The Tissot Superpole Race for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the TT Circuit Assen was won by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) after battling past his nearest rivals on track before building a gap to win the 10-lap race by almost three seconds at the Prosecco DOC Dutch Round.

SECURING A FRONT ROW START FOR RACE 2

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) got the jump at the start and found himself in the lead of the Superpole Race in the early stages, but Rea was able to pass the Italian to move into the lead. From there, Rea was able to pull a gap to the five riders behind him as they battled for the podium. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed second place after both Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) and teammate Andrea Locatelli exceeded track limits at Turn 18 on the final lap, with both demoting one place. Razgatlioglu finished in third place, behind Rinaldi.

COMPLETING THE TOP NINE

Locatelli claimed his best ever WorldSBK result with fourth place in the confirmed standings, taking a second row start for Race 2, although he had crossed the line in third place. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will start Race 2 from fifth with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in sixth.

Like in Race 1, both Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) battled from the back of the grid to claim a points finish with Sykes in seventh and Gerloff in eighth, starting from the third row in Race 2. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) claimed ninth and the final point in the Superpole Race to secure a third row start for Race 2.

TO NOTE

Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) just missed out on a top-nine start by two tenths of a second while Tito Rabat (Barni Racing Team) had been running in the top seven during the 10-lap race, but lost out to Sykes, Gerloff, Davies and Bassani as the race went on.

Michael van der Mark’s (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) Superpole Race came to an early end after he crashed at Turn 12 on the opening lap after highsiding from his BMW machine, while Alvaro Bautista (Team HRC) crashed at the final chicane on the opening lap, with the Spanish rider re-joining the race and finishing 18^th.

The top nine following the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:

1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.542s

3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +3.600s

4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with BRIXX WorldSBK) +4.343s

5. Scott Redding (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.501s

6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.215s

7. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +8.010s

8. Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +9.126s

9. Chaz Davies (Team GoEleven) +11.891s

Fastest Lap: Jonathan Rea: 1’34.634