Past pleasures give Proton hope for Catalunya.

Jurgen van den Goorbergh and the rest of the Proton Team KR are looking forward to the Catalunyan GP. The Barcelona circuit is a happy stamping ground - the circuit where the three-cylinder lightweight has achieved some of its best ever results, and likewise the rider.

But it's not history that boosts the confidence as much as the experience of the recent past, as the top Dutch rider and his new-for-2001 mount move steadily closer to their full potential, race by race, as the 2001 season completes the first third of the 16 World Championship rounds.

Although Jurgen's race finish at the last round in Italy was a disappointed 12th, after suffering physical and technical problems in a race rendered foul by atrocious weather, the overall picture that emerged from the Proton KR3's weekend was much more rosy.

On the fast Mugello circuit, with its very long straight, vd Goorbergh qualified the Proton on the second row of the grid. Slow off the line, he had a storming ride for the first seven laps. The orange-and-black KR3 made up ground hand-over-fist on the tightly-packed factory four-cylinder machines up front, setting fourth-fastest lap of the race as he closed right up. He was ready to attack and move forward from 12th position, less than seven seconds behind the leader, when the race was stopped.

From Italy the team journeyed to Assen, Van den Goorbergh's home track and their official testing venue, for two days of testing. This was both to prepare for the Dutch TT, two weeks after the Spanish round, and also to continue the endless process of refinement and improvement to the latest Mk3 iteration of the machine, which celebrated its first birthday in France in May.

From north to south, they cross Europe to Barcelona, to the Montmelo circuit, first used in 1991, and with a long straight to rival that at Mugello. Van den Goorbergh has an excellent record at the track, in 1999, riding the four-cylinder MuZ, he claimed his first pole position in the 500 class, finishing eighth in the race, his best result of the year. Last year, on the V-twin Honda, he did even better, finishing sixth.

Montmelo has also been good for the three-cylinder KR3. In 1999 it qualified on the second row of the grid for the first time, with French superstar Jean-Michel Bayle fifth-fastest in his last ride on what was then the Modenas. Last year, David de Gea was eighth in the rain-hit race, the Mk3 version's best result so far.

"I really like this circuit - it's one of my favourites," smiled vd Goorbergh. "We tested there before the season, and though for various reasons the lap time was not so good, the bike worked well there, and we have some data like gear settings and so on. I think the same could happen as at Mugello - on the first day we will find our way, then be faster on the second day - and in the race, really competitive again. There's a long straight again, but the track is closer to sea level than Mugello, which means the carburation is easier to get right. In any case, top speed hasn't been a problem anywhere this year. With the extra testing we can tidy up some little problems. I'm feeling confident and looking forward to the race."

"We need to tidy up a few areas with the bike, to help Jurgen capitalise on his better qualifying positions by getting off the line quicker," added Team Manager Chuck Aksland. "The Assen tests will give us the chance to do that. We have a good record at Barcelona. The straight is long and the fast corner leading onto it also favours out bike's better handling. The aerodynamic and engine work we've done so far means that Jurgen has been able to stay in the slipstream of the more powerful four-cylinder bikes, and then hopefully outbrake them into the first right-left corner. Barcelona is quite a fast, flowing track, and that's where our design should show its best potential."