WSBK – Statements and analysis of Superbike in Assen – Statements of Superbike riders in the Netherlands

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Superbike statements and analysis in Assen

WSBK - Statements and Analysis of Superbike in Assen - Statements from Superbike riders in the Netherlands

The third round of the World SBK 2013 took place yesterday in Assen, the Netherlands. To complete our live reports, here are the statements of the Superbike riders as well as the Website analysis of the two Dutch races.

Statements by Superbike riders in the Netherlands

Site readers – who, as everyone knows, are a little more fortunate than the others – were already able to experience yesterday, almost live, the unfolding of the Mondial Superbike and Supersport races on the Assen circuit (for latecomers , read and).

Here are the declarations of the pilots who distinguished themselves on Sunday: honor to the winners !

Tom Sykes, 1st then 2nd:
"The weekend was almost perfect for us with our victory in the Superpole. We have made progress after our slow start to the season and we will build on that momentum to keep moving forward. The bike was running well and was very consistent today. When Eugene passed me in the second run, I realized that in Assen it was much easier to follow someone than to lead. It’s just a shame that coming out of the last chicane on the last lap, I hit the edge of the inside curb while trying to get past it and found myself thrown off the hook. It would have been nice to win the second race as well, but I’m happy with this day. We received in Assen the support of all Kawasaki fans and some of Tom Sykes.

"The first race was great for us and we did everything we could. We’ve had a very strong winter testing program, we’ve learned a lot, and we’ve got a lot of information and data. We are now where we need to be. Overall I’m happy because we did a lot of work in free practice yesterday. To be honest, I surprised myself a bit, but the Ninja ZX-10R performs really well. We have great people fighting by my side and they gave me material that allowed me to do what I wanted. This first race was beautiful and believe me, seeing the gap increase with each lap on the board is magic for a driver. !"

Eugene Laverty, 4th then 1st:
"The short driving time on a dry track caused some problems in the first run. In fact, before the second race we made a few changes to the RSV4 that we don’t usually do due to the risks involved. But these changes have worked really well. I had a good feeling, although I didn’t think I could stay with Sykes. But in the end I was able to follow his rhythm. Its wake even helped me as there were strong gusts of wind on the track. Four laps from the end I passed Tom, even going a few meters away, but the wind prevented me from being precise enough, which allowed him to come back on me. Winning today was important. We are relaunching in the fight for the championship and we were able to leave the behind us".

Jonathan Rea, 2nd then 4th:
" It was pretty typical of Assen and we got on the podium which felt good! During the first race I rode really well, but there was nothing to do against Sykes. In the second run I felt pretty good at the start, but it’s kind of my fault that we didn’t manage to get in the game. I lost too much ground in the first laps, making mistakes, and then I found myself fighting for third place with two other guys. It was clear that I did not have enough acceleration to get out of small corners, and where I was really strong in the first race, on the return, I was too constrained by the electronics in the second race. We were a bit lacking in consistency and we changed gums, but the tire in the second race was slipping more. I know we have more power than that, but it is impossible for us to accelerate like the others. So we have to find some kind of compromise at the start of the curve to make the power more manageable. Fortunately, we have two days of testing for that, Wednesday and Thursday, before leaving for Monza where speed is very important. Second and fourth place this weekend is not the victory Assen was supposed to bring me, but we have to be satisfied. We have come a long way and our championship position is a little better than it was in Aragon".

Sylvain Guintoli, 3rd then 6th:
"What a pity this end of the second race. I enjoyed this fight in the last laps, but this time I couldn’t take advantage of it. In the first run, however, Rea and I put on a great show and in the end Johnny did better but I had fun. In the second heat, Tom and my teammate Laverty really had an unbeatable pace. Let’s just say that the second race wasn’t great, but I was able to increase my lead in the championship, widen the gap against my closest rivals. This is important, especially considering the fact that the, a circuit where Aprilia has always been in the foreground".

Loris Baz, 5th then 3rd:
"The last lap was just too long for me, because I wanted to finish it. We finished in fifth place and then on the podium today in dry conditions, and I want to thank the whole team and people at Kawasaki who did a great job on this bike to adapt it to my style and at my weight. I thought my pace was good enough to fight in the group ahead of me in the first race, but I don’t know what happened, I didn’t have any rear grip on the right side at the start. Maybe I didn’t heat the tire enough … It was strange and it had never happened to me before. So I lost a second or two and it was already too much to come back. Finishing fifth was good and my pace was solid, as we saw in the second run where I started better".

Chaz Davies, 7th then 5th:
"The day started very badly with this fall in the morning. The track temperature was still very low and I lost the lead. I don’t think the crash was that bad, but the bike must have twisted quite a bit to be so damaged. It was frustrating to destroy a motorbike like that during the warm-up … A big thank you to the team who did an amazing job building a new motorbike in time for the race! Since this was a new bike, I wasn’t expecting much. I was just hoping to get a few points, so finishing seventh was enough to make me happy. Finishing in the Top 5 in the second round was not a very good result, but it was the maximum and it allowed me to limit the damage. I got the best possible result in both races. Once again, I have to thank everyone on the team for working together and allowing me to race. We still have work to do. I know where we sin compared to other guys. In some places the bike is working well, in others I think we need to improve. I look forward !".

Davide Giugliano, 6th then crash:
" The first race went well, although we didn’t get the results we hoped for. I was very strong in the first few laps, but halfway through a sudden drop in tire performance prevented me from getting a better result. I couldn’t do better and preferred to settle for sixth place. In the second race, I was determined to win. I knew I could do it and I think I demonstrated it with a very consistent pace and lots of overtaking that brought me close to the leaders. But suddenly I lost the grip and fell … It was a shame! I am so sorry for my team who had worked exceptionally hard and well all weekend".

Leon Camier, 9th then 7th:
"I’m really happy with how this weekend went. In the first heat we completely changed the warm-up settings and we made a bet. In the second round, we made a lot of changes again and this time I got more back to the bike I know. I felt I had the pace to run in front and did some nice overtaking in the second race, then I ended up with Jules and he really gave me a hard time! I got angry because I thought I could get back to the top group, but we lost a bit of ground and then I did a solo race. If I could have come back to the chase group I think I would have been comfortable and probably would have gotten a good result. Overall I’m happy, even though at the end of the run my leg and body were in small pieces! I was just happy to finish both races".

Jules Cluzel, 8th then retirement:
"I am happy with my first race because we had a plan: to try to improve and understand the settings of the bike so that it fits me better. We worked on the bike again this afternoon and made a few changes, but they didn’t work for me. They made things more complicated, so I tried to do my best to get it right. I was in eighth place when we encountered an electronics problem and we had to stop. It’s unfortunate because it’s not my favorite track and this issue kept us from finishing. But in the end, we know that it was possible to get two Top 8. It’s racing and I’ll do my best next time. !"

Marco Melandri, retirement then 8th:
"The weekend was terrible, and today a bad day. I didn’t even start the first race, while during the second race it seemed that a sensor had failed, so the bike was not taking advantage of the correct electronic settings. I had to slow down for a few laps to figure out what was going on and what the problem was. Once I figured out how to handle the situation, I regained my rhythm and finished the race. Now we need to figure out what is wrong and fix the problem. My goal is to rediscover the pleasure of driving, to fight for the podium and to win again".

Carlos Checa, 10th (x 2):
"In truth, I thought I would be able to do more today, to take the bike to the next level. In the first run, the rear gave me some problems. So we made some changes before the second race, which improved the situation slightly. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but that doesn’t put us out of the game. I realize this is a challenge and will do my best to improve the bike race after race".

And now for our MNC analysis of the Mondial Superbike in Assen !

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