Having surprised the Supersport world by romping to a dominating victory last time out at Brands Hatch, Stephane Chambon has spent the mid summer break since then away from road racing, takiဣng part in rallies in his French homeland.

But this weekend the Supermoto ace will switch firmly back to race mode as he 💙tries to give the aging GSX-R600 a further victoryಌ.

"My win at Brands is now a memory - a good one - and I want to build on that for the last three races of the year," began Stephane. "I have had some fun in the holiday and I feel refreshedඣ and ready for Assenꦉ. I haven't had fun there before, so maybe this time I can get a good result.

"At Brands we showed that the GSX-R600 may be the oldest bike, but it's still possible to win with it," he stated. "It's good package and it may not be as good as the new bikes in some areas, it is still possible to make a good result. I will 🌠only be happy if I leave Assen with a podium place anꦕd get closer to the leaders in the title race."

Meanwhile, team-mate 🦋🍨Katsuaki Fujiwara spent part of his summer break racing in the Suzuka 8 Hour on an unfamiliar GSX-R1000. Amazingly, Fujiwara led the race before a problem during a routine fuel stop - when the bike refused to restart - leading to a disappointing DNF.

"Suzuka was a great adventure for me and I really thought that we would win it," he confessed. "Although the bike was very unfamiliar to me, I was very happy with it and to be leading such a bi💙g race at any time is a good feeling. Of course, the GSX-R1000 was very different to my GSXR600, but I enjoyed the whole experience.

"But now, I have some work to do at Assen on the Supersport bike and I have to do it well," he acknowledged. "Recently I have not had such a good time, so I think it's time for me to get aౠ good result again. I have three races left and I want to be on the podium three times. I want to make Assꩵen the first one!"

Last year's Assen round was red-flagged after eleven laps, with Fujiwara hꦡeading for a podium spot and Chambon ninth♋.