factory Yamaha M1. &ldquo;Our problem is the same as ever - a lack of grip. When there&rsquo;s very little grip, like in Germany, we really struggle, while here at Assen for example, we&rsquo;ve been able to be competitive and fast right from the first laps without making any changes&rdquo;, explains the Spaniard after the second free practice session. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t copy Quartararo&rdquo;  &ldquo;I said I would try to copy Quartararo&rsquo;s settings but in the end I didn&rsquo;t need to. Tomorrow I might try that if I find myself in difficulty, but I hope the weekend continues in a positive way&rdquo;, continues number 12. Lastly, the Spaniard touches on the criticism he received following the tough Sachsenring race: &ldquo;I try not to listen to those who criticise. I&rsquo;m aware of my abilities with this bike, while those on the sofa are only good at passing judgment. If I were as mediocre as they say, I wouldn&rsquo;t be first overall right now&rdquo;. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP, Zeelenberg: &ldquo;Morbidelli has had surgery, sad he's not here&rdquo;       

After a bad weekend in Germany, Maverick looks to be back on top at Assen: "When there&rsquo;s good grip, we can be quick. I try not to listen to the critics"

MotoGP, Viñales: “If I were mediocre like they say, I wouldn’t be up front”

        Over the eighteen years in which Valentino Rossi has competed in the Dutch GP, at Assen, one of the most historic motorcycle tracks, he has amassed ten podiums, eight wins, five pole positions and seven fastest laps. It is undoubtedly a special track for him, one where he has battled hard and experienced countless memorable moments. High points  One highlight is his latest win, which he scored on 25 June 2017. Under the Dutch rain, the Doctor had it all under control and, having moved into the lead, he defended himself well against second-placed Danilo Petrucci. There was also an historic duel with Marc Marquez in 2015, with the Spaniard&rsquo;s desperate last-gasp pass at the final chicane, and let&rsquo;s not forget Rossi&rsquo;s victory in 2013, the first on his return to Yamaha following those tough Ducati years. We might say that this marked the start of his second Yamaha chapter. Assen in his heart  And this year? The situation is clearly serious, the Italian having scored just 17 points and lying nineteenth in the standings. This event could therefore be more important than any other, the rider himself admitting: &ldquo;Assen is a great track for me and I really like the layout, it really flows. I really like the place and am always excited to race there&rdquo;. So there&rsquo;s only one thing to do: &ldquo;We need to keep positive, focus on the final round before the summer break and score a good result at Assen&rdquo;. He&rsquo;s not short on determination. Translated by Heather Watson MotoGP 2021, Ducati: three-pronged attack, but no 'frontman'         

The Dutch track holds great memories for the Italian, not least that of his last win, and he is optimistic as he arrives at a track that works in Yamaha&rsquo;s favour &nbsp;

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