De Puniet shocked by early Assen form

Putting in a surprise fast lap in Assen on Thursday, Randy de Puniet shot to the top of the free practice timesheet with a 1’37.842 turn of the Dutch track. If it came as a shock to spectators, then they weren´t alone; even the LCR Honda rider himself had not expected such a showing.

“I’m very surprised, because even though my bike is good for this track I had a lot of problems with the soft front tyre, with the brakes and the electronics,” revealed the Frenchman in the immediate aftermath of his performance, also explaining that he had changed things up for the final burst.

“At the end I used a hard tyre for the last five laps. I’m satisfied with the bike for the first day. We can still improve with the electronics and myself, but it’s a good surprise for me and the team today.”

De Puniet has finished every race so far, with mixed results but on a pleasing run of avoiding the crashes that have blighted his premier class career. Despite his early success in the Netherlands, the objectives for race day remain the same as ever.

“It will be difficult to keep this place, but I’ll be working hard tomorrow and Saturday,” he proclaimed. “We’ve been trying for a top ten this season. Here I’m better than at some tracks, but the most important thing as always is to finish the race.”