Kagayama: Assen isn't so difficult.

Suzuki supersub Yukio Kagayama qualified a respectable 17th fastest today at Assen, outpacing problem-hit team-mate John Hopkins and five other GP regulars on his first visit to the legendary Dutch TT circuit.

"I feel very happy to be here, but I am very busy at the moment, with a race every weekend. It was interesting to ride the new bike for the first time, and chassis-wise it feels good, but the engine is quite difficult at the moment," said the 29 year old.

"It's my first time at Assen, but I'm not finding it so difficult. I am riding at new English tracks all the time with a lot of climbs and dips, and this is just flat, so the corners are not so hard. But it is a long lap to learn! I hope to go faster tomorrow," he added.

The British Superbike star is taking the injured Kenny Roberts' place on the currently uncompetitive GSR-V, with this Saturday's race potentially the third of nine in-a-row for the Japanese.

Over the last two weeks, Kagayama raced to a top five finish in the British round of the World Superbike championship at Silverstone, then resumed his regular duties on the same bike at a BSB round at Brands Hatch. This Saturday he races Suzuki's 2003 GP racer for the first time, then next weekend he is back on the BSB.

One week later, he is in reserve for the GP machine again, in the unlikely event that Roberts will not be fit enough to return for the British GP. Then he races for the next four weekends, at BSB and the Suzuka Eight-Hour endurance!