Motul FIM Superbike World Championship
TT Circuit Assen
Assen, Netherlands
April 30, 2017
Race Two Results (All on Pirelli tires):
1. Jonathan REA, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), 21 laps, Total Race Time 33:48.345, 1:35.579
2. Tom SYKES, UK (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -0.025 second, 1:35.712
3. Chaz DAVIES, UK (Ducati Panigale R), -5.077 seconds, 1:35.990
4. Michael VAN DER MARK, Netherlands (Yamaha YZF-R1), -8.739, 1:36.003
5. Alex LOWES, UK (Yamaha YZF-R1), -16.244, 1:36.531
6. Leon CAMIER, UK (MV Agusta F4 RC), -17.899, 1:36.476
7. Jordi TORRES, Spain (BMW S1000RR), -19.026, 1:36.475
8. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -19.184, 1:36.232
9. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Honda CBR1000RR), -21.475, 1:36.352
10. Stefan BRADL, Germany (Honda CBR1000RR), -24.693, 1:36.727
11. Roman RAMOS, Spain (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -26.751, 1:36.956
12. Leandro MERCADO, Argentina (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -26.924, 1:36.871
13. Xavi FORÉS, Spain (Ducati Panigale R), -36.611, 1:36.465
14. Randy KRUMMENACHER, Switzerland (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -40.597, 1:37.484
15. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -49.140, 1:37.524
16. Ayrton BADOVINI, Italy (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -51.241, 1:37.488
17. Raffaele DE ROSA, Italy (BMW S1000RR), -61.141, 1:37.478
18. Ondrej JEZEK, Czech Republic (Kawasaki ZX-10RR), -61.175, 1:38.516
19. Lorenzo SAVADORI, Italy (Aprilia RSV4 RF), -10 laps, DNF, crash, 1:36.281
20. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Ducati Panigale R), -13 laps, DNF, crash, 1:36.311
21. Riccardo RUSSO, Italy (Yamaha YZF-R1), -13 laps, DNF, crash, 1:37.944
World Championship Point Standings (After 8 of 26 races):
1. Rea, 195 points
2. Sykes, 131
3. Davies, 111
4. Melandri, 97
5. Lowes, 76
6. Van Der Mark, 62
7. Fores, 60
8. Torres, 57
9. Camier, 54
10. Laverty, 46
11. Hayden, 36
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Rea Wins Race Two From Sykes By Just 0.025 Seconds
A 1-2 finish from KRT Riders Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes in the second Superbike World Championship race of the Assen weekend provided great drama in the final chicane, with Sykes closing in to within 0.025 seconds of victory but Rea holding on to secure another double Dutch success.
The classic TT Circuit at Assen provided an ideal backdrop for Rea to start the 200th WorldSBK race of his career and he duly took away his seventh race victory of 2017, his 11th at Assen since he started his WorldSBK career and his third double at this 4.542km circuit since he joined Kawasaki in 2015.
It was an important day of statistics for Rea, as he also secured his 45th career win in WorldSBK and his 30th individual race win for Kawasaki.
Tom Sykes and his crew worked to improve his machine set-up overnight and he almost took his first race win of the year as a reward, only losing out on a last chicane attack on Rea by 0.025 seconds across the line after 21 intense laps.
Battling the high winds today like all his peers, Tom duly overcame his continuing physical issues to record two second places at Assen this weekend, making it six podiums from the eight races held so far this season.
In the championship Rea now leads by 64 points, from his team-mate Sykes, with Chaz Davies third on 111 points and second race faller Marco Melandri on 97.
The next races in the series will take place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th of May, at the Imola circuit in Italy.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “It has been an incredible weekend of racing. I have been especially happy with Superpole yesterday because the lap I made then was maybe the best lap I have ever made on a bike. I am really proud of that. Of course the race wins were really nice to take away. Today was a race of two halves. In the first half I raced hard until I got a warning so in the second half I just managed things to try and be safe and bring her home. I had a little bit left at the end but the biggest problem was the wind today. I was pulling a gap but then I had a huge front slide in T11, and my foot came off the peg, at mid-race distance. I decided just to ride and save something for the last laps after that. I had a big wobble coming out of 11 again near the end and I then just tried to be clever in the last lap and cover the last corner. My line was probably not the fastest way around there but it covered any move up the inside and I made it to the line first.”
Tom Sykes, stated: “It was a very close finish and I have to say thanks to the public, my fans and all the team for being very understanding about my physical condition. Yesterday we had an acceptable race but today we never stopped pushing to find an ideal set-up, right up until 30 minutes before the race started. Marcel and I were still talking about how to get the bike easier for me to ride. Physically, I was obviously not fully comfortable with the bike set-up from yesterday but today I felt we had a package capable of winning. I just did not have the bike in the right place at the right time and did not get the win for that reason. I always kept trying and I am obviously disappointed not to take the win. But considering where I was even at the start of the race week, if anybody had have offered me two second places from Assen I would have thought it was never going to happen.”
More, from a press release issued by Pata Yamaha:
Pata Yamaha Bounces Back with Valiant Fourth and Fifth in Assen
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK riders Michael van der Mark and Alex Lowes turned around a challenging race weekend in style today the two putting all their race craft into their YZF-R1s to take fourth and fifth respectively in the second race of the Dutch FIM Superbike World Championship round at Assen.
The home crowd were out in force in Assen rooting for their national hero van der Mark and the young Dutchman was determined not to disappoint. A frustrating DNF yesterday had put the motivated Yamaha rider back in 11th on the fourth row of the grid, with a pack of fast riders in front to take on. With turn one of the opening lap of the race out of the way safely, van der Mark got straight down to business, treating the thousands of fans to flashes of orange charging through the pack from the special Alpinestars leathers and R1 livery he wore this weekend for the King’s birthday.
Using his YZF-R1 to full effect he was able to carve from 11th all the way up to fourth, each pass sticking and holding. By lap nine he was less than half a second from third and quick enough to challenge for the podium. Determinedly challenging Chaz Davies for multiple laps, a couple of big ‘moments’ at fast points of the track, combined with intense pain in his right arm following yesterday’s big highside, tempered the run. Van der Mark kept it consistent and took his orange liveried R1 across the line in fourth to the delight of the crowd, signing off in style after a challenging start to a special home race.
Feeling just as motivated and determined as his teammate, British rider Lowes was also relegated to a less than perfect grid start position following yesterday’s race one DNF. Sitting in 15th on the fifth row of the grid, the Cathedral didn’t promise an easy race. Undaunted, and unfazed, Lowes was quick off the line and soon settled into a comfortable race pace, waiting patiently for his moment to strike. A handful of measured moves put him an impressive six positions ahead to ninth by lap 10, chasing down Nicky Hayden in eighth. The American was soon taken and Lowes’ charge continued, mirroring his teammate’s progress as he pushed his YZF-R1 through the pack. Leon Camier and Eugene Laverty were next, taking him past the entire mid-pack.
With just four laps remaining, the gap to van der Mark in fourth was by this point too large, leaving Lowes to bring it home in fifth having put the early weekend challenges behind him and settling his score with the Assen circuit.
Today’s results places Lowes in fifth in the championship standings on 76 points, teammate van der Mark sits in sixth with 62. The team now move to Italy for the Imola round in two weeks time.
Michael van der Mark – 4th
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team
“I am pretty happy with that! I did what I could and I was happy with my race pace, every time I overtook a rider I made it stick. I was closing on Chaz Davies, then I had a couple of scary moments at one of the fastest points of the track. It is one of my strongest points at this circuit, so I knew I could make up a lot of time there, but by then the wind had changed and the bike was maybe balanced a little too much towards the rear so the front was in the air. I had a big wobble, after that I decided to do my own race as I had a big gap to the rider behind and to be honest, after yesterday’s crash, the last four or five laps I had so much pain in my arm. The Doctors did a great job to give me some painkillers which allowed me to race, and if you had said I would get fourth position before the race, I would have taken this very happily!”
Alex Lowes – 5th
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team
“Honestly, after Friday and yesterday we needed a good result today. In previous years I have not been as consistent as I wanted to be and this year, it’s something I’ve tried to improve. I have always been fast, just lacking a bit of consistency. Yesterday’s race was hard for me to take as I don’t really know what I did wrong. I felt confident for a top six finish, so today, starting from 15th, I just wanted to do a solid job. We made some changes with the bike; I’m still not fully happy with the setup, and without my mistakes on Friday we could have made the bike a bit better for today. But, to get fifth from 15th on the grid is fantastic and all the hard work the team have put in this weekend is just incredible, that was for them! I am looking forward to starting Imola with hopefully a lot calmer Friday, which should set us up for an even better result.”
Paul Denning
Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team Principal
“Everybody in the Pata Yamaha Team should be proud of their efforts today – it’s been a really tough weekend! It was always going to be a challenging race from 11th and 15th on the grid, especially with limited track time for Alex after an incredibly difficult Friday and a double DNF yesterday. For Michael’s crew to improve his bike to the point where he could challenge for a podium until very near the end of the race, and for Alex to move forward from a difficult start and achieve a top five result on merit, was a great reward for everybody’s dedication.
This result demonstrates how far forward not just the R1 has evolved, but the project itself. Small steps in the development of the bike and the development of the team’s experience, plus the confidence of the riders, will now make the difference in terms of closing the gap to the podium guys. After today’s result and the promise shown at the other races so far this season, we can be confident that the target is achievable”
More, from a press release issued by MV Agusta:
GREAT COMEBACK FOR CAMIER AT ASSEN, ENDING 6TH IN RACE2. PJ JACOBSEN 4TH MISSED OUT ON PODIUM IN WORLDSSP
A very strong wind welcomed the WorldSBK riders on this sunny Sunday race day at Assen, Netherlands, with Leon Camier managing to come back ten positions and closing 6th the WorldSBK Race2; while PJ Jacobsen and Alessandro Zaccone ended up respectively 4th and 18th in the WorldSSP race.
WorldSBK – WUP, Race2
Leon Camier starts Race2 from the 16th position as per the new WorldSBK grid rules but he immediately starts fighting with the riders in front of him. Leon finds a very strong rhythm on his bike, managing to lap with the same lap time of the top riders and coming back ten positions before crossing the checkered flag. The English rider then finished 6th this Round n°4 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, getting another 10 points, which saw him 9th stable in Championship Standing.
WorldSSP – WUP, Race
After having scored the second fastest lap time in Saturday’s Tissot-Superpole2, PJ Jacobsen isn’t able to take advantage of the first-row start, and lose several positions in the very first race moments. The young rider from New York stays focused and step by step is able to get back a good confidence with his MV Agusta F3 675, staying with the front guys and then finishing 4th, only 1.5s far from the podium
Teammate Alessandro Zaccone closed in 18th position (3rd in the ESS class), after facing some problems with the setting of his MV Agusta F3 675 machine.
Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse will be back on track in two weeks for the Italian round of Imola, the first home race for the Italian based squad.
Leon Camier #2 WorldSBK – I am really happy to be honest. There was too much traffic at the beginning but I managed to make some really good passes and I kept a really good rhythm as well. I had some problem with the grip at the end of the race and I lost a bit of time but all in all it has been a really good race. Big thanks to all my team, they did a great job today.
Patrick “PJ” Jacobsen #99 WorldSSP – I am happy with the race, even if being out of the podium is not so good for me, because I know we have the potential to stay on top. I got some important points for the Championship and this is crucial at this stage, we just have to keep positive. My mechanics worked really hard and I would like to repay them with a great race in Imola, MV Agusta home race.
Alessandro Zaccone #61 ESS – We finally have found the right direction with the bike setting and now we must keep up going in that direction to solve every little problem. The race has surely been an hard one but considering the improvement we experienced today, I am sure we can show some good results starting from the next races.
More, from a press release issued by Althea BMW Racing:
A good recovery and seventh place for Torres and Althea BMW at Assen
Assen (The Netherlands), Sunday 30 April 2017
The Althea BMW Racing team has concluded the Assen Superbike weekend with mixed results; Jordi Torres crossed the line seventh in today’s SBK race, Raffaele De Rosa seventeenth.
In the STK1000 championship, a crash unfortunately put paid to Marco Faccani’s race.
Superbike – Race 2 – today, from twelfth on the grid, Torres lost a little ground off the line, positioning fourteenth through the opening laps. Right behind Mercado, he was able to pass him on lap seven. From then on, thanks to a stronger pace than those immediately ahead of him, the Spaniard was able to make a series of passes to move into ninth on lap twelve. Able to get the better of both Hayden and Laverty in the final stages, Jordi crossed the line in seventh position.
De Rosa, eighteenth off the line, struggled to make up positions in today’s race due to strong winds. Lying in seventeenth place for most of the race, the Italian held that position all the way to the finish line.
STK1000 – Race – fifth on the grid, Faccani immediately made up two places through the first corners. Unfortunately, the Italian suffered a bad crash after just one lap, after which the race was interrupted with a red flag. The race was restarted a short time later but Faccani was unable to take part, due to the damage caused to his BMW in the crash.
Four rounds into the 2017 championship and Torres lies eighth in the standings with 57 points while De Rosa, after what is his first SBK event of the year, has scored 3 points, placing 22nd. In the Stock1000 category, Faccani positions ninth with 11 points. BMW continues to hold fourth in the SBK manufacturer’s classification with 63 points, while Althea BMW also lies fourth in the team rankings (79 points).
Jordi Torres:
“I struggled at the start with the fresh tyre but after four or five laps I started to gain in confidence, managing to pass several riders and make a fairly good recovery. With quite strong pace right until the end, I was also able to edge past Laverty just before the line, to finish seventh. Not bad but I hope to be able to do more at Imola, the first of the team’s ‘home’ tracks.”
Raffaele DeRosa:
“I tried to start strong and push right away and I was feeling quite good with my BMW until about half way through the race. Once the wind picked up though, I had some difficulty managing the bike and I was just trying to get to the finish line. I’m not pleased with the result of course but we know we have the potential to do better…”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Chaz Davies is 3rd in Race 2 at Assen, Marco Melandri forced to retire after a crash
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team stepped once again on the podium in Race 2 of the WorldSBK Championship at Assen (Netherlands) with Chaz Davies, who crossed the finish line in third position. Marco Melandri, on the contrary, was forced to abandon the race after crashing out during lap 9 at turn 5 while he was in seventh position.
Starting respectively in tenth and seventh position, both Davies and Melandri fought their way through the traffic in the early laps, progressively climbing to the edge of the top five. Despite not being able to keep the same pace that allowed him to take the lead in Race 1 because of the strong winds, Davies eventually managed to break away and climb up to third position in lap 8, then successfully defended it until the finish line. Melandri, on the other hand, crashed while trying to stay within podium contention. The Italian walked away without injuries, but wasn’t able to rejoin the race.
After four rounds, Davies (111 points) and Melandri (97 points) are respectively third and fourth in the championship. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will resume action for fifth round of the season, scheduled for May 12-14 in Imola (Italy).
Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 3rd
“I enjoyed coming back through the field, but honestly it wasn’t easy and we rode a tough race today. We simply didn’t have the ideal feeling, which we had both in Race 1 and this morning in WUP. We lacked grip on the front and it felt a bit like riding on eggshells in the last 10 laps. We need to address why, either if it’s because of a setup issue or the strong winds, but it was important not to crash and bring home points, as I realized quite early that third-place was the best we could do today. Still, our goal is to win whenever it’s possible, and hopefully we’ll have another chance at Imola, which is a special place both for me and Ducati.”
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #33) – DNF
“Today’s conditions were tough, as the wind was really strong. Because of this, I made a mistake in turn 11 during the sixth lap and lost four positions. But, I was coming back strong. It’s a pity we crashed out, because I think I could have fought with Vd Mark as our bike was more competitive than in Race 1, even though it still wobbled a lot. Unfortunately I always had this issue in this track, perhaps because I’m lighter than most riders and can’t properly load the rear on this type of tarmac. Now we go to Imola, a track that I really enjoy riding at, where I’m confident we’ll leave behind these problems to have two strong races.”
Stefano Cecconi, Aruba S.p.A CEO and Team Principal:
“It’s been a difficult weekend for us, as we didn’t collect results in line with our potential. We’ll try to learn also from this in order to be as ready as ever for our upcoming home round, which represents a further source of motivation, and put on a show in front of our home crowd.”
More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team:
Hayden and Bradl round out top-10 in closing race of Dutch Round
Dutch Round
TT Circuit Assen, Netherlands
The Dutch Round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship has drawn to a close with the second race of the weekend at the TT Circuit Assen. After 21 intense laps throughout which the wind played a strong part, Nicky Hayden crossed the line in 9th place, with his Red Bull Honda World Superbike team mate Stefan Bradl one position behind in tenth.
Hayden got a great launch from 13th place on the grid and was already up to eighth place at the end of the opening lap. In the first half of the race, Nicky stayed in touch with the group fighting for sixth place on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine and, as the race entered its final part, he did his utmost to defend his position from a resurgent Jordi Torres, who overtook the American on the penultimate lap.
Bradl didn’t enjoy the best of starts from the front row of the grid and went all the way down to thirteenth in the early stages of the encounter. The 27-year-old from Germany was then able to set into a consistent rhythm and elevated himself to tenth place, his final position at the chequered flag.
The next round of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship will take place at Imola’s ‘Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari’ in a fortnight’s time.
Nicky Hayden 69
9th
Today was a much better race. I made a pretty good start, got in a battle with some other riders and was feeling like I was having one of my better races of the year. We were fighting with the wind, which was quite strong today and surely didn’t help. We need to do some work on the front-end in order to improve the tyre life for the second part of the race. The thing that hurt the most, though, was all the track-time we lost especially on Friday. I want to thank the guys because they worked hard and never lost focus, despite a challenging weekend.
Stefan Bradl 6
10th
Today’s race was a bit of a reality check for us. I’m quite disappointed because in the first few laps the race ran out of my hands: I was struggling in the first corner and couldn’t build a good rhythm, because it took me a bit to find the feeling with the front-end of the bike after the changes we made. At the end of the race, though, my pace was consistent, although not as quick as I would have liked it to be, but still we were able to make up some places. There’s a lot of work to do still because Imola is not too far away and we need to be ready for it.
Pieter Breddels
This morning we tried a different front tyre solution – a harder option – and Nicky was quite pleased with it. We decided to use it in the race and combine it with a harder option at the rear. He was very competitive in the first 6-7 laps after a good start, then had to drop the pace a little as he lost a bit of grip at the front; he couldn’t push as hard, especially in the last part of the lap. Stefan struggled a bit at the beginning, but then he settled into a steady rhythm which ultimately resulted in a top-10 finish. Obviously we cannot be happy with the outcome of the weekend, but we now have a better and clearer picture of what we need to do. There are many areas where we need to improve, but we will take every indication from here in order to be well prepared for Imola.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WSBK Press Office:
Rea takes victory in gripping 200th WorldSBK race
World Champion holds off Sykes to take double victory at Assen
In pleasant sunny conditions at the TT Assen Circuit on Sunday Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) gave a superb demonstration of his talent with a tight victory over second placed teammate Tom Sykes, as Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) completed the podium in third.
In his 200th WorldSBK race Rea held his nerve to cross the line 0.025s ahead of Sykes as the Yorkshireman applied the pressure in the final stages. It was Rea’s second win of the weekend, his seventh victory from eight races so far in 2017 and his 11th career win at Assen – with maximum points from Round 4 in the Netherlands putting the KRT man 64 points clear at the head of the standings.
It was a valiant effort for Sykes after his recent health issues and he will aim for his first win of 2017 next time out, in two weeks time at Imola.
After his cruel luck on Saturday, which saw Davies pull up with a technical problem with a lap to go when fighting for victory in Race 1, the Welshman bounced back with a fifth podium result of 2017 so far, in third place.
A good ride by Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) at his home round saw the Dutchman recover from a crash on Saturday to register a solid fourth place finish from 11th on the grid. It might have been even better for Van der Mark but for a big wobble for the Yamaha rider at turn 12 midrace -when he was chasing Davies for third.
Van der Mark’s Yamaha colleague Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) also made up for his Race 1 disappointment to finish in the top five again, after crashing out on Saturday.
Another Englishman Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) rode well for sixth, finishing just over a second ahead of Spaniard Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team).
The top ten was completed by Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia), Nicky Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) and Stefan Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team).
There were crashes for Italian trio Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Riccardo Russo (Guandalini Racing) meaning no points for any of them. They will each have a chance to make amends at their home round in Italy at Imola in two weeks’ time.
Race Two:
1st – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team)
“It has been an incredible weekend of racing, of course the race wins were really nice to take away. Today was a race of two halves, in the first half I raced hard until I got a warning so in the second half I just managed things to try and be safe and bring her home.”
2nd – Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team)
“It was a very close finish and I have to say thanks to my publish, my fans and all the team for being very understanding about my physical condition. Today I felt we had a package capable of winning. I always kept trying and I am obviously disappointed not to take the win.”
3rd – Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was tough, I enjoyed the racing, thay was good but in terms of how my race went I can’t say I’m happy with it, I didn’t get the bike that I wanted so eprhaps we went the wrong way with the set-up and we struggled to get the feeling with the bike that I like. We move onto Imola, Ducati’s backyard where hopefully we can be faster.”