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STATS GUIDE: can anyone conquer Rea at Assen in 2022?

Tuesday, 19 April 2022 05:20 GMT

Championship milestones, personal targets and more on the statistical horizon at Assen

The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to the iconic TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands for the Motul Dutch Round, the second round of the season. After the fierce battles between Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) at Aragon, they’ll cross paths again at Assen, where they’re the most recent winners. Can Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) get in the fight this time? There’s plenty more history-making stats coming, as we ready for our 30th anniversary at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’.

503 – Jonathan Rea has 503 points at Assen: an all-time record.

337/9 – Aragon Race 2 was the 337th time three different manufacturers finished on the podium in WorldSBK and the ninth straight. This is the longest streak since the 12 races with three different manufacturers on the podium from Brno Race 2 in 2005 until Lusail Race 2, 2006.

300 – Great Britain is on 299 wins after Jonathan Rea’s Aragon Race 1 win, meaning the country has another chance to hit 300 at Assen this weekend.

220/100 – Big stats in sight for Rea: a 220th podium (218 now) and a 100th Kawasaki win (98 now).

59 – Assen is second for races held: 59, two short of the WorldSBK record of 61 held by Phillip Island.

33 – The Dutch track is a home for British wins: no less than 33 out of 59.

26 – 26 Dutch riders were able to start at least one WorldSBK race. The most successful is current BMW rider Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), the only one able to record wins (5); poles (1); fastest laps (5) and podiums (40).

24 – Jonathan Rea improved his all-time record streak at Aragon: 24 straight podiums at that track. At Assen he has climbed on the podium in his last 15 races.

20 – No less than 20 riders have won a WorldSBK race at Assen. Three of them are present on the 2021 grid: Rea, Laverty and Bautista. Interestingly, double World Champion Troy Corser is not among the aforementioned 20, despite having run 30 races here and finishing on the podium 7 times.

18-18 – After Aragon, Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu have 18 wins each. Their next aim is Max Biaggi’s 21, 13th overall.

18 – 18th place in the standings for Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) after the Aragon round: for the first time since his WorldSBK debut in 2020, he’s classified outside the top five overall.

16 - For the first time in 16 years, two Hondas inside the top six in the Championship after the first three races. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) is fifth and teammate Xavi Vierge is sixth. The last time was in 2006 with James Toseland second and Alex Barros fourth.

15 – 15 wins for Rea at Assen: an absolute record for a rider at any track. This alone would put him 20th in the all-time WorldSBK win rankings.

13 – The last of the two Yamaha wins at Assen came 13 years ago, with Ben Spies in Race 1, 2009.

8-8 – Both Jonathan Rea and Carl Fogarty were able to win eight consecutive races at Assen. Fogarty set the record from 1993 to 1996, Rea from 2014 Race 2 to 2018 Race 1.

6 – Only Kawasaki was able to take six straight poles at Assen: the string went from 2012 to 2017 and was broken in 2018 by Alex Lowes (Yamaha), who ended a pole drought for Yamaha from 2011.

4 – Tom Sykes holds the record for Assen poles: 4. Troy Corser (1995, 1999, 2006), Frankie Chili (1998, 2003, 2004), Jonathan Rea (2010, 2017, 2021) are his nearest rivals.

2 – Two riders took first wins at Assen: Chris Walker, Race 1, 2006 and Sylvain Guintoli, Race 1, 2012.

SHORTHAND NOTEBOOK

2021 race winners:

  • Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki, Race 1, Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2)

Last three pole-sitters at Assen:

  • 2021: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’33.842
  • 2019: Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) 1’34.740
  • 2018: Alex Lowes (Yamaha) 1’34.066

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

  • Ducati: 78 (27)
  • Honda: 38 (15)
  • Kawasaki: 28 (13)
  • Yamaha: 19 (2)
  • Aprilia: 9 (2)
  • Suzuki: 5

Key gaps from Assen 2021:

  • Front row covered by: 0.211s
  • 1 second in Superpole covered… the top ten: 0.949s
  • Closest race gap between 1st and 2nd: 1.605s (Rea 1st, Redding 2nd, Race 2)
  • Closest race podium: 3.431s (Rea 1st, Redding 2nd, Locatelli 3rd, Race 2)
  • Closest Assen podium of all-time: 0.070s (Fogarty 1st, Corser 2nd, Kocinski 3rd, Race 2 1996)

Manufacturer top speeds at Assen, 2021:

  • Ducati: Tito Rabat – 295.8 km/h, Race 1
  • Honda: Alvaro Bautista – 294.2. km/h, FP3
  • Kawasaki: Alex Lowes – 291.8 km/h, Race 1
  • Yamaha: Andrea Locatelli – 291.8 km/h, Race 1
  • BMW: Jonas Folger – 295.0 km/h, Race 1

Watch all the 2022 season unfold chapter-by-chapter with the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!