News

Six weeks on from the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s last racing action, the TT Circuit Assen hosted Round 3 of the 2023 campaign and there were many ups and downs across the grid during the Pirelli Dutch Round. History was rewritten in the Netherlands, there were positives for riders at the front of the field but also some negatives in the lead group while there were difficult weekends for others as WorldSBK burst back into action for the start of the European leg of the season.

It was a weekend to remember for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) as he claimed a hat-trick of wins to extend his Championship lead. Race 2 victory gave him his 40^th win in WorldSBK but it was also a momentous occasion for Ducati: they became the first manufacturer to record 400 victories in WorldSBK history and it was also their 700^th race on the podium in the Championship’s history. Bautista has now taken Ducati’s 350^th win, which came at Aragon in 2019, in WorldSBK and their 400^th victory.

At Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, there were positives to take from the Dutch Round even if the victories they wanted did not come. Toprak Razgatlioglu was able to fight with Bautista through the first half of races at Assen, looking to disrupt the reigning Champion’s rhythm in order to stay ahead, while Andrea Locatelli continued his run of incredible consistency in 2023. In nine races this year, his lowest finishing position is fifth and he has already matched his podium tally from 2021, with four, and doubled his podium visits from last season. At Assen specifically, in nine races, he has three podiums in three visits and has never been lower than fifth.

Independent teams and riders also had positives at Assen. Although 2013 Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will be aiming much higher than 15^th place, he claimed his first point since returning to the Championship after the start to his season was plagued by technical issues and he and the team will be hoping this is a turning point. At the front, there was an incredible battle for fourth place between Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team9 and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). Bassani took fourth place across the line but was demoted one place for exceeding track limits on the final lap as the pair made contact. Fourth is Aegerter’s best WorldSBK result to date, beating the sixth-place he secured in Race 1 at Assen.

As Bautista was taking victories in the Netherlands, teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi was having a difficult weekend. Technical issues on Friday limited his running and a wet Free Practice 3 meant he couldn’t work on the bike for dry conditions, with all three races held in the dry. He was 15^th after Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session and finished Race 1 in the same position. In the Superpole Race, he did make gains on Lap 1 but dropped down to 13^th at the end of the eight-lap fight before making his way into tenth place in Race 2.

While there were some positives for Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) to take from Assen, there were also some negatives. Rea has 17 wins at the iconic circuit, more than any rider at any track, and he now has a record 25 podiums there after taking second place in Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race. Despite his incredible record, and showing strong pace, he was unable to pick up another victory and his weekend ended when he crashed into the gravel at Turn 9 on Lap 6.

After appearing to make a step forward in the two tests between rounds, Assen proved to be difficult for Team HRC. Lecuona left the Dutch Round without scoring points, after crashing out in Race 1 at Turn 1 and Race 2 at Turn 4 while he finished 11^th in the Superpole Race. For teammate Vierge, he claimed 11^th in Race 1 and ninth in the Superpole Race but he was unable to convert his third-row start in Race 2 into a strong result, as he crashed out of the race at Turn 1.

Watch more incredible WorldSBK action throughout 2023 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!