Lots of people in the Netherlands for the first Superbike event after the pandemic. Two fiery challenges on the program today, starting with the sprint at 11:00 a.m.
Since the days of the British invasions in the wake of Carl Fogarty, Assen has never experienced queues at the entrance to Superbike. In recent years, before the pandemic, this event still attracted a good crowd, 50 to 60 spectators, but this weekend, this figure will be greatly exceeded. The passion is palpable, both in the stands and in the paddock. This is the first event after the three-year restriction, so the signal sent is good. Pietro Benvenuti, general director of Formula Imola, seen in the Dutch paddock, is also rubbing his hands: Superbike will return to the banks of the Santerno, the river which runs along the circuit, in mid-July.
Jonathan Rea takes the lead
During the warmup, barely fifteen minutes in the crisp Dutch morning air (10°C in the air, 12°C on the asphalt), it's
Jonathan Rhea who sets the best time, at the end of a great series of fast laps. With the cold asphalt, and over a short distance, the Kawasaki could hold off the Ducati by a Alvaro Bautista unleashed. We will verify this in the sprint race, which starts at 11 a.m. For race 2, on the other hand, it will be difficult to reverse the result of Saturday's aperitif: with this generation of ultra-soft tires, Álvarito is at ease, unlike Rea and Toprak Razgatlioğlu (third in race 1) who had to settle for the SC2 at the front. During the warm-up, the track was not perfect, there were patches of humidity in certain places after the rain overnight. But in any case, it's the three usual drivers who call the shots.
Álvaro Bautista towards a record
With Saturday's victory, the 38th of his career, the Ducati rider increased his lead in the championship: he is now 47 points ahead of Toprak Razgatlioğlu, while Jonathan Rea remains fourth, 73 points from the lead. The Northern Irishman is also ahead of Andrea Locatelli, -54 behind the leader. In Assen, the Spaniard won four times: Twice in 2019 (during this edition, the Superpole Race was canceled due to... snow) and in race 2 last year, taking advantage of a clash between Rea and Toprak. With the Ducati, Bautista raced 79 times, winning 38 of them, or 42% of the total: he equaled the “win coefficient” of Doug Polen, dominator with the Ducati in the 91-92 world championships. At the time, however, Polen had the advantage of having Dunlop tires that were much better than the Michelin tires of its direct competitors. Álvarito dominates in single tire regime…
