A positive first day for Aegerter and Mulhauser in the Netherlands

With a brilliant second and third respectively in the first free practice session for the Dutch Grand Prix, Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten) and Thomas Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) had a difficult afternoon session on this legendary circuit situated in the north of the country. Seventh at the end (Aegerter) and eleventh (Lüthi) this Thursday - the race, as an established tradition in the Netherlands, will take place on Saturday - the two best Swiss riders planned a strategy to save their best tires. Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten) progressed throughout the day regaining his confidence with the bike again after his serious crash during the Catalan GP two weeks ago. Fred Corminboeuf, the boss of CGBM Evolution, the company that owns the two Swiss teams, summarised the day: "It was a lot better than what the classification suggests. One tire worked a lot better than the other, Domi and Tom realised this very soon, and they decided to save them, thinking about Friday's qualifying, which is more important, and even more the race. I am very confident for the remainder of the weekend; Robin regains confidence with his bike after his crash in Barcelona, he struggled this morning but improved a lot in the afternoon already."

They said ...

Dominique Aegerter (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 7th): "The hardest rear tire works really well, the other one a lot less. The temperature increased by ten degrees his afternoon and I worked with a used rear tire on purpose. We used a set-up modification that did not work before we returned to the one that allowed me to stick with the best in the morning. I was consistently fast this morning, which is positive for the race. The circuit here in Assen is really special; it is a fast track and very different from all the other ones. One can feel an enormous tradition here and whenever we go out here we have to remember the historical moments that took place here."

Robin Mulhauser (Technomag Racing Interwetten, 27th): "The medical checks that I underwent the day after the Catalan GP assured me that I did not suffer a concussion but the muscles in my neck suffered a lot. In the test the following Tuesday my engine broke after four laps and since the rain arrived, we decided to finish there. As a result, this morning was the first time that I was on my bike after the accident and although I still struggled in the first session, things improved in the afternoon. I feel good and I believe that I can do well on Friday in the qualifying."