All action day at Assen delivers Locatelli’s first victory

#WorldSBK

Race 2 Highlights

On his 154th start Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) finally won his first WorldSBK race. The Italian rider, the 2020 WorldSSP champion for Yamaha, delivered a sensational performance. Luck was on his side but having finished on the podium in Race 1 and fourth in the Superpole Race he showed his consistency this weekend
Despite starting from the fourth row of the Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was the favourite for the race and hit the front on Lap 11. The Italian suffered a second mechanical failure of the day at the start of the penultimate lap
A race long battle for the podium was settled in Alvaro Bautista’s favour. The double World Champion finished the race almost three seconds behind the winner but had a margin to Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in third. The pair spent the race fighting throughout the 21 lap race

Having struggled for pace and consistency in Race 1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) once again had a difficult race. The BMW rider battled in the lead group during the first half of the race but gradually lost positions. During the final laps he was overtaken by Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) and finished in eighth position

Championship Highlights

Having suffered two non-scores on Sunday Bulega now holds a 21 point advantage over Razgatlioglu at the quarter point of the season
Locatelli’s first victory has elevated him to third in the standings and sits 29 points behind Bulega

Ducati hold a 48 points lead from BMW in the Manufacturer Standings with Yamaha 58 points adrift

P1 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha)

“It’s an amazing day! I still can’t quite believe it but I need to enjoy the moment. I have great memories from here with my first podium in 2021 and now my first win. Maybe this place is a good fit for me. We did an incredible job all weekend and we were strong in all conditions. This is only the third round but it’s our first win and already our third podium of the season. We need to keep pushing in this direction because there are a lot of races left. I want to enjoy this moment and take a bit of a break because I’ve been working really hard to be in this position. Then we’ll reset and fight again. I hope to be on the podium, and maybe even win, at Cremona in front of the Italian fans.”

P8 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

“The Superpole Race was in full wet conditions and I felt great on the bike. The grip wasn’t bad. This was my first win in the wet conditions on a Superbike so I’m really happy about that. I was already thinking about Race 2, which looked dry, this morning. We tried a different setup but it still didn’t work. We used a different tyre compared to Race 1 because yesterday the rear tyre dropped for the last eight laps. Today we used the harder SC0 tyre but in the last laps I had the same problem. At one point I was even thinking about coming into the pit box. But then I focused on scoring points. To finish seventh or eighth doesn’t mean much for me but it’s a long championship. We need to improve the bike, and I hope we can come back stronger to fight for wins.”

DNF– Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

“I don’t know what to say. We had a problem this morning in the Superpole Race but I had a really strong Race 2. I was leading the race with a gap but with two laps to go the bike stopped again, just like in the morning. The team is checking what caused it because both problems felt the same. I’ll try my best at Cremona to to recover points. Right now, I’m just thinking about everything I did today and for sure I’ll try to bounce back next time.”

Race 2 Results

1. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha)
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.968s
3. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +4.396s
4. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +4.803s
5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +7.380s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +12.109s

RACE 2 RESULTS

Tissot Superpole Highlights

The ten lap Superpole Race started in wet conditions but as the race progressed conditions improved. Starting from the front row of the grid Toprak Razgatlioglu led all but one lap to claim his first career victory in wet conditions
Championship leader Nicolo Bulega led the opening tour before dropping to second position. A technical problem eventually sidelined the Italian from podium contention and as a result he was forced to start Race 2 from tenth on the grid
Pole-sitter Sam Lowes’ strong weekend continued with a first career podium in the Superbike class. Lowes dropped to eighth position at the end of the opening lap but within three tours he was in podium contention. The ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider was Razgatlioglu’s closest challenger and finished in second position

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) rounded out the podium finishers while Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) finished in ninth position for the all-important final point

TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

Oncu denies Manzi

A race long battle saw Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) take the spoils in Race 2 at Assen. The Turkish rider led a Yamaha one-two ahead of Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing). The duo’s battle went down to the wire and was settled by a track limits penalty dropped Manzi one position after he exceed track limits at the final chicane
Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) suffered issues with grip throughout the 18 lap race but finished on the podium in third position
For much of the race the lead group consisted of ten riders. As the group started to splinter the majority stayed upright but Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) both crashed. Mahias was involved in an incident with Phillip Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) while Booth-Amos crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 16. The British rider remounted to finish 15th

Championship Highlights

Manzi holds a 14 point lead from Bendsneyder with Booth-Amos third

With their fourth win of the season Yamaha are 24 points ahead of MV Agusta in the Manufacturers Standings

P1 – Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)

“I’m very happy. I was a little bit disappointed yesterday because we had the red flag and all the chaos. It was a tough day yesterday but we started today and I told myself, ‘let’s race smart.’ Before the race, Kenan and the whole team spoke to me and told me to be careful and I listened to them. I want to thank my team, because last night they worked like crazy, and today they gave me an incredible bike. It was very emotional for me and I placed the Turkish flag in the gravel because I wanted to say, ‘Now I’m back.’ I can finally say that all the bad memories are behind me.”

Race 2 Results

1. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)
2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.012s
3. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +3.150s
4. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +3.422s
5. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +5.131s
6. Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) +5.997s

Double Dutch for Buis

A thrilling WorldSSP300 race went down to the wire. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) emerged with the victory in a photo finish where the Dutchman finished 0.001s ahead of David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI). Buis led six of the 12 laps
By avoiding trouble at the final chicane Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) came through to finish third. It was the first podium of the season for the Spaniard who was a double Assen winner last year
Having started from pole position Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) set the fastest lap during a stirring recovery ride. The Spaniard was penalised two Long Lap Penalties for a Race 1 incident but came back to fight for the win. Fernandez finished just off the podium in fifth position

Championship Highlights

With three wins from four races Buis leads the World Championship by 13 points from Benat Fernandez and Julio Garcia who are joint second in the standings

KTM lead the Manufacturers Championship by nine points from Kawasaki

P1 – Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing)

“I’ve never experienced something like this; it’s incredible. To take a double victory here in Assen is something that I couldn’t have even dreamed about. In the final corner, I made a mistake with my shifting and that’s why the other rider came very close. Luckily, I managed to stay in front and that’s what matters. For the next round, the goal is to score as many points as possible. Sometimes it’s a double win, sometimes it’s a fifth place but my aim is always to stay in the points and avoid getting taken out by other riders, even if that can happen.”

Race 2 Results

1. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing)
2. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) +0.001s
3. Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) +0.656s