In Assen Bautista continues to dominate WorldSBK, Caricasulo and Gonzalez take WorldSSP and WorldSSP300

For the fourth round of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship that just came to an end on the TT Circuit of Assen in the Netherlands, the duo made up of Álvaro Bautista and the new Ducati Panigale V4 R once again confirmed its supremacy, winning both Race 1 and Race 2.
Italian rider Federico Caricasulo on Yamaha, on the other hand, won the FIM Supersport World Championship race, whereas the World Championship race for the small 300 bikes was won by Manuel Gonzalez on Kawasaki.

The second round on the Old Continent for the factory derivative World Championship was strongly impacted by foul weather. Throughout the weekend, the temperatures were cold - lower than 10°C - with the asphalt reaching temperatures below 0°C overnight and which, in the first sessions of the morning, never exceeded 3-4°C. Finally, on Saturday, the Dutch circuit was inundated with rain, snow and hail, forcing race direction to cancel all the scheduled races for the safety of the riders. This resulted in some changes for the Sunday schedule, not the least of which was to eliminate the ten-lap Tissot Superpole Race in order to make room for Race 1 which had been skipped on Saturday.
On Sunday, the weather was fairer, but the temperatures did not rise. The WorldSBK class warm-up session was held with 3°C asphalt temperature, whereas in Race 1, which started at 11:00 in the morning local time, the asphalt temperature was 6°C. 

Until recently, such difficult conditions would have prevented the races from being held, but Pirelli provided proof once again of the technological excellence and extreme versatility their tyres have achieved, successfully taking on the cold Dutch temperatures. Not only did the Italian tyre manufacturer allow the riders to go out on the track with asphalt temperatures close to 0°C, but they did it allowing them to use the 200/65 size soft rear solution, something that would have been unthinkable until now. This solution, despite being far from its optimum operating range which is usually around 19-20°C of asphalt temperature, guaranteed unparalleled performance and entertainment, even allowing Álvaro Bautista to set the new race lap record on the thirteenth lap - demonstration of this tyre’s extremely consistent performance.

WORLDSBK RACE 1:

In Race 1, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) started well from pole position, followed by Michael Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR), who started from the second spot on the grid, and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) who managed to claw his way up to third from the eighth spot. Unlike most of the other riders, the defending World Champion, along with the factory Yamaha riders and Tom Sykes, mounted the medium rear tyre.
During the eighth lap, Rea succeeded in overtaking the German BMW rider to move into second place 1.4 seconds behind Bautista.
In the meantime, Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1) also managed to get past Reiterberger, moving into third.
From the mid-race point on, Bautista’s decision to put on the soft rear tyre proved to be decisive, because the Spaniard built up a gap ahead of Jonathan Rea who had opted instead for the medium solution.
Around the fourteenth lap, it was a battle between the two factory Yamaha riders for the lowest step on the podium.
In the end, when the chequered flag came out, it was once again Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) finishing first ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR), who took home another second place trophy, and Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1).
Álvaro Bautista has now become the first rider in history to have won all ten of the first races in the World Superbike Championship.

WorldSBK Race 1 standings:

1) Á. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
3) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
4) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
5) L. Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
6) M. Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
7) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
8) J. Torres (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
9) T. Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
10) T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
11) L. Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
12) M. Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
13) S. Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
14) E. Laverty (Team Goeleven / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
15) R. Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
16) H. Barbera (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
RT) M. Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
RT) A. Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team / Honda CBR1000RR)

WORLDSBK RACE 2:

In Race 2, reigning World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR) moved into the lead during the first lap ahead of Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R) and teammate Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR). In fourth and fifth position were Yamaha riders Michael Van Der Mark and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1). The first seven riders were all within one second of one another.
During the fourth lap, Haslam was forced to yield third place to hometown hero, Van Der Mark. Bautista tried to turn the screws on Rea, but the Spaniard had to defend against attacks by Van Der Mark and teammate Davies, the latter having moved up into third.
During the seventh lap, first Bautista and then Davies managed to get past Rea, relegating him to third, where he had to watch Van Der Mark at his back.On the seventh lap, the Northern Irishman on the bike from Akashi did the race fast lap, and on the following lap, he managed to overtake Davies to take back second behind Bautista.
Bautista responded to the Northern Irishman’s fast lap with an even faster one on the eighth lap. In the meantime, Davies slipped back to fourth between the Yamahas ridden by Lowes and Van Der Mark, then yielding the position to both of them.
Bautista held an advantage of eight tenths over Rea, but the Defending World Champion was lapping three tenths of a second faster. Two new lap records for Bautista, one on lap ten and one on lap thirteen, let the Spaniard increase his advantage over Rea to more than three seconds, clinching the race lead all the way to the end. In the meantime, from his third-place position, Michael Van Der Mark was becoming a threat behind the four-time World Champion.
During the nineteenth lap, Michael Van Der Mark overtook Rea for second. Rea tried to take it back on the final lap, but when the chequered flag came out, it was the Yamaha-riding Dutchman who came out on top behind Bautista and ahead of Rea.

WorldSBK Race 2 standings:

1) Á. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
2) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
3) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
4) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team / Yamaha YZF R1)
5) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
6) M. Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
7) T. Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team / BMW S1000 RR)
8) L. Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
9) T. Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
10) J. Torres (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
11) S. Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
12) L. Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
13) E. Laverty (Team Goeleven / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
14) M. Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK / Yamaha YZF R1)
15) M. Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team / Ducati Panigale V4 R)
16) H. Barbera (Orelac Racing VerdNatura / Kawasaki ZX-10RR)
17) A. Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team / Honda CBR1000RR)
RT) R. Kiyonari (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team / Honda CBR1000RR)

WORLDSSP RACE:

Between WorldSBK Race 1 and Race 2, at 12:15 in the afternoon local time, the third race of the FIM Supersport World Championship season was held, with Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) starting from pole position.
At the start, the Swiss rider was unable to exploit the advantage of being in the number one spot on the grid, letting Raffaele De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675) get past him, the latter starting from the third spot. However, during the second lap, Krummenacher managed to take back the lead, followed by De Rosa and Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6, in third place.
The three took turns leading until the mid-race point, when Krummenacher was able to take the lead and hold onto it for almost all of the rest of the race.
During the twelfth lap, after overtaking Cluzel, Raffaele de Rosa went wide on a corner, crashing out. He managed to rejoin the race, but in twenty-first place.
In the meantime, Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) moved back into the second-place position he had started from. Along with the Italian Yamaha rider, Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) also moved up two positions into third after holding stably in fifth after moving up two spots at the start.
On the final lap, Caricasulo pulled out all the stops in his attempt to snatch the race win from his teammate. The Italian succeeded in his efforts, taking the lead halfway through the last lap. Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) finished first ahead of teammate Randy Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6) and Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) for an all-Yamaha podium and a one-two for Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team.

WorldSSP standings:

1) F. Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
2) R. Krummenacher (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6)
3) T. Gradinger (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
4) J. Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
5) L. Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
6) C. Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha / Yamaha YZF R6)
7) H. Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
8) I. Viñales (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
9) G. Van Straalen (EAB Racing Team / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
10) J. Danilo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
11) A. Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
12) P. Sebestyen (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda / Honda CBR600RR)
13) L. Cresson (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
14) R. Hartog (Team Hartog - Against Cancer / Kawasaki ZX-6R)
15) F. Fuligni (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
16) W. Tessels (Team SWPN)
17) J. Van Sikkelerus (MPM WILSport Racedays / Honda CBR600RR)
18) C. Stange(GEMAR - Ciociaria Corse WorldSSP Team / Honda CBR600RR)
19) M. Herrera (MS Racing / Yamaha YZF R6)
20) A. Coppola (GEMAR - Ciociaria Corse WorldSSP Team / Honda CBR600RR)
RT) H. Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays / Honda CBR600RR)
RT) R. De Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse / MV Agusta F3 675)
RT) K. Smith (Team Pedercini Racing)
RT) D. Rubin (Rubin Racing Team)
RT) X. Navand (DK MOTORSPORT)
RT) A. De Wintere (Go4Racing)

WORLDSSP300 RACE:

The final event of the day was the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship race.This second round of the World Championship for the small 300 bikes was also won by Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team), already victorious at MotorLand Aragón. Finishing behind him were Scott Deroue (Kawasaki MOTOPORT), second, and Nick Kalinin (Nutec - RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), third.

The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races:

In WorldSBK, both in Race 1 and Race 2, for the rear, most riders decided to rely on the standard soft solution, the larger 200/65 size SC0 (option A), despite the low asphalt temperatures. Only the factory Yamaha riders, Michael Van Der Mark and Alex Lowes, as well as Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes, preferred to go with the Y0328 SC1 development tyre (option C) in medium compound for Race 1, whereas in Race 2, the Yamaha riders also decided to put on the soft rear.
As for the front, in Race 1, no less than 13 riders out of the 18 on the grid chose the standard 125/70 size SC1 (option A)and in Race 2, this remained the tyre of choice for most.

In the WorldSSP race, the standard SC1 tyre (option A) for the front and the standard SC1 (option B)for the rear was hands-down the most used combination on the grid.

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 1:

• Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R),in 1'34.949in the 2^nd lap 

• Most used front solution: standard SC1 125/70 (13 out of 18 riders) 

• Most used rear solution: standard SC0 200/65 (14 out of 18 riders) 

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 299.2 km/h, achieved by Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the 3^rd and 5^th lap 

• Air temperature: 4° C 

• Asphalt temperature: 6° C  

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2:

 • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati / Ducati Panigale V4 R),in 1'34.564 in the 13^th lap

 • Most used front solution: standard SC1 125/70 (10 out of 18 riders)

 • Most used rear solution: standard SC0 200/65 (16 out of 18 riders)

 • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 303.4 km/h, achieved by Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in the 6^th lap • Air temperature: 10° C 

• Asphalt temperature: 18° C 

Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race:

 • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing / Kawasaki ZX-6R), in 1'38.417in the 10^th lap

 • Most used front solution: standard SC1 (20 out of 26 riders)

 • Most used rear solution: standard SC1 (22 out of 26 riders) 

• Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 262.1 km/h, achieved by Federico Caricasulo (Bardahl Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team / Yamaha YZF R6), Loris Cresson (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) and Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing / Yamaha YZF R6) respectively in the 1^st, 3^rd and 11^th lap 

• Air temperature: 8° C 

• Asphalt temperature: 8°