One of the big moves for the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season was Jonathan Rea’s bombshell transfer to the Pata Prometeon Yamaha squad after nine seasons racing for Kawasaki. The #65, however, didn’t take former Crew Chief Pere Riba with him to Yamaha, with Rea working with former teammate Andrew Pitt moving across the box to be his new Crew Chief. Ahead of the Pirelli Dutch Round, Rea spoke about the challenges of adapting to a new team without Riba by his side and how there is a period of adjustment when switching teams.

Rea first joined Kawasaki for the 2015 season, winning six titles between then and 2020 before a few difficult seasons in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Following those challenging campaigns, the Ulsterman opted to move to Yamaha with a seat available following Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) move to BMW. Speaking at the TT Circuit Assen, Rea expanded on one of the challenges of moving teams and manufacturers other than having to adapt to a new machine.

“It’s hard to answer,” he began when speaking in his media debrief. “Just getting familiar with a completely new crew, understanding how they work and them understanding how I work. It’s step by step. I really believe in everyone inside Yamaha. They’re great people, intelligent people. I had a relationship with my previous crew chief that spanned nine years. There were growing pains in that relationship as well. There were times it wasn’t great but generally, for example, if you said ‘left’, with that kind of relationship, they telepathically knew how far left.

“With a completely new crew that’s worked with different riders, it’s very hard for them to understand me without words. In the previous rounds, I spent a long time in the pit box trying to explain my feelings clearly. That’s also new for me, and that can also be a big problem; a rider talking too much as you can create more and more problems from a technical point of view. It’s just step by step. I think that situation couple with a few issues we’ve faced, and difficulties, the challenges of Phillip Island and crashes, it’s been tough to put everything together, but I do feel like it’s going to come.

One key aspect will be how crew chiefs work, with everyone having their own style to achieve the best possible result. At Kawasaki, Rea exclusively worked with Riba as his Crew Chief, leading to unprecedented success with more than 100 wins for the Japanese manufacturer and six titles. Following his move to Yamaha, the 37-year-old now has Pitt as his Crew Chief. The pair raced together but now have a different relationship as they look for success.

Expanding on the differences between the two, where Rea made sure to praise both, the #65 said: “They’re more similar than you can imagine, to be honest. Both are very clever. I was going to say Andrew’s worth ethic is incredible and he’s so busy and ruthlessly competitive, always trying to find something, and he’s pushing all the crew to do their best. Andrew’s pushing the electronics department, the chassis department, to improve, but Pere was the same.

“The biggest difference is I worked with Pere for nine seasons and sometimes I didn’t have to speak. When you look at the rider market, for example, Toprak went the other way but took his crew chief, but they then have to learn another bike. Would it have been an advantage to have Pere by my side now? Not sure. Maybe from communication and understanding me, but he doesn’t understand the R1. There’s pros and cons to everything. The relationship with Andrew is really good. I trust him and trust in Yamaha that it’s going to come good. Been a difficult start, to be honest. We have to have some faith. Keep my head up and hopefully we can get back to some normality here.”

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The second round of the freshly renamed FIM Yamaha R3 bLU cRU World Cup will take place this weekend, April 19-21^st, at the classic TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, and the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s youngest competitors are eager to get back on track after a record-breaking Round 1 last month.

The opening event of the season in Barcelona saw Spanish rookie and 2023 R3 SuperFinale winner Gonzalo Sanchez take victory in dominant style in Race 1, setting a record for the biggest winning margin in class history at 11.101 seconds. The 15-year-old repeated the feat in Race 2, this time gapping his rivals by 8.744 seconds. Behind the speedy Spaniard the battle for the remaining places was hotly contested with plenty of overtakes and great skill demonstrated by the field of 19 riders. Poland’s Dawid Nowak and Czechia’s Nikolas Zanin achieved their first R3 podiums over the Barcelona weekend, while class stalwarts Spain’s Marc Vich and Brazil’s Eduardo Burr proved they mean business again this year by returning to the rostrum.

Barcelona also played host to the first ever live stream of the R3 World Cup races, something which will continue this weekend in Assen and throughout the 2024 season to allow audiences all over the world to follow the progress of the future Superbike stars.

Assen will be the home race for Dutch rider Indi Schunselaar, the youngster rider in the series at just 14 years old. Barcelona was a steep learning curve for the rookie, but he will be aiming high in front of his Yamaha Benelux supporters at a track he knows well.

Race 1 and Race 2 will take place on Saturday April 20^th  and Sunday April 21^st at 11:50 CET. Last year the incredible layout of the TT Circuit provided all-out action among the sport’s hungry youngsters so be sure to follow along LIVE via Yamaha Racing’s YouTube channel and stay up to date on yamaha-racing.com

Source: WorldSBK.com

Through the cloud and cold, the TT Circuit Assen welcomes the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship for the third round of the season. The legendary Dutch venue has been a round of excitement, drama and passion throughout WorldSBK’s history and records often fall on this hallowed turf. Impress those around you with some World Superbike knowledge below.

2023 race winners:

• Alvaro Bautista (Ducati: Race 1, Tissot Superpole Race Race 2)

Last three pole-sitters at Assen:

• 2023: Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) 1’33.542
• 2022: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) 1’32.934
• 2021: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’33.842

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

• Ducati: 84 (31)
• Honda: 39 (15)
• Kawasaki: 32 (15)
• Yamaha: 26 (2)
• Aprilia: 9 (2)
• Suzuki: 5

Key gaps from Assen 2023:

• Front row covered by: 0.119s
• 1 second in Superpole covered… the top 16: 0.946s
• Closest race gap between 1st and 2nd: 0.916s (Bautista 1st, Rea 2nd, Superpole Race)
• Closest race podium: 1.757s (Bautista 1st, Rea 2nd, Razgatlioglu 3rd, Superpole Race)
• Closest Assen podium of all-time: 0.070s (Fogarty 1st, Corser 2nd, Kocinski 3rd, Race 2 1996)

Manufacturer top speeds at Assen, 2023:

• BMW: Garrett Gerloff – 300.0kph, Superpole Race
• Ducati: Alvaro Bautista – 297.5kph, FP1
• Honda: Xavi Vierge – 297.5kph, Superpole Race
• Kawasaki: Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes and – 292.6 kph, FP1
• Yamaha: Remy Gardner – 291.1kph, Superpole Race

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Two rounds into the 2024 WorldSBK season and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has stolen all the headlines. Never mind that we have a rookie leading the Championship, Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) back on podium pace after four years on the side-lines or a six-time World Champion struggling to find his feet with a new bike. Toprak is the headline maker and the attention grabber. It was expected that we’d see Razgatlioglu winning races aboard the BMW M 1000 RR. It was a surprise to see him win in Catalunya in just his fourth race for his new team. The resources being ploughed into the BMW project from Munich meant that the tide would turn in their favour but doing in Montmelo was a surprise even to the team. 

BMW BRILLIANCE: Toprak’s ability and van der Mark’s return to the fore

It was a pleasant surprise for Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director, who was caught in Parc Ferme saying “I’ve never been so happy to spend money!” when it was mentioned that there was a lot of bonus money to be paid out in Barcelona! It won’t be the only bonuses that Toprak receives this year. The form of Razgatlioglu has impressed everyone but surprised nobody. He’s the best pound-for-pound rider in WorldSBK at the moment and his racing instinct came to the fore for both wins. Managing the tyres in Race 1 to take the lead with half a lap to go or pouncing on Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) at the last corner to win the Tissot Superpole Race showed his razor-sharp mind. To see teammate Michael van der Mark so competitive too will give a lot of reason for hope at BMW.

It’s one thing for your lead rider to perform like Razgatlioglu but it’s quite another to see van der Mark back on the pace. Qualifying on the second row and being in the lead group throughout Sunday’s races was impressive. Finishing fourth in Race 2 has given the Dutchman a big lift ahead of his home round. Assen is always special and he can sprinkle something into the air this weekend too. He’s had a torrid two years with three serious injuries but when he was fully fit last year, he was the BMW rider to beat. He knows that to keep his seat alongside Razgatlioglu, he has to make sure that his Catalan performances are the norm rather than the exception. This is a rider that has finished third in the World Championship in the past and won races on Yamaha and BMW machinery along with a pole position and podiums on the Honda. The 2014 WorldSSP Champion is still competitive and wants to ensure he stays within BMW.

SILLY SEASON STARTS SOON: round four in 2023, perhaps earlier in 2024?

Last year, there were rumours about which rider BMW would keep. Would it be van der Mark or Scott Redding. Through two rounds, there’s little doubt within the paddock that the right decision was made. To see Razgatlioglu and van der Mark working together during the Superpole session proved the right decision had been made. Team harmony is critical to success in racing and it’s hard to see how a Redding and Razgatlioglu pairing would have been anything beyond civil. 

At his best Redding is one of the most talented riders in the world and a race winner on any given day but if he is to stay in the World Championship he needs to outperform van der Mark and Garrett Gerloff. Consistency will be key for that but if he struggles to match their speed it’s difficult to see where Redding lands on the WorldSBK grid. 

LOOKING TO 2025: “BMW is now an attractive prospect for a host of riders on the grid”

Adding to the challenge is that BMW is now an attractive prospect for a host of riders on the grid. Toprak showed you can win on the bike and he’s sure to challenge for wins this weekend. There are plenty of Independent riders waiting for factory contracts. Suddenly, the BMW one is as attractive as any. The rider market spins slower in WorldSBK than MotoGP™ but with GP seats starting to fill the momentum will shift to the WorldSBK paddock. Who will be available from MotoGP™? What seats could they fill? The next two rounds could be critical for van der Mark and Redding. Assen is the self-proclaimed ‘Cathedral of Speed’ so don’t be surprised to see some riders praying for good results.

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The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is nearing the completion of its first quarter as the TT Circuit Assen awaits and the Pirelli Dutch Round. The Cathedral of Speed has often led to being the home of dreams and this year, the Pata Prometeon Yamaha team of Jonathan Rea and Andrea Locatelli will be hoping to be fast from the start. It’s been a tricky start to 2024 for Rea, with just eight points from six races whereas teammate Locatelli has been on the podium and fighting for race wins, even if Barcelona was a round where he struggled more. You can enjoy a full in-depth chat with Paul Denning here, before getting the team boss’ thoughts ahead of round three below.

Assen is a circuit where Yamaha have been competitive at in the past but not won at in 15 years; Ben Spies was the last winner there in 2009’s epic Race 1, whereas Noriyuki Haga gave Yamaha their first and only other win in 2000’s hair-raising Race 2. Recent years have seen Toprak Razgatlioglu on the podium, as well as Andrea Locatelli – who has taken a rostrum there in the last three years, including his first in 2021. However, this year is different and with Jonathan Rea aiming to breakthrough onto the rostrum, where better to do it than at the track where he’s won 17 times and been on the podium at 25 times.

“WE DON’T EXPECT TO GO FROM ZERO TO HERO” – can Rea mount a rostrum charge?

Looking ahead to Assen, Denning previewed the Pata Prometeon Yamaha hopes: “As a neutral, the start of the Championship has just been awesome. I fully expect more very exciting racing and great action. From our perspective, particularly on JR’s side, we need to roll out in FP1 with a package that immediately gives him confidence and build the weekend from there. He’s won 17 races at Assen, it’s ridiculous! It’s a track that he’s always given his best level at and there have been seasons where perhaps it’s been more of a struggle with the Kawasaki but he’s still been on for a competitive result there. It’s a great place; we don’t expect to go from zero to hero but it’s a great track for him to take a significant step and build the rest of the season from. On Locatelli’s side, he’s riding full of confidence, chipping away very intelligently at the programme and I don’t see why he can’t be ultra-competitive at Assen.”

A LOCATELLI WIN AT ASSEN? “It’s a good opportunity for ‘Loka’ to make that next step”

Talking more about Locatelli’s start to the season, Denning was impressed with the #55 despite misfortune: “There are still frustrations on Loka’s side in that the unfortunate last lap problem at Phillip Island where – in the very worst case – he’d have finished third if he’d have given up on the job but it looked like he was going to finish second or first, cost us a chunk of points. Then, avoiding an accident on the first lap in Barcelona meant that he could only come back and grab a couple points at the end of the race. If you take off his first lap time, his pace was more than good enough for a finish in the top four so he should be P2 or at worst P3 in the standings. It’d be a nice confirmation of the potential but it’s clearly there and he’s riding better than ever.”

Summarising overall, will Assen be the place where ‘Loka’ mounts the top step? “We’re in a position right now as a team, rider and manufacturer where you can’t get away with any compromises or mistakes; everything has to be on point to have a chance at challenging for victory. If we can get everything on point at Assen, then I think it’s a good opportunity for ‘Loka’ to make that next step.”

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A barn-storming Barcelona kickstarted the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship and round two from Assen promises to bring more awesome action their way. Each year, the TT Circuit Assen brings some of the most frantic racing we get to enjoy in World Supersport 300 and 2024 will be no exception; home-hero Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) will be sure to put on a special home display but he’ll have to fight off a huge opposition, as well as in-form Championship leader Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki).

IGLESIAS VS BUIS: a fight to behold this weekend, Mahendra, Svoboda and Di Sora contenders

Inigo Iglesias crossed the line first in Race 1 in Barcelona but lost his win due to a penalty for irresponsible riding but the Basque rider wasn’t going to take it lying down, with redemption in Race 2. He therefore is joint-Championship leader alongside Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) with 28 points each. Jeffrey Buis however is the other winner so far in 2024, inheriting Barcelona’s first outing after Iglesias’ penalty, although he didn’t score any points in Race 2. Three points split all three riders heading to Assen, a circuit where Buis has just one podium, Iglesias was a winner at in the IDM300 series last year and where Mahendra has never raced. In fact, there’s only one rider in WorldSSP300 who has multiple wins at the track in the class: Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki), who won both 2023 races. He’s fourth overall, just ahead of Barcelona podium finisher Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team), who has three Assen rostrums but no win.

FOUR MANUFACTURERS IN CONTENTION: Kove shining as big names look to improve

Sixth overall and flying the flag for Chinese manufacturer Kove, Julio Garcia (KOVE Racing Team) took a hard-fought podium in Race 2 last time out and had pole too, showcasing the strength and potential of the 321RR. He scored points at Assen last year but it was a circuit he struggled at, whilst Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) is next up in P7 and has a best of seventh at Assen from 2019. Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki), Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki) and Ruben Bijman (Team Flembbo-PL Performances) complete the top ten. Gennai disappointed on his debut with Kawasaki in Barcelona, whereas Mogeda just missed a rostrum in Race 2. For Bijman, he had good pace across the weekend, particularly in the races and his home round will be an opportunity to fight for a first WorldSSP300 podium. Four manufacturers on the podium in the first two races, Assen could be the most unpredictable Dutch Round yet – even with 20 different podium finishers before!

OUTSIDE THE TOP 10: Barcelona struggles to Assen amazement?

Perhaps not a struggle for Marco Gaggi (Team BrCorse) but a solid start in Barcelona is something to build on for round two, whereas it was a poor showing from Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), who never really got going at the season-opener. With this being his home round, expect him to be back at the pointy end. It was a story of what could’ve been for Unai Calatayud (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team), after he was taken out in Race 1 but fought back for P6 in Race 2 after leading for much of the race. Galang Hendra Pratama ProGP NitiRacing) is always one to watch, as is Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team), whilst the likes of Elia Bartolini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team) and David Salvador (MS Racing) both seek improvements after getting their debuts bagged. As always, keep an eye out for Britain’s Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) who is always in the leading group and Jose Osuna (DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team), who wants a first top ten of 2024.

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The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads for Assen in the Netherlands for the third round of the season and it’s a track that has signed itself as a true classic on our calendar. With Yamaha looking to rebound this weekend with Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and teammate Andrea Locatelli, we take a trip down memory lane to rekindle the epic first-ever win that Yamaha achieved at Assen.

One of just two wins, Noriyuki Haga took on Ducati’s Troy Bayliss in a classic head-to-head, passing and re-passing numerous times throughout the race. Suzuki’s Pierfrancesco Chili was also in the battle until he suffered a big crash on the exit of the chicane, leaving it to the two hard-chargers of ‘Nitro Nori’ and ‘Baylisstic’ out front. Find out how the race finished with the full race at the top!

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Pirelli have announced their solutions for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visit to the TT Circuit Assen, with the available tyres largely similar to the 2023 round. Riders will have two front dry solutions to use and four at the rear, plus wet-weather tyres which could be utilised. One of the rear tyres is the development SCX C0900, which debuted last time out and returns to action for the Pirelli Dutch Round.

REAR TYRE CHOICES: lots to choose from, development SCX returns

After testing in Barcelona and then being available during the round, the SCX-A super soft, known as the C0900, is available to pick in the Netherlands. It’s joined by the standard SCX super soft, ensuring riders have a choice of familiarity or relatively new tyre when it comes to this compound. The other choices are the standard SC0 soft and the standard SCQ extra soft, which can only be used in free practice sessions, the Tissot Superpole session and the Tissot Superpole Race. In the event of rain, the standard intermediate INT tyre and standard wet SCR1 tyre will be available.

FRONT SOLUTIONS: two standard tyres

For the front tyre, Pirelli have brought two standard compounds. The SC1 medium is the softest of the two available and provides good feeling and confidence when entering corners and also at maximum lean angle. Riders can also choose the SC2 hard, which is generally selected by teams and riders at tracks which demand a lot from the front tyres. In terms of wet-weather tyres, there’s the standard intermediate INT solution and the standard wet SCR1 solution.

WorldSSP TYRES AVAILABLE: all standard solutions

In WorldSSP, Pirelli have opted to bring standard solutions for both the front and rear tyres. The front tyres are the SC1 soft, which debuted as the B1333 last season at Magny-Cours but is now in the standard range, and the SC2 medium, which has similar grip to the SC1 but offers more resistance to wear and more stability in warmer temperatures. For the rear, it’s the standard SCX super soft and the standard SC0 soft to choose from. In case it rains, there’s no intermediate tyre in WorldSSP, with the only rain tyre available the standard SCR1 wet compound.

PIRELLI SAYS: “We want to continue the work on the C0900”

Discussing the tyre solutions, Pirelli’s Motorcycle Racing Director, Giorgio Barbier, said: “The characteristics of the track as well as the climatic conditions usually found in Assen are very different from those of Montmelo where we raced last month, and this allows us to collect other useful data from a development perspective. Here we want to continue the work on the C0900, which in the last round gave good feedback in terms of grip and behaviour but given the aggressiveness of the Catalan asphalt, suffered a bit in terms of wear. On paper, Assen is a less abrasive and usually colder circuit; therefore, we expect to collect information that can give us a more complete picture of the potential of this solution. In past years the characteristics of the asphalt have allowed the use of fairly soft solutions despite the cold temperatures, consequently we think there is margin in the teams’ work to find the ideal set up to exploit the options provided. Assen also sees us busy on another front, that of the Northern Talent Cup which holds its first seasonal event here. From this year we are in fact sole suppliers not only of this, but of all those competitions for young talents which are part of the project Road to MotoGP™ promoted by Dorna, including the Asia Talent Cup which made its successful debut last month in Qatar.”

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Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) has left hospital after his surgery on the injuries he sustained in a motocross training crash last week. ‘Petrux’ fractured his right collarbone and jaw in the incident, where he went to hospital to undergo surgery. Although he will miss the next MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship round at Assen due to the injuries, Petrucci has left hospital and provided an update on social media, including that he’s targeting a return to action on home soil.

The news broke of Petrucci’s crash on Friday, with the Italian always remaining conscious and he was taken to hospital for surgery. When announcing that Nicholas Spinelli would replace the #9 at Assen, the Barni Ducati team also expanded on the surgery required, with plates inserted into his jaw following the double fracture. A second surgery took place on his right clavicle but with that now completed, Petrucci has left hospital.

On Instagram, the four-time podium finisher said: “Hello everyone, I feel better, I’m out of the hospital, I’m almost well, as you can see the jaw has taken a good blow. I broke it in several parts, as well as the clavicle and the scapula. Unfortunately, I also cut a nerve in the jaw, which may come back. But for now, for the next few days, I’ll laugh with my mouth a little crooked like this. I’m very happy to be here because, first of all, I’m alive, and for a moment when I was crashing, I didn’t believe I would be able to tell this story.

“I thank the doctors of the Torretta hospital in Ancona where I was these days. Doctor De Feudis operated urgently on my jaw, he gave me some plates and screws. He did this masterpiece. I was really hurt. Doctor Balercia, who is in charge of the maxillofacial unit, and Doctor Pascarella, who operated on my clavicle yesterday morning, and put another plate. So, in addition to the two plates, the 20 screws I have on my hand, I added three more plates and some screws but I’m happy I’m going back home. It will take some time to recover. I think we’ll see each other at Misano. I can’t eat so maybe for the first time in my life I’ll lose weight because I can only eat liquids, so it will be tough but as I said I am very happy to be here to talk to you. I really thank you all, all those who have written to me, thank you, thank you again.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com