With the earlier overcast conditions burned away, the sun was shining for today’s second free practice at Assen ahead of the 3rd round races on Sunday.
With almost everyone improving in the afternoon courtesy of the warmer temperatures it was Italian Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) who goes into tomorrow with the accolade of holding the overnight fastest time despite a late surge from reigning Champion Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), and fellow Brits Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike).
Giugliano would eventually end the day in the gravel after losing the front into the final chicane in the last minute of the session. Unhurt, he will be ready to fight for the Tissot-Superpole tomorrow.
Behind Giugliano, Rea was classified 2nd ahead of Sykes and Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) who also fell in the final few minutes.
Davies was eventually classified 5th ahead of Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and the Aprilia Racing Team pairing of Sylvain Guintoli and Marco Melandri who put in several long runs during the afternoon session. Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike) grabbed the final spot in the top ten.
Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing Ducati) was once again the fastest rider within the EVO category ahead of Leon Camier (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Ayrton Badovini (Team Bimota Alstare) who continues to impress this weekend on only his second ride for the returning Italian manufacturer.
If it rains, as expected tomorrow, the final place in the Tissot-Superpole will be Jeremy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki), although all riders will be hoping for a repeat of today’s weather to allow them a fighting chance to make it through.
- Giugliano (Ducati) 1’35.396 average 171.403 kph
- Rea (Honda) 1’35.880;
- Sykes (Kawasaki) 1’36.146
- Lowes (Suzuki) 1’36.219
- Davies (Ducati) 1’36.417
- Baz (Kawasaki) 1’36.449
- Laverty (Suzuki) 1’36.467
- Guintoli (Aprilia) 1’36.670
- Melandri (Aprilia) 1’36.697
- Haslam (Honda) 1’36.709
- Canepa (Ducati) 1’37.042
- Camier (BMW) 1’37.139
- Elias (Aprilia) 1’37.240
- Badovini (Bimota) 1’37.436
- Morais (Kawasaki) 1’37.638
- Iddon (Bimota) 1’37.876
- Foret (Kawasaki) 1’38.113
- Corti (MV Agusta) 1’38.122
- Salom (Kawasaki) 1’38.128
- Guarnoni (Kawasaki) 1’38.264
- Scassa (Kawasaki) 1’38.296
- Fabrizio (Kawasaki) 1’38.550
- Bos (Honda) 1’39.367
- Andreozzi(Kawasaki) 1’39.594
- Toth (BMW) 1’40.189
- Yates (EBR) 1’41.209
- NC. May (EBR) 1’42.180
- NC. Sebestyen (BMW) 1’42.863.
compared to this morning and if I hadn’t come across traffic during my fast laps I could have
done even better. We’re first among the Evo riders, but our rivals are extremely close. I think I
can get into the first ten and if it doesn’t rain tomorrow I will be doing my best to qualify
directly for Superpole 2. We’re working on the electronics side and on the set-up of my
Panigale, while we already have a clear idea regarding tyres. Tomorrow we’ll make a few
changes to the suspension because the bike is not stable on entering the corners but overall
I’m satisfied and confident for tomorrow and race day.”
World Supersport
Florian Marino (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) was quickest on the opening day of the 3rd round of the World Supersport championship at Assen.
The threat of rain thankfully subsided for both of today’s 45 minute free practice sessions with Michael Van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) giving the home crowd something to smile about in the cold conditions this morning before being toppled in the sunny afternoon session by Frenchman Florian Marino. The Dutch favourite unable to improve this afternoon.
Fellow Frenchmen Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta RC – Yakhnich Motorsport) also improved significantly from the morning session, elevating himself to 3rd.
Winner in Aragon and multiple former Champion Kenan Sofuoglu (MAHI Racing Team India Kawasaki) rode well in both sessions to end the day 4th just ahead of Kev Coghlan (DMC Panavto-Yamaha) and American PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) who completed the top six.
Roberto Tamburini left it until his final lap to grab 7th on the time sheets as did Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot (Core PTR Honda) who finished 8th.
Jack Kennedy (CIA Insurance Honda) was right in the mix in 9th as was Italian Marco Bussolotti (Team Lorini Honda) who finished a very impressive 10th, by far the best result of his Supersport career to date.
Full time Dutch rider Tony Covena (Kawasaki Ponyexpres Intermoto), who scored his career first Supersport points in Phillip Island was just outside of the top twenty with local wildcard rider Pepijn Bijsterbosch (Langenscheid Racing by Fast Bike Yamaha) making his debut in 22nd overall.
- Marino (Kawasaki) 1’38.903 average 165.326 kph
- Vd Mark (Honda) 1’38.989
- Cluzel (MV Agusta) 1’38.992
- Sofuoglu (Kawasaki) 1’39.419
- Coghlan (Yamaha) 1’39.514
- Jacobsen (Kawasaki) 1’39.644
- Tamburini (Kawasaki) 1’39.811
- Wilairot (Honda) 1’39.844
- Kennedy(Honda) 1’39.845
- Bussolotti (Honda) 1’39.854
- Russo (Honda) 1’39.911
- Zanetti (Honda) 1’40.057
- Leonov (MV Agusta) 1’40.165
- Wahr (Yamaha) 1’40.224
- De Rosa (Honda) 1’40.601
- Gamarino (Kawasaki) 1’40.702
- Rolfo (Kawasaki) 1’41.027
- Nocco (Kawasaki) 1’41.262
- Menghi (Yamaha) 1’41.446
- Calero (Honda) 1’41.574
- Covena (Kawasaki) 1’41.704
- Bijsterbosch (Yamaha) 1’43.438
- Ivanov(Yamaha) 1’43.635
- Rogers (Honda) 1’44.869.
Aprilia Racing Report
First practice sessions at Assen, third round of the 2914 World Superbike season. Favoured by the good weather conditions, the factory derivative riders engaged in a close battle on the track that is confirmed by the rather similar times all the top riders in the class put on the boards.
For Marco Melandri and Sylvain Guintoli it was a day marked by hard work on tyre longevity and finding the best setup solutions. The areas they need to focus on are primarily going into turns and consistency, essential characteristics on a flowing track like the Dutch one.
Eighth in the combined standings of the two sessions today, Sylvain Guintoli is focused first and foremost on working in view of the races, concentrating on tyre wear and understanding how they perform as conditions vary. The characteristics of the Dutch track, basically divided into two completely different sections, require fine tuning of both the electronics package and the chassis setup.
Sylvain Guintoli: “We did quite a bit of work today. Assen is not an easy track to interpret. You have to get a clear understanding of where you need to control power and where you can push it to the limit. This is a process that takes time in order to fully understand how the tyres work and to act accordingly. It looks like the conditions for the first session tomorrow will be similar to those for Race 1. We’ll have to take advantage of that so we can be ready on Sunday”.
The expected variable weather doesn’t particularly worry Marco Melandri (in ninth place), confident that he has identified the points he needs to work on with his mechanics.
Marco Melandri: “We have a lot of work left to do tomorrow but we have a clear idea of which areas we need to improve. Especially going into turns and braking the bike is very twitchy and we need to work on that. I would like to be able to get some more laps in to work toward finding a solution”.
Suzuki Report
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Alex Lowes took fourth place at Assen’s ‘Cathedral of Speed’ in the eni FIM Superbike World Championship first practice and qualifying in the Netherlands today.
Lowes ran a consistent pace at the Dutch circuit throughout both Friday sessions on the Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000, briefly holding the top-spot – with less than 10-minutes to go in the afternoon practice – with a time of 1’36.219. The Englishman’s time was enough for fourth-fastest in the combined standings having circulated well within the top-eight for the duration of the day. A small crash in the last two minutes of the second session saw Lowes unscathed and positive ahead of the remainder of the weekend.
Eugene Laverty finished the day with a fastest lap of 1’36.467, holding seventh in the tightly-contested times. Confident with the changes made to the Suzuki GSX-R1000 since Aragon two weeks ago, Laverty is looking forward to tomorrow’s Superpole qualifying and the subsequent races on Sunday.
An unexpectedly-warm and sunny Assen TT Circuit saw temperatures reach 24°C for the afternoon’s second practice session, after an overcast morning had threatened to retain its cool and blustery conditions. Ducati’s Davide Giugliano posted the fastest time of the day of 1’35.396.
Voltcom Crescent Suzuki is confident the pace shown across the two practice sessions can be improved upon for tomorrow’s final timed free practice at 09:45hrs local time (08:45BST) ahead of Superpole qualifying at 15:00hrs local time (14:00BST) that will allow them to challenge with the front-runners on race-day.
Alex Lowes: “I’m happy enough. We did some longer runs and then one shorter today on the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki which felt pretty good, but there is plenty to improve on. It’s nice to be at a track that I know, and because of that I can relax a bit and enjoy it a lot more. It’s been a mega first day and we’re not too far away. I’m looking forward to making a couple of changes and also improving myself to adjust where this bike is better on the track compared to what I’ve been used to in the past.”
Eugene Laverty: “The first practice; we were really strong, not quite as strong as in the warmer afternoon practice so we still need to improve. I’m struggling with corner-entry grip but the Suzuki GSX-R has definitely improved a big step compared with Aragon; I’m much happier with the character and I think we can be really strong here and be in contention for the podium.”
Paul Denning – Team Manager: “The first day here at Assen has been very positive, not least that the expected rain stayed away and it was an enjoyable day to be at this fantastic racetrack. The team’s done a very good job to make quite a fundamental change to the GSX-R since Aragon – back at the workshop in the UK – which has given both the riders better front-feeling and more-immediate confidence in the bike; and that’s reflected in the consistency and lap times. Wet-or-dry, we are looking forward to being competitive over the rest of the weekend. Obviously we are very glad that Alex is 100% ok after his crash at the end of the second session and we live to fight another day tomorrow.”
Pata Honda Report
Jonathan Rea sits in a provisional front row position after today’s opening free practice sessions for the two third round races of the 2014 World Superbike championship at Assen in the Netherlands on Sunday.
The Pata Honda rider lapped the 4.542km Dutch circuit in a time of 1m35.880s in warm sunshine this afternoon after topping this morning’s opening free practice, which was held in cool, overcast conditions after overnight rain.
Rea’s Pata Honda team-mate Leon Haslam was tenth fastest today, as Italian rider Davide Giugliano took provisional pole position. The 30-year-old British rider is confident of improvement in tomorrow’s practice sessions ahead of the afternoon’s Superpole to determine final grid positions for Sunday’s two 21-lap races.
Jonathan Rea – P2, 1m35.880s – “It’s been a dry, sunny afternoon at Assen, which we needed because the forecast is saying the weather is going to be changeable over the weekend, so it’s good to get some dry laps under our belts. The CBR has moved on a lot since last season and we arrived here with a set-up from Aragon; but I suffered a bit from a lack of front-end feeling and the bike felt quite foreign. We’ll go back to more of a front set-up from last year’s race which I was quite comfortable with. On the engine brake side we still need to make some progress because in the later stages of my runs I was getting pushed into the corners a bit. We’ll check the data tonight to see if that’s coming from the electronics or the chassis but for day one I think we can be quite satisfied. We’re on the pace but we can st ill improve the bike. I hope the weather conditions stay stable for the weekend, as much for the fans as for us. We’re expecting a lot of home support for the Pata Honda team so we’ll aim for the front row tomorrow, while working on a good race set-up.”
Leon Haslam – P10, 1m36.709s – “We started with quite a different engine brake strategy this morning because it was too inconsistent at Aragon. It took quite a bit of setting up and we’re still getting used to it a bit. It’s not working too bad but when we put a new tyre in it didn’t feel quite right. I’m not sure if that was a bad tyre or we just couldn’t maximise what we had, so we’ve still got a few things to sort out. We’ve made a few changes to the chassis today, but it’s interfering with what we’re trying to get from the electronics, so there’s more to do there tomorrow, as well. There’s still a way to go but we’re not a million miles away and we’re making progress.”
Pieter Breddels – technical co-ordinator – “It’s been quite a successful day for Jonathan – first this morning and second this afternoon. We’ve got some work to do and some things to sort out, but it’s looking OK for now. Leon’s start was quite difficult this morning, but we made some progress with him this afternoon. We’re still not there but I’m confident that tomorrow we can find some things so he can improve. Hopefully the weather will stay dry and we’ll see what comes.”
Team Althea Racing Report
Team Althea Racing is taking part in round three of the World Superbike Championship this weekend at the historic Assen TT Circuit in The Netherlands. Two weeks after the last races at Motorland Aragon, Niccolò Canepa took part in the first timed practice session this morning on a dry track and under cloudy skies. The Italian rider began working with his technicians to adapt his 1199 Panigale to the Dutch track. Canepa made a great start to the weekend, closing the session in ninth place; thanks to a fast time of 1’37”584, he closed the session first among the Evo riders.
In the second session that took place later in the day, Niccolò improved on his best time and with a fast lap recorded in 1’37”042 he concluded today’s sessions in eleventh position, once again at the head of the Evo pack. A very positive day for the Althea Racing team that will continue to work tomorrow to confirm its place at the head of the Evo standings, in both the final timed practice and the Superpole.
Niccolò Canepa: “Today we’ve worked really well. This afternoon I improved by half a second compared to this morning and if I hadn’t come across traffic during my fast laps I could have done even better. We’re first among the Evo riders, but our rivals are extremely close. I think I can get into the first ten and if it doesn’t rain tomorrow I will be doing my best to qualify directly for Superpole 2. We’re working on the electronics side and on the set-up of my Panigale, while we already have a clear idea regarding tyres. Tomorrow we’ll make a few changes to the suspension because the bike is not stable on entering the corners but overall I’m satisfied and confident for tomorrow and race day.”
Hero EBR Report
It was a mixed day for Team Hero EBR at Assen today with Aaron finishing the two free practice sessions in 26th position, with Geoff just outside the 107% limit despite also improving significantly in the afternoon’s warmer session.
This morning was as ever an exploratory session for both guys with neither of them having ridden at the legendary Dutch track before and despite the overcast and cold conditions, both were able to provide feedback ahead of the next on track outing.
With temperature’s higher in the latter session, it was unsurprising to see almost everyone improve. Both riders improved and the whole team continues to work step by step to close the gap to the front.
As always the weather is unpredictable at Assen, and the team are keeping everything crossed for some further dry track times tomorrow.
Geoff May – “Assen is a physical circuit and I’m not able to wrestle the bike like I want to. We will make some adjustments overnight and I hope the weather is still dry tomorrow to give us a chance of making the races on Sunday. The team are, as always, working well so thanks to them for another good job today.”
Aaron Yates – “I had a pretty solid day. Like most tracks, it’s my first time here but I feel like I got the track down pretty quickly this morning. Overnight we need to study the data and I’ve got couple tenths at least still to find in a couple of sectors so we are optimistic of improving. It seems like I am saying the same thing but this is our reality. It’s disheartening to see our positions on paper considering the progress we are making but we doing an immense amount of work behind the scenes. The guys are awesome and giving 100% so a big thanks to them.”
Tomorrow sees a final free practice session at 0945 local time before the Tissot-Superpole qualifying sessions for those riders within the top 20 in the practice classification.
