Andrea Locatelli won the World Superbike Race Two Sunday at TT Assen Circuit, in the Netherlands. Riding his Pata Maxus Yamaha YZF R1, Locatelli won the 21-lap race by 2.968 seconds.
Alvaro Bautista was the runner-up on his Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R and surprisingly Remy Gardner was third on his GYTR GRT Yamaha YZF R1.
2024 WorldSuperbike Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu was 8th on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR.
Danilo Petrucci finish the race 11th on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati Panigale V4R.
American Garrett Gerloff crossed the finish line 16th on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Nicolo Bulega suffered again technical issues on his Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R.
For the championship, Razgatlioglu is 21 points behind his principal rival Bulega who has 136 points. Locatelli is third with 107 points.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
LIVING LA VIDA LOKA: Locatelli claims first race win at Assen’s Race 2 after Bulega forced to resign. Assen’s Race 2 had a late twist, making this the first race weekend with three different race winners since last time out at Assen in 2024.
It’s curtains on the Pirelli Dutch Round for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders here in Assen as we have our winners from Race 2. Andrea Locatelli topped the podium in the final race at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ after Nicolo Bulega’s likely victory was dashed due to a tech issue. Alvaro Bautista scored another podium for Ducati, and Remy Gardner again showed his improvement, earning his first podium since Assen’s Race 2 in 2024.
LOCATELLI BRINGS HOME YAMAHA’S 3RD EVER WIN IN ASSEN: Follows Haga in 2000 and Spies in 2009
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fought his way back up to the front after starting in P10. ‘Bulegas’ started a race for the first time outside of the top five in his two years competing in WorldSBK; but that made no difference to the Championship leader as he pulled into P1 by Lap 16, to what seemed like he would cruise to claim his second Race win of the weekend. Everything changed when suddenly his bike sputtered to a stop, and was forced out of the race with a tech issue. Seizing the opportunity, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) took first to claim his first-ever race win in WorldSBK in his 153rd race start for Yamaha. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) made his rostrum return in P2, earning his 113rdcareer podium. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) rounded out the rostrum for his first podium since Assen 2024 in Race 2; showcasing the progress made by him and his Yamaha factory team with their Yamaha R1.
SAM LOWES STAYS UP AT THE FRONT FOR P4, TOPRAK STUMBLES DOWN TO P8 FROM POLE
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fell behind from having started in the first two grid positions. They were each overtaken quickly by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who took an early P1. from there Lowes battled for the podium positions before falling out of the podium fight, finishing in a still-strong P4. Razgatlioglu fell farther back and continued to lose positions which he was unable to make back before he finished in P8. In P5, Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) once again carried the flag forward for his new Bimota team, charging up the grid from his P11 start. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) followed his Bimota teammate across the line for P6, the pair of Bimota riders finishing close to one another as we had seen earlier throughout the season prior to Assen.
AEGERTER P10: Three Yamahas in top 10
Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) continues his string of strong results after recovering from injury, earning P7. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) had a middling result in P9, capping off a weekend to forget for the Italian star. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made it three Yamahas in the top 10, his second top 10 of the weekend as he finished P10. Behind him, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had a similarly disappointing Race 2 to Iannone, finishing P11.
TARRAN MACKENZIE IN THE POINTS AGAIN: Follows Superpole Race P9 with P14 finish
Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) was obligated to take a Long Lap Penalty for Irresponsible riding after his incident with Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) in the Superpole Race, finishing the Race in P12. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) Finished in P13, ahead of Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) to round out the point-scoring positions.
BMW WOES: van der Mark and Razgatlioglu both struggle in Race 2
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) missed out on the points by a mere two tenths of a second, showing grit as he continues to try to adapt to his new surroundings in green. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a disappointing result in the last race of the round, delegated to P17. Rookie Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) in P18 finished ahead of Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) in P19 and Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) in P20; Rabat less than a second back on Redding. Jason O’Halloran (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crossed the finish line in P21, followed by Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) in 22nd, concluding his first weekend at Assen.
The top six from the WorldSBK Race 2: Full results here!
1. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha)
2. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.968s
3. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +4.396s
4. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +4.803s
5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +7.380s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +12.109s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega, Ducati – 1’34.178s
Championship standings:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 136 points
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 115
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 107
4. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 86
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 81
6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 527. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) 51
8. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) 41
9. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 41
10. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 38
Mark your calendars for next the Acerbis Italian Round next up on May 2nd-May 4th. Tune in live or watch On-Demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass!