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 s🌟ince then away from road racing, taking part in rallies in his French homeland.

But this weekend the Supermoto ace will swi💫tch firmly back to race mode as he tries to give the aging GSX-R600 a further victory.

"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 refreshed and ready for Assen. 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 pack🗹age 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 and get closer to the leaders in the title race."

Meanwhile, team-mate Katsuaki Fujiwara spent part of his summer break racing in the S♐uzuka 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.

"Suzuk♌a 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 big race at any time is a good feeling. Of course, the GSX-R1000 was very different to my GSXR600, but 𓆏I 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 a good result again. I have three races left and I want to be on the podium three times. I want to make Assen the first one!"

Last year's Assen round was red-flagged after eleven laps, with Fujiwara heading for a podium spot and Ch⛦ambon ninth.