Superbikes TT circuit Assen 2023
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship once again made history at the TT Circuit Assen during the Pirelli Dutch Round. Italian manufacturer Ducati celebrated the 400th victory in WorldSBK history as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) took a hat-trick in the Netherlands. Ducati became the first manufacturer to reach the milestone as Bautista also took his 40th WorldSBK victory after withstanding early pressure in the race.
Read more 51 photos 23/04/2023
Photos of this race:
Bautista records a milestone for Ducati
The battle for the lead involved Bautista, Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the early stages of the race with all three taking their chance to lead throughout the race. Razgatlioglu made his move for the lead on Lap 3 but Bautista responded quickly, before Rea made his move on Lap 5 at the same Turn 8. Bautista was able to respond almost immediately to re-claim the lead and Rea’s race would come to an end on the following lap. He lost the front of his Kawasaki machine at Turn 9 on Lap 6 which put him out of the race.
It meant the fight for victory became between Bautista and Razgatlioglu, but the reigning Champion was able to pull out a gap over Razgatlioglu as he claimed his 40th WorldSBK win and Ducati’s 400th win in WorldSBK. Razgatlioglu was unchallenged as he took second place in Race 2 to continue his run of podium finishes, now at six races. He was directly ahead of teammate Andrea Locatelli in third, matching his podium tally from 2021 and doubling his count from 2022. Locatelli had to fend off a challenge from Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who took fifth place.
Not only did Bautista’s victory give Ducati their 400th WorldSBK victory, it was also their 700th race on the podium to hit two milestones in one race. As it was Bautista’s 40th win, all on Ducati, he has exactly 10% of Ducati’s WorldSBK victories. Razgatlioglu now has 90 podiums to his name while teammate Locatelli has ten, putting him level with Simon Crafar and Max Neukirchner while equalling his best podium tally to date.
last-lap penalty switches fourth place…
Bassani had been running in the lead group during the first half of the race and was promoted to third following Rea’s crash but Locatelli made his way past his compatriot on Lap 8 at Turn 5 with a similar move to the one he made on Saturday against Bassani. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) backed up his sixth-place finish in Race 1 with fourth in Race 2. At the final chicane, the pair made contact with Bassani taking to the green and Aegerter staying on track. The incident was looked at and Bassani, who crossed the line in fourth, was demoted one place due to a track limits infringement on the final lap; Aegerter was therefore classified in fourth place, his best WorldSBK finish, with Bassani in fifth. It was yet another strong result for GRT Yamaha as Aegerter’s teammate, Remy Gardner, took sixth place after fighting his way through the field.
Van der Mark diagnosed with left femur fracture after Race 2 crash
Home hero Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a premature end to Race 2 during the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visit to the TT Circuit Assen for the Pirelli Dutch Round. The Dutchman had a highside during Lap 2 of the 21-lap race at the final chicane which launched him off his bike and out of the race. He was initially taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash, before being transported to Assen Hospital for further assessments on a suspected left femur fracture. Following the further checks at hospital, the left femur fracture has been confirmed for van der Mark.
