WorldSBK Assen: Bautista Extends Lead, Rea Takes 100th Win For Kawasaki
Race 1 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at the TT Circuit Assen for the Motul Dutch Round was a hard-fought affair with Jonathan Rea coming out on top against Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu as he claimed his 99th victory on Kawasaki machinery.
Rea started the race from third place, behind teammate Alex Lowes in second and polesitter Razgatlioglu but was soon fronting the field. The 2021 champion responded a few laps later to re-take the lead of the race. Rea once again passed the Turk on lap 16 before his attention turned to the charging Bautista.
Bautista had worked his way up from fifth on the grid to fight in the lead group and, after passing Razgatlioglu for second place, aimed to attack Rea on the final lap of the race. Bautista closed in on the run to the final chicane, but Rea was able to hold on to claim victory, his 16th at Assen, and take the lead of the Championship by just two points ahead of Spanish rider Bautista.
Rea’s victory means he has now won 99 races for Kawasaki and his first chance to make it a century for one manufacturer comes in the Tissot Superpole Race, a milestone that would just add to the number of records Rea has in the WSBK history books. With his first chance to make more history coming on the Sunday, Rea was asked about his feelings heading into a potential history-making day.
He said: “Step by step. We don’t want to think too much about that. Of course, the target is to go out and as many points as we can, try to win the race, but not for a piece of cake. I don’t know if the team have got anything planned but 100 wins for a manufacturer is an incredible milestone and, of course, that’s the next big hurdle for us. If it’s not tomorrow, I’m sure it’s going to happen at some point this season. We can be very proud of our partnership together and look forward to many more race wins.”
WorldSBK Race One Podium (Full Results Here)
1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
Tissot Superpole Sprint
The Tissot Superpole Race at the Motul Dutch Round was another thrilling battle in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) claimed a historic victory in a shortened race. Rea was able to make the move for victory on the final lap against Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at turn eight to take his 100th victory for Kawasaki. The win for the six-time world champion means he has now claimed 100 wins for a single manufacturer, the first rider to do so in WorldSBK and adding to his already-incredible record at the TT Circuit Assen at the Motul Dutch Round.
The race was reduced from ten laps to nine when Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) had an issue on the grid, forcing the original start to be delayed and the race distance reduced by one lap. Rea was able to make the move for victory on the final lap against Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at turn eight to take his 100th victory for Kawasaki, something he was hoping to get a cake for.
Bautista finished second after fighting from fifth on the grid, and passed Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) at the high-speed turn six for the lead of the race at that time before Rea moved into the lead on the final lap. Rea will therefore lead Bautista and Razgatlioglu from the front row in race two. The drama did not stop there, though, with Bautista given a one place penalty for a track limits infringement on the final lap, promoting Razgatlioglu to second with Bautista third.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed fourth place and will line up there from race two on Sunday afternoon, ahead of rookie Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in fifth place after another strong performance from the Honda rider. Locatelli’s fourth place means Italian riders have now finished in that position eight times in the last nine races and the fifth time in a row. French rider Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) claimed sixth spot, finishing as the best Independent rider, to complete the second row for race two.
American star Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) will lead away the third row in Race 2 after claiming seventh spot, finishing ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in eighth. Rinaldi will start from the third row after battling his way up from 12th on the grid, ahead of fellow Italian rider Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in ninth; Bassani completing the third row for race two.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was running inside the top nine throughout the race, but a technical issue at the start of the ninth and final lap meant he was forced to retire from the race. As he qualified inside the top nine during the Tissot Superpole session on Saturday, but didn’t finish there, he will start race two from tenth.
Tissot Superpole Podium (Full Results Here)
1 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.220s
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +0.267s
Race Two
Drama was never far away in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the TT Circuit Assen with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) romping away to claim victory during the Motul Dutch Round, as rivals Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing WorldSBK Team) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) came to blows at turn one in the early part of the 21-lap race.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) got a good start from second on the grid and moved into the lead of the race ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). The pair, also running with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Honda), battled it out for the lead of the race in the early stages of the race. With the trio swapping places throughout, the battle came to a premature conclusion at turn one on lap six.
Razgatlioglu ran wide at the right-hander, but remained on track, with Rea making his way through turn one shortly after. The pair collided on the exit of the corner with both riders being forced to retire from the race. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, with the investigation taking place after the race.
The incident allowed Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) to move into the lead of the race ahead of Bautista, although the Ducati rider soon made his move on the rookie to head the charge. From there, Bautista was able to pull away at the front of the field to win by 8.7 seconds ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) after Locatelli passed Lecuona on lap 18. Bautista’s victory is his 19th win in WorldSBK, running the #19 plate, and now the only rider to finish on the podium in all six races run so far.
Second for Locatelli means he has now scored his best WorldSBK result to date, and his fifth podium so far. Lecuona’s podium means Honda have claimed a podium finish for the first time at Assen since 2016 when Michael van der Mark (now BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed third.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) finished in fourth place as he bounced back from two technical issues in race one and the Superpole Race to record fourth place after a mega battle with Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). Redding finished in fifth place, his best finish since switching to BMW, after Bassani was given a three-second time penalty for repeatedly exceeding track limits throughout the race.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished in seventh place to end a difficult weekend for the Italian rider, finishing five seconds clear of Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in eighth place. Van der Mark was making his first appearance of the 2022 season and is still recovering from his leg fracture but will take home a top eight finish for his efforts in front of his home fans. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) claimed ninth place with two Hondas inside the top ten, while Frenchman Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top ten.
Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) claimed his best WorldSBK result to date with 11th place, finishing just 0.004s clear of Christophe Ponsson (Gil Motor Sport-Yamaha) who claimed 12th place. Leon Haslam (TPR Team Pedercini Racing), making his WorldSBK return, took the team’s first points of the season as he finished in 13th place. Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) claimed two more points in his debut campaign with 14th place, with Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) in 15th and rounding out the points.
Wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) was 10 seconds away from scoring points at Assen, although he had to fend off a challenge from Malaysian rookie Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) with just a tenth between them at the end of the race. Rookie Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) rounded out the classified runners.
Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed out of the race on the opening lap at turn one, with the Japanese rider taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Nozane was diagnosed with a fracture of the right fifth metatarsal bone. On the same lap, Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) made contact with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at turn five, with the American rider not finishing the race after sustaining damage to his bike. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) crashed out of the race on lap two, while Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was out of the race with a technical issue on the same lap.
Alvaro Bautista: “I had the best seat to see all the action! I was so lucky because I saw Toprak and Jonathan crash, and I was scared because they both crashed in front of me. After that, Lecuona came and touched me in my side and then when I go into the next corner, I think Bassani came from very far behind and just touched my ribs. I was lucky again. In two corners, I was very lucky. After that, I needed a couple of laps to understand what was happening. It was incredible to understand!”
“I was quite fast and quite consistent. I sometimes just tried to relax because I saw the gap was increasing a lot. I started to make some small mistakes but I preferred to just keep the rhythm and concentrate until the end. Consistency is the key for this season, especially because Toprak and Jonathan are very fast. I don’t think I can win a lot of races like I did three years ago”
Race Two Podium (Full Results Here)
1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2 Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +8.770s
3 Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +11.580s
Championship Standings After Assen (Full Standings Here)
1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 109 points
2 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 91
3 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 64
Oli In The Points
After a P14 in World Supersport’s race one at Assen Oliver Bayliss was able to do even better in race two. Starting from eighteenth on the grid, the Barni Spark Racing Team rider came out of turn one in P9 and closed the first lap in P11. Regrouped by some riders in the first part of the race Bayliss found himself P14 on lap 12.
In the last six laps the Australian rider started his comeback passing first Brenner and then De Rosa; in the last four laps – having gained another position due to a crash in front of him – Oli tried hard to attack Sofuoglu as well and go for the Top 10. Bayliss finished in P11, 22” behind the winner, but only 5” from the Top 5. It was a prestigious result for a rookie rider in World Supersport and his first race at Assen. Bayliss takes home seven points in the championship standings.
At the front end of the WorldSSP field, reigning champion Dominique Aegerter claimed both wins at Assen on his Ten Kate Yamaha. The Swiss rider battled back after losing ground at the start of the 18-lap Sunday race to claim honours and extend his lead at the top of the WorldSSP Championship.
Oli Bayliss: “We could sum it up with one sentence: we couldn’t ask for more. The team did a great job and every time I went out on track I was faster than the previous round. Also in Race 2, compared to Race 1, my pace improved and we reached the best possible result. I want to thank the whole team for the great work and the warmth I feel around me”.
