WorldSBK Assen, Netherlands - Superpole Race Results
Jonathan Rea claims WorldSBK win #14 at Assen after getting the better of Michael Rinaldi in the early stages.
| WorldSBK Assen, Netherlands - Superpole Race Results | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | 10 Laps |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | PATA Yamaha | +2.875s |
| 3 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | PATA Yamaha | +3.343s |
| 4 | Michael Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba.It Ducati | +3.542s |
| 5 | Scott Redding | GBR | Aruba.It Ducati | +4.501s |
| 6 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | +5.215s |
| 7 | Tom Sykes | GBR | Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team | +8.010s |
| 8 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha | +9.126s |
| 9 | Chaz Davies | GBR | GoEleven Ducati | +11.891s |
| 10 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Ducati | +12.103s |
| 11 | Tito Rabat | SPA | Barni Ducati | +13.553s |
| 12 | Leon Haslam | GBR | Team HRC | +15.858s |
| 13 | Isaac Vinales | SPA | Orelac Racing Kawasaki | +20.175s |
| 14 | Leandro Mercardo | ARG | MIE Honda Racing | +23.075s |
| 15 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha | +23.130s |
| 16 | Andrea Mantovani | ITA | Vince64 Racing kawasaki | +28.596s |
| 17 | Loris Cresson | BEL | Pedercini Kawasaki | +43.204s |
| 18 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Team HRC | +1 Lap |
| 19 | Michael Van Der Mark | NED | Motorrad BMW WorldSBK Team | DNF |
After gaining the lead on lap one, Rinaldi did his best to hold race one winner Rea at bay, however, the six-time world champion was through on lap three and immediately broke clear.
Rinaldi held off intense pressure from team-mate Scott Redding and Toprak Razgatlioglu before creating a gap to Redding himself. Razgatlioglu came through on Redding with four laps to go before doing the same on Rinaldi during the final lap.
The battle for the podium wasn’t done there though, as Andrea Locatelli produced one of the ride’s of the year to claim third from Rinaldi - his first WorldSBK podium. The Pata Yamaha man got a good run out of turn 13, before making a move down the inside at Ramshoek.
Update: Rinaldi has been elevated to second place after Razgatlioglu and Locatelli were both demoted one spot for exceeding track limits - Razgatlioglu P3 and Locatelli P4 officially.
FIM WorldSBK STEWARDS: @toprak_tr54 and Locatelli to drop one position due to exceeding the track limits on the final lap.#NLDWorldSBK
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) July 25, 2021
A double crash on the opening lap saw home favorite Michael Van Der Mark go down at turn 12, while Alvaro Bautista suffered his second race crash of the weekend just three corners later. .
Race One
Jonathan Rea regains the World Superbike championship lead thanks to victory in race one at Assen.
Toprak Razgatlioglu made the perfect launch as he took the lead into turn one from Rea, however, the Pata Yamaha rider gave the lead straight back to Rea at turn three as he ran slightly wide.
On lap four, Razgatlioglu made his second overtake for the lead (turn one once again), as a top three including Scott Redding separated themselves at the front. However, Rea used his pace advantage in sector two to regain the lead on lap six.
After getting past Razgatlioglu on lap seven, Redding made a mistake while following Rea at turn five which cost himself and Razgatlioglu over a second. It was a margin that proved too much to close down as Rea started to pull away.
With two laps remaining, Jonas Folger suffered a big crash at turns 6-7 which brought out an immediate red flag.
Alvaro Bautista’ troubles continued as he crashed on lap two at turn seven. On lap three there was even more drama as Michael Rinaldi and Alex Lowes crashed from the top five.
Lucas Mahias and Kohta Nozane crashed out at the final couple of corners (lap 13) - incidents were unrelated.
Tom Sykes and Garrett Gerloff produced stunning riders from the rear of the grid - Sykes claiming seventh and Gerloff sixth.
Victory for Rea means he’s the first rider ever to win 13 times at one circuit.
