Thanks to all of you who made it out to the Day of Champions last Thursday, it was an awesome event and I hope you all had as much as fun as I did. Coming together for a good cause is a big part of what the motorcycling community is about and all of us involved with Riders for Health are truly grateful for your support.

A big thank you to Silverstone who pulled out all the stops to make sure the transition of the event to a new venue went smoothly. I must admit to a few sleepless nights wondering about how it would all go but the facilities were excellent, the British crowd as always were a lot of fun and the racer’s did their bit by treating the fans to a good show.

It was so cool to have MotoGP back at Silverstone which is one of the iconic names in motorsport. It’s fast, technical and after enjoying memorable wins there in 1980 and 1984 it’s a personal favorite of mine. The new layout is a nice addition and the feedback from the riders was that it’s right up there with circuits like Phillip Island for the fun factor.

While Jorge took the race by the scruff of the neck, behind him a real spectacle was unfolding much to the delight of the fans. Watching the following group of five riders pass by every couple of minutes while battling for the podium was awesome, they kept at it right up to the checkered flag and it really had the crowd up on their feet.

Hats off to Ben Spies who rode a really smart race, putting pressure on the riders in front of him and pouncing when the opportunities came. Beating both Factory Ducati’s and a HRC bike is no mean feat, but to do so while injured shows the kind of grit you need to make your mark in MotoGP.

Andrea Dovizioso shone again in second place and apart from Lorenzo he is the most consistent racer in this campaign. The only thing missing from his arsenal right now is the ability to challenge for race wins and with the RC212V starting to come good he needs to take his game to the next level if he wants to take on the 99 bike.

The Moto2 and 125 races were also fantastic with the rider’s leaving nothing back in the garage resulting in lots of last lap action and I’m sure every spectator went home on Sunday feeling like they got their money’s worth.

Assen is now shaping up to be a classic encounter with many riders having a lot to prove to both themselves and their teams, so like the last race at Silverstone I expect a lot of close racing.

In the red corner, we have two Ducati riders who have shown glimpses of pace this year but with no podiums to show for it. Both Nicky and Casey have won the Dutch TT before and while Nicky must be sick of finishing just off the rostrum, Casey must be even sicker of finishing behind Nicky!

Ben Spies just had his first taste of champagne for the year and obviously knows his way around Assen having won there last year in SBK, so a second successive podium will be his target for sure. No doubt Ben’s ‘Tex 3’ teammate Colin Edwards will be looking for a good result as he has a good record there as well - remember he just missed out on a first MotoGP win at the last corner at Assen in 2006.

Finally you have an ever improving Honda, with Dovi and Dani trading punches in the fight to be the number one factory rider and the two Marco’s at Gresini finding their feet after a slow start to the season. Then we have Randy De Puniet, who not only wants to finish as top satellite Honda rider, but top satellite rider period – a position he currently enjoys and can consolidate with another strong result. So there are plenty of factors at play that could come together for a race to remember on Saturday!

So have a great weekend, enjoy the racing and I am sure there will be lots more to talk about in my next column!

Randy