After a thrilling Tissot Superpole for the FIM Supersport World Championship, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) will line up in pole position for Race 1 at his team’s home weekend. The Italian set a blisteringly quick time in the early stages of the session, which would prove crucial – ending the session almost one second quicker than any other rider. The heavens would open with 20 minutes remaining on the clock, taking away the chance for anyone to challenge for pole.

HOME TEAM: Ten Kate one-two on the front row

Manzi was in the pits for the closing stages of the session, with a comfortable gap ahead of teammate Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), and ended Superpole in second, adding to Ten Kate Racing’s delight – securing a one-two at the Pirelli Dutch Round. The Yamaha duo will be joined on the front row by Championship contender Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team), who was just 1.048s slower than the benchmark set by the #62.

IMPROVING LATE: Tuuli finds time in the wet

Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) heads the second row of the grid in fourth, ending Superpole as the top MV Agusta. Behind the German was Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team), who remarkably improved on his final lap of the session in wet conditions. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) rounds out the second row of the grid, securing the Italian’s best Superpole result of the year.

TALENT PACKED: A competitive third row of the grid

Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) ends Superpole in seventh, with the Turkish rider making it two MV Agustas inside the top 10. The #54 was ahead of Britain’s Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph), who ended the tricky session in mixed conditions with a 1:48.608, placing Booth-Amos in eighth. Twan Smits (Team Apreco) was ninth in a remarkable result for the 22-year-old, ending the session ahead of Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team), who rounded out a frantic and talent-packed top 10.

BIG NAMES: Some key contenders will start further down the field

The rain mid-session caught many riders out, including Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), who was outside the top 20 for the majority of the session, including the closing stages, when the Italian managed to salvage 11^th on the grid. Further down and last on the grid will be Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), with the Turkish rider crashing his Kawasaki on is first flying lap – putting an end to his session with no time on the board.

The top six from WorldSSP Superpole, full results here:

1 Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 1’45.203s

2. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.990s

3. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +1.048s

4. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +2.224s

5. Nicolo Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) +2.247s

6 Lorenzo Baldassarri (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) +2.643s

All attention now turns to WorldSSP Race 1 at 15:15 Local Time (UTC+1) on Saturday, so make sure you don’t miss it by using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the lead Yamaha rider on Friday at the TT Circuit Assen with the Australian aiming to take a first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rostrum. He’s come close before, with a handful of P4s to his name, but the first podium has remained elusive. With third place on Friday for the Pirelli Dutch Round and strong pace on display, including a long run in FP1, will this be the round for Gardner’s rostrum?

Gardner has shown good pace throughout the 2024 season so far, fighting close to the podium places on home soil at Phillip Island and often competing to be the lead Yamaha in every race so far this season until bad luck dropped him down the order. That continued on Friday at Assen, with Gardner taking third overall after posting a 1’35.827s to lap 0.354s down on Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) best time of the day, with the #1 topping the times. The field had to deal with rain or a damp track at various points during FP1 and FP2, with Gardner reflecting on what he described as “not easy”.

Reviewing his Friday, Gardner said: “It wasn’t easy. This morning, it was quite patchy, but it wasn’t too bad, there wasn’t much wind. We did a long run on the SC0, 15 laps in total, and the pace was good with the fastest lap coming on the last lap. In FP2, we started with the same tyre condition, stop, and we’d put the SCX in. The feeling was good with the X, and we wanted to do a long run, see if we could get the lap times out of it at the end of the race, but we had some rain, so we stopped. I went back out in the rain and the feeling was quite good. Still some work to do, for me the conditions were a bit tougher this afternoon with the wind. To improve and keep a good pace like that, I was happy.”

Despite his lack of podium so far in WorldSBK, it’s not been through a lack of speed. A lot of bad luck in Australia took him out of contention and towards the end of 2023, he was fighting for the rostrum too. With Yamaha machines often going well at Assen – even without victories to back that up – the 2021 Moto2™ Champion will be hoping he can translate that into a podium charge and claim his first podium since the 2021 Algarve Grand Prix, a race he won on his way to the title.

Discussing his goals for the Dutch Round, Gardner said: “I felt we could’ve challenged, we did challenge, in the Superpole Race at Phillip Island, we definitely could’ve at least fought for a podium. I was feeling very strong. We’ve been fast all year through testing. Montmelo wasn’t the track for our package but even on Sunday we were able to bring home a decent result, so I was happy about that. Here was a good race last year, so I obviously came here with high hopes and we’re off to a good start. Hopefully we can finish the weekend off strongly and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a podium. Definitely looking forward to getting back and trying some Prosecco!”

Watch every moment from Assen LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is at the TT Circuit Assen for the third round of the season. Friday was unpredictable on and off the track, with weather conditions causing chaos throughout Free Practice and the Tissot Superpole sessions for all classes. However, there were some very quick times put on the board from Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) as both riders’ attention moves towards a potential head-to-head battle.

Bautista ended Friday quickest overall after setting a remarkable 1’35.473 early in the session and now prepares for a battle at Assen on Saturday. The #1 set 26 laps across the day, improving on his time from Free Practice 1 by 0.798s in tricky conditions due to rain and wind. He was around two tenths clear ahead of his rivals, and just under 0.5s clear of teammate Nicolo Bulega.

Discussing what he expects from Assen and whether it’ll be a battle with Razgatlioglu, including the possibility of another last-lap scrap, Bautista said: “From this season, you can expect everything! There are a lot of battles and always the last chicane is a real hot point in races, especially when you have lots of riders in the same lap times. I expect some battles and some manoeuvres at the last chicane.”

Razgatlioglu was hot on the pace throughout Friday, with the #54 ending Free Practice 1 quickest and finishing just 0.277s behind Bautista. Razgatlioglu set 30 laps across the two sessions and now sets his sights on a maiden victory at Assen in the WorldSBK class. The #54 also heads into this weekend with confidence after becoming a BMW race winner in Catalunya.

When asked if it would be a head-to-head victory, Toprak said: “Maybe we will see, I am ready to attack at the last corner, I like the last and first corner at this track, the last corner especially. Everyone is really fast, but I hope I am not passed on the last corner, the last lap. My plan, if everything feels good, is to ride alone, but we will see if the feeling is good, and the motivation is very high. I am ready for a fight or to ride alone, we will see.”

However, there is still plenty of drama to unfold with Superpole still to take place before the lights go out for Race 1 on Saturday afternoon.

Will it be Bautista vs Razgatlioglu at Assen, or will others join the fight? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Rain once again played havoc with the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed top spot in Friday’s combined classification. A mid-session downpour when the red flags were out meant times didn’t improve in the final 20 minutes or so, with the #1 able to hold on to P1. He was just ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in second after the #54 topped FP1 this morning at the TT Circuit Assen.

QUICK BEFORE THE RAIN: Bautista storms to top spot, Razgatlioglu P2

Bautista was third in the morning Free Practice 1 session, and he kept his strong pace up in Free Practice 2, which was red-flagged with around 17 minutes to go due to safety conditions. With the track drying following a morning downpour before rain fell during the red flag, the #1 was able to top the times with a 1’35.473s ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who was fastest this morning. The #54’s best time was a 1’35.684s from the morning FP1 session and was around two tenths down on Bautista. Third belonged to Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) as he posted a 1’35.827s in FP2 as his strong form continues, with the Australian 0.354s down on Bautista.

MOVING ON UP: Rinaldi finds gains in FP2, Rea in the top five

One of the big movers in Free Practice 2 was Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing), who moved into P1 briefly before being demoted into fourth in the combined classification as he looks to take his Independent Panigale V4 R into podium contention. He was ahead of Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in fifth as he looks to really kickstart his campaign, with the #65 lapping less than half-a-second down on Bautista. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) has had a superb start to his rookie campaign and he took sixth place on his first day back on track after arm pump surgery after setting a 1’35.941s in FP2 before the rain fell.

IN THE MIX? Rounding out the top ten on Friday

Two brothers were next to each other in the classification, with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in seventh ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in eighth and the first rider in the 1’36s bracket, finishing less than a tenth clear of Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in P9, with the Dutchman ensuring two BMWs were in the top ten. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) rounded out the top ten with a 1’36.216s, just ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) in P11 on his first visit to Assen in WorldSBK.

AIMING FOR GAINS: Gerloff drops down the order in FP2

Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was quick in FP1 as he set a 1’36.386s but he was unable to improve in FP2, finishing down the order in 12^th. Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) was the first rider to take to the track in the afternoon and claimed 13^th place, with Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) ending the day in 14^th. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top 15, with the two Team HRC riders directly behind. Xavi Vierge was the fastest Honda in 16^th ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in 17^th.

WORK TO DO: Locatelli well off the pace at a track he’s strong at…

One big shock was Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha). He finished in 18^th place in the combined classification at a track he’s been a consistent podium contender at, improving in FP2 to a 1’37.227s but finishing well down the order. He was ahead of Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in 19^th, Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) in 20^th and Nicholas Spinelli – replacing the injured Danilo Petrucci at the Barni Spark Racing Team – in 21^st. The two PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda riders, Tarran Mackenzie and Adam Norrodin (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda), rounded out the field.

The top six from WorldSBK Friday running at Assen, full results here:

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’35.473s

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.211s

3. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.354s

4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) +0.446s

5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.449s

6. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.468s

Watch all the action from WorldSBK on Saturday from 09:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) storms to pole position after a late charge on slick tyres. The #47 takes his first pole position of the season, setting a remarkable 1:55.372 in mixed conditions. After rain between Free Practice and Superpole, the session started damp, but everything changed in the closing minutes as dry lines appeared.

It was a manic end to the session after the track dried significantly, allowing riders to opt to change to slick tyres for the last five minutes of the session, with Seabright leading the way from Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse), who after topping Free Practice on Friday morning, finished Superpole at the Pirelli Dutch Round in second position – continuing to impress in mixed conditions. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) rounded out the front row of the field, bringing his Kawasaki to P3 on the grid.

Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) headed the second row of the grid after finding time in the second sector, ending the session in fourth. Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) rounded out the top five, jumping up the time sheets and just 1.047s slower than the #47’s pole time. Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) was sixth, just 0.283 slower after a positive qualifying.

Unai Calatayud (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) headed the third row of the grid on the #55 machine. Raffaele Tragni (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) will start Race 1 from eighth position, ending the session ahead of Marc Garcia (KOVE Racing Team), who will start from ninth on the first KOVE Racing machine. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM – PALIGO Racing) suffered from a late crash on slick tyres in the closing stages of Superpole, ending the session at his home round in 10^th.

As the chequered flag flew, there were some key names who missed out on a good Superpole result, including joint-Championship leader Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport – RT Motorsports by SKM – Kawasaki), who will be forced to start from 13^th after losing his fastest lap. Buis’ teammate, Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing), is also down the order in 20^th position, unable to repeat his pace from Free Practice. Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team) was at the top of the time sheets briefly before losing his quickest lap and dropping down to 28^th position at the line – unable to make it a back-to-back pole.

The top six from WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole, full results here:

1. Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) 1’55.372s

2. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) +0.016s

3. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) +0.176s

4. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +0.239s

5. Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) +1.047s

6. Samuel Di Sora (ARCO SASH MotoR University Team) +1.330s

Don’t miss any of the action from the opening WorldSSP300 race of the weekend on Saturday at 12:45 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

With the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heading to the TT Circuit Assen for Round 3 of the enthralling 2024 campaign, the practice sessions on Friday gave the perfect opportunity to talk to key figures from the paddock. Topics included the season so far, previous wins sinking in and the potential at Assen, the first round with no testing directly before it this season.

SINKING IN: “It took me a couple of days to react to the messages!”

Speaking in FP1 about whether BMW’s wins in Barcelona had sunk in yet, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director Marc Bongers said: “It has, we had three weeks for it to sink in, but it was really great to come back to the office with loads of trophies even going to the canteen there were so many people who came up to me, and it took me a couple of days to react to the messages and of course, at the same time it pushed the expectations further but we are positive and prepared.”

GRT YAMAHA HOPES: “Both our riders could potentially fight at the front…”

Both Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and teammate Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) have been quick in 2024. Discussing whether they could fight at the front at Assen, Team Manager Filippo Conti said: “The Australian Round and the Barcelona Round were two interesting weekends where we improved and worked a lot, they were not the best track for us, but we got some good results and experience. Now is the time to push and the time to get a good result and performance as expected. Both of our riders could potentially fight at the front, but I think we are in for a good round to show off our potential.”

WET WEATHER IMPACT: “It is impossible to say what his potential is…”

Rain fell on Friday and the weather at Assen is always unpredictable. After a strong start to Andrea Iannone’s (Team GoEleven) rookie campaign, Team Manager Denis Sacchetti spoke about the #29’s potential at Assen should it rain: “This time here at Assen is the first round this year with no testing. However, Andrea knows this track well, which is good, but it is his first time on a Superbike, and he needs time on track to understand how to ride a Superbike on this circuit. It is impossible to say what his potential is as we don’t have data in the wet conditions, so we will see.”

Follow every moment LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED from Assen using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) topped a wet Free Practice session at the TT Circuit Assen as he took advantage of the track’s best conditions to go 1.4 seconds faster than his rivals in the FIM Supersport World Championship. With the rain falling in the opening stages, and getting heavier at the halfway mark, laps were limited in what turned into a quiet opening WorldSSP session of the Pirelli Dutch Round.

With drops of rain reported in sectors one and four in the first 10 minutes of the session, very few representative lap times were set, with most riders opting to remain in the box rather than venture out in the cold with mixed conditions on track. With just over 25 minutes remaining in the session, rain was reported in all sectors, curtailing any dry running teams and riders had planned for FP1. It left Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) on top with a 1.44’919s – some six seconds down on last year’s FP1 time – ahead of Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) and Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph), with 2.6 seconds separating the top three, after the trio went out in the early stages of FP.

Familiar surnames finished in fourth and fifth, with Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) taking P4 with a 1’47.810s, beating teammate Tom Edwards by more than 1.5 seconds in the 40-minute sessions. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) moved into sixth despite setting his best lap time – a 1’51.534s – in the fully wet conditions. Raffaele De Rosa (QJMOTOR Factory Racing) was seventh on his SRK 800 RR machine, with Thailand’s Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) in eighth. Wildcard Twan Smits (Team Apreco) was ninth with Krittapat Keankum (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) rounding out the top ten.

With the rain falling harder, riders opted to head out on a fully wet circuit with around 18 minutes left on a wetter track to get some wet weather running ahead of this afternoon’s Tissot Superpole session, with any laps run in Free Practice potentially pivotal in determining who will come out on top and claim pole position for Saturday’s Race 1.

The top six from WorldSSP Free Practice, full results here:

1 Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 1’44.919s

2. Niki Tuuli (EAB Racing Team) +1.436s

3. Ondrej Vostatek (PTR Triumph) +2.602s

4. Oliver Bayliss (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) +2.891s

5. Tom Edwards (D34G Racing WorldSSP Team) +4.569s

6. Glenn van Straalen (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +6.615s

Next up for WorldSSP is Tissot Superpole! Don’t miss any of it from 16:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The third round of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship got underway with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) leading the way at the TT Circuit Assen. With overnight rain leaving the track in less-than-ideal conditions, the best times of Free Practice 1 came in the last 10 minutes as the Pirelli Dutch Round got underway, with Razgatlioglu leading Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).

With a damp track greeting the field to start the 45-minute session, times rapidly came down in the closing stages of Free Practice 1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had been first throughout most of the session, but he was in the box when times improved, although he was back on track with around six minutes remaining. With a couple of minutes remaining, ‘El Turco’ posted a 1’35.777s to snatch top spout from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), who had taken advantage of the drying track to provisionally go first before Razgatlioglu demoted him. In the final stages, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) moved up to third with a 1’36.271s, almost six tenths back from rival Razgatlioglu. He completed one 12-lap stint with his best time coming on the final lap.

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has shown strong pace throughout 2024 and that continued at Assen with fourth place, having been in the top three at several points during the session as the #87 finished as the lead Yamaha rider. He was just under a tenth clear of Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in fifth, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) claiming sixth; like Gardner, the American had gone into the top three in the closing stages but was demoted by Rea, Gardner and Bautista.

It was a good session for BMW with Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) making it three M 1000 RR machines in the top seven, with the #60 finishing 0.721s down on his teammate. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) claimed eighth spot ahead of a duo of Italians, with Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) in ninth and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) tenth. Bulega had a moment into Turn 1, and he took a trip into the gravel although he remained upright at all times.

The top six from WorldSBK Free Practice 1, full results here:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’35.684s

2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.290s

3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.587s

4. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.598s

5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.604s

6. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +0.702s

Watch every moment from WorldSBK Free Practice 2 at 15:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

BMW have been one of the stories of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship thanks to a huge step in terms of their results, taking three podiums and two wins in the first two rounds with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), while teammate Michael van der Mark has also shown good pace including a fourth place in Race 2 in Barcelona. Speaking to WorldSBK Commentator Steve English, Team Principal Shaun Muir explained how the team and manufacturer have taken a big step, the relationship between Razgatlioglu and van der Mark and Championship hopes in 2024.

MAKING THE STEP: “He confirmed that we were on the right path”

The big change was Razgatlioglu’s arrival, with the #54 first jumping on the bike at Portimao in December, but there were other changes too. Discussing this, Muir said: “Honestly speaking, we’ve got to the position where we were very close to making that step. I think over the winter period, we brought some revisions but not ground-breaking changes that people all anticipated to make that big change. It was simply consolidating a setup that we knew worked from our experience over the last years. Setting the base and then Toprak joining the team and starting on that base, and what that did was confirm to us that we were on the right path. It also started to deter us from taking what the riders were requesting which is a different setup from the one we know is going to be best for long-race conditions. It just stabilised everything.

“Michael’s coming back off injuries and his fitness is now coming back, working with Toprak again which brought a new feeling in the team completely in terms of a real balance in the box. I’m not speaking derogatory of any other rider we’ve had in the past, it just seemed to be that things just clicked in a lot of areas where we were struggling a little bit before. Operationally, from my side and SMR, we’ve made some fine revisions, bringing Phil on board was great because he worked with me in the Aprilia days anyway, so I had some success with him and Eugene. His character suited what we were looking for and just one or two changes in the group, but generally it’s the same group I’ve had for the last couple of years except we’re getting some results. I can’t put my finger on one thing that’s made the difference, everything’s just settled down.”

THE GOALS: “What I feel now is like the start of 2011 and 2015, when we were in our British-championship winning years…”

Muir has won titles domestically with his eponymous Shaun Muir Racing outfit and is hoping he can replicate that on the world stage, with Razgatlioglu and his manager, Kenan Sofuoglu, speaking about the title in recent weeks. Muir added: “British superbike was a stepping stone. We’ve done it, we’ve run our course. I think we did fantastic in that championship. We did what was right at that time and that was to step to WorldSBK. Moving on through the ranks here, the Aprilia years were really good for us. We’ve been here a long time now, we’ve done the hard miles again and I do feel that our experience of understanding the travel, the circuit, the environment, what you’ve got to deal with has come through all those years of experience.

“I feel, overall, in this Championship, getting the combination and what I feel now is like the start of 2011 and 2015 when we were in our championship winning years, I have a similar feeling to this year now as well. Everything clicks. You know when things are right. You don’t have dramas, there’s an ambience in the team and there’s a spirit and the knowhow behind from the factory to think we’re on the right path and I do believe moving on with Toprak, we have two years of him, we’re only two rounds in and here we are talking about the World Championship. But Toprak’s talking about it. If anyone knows he can win the World Championship, it’s the man sitting on the bike. When he believes he can, we believe he can as well.”

ATMOSPHERE IN THE BOX: Razgatlioglu and van der Mark working together

When he was at Yamaha, the #54 often worked with then-teammate Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) in Tissot Superpole and that’s something he’s replicated with van der Mark – who he raced with at Yamaha in 2020 – at BMW, with Razgatlioglu giving the #60 advice during the Barcelona Superpole session. On the atmosphere at the team and Razgatlioglu giving advice mid-session, Muir said: “I’ve got to say, I’ve never had that in this team from the get-go, even with Markus and Tom, and then Eugene and Tom and Michael and Scott, we’ve never had that environment. We knew something had to change. It was frustrating. Those frustrations in the box are borne out of no results. When you’re really grinding away and you’re doing your best and that’s only a tenth or whatever, it really is soul searching. You’ve got to dig deep to another level there and it affects everybody, from the top to the bottom. We all feel that. Clearly, the environment gets affected by that, you’re trying to search for something, the riders are running off in different directions trying to search for something that’s probably not there. We know what that base is now.

“Immediately, when Toprak joined, I don’t want to use the words in awe, but we were just super impressed with the calmness but at the same time, we’re trying to understand that character as well. We know Mickey inside out. We’ve been sat by his bed in hospital at the worst times and we’ve been on the podium at Portimao and had good times. We understand what Michael’s like, but Toprak, no. He was a completely blank piece of paper to us. We only saw what the public saw and the paddock saw. We were just impressed by him being a straightforward good human being, feelings like everyone else, ambition like no one else. It just seems to mix really well. I’m sure Yamaha had that for years before and Manuel when he had him at Puccetti so we’re getting the benefits of that now. Long may it continue.”

THE NEW ERA CONTINUES: watch every moment from Assen using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com

The second round of the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship kicked into life on a damp TT Circuit Assen, with Aldi Mahendra (Team BrCorse) ending the session quickest after a brilliant final lap. It was a hot pace at the end of the session, with joint-Championship leader Mahendra placing his R3 at the top of the time sheets after setting a remarkable 1:55.555 in a perfect start to the weekend.

The top spot changed hands multiple times throughout the session as the track conditions improved. Fenton Seabright (Kawasaki GP Project) led in the early stages of the session before it was snatched by David Salvador (MS Racing), who was demoted to second by Mahendra as the chequered flag flew. Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) impressed in the damp session, ending Friday morning as the top KTM in third.

Home hero Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) had his shot at the top of the time sheets in the final 10 minutes of Free Practice but crossed the line to end Free Practice in fourth position. The Dutchman was ahead of Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki), who rounded out the top five on the #7 machine. Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) set a 1:57.013 to place sixth in a competitive session.

There were plenty of surprises, most notable with joint-Championship leader Inigo Iglesias (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki), who spent most of the session outside of the top 10 and ended Free Practice in 19th position. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) suffered from technical issues in the early stages of Free Practice and was unable to set a competitive time.

The top six from WorldSSP 300 Free Practice, full results here:

1. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) 1’55.555s

2. David Salvador (MS Racing) +0.585s

3. Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) +0.856s

4. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) +0.991

5. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) +1.052s

6. Matteo Vannucci (Pata Yamaha AG Motorsport Italia) +1.458s

Watch an unpredictable WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole of 2024 at 14:10 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!

Source: WorldSBK.com