Assen Results 2013

World Superbike & Supersport

Kawasaki Racing’s Tom Sykes scored his first win of the season in Race 1 at the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands. The British rider’s commanding performance left second-place finisher Jonathan Rea of Pata Honda over eight seconds behind in the runner-up spot. Sykes got off to a similar start in Race 2 and led for the majority of the event, but was bested by Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty in the latter portion of the contest. The Irishman held off pressure from Sykes through the final four laps and came across the finish line just 0.089 seconds faster than the Kawasaki ace.

Race 1

Sykes turned his pole start to an early lead, where he would remain for all 22 laps of the race. He was followed by Rea in second and Laverty’s teammate, Sylvain Guintoli in third. Sykes’ win marks the first time Kawasaki has been on the top-step at “The Cathedral” since 2006 when Chris Walker earned the honor in Race 1.

While Sykes was busy building his gap on the field, Rea was challenged by both Guintoli and Laverty for the runner-up spot. The Honda rider held second through the first seven laps but slipped back in position as Laverty made his move up through the pack. Guintoli followed suit on Lap 9 and relegated Rea to fourth for a number of laps before he retaliated late in the race. On Lap 15 Rea began his move, getting to third and then another pass soon after on Lap 19 saw him back in second.

Guintoli and Laverty settled into their respective finishing positions on Lap 19 as well, each unable to make up ground on Rea in the final laps. Sykes’s teammate, Loris Baz, was steady in fifth from mid-race to the finish, followed by Althea Racing’s Davide Giugliano in sixth. BMW Motorrad GoldBet’s Chaz Davies overcame an abysmal starting position to finish seventh. Davies crashed in the warm-up and his team was charged with quickly rebuilding the bike for the race, leaving the Welshman to start from the last spot on the grid. He got a good jump and was 11th at the end of Lap 1, continuing his move up the ranks until Lap 5 when he settled into his finishing spot.

FIXI Crescent Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel ended the first race in eighth, followed by his teammate, Leon Camier, in ninth. Team Ducati Alstare’s Carlos Checa rounded out the top-10. Davies’ teammate, Marco Melandri, retired from competition after a mechanical issue arose during warm-up, forcing him to pull out before the start.

World Superbike Assen Race 1 Results 2013:
1. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
2. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
3. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)
4. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
5. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
6. Davide Giugliano (Aprilia)
7. Chaz Davies (BMW)
8. Jules Cluzel (Suzuki)
9. Leon Camier (Suzuki)
10. Carlos Checa (Ducati)
11. Max Neukirchner (Ducati)
12. Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia)
13. Ayrton Badovini (Ducati)
14. Ivan Clementi (BMW)
15. Mark Aitchison (Ducati)
16. Federico Sandi (Kawasaki)
17. Vittorio Iannuzzo (BMW)

Race 2

Laverty scored his first race win since the season opener at Phillip Island and put himself back in the championship points battle after falling back due to a double DNF in Round 2 at Aragon. Sykes counts Round 3 as his best race weekend in the current season so far with his 1-2 showing, as does Baz, who scored his first podium of 2013, taking third-place in Race 2.
 


Sykes appeared to be on pace to sweep the contest at Assen, replicating his Race 1 performance by getting to the front early and holding steady there for the first 18 laps. Laverty was tenacious though, remaining right on the Kawasaki rider’s rear tire until finally making the move minutes before the finish.

Eugene Laverty (58) was able to keep a slight advantage over Tom Sykes (66) in Race 2 at Assen for the win.

“The little time we had with a dry track created a few problems in Race 1," said Laverty. "In fact, before the second race we made some changes to the RSV4, which we usually don't do because of how risky that is. Actually the changes they made worked really well. I had the right feeling even though I didn't think I would be able to stay up with Sykes. But in the end I was able to keep up with his pace. In fact, his wash actually helped me out since there were some strong gusts of wind on the track. Four laps from the end I overtook Tom, even pulling away a few meters, but then the wind kept me from being too precise so he was able to cling back onto me. Winning today was important. We're back in the fight for the championship and we were able to leave the troubles from Aragon behind us."

“Almost the perfect race weekend for us after winning Superpole as well," said Sykes. "We have made progress after a slow start to the season so we will build more momentum now to move it all forward again. The bike was working well and was very consistent today. When Eugene came past me in Race 2 I realized it was much easier to follow than to lead round here and it was just unfortunate that exiting the final chicane on the last lap I hit the curb on the inside when I was trying to pass him, and I was out of the seat. It would have been great to win Race 2 as well but I am happy with the day and we had and the great support at Assen from all the Kawasaki fans."

Baz prevailed after battling with a number of riders for the final spot on the rostrum. Initially Rea held the number-three spot, then lost it to Althea Racing’s Davide Giugliano. The Aprilia rider’s stint in the top-three was short-lived though, and by Lap 6 he’d fallen out of competition and was forced to retire. Rea jumped back into third with Baz in tow and by Lap 9 Baz had found a line past the Honda ace. Guintoli was in the mix as well, and he enjoyed two laps in podium position before slipping back in the face of pressure from Baz and Rea. At the finish, Rea trailed Baz by five-hundredths of a second in fourth.

Davies made a final lap pass on Guintoli to score fifth-place, while the current points leader settled for sixth. Over 14 seconds later, Camier crossed the line in seventh followed by Melandri in eighth. Red Devils Roma’s Michel Fabrizio took ninth followed by Checa in 10th.

Giugliano crashed and subsequently retired early in the race, and Cluzel followed soon after with technical problems.

Guintoli has a 28 point advantage over Laverty, Davies and Sykes, who are all now mathematically tied for second-place. Rea sits in fifth, 48 points behind Guintoli while Baz moved up the ranks from eighth to sixth.

World Superbike Assen Race 2 Results 2013:
1. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia)
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki)
3. Loris Baz (Kawasaki)
4. Jonathan Rea (Honda)
5. Chaz Davies (BMW)
6. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia)
7. Leon Camier (Suzuki)
8. Marco Melandri (BMW)
9. Michel Fabrizio (Aprilia)
10. Carlos Checa (Ducati)
11. Ayrton Badovini (Ducati)
12. Max Neukirchner (Ducati)
13. Ivan Clementi (BMW)
14. Federico Sandi (Kawasaki)
15. Mark Aitchison (Ducati)

World Superbike Championship Points 2013:
1. Sylvain Guintoli, 111
2. Eugene Laverty, 83
3. Chaz Davies, 83
4. Tom Sykes, 83
5. Jonathan Rea, 63
6. Loris Baz, 58
7. Michel Fabrizio, 53
8. Marco Melandri, 51
9. Jules Cluzel, 41
10. Davide Giugliano, 33

Sam Lowes prevailed after a close battle with Kenan Sofuoglu for the win in World Supersport Round 3 at Assen.

Yakhnich Motorsport’s Sam Lowes grabbed his first World Supersport win of the season in the Assen TT, beating Kenan Sofuoglu of MAHI Team Racing by two-hundredths of a second. Sofuoglu’s teammate, Fabien Foret, rounded out the podium.

Sofuoglu and Lowes engaged in a close battle through all 21 laps at Assen, trading position out front a handful of times before the finish. The Kawasaki rider took the early lead and held there through the first six laps before Lowes made his first pass for the number-one spot. Sofuoglu answered back five laps later and was able to maintain until Lap 18 when Lowes retaliated, holding there against heavy pressure to the checkers. Foret ran a somewhat lonely race, settling into third on Lap 2 and remaining there to the end, over seven seconds behind Sofuoglu and 11 seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher, Michael van der Mark of Pata Honda.

Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres’ Florian Marino scored fifth, followed by ParkinGo’s Roberto Rolfo in sixth. Rivamoto’s Jack Kennedy took seventh with Kawasaki DMC-Lorenzini’s Kev Coghlan close behind in eighth. Team Goeleven’s Andrea Antonelli finished ninth and Van der Mark’s teammate, Lorenzo Zanetti, rounded out the top-10.

Foret remains the overall leader with a five point advantage over Van der Mark. Lowes moved from sixth to third and trails the French rider by nine points. Sofuoglu is now mathematically tied with Lowes and Antonelli sits fifth.

World Supersport Assen Results 2013:
1. Sam Lowes (Yamaha)
2. Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki)
3. Fabien Foret (Kawasaki)
4. Michael van der Mark (Honda)
5. Florian Marino (Kawasaki)
6. Roberto Rolfo (MV Agusta)
7. Jack Kennedy (Honda)
8. Kev Coghlan (Kawasaki)
9. Andrea Antonelli (Kawasaki)
10. Lorenzo Zanetti (Honda)
11. Christian Iddon (MV Agusta)
12. Vladimir Leonov (Yamaha)
13. Massimo Roccoli (Yamaha)
14. Riccardo Russo (Kawasaki)
15. Vladimir Ivanov (Kawasaki)

World Supersport Championship Points 2013:
1. Fabien Foret, 54
2. Michael van der Mark, 49
3. Sam Lowes, 45
4. Kenan Sofuoglu, 45
5. Andrea Antonelli, 29
6. Luca Scassa, 26
7. Lorenzo Zanetti, 24
8. Jack Kennedy, 24
9. Roberto Rolfo, 17
10. Massimo Roccoli, 14