Best session so far for Suzuki.

Team Suzuki enjoyed its best qualifying session of the season so far at Assen today, with Kenny Roberts seventh and team-mate John Hopkins tenth on their different spec GSV-Rs.

Roberts had set the fastest time in a wet morning free practice, but the weather cleared just in time for the afternoon final qualifier. The American began the all-important hour long session as he'd left off in the morning, but saw his 'flow' interrupted by a machine problem then fell victim to some late session improvements.

"I started off well, but then I looked down and saw something (thought to be oil) on the bike that made me a little worried about tipping it in the next corner. I ended up running off the track and trying to get through the gravel to get back to the grass. When I hit the grass I spun out... it was like ice. I got it going again, but with no grip I finally stalled it in the grass," recalled Kenny.

"I guess I had a rough day after that," he said of his decline down the order to a still credible seventh. "We have new tyres here and we need to make our bike more stable on the straightaways because of the new profile. I don't really know where we're at race-wise - just try and get a good start and see what happens, but I'm happy with where I'm at as far as starting position goes."

Team-mate Hopkins made an early bid on soft-compound qualifying tyres, setting the sixth-fastest time only to see his name drop down the order to tenth in the closing-stages, but was happy enough.

"Things are going well," said the 21-year-old. "I got a lot of rain riding in over the last two days, which is something I've needed. I got it in the top 10 even in the wet so my confidence is getting better in those conditions.

"Right now the spirits are high on the team," continued the Anglo-American. "We are heading in the right direction and that's all you can ask for. The drafting here should keep the pack together for a long time in the race. So Kenny and I are just going to try to work together and see how things go. We're optimistic about our chances."

Roberts was using the latest modified version of the 990cc V4 GSV-R engine, with revised firing intervals; Hopkins used the deeper-sounding standard engine.

Meanwhile, Dutch former Suzuki racer and five-times GP winner Wil Hartog visited the pits after the session to congratulate the riders.

"Suzuki is always close to my heart so I am very pleased to see the progress they are making this season," said Hartog, whose race wins came between 1978 and 1980. "This year's bike is obviously improved. I can see that the steering is still heavy on the fast changes of direction, but the cornering is good and the bike seems to accelerate well. And the mood of the team is a lot better also."