"When I saw the pace was dropping, I tried to catch and overtake riders" – Bendsneyder on his first WorldSSP win
Bo Bendsneyder capped off an overtake-laden Race 2 in Portimao to bring home his first WorldSSP win ahead of his home round in Assen
After a podium appearance at Phillip Island after earning pole position in the season-opening Tissot Superpole session; Dutch rider Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) has in his third year of FIM Supersport World Championship competition at last tasted the Prosecco after his Race 2 ride of the Portimao Rollercoaster. After Can Oncu’s (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) unexpected crash out of the race from P1 in Lap 8, Bendsneyder put on the afterburners and took advantage of his careful tire management to cruise to P1 from his P5 position in Lap 8.
“When I saw 6 laps, I said ok, now it’s time to push until the end” – Bendsneyder on Race 2
Bendsneyder’s Race 2 was looking to be another strong performance from the third-year Dutch rider until Oncu’s Turn 1 crash, when the Turkish star crashed and the battle for the race win exploded back into life. In Lap 8, when Oncu crashed, Bendsneyder was in P6, and from there, Bendsneyder made up one position per lap until he led the pack in P1 in Lap 13. From there the Dutchman held on to claim his first-ever WorldSSP win.
“It was an amazing feeling to be P1! Yesterday we had a good race as well. Of course, Oncu is incredibly fast here, but today he made a mistake, or I don’t know what happened, but he crashed in Turn 1 and I saw the opportunity to fight for not P2, but P1. My strategy in the beginning was to fight with the other riders, but I knew I had a better feeling than yesterday, so I kept calm, I tried to save the front tyre a little bit, then when I saw the pace was dropping a bit, I tried to catch and overtake the riders. So, from then on, I tried to do the maximum. When I saw 6 laps I said ok, now its time to push until the end- and I thought lets see if Stefano will be attacking me like yesterday- but today in the end no. it was amazing to be first with MV Agusta especially on this circuit because before the weekend we didn’t expect to be fighting like this for the victory so it’s amazing.”
“Next race will be my home round, for sure it’s the best way to start that next round from ending the last round in P1.” -Bendsneyder looks ahead to Assen
Bendsneyder has plenty to smile about on his way home from Portugal, his first WorldSSP win propelling him up to third in the Riders’ Championship, ahead of his home round in Assen. While it will be his first race there in WorldSBK, He has been P1 there before as in just his second race in the European Juniors’ Cup, he topped the podium at the ‘Cathedral of Speed’ back in 2013. Wins or losses aside, Bendsneyder spoke on his contentment with the state of the Championship at the moment, with the WorldSSP grid being stacked with not only a grid of capable bikes, but a host of talented riders atop them.
“Next race will be my home round, for sure it’s the best way to start that next round from ending the last round in P1.” said Bendsneyder “I think this year the level is really high, there are many fast riders. I think we had eight or nine different riders fighting for the podium today and if we check, I think there were four different manufacturers fighting for the podium. The bikes as well each have their area, our bike is positive in the straights, Yamaha in the corners are a bit better, the Triumph is quite similar to ours, Ducati we all know is a strong bike. Its nice to be fighting like this because each circuit will be a bit different with the four different bikes all competitive.”
Catch Bendsneyder’s homecoming dance in Assen April 11-13 live or on demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass!
