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MotoGP: Chris Vermeulen brought his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R home in fifth place at today's Dutch TT in Assen to record his best result of the season so far.

Vermeulen got a great start from the fourth row of the grid and was in touch with the top-three at the end of lap one. He was forced back to sixth place on lap six, but with a rider falling just in front of Vermeulen on the 11^th lap it left the Australian racer in a lonely and comfortable fifth. He kept up a consistent rhythm and Vermeulen was pleased with his result, he believes it will be a stepping stone to better performances as he now heads to a run of circuits that he really enjoys.

Loris Capirossi was heavily involved in what was the battle of the race. Suzuki's experienced Italian got a poor start by his usual high standards and was relegated down to 11^th - from sixth on the grid - at the end of the first lap. From there Capirossi was in a huge fight that featured up to seven riders at any one time. He battled through the field and made his way up to ninth, before being pushed wide, forcing him to run off the track. After re-joining in 12^th he set about getting back in touch with the group and as the high-speed formation reached the last chicane Capirossi had used all his experience to muscle into sixth, but a move from Toni Elias pushed Capirossi into the gravel and although he stayed onboard his machine he had lost all momentum and brought his GSV-R home in 10^th.

Following a post-race investigation into the incident with Capirossi and Elias, the latter was awarded with a 20-second penalty, which relegated him down the classification and moved Capirossi up into ninth place.

Today's race was held in front of packed grandstands and the big crowd of 96,152 were treated to a bit of history as Valentino Rossi rode his Yamaha to victory - the 100^th Grand Prix win in the Italian's illustrious career.

Rizla Suzuki now embarks on a hectic trans-Atlantic dash as it heads to Laguna Seca in America for the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship next Sunday.

Chris Vermeulen:

"I'm obviously happy because this is my best result of the year and we have shown that we have made a step with the bike after the Barcelona test - especially on the chassis side of things. At this track - and the next couple that we are going to - it is not so important on the motor front, so the slight speed disadvantage that we have is not so bad and we can still be competitive. I got a good start to the race and got in with the front guys early on. I tried as hard as I could to stay with them, but didn't quite have the lap-times to hang in there. I kept pushing all race and when Colin came past I tried to hang on to him, but he seemed to have a bit more rear grip than me. Most of the race after that was pretty boring as I was on my own. I'm happy with fifth and it gives us some valuable points in the championship and a good result to take forward into Laguna Seca."

Loris Capirossi:

"It was not a good result today and it began with a bad start by me, it made it very difficult all race because it is not very easy to overtake here. When I was pushed wide I was really disappointed because it meant I had to start all over again and chase the other guys to get past. I got past three riders on the last lap and I was just behind Kallio on the last few corners and then he crashed, so I was sixth. I thought that would be not too bad, but on the last corner Elias tried to overtake me and put me out and that was it, it was is all over. I am upset because I really think if I had got a good start today I would have had a good race and we'd have been competitive, but it's finished now and we have to move on."

Chris Vermeulen 5th in Assen

World Supersport: Qualifying times from the ninth round of the 2009 World Supersport Championship at Donington Park, Great Britain.  Mark Aitchison will start tonight's race ahead of fellow Australians Garry McCoy, Anthony West and Andrew Pitt.

Atcho has qualified extraordinarily well in fifth.  Just behind him and snapping at his heels, though, is Garry McCoy.  Stiggy Motorsport's Ant West will fire off the line in ninth, while a disappointed Andrew Pitt could only manage to fill fifteenth place on the grid.  The Ten Kate Honda rider has had a retched season thus far.

1. Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha SSP YZF R6 1min 31.701s
2. Eugene Laverty IRL Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.222s
3. Joan Lascorz ESP Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com ZX-6R 1min 32.481s
4. Kenan Sofuoglu TUR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.818s
5. Mark Aitchison AUS HANNspree Althea Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.846s
6. Garry McCoy AUS Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 32.879s
7. Massimo Roccoli ITA Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.062s
8. Katsuaki Fujiwara JPN Kawasaki Provec Motocard.com ZX-6R 1min 33.120s
9. Anthony West AUS Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.143s
10. Fabien Foret FRA Yamaha SSP YZF R6 1min 32.182s
11. Michele Pirro ITA Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni YZF R6 1min 32.283s
12. Gianluca Nannelli ITA Triumph BE1 Racing 675 1min 32.365s
13. Miguel Praia POR Parkalgar Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.455s
14. Danilo Dell'Omo ITA Kuja RacingHonda CBR600RR 1min 32.476s
15. Andrew Pitt AUS HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 32.544s
16. Hudson Kennaugh AUS Linxcel-Seton Yamaha YZF R6 1min 32.590s
17. Barry Veneman NED George White Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR 1min 33.833s
18. Michael Laverty GBR ECHO CRS Grand Prix Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.009s
19. Arie Vos NED Veidec Racing RES Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.020s
20. James Westmorland JW Racing Triumph 675 1min 34.102s
21. Robbin Harms DEN Veidec Racing RES Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.220s
22. Gianluca Vizziello ITA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR600RR 1min 34.301s
23. Kev Coghlan GBR Holiday Gym Racing Yamaha YZF R6 1min 34.489s
24. Matej Smrz CZE MS Racing Triumph 675 1min 34.659s
25. Jesco Gunther GER RES Software Veidec Racing 1min 34.851s
26. Robert Muresan ROU MS Romania Triumph 675 1min 35.051s
27. Patrick Vostarek CZE Intermoto Czech Honda CBR600RR 1min 35.609s
28. Flavio Gentile ITA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR600RR 1min 36.155s
29. Yannick Guerra ESP Holiday Gym Racing Yamaha YZF R6 1min 36.273s

Australian Triumph veteran, Garry McCoy

World Superbikes qualifying: Ben Spies steamroller continues with another pole; Corser fifteenth and Parkes rounds out the Aussies in twenty-second. 

Superpole qualifying times for the ninth round of the World Superbike Championship at Donington Park, Great Britain.

1. Ben Spies USA Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 29.846s
2. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.080s
3. Shane Byrne GBR Sterilgarda Ducati 1098R 1min 30.535s
4. Shinya Nakano JPN Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1min 30.671s
5. Michel Fabrizio ITA Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 30.734s
6. Noriyuki Haga JPN Ducati Xerox 1098R 1min 31.023s
7. Carlos Checa ESP HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.342s
8. Jakub Smrz CZE Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 34.797s
9. Leon Haslam GBR Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.159s
10. Tom Sykes GBR Yamaha WSB YZF R1 1min 30.229s
11. John Hopkins USA Stiggy Motorsport Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.272s
12. Jonathan Rea GBR HANNspree Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 30.387s
13. Gregorio Lavilla ESP Guandalini Racing Ducati 1098R 1min 30.612s
14. James Ellison GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 0.816s
15. Troy Corser AUS BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 30.916s
16. Ruben Xaus ESP BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1min 31.120s
17. Leon Camier GBR Airwaves Yamaha YZF-R1 1min 31.176s
18. Yukio Kagayama JPN Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 31.215s
19. Lorenzo Lanzi ITA DFX Corse Ducati 1098R 1min 31.260s
20. Ryuichi Kiyonari JPN Ten Kate Honda CBR1000RR 1min 31.217s
21. Luca Scassa ITA Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 31.874s
22. Broc Parkes AUS Kawasaki SRT ZX-0R 1min 31.887s
23. David Salom ESP Team Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.183s
24. Matthieu Lagrive FRA HANNspree Althea Honda CBR1000RR 1min
32.243s
25. Jamie Hacking USA Kawasaki SRT ZX-10R 1min 32.245s
26. Simon Andrews GBR MSS Colchester Kawasaki ZX-10R 1min 32.343s
27. Alessandro Polita ITA Celani Suzuki GSX-R1000 1min 32.584s
28. Blake Young USA Alstare Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 32.735s
29. David Checa ESP Yamaha France GMT 94 1min 32.811s
30. Roland Resch AUT TKR Switzerland Suzuki GSX-R 1000K9 1min 33.384s
31. Vittorio Iannuzzo ITA SCI Honda CBR1000RR 1min 33.408s

Superpole Star, Ben Spies

MotoGP wrap: Rossi wins, Stoner 3^rd and Vermeulen 5^th.  Valentino Rossi won his 100th Grand Prix, took his second triumph in succession and became the undisputed leader of the MotoGP World Championship with a stellar performance at the Alice TT Assen. The Fiat Yamaha rider had a peerless performance from pole position and, unlike two weeks previous in Barcelona, needed no ‘Hail Mary' last lap at the Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing.

A vintage Rossi performance was celebrated with his unraveling a backdrop and posing for a classic photo with antiquated cameras, the Italian's latest post-race show with his faithful fan club.

Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was once again forced to settle for second place, his third on the bounce. The Spaniard got off to a bad start from third on the grid and, although he was able to fight back up to the front, could not provide Rossi with the same challenge that he had done last time out.

Ducati Marlboro's Casey Stoner completed the podium with a solitary ride chasing Lorenzo. The Australian now trails Rossi and his Spanish rival in the overall standings after the trio had been level on points heading in to the Assen race.

Colin Edwards equaled his best result of the year with fourth place, at the head of an enthralling battle between the ‘best of the rest'. Rizla Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen and Edwards' Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate James Toseland were also in the top six with their best finishes of the season to date.

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso had been in with a shout at the rostrum, but both took tumbles before the race took its full shape. There was also a late fall for Pramac Racing's Mika Kallio when the Finn was challenging for sixth on the final lap.

Toni Elías was penalised twenty seconds for using the run-off area illegally on the final lap.

MotoGP: Valentino Rossi reaches century of Grand Prix victories.  Valentino Rossi appears to reach a Grand Prix milestone with every victory added to his legacy, and the Italian reached a century of World Championship wins with his latest triumph on Saturday in Assen. The Fiat Yamaha rider had less of a battle on his hands than two weeks prior in Barcelona, and was in better condition to give an animated celebration -this time an unraveling of a celebratory banner and a photo with an ‘old school' camera.

"It's a fantastic achievement. 100 victories is a great number. Thanks to all the guys who have helped me to reach this number -my teams over the past ten years, Jeremy Burgess and especially all my close friends and family for giving me motivation. We hope to win some other races though!" said Rossi after stepping onto the podium with a custom made ‘100' flag.

On the race itself, which he led for almost the entirety after starting from pole, the reigning World Champion commented that: "I had a good feeling and knew that I was very fast on two or three points in the track, so I tried to get out to the front as soon as possible and impose my rhythm. It was a perfect race because any mistakes would have a high cost. I knew that Lorenzo was very strong, so I tried to take an advantage.

"It's been two races that the bike has had a good setting. This year the bike is fantastic, and we hope to continue in this way."

Rossi will have little time to savour the win, as the MotoGP World Championship takes a swift transatlantic flight to Laguna Seca, California for next weekend's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The 30-year old was a winner there in 2008, but knows that things won't be easy stateside.

"Last year was great, but it will be hard with just 3-4 days of rest. We are in a good moment, and I hope to have a good race like last year."

The Doctor racks-up 100th Grand Prix win