Motul FIM Superbike World Championship

TT Circuit Assen

Assen, Netherlands

April 29, 2017

Race One Results (All on Pirelli tires):

1. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 21 laps, Total Race Time 33:37.082, 1:34.880

2. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -4.501 seconds, 1:35.084

3. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -17.673, 1:35.227

4. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -22.569, 1:36.061

5. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -30.797, 1:35.773

6. Stefan BRADL, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), -33.530, 1:36.155

7. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -39.176, 1:37.098

8. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -39.254, 1:35.937

9. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -39.266, 1:36.918

10. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RC), -41.493, 1:35.909

11. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -43.623, 1:36.915

12. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -48.218, 1:37.110

13. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -49.487, 1:37.203

14. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR), -50.016, 1:36.347

15. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -60.924, 1:37.272

16. Ondrej JEZEK, Czech Republic (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -76.401, 1:38.379

17. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), -1 lap, DNF, mechanical, 1:35.025

18. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -2 laps, DNF, mechanical, 1:36.325

19. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -9 laps, DNF, crash, 1:36.058

20. Riccardo RUSSO, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), -17 laps, DNF, retired, 1:38.521

21. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Yamaha YZF-R1), -19 laps, DNF, crash, 1:36.705

World Championship Point Standings (After 7 of 26 races):

1. Rea, 170 points

2. Sykes, 111

3. Melandri, 97

4. Davies, 95

5. Lowes, 65

6. Fores, 57

7. Van Der Mark, 49

8. Torres, 48

9. Camier, 44

10. Laverty, 38

11. TIE, Bradl/Hayden, 29

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Rea Wins As Ninja ZX-10RR Goes 1-2

In the opening 21-lap Superbike World Championship race of the Assen weekend Jonathan Rea scored the win and his KRT team-mate Tom Sykes took second place, results which put them 1-2 at the head of the championship rankings.

In cool but dry and bright conditions Sykes from the front row and Rea from the second row both made clean starts, with fellow-championship challenger Chaz Davies doing most of the early front-running. Rea set a new lap record, over a second faster then the previous one, on lap three, with a 1’34.880 as he caught up to Davies.

The race was evidently going to be contested by three riders, as Davies and Rea headed up Sykes, who moved closer and further behind in his third position, only losing contact for the possible win in the latter stages.

Rea had passed Davies, only to be re-passed, close to the end, but on the approach to the last two laps Jonathan’s burst to the front would be a final one, as Davies was forced to slow and then stop at the trackside. Tom therefore took second place, with Marco Melandri taking over third spot in a dramatic final act to what had already been a dramatic day for the KRT squad in some regards.

In Superpole 2, held shortly before race one, Rea set a new track best for the Superbike class with a 1’33.505. Jonathan was demoted to fourth place on the grid after it was judged he had impeded the progress of a rival while he had been setting a fast lap. Jonathan remained on pole statistically but Tom took over pole position on the grid, with Jonathan finally starting from fourth spot in a race he would ultimately go on to win.

This 1-2 for the Ninja ZX-10RR ensures that Kawasaki still leads the manufacturers’ Championship, this time by 33 points after seven races.

Rea, in taking his sixth race win of 2017 secured his tenth win at Assen across his career, five of them on Kawasaki machinery.

In the championship, before race two at Assen, Jonathan has 170 points and Tom is second overall with 111. Race two takes place on Sunday 30th April, with the 21-lap race scheduled for a 1pm start again.

Jonathan Rea, stated: “That one was really nice because the more wins you get on a certain track the more pressure you feel to repeat it. I am not sure why I click so well with Assen but it seems to be working. It seems like our bike was working very well in the faster sections of the track, and Chaz was fast out of T5 in acceleration. I could maintain the lap time as we were to-ing and fro-ing at certain parts of the track, but I was strong in the back section, where it counts for passes. I had good pace at the end and I wanted to go through then and make a gap. But every time I put my nose in front there was a big block pass into the last corner. It was, honestly, very unfortunate for Chaz at the end and it is never a good way to lose points. But it was important for me that that bad luck happened to him when he was behind me because at that point of the race I was trying to make my rhythm and go away.”

Tom Sykes, stated: “Obviously I did not feel 100% fit but that is no excuse. On the bike we just had some limitations for the set-up in this race. I think that tomorrow we can make a change in set-up and be stronger. Realistically we need to close in by about three seconds and I feel this is possible, taking all things into consideration. I was struggling at the end today not because the tyres had given their best or anything like that but, it was just that in two fast areas of the track I was struggling with feedback. In the beginning of the race I dropped back but I could keep up a good pace and got back up with the leaders again. Whatever I did, I just lost it again in the faster section of the track. That was just about confidence, so I feel we can improve.”

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

Bad luck strikes Torres and the Althea BMW team in SBK race 1 at Assen

Assen (The Netherlands), Saturday 29 April 2017

The first Superbike race of the Dutch weekend proved tough for the Althea BMW Racing team today at Assen. While Raffaele De Rosa closed thirteenth, Jordi Torres was unable to conclude the race due to a flat tyre.

In STK1000 qualifying, Marco Faccani earned himself fifth position on the grid for tomorrow’s race.

Superpole 1: De Rosa was out on track for SP1, lapping first with the race tyre and then with the qualifier. His best lap, set in a time of 1’36.489 in the final seconds, saw him close in eighth position, which translated into a sixth row start for the races.

Superpole 2: In a very hard-fought second SP session, Torres put together a string of fast laps, the best of which was a 1’35.283 with which he scored ninth place on the race grid.

SBK – Race 1: Torres, ninth on the grid, was lapping in tenth place through the first laps. Having passed Bradl on lap eight, the Spaniard then went on to battle with the German and with Savadori, positioning seventh on lap thirteen. Once past Laverty in the final stages, Jordi was on course to cross the line in sixth place today but a flat tyre a few laps from the end unfortunately prevented him from concluding the race.

De Rosa, having made up several positions off the line, was oscillating between thirteenth and fifteenth place for most of the race. The Italian continued to push all the way to the line but, a few seconds from those immediately ahead of him, he had to settle for final thirteenth position.

Jordi Torres:

“We were very unlucky in the race. In the Superpole we set a good time, though we’re still quite a way from the leaders, and our race pace seemed good through the practices. In the race, I made a good start but, not entirely sure about the tyre, I held back a little to conserve it. Despite this I made good progress and was lying sixth, but then a few laps from the end the rear tyre started to vibrate too much. The problem got worse and I realised I had a puncture, so I had to stop. A pity, because I had been lapping well and could have scored a good result today. We’ll see whether to use a different tyre for tomorrow’s race.”

Raffaele De Rosa:

“Considering that this was my first race in several months, I started with the intention of completing as many miles as possible, or rather crossing the finish line. I’m pleased because I was a little more constant than I was in the practices. We’ve scored a few points, which is OK for my first race. The positive thing is that I’ve improved my feeling and my level of confidence in preparation for tomorrow’s race. Step by step I hope to improve, starting from the very next race…”

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

TT Circuit Assen Day Two

Rea takes the victory in Assen showdown

Drama, heartbreak and domination the theme on day two in The Netherlands

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) took a clear victory in Race 1 at the Acerbis Dutch Round on Saturday, after a long battle with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended in a frustrating DNF for the Welshman who pulled up at the end of the penultimate lap. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) crossed the line in second place, ahead of Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who completed the rostrum places.

Rea had started in fourth place on the grid, having initially been on pole but being moved back three places to the head of row two due to a penalty, following a clash with Davies at the end of SP2. Davies then went on to lead for most of the race before Rea took over in the final stages and then the Ducati rider pulled off track due to a technical issue just before the start of the final lap.

Davies’ misfortune saw Sykes take a lonely second, the Yorkshireman crossing the finish line 4.5s behind Rea and 13 seconds in front of third placed Melandri. It was a good performance by Sykes considering his recent issues with a stomach illness.

Xavi Fores (BARNI Racing Team) produced another solid result in fourth place on his Ducati Panigale R, his highest finish so far in 2017. An excellent ride by Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) to fifth on his return to action also gave him his best result of the season to date.

There were also season-best results for Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) and Roman Ramos (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) in sixth and seventh respectively. Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia), Leandro Mercado (IODARacing) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) completed the top ten.

There was frustration for Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) who ran long on the first corner and then crashed out of his home race at turn 5 early on. That was before his teammate Alex Lowes went down at turn 10 midrace to make it a difficult day for Yamaha.

Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Riccardo Russo (Guandalini Racing) were both unable to finish due to technical problems.

The WorldSBK riders will be back on track at Round 4 on Sunday for Race 2 at 1pm local time.

1st – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)

“I’m really happy, I’ve had so many questions over the weekend asking why I’ve won so many here and I don’t know why. It’s just a circuit I really like, it suits my riding style a bit and to make it happen here again is great.”

2nd – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)

“I am happy with today considering where I was on Tuesday afternoon, to be second here to Jonathan is not too bad – OK I was gifted it but I had some limitations today. I think tomorrow we need to improve, overall we’re collecting as many points as we can and were close to a good set-up.”

3rd – Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“For sure the podium here was impossible to get until this morning and my speed this morning was not good enough for top five, but then in Superpole and the feeling was back, and then in the beginning of the lap my pace was ok but not enough to stay with the front guys. Fourth for me was ok here in Assen.”

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

Third place for Melandri in Race 1 at Assen, Davies forced to retire while he was fighting for the win

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team stepped once again on the podium in Race 1 of the WorldSBK Championship at Assen thanks to Marco Melandri’s third-place finish. Chaz Davies, on the other hand, suffered a bitter ending to his quest as he was forced to retire during the second-to-last lap when he was in second position, and well within reach of another win, due to a technical problem.

Starting respectively in second and fifth position, both Davies and Melandri had a strong start off the blocks, settling in first and fourth place. Davies then dictated the pace at the top, followed by Rea and Sykes, while Melandri struggled a bit more and progressively lost contact with the leading group.

With three laps to go, Davies and Rea started yet another thrilling battle, with several lead changes, but the Welshman was eventually forced to retire during lap 20 due to an electrical problem. Melandri instead crossed the finish line in third position.

The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action tomorrow at 09:30 (CET) for WUP. Race 2 is scheduled to start at 13:00. Due to the new grid regulations for Race 2, Melandri and Davies will start in 8th and 10th position respectively.

Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – 3rd

“Until this morning, I wouldn’t have expected to finish on the podium. We struggled also in FP3, and even a top-five finish wouldn’t have been easy at that point, but the team did a great job and turned things around before Superpole, allowing me to regain the feeling with the bike. At the start of the race we were quite fast, but then our pace wasn’t strong enough to stay with the top three, so I opted not to take too many risks. I’m sorry for Chaz, he was really unlucky, but I’m also happy for our result. We’ll try to improve tomorrow. The conditions here were really different compared with the races held so far, the bike was moving a lot and we couldn’t find the necessary consistency with the front over the race distance, but we’ll analyze the data to make another step forward for Race 2.”

Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – DNF

“It was a good race. I got into my rhythm at the front and the pace was strong, especially in the early laps. Still, we struggled a bit in a couple of areas and I didn’t want to make a mistake, so I tried to boil it down to a last-lap fight but unfortunately we were cut one lap short. It’s pretty disappointing because, even without knowing how it would have turned out, I think it would have been a spicy last lap to watch. That said, it was a good race until then. We need to make some small but important changes overnight and hopefully we’ll be able to battle for the win again tomorrow in Race 2 and make it one lap further.”

Ernesto Marinelli, WorldSBK Project Director

“We’re deeply sorry for what happened to Chaz while he was fighting for the win. He rode a great race, and we couldn’t have asked for more. It was a huge blow for all of us, but we want to react promptly in order to bounce back tomorrow in Race 2. On the other hand, we’re happy for Marco, who solved most of the issues he encountered during practice and stepped on the podium once again. We still have some details to iron out and, to this end, we’ll try to make the most of tomorrow’s warm-up session.”

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

Top-6 result for Stefan Bradl in race one at Assen

Dutch Round

TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands

The opening race for the Dutch Round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship was contested at the TT Circuit in Assen, with Stefan Bradl crossing the line in sixth position at the end of a thrilling and eventful 21-lap encounter. Stefan will start tomorrow’s second race from the front row of the grid, third spot. His Red Bull Honda World Superbike team mate Nicky Hayden was 14th at the chequered flag after a solid performance in the central part of the race.

Bradl got a great launch from 16th place on the grid and was already up to ninth place after few corners into the race. The 27-year-old German put up a great battle on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine as he stayed in contention for a top-8 result up to the latter stages of the encounter, while keeping a consistent pace around the 4.542 Km fast-flowing venue. In the last two laps, Bradl moved up two more positions to score his so-far personal best result in the Superbike World Championship.

After a great start from tenth place, Nicky was forced wide following a coming together of two of his opponents at turn one and lost a handful of places. As the race progressed, the 35-year-old from Kentucky was able to make up some ground: he ran as high as tenth before having to reduce his pace in the final laps, when the grip level of his softer rear tyre decreased. Hayden will start race two from the thirteenth spot of the grid.

Race two will get underway tomorrow at 13:00 local time (GMT +2) after the traditional 15-minute warm up scheduled at 9:30.

Stefan Bradl 6

6th

I’m quite happy with today’s race: it was an important result for me, the team and everyone involved. It all came quite unexpectedly if I’m honest, especially after all the difficulties we’ve had this weekend. Superpole was a bit of a drama so we had to line up 16th on the grid, which obviously didn’t help, but I had a great start and in the first two-three laps I was pushing very hard. I was able to put a bit of a gap between myself and the guys behind me, which helped me to manage the tyres a bit better. I was feeling comfortable out there with the spare bike, which is a good sign, and then towards the end it was all about tyre life, so I was happy that I could keep sixth place up to the line. It’s good to be starting from the front row tomorrow and I hope this will play in our favour for race two.

Nicky Hayden 69

14th

We set up some decent times in qualifying and were able to advance through Superpole 1. It was somehow a useful session after missing FP2 yesterday, because it gave us some extra track-time with race tyres. I made a very good start to the race: I’m not sure what happened to Michael (van der Mark), though, but he picked me up and that cost me a lot of positions. I got a few back and I was slowly coming through, but in the end I really had to close the gas, because I really wanted to get to the finish line today. I think we have the potential to go for a much better result tomorrow, so luckily we have another race coming up.

Pieter Breddels

Stefan had a great start to the race from 16th and he rode incredibly well. Sixth is a good result and, although he obviously like to be closer to the front, it’s nevertheless a good sign, especially if we consider how’s the weekend been for him prior to the race. We chose to go with the softer rear-tyre option with Nicky, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off: not only he couldn’t find a quicker pace during the race, but he was also left with very little grip at the end. We will make some changes to the rear suspension of Nicky’s bike with the goal to find some more drive out of corners. With Stefan, we won’t make any radical change, because he felt good on the spare bike and we want to build up from there.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Disappointing Double DNF Ends Race One in Assen for Pata Yamaha

It was a disappointing end to the first day of racing for the Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team in Assen today. The first race of the Dutch round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship came to an early end for both Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes, with both unable to continue having crashed on laps three and fourteen respectively.

Local hero van der Mark had a less than perfect start to his home race. Having qualified in eighth on the grid in Superpole 2, The Dutchman was unfortunate to make contact with his teammate into turn one on the opening lap, running wide and dropping to the back of the pack. A quick recovery saw him making impressive progress through to 14th position on the first timed lap and climbing, before a highside on lap three brought an abrupt end to his race. Disappointed but uninjured, van der Mark will be focused and back on track tomorrow for race two.

Teammate Lowes was equally unfortunate. The young Brit made a strong start from his 12th place on the grid on row four. Despite accidental contact with van der Mark going into the first turn, Lowes was able to keep position and keep climbing through the pack to eighth. With an impressive race pace he had climbed to pass Eugene Laverty for sixth by lap 11, settling into his ride until unfortunately losing the front to crash at turn 10 on lap 14. Lowes will head to the grid tomorrow for race two as equally determined as his Dutch teammate to make up for today?s unfortunate double DNF.

Michael van der Mark – DNF

“This morning in free practice I had a good pace and did a long run, I felt so much better on the bike and had a good feeling. The pace was not as fast as the podium guys but after them we are the only ones with a strong pace so I knew it would be good for the race. Superpole was good, I did my fastest lap ever at Assen but I think we just missed some acceleration a little bit between the corners. For the race, I’ve struggled a bit with my starts all weekend, so we need to find a solution for this tomorrow. At the first corner I had nowhere to go with Alex and Nicky in front of me so I went straight off track. The first lap I made up a lot of places and the second also I had quite a good pace. Unfortunately from the first lap I could feel I was struggling with grip on corner entry and exit, then I think I forgot that in my hurry to get to the front and lost the rear and had a highside. I’m really disappointed; it’s frustrating because I think we could have been in the top five for sure. Tomorrow is a new day, the weather is looking even better than today, even warmer which will be good for us so I hope the home fans will support me tomorrow again.”

Alex Lowes – DNF

“We’ve struggled setting the bike up this weekend, and made quite a big change for race one. The change was actually good, with more positives than negatives. Unfortunately the negative point was that we had more front tyre wear than we expected. I didn’t have too many slides until I crashed, I really wish I’d had more warnings and not finished in that way! I felt like I rode quite well before the crash, so something to take on to tomorrow to do better. I want to say a special thanks to the guys on Michael’s side of the garage who helped to fix my bike last night, and also to my crew who stayed up and burnt the midnight oil to get the R1 ready for me.”

Paul Denning

“Pata Yamaha’s challenging weekend at Assen continues! We can only work as hard as possible and study as hard as possible to improve tomorrow and put today’s result behind us. The difficult start with contact between the two riders affected Michael’s race. He needed to push hard to regain lost ground and unfortunately lost the bike before the harder rear tyre option chosen was able to get up to full working temperature. Michael makes very few mistakes but it does happen in racing, it was just unfortunate to be at his home race. I’m sure that once he is over his disappointment of race one he will come out guns blazing to set things right in race two.

Alex has had one of the toughest weekends so far of his World Superbike career, but with the help of the team and a significantly different direction for Race 1 the R1 setting was better and he was making good progress. It’s disappointing that we lost a big bag full of points. We suffered worse front tyre wear than during the practice sessions, but this can happen when we’ve lost a lot of track time on Friday. The direction is right, we just need to learn from race one and take a step forward tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:

TOP 10 FOR LEON CAMIER AND MV AGUSTA REPARTO CORSE AT ASSEN. FIRST ROW FOR PJ JACOBSEN IN WORLDSSP 

Leon Camier closes Race 1 in the top 10 at the Assen TT Circuit, after coming back 8th positions after being damaged by another rider who went off the track. Jacobsen qualifies in 2nd place after the Tissot-Superpole2 and get the first row for the WorldSSP race tomorrow.

WorldSBK – FP3, SP2, Race1

A good but cold weather welcomed the second day of the race weekend on the TT Circuit Assen. Leon Camier, who got the 6th time in the combined timesheet on the opening day, in today’s Tissot-Superpole2 took his MV Agusta F4RC in P11 on the starting grid.

At the start of Race1, when the lights went off on Assen’s straight line Camier is very quick but he was forced to go off the track, getting back to the 18th position, damaged by another rider who went off the track. The 29-years-old MV Agusta rider starts his comeback and, despite the bad feeling with the cold asphalt of the TT Circuit Assen, he can quickly reach the Top 10, then closing the race in 10th position, consolidating the 9th position in Championship Standing.

WorldSSP – FP3, SP1-2

TheWorldSSP protagonists have returned to the TT Circuit for the two rounds of Tissot-Superpole that have decided the starting grid of tomorrow’s race. Patrick Jacobsen, who had the 2nd fastest time in the yesterday’s timesheet, today confirmed the same 2nd position with a time of 1’38,479 and tomorrow will kick off the race from the front row.

PJ’s teammate Alessandro Zaccone qualified in 18th position (3rd in the ESS class), slowed by a crash after two laps of the Tissot-Superpole1.

Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK – To be honest I expected a better result for today’s race but the rear tyre, which is a crucial point here at Assen, it has been drastically consumed because of the very low temperature, causing me a lot of troubles at the end of the race. Tomorrow we can definitely make a good step forward, because except for the tyres, the bike was working pretty good today.

Patrick PJ Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP – Today was pretty good for me, we are still trying to figure out the best setting and I hope we can show some improvements in the warmup as well. We are in 2nd position, front grid, so I am honestly confident for a very positive race tomorrow.

Alessandro Zaccone #61 WorldSSP – I’m definitely not satisfied with these qualifying, I’ve also crashed after 2 laps of the second heat. We are working very hard with the team and tomorrow I will do my best to come back as many positions as possible in the race and I will try to finish in the point scoring area.