On a tricky first day on the windswept TT Circuit Assen, it was Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who set his pace. The weather changed several times throughout the day, with rain giving way to sunshine before returning to rain again.
Alvaro Bautista, winner of the last four Superbike races at the Dutch Round, completed the 26 laps of the 4,555 km circuit to end the day two tenths of a second ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Having changed tires only moments before a downpour, the BMW driver was one of the few not to improve his time from the morning session in the afternoon. Remy gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished the day in third position.
The leader of the championship, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who rode for the first time since he had surgery for compartment syndrome, achieved the sixth time. The Italian was less than half a second slower than his teammate Baptist. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was fifth fastest in both sessions, but only completed 18 laps during the day. Changing conditions have limited his testing and the six-time world champion is hoping to turn things around after a difficult start to the season. Sale won the Dutch round 17 times. The local hero Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) achieved the ninth time.
P1 | Álvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“The day was complicated because of the weather. With the rain and the wind, especially in the afternoon, it was difficult. The wind was very strong on the back straight and you could feel it pushing you out to sea. In the straight I almost had to lean, otherwise I would have gone off the track.
It was really difficult in some places on the track. But ultimately, in these conditions, I was able to find a good feeling with the bike. I feel a bit like I'm in Barcelona. Today was really difficult for everyone and I'm not very happy, but we'll see what happens tomorrow with the weather. I hope the weather conditions will be more consistent tomorrow. In the end, you have to adapt because these are situations that all drivers have to face. »
P2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“The bike runs well but the braking is not yet 100%. We are currently working on the engine braking. The electronics work very well and I am generally happy. I had a used tire at the start of FP2 and when I put on a new tire it started to rain after two laps and there was the red flag. I didn't improve my lap in FP2 but the sensations are very good. We are very fast and the grip of the track is really good. It's not easy in WorldSBK because everyone is very fast, but I'm ready to fight and win. We are ready to race in all conditions. »
P3 | Remy Gardner | GYRT GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
« The day was not easy. This morning there were a lot of wet patches, but the conditions weren't too bad.
We did 15 laps and our pace was good.
During FP2 we stopped and changed to the SCX tire and the feeling was good. Obviously we wanted to do a long run to see what the weather would be like, but it ended up raining. The sensations were pretty good. There's still work to do, but I'm pretty happy. »
P6 | Nicolò Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“My first objective was to understand the state of my arm after the operation and from the first laps, I was satisfied with the sensations I had. I'm not 100% yet, but it's not a big problem. For the first time, I drove the Panigale V4R in very special conditions, which allowed me to gain experience. »
P7 | Alex Lowes | Kawasaki Racing Team
“We can't look at the position from this afternoon's session because I came out with the tires from this morning's FP1 session, just to do a few laps. When I left later, there was a red flag because of a damaged safety barrier. It then started to rain so I wasn't able to do a full tour this afternoon. But it was important to do a few laps in the rain at the end of FP2. We don't know what the weather will bring tomorrow, but I was one of the fastest in these conditions. So to be fast in the dry this morning and then in the rain this afternoon is a good day. »
P8 | Sam Lowes | ELF Marc VDS Racing Team
“Once again the weather played a big role here in Assen today and we feel like we got everything right. There was sun, rain, wind, but above all a lot of cold. The cold and the wind certainly made this day a baptism of fire riding a Superbike for the first time. I think we managed to make the most of today and it was good to do a few laps on the wet tires at the end of FP2 to gain a bit more experience. We have a bit of catching up to do as it was my first day on a WorldSBK machine here at Assen and we haven't tested here before, so there are a lot of areas we can improve on. I feel good on the bike and the team has done a great job again, so we have to see what the weather brings, but I hope I can be competitive tomorrow. »
Combined FRP1-FP2 Superbike result at Assen:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com
