[WSBK] Assen, J3 Race 3: Álvaro Bautista undefeated in 11 races

For the eleventh race of the season, and despite 250 fewer laps on the Ducati V4 R engine, the Championship seemed to take on a relatively defined aspect to the extent that no competing manufacturer seemed able to counter the supremacy of the Panigale. The other machines did not stand out, but it was clear that each manufacturer had to start from scratch or almost to design and build a machine capable of beating the Rouge. On the driver side, Bautista was on the same register.

Alvaro Bautista clarified that WSBK was not the back road to MotoGP: “First of all, it is unrealistic for a rider who is tenth or twelfth in the MotoGP World Championship to enter the Superbike World Championship and win. Not everyone in the MotoGP category will win here. We have seen many MotoGP riders in the past, even world champions who did not win the Superbikes. In the end, we are talking about two championships that you cannot compare. Special bikes are built for MotoGP and the World Superbike Championship uses machines that allow everyone to ride on the road.”

“I also wanted to continue riding in MotoGP. But then I had the opportunity to work with a factory like Ducati in the World Superbike Championship. They support me a lot and help me. They do everything in their power to make me happy. I am even happier today than when I decided to participate in the World Superbike Championship. I enjoy the bike and the time spent with the team, the atmosphere is different ».

Johnny Rea was confident for this Assen race: “ I feel really strong with the bike, the team gave me good preparation and this Saturday morning was confirmation of that. Unfortunately we had a bit of bad luck in Superpole, so let's see what happens from Sunday with the new schedule and starting positions for both races ».

Since his arrival in the Netherlands, the Briton Shaun Muir, Team Principal of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, had pinned his hopes on Assen: “ Of all the races at the start of the season, Assen is the one I was looking forward to thinking it could be a very good weekend for us. Markus has had some really good results here in the European Superstock Championship and Tom obviously won a race there last year, so it's a good circuit for him. And the most important point for me is that our RR is reasonably competitive there. It's a very technical and winding circuit, there are a lot of turns, with only one straight line where we suffer a little. Overall the mood is that we took steps forward in Aragón and that Assen is a positive circuit for us ».

Splendid race for Bautista

It was with the positions on the starting grid determined by the Superpole on Saturday that the drivers of this Race 3 lined up, unlike the usual where it is according to the results of the “Race 2 Superpole” on Sunday morning . The temperature had increased slightly, barely reaching 9° for the air and 15° for the asphalt.

The fastest in action at the start was Alvaro Bautista ahead of Johnny Rea who quickly overtook the Spaniard. Michael van der Mark was third ahead of Leon Haslam and Alex Lowes.

This group of five drivers was ahead of Davies, Reiterberger, Razgatlioglu and Sykes. Rea staunchly resisted Bautista, while van der Mark remained in their company of Haslam, Lowes and Davies.

Despite his efforts, Bautista was unable to overtake Rea, while Chaz Davies became increasingly threatening in third position. Davies also set the best time in the race in 1'35.506.

With 16 laps remaining, Bautista overtook Rea, soon followed by Davies. Behind the two Ducatis, Rea had a lot to do to counter the assaults of the Yamahas of van der Mark and Lowes.

Rea managed to overtake Davies and once again take second position, 1.098 behind Bautista. Alex Lowes moved into third ahead of Davis, van der Mark and Haslam.

Bautista widened the gap in front of Rea, but the Northern Irishman remained a threat to the Spaniard. Lowes preceded his teammate van der Mark for third place, while Davies fifth held off Haslam's attacks.

Van der Mark managed to pass his teammate Lowes, with a very good fight between the two R1s. The Dutchman was very motivated at home, but the Englishman absolutely did not give up on the third step of the podium. A great fight at the back pitted Davies, Haslam and Reiterberger for fifth place.

With 5 laps remaining, Bautista had a 3.5 lead over Rea. Van der Mark did better than defend his third place against Lowes because he came back into Rea's wheel, and second place was far from over.

Johnny Rea seemed to have difficulty finishing the race and his tires were showing signs of fatigue 3 laps from the checkered flag. Michael van der Mark took the opportunity to overtake him, to the great joy of his Dutch supporters. Rea tried everything he could to resist, but his Kawasaki was moving a lot while the Yamaha was more stable.

Finally Alvaro Bautista won his eleventh consecutive race while for second position Michael van der Mark narrowly held off Johnny Rea. Lowes finished fourth ahead of Davies and Reiterberger.

Race 3 Results:

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

Photos: worldsbk.com, teams and manufacturers