The Northern Irishman celebrates his 200th race in the factory derivatives World Championship in style, in WorldSSP success for Sofuoglu and in WorldSSP300 the win goes to Deroue, whereas in the Super

WorldSBK Race 2 start

Assen (The Netherlands), 30 April 2017 – After the race yesterday, Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) took home a splendid one-two again today in WorldSBK for the Akashi-based manufacturer to close out a fantastic weekend on the Dutch Assen track, taking a splendid four of a kind of victories, winning in all four classes of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship. It was success for Turkish rider Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in the FIM Supersport World Championship race and Dutchman Scott Deroue (MTM HS Kawasaki) in the new FIM Supersport 300 World Championship entry level class Kawasaki did not pull any punches in the FIM Superstock1000 European Championship either, where another Turkish rider, this time Toprak Razgatlioglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), achieved his first success of the season to round out the collection of Kawasaki victories. In Race 2 of the MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship, the two-time World Champion once again confirmed his intentions to place his seal on the Championship as soon as possible, having already won seven of the eight races held. This was also a great way for Rea to celebrate his 200th race in the factory derivatives World Championship. The Kawasaki Racing Team rider demonstrated a cool head and excellent performance throughout the weekend and only his teammate, Tom Sykes and Ducati rider Chaz Davies were able to put any kind of pressure on him. The outcome of the weekend is definitely positive for Pirelli as well. In particular, on Sunday some important feedback arrived from the standard solutions, in other words, those tyres that are sold routinely on the market and that can be purchased by bikers all over the world. In WorldSBK, the SC3 option for the front, the hardest in the DIABLO™ Superbike range, was the most used in Race 2, whereas on the rear it was the standard SC0 that set the pace. The standard tyre solutions triumphed in WorldSSP as well, where the SC1 medium solution was the most popular both on the front and the rear. This goes to show the excellent level achieved by the tyres that make up the selection of standard solutions.

WorldSBK Race 2 podium	WorldSSP podium

Race 2 unfortunately lost one of the protagonists of Race 1, Marco Melandri, who was forced to withdraw in the ninth lap due to a crash. In the meantime, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) who, in accordance with the rules, started from the ninth spot on the grid after winning Race 1, did not take long to climb his way back to the front and as early as the third lap, he had already moved into the lead. From the fifth lap on, his teammate Tom Sykes had caught up with him, staying glued to his rear tyre for the entire race all the way to his last ditch attempt at a pass right on the last corner before the chequered flag. It was an attempt in vain to overtake the two-time World Champion, who managed to cross the line first with an advantage of 25 thousandths over Sykes. Behind them, on the third step of the podium, it was Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who, despite an excellent performance, was never able to get into the mix and be a true danger to the team Kawasaki riders.

Chaz Davies	Jonathan Rea

WorldSBK Race 2 standings: 1) J. Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) 2) T. Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) 3) C. Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 4) M. Van Der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 5) A. Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) 6) L. Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 7) J. Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) 8 ) E. Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) 9) N.Hayden (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) 10) S. Bradl (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) 11) R. Ramos (Team Kawasaki GoEleven) 12) L. Mercado (IODARacing) 13) X. Forés (BARNI Racing Team) 14) R. Krummenacher (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 15) A. De Angelis (Pedercini Racing SC-Project) 16) A. Badovini (Grillini Racing Team) 17) R. De Rosa (Althea BMW Racing Team) 18) O. Jezek (Grillini Racing Team) RT) L. Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) RT) R. Russo (Guandalini Racing) RT) M. Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) At 11:30 local time, the fourth race of the FIM Supersport World Championship season took place with eighteen laps to race for a total of 81.756 kilometres. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) started from the first spot on the grid after taking pole position on Saturday. Behind him on the grid were Patrick Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Michael Canducci (Puccetti Racing Junior Team FMI). The Turkish rider from the Akashi-based manufacturer took off in the lead and dominated the race from start to finish, crossing the line first without any hindrances. There was, on the other hand, a very heated duel for second between Frenchmen Lucas Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) and Jules Cluzel (CIA Landford Insurance Honda) and Italian rider Federico Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team). In the end it was Mahias who gained the upper hand, finishing second behind Sofuoglu with an advantage of five tenths ahead of Jules Cluzel, third to pass under the chequered flag.

Jonathan Rea	Jonathan Rea

WorldSSP standings: 1) K. Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 2) L. Mahias (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) 3) J. Cluzel (CIA Landford Insurance Honda) 4) P. Jacobsen (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 5) S. Morais (Kallio Racing) 6) F. Caricasulo (GRT Yamaha Official WorldSSP team) 7) M. Canducci (Puccetti Racing Junior Team FMI) 8 ) L. Stapleford (Profile Racing) 9) C. Gamarino (BARDAHL EVAN BROS. Honda Racing) 10) R. Hartog (Team Hartog - Jenik - Against Cancer) 11) K. Smith (GEMAR Team Lorini) 12) K. Ryde (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 13) H. Soomer (WILSport Racedays) 14) A. West (EAB West Racing) 15) R. Rolfo (Team Factory Vamag) 16) N. Tuuli (Kallio Racing) 17) G. Rea (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) 18) A. Zaccone (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 19) N. Calero (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 20) R. Mulhauser (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) 21) H. Okubo (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) 22) V. Van Der Valk (Team SWPN) 23) J. Van Sikkelerus (MVR Racing) 24) P. Sebestyén (SSP Hungary by Pedercini Racing) 25) C. London (RSV Phoenix Suzuki) RT) J. Cretaro (RSV Phoenix Suzuki) RT) K. Watanabe (Team Kawasaki Go Eleven) RT) L. Epis (Response RE Racing) RT) D. Pizzoli (Race Department ATK#25) RT) Z. Khairuddin (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) RT) H. Kunikawa (CIA Landlord Insurance Honda) RT) S. Hill (Profile Racing) After the higher category races, the fledgling Supersport300 and FIM Superstock1000 European Championship races were held. Twenty-one year old Dutchman Scott Deroue (MTM HS Kawasaki), after winning in the first race of the season at Motorland Aragón, repeated the performance in his home race today in front of his fans, crossing the line first ahead of compatriot Gleen Van Straalen (Vos - TKR Racing) and Italian Alfonso Coppola (SK Racing). Lastly, in the Championship for stock bikes, it was another win for Kawasaki, taken by Toprak Razgatlioglu with team Kawasaki Puccetti Racing. The Turkish rider crossed the line ahead of Italian Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team) and Frenchman Florian Marino (Pata Yamaha Official STK1000 Team).

Jules Cluzel	Kenan Sofuoglu and Lucas Mahias action

The Pirelli solutions chosen by the riders for WorldSBK Race 2 and WorldSSP: In Race 2 of WorldSBK, thanks in part to asphalt temperatures that were almost 10° C than in Race 1, the number or riders selecting a soft rear tyre went up and, at the same time, preferences for the hardest solution in the range on the front increased. On the front, the standard SC3 (option E) was selected by 13 of the 21 riders on the grid. The preferences of the other riders were more or less equally divided between the remaining four solutions available. Using the standard SC3 were, among others, Forés, Ramos, Laverty, Mercado, Melandri, Sykes, Davies and Van Der Mark, as well as his teammate, Lowes. On the other hand, opting for the V0952 SC1 development solution (option C) was the defending World Champion. As for the rear, 13 riders used the standard SC0 (option A), in other words, the softest solution, whereas the others chose one of the two available SC1 development solutions.

Tyres selected on the starting grid of WorldSBK Race 2

In WorldSSP, the race tyres were the standard SC1 compound both on the front and on the rear. Choosing this tyre for the front (option A) were all the riders except for Kyle Ryde who preferred to put the standard SC2 tyre (option B) on his Kawasaki. For the rear, 22 riders out of 32 chose the standard SC1 (option A), whereas the remaining 10 riders preferred the V1201 SC1 development solution (option B). None of the riders chose the U0563 SC1 development tyre (option C).

Tyres selected on the starting grid of the WorldSSP Race

Pirelli statistics for WorldSBK Race 2: • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team),in 1'35.579 at the 6^th lap • Most used front solution: standard SC3 (13 out of 21 riders) • Most used rear solution: standard SC0 (13 out of 21 riders) • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres: 294.8 km/h, achieved by Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) in the 2^nd lap • Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSBK class: 7 front and 7 rear Number of tyres available for each WorldSBK rider: 82, including 44 front and 38 rear • Air temperature: 16° C • Asphalt temperature: 27° C

Kenan Sofuoglu	WorldSSP300 action

Pirelli statistics for WorldSSP race: • Winner of the PIRELLI BEST LAP AWARD: Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), in 1'39.057 in the 3^rd lap • Most used front solution: standard SC1 (31 out of 32 riders) • Most used rear solution: standard SC1 (22 out of 32 riders) • Maximum race speed reached by Pirelli DIABLO™ Supercorsa tyres: 258.9 km/h, achieved by Sheridan Morais (Kallio Racing) in the 15^th lap • Number of solutions (dry, intermediate and wet) for the WorldSSP class: 4 front and 5 rear Number of tyres available for each WorldSSP rider: 45, including 20 front and 25 rear • Air temperature: 14° C • Asphalt temperature: 20° C