WSBK – The Mondial Superbike sets Assen on fire! – Second Superbike race

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The Mondial Superbike sets fire to Assen !

WSBK - The Mondial Superbike sets Assen on fire! - Second Superbike race

Yesterday in Assen, Rea, Toseland, Camier, Haslam, Corser and their comrades gave us two of the most beautiful races in the history of the World Superbike. In Supersport, the three strong men of the championship also fought hard… Reports !

Second Superbike race

Troy Corser starts again like a ball and climbs to the head of the race, ahead of Leon Haslam this time in the rhythm! Jonathan Rea nevertheless managed to overtake the No. 91 Suzuki very quickly. Follow behind them Leon Camier, Jakub Smrz, Ruben Xaus, Shane Byrne, James Toseland, etc..

In the middle of the peloton, Tom Sykes crashed while going to hit the rear wheel of Noriyuki Haga’s Ducati: "i got caught by some desperate pilots (Lorenzo Lanzi not to quote him, Editor’s note) who crashed in the first round and I paid a high price", laments the English Ninja…

Tom and Lorenzo therefore end up on the ground while Noriyuki continues his race. There are therefore only three Kawasaki left in the race: the first is that of Vermeulen, in 14th place … The Australian, still on painkiller for his damaged knee at Phillip Island, will only be able to keep this place..

Sylvain Guintoli also narrowly escapes the fall during this collision: "I don’t know if it was Sykes or Lanzi, but there was a contact that affected the steering of my bike", will announce the French n ° 50 after the race. Luckily, Syl ‘remains on his wheels, but he could not do better than 13th.

In front, Rea takes the lead by repeating his superb overtaking of the first round. Just behind, Camier climbs to 3rd position in the deficit of Haslam, while Smrz remains "wisely" posted in 5th position.

Raised to sixth position ahead of Xaus and Byrne on the 2nd lap, Toseland achieved the best lap times on the track during the following three laps – but the record was already set by Rea on the 2nd lap – and joined the chase group made up of Rea, Corser , Haslam, Smrz and Camier.

Despite the superb spectacle offered in the first round, that of the second is even more impressive: we witness a superb series of overtaking at the head of the race so much so that on the 8th lap, less than two seconds separate the leading man Troy Corser and the ninth Carlos Checa !

Corser will therefore be delighted with the spectacle offered to the fans present on site but also to the viewers: "the competition was so close today that on many occasions, elbows and handlebars brushed against each other", illustrated the Australian.

Carlos Checa will confirm: "it was great to see the 2nd race from my position !". It’s true by the way: when will you see on board the Mondial Superbike? ?

Noriyuki Haga for his part, is forced to give up on the 6th loop: "As soon as the warm-up lap, I realized that the engine vibrations were stronger than usual. I hoped that it would not pose a problem. problem but it got worse over the turns ".

p> Nitro Nori and his Ducati Xerox team will have to react at all costs at home in Monza: "this year, more than ever, it is important to be constant", notes the Japanese driver, unfortunately renowned for his ups and downs…

In front, the fight continues: halfway Camier is scared in the middle of a double right and loses contact with Haslam posted in 2nd position behind Corser. In order not to hit the RSV4, Rea and Toseland must stealthily lower the gas and offer a few meters of respite to the leading duo..

Haslam goes on the attack in the 12th lap: the championship leader takes the lead, but Rea is not far … The Irishman gets rid of Corser in two stages and hits the n ° 91 Suzuki , probably decided to offer his Dutch team the double on his land !

Haslam and Rea contested for 1st place for two laps, but the # 65 Honda irresistibly took the advantage from lap 16. Two other British, Camier and Toseland, then took over and delivered an impressive mano a mano for the third step of the podium. !

"In the second part of the race, I was going really fast, the tires were slipping but it was the same for everyone", will note the Aprilia rider n ° 2,"Unfortunately, I lost a lot of time behind Toseland: he was taking some curious trajectories which made him very difficult to overtake.".

Far from this tumult – half a second is "far" on the Assen track this afternoon! -, Rea and Haslam connect their last laps more cleanly and head straight for the first two steps of the podium … and their corresponding big points !

"It was a fantastic race, full of contacts"Leon Haslam will exclaim at the end of this second round,"there were elbows everywhere and we were close enough for our handlebars to touch: it was very hard but fair, and that made us all feel better".

While he has finally gained the upper hand over James Toseland, Leon Camier bites on an outside curb and loses the front. His Aprilia sets off in a series of somersaults as his pilot slides alongside him on the grass…

The Yamaha n ° 52 thus inherits the 3rd place but more than one lap remains to be covered … But Troy Corser and Max Biaggi and their respective BMW and Aprilia are in the wheel of the Yam ‘ !

Finally, Rea brilliantly pocketed the double in front of Leon Haslam, also freed from any pressure on the final lap. "I think you can tell I have my two races were probably the smartest ones I have ever run", will specify moreover Johnny Irish.

I’ve never been impatient or surprised by traffic and when it came time to drive the point home, I did it, "said pilot Ten Kate. James Toseland on the other hand has to fight until the last corner to contain the scorching heat. Max Biaggi.

"I come home relatively satisfied", declared the Roman Emperor,"especially when I think back to the start of the weekend, to the difficulties encountered during the practice sessions and in the Superpole, and – more than anything – to the fact that I started from 11th place".

Likewise, James Toseland will be satisfied with his two podiums: "the weekend was long and difficult, but starting from 10th place on the grid and finishing 2nd and 3rd is a great result for me and for my team". Crutchlow, victim of a technical problem in the second round, cannot say the same…

Despite his fall in the second set, Biaggi’s teammate prefers "see the glass half full: we worked well, progressed all weekend and that can only help us for the following races"Leon Camier will rejoice. !

Completed by Troy Corser, the Top 5 of the second round consists of five different machines: CBR1000RR, GSX-R 1000, R1, RSV4 and S1000RR. Only the ZX-10R is missing … To console themselves, the Greens will recall the recent victory of their Ninja at the 24 Hours of Le Mans !

Suzuki, Aprilia, Ducati and Honda therefore share the same number of victories this season (2), but Yamaha and BMW should soon unlock their counter. In terms of points, Suz ‘(148) is ahead of Aprilia (134), Ducat’ (130), Honda (111), Yamaha (93), BMW (69) and Kawa ‘(19).

As for the drivers, Haslam still leads with 148 points, against 128 for Biaggi. Rea (110) jumped to 3rd place overall ahead of Checa (103), Toseland (86), Haga (85), Corser (68) and our favorite Guintoli (55).

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