Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

TT Circuit Assen

Assen, Netherlands

April 20, 2018

Free Practice Three Results (all on Pirelli tires):

1. Michael Van Der Mark, Netherlands (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.156

2. Marco Melandri, Italy (Duc Panigale R), 1:35.399

3. Michael Rinaldi, Italy (Duc Panigale R), 1:35.518

4. Alex Lowes, UK (Yam YZF-R1), 1:35.646

5. Tom Sykes, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:35.721

6. Jonathan Rea, UK (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:35.729

7. Xavi Fores, Spain (Duc Panigale R), 1:35.744

8. Chaz Davies, UK (Duc Panigale R), 1:35.782

9. Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), 1:35.950

10. Loris Baz, France (BMW S1000RR), 1:36.031

11. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Turkey (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:36.168

12. Leandro Mercado, Argentina (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:36.316

13. PJ Jacobsen, USA (Honda CBR1000RR SP2), 1:36.481

14. Davide Giugliano, Italy (Apr RSV4 RF), 1:36.545

15. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:36.578

16. Jordi Torres, Spain (MV Agusta F4 RC), 1:36.848

17. Roman Ramos, Spain (Kaw ZX-10RR), 1:37.059

18. Ondrej Jezek, Czech Republic (Yam YZF-R1), 1:37.717

19. Jake Gagne, USA (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), no lap time recorded/did not ride

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:

Tough start to Assen WorldSBK for Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team

Dutch Round

TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands

Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team rider Jake Gagne endured a tough opening day at the Dutch WorldSBK round, the American rider having a high-speed crash in Free Practice 2 that resulted in him sitting out the final session of the day.

After a measured start to the day which took place in warm and dry conditions, Gagne had just started his second stint in the second Free Practice session when he crashed on the exit of turn 12 at Mandeveen, one of the fastest sections of the 4.5 kilometre long circuit. Thankfully the American rider suffered no serious injuries but numerous abrasions and a deep cut to his arm meant that he sat out the last session of the day, Free Practice 3 to give himself a chance to recuperate ahead of tomorrow.

With his limited running today, Gagne’s personal best time of 1’37.257 set in FP1 placed him eighteenth overall on combined times, 2.101 seconds off the top time.

Gagne will now rest overnight and aims to take part in tomorrow morning’s Free Practice 4 session which starts at 0845 local time (GMT +2).

Jake Gagne 45

The day started well and we had a good direction with the bike after Free Practice 1. I felt better right away with my riding and set up early in FP2 but unfortunately made a mistake and got too wide and had a big get off. I’m a little banged up for sure and it was tough missing FP3 but I’ll be feeling better tomorrow, so we plan to just move forward!

Kervin Bos

Team Manager

Today was a challenging day for everyone in the team, but that’s how it is sometimes in racing and tomorrow we have the opportunity to start over. Thankfully Jake wasn’t seriously injured in his crash which took place at Mandeveen, one of the fastest parts of the circuit where the riders are going over 200 kilometres an hour. The team now have a big job ahead of them to re-build Jake’s bike before tomorrow, so it’s all hands on deck to get ourselves ready. Although Jake was declared fit by the medical staff after the incident, he’s in quite some pain so the decision was made for him to sit out FP3 and rest up ahead of tomorrow.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office: 

#DutchWorldSBK– Day 1: Van der Mark stuns home fans in FP3

Local hero squeezes ahead of Melandri and Rinaldi with blistering best lap

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) is already putting a show on for fans

Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) started out in his home country return in style with the best lap on Friday, as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship warms up for a thrilling weekend of racing at the legendary TT Assen Circuit.

The Dutch rider has made it clear that he is at Assen to win, and the Free Practice 3 was a good start to that promise. After a promising FP1, van der Mark didn’t improve on his best lap all through FP2 and best part of the third session. But with less than three minutes to go he recorded a scintillating run, a quarter of a second faster than Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who slowly progressed his positions throughout the day before finishing second.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) roared straight into his first Superpole 2 in only his second WorldSBK round, with the third best lap of the combined sessions. Rinaldi overcame a weaker first sector to record the then-best time of the day over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who had previously dominated both early sessions and most of the third.

Rea, who rode more laps than anyone today on the Assen track, came in fourth, unable to improve on his best lap from FP2. His teammate Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), second in FP2, also had to settle for his time from the second session, ending the day in sixth. Between the two was Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK), in fifth.

Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Team) overcame his retirement in Aragon with a controlled final practice session, with the seventh best time overall. Just behind him was Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), out of the Superpole 2 positions for long stretches of FP3 but who ended up qualifying comfortably with the eighth fastest lap.

The fight for the final two positions in tomorrow’s Superpole 2 was fierce, with Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) making use of the Aprilia’s pace to creep in ninth, as the final rider under 1’36. The battle for tenth was won by Jordi Torres (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), who, while unable to run faster in FP3, made good use of his FP2 time (fifth-best in that session), just ahead of Loris Baz (GULF Althea BMW Racing Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

Jake Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team), the sole Red Bull rider this weekend following Leon Camier’s (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) accident last week, did not make it out in FP3 after his FP2 crash, but was declared fit and should run in tomorrow’s Superpole 1.

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea And Sykes On The Early Pace

In uncharacteristically hot weather conditions for a WorldSBK race meeting at the classic Assen circuit, KRT riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes secured fourth and sixth place respectively on the timesheets, after Friday’s three combined practice sessions. Both riders easily qualified for Superpole 2 on Saturday, which will determined the final grid positions for race one later that afternoon.

With the sun eventually raising ambient temperatures to 25°C and lifting track temperatures to 36°C the conditions that faced the official Kawasaki team were different from most previous Assen experiences. Despite this unusual but very welcome challenge Rea and Sykes proved fast from the start, and maintained their competitive pace throughout day one.

Rea completed two long runs to ensure he would have all the data he and his crew need to make final tyre and set-up choices for the first 21-lap race of the Assen weekend on Saturday.

Good work on track and in the pits ensured that Sykes would find a strong set-up across all three 40-minute long free practice sessions today, with the aim being a consistent performance in what are expected to be warm race conditions on Saturday.

Should Sykes win Superpole on Saturday morning it would make him the single most successful rider ever in this specialist pre-race discipline. He shares top spot in terms of career Superpole wins currently, but a 44th Superpole would take him to the very top of the rankings on his own. A race win for Tom tomorrow would be his first of 2018, but the 34th of his career.

If Rea wins race one on Saturday he will equal the current record of 12 race wins at Assen in WorldSBK, currently held by four-time champion Carl Fogarty.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “We worked in FP1 just getting up to speed and understanding the bike. There are just a few areas where we need to improve, especially in turning. We made two different set-ups and did two long runs; in FP2 and FP3 with different tyre combinations, to add to our understanding, so we are well equipped with information for tomorrow. We understand the race tyre set-up but now we can improve the bike a little bit more with the knowledge we gained today.”

Tom Sykes, stated: “I really enjoyed Friday and the progression has been really good. We improved in every session and finally we ended up very strong and consistent and I was happy with our overall race consistency. Our best lap and our 16th lap were very close and consistent and I am enjoying riding the Ninja ZX-10RR. The feedback today has been very nice. With the hotter conditions the front and rear tyres are working and moving quite a lot but they are giving me good feedback. I am able to respond and use this to the best potential.”

More, from a press release issued by Gulf Althea BMW:

Encouraging sensations for Gulf Althea BMW at Assen

Assen (The Netherlands), Friday 20 April 2018

Just one week after the conclusion of round three of the 2018 Superbike World Championship in Spain, the Gulf Althea BMW Racing team is already back at work, taking part in round four of the SBK series, and round two of the Superstock1000 category, at the historic TT track in Assen, in The Netherlands.

SBK: rider Loris Baz completed the day’s three timed practice sessions with encouraging results. In the opening session, which took place in cool but dry conditions, the Frenchman proved to be immediately at ease at the Dutch track, setting a best of 1’36.554 to position sixth. Showing confidence throughout the second and third sessions too, Loris was able to improve on his time by more than half a second (1’36.031), to close in eleventh position overall. Unfortunately, this means that Baz and the team miss out on entry to Superpole2 by just one position, and a fraction of a second, and will therefore be facing tomorrow’s Superpole1.

STK1000: young Italian rider Alessandro Delbianco was out on track for the first two free practice sessions today. He used the first session to get to grips with what is a brand-new circuit for him, gradually gaining in confidence and improving on his lap times. By the end of the opening practice, he was lying ninth thanks to a best time of 1’39.975. Later on, in second practice, Alessandro improved on his earlier time by a good eight tenths of a second. His fastest lap, completed in 1’39.105, saw him close day one in eighth position.

Loris Baz:

“In general we had a positive day, with much better feeling than we had at Aragon. I’m just disappointed that we finished in P11, missing out on SP2 by just 0.029 of a second. We could have done it, as I’d been improving over the session, but I just lost a little too much in the third section. A pity, as it would have been easier to start straight from SP2. We’ve taken a step forward with the electronics and the setting anyway, so we have a little more rear grip. Let’s hope we are able to progress to SP2 tomorrow and then fight closer to the front in the race.”

More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing Team:

Forés is seventh overall after free practice at Assen TT Circuit

Assen, 20th April 2018. Under an unusual weather for dutch round, with more than 25 degree in the air, the first day of the MOTUL FIM WorldSBK at TT Assen circuit, in The Netherlands, concluded. By his 1.35.744 the Barni Racing Team rider Xavi Forés was seventh overall and he is directly qualified for Superpole 2. The Spaniard was half a second far from the leader, but the first ten rider are packed in 0.846 s, and just three tenths of a second separated fourth to tenth.

Riding his Ducati Panigale R Forés posted his best lap in the last part of FP3 and he was able to improve step by step in the three session of Free practice. At the fascinating ‘Motorcycle Cathedral’, the flag bearer of the team from Bergamo was third in the FP1 (1’36.359), than he was moved down till the seventh place in FP2 (1’36.072). In the last timed to qualify session he was able to brake the wall of 1’36 but he remained seventh overall. Right now for the team and his rider it’s time to analyze data preparing the qualifying session. Tomorrow at 10:55 Forés will fight for a good place in the starting grid in the Superpole 2. Race 1 will be on stage at 1 pm.

Marco Barnabò, Principal Manager

“We didn’t expected temperatures likes that but we didn’t suffered hot. Honestly I must say the bike is at his best and Xavi could’t ride constantly as he would. We have to make some changes setting the bike”.

Xavi Forés, #12

“It was a challenging day because we had a different setup from last year and we still have to work to find the right setup. I think we have found the right way to follow but the bike is not enough good for me. The performance are balanced and with some changes tomorrow morning I believe we can make a big step forward”.

More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team ready to fight: Melandri 2nd and Davies 8th in Friday’s free-practice sessions at Assen

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team resumed action today at Assen (Netherlands) for the fourth round of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship. In Friday’s free-practice sessions, Marco Melandri made a solid start posting the second-best time with a 1:35.399, only 0.243 behind the provisional leader, thereby laying a solid base for Superpole and Race 1.

Chaz Davies was not far behind his teammate within particularly narrow rankings – with only a second separating the first 12 riders – taking about 8 tenths of a second off his personal best and closing the opening day in 8th position (+0.626) despite some grip issues.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi was once again the fastest “independent” rider on track with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team, impressively setting the third-best time, only 0.119 behind Melandri. All three riders gained direct access to Superpole 2.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team will resume action tomorrow at 08:45 local time (CET) for the fourth and last free-practice session ahead of Superpole and Race 1, which is scheduled to start at 13:00.

Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – (1:35.399) 2nd

“Today we got off to a solid start, both myself and the crew. We focused our work to improve stability on the straight. On Friday, this is often not a problem but, if I do a longer run – like in FP3, when we did 10 consecutive laps – the wobbling becomes a bit more apparent. We sure hope this is not the case tomorrow. If anything, with these warmer temperatures, it will be easier to manage the tires over race distance.”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – (1:35.782) 8th

“We worked methodically to improve the setup but we’re still looking for the next step forward as we still need a few tenths. In particular, we are trying to improve turning and edge grip, which also affects acceleration in some parts of the track. We made a big change between FP2 and FP3, which worked under some aspects, so we just need to put all the pieces of the puzzle together ahead of FP4 tomorrow.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team #21) – (1:35.518) 3rd

“I’m quite happy with today’s results. We learned a lot from Aragon, and we planned our work more efficiently. We’re trying not to waste any energy, making the most of every single lap. Today we progressively found a good setup and then I pushed hard in FP3 to finish third. We want to move forward on this path.”

More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:

Local Hero Van der Mark Shines in the Assen Sun on Friday

Free practice

The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team got off to a stunning start on Friday at Round 4 of the 2018 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship at a hot and sunny Assen. It is always a special occasion for Michael van der Mark to race at his home round in front of the passionate Dutch fans and he gave them something to celebrate by topping the overall timesheets with a superb 1:35.156. His teammate Alex Lowes also enjoyed a strong Friday, building his pace throughout the day as he searched for the perfect setting with his Pata Yamaha R1, before finishing in fifth on the combined timesheets with a 1:35.646, 0.490s behind his teammate.

Van der Mark put on a superb display for the passionate Dutch fans that packed the TT Circuit Assen on Friday with the historic circuit bathed in sunshine and track temperatures rising to 37°C. The 25-year-old from Rotterdam was a permanent fixture in the top three on the combined timesheets throughout the day and got off to a blistering start after setting a 1:35.931 to end FP1 in second place. During FP2, wary of using up his tyre allowance, he focused on using the harder rear tyre and showed excellent consistency, with every lap in the 1:36s. In FP3, the 2014 WorldSSP Champion completed a long run and then continued to work on his race pace on the likely race specification tyre, before heading out at the end of the session and lighting up the timing screens in spectacular fashion to record a 1:35.156 and finish 0.243s ahead of the field. Happy with the work completed on Friday, van der Mark now heads into Saturday confident he will be able to challenge at the front during SP2 and Race 1.

His teammate Lowes showed a mature and patient approach on Friday as he searched to improve the setup of his Pata Yamaha R1. Spending most of the day working on the less favoured rear tyre, he ended the morning’s FP1 session in seventh with a 1:36.567. In FP2 he continued to work on his race pace and trying to find the right feeling with bike to allow him to fully attack the TT Circuit Assen. In the process, he improved to a 1:36.146 to end the session in eighth and stay ninth on the overall timesheets. The 27-year-old British rider made a superb start to FP3, improving by almost half a second to set a 1:35.731 on just the second lap of his 19-lap race simulation. There was more to come from the 2013 British Superbike Champion, who left it late to head out on a set of fresh tyres towards the end of the session, managing to set a 1:35.646 to end Friday in fifth overall. This saw Lowes join his teammate with direct passage through to SP2 and, confident that he can improve significantly on Saturday, a feeling that the best is yet to come.

The Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team return to action at Round 4 of the 2018 WorldSBK Championship at Assen on Saturday at 8:45 am (CEST) for FP4, with SP2 due to kick off at 10:55 am, and the 21-lap Race 1 scheduled for 1 pm. Check out the combined timesheets from Friday at the TT Circuit Assen.

Michael van der Mark

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 1st – 1:35.156

“I am really happy with today, I enjoyed it and the team and bike worked well! We started this morning with a very good feeling, we had some small areas we needed to improve, so I was quite happy with my R1 from the start. Then in the second session, we tried to solve a slight grip issue I was having and we found quite a good solution but we decided to use only a hard tyre to see if we could make it work, so, the second session wasn’t really the best one. Anyway, we knew we would have some new tyres in FP3 so I did a long run and felt okay. I was losing a bit of time in some areas but towards the end of the long run, we managed to improve it with some adjustments. Then we went for a hot lap and I was really surprised with the time and I am really happy to finish Friday in first position.”

Alex Lowes

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team – 5th – 1:35.646

“It was a tough day but with some positives to take. We are still haven’t found the overall setup I need and, to be honest, I didn’t feel very comfortable riding the bike. In my long run, I had a quite a few big problems. We spent all day until the last session on hard tyres so, maybe, we need to adjust the bike a bit for the soft tyres but, from how I felt on the bike, I imagine we can improve the bike quite a lot for tomorrow, so we should be in a decent position because the pace wasn’t so bad. It is clear we need to improve and I have done everything today to give the guys enough information. If they can make me feel a bit more comfortable on the bike then I think we can be quite competitive.”

Paul Denning

Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal

“It’s fantastic to be in Assen in such beautiful weather and consistent track conditions. Yamaha’s engineers have worked hard to give Michael and Alex a better package than we finished Aragon with and the R1 has performed consistently and has been pretty close to the pace in every session as well. It is great to be P1 at the end of Friday with Michael and Alex very close behind. We made a near race-distance run with both riders in FP3 and there is work to do to close the gap on the fastest riders when the tyres have done a few laps. So, we have to remain realistic and work very hard to continue to improve the potential of the R1 and see what we can achieve in qualifying and Race 1 tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Milwaukee Aprilia:

Savadori into Superpole 2 at Assen as Giugliano makes progress

TT Circuit Assen 20 / 04 / 2018

Free Practice Report

Milwaukee Aprilia secured a successive Superpole 2 entry at Assen with Lorenzo Savadori while stand-in rider Davide Giugliano continues to improve

With hot and sunny weather persisting all week Friday’s Free Practice sessions gave the rider’s good conditions to run in, with track temperature’s reaching 37 degrees in the afternoon.

The morning FP1 session saw Lorenzo finish P12 and Davide P17, with the entire field covered by 3.5s. A minor crash for Lorenzo at Turn 8 brought out the red flags, but the session was restarted shortly after and both riders headed straight back out. Davide, in only his fifth Free Practice session on the Aprilia, initially struggled to find a set-up to allow him to push for a fast lap time but was able to gather useful data for a push in the afternoon.

The field closed up in the afternoon’s FP2 session, and riders experimented with qualifying set-ups as the track rubbered in. The Milwaukee Aprilia riders both showed impressive speed, Lorenzo ending the session in a strong P5 just 0.411s of P1, with Davide an improving P14 just over 1s from the top.

FP3 again saw the field push hard and lap times drop, Lorenzo making it into the 1’35 minute lap times and ending the session P9, 08s from P1. Davide also set his best lap in the session, finding nearly 0.2s over his previous best.

Free Practice 4 begins on Saturday 21st at 08:45 local time (GMT +1) ahead of Superpole 1 at 10:30, Superpole 2 at 10:55 and Race 1 at 13:00.

Lorenzo Savadori #32 – Aprilia RSV4-RF

FP1: 1’37.240 – P12

FP2: 1’36.041 – P5

FP3: 1’35.950 – P9

Combined result: 1’35.950 – P9

Superpole 2 automatic entry

“It was a positive day in general for us. We did a lot of work on making the bike turn better, and also a lot on the race pace. I’m not sure what happened in my crash in FP1. It was strange because I lost the rear with no warning, so we need to investigate this.

FP3 was a good session and I was in P5 for most of it, but when it was time to push hard for lap time we had an issue with the bike and that lost me the chance to set a quicker lap.

There is work for us to do tonight and we know the areas to improve on. The bike is feeling good and of course the track is quite technical to set-up, but I’m confident we can make a step tomorrow.”

Davide Giugliano #34 – Aprilia RSV4-RF

FP1: 1’37.744 – P17

FP2: 1’36.726 – P14

FP3: 1’36.545 – P14

Combined result: 1’36.545 – P15

Superpole 1 entry

“It was difficult for me today to be honest, but the bike is still very new to me and there are new things that I need to try with it. It was a very useful day me of course and the Assen track is a good challenge.

I tried to push hard but I was not 100% comfortable, so we made some changes and I was happier with it. The weather has been good too and this helped us to make a good amount of laps.

Tomorrow for sure we can be faster. The bike was feeling better for me today lap by lap, my lap times dropped and with some hard work tonight we will be in a stronger position.”

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