With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heading to the TT Circuit Assen for Round 3 of the enthralling 2024 campaign, the practice sessions on Friday gave the perfect opportunity to talk to key figures from the paddock. Topics included the season so far, previous wins sinking in and the potential at Assen, the first round with no testing directly before it this season.

SINKING IN: “It took me a couple of days to react to the messages!”

Speaking in FP1 about whether BMW’s wins in Barcelona had sunk in yet, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers said: “It has, we had three weeks for it to sink in, but it was really great to come back to the office with loads of trophies even going to the canteen there were so many people who came up to me, and it took me a couple of days to react to the messages and of course, at the same time it pushed the expectations further but we are positive and prepared.”

GRT YAMAHA HOPES: “Both our riders could potentially fight at the front…”

Both Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and teammate Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) have been quick in 2024. Discussing whether they could fight at the front at Assen, Team Manager Filippo Conti said: “The Australian Round and the Barcelona Round were two interesting weekends where we improved and worked a lot, they were not the best track for us, but we got some good results and experience. Now is the time to push and the time to get a good result and performance as expected. Both of our riders could potentially fight at the front, but I think we are in for a good round to show off our potential.”

WET WEATHER IMPACT: “It is impossible to say what his potential is…”

Rain fell on Friday and the weather at Assen is always unpredictable. After a strong start to Andrea Iannone’s (Team GoEleven) rookie campaign, Team Manager Denis Sacchetti spoke about the #29’s potential at Assen should it rain: “This time here at Assen is the first round this year with no testing. However, Andrea knows this track well, which is good, but it is his first time on a Superbike, and he needs time on track to understand how to ride a Superbike on this circuit. It is impossible to say what his potential is as we don’t have data in the wet conditions, so we will see.”

Follow every moment LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED from Assen using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) topped a wet Free Practice session at the TT Circuit Assen as he took advantage of the track’s best conditions to go 1.4 seconds faster than his rivals in the FIM Supersport World Championship. With the rain falling in the opening stages, and getting heavier at the halfway mark, laps were limited in what turned into a quiet opening WorldSSP session of the Pirelli Dutch Round.

With drops of rain reported in sectors one and four in the first 10 minutes of the session, very few representative lap times were set, with most riders opting to remain in the box rather than venture out in the cold with mixed conditions on track. With just over 25 minutes remaining in the session, rain was reported in all sectors, curtailing any dry running teams and riders had planned for FP1. It left Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) on top with a 1.44’919s – some six seconds down on last year’s FP1 time – ahead of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) and Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph), with 2.6 seconds separating the top three, after the trio went out in the early stages of FP.

Familiar surnames finished in fourth and fifth, with Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) taking P4 with a 1’47.810s, beating teammate Tom Edwards by more than 1.5 seconds in the 40-minute sessions. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) moved into sixth despite setting his best lap time – a 1’51.534s – in the fully wet conditions. Raffaele De Rosa (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) was seventh on his SRK 800 RR machine, with Thailand’s Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) in eighth. Wildcard Twan Smits (Team Apreco) was ninth with Krittapat Keankum (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) rounding out the top ten.

With the rain falling harder, riders opted to head out on a fully wet circuit with around 18 minutes left on a wetter track to get some wet weather running ahead of this afternoon’s Tissot Superpole session, with any laps run in Free Practice potentially pivotal in determining who will come out on top and claim pole position for Saturday’s Race 1.

The top six from WorldSSP Free Practice, full results here:

1 Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1’44.919s

2. Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) +1.436s

3. Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) +2.602s

4. Oliver Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) +2.891s

5. Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) +4.569s

6. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +6.615s

Next up for WorldSSP is Tissot Superpole! Don’t miss any of it from 16:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The third round of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship got underway with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) leading the way at the TT Circuit Assen. With overnight rain leaving the track in less-than-ideal conditions, the best times of Free Practice 1 came in the last 10 minutes as the Pirelli Dutch Round got underway, with Razgatlioglu leading Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

With a damp track greeting the field to start the 45-minute session, times rapidly came down in the closing stages of Free Practice 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had been first throughout most of the session, but he was in the box when times improved, although he was back on track with around six minutes remaining. With a couple of minutes remaining, ‘El Turco’ posted a 1’35.777s to snatch top spout from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who had taken advantage of the drying track to provisionally go first before Razgatlioglu demoted him. In the final stages, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) moved up to third with a 1’36.271s, almost six tenths back from rival Razgatlioglu. He completed one 12-lap stint with his best time coming on the final lap.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has shown strong pace throughout 2024 and that continued at Assen with fourth place, having been in the top three at several points during the session as the #87 finished as the lead Yamaha rider. He was just under a tenth clear of Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in fifth, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) claiming sixth; like Gardner, the American had gone into the top three in the closing stages but was demoted by Rea, Gardner and Bautista.

It was a good session for BMW with Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) making it three M 1000 RR machines in the top seven, with the #60 finishing 0.721s down on his teammate. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) claimed eighth spot ahead of a duo of Italians, with Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) in ninth and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) tenth. Bulega had a moment into Turn 1, and he took a trip into the gravel although he remained upright at all times.

The top six from WorldSBK Free Practice 1, full results here:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’35.684s

2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.290s

3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.587s

4. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.598s

5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.604s

6. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.702s

Watch every moment from WorldSBK Free Practice 2 at 15:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

BMW have been one of the stories of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship thanks to a huge step in terms of their results, taking three podiums and two wins in the first two rounds with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), while teammate Michael van der Mark has also shown good pace including a fourth place in Race 2 in Barcelona. Speaking to WorldSBK Commentator Steve English, Team Principal Shaun Muir explained how the team and manufacturer have taken a big step, the relationship between Razgatlioglu and van der Mark and Championship hopes in 2024.

MAKING THE STEP: “He confirmed that we were on the right path”

The big change was Razgatlioglu’s arrival, with the #54 first jumping on the bike at Portimao in December, but there were other changes too. Discussing this, Muir said: “Honestly speaking, we’ve got to the position where we were very close to making that step. I think over the winter period, we brought some revisions but not ground-breaking changes that people all anticipated to make that big change. It was simply consolidating a setup that we knew worked from our experience over the last years. Setting the base and then Toprak joining the team and starting on that base, and what that did was confirm to us that we were on the right path. It also started to deter us from taking what the riders were requesting which is a different setup from the one we know is going to be best for long-race conditions. It just stabilised everything.

“Michael’s coming back off injuries and his fitness is now coming back, working with Toprak again which brought a new feeling in the team completely in terms of a real balance in the box. I’m not speaking derogatory of any other rider we’ve had in the past, it just seemed to be that things just clicked in a lot of areas where we were struggling a little bit before. Operationally, from my side and SMR, we’ve made some fine revisions, bringing Phil on board was great because he worked with me in the Aprilia days anyway, so I had some success with him and Eugene. His character suited what we were looking for and just one or two changes in the group, but generally it’s the same group I’ve had for the last couple of years except we’re getting some results. I can’t put my finger on one thing that’s made the difference, everything’s just settled down.”

THE GOALS: “What I feel now is like the start of 2011 and 2015, when we were in our British-championship winning years…”

Muir has won titles domestically with his eponymous Shaun Muir Racing outfit and is hoping he can replicate that on the world stage, with Razgatlioglu and his manager, Kenan Sofuoglu, speaking about the title in recent weeks. Muir added: “British superbike was a stepping stone. We’ve done it, we’ve run our course. I think we did fantastic in that championship. We did what was right at that time and that was to step to WorldSBK. Moving on through the ranks here, the Aprilia years were really good for us. We’ve been here a long time now, we’ve done the hard miles again and I do feel that our experience of understanding the travel, the circuit, the environment, what you’ve got to deal with has come through all those years of experience.

“I feel, overall, in this Championship, getting the combination and what I feel now is like the start of 2011 and 2015 when we were in our championship winning years, I have a similar feeling to this year now as well. Everything clicks. You know when things are right. You don’t have dramas, there’s an ambience in the team and there’s a spirit and the knowhow behind from the factory to think we’re on the right path and I do believe moving on with Toprak, we have two years of him, we’re only two rounds in and here we are talking about the World Championship. But Toprak’s talking about it. If anyone knows he can win the World Championship, it’s the man sitting on the bike. When he believes he can, we believe he can as well.”

ATMOSPHERE IN THE BOX: Razgatlioglu and van der Mark working together

When he was at Yamaha, the #54 often worked with then-teammate Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in Tissot Superpole and that’s something he’s replicated with van der Mark – who he raced with at Yamaha in 2020 – at BMW, with Razgatlioglu giving the #60 advice during the Barcelona Superpole session. On the atmosphere at the team and Razgatlioglu giving advice mid-session, Muir said: “I’ve got to say, I’ve never had that in this team from the get-go, even with Markus and Tom, and then Eugene and Tom and Michael and Scott, we’ve never had that environment. We knew something had to change. It was frustrating. Those frustrations in the box are borne out of no results. When you’re really grinding away and you’re doing your best and that’s only a tenth or whatever, it really is soul searching. You’ve got to dig deep to another level there and it affects everybody, from the top to the bottom. We all feel that. Clearly, the environment gets affected by that, you’re trying to search for something, the riders are running off in different directions trying to search for something that’s probably not there. We know what that base is now.

“Immediately, when Toprak joined, I don’t want to use the words in awe, but we were just super impressed with the calmness but at the same time, we’re trying to understand that character as well. We know Mickey inside out. We’ve been sat by his bed in hospital at the worst times and we’ve been on the podium at Portimao and had good times. We understand what Michael’s like, but Toprak, no. He was a completely blank piece of paper to us. We only saw what the public saw and the paddock saw. We were just impressed by him being a straightforward good human being, feelings like everyone else, ambition like no one else. It just seems to mix really well. I’m sure Yamaha had that for years before and Manuel when he had him at Puccetti so we’re getting the benefits of that now. Long may it continue.”

THE NEW ERA CONTINUES: watch every moment from Assen using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The second round of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship kicked into life on a damp TT Circuit Assen, with Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) ending the session quickest after a brilliant final lap. It was a hot pace at the end of the session, with joint-Championship leader Mahendra placing his R3 at the top of the time sheets after setting a remarkable 1:55.555 in a perfect start to the weekend.

The top spot changed hands multiple times throughout the session as the track conditions improved. Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) led in the early stages of the session before it was snatched by David Salvador (MS Racing), who was demoted to second by Mahendra as the chequered flag flew. Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) impressed in the damp session, ending Friday morning as the top KTM in third.

Home hero Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) had his shot at the top of the time sheets in the final 10 minutes of Free Practice but crossed the line to end Free Practice in fourth position. The Dutchman was ahead of Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), who rounded out the top five on the #7 machine. Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) set a 1:57.013 to place sixth in a competitive session.

There were plenty of surprises, most notable with joint-Championship leader Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki), who spent most of the session outside of the top 10 and ended Free Practice in 19th position. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) suffered from technical issues in the early stages of Free Practice and was unable to set a competitive time.

The top six from WorldSSP 300 Free Practice, full results here:

1. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) 1’55.555s

2. David Salvador (MS Racing) +0.585s

3. Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) +0.856s

4. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) +0.991

5. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +1.052s

6. Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) +1.458s

Watch an unpredictable WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole of 2024 at 14:10 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Chapter three of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season is about to take place at the legendary TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Countless classics at this track and also in recent rounds mean that 2024’s Pirelli Dutch Round is destined to be one for the ages; we caught up with the main stars on Thursday during WorldSBK’s media day.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I have a dream this year to win the Championship”

Two wins last time out at a track he and BMW had never won at, Assen has also been a place where Toprak Razgatlioglu and BMW haven’t mounted the top step: “I’ve never won here at Assen in the Superbike class; I hope I can this weekend. It looks a little strange as the weather can always change easily. It’s cold but I’m ready to race in both wet and dry races. I have a dream this year to win this Championship; I can’t say before the end of the season. My dream looks possible. I am happy with Michael as a teammate and the atmosphere in the garage is very good and we work well together. If BMW ask me, it’s easy to say Michael, he’s a good teammate, a good guy and respectful; we work together in the race and Superpole. Maybe at this track, he’ll help me as he knows it better than me –in the wet, he’ll show me the best line!”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I’m not in a hurry to make a decision”

With silly season in full flow, Alvaro Bautista’s future could hold the key to many for 2025: “To win a race is always very important, but especially after coming from a difficult winter for me with my injury and also the feeling I started with the bike in testing that was not the best. It was very important to recover the good feeling during the Barcelona weekend. I think the win was the consequence of this feeling and from my physical condition. It gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the Championship. Honestly, I don’t have anything on my mind about my future. It’s been very tough for me. In Barcelona, I recovered the good feeling. I always say I keep racing because I’m having a lot of fun riding my bike and with a good feeling. It’s important to have a good feeling on my bike and try to always improve. With this crazy grid, you have to be an even better rider than before! I try to always be a better rider. I’m just focused on this and trying to be better and better. I’m not in a hurry to make a decision.”

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “This could be the most difficult race for me”

Back after arm-pump surgery, Nicolo Bulega says this could be his most difficult round yet: “I had some problems during the races so I decided to have the surgery before Assen as this track is a bit difficult physically, with the change of direction. With the Superbike, it can be hard. I decided to do it before this race and I’m still not at 100% but I am recovering day by day and I can ride well. I always push at 100% when I’m on the bike; this could be the most difficult race for me because we’ve had the test before the other races. I also come here after the surgery, without a test, so perhaps Friday will be more difficult for me. I’m happy because it’s a track I like a lot and I’ll try to do my best.”

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We want to be on the podium!”

After a strong Barcelona, the rostrum is the aim for home-hero Michael van der Mark: “It’s always nice to arrive at your home track when you’ve had some decent results before. In Australia and especially Barcelona, we had some really good results. We come here with confidence and knowing the base we have is really good. We want to be on the podium, and we’ve had a good start to the season. We have a good base and we’re fast. It would be nice to be on the podium. It’s a nice confirmation knowing you have a bike that can fight for the podium and victories. It takes a little bit of pressure away. We know the package is there, we just have to finetune it and focus on riding. Honestly, the only thing I can do is deliver results. I’ve been unlucky the last two years. I’m fit, I’m feeling good on the bike and all I can do now is deliver results.”

Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “We have to walk before we can run”

17 wins and 25 podiums: will Assen’s most successful rider, Jonathan Rea, get his season off to a proper start after six races where he’s struggled: “I’m really excited to be back at Assen, I like the layout of the track and also my fans bring some good energy here. It’s just a case of trying to find some form and performance both from myself and the R1. I think Catalunya Race 2 was my first normal race with no issue, so I banked some points. What I realised was starting from P13 is that it’s so difficult to reach that front group, so it was a race I started making progress. It’s not the positions we want to fight for, but we have to start somewhere after a lot of disappointments. Looking forward to seeing if Assen can bring us some more fortune. Looking back at previous years, it’s a track that suits not just me but the Yamaha R1. It’s a place we can make that step, but it’s a step by progress. We have to walk before we can run.”

Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven): “My target is to be in a factory team… I felt interest from many manufacturers”

Back at Assen and looking to his future, Andrea Iannone made a bold claim for 2025: “I’m a little bit excited because it’s really good to be back here. I won in the past in my first year in Moto2™ and also, I’ve had really good races more or less every year at this track. It’s the first race we don’t have a test before the round and I’m a little bit worried because I don’t know what happens, but I hope we immediately start in a good way. I don’t know about my future. I’m happy I’m being spoken about, but I don’t know at the moment. I want to continue to live this moment and I’m focused on riding well because I know if I’m on top, I have many chances. My target is to be in a factory team, but we will see. After a long time, I felt many things and I felt interest from many manufacturers. I’m honoured. I think after Assen, in Misano, we will know something more about this.”

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Anything can happen when the weather’s a little bit inconsistent”

In the top three of the Championship, Alex Lowes is keen to show Kawasaki’s potential at Assen: “Conditions are always a little bit mixed here at Assen. I know the bike and track well, so I think if there’s minimal dry time, it could be good for us. We have to adapt well to the situation. Anything can happen when the weather’s a little bit inconsistent. We have to make sure we make the right decisions, put ourselves in a good position and I think, dry or wet conditions, we can be quite optimistic about the weekend. This weekend, if we can fight for the podium, be in the mix with the front guys fighting at the front, I think we can be happy and that’s the target. I don’t really know about the future, it’s very early. We’ve got a big break after the Assen round with so long until the next round, so maybe there’ll be some more news in the break. From my side, I don’t know yet. I started the year really strong with Kawasaki, I’ve changed some of the working environment inside the team so it would be nice to keep this progression.”

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “Let’s push and see what we can do”

With a first win still to be had, can happy memories from previous Assen outings spur Andrea Locatelli on: “I have good memories form Assen; I got my first WorldSBK podium here in 2021 and I’ve had a podium every season with Yamaha here, so why not try to repeat it this year? It won’t be easy and probably this weekend, we’ll ride in different conditions with the forecast will be tricky. I feel comfortable though and OK with the bike, so let’s push and see what we can do. We have a really good feeling and it’s a flowing track, so it’s another good track to show our potential and speed. We’ll push for the maximum and see what we have. Toprak was a big surprise for everyone as we didn’t think it could happen immediately but they’re working well during testing and they found a good solution for the race. I’m happy for him because, firstly, he’s my friend and I have a good relationship with him. He’s a big talent; I sent a message to him because I missed him after the race. I want to try and fight again this weekend.”

Watch Assen from wherever you are and whenever you want with the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

One of the big moves for the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season was Jonathan Rea’s bombshell transfer to the Pata Prometeon Yamaha squad after nine seasons racing for Kawasaki. The #65, however, didn’t take former Crew Chief Pere Riba with him to Yamaha, with Rea working with former teammate Andrew Pitt moving across the box to be his new Crew Chief. Ahead of the Pirelli Dutch Round, Rea spoke about the challenges of adapting to a new team without Riba by his side and how there is a period of adjustment when switching teams.

Rea first joined Kawasaki for the 2015 season, winning six titles between then and 2020 before a few difficult seasons in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Following those challenging campaigns, the Ulsterman opted to move to Yamaha with a seat available following Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) move to BMW. Speaking at the TT Circuit Assen, Rea expanded on one of the challenges of moving teams and manufacturers other than having to adapt to a new machine.

“It’s hard to answer,” he began when speaking in his media debrief. “Just getting familiar with a completely new crew, understanding how they work and them understanding how I work. It’s step by step. I really believe in everyone inside Yamaha. They’re great people, intelligent people. I had a relationship with my previous crew chief that spanned nine years. There were growing pains in that relationship as well. There were times it wasn’t great but generally, for example, if you said ‘left’, with that kind of relationship, they telepathically knew how far left.

“With a completely new crew that’s worked with different riders, it’s very hard for them to understand me without words. In the previous rounds, I spent a long time in the pit box trying to explain my feelings clearly. That’s also new for me, and that can also be a big problem; a rider talking too much as you can create more and more problems from a technical point of view. It’s just step by step. I think that situation couple with a few issues we’ve faced, and difficulties, the challenges of Phillip Island and crashes, it’s been tough to put everything together, but I do feel like it’s going to come.

One key aspect will be how crew chiefs work, with everyone having their own style to achieve the best possible result. At Kawasaki, Rea exclusively worked with Riba as his Crew Chief, leading to unprecedented success with more than 100 wins for the Japanese manufacturer and six titles. Following his move to Yamaha, the 37-year-old now has Pitt as his Crew Chief. The pair raced together but now have a different relationship as they look for success.

Expanding on the differences between the two, where Rea made sure to praise both, the #65 said: “They’re more similar than you can imagine, to be honest. Both are very clever. I was going to say Andrew’s worth ethic is incredible and he’s so busy and ruthlessly competitive, always trying to find something, and he’s pushing all the crew to do their best. Andrew’s pushing the electronics department, the chassis department, to improve, but Pere was the same.

“The biggest difference is I worked with Pere for nine seasons and sometimes I didn’t have to speak. When you look at the rider market, for example, Toprak went the other way but took his crew chief, but they then have to learn another bike. Would it have been an advantage to have Pere by my side now? Not sure. Maybe from communication and understanding me, but he doesn’t understand the R1. There’s pros and cons to everything. The relationship with Andrew is really good. I trust him and trust in Yamaha that it’s going to come good. Been a difficult start, to be honest. We have to have some faith. Keep my head up and hopefully we can get back to some normality here.”

THE NEW ERA CONTINUES: can Rea get back to winning ways at Assen? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The second round of the freshly renamed FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup will take place this weekend, April 19-21^st, at the classic TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, and the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s youngest competitors are eager to get back on track after a record-breaking Round 1 last month.

The opening event of the season in Barcelona saw Spanish rookie and 2023 R3 SuperFinale winner Gonzalo Sanchez take victory in dominant style in Race 1, setting a record for the biggest winning margin in class history at 11.101 seconds. The 15-year-old repeated the feat in Race 2, this time gapping his rivals by 8.744 seconds. Behind the speedy Spaniard the battle for the remaining places was hotly contested with plenty of overtakes and great skill demonstrated by the field of 19 riders. Poland’s Dawid Nowak and Czechia’s Nikolas Zanin achieved their first R3 podiums over the Barcelona weekend, while class stalwarts Spain’s Marc Vich and Brazil’s Eduardo Burr proved they mean business again this year by returning to the rostrum.

Barcelona also played host to the first ever live stream of the R3 World Cup races, something which will continue this weekend in Assen and throughout the 2024 season to allow audiences all over the world to follow the progress of the future Superbike stars.

Assen will be the home race for Dutch rider Indi Schunselaar, the youngster rider in the series at just 14 years old. Barcelona was a steep learning curve for the rookie, but he will be aiming high in front of his Yamaha Benelux supporters at a track he knows well.

Race 1 and Race 2 will take place on Saturday April 20^th  and Sunday April 21^st at 11:50 CET. Last year the incredible layout of the TT Circuit provided all-out action among the sport’s hungry youngsters so be sure to follow along LIVE via Yamaha Racing’s YouTube channel and stay up to date on yamaha-racing.com

Source: WorldSBK.com

Through the cloud and cold, the TT Circuit Assen welcomes the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship for the third round of the season. The legendary Dutch venue has been a round of excitement, drama and passion throughout WorldSBK’s history and records often fall on this hallowed turf. Impress those around you with some World Superbike knowledge below.

2023 race winners:

• Alvaro Bautista (Ducati: Race 1, Tissot Superpole Race Race 2)

Last three pole-sitters at Assen:

• 2023: Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) 1’33.542
• 2022: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’32.934
• 2021: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’33.842

Manufacturer podium places (and wins) accumulated from all races at Assen:

• Ducati: 84 (31)
• Honda: 39 (15)
• Kawasaki: 32 (15)
• Yamaha: 26 (2)
• Aprilia: 9 (2)
• Suzuki: 5

Key gaps from Assen 2023:

• Front row covered by: 0.119s
• 1 second in Superpole covered… the top 16: 0.946s
• Closest race gap between 1st and 2nd: 0.916s (Bautista 1st, Rea 2nd, Superpole Race)
• Closest race podium: 1.757s (Bautista 1st, Rea 2nd, Razgatlioglu 3rd, Superpole Race)
• Closest Assen podium of all-time: 0.070s (Fogarty 1st, Corser 2nd, Kocinski 3rd, Race 2 1996)

Manufacturer top speeds at Assen, 2023:

• BMW: Garrett Gerloff – 300.0kph, Superpole Race
• Ducati: Alvaro Bautista – 297.5kph, FP1
• Honda: Xavi Vierge – 297.5kph, Superpole Race
• Kawasaki: Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes and – 292.6 kph, FP1
• Yamaha: Remy Gardner – 291.1kph, Superpole Race

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Two rounds into the 2024 WorldSBK season and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has stolen all the headlines. Never mind that we have a rookie leading the Championship, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) back on podium pace after four years on the side-lines or a six-time World Champion struggling to find his feet with a new bike. Toprak is the headline maker and the attention grabber. It was expected that we’d see Razgatlioglu winning races aboard the BMW M 1000 RR. It was a surprise to see him win in Catalunya in just his fourth race for his new team. The resources being ploughed into the BMW project from Munich meant that the tide would turn in their favour but doing in Montmelo was a surprise even to the team. 

BMW BRILLIANCE: Toprak’s ability and van der Mark’s return to the fore

It was a pleasant surprise for Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, who was caught in Parc Ferme saying “I’ve never been so happy to spend money!” when it was mentioned that there was a lot of bonus money to be paid out in Barcelona! It won’t be the only bonuses that Toprak receives this year. The form of Razgatlioglu has impressed everyone but surprised nobody. He’s the best pound-for-pound rider in WorldSBK at the moment and his racing instinct came to the fore for both wins. Managing the tyres in Race 1 to take the lead with half a lap to go or pouncing on Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the last corner to win the Tissot Superpole Race showed his razor-sharp mind. To see teammate Michael van der Mark so competitive too will give a lot of reason for hope at BMW.

It’s one thing for your lead rider to perform like Razgatlioglu but it’s quite another to see van der Mark back on the pace. Qualifying on the second row and being in the lead group throughout Sunday’s races was impressive. Finishing fourth in Race 2 has given the Dutchman a big lift ahead of his home round. Assen is always special and he can sprinkle something into the air this weekend too. He’s had a torrid two years with three serious injuries but when he was fully fit last year, he was the BMW rider to beat. He knows that to keep his seat alongside Razgatlioglu, he has to make sure that his Catalan performances are the norm rather than the exception. This is a rider that has finished third in the World Championship in the past and won races on Yamaha and BMW machinery along with a pole position and podiums on the Honda. The 2014 WorldSSP Champion is still competitive and wants to ensure he stays within BMW.

SILLY SEASON STARTS SOON: round four in 2023, perhaps earlier in 2024?

Last year, there were rumours about which rider BMW would keep. Would it be van der Mark or Scott Redding. Through two rounds, there’s little doubt within the paddock that the right decision was made. To see Razgatlioglu and van der Mark working together during the Superpole session proved the right decision had been made. Team harmony is critical to success in racing and it’s hard to see how a Redding and Razgatlioglu pairing would have been anything beyond civil. 

At his best Redding is one of the most talented riders in the world and a race winner on any given day but if he is to stay in the World Championship he needs to outperform van der Mark and Garrett Gerloff. Consistency will be key for that but if he struggles to match their speed it’s difficult to see where Redding lands on the WorldSBK grid. 

LOOKING TO 2025: “BMW is now an attractive prospect for a host of riders on the grid”

Adding to the challenge is that BMW is now an attractive prospect for a host of riders on the grid. Toprak showed you can win on the bike and he’s sure to challenge for wins this weekend. There are plenty of Independent riders waiting for factory contracts. Suddenly, the BMW one is as attractive as any. The rider market spins slower in WorldSBK than MotoGP™ but with GP seats starting to fill the momentum will shift to the WorldSBK paddock. Who will be available from MotoGP™? What seats could they fill? The next two rounds could be critical for van der Mark and Redding. Assen is the self-proclaimed ‘Cathedral of Speed’ so don’t be surprised to see some riders praying for good results.

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Source: WorldSBK.com