WorldSBK Race 1 postponed due to weather condition in Assen
Unpredictable weather condition forces Saturday’s WorldSBK Race 1 to be postponed to Sunday
Following severe weather condition on Saturday afternoon during the Motul Dutch Round in Assen, the difficult decision was taken to postpone WorldSBK Race 1 to Sunday.
Following a snow storm hitting the TT Circuit Assen early in the afternoon during the WorldSBK grid, Race 1 start had been delayed twice. However, weather conditions continued to deteriorate forcing to reschedule the race, at 11:00 AM on Sunday morning, to guarantee riders’ safety.
Sunday’s new schedule will include WorldSBK Race 1 at 11:00 AM LT (GMT +2.00) and WorldSBK Race 2 will start regularly at 14:00 LT (GMT +2.00). Thus, cancelling the Tissot Superpole Race.
Starting grid positions for WorldSBK Race 1 and Race 2 will be following the results of today’s WorldSBK Tissot Superpole.
The rest of the schedule remains unchanged.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
WorldSBK Race One Cancelled For Rea and Haslam
The first race of the WorldSBK weekend at Assen in the Netherlands was not run after a combination of returning heavy sleet and snow showers, leading to a bitterly cold and wet track surface, combined to convince Race Direction to cancel Saturday’s race in order to guarantee the riders’ safety.
On a dry but very cold track surface this morning Rea finished on top of the FP3 times, 0.212 seconds faster than his nearest opponent, with Haslam third quickest around the 4.542km long circuit.
In the Tissot-Superpole qualifying session this afternoon a red flag was shown to halt the track action after two riders crashed. The session was not restarted and the riders had to take their best lap at that point as their personal Superpole best.
After this unexpected event neither Rea nor Haslam could go for a faster time, leaving Leon fifth and Jonathan eighth on the grid for Sunday’s races.
In a day laden with weather and incident inspired stoppages, the final result was no Saturday race for the WorldSBK class, despite two attempted starts, leaving all in the WorldSBK paddock looking forward to Sunday.
There will now be two full races for the WorldSBK class on Sunday, the first at 11.00hrs and the second at 14.00hrs.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “Unfortunately we haven’t been able to get a race today after Race Direction cancelled the race due to the weather conditions. Of course, they were very extreme conditions with sleet and snow but I feel for all the fans out here that came and didn’t really get to see a race. The track temperature was in a decent ballpark to go and at least try in the wet but let’s see the race schedule tomorrow. I feel really strong with the bike, the team has given me a good set-up and this morning was confirmation of this. Unfortunately we got a little bit of bad luck in Superpole so let’s just see how it plays out tomorrow with the new schedule and the start positions for both races.”
Leon Haslam, stated: “Obviously I love Assen and I hope we can have as much racing all in one day tomorrow. I think it was the right call, even if it really rained really hard, the track conditions in terms of temperature would not have made it safe. Obviously we did not have a chance to race in dry conditions. We will reset analyse a little bit more data from Superpole to make a few little changes. I am ready for anything tomorrow.”
Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) qualified ninth in Superpole, but was penalised for an infraction of the yellow flag rules and now drops to tenth in the race starting order after his fastest lap was cancelled. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) fell in Superpole qualifying and was ruled out of the race even before it was cancelled. Hector Barbera (Orelac Racing VerdNatura Kawasaki) will start his first WorldSBK races on Sunday from the back of the grid after suffering the same kind of penalty as Torres.
More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:
Another impressive Superpole for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team – Winter weather causes Assen race one cancellation.
Saturday’s FIM Superbike World Championship race cancelled due to snow.
BMW S 1000 RR rider Markus Reiterberger on front row for the first time.
Tom Sykes thwarted by red flag in Superpole.
Assen. Saturday’s Assen (NED) action was shorter than expected for the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) and the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. The afternoon’s opening race was cancelled due to snow. In the morning’s Superpole qualifying session, Markus Reiterberger (GER) had clocked the third fastest time on his BMW S 1000 RR, earning himself a place on the front row of the grid for the first time in his WorldSBK career. Lady Luck was not on the side of his team-mate Tom Sykes (GBR), whose flying Superpole lap was interrupted by a red flag. The British rider ultimately had to settle for sixth place.
The two BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders had shown in Friday’s practice that they are quick at Assen. Sykes set the fastest time of the day on his RR, while Reiterberger was fourth fastest. They then continued where they left off in the third practice session on Saturday morning with second place for Sykes and fourth for Reiterberger. Superpole was red flagged and ended with just one minute of qualifying remaining. Reiterberger was third at the time. Sykes, on the other hand, had just set by far the fastest time in sector one when the red flags appeared. As such, he had to settle for sixth place and the second row of the grid.
The start of the race was initially delayed as snow started to fall, but was subsequently cancelled. The race will be held tomorrow at 11:00 instead of the Superpole Race while race two will be started as usual at 14:00.
Quotes after Saturday at Assen.
Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director: “We brought more updates for the RR to Assen, which have allowed us to take another step forward. Markus is feeling better all the time on the bike, and it is great to see him secure a place on the front row for the first time. Unfortunately, the red flag came at the wrong time for Tom in Superpole – it was definitely going to be a fantastic lap time. We then had typically crazy April weather in the afternoon. There was no chance of us going racing when the snow started to fall. We must now hope that the weather is better tomorrow. Our goal is to convert the good performances we have shown so far into corresponding results this weekend.”
Shaun Muir, Team Principal BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “I am really pleased for Markus to get that front row start. It was a good, clean and solid lap from him. There might have been a little bit more in there but nevertheless a front row start. Flip downside for that was Tom obviously never got the chance to complete his lap which at the time the red flag came out was certainly clearly going to be a pole position for him so that was a real shame. The rest of the day has been a bit of a hanging around day, kicking our heels and waiting for the outcome from race direction which quite rightly called the end of the racing for the weather conditions.”
Markus Reiterberger: “I felt really good all weekend. I am grateful to the team that we have made so much progress. Third place in Superpole was awesome, as I have never started from the front row. We’ve only made a few changes before the third practice session, because it was so cold. The air temperature was zero degrees Celsius or below at times, while the track temperature was just three degrees. It went really well and I was fourth fastest. We started Superpole on race tyres and the first six laps were very good. We then went out on the qualifying tyres really early, which ultimately worked in my favour. When the session was suspended, I was assured of the third spot on the front row. The cancellation of the race was a pity for the fans here but I was honestly pretty glad about the decision. The track conditions were far from ideal and it would not have been without risk to race under these conditions.”
Tom Sykes: “It was a very strange day considering the weather but having said that I am happy with our progress again over the weekend. The whole BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team is working again in an effective way. We got a lot of information in FP1 which enabled us to improve the set-up of the BMW S 1000 RR. We’ve been consistently where we needed to be over the course of the weekend. Superpole was going to plan, we put the qualifying tyre in and the bike was on rails. In the first sector it was very easy to ride and the extra grip certainly enabled me to do a few more things with the set-up and the way I rode the bike. Sure the lap time would have been nice and probably could have secured pole position but it is what it is. I’m mainly disappointed to start from the second row because we have been inside the top three all weekend and then just got caught out with the red flag, but I am confident for the race. I want to get a good start and use the clear track to our advantage. That’s in an ideal world; I just don’t want to get caught up in the turns because with our bike set-up we are able some really good things with the chassis and that’s why I am able to do such a good lap time. So we’ll try to get to the front or into the top three as soon as we can.”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing:
Race 1 postponed, two races on Sunday at Assen
Assen (NED), 13th April 2019. Snowfall happened in Assen and race direction was forced to cancel Dutch round’s race 1 of MOTUL FIM WorldSBK. Saturday’s race was rescheduled for tomorrow when Tissot Superpole Race will be converted, weather conditions permitting, into a race on full distance. This means that tomorrow the Barni Racing Team will be on track for two races: Race 1 at 11 am followed by race 2 at 2pm local time.
Superpole
On a very cold conditions under cloudy skies (air temperature 4°C, track 7°C), riders went out on track for the Superpole. During the 25-minute session, Rinaldi made seven laps in all. His fastest time 1’37.221 placed him eighteenth in the timetable, the worst result in a qualifying session so far this season.
The first race, set to get underway at 2 pm, did not start as planned due to snow. Race Direction was forced to cancel it in order to guarantee the riders’ safety. After few minutes of waiting, the organizsers toke the decision to and postpone it on Sunday.
Marco Barnabo, Team Principal
In the conditions we were on the grid racing was impossible, I believe the decision to postpone the race was correct. Tomorrow we will try new setup solutions in the warm up and then we’ll have double race, as it was in past. It will be exciting for fans, but also for us.
Michael Rinaldi
RACE 1 – CANCELLED
I agree with the decision not to race today, it was really very cold and the risk was too high. Tomorrow we will have two races so nothing change, except that we hope we could race in more safety conditions. We are still working on setup because with this cold temperatures it’s hard to warm up tires and consequently it’s impossible to find the right feeling. The positive aspect is that we will be able to try new setup in practice and not directly in the race.
More, from a press release issued by Moriwaki Althea Honda Team:
Race 1 postponed until tomorrow due to snow after an eventful Saturday at Assen
Though the weather forecast was not encouraging, there was no real sign this morning of the eventful day the World Superbike field would ultimately be in for at Assen, the day having begun with clear, blue skies, albeit combined with freezing temperatures.
But Assen is Assen and the weather often plays a big part here. Today was no different, Race 1 eventually postponed until Sunday, due to snow no less.
Before that, the Superpole qualifying session saw Ryuichi Kiyonari crash heavily towards the end of the session. He was subsequently declared unfit to race, a precaution taken due to the fact he was experiencing dizziness. The Japanese rider will try to compete in tomorrow’s rescheduled race programme.
Leon Camier qualified in eleventh place, unable to complete his final very fast flying lap because of a red flag waved less than two minutes from the end.
With the weather hopefully staying fine tomorrow, the new schedule for Sunday will see warm-up taking place at 09:00am, Race1 at 11:00am, in place of the Superpole Race, and Race 2 at 2:00pm.
Leon Camier
11TH 1’35.920
“I think the postponing of Race1 was 100% the right call. Even this morning it was only about 4 degrees with track temperatures of maybe four or five degrees. That meant that even in the dry it was pretty sketchy, and we saw Cortese having a big high side in qualifying and Kiyo also crashing out. Maybe if it had been perfectly dry we could have raced, because the Pirelli tyres are behaving really well in cold temperatures. But nothing could have worked in the conditions we had today, and with the track even just a little wet, it would be really impossible to ride safely. In a situation like that, as soon as you touch the kerb or something, you don’t get a second chance. So, from the riders’ point of view it was really not safe and Dorna did a good job in taking this decision. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to race and do well, because we’re feeling better with the bike here and will do our best to score a better result.”
Ryuichi Kiyonari
16TH 1’36.879
“There is not much to say. Conditions were tricky out there today. I was pushing hard to improve my lap time towards the end of qualifying when I suffered a crash which left me badly bruised. I was not feeling great, and so even before the decision came to postpone race 1, we had already decided that I would sit out today, rest up, and try to be ready for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Aruba.it Racing Ducati:
Race 1 at Assen cancelled due to bad weather, rescheduled for tomorrow together with Superbike Race 2. Álvaro Bautista takes his third Superpole of the season, Chaz Davies seventh on the grid
Appalling weather conditions at Assen – with extreme cold, snow and hailstorms – characterized the entire second day of the Dutch World SBK Round. After delaying the start, the Race Direction rightly decided for safety reasons to cancel the race. As a result, Dorna, in agreement with the various teams, opted to change tomorrow’s schedule. The new programme will now see two Superbike races, covering the full 21 laps, to be held at 11.00 and 14.00 CET, while the Superpole Race will be cancelled.
The starting grid for both races will be determined by today’s Superpole, which saw Álvaro Bautista of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team storm for the third time in a row. The 34-year-old Spanish rider had just moved into the lead of the timesheets ahead of home rider van der Mark (Yamaha) with a lap of 1’34.740, when an incident two minutes from the end of Superpole brought out the red flags, thus bringing an end to the session.
Team-mate Chaz Davies, on his flying lap, was on the other hand penalized by the interruption. The 32-year-old Welshman was improving through the sectors but unfortunately was unable to complete his best lap because of the red flags. As a result, Davies will start from the third row of the grid with a best time of 1’35.288.
Álvaro Bautista ( Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19) – 1st – 1’34.740
“Today I’m really happy because after the change we made yesterday, I again found a good feeling with the bike, even though the track was so cold this morning and this created a few problems for us. In Superpole we made a good step forward with the race tyres even though when I put the qualifying tyre on unfortunately I didn’t notice much of a difference. Luckily, when the red flags came out, I was able to hold onto my best time at the right moment! I’m sorry about the race today but the conditions were not the best and the risk was too high. Let’s see if we get better weather tomorrow, so we can do two attacking races starting from pole position!”
Chaz Davies ( Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7) – 7th – 1’35.288
“It’s obviously disappointing for the people who turned up today, but safety must always come first. Here in Assen, even with normal conditions, the left side of the tyre is always critical, and it wouldn’t have been safe to ride in these conditions, so they made the right decision to cancel today. The good thing is that we will have enough time tomorrow to fit in the two long races and hopefully give the Dutch fans a good show. I felt good in Superpole, even though I was obviously disappointed not to finish the lap, because in sector 1 we were going well. The sharp end of the third row is not the worst position I’ve been in, we are not making too many changes this weekend, we’ve got our base set-up so there is just fine-tuning to do and I feel we’re in a good position for the race.”